Jacquie Cliff – Professional Seattle Area Real Estate Broker

Mod Pizza in Lynnwood Delivers on their Promise! It was Sunday and no one felt like cooking, so on the way back from my afternoon listing appointment I dropped into the new Mod Pizza in Lynnwood on 164th by the Alderwood Fred Meyers. Mod Pizza was launched in 2008 down in Union Square by a [...]

Can I rent out my house while I am doing a short sale? For homeowners that have already moved out of their home and are starting a short sale, it is sometimes tempting to put in a short term renter in the property to generate a little cash flow. To answer the question “can I [...]

What is the trick to selling your Seattle area home in 7 days or less? No trick! It is all about the price you are willing to accept and who your buyers are! You can sell your home in 7 days, but the real question that you should be asking yourself is if you need or want to. Before you call that number on the bandit sign, read this!

Are you thinking to yourself “Can I buy a home after my foreclosure?” It is not impossible to buy a home after a devastating financial event. In fact, people who have cleaned up their credit and are financially sound and qualified to get a mortgage can buy a home as soon as they have surpassed a prescribed waiting period after the bankruptcy, foreclosure or short sale

The Champions Real Estate office that I work with is located in the same parking lot as the old GI Joe’s, so over the last few weeks I have been watching to see what is going up in its place. Much to my surprise it is going to be the Lynnwood Hobby Lobby.

This seems an interesting choice since there is a Jo-Ann’s fabric and craft across the street that sells a very similar assortment of products.

After playing in the world of short sales, bankruptcy challenges, loan modifications and helping people with their credit, I have started to notice some interesting details regarding the Washington state statute of limitations. Most often this comes up when talking about real estate short sale deficiencies and how long the bank can wait to come back on home owners for the deficient amount.

Puget Sound Energy Offers New and Increased Rebates. Puget Sound Energy is offering new and increased rebates on energy-efficient water and space heating equipment as well as windows.  This offers homeowners both energy and money saving this winter. “PSE encourages customers to make energy-efficient choices when they are ready to upgrade or replace equipment,” said [...]

Short sale approval takes teamwork. A fellow broker recently brought me in as a negotiator for a short sale client of theirs and I have been experiencing a lot of “pain in the ass” events as a result. The main reason for this is the seller’s need to try and control the situation and lack of cooperation in getting things done. Consequently, I am writing this as a guide to sellers what they can do to help their negotiator achieve short sale approval.

After some calling and yelling, I usually get through to someone at the bank who informs me that we need to start the short sale negotiations really pretty much from scratch because the negotiator assigned to our file is “no longer with them.” I don’t know if this means they were fired, quit or were dragged to the basement and put out of their misery, but it happens often enough that when I saw the question “Do short sale negotiators get fired?” pop up I had to giggle a bit.

For sellers, a real estate short sale is much preferable to a foreclosure in the area of credit impact especially if you are planning on buying a home again in the future. Other situations may warrant simply doing a ‘Deed in Lieu’ where homeowners hand the keys back to the bank or even allow the property to go into foreclosure. Of course you should always consult with your tax person or other financial advisers before deciding what to do.