January 2015

Our Managing Broker Rachel remembers many hours spent with her Grandmother from Wallingford talking about the very thing that's become a fad. Lillian, who lived through the depression as a kid in Minnesota, didn’t call sewing flour sacks into undergarments “repurposing” but that’s exactly what the buzzword - and buzz idea - is today. See more ideas she would have been proud of and where you can go in Seattle for some great finds...

One local blogger puts it this way as she hopes that her projects "will encourage us all to be a little more mindful of the fleeting and beautiful moments of family life; and that all of us — and our earth — may flourish with just a little more soul in our hearts and our homes." (Amanda Blake Soule quoted in The Seattle

It's wonderful to offer good news after the many times we've had to turn potential buyers away. Many people such as those with a bankrutcy or foreclosure naturally have to wait a certain amount of time to buy but here we are thinking of those who have no severe history but can't quite make the cut, meanwhile they suffer from the high rent (or the same amount their mortgage would be but without the benefits of owning) and difficult landlord issues. Finding ways for them to buy is great news indeed. 

The loan world is relaxing, finally, after the crash. We can't say it's easy to get a loan but there are some great improvements from news sources and local lenders we know:

1.)  3% downpayments are returning. 2.) Less than amazing credit scores are being