GoLakeChelan’s Chelan Real Estate Blog

Windermere in Lake Chelan is starting to offer online bidding of select properties, today!  The are using a product from Real Estate Auction Systems to offer this service.

In looking at Real Estate Auction Systems, their system looks pretty well thought out from an internet functionality standpoint.  At this writing, they only had 37 listings active nationwide.

I received this online bid announcement from Steve Brown of Windermere yesterday.  Steve says:

…properties presented by BidChelan will be available for bidding over a period of ten days to three weeks. During that time the properties will be available to view and inspect and a listing agent will supply information and answer questions. 

The properties featured on BidChelan will be ones chosen by us as extraordinary values. It is not for all properties but rather a tool we can offer buyers and sellers where appropriate. Please log on to www.bidchelan.com as we begin this Windermere innovation in the purchase and sale of real estate in Chelan.

The economic turmoil over the past two years has resulted in extraordinary opportunities to purchase real estate in Chelan. Whether you get involved in online bidding or prefer to use a more traditional approach, now is the time to move forward with your real estate dreams. – Windermere

The first listing on their site is 1401 Bear Mountain Road.  The minimum bid is $645,000.  It was listed on the Chelan MLS for $895,000 February 16 and now shows withdrawn.   The properties on the system are taken off the MLS during the time of the auction. The auction terms state “winning bid is subject to seller approval.”  So, even though the bidding starts at an amount above $645,000 the seller does not necessarily have to sell it at an amount over $645,000 and recently thought is was worth $895,000.

Real estate auctions are not the typical process that home buyers are used to.  Both Windermere and I would suggest that you have an agent who understands them to help you with the process.  Commission for the buyer’s agents are shown on the terms of the auction and do not alter the price to the buyer.   If you want a licensed auctioneer to help you with one of the properties on this system, I happen to know of one licensed real estate auctioneer in the Lake Chelan area.

It will be fun to see how this system works for Windermere.  Have a look at it!

Tags: General Interest, Lake Chelan Real Estate, Marketing Lake Chelan Properties // Add Comment »

The Manson Sub Area Planning process with the Manson Community Council is wrapping up, finally.  There is now a July 9, 2009 Manson Draft Zoning Regulation for your review.

The whole process really made for as little change as possible.  Apparently the Manson Community Council thinks the current situation has been going well, businesses thriving and Manson really being a place that is developing perfectly to their vision.  So much so that in several areas property has been down zoned in the current plans.

If you don’t think the current  direction for downtown Manson and surrounding area  reflects what you want to see in Manson, you will want to show up and express your thoughts.

From Chelan County Planning today:

Manson Community Council and general public have been meeting over the last several months. The attached Manson Draft Zoning code is available for your review and comments. The Council will be host a review meeting July 9, 2009 at 6pm at the Manson Park Building. If you cannot attend the meeting please mail or email comments to Lilith Yanagimachi [Lilith.Yanagimachi@CO.CHELAN.WA.US] and the Manson Council (mansoncouncil@gmail.com) by July 17th.

Upcoming meetings will be held at the Manson Park Building at 6pm:
July 9, 2009 Manson Draft Zoning Regulation

July 23, 2009 Draft Comprehensive Plan

August TBD Public Workshop and Hearing at the Ray Baumgardner Building, located at 312 S. Quetiloquasoon Rd., Manson, WA

Tags: Events, Lake Chelan Land Use, Lake Chelan Local, Manson Local // Add Comment »

Yep, I’m pretty happy about 85%.  That’s the percentage of June 2009 sales transactions (11) are of June 2008 transactions (13) .  Sales dollar volume is even better, running almost 91%.

I’m happy because that’s a big improvement from the first part of this year.  And, the worst of the cycle didn’t hit until the last 4 months of 2008.  Those same dismal sales continued into the first part of 2009, so this is big improvement!

As Billy Mays would have said, there’s more:  Days On Market for sold homes was as high as 220 days for the year at the end of May.  June sales dropped that to 179 DOM average for the year.  It appears sellers are more willing to price their homes to the current market.  But remember sellers, in this market you will want to make sure you have a great marketing plan to sell your home.

To read about all of this, go to my Lake Chelan Homes & Real Estate Sales Report.

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 The City of Chelan Planning Commission has scheduled two workshops on proposed 2009 Comprehensive Plan and development regulations amendments in accordance with the Growth Management Act (GMA).

3. Capital Facilities Element6:00 p.m. on July 15, 2009 and July 29, 2009
Location: City Hall Council Chambers, 135 E. Johnson Avenue.

a. Airport

i. UGA Expansion

ii. Revision for Airport Layout Plan

b. Inventory Revisions

4. South Shore Rezone- Single Family to Special Use District

The agenda for the July 29, 2009 workshop includes:

1. Development Standards a. Section Five- Street Standards

b. Section Six- Street Design

2. Parking Standards

3. Traffic Impact Study Scoping Revisions

4. Multi-modal Transportation

5. Miller Rezone- Multi-Family to High Density Commercial

Tags: General Interest, Lake Chelan Land Use, Lake Chelan Local // Add Comment »

According to a couple of respected sources, not well.  While Goldman Sachs profits seem to be doing fine, the money the government promised to fix the lending market is not making its way down to home buyers.

Four months after President Barack Obama pledged $275 billion to shore up home sales, the engine that powered every U.S. recovery since 1960 is stalled. Bankers’ reluctance to finance buyers who won’t live in properties is one barrier to a turnaround. Stricter qualifying rules and a rise in the cost of residential loans to 5.42 percent have impeded new mortgage lending, which is at a 13-year low. An inventory of 2.1 million unoccupied houses on the market, created by the fastest foreclosure pace in history, may be a drag on a revival.  Bloomberg.com

Other sources site worse news.  If housing prices decline much further, a much higher percentage of individuals will be “underwater” on their mortgages and not able to refinance.

The consequences of a further steep decline in house prices on the overall economy are severe because it would cut so significantly into the American middle class, the vast army of consumers, the ones with conventional Fannie- and Freddie-backed mortgages, dubbed “conforming” in the trade. Any equitey that subprime-mortgage borrowers had in their homes is gone. But about eight million conventional mortgages were made for home buyers in 2005 and 2006. House prices have fallen significantly since then.

“The bulk of conforming mortgages made since 2005 are close to being underwater,” says Mr. Greenspan, meaning their mortgages are greater than the market price of their homes. Wow. Although many underwater homeowners will keep making monthly mortgage payments, they can’t refinance or take out home-equity loans — and are at greater risk of default and foreclosure.

“We can take another 5% decline in house prices without much macroeconomic impact,” Mr. Greenspan says. But if prices fall by 12%, more than four million additional homeowners will be underwater. via WSJ

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The reports I’m seeing on the actual content of the 1500 page “Cap and Trade” bill, Waxman-Markey HR 2454, that just passed the legislature are frightening.  Once again, it appears our legislators were happy passing a bill, and a 300 page amendment to it introduced at 3:00 a.m., without being able to read it.

As far as how it will increase the government’s control of your life and your home, here’s one report:

Beyond what it will do to our economy, at the end of the debate House GOP Leader John Boehner took to the floor and started reading from the 300 page amendment that the Democrats drafted and dropped on the legislatures at 3 AM, there was literally hundred of items to impose federal control over your life. Here are some highlights.

Want to replace a window? Not so fast. First you must pay for an appraisal of your house to measure its energy efficiency and receive calculations of both before and after the proposed change. Hey, it may be a great excuse for those guys trying to avoid putting in that big bay style window that the missus has been bugging you about.

Are you having a new house built? Back up, Skippy. This bill includes language that tells you exactly where you can put your electrical outlets.

Did you know that for one sort of appraisal service related to determining energy efficiency there is only one company you can use? Yup, it is right in there along with the name of the company. How is it that this one company managed to land the only contract to service 300 million Americans? Who is this company?

I wish I could answer those questions, but all of those provisions and more, Rep. Boehner went on for almost an hour citing them and still didn’t get through the whole 300 pages, is not available. You see because of when the Democrats dropped this amendment at 3 AM the text of it is not available. So much for that transparency. The total bill runs on for more then 1500 pages and it controls every aspect of your life, from what type of car we will be able to produce and buy to what type of appliances you have in your house.

Under some of these provisions you won’t be able to sell your house. Got your eyes and a quaint little place out the way and off the beaten path? Forget about it. By the time you went through the time and expense to get it up to the new code proposed in this legislation that little place in the woods will resemble something out the Jetsons. – JammieWearingFool

It makes me wonder how badly we’re going to have to cripple our country before the public wakes up to the corruption and lies the media has been complicit in.

Tags: General Interest, Lake Chelan Land Use // Add Comment »

The Chelan Planning Commission sponsored a Comprehensive Plan Map Amendment / Rezone on January 15, 2009.  The rezone is of approximately 47 acres from Single Family to Special Use District.

The parcels are located in the south east portion of the urban growth boundary and include:

3155 SR 97A; Tax Parcel 272215320050; Owner Robert and Donna Mellison
3225 SR 97A; Tax Parcel 272215320100; Owner Tyson Henderson
SR 97A; Tax Parcel 272215320150; Owner Peter and Patricia Houghton
SR 97A; Tax Parcel 272216410425; Owner Crocker Rielle Etal
3385 SR 97A; Tax Parcel 272216410500; Owner David N, Sorensen
SR 97A; Tax Parcel 272216410450; Owner Crocker Rielle Etal
SR 97A; Tax Parcel 272216410400; Owner Crocker Rielle Etal
3725 SR 97A; Tax Parcel 272216410350; Owner Stamps Orchards, Inc.
3795 SR 97A; Tax Parcel 272216410100; Owner Fred Alan Ross

Citizens are encouraged to review and comment on the proposed rezone. Comments must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. on July 15, 2009 to: City of Chelan Planning Department, PO Box 1669, Chelan, WA 98816.

Tags: General Interest, Lake Chelan Land Use, Lake Chelan Local, Lake Chelan Real Estate // Add Comment »

Google is scheduled to introduce a new product later this year called Wave.  This product puts the functionality  of blogging, social networks, email, collaboration and more together in a way that has never happened before.  In fact, it goes further than any of those ways of communicating.

In Google Wave you create a wave and add people to it. Everyone on your wave can use richly formatted text, photos, gadgets, and even feeds from other sources on the web. They can insert a reply or edit the wave directly. It’s concurrent rich-text editing, where you see on your screen nearly instantly what your fellow collaborators are typing in your wave. That means Google Wave is just as well suited for quick messages as for persistent content — it allows for both collaboration and communication. You can also use “playback” to rewind the wave and see how it evolved. – Google Wave from the Google Blog

From single property websites to a whole new concept of an MLS system that could be publicly controlled like a Wiki, this platform could be a major game changer.  If you don’t want to be drowned when Google Wave hits, you might want to learn about it…

Tags: General Interest, Marketing Lake Chelan Properties // Add Comment »

Chelan City Council, Council Chambers, 6:00 p.m. at 135 E. Johnson, Chelan, WA.

Real Estate related items on the agenda include:

• Makai  Shore Annexation Ordinance
• Six Year Transportation Improvement Plan Resolution
• Status Report on Shoreline Master Program Update

Tags: Events, General Interest, Lake Chelan Land Use, Lake Chelan Local // Add Comment »

At the Parks building, on Pedoi Street in Manson, the discussion on zoning in Manson will continue from the meeting that started on May 21st and was continued June 16th.

Currently, the process is going through the use charts allowed under different zones proposed in Manson.   If you don’t show up and share your opinion, don’t be surprised when you find that uses, or even zoning, that currently exists on your property are no longer allowed.

Tags: Events, General Interest, Lake Chelan Land Use, Lake Chelan Real Estate // Add Comment »