A note on Insurance by Eric Kossian of Leavenworth Insurance

Your Good Credit Score Can Save You Up To 50% Off Home Insurance I know a lot of people don't like this (the one's with bad credit) and I agree that it is not fair for those otherwise credit upstanding citizens who, due to no fault of their own, had a divorce or family medical situation that ruined their credit. Nevertheless, the truth is, from an actuarial standpoint, people with excellent to good credit can get huge discounts on home, auto and excess liability insurance because they are statistically much less likely to have a claim (and that's what insurance companies are ultimately concerned about - not your driving record, etc) So, if you have excellent to good credit I suggest you shop your insurance because while almost all preferred companies now give discounts for good credit, the amount of the discount varies widely. I literally had a customer with very good (not excellent or just good) that sold his home to a friend and retained the mortgage. The friend had terrible credit due to the wife's medical problems. The price of the insurance on the same exact home went from $400's to $970!!! If you have poor credit then do whatever you can to improve your credit score! You can get a FREE credit report annually (by law) by going to http://www.annualcreditreport.com/. And you can stop getting credit card mail (that tempted you to rack up bills you couldn't pay by calling 888-568-8688. While you are at it you can get on the national DO NOT CALL LIST to stop telemarketers from calling both land lines and cell phones - you have to dial this number from each phone! - 888-382-1222 and repeat this every 5 years or every time you get a new number. By the way, it is only for residential numbers; business numbers are exempt. Clean up your credit report by paying old bills off or calling the creditor to set up payments or negotiate a reduction, pay ALL your bills within 30 days (the people with the lowest credit scores pay all bills as soon as they arrive in the mail - you want good credit? - do what they do - that way you are never late.) Then shop your insurance. For that matter, you may save money by shopping your insurance now while your credit is poor too. If you have no idea how to get your finances in order, get the book, Your Money Or Your Life - it's a classic and it's the best (and you don't set up a budget!!!). It will tell you exactly how to go from wherever you are at to getting on the road to financial independence (say that 3 times slowly - doesn't' that have a nice sound to it?) Good work! (there is no luck involved - you can do it!) Posted by Eric Kossian – Leavenworth Insurance 509-548-5488

Low Inventory in Leavenworth Homes Market

Moderately priced home sales have really taken off in the Leavenworth Washington real estate market. Today there are only 16 homes under $300,000 and 26 under $400,000. Scarier yet, many of these are small (under 1000 square feet, some under 500) or have other issues that may make them difficult to get a loan for. (Lack of septic and electricity, half interest in property, leased land etc.) When we look at the list without these homes we see 9 under $300,000 and 19 under $400,000. If you are a home seller and thinking about waiting until spring to sell, maybe you should re-think your planning. If you are a buyer, you have a dilemma: Buy now despite the lack of choices or buy later and be prepared to pay a premium as prices continue to go up?

New Swicki for Leavenworth Real Estate

To the right of this post in my sidebar you will find something new. This is a Swicki. You can learn all about it here. Basically it is a tool for you to search for articles and info that you are looking for. This Swicki searches all the web, but it highlights info found on sites I like - my website, my blog and my Active Rain Blog. The Swicki allows me to see what topics my readers are interested in and write articles that meet those curiousities. The topics in large type are the topics that are most popular. Try it out and let me know what you think

Why Electric Heat in Leavenworth?

Why Electric? As you walk through homes around Leavenworth, you may notice that most people have baseboard electric heat, electric furnaces or heat pumps, and electric stoves. In fact the only gas you may see is a gas fireplace. Why do most Leavenworth residents have electric heat and appliances? The answer: Chelan Co. has one of the lowest electric rates in the state. The Chelan Co. Public Utilities District (PUD) operates three hydroelectric dams on the Columbia River generating enough power to run a city of 900,000 people for a year. As the name implies, the PUD is owned by the residents of Chelan Co. All this translates to an average price of 2.9 cents/Kilowatt hour. Listed below are the residential rates for electricity for Chelan Co. and the City of Seattle. Chelan Co. is by month and Seattle is by day. Chelan Co. Monthly Charges per kWh. First 1,000 kWh--2.18 cents. 1001 to 2000 kWh--2.70 cents. > 2000 kWh--2.85 cents. Basic Charge--$6.85. Seattle, Residential: City. Daily Charges per kWh-April thru September. First 10 kWh--4.06 cents. 11 kWh to 100 kWh--8.39 cents. >100 kWh--9.81 cents. Basic Service Charge--9.73 cents/meter/day.

Leavenworth 3 bedroom home prices explode!

I was running some numbers today for a Windermere publication that comes out quarterly. It uses average prices of sold 3 bedroom homes as a gauge of the market. For the first half of 2006, the average 3 bedroom home in the Leavenworth area. (including Plain and Lake Wenatchee) was $375,000. For the second half it is up to $458,000. I double checked. Those numbers represent a 22% increase in a 6 month period! It looks like buyers in the Leavenworth market haven't been bothered or effected by negative press about either a "soft landing" or a "bubble bursting". Leavenworth and Lake Wenatchee continue to remain popular as a destination for vacation homes.

New Lending Laws for 2007

Did you know that in 2007 Mortgage Lenders (Brokers and Loan Originators) must be licensed in the State of Washington? It's true. You can learn more about it here. Appraisers have been directed not to take appraisal orders from lenders unable to provide a current license. Has the lender you have been working with kept up with current legal requirements? If not, I would be happy to refer you to some knowledgable and trustworthy lenders in the Wenatchee Valley.

Two Years of Blogging

It’s hard to believe that I’ve been blogging about real estate now for two years. In the beginning it was just a few statistics (market updates) but mostly it was another venue for me to talk about my listings. Obviously that wasn’t particularly exciting or engaging – not for me or for my readers. As I learn more about the blogosphere and about real estate blogging, I try and continually adapt and change to make this a more educational and useful site. Highlights over the past few years are many. Certainly being noticed by other bloggers and real estate professionals is nice. Mentions in the Spokesman Review and being named as one of the 500 real estate “blogs to watch” were fantastic. Last week a reporter from the N Y Times contacted me about doing an article on vacation homes in Leavenworth after reading my posts. More important is receiving comments from consumers. I love it when home buyers ask about a post I made. Better educated consumers are great – they are fun to work with and tend to make better real estate decisions. As we start 2007, I have made a few goals for blogging in the New Year. I plan to blog more consistently – both on my sites (here and on Active Rain) and participate more on other sites. I will likely try and focus on Rain City Guide, The Real Estate Tomato, The Seattle PI Real Estate Blog, and one of Ardell’s Blogs. (Gosh that seems like a lot, especially when the skiing is so good.) I will also try and increase the insight and opinion on my blog – more of the WHY in addition to the WHAT. Finally, I will find a way to increase participation on my blog – by hook or by crook. My fantasy is to have consumers ask pertinent questions or challenge my assertions on my blog, but a good start would be for me to add out of area real estate agents, local lenders, insurance agents, etc.