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Seattle Real Estate | Gerhard Ade

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Gerhard Ade covers Real Estate around Seattle and more.

For the past five years, Gerhard Ade has published the "View from the Street" a monthly newsletter he writes for his clients and friends. Appearing at the end of each month, Gerhard covers not only real estate but other topics that are close to his mind and heart. To reach a broader audience, Gerhard posts each newsletter on ReSeattle.com. Don't miss what Gerhard has to say and subscribe to his "View from the Street" right here!

Christmas Traditions

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Christmas Traditions
Seattle Real Estate | Gerhard Ade

Traditions

How did your parents and grandparents celebrate this special time of the year? How do you celebrate Christmas, or Hanukkah, and the Holiday Season today?

Christmas traditions: first memories

My first Christmas memories date back to my grandparents’ apartment in Freiburg. The earliest Christmas picture predates these memories. It was taken in Bad Säckingen where I was born. I combined it with a picture of my son Nicholas taken in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. Both little boys are admiring the candles. Yes, real candles on a real tree! For the candles to be placed, the tree had to have its natural shape with the branches offset and not sheared or pruned. Until last year, we reused the oldfashioned tinsel, made in Germany. They still make tinsel, now lead-free, but it is not heavy enough to hang straight.

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Down Payment Assistance

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Down Payment Assistance
Seattle Real Estate | Gerhard Ade

Down payment getting you down?

How can your friend who makes about as much as you do own a home?  How come your friend’s monthly mortgage payment is less than your monthly rent?  You know that you could afford that home you saw online because you have a stable income. So what’s holding you back? There is a good chance that what stands in your way is limited funds for a down payment.

Down Payment Assistance can be the key to homeownership.

Many prospective home buyers just don’t have the required money set aside. This is not only true for first-time homebuyers. It is also true for those who are on the rebound from the 2007 housing debacle. Their credit has been restored and their income qualifies them for homeownership.

down payment assistance
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A house on fire

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House Fire
Seattle Real Estate | Gerhard Ade

A house fire, one year later

“There were no civilian or firefighter injuries reported during this incident.”

So ends the incident report prepared by the City of Bothell’s fire department. It all began with an alarm on Sunday, October 14, 2018, at 2:41 pm. Eight minutes later, Engine 42 arrived at the scene. The scene was 15805 119th Avenue Northeast in Bothell.

Smoke was visible from I-405.

“While in route, dispatch upgraded the response to a confirmed house fire due to receiving multiple calls. Based upon the information from dispatch, I upgraded the response to a confirmed working fire. While in route, smoke was visible from I-405.” notes one of the firefighters in the report.

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Real Estate Commission

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Real Estate Commission
Seattle Real Estate | Gerhard Ade

Real estate commission changes (and a class-action lawsuit)

If you are ever going to buy or sell a home again, you need to know this. The way real estate business is done will change twofold on October 1, 2019.

Real Estate Commission: The Status Quo

To grasp the significance of the two changes, we must understand the status quo. Please bear with me. Reading this now will save you time later.

When a real estate agent showed you homes have you asked yourself how much the agent is getting paid if you buy a home? Have you asked the agent? Was the answer, “my services are free since the seller pays all the real estate commissions?” Or was the answer, “I will be paid from the Selling Office Commission (SOC) as stated in the listing?” Did your agent explain that “the SOC amount is a percentage of the purchase price?”

How did your agent know this? The SOC is stated as privileged information with every listing that’s entered into the database of the Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS). The SOC could be a percentage like 2.5% or a dollar amount.

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Signing Before Closing

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Signing Before Closing
Seattle Real Estate | Gerhard Ade

Remember: Signing before Closing.

signing before closing


Often, buyers and sellers think that signing and closing are one and the same. They are not. Signing is a prerequisite for closing. Signing and closing are handled by the escrow company.

What’s Escrow?

You may have seen wording like “the transaction is in escrow.” It means that buyer and seller have entered into a mutual agreement and the contract is now with the escrow company. Escrow is a neutral, disinterested party that directs and coordinates all activities from contract to closing. So if it’s signing before closing, what happens between the signing and the closing?

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