Brian Leavitt

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Real Estate Broker/Owner - Keller Williams Bellevue - 1505
Real estate and mortgage advice, , thoughts, wisdom (or lack thereof), opinion, humor and general real estate and mortgage commentary. Based on more than 30 years of hard won experience and remember, "experience is what you get when you don't get what you want." Blog posts are published most weekdays or so, and are provided as a service of Northstone Real Estate Inc. and Northstone Mortgage. Your comments, questions, criticism, opinions, diatribes, etc are always welcome.
RECENT BLOG POSTS
A report this week issued by an Eastside Housing Coalition stated: "I recently discovered that of the 114 houses on the market in Sammamish, 111 are in foreclosure.  The houses in foreclosure are nearly 1% of the entire Sammamish housing stock.  I don't have the statistics for Issaquah or other n...
03/23/2009
While driving to work this morning along beautiful Lake Sammamish I heard an interesting story on the news regarding the Washington State insurance Commissioner's ruling regarding perks from title insurance companies to real estate brokers.  This really isn't news because the insurance commission...
03/20/2009
As the Washington Legislature contemplates a much-needed update to the Distressed Home Law , real estate brokers are in a tizzy over what limitations they may or may not have in representing distressed sellers.  First a little background; the Washington House of Representatives recently passed a ...
03/19/2009
If you have considered a refinance, now may be the best time ever.  Rates took a surprising dip today moving to new lows in the 4.25% to 4.75% range on the 10, 15 and 30 year products.  In recent weeks rates have been hovering just under 5% so right now we are seeing rates at their best. One opti...
03/18/2009
 If you have not seen the new ruling by DFI check it out here.  INTERPRETIVE STATEMENT Great news for Northstone because we are licensed loan originators as well as Realtors but perhaps not so good news for our competition.  We are uniquely positioinsd to assist you and your clients in negotiatio...
03/17/2009
The link below is to an article that is the best explanation of the credit crisis that I have seen thus far.  In a word it is an essay including all associated charts and graphs on greed and the downfall of the economic system.   An Overview of the Housing/Credit Crisis And Why There Is More Pain...
03/11/2009
An article appeared yesterday regarding the legendary secrecy of the Swiss banking system.  This is from a newsletter we receive from one of our business associates, Am Trust Bank. "In times like these, norms change for everyone including the Swiss banking system which is renowned for its policy ...
03/10/2009
In a recent conversation with another agent I was surprised to hear him boasting how the surge in short sales is such a great opportunity for distressed sellers because it "really bails them out"  Hold on there... This is a common misconception with short sales because it isn't necessarily so.  I...
03/09/2009
As lending guidelines continue to tighten one loan program that is often overlooked and underutilized is the USDA rural development loan.  Contrary to popular belief, most counties are eligible.  Click here to check eligibility, and then on the USDA website.  Click on single-family, under the lin...
03/07/2009
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Can anyone think of a reason why we, as taxpayers, shouldn't claim the CEOs of America's banks, insurance corporations, automobile manufacturers, and other corporate executives receiving government subsidies as dependents on our tax returns? As a father of four it strikes me that the relationship...
03/06/2009
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Brian Leavitt

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Real estate and mortgage advice, , thoughts, wisdom (or lack thereof), opinion, humor and general real estate and mortgage commentary. Based on more than 30 years of hard won experience and over 1000 homes sold. Blog posts are published most weekdays or so, and are provided as a service of Northstone Real Estate Inc. and Northstone Mortgage. Your comments, questions, criticism, opinions, diatribes, etc are always welcome.