Professional pilots refer to Sequim as the 'Blue Hole' because Sequim, Washington is in the heart of a Rain Shadow. 

The blue skies and sunny weather of Sequim WA, has blessed Sequim land and Sequim homes with nearly 300 days of sunshine and less than 17 inches of annual rainfall.

How To Buy And Sell Real Estate

Buying and selling real estate is an important decision. By taking care of yourself and learning a few key steps, you can make the whole process much more enjoyable and successful. These are the five basic steps of buying:

1. Getting Pre-Qualified - Call us if you have questions, or visit our "Find A Local Lender" webpage to learn about lending rates and search for lending instutions or mortgage brokers providing services to our area.   The advantage to getting pre-qualified to you, is that you will know exactly how much you can afford to spend.  And, when you find the right place, you’ll know you qualify and can move quickly.

2.  Deciding on and telling us what you like - Tell us the features that you would like to have ie: number of bedrooms, number of bathrooms, age, location and when you would like to move. (As a rough guideline, usually you can move in within 4 to 6 weeks after you find a place, although that can vary.)

3.  Arranging to see properties meeting your criteria - We will take you out and show you the properties that best meet your needs and wants. We will show you between 3 and 5 properties at a time (which takes about 1½ to 2 hours) or we can line up more at one time if you are out of town. We will provide you with tour sheets so you may make notes on what you like and dislike. After going out and seeing what you like, we should be able to find you a place within 2 to 3 weeks.

4.  Writing up an offer on a home you like - We provide you with comparable sales information, help write the offer with the appropriate subjects and factors covered (financing, zoning, inspection, bylaws, etc) and help negotiate the best possible price for you.

5.  Moving In – Congratulations! You are now a homeowner in a great area. Start enjoying your new home in a spectacular and wonderful locale. Celebrate the fact that you have wisely invested in a healthy, popular and growing area that has excellent resale opportunities if should you ever want to sell or move up.

Taking care of yourself and your needs through out the entire process is important and this will pay major dividends. Working with competent helpful licensed people who understand the process and appreciate your individual needs is a big help. In addition, time permitting, it is wise to not try to do everything at once.

Take your time to outline what is important to you and what outcomes and needs you would like fulfilled. Some of the basic needs that are significant for most people in deciding on a new home are as follows:

1. Location is in an attractive neighborhood close to your work or retirement requirements

2. Home meets your family, lifestyle and friendship needs in size, location and features

3. You enjoy, appreciate and admire the area, the view, the weather and the neighborhood

4. Home fits your financial situation, is affordable and has good future investment rewards

5. Home is well suited to you personally and has the style, shop, garden or boat space you need.

Sequim Washington Real Estate is richly blessed in opportunities to meet these basic housing needs. A diverse and exciting variety of homes exists with many options available in topography, neighborhoods, views, elevation and affordability. Many times someone moving from a different geographic area can find a bigger and better home in Sequim, Washington for less money than the one they owned in a different state. You can also find excellent builders in the Sequim area who will construct exactly the home you want on the property location of your choice.

The professional helpful agents at Sequim Valley Real Estate or any other agency can best serve you if they fully understand your personal, financial, housing and investment needs. It is foremost for you to note if the agent listens closely and has great respect for your stated needs. At the same time, a superior agent will provide you high-quality advice on the investment potential, zoning restrictions and demand trends for the types of homes that interest you. Our agents are trained to offer valuable supporting advice, guidance and input on all phases of buying and selling a home.

Buying and Selling Real Estate has gotten a bit more complex over the last 25 years. If you make your decision to venture into it alone, please refer to our other link pages where you will find self-help guidelines on how to buy and sell real estate. You will find assisting information on the procedures you will need to follow to buy and sell real estate on your own. This additional information can aid you whether you decide to buy and sell real estate on your own or you decide to work with the assistance and guidance of a licensed realtor. Be sure to check out Tips on Selling Your Present Home

Most people find that the best way to buy and sell a home is to talk to a local area realtor first. A well-trained realtor will be well versed in the community, have an understanding of what the local market is like and know about current and future zoning factors. As professionals, they will point you in the right direction. When you start, interview the realtor and ask him or her many questions. Get the person to explain and show you the area, the trends and the options. It is their personal knowledge of the area and their skill in putting together a transaction meeting your needs that gives you both an edge and an advantage. Especially notice his or her sincerity and devotion to your needs and desires and their willingness to work hard to find exactly what you want. The realtor's persistence, skills and knowledge will make all the difference in how well the process works for everyone involved.

Lets take a minute to examine a couple of key questions that might be on your mind. First key question for some is:Do I have to have a real estate agent to know how to buy or sell real estate?

The answer is frankly, NO!

Many homes nationwide are purchased and sold every year without the involvement of a licensed real estate agent. Yes, it will take additional research and perhaps local knowledge on your part to make sure you are getting or receiving fair value for your home purchase or sale and that the home doesn't have any hidden defects or deficits. You will also need to find a title company or maybe an attorney to handle the transaction, find a lending institution to handle the mortgage, find a home inspector and possibly take out an add or daily read the adds in the local home magazine or local newspaper.

The do it on your own process is viable, only if you have the time and talents to put all the pieces together and you are willing to do the work and research on the subject to learn how and when to take all the steps needed for a good home purchase or sale. If you would like to do that, Sequin Valley Real Estate will do its best to point you in the right direction and tell you the people and contacts you need to make this happen. In fact, as mentioned above, we have listed resources on our links page to help you do this alone, if that is the path you choose to take.

The second key question is: Why should I want to work with a licensed real estate agent?

Convenience, timeliness and security are the primary reasons you may prefer to work closely with a licensed real estate agent. You hire a real estate agent to 1.) Represent you in protecting your interests in the legal transactions of buying or selling a home 2.) Do most of the legwork for you in finding and purchasing just the right new home for you. Or 3.) Listing and showing your existing home so that the maximum numbers of qualified buyers are exposed to your home or property.

A good real estate agent is there to advertise your property, make sure its priced right, show your home to prospective buyers and help you write the offers and contracts for you. He or she will recommend inspections and repair companies so that the sale or purchase is properly handled, all the loose ends are tied up and all you have to do is the moving. We fully recognize that moving alone is in itself a major project. (If you need to know of good interim storage facilities, let us know and we can help you.)

With today’s age of computers, licensed real estate agents have large databases of homes and land to draw from and systems to alert them of the new properties just coming on the market that meet your needs. The large data base systems are known as MLS's or Multiple Listing Services. Every listed home in a community is shared with all the participating real estate agents who represent the area. With few exceptions, virtually all agents belong to this community MLS listing service. Sequim Valley Real Estate is one of the few agencies that not only belongs to the local service but also to the larger North West MLS.

An agent working with you is all about having lots of selection, getting the best information and making sure all the documentation is done right. It is usually well to your advantage to use the convenience, timeliness and safety provided by working with a licensed real estate agent. A real estate agent must be licensed. To be licensed an agent must pass a test and keep taking new classes to maintain and keep up their knowledge of new laws, improve their proficiency and continue their license. This is part of where the security aspect comes in. There are many local, state and sometimes federal laws governing the purchase and sale of real estate. Our agents are trained and licensed under the guidelines set forth by the laws of the State of Washington.

We would like to help you to purchase or sell your Sequim home or Sequim property. There are many things you need to look out for when buying or selling a home For example your ability to get financing may be affected by recent remodel additions or purchasing a new car. Your personal real estate agent will serve you by protecting your interests, showing you the best options and helping you get the best financing.

How do I find the right real estate agent?

We believe this is the most important aspect of buying or selling a home with the assistance of a licensed real estate agent. The most important consideration is finding an agent who listens, understands and works for your needs. Other than family and close friends, your personal real estate agent will probably learn more information about you than anyone else you meet and work with on a daily basis. You need to feel comfortable, safe and wisely guided with this person in making a first-class home purchase or sale.

Spend some time with an agent, open up your needs and give both of you the opportunity to get to know each other. Ask many questions about them and the area. Find out what they like about living in this area. Find out where they came from and what part of real estate they like doing. For example, an agent that focuses primarily on getting new listings may not be the best person to do the work of finding you exactly the home you want. Get to know them and their personality. It the personality fit is not good, break off the conversation. Then go ask the lead broker for someone who would likely be a better fit for you. Use a little humor and ask for what you want. The lead broker wants you to have the best fit possible with his or her agents.

When you find someone you think you can work with well, spend additional time with him or her over a cup of coffee or tea discussing your real estate needs. Provide him or her a profile of your needs and how you like to operate. Have the agent give you a quick tour and watch how well she or he meets your needs and style. Be blunt about telling the agent how you want this relationship to function well and how he or she can best to work with you. The better and more clear the relationship between you and the right agent, the more success and satisfaction you will have in buying or selling your home or property in a timely professional manner. 

We respectfully ask you to contact us and give us the opportunity to talk to you about your real estate needs and plans. We will do our best to provide you a personal agent that works well with you, someone who you enjoy working with and an individual agent that gets the job done for you in a way that brings you satisfaction and success. Please come visit or call us. You will truly enjoy living in Sequim and we would like the opportunity to help make this happen for you.

Thank you for visiting our website!