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Three Reasons To Fall in Love with Real Estate
February 15, 2018 /While we’re celebrating love this week–whether that’s enjoying a candlelit dinner with your partner, grabbing pizza with friends, or snuggling up on the couch with Netflix and takeout–let’s talk about other forms of love. Namely, let’s discuss love for investing in real estate. In my time working as a writer for Pickett Street, I’ve witnessed and felt inspired by how much everyone on their team truly loves working in the real estate world. I’ve also learned that there is something magical about investing in real estate. This is not to say that this investment doesn’t have its challenges–like all things worth loving, it does–but to say that it’s an incredibly rewarding lifelong practice. If you’re already thinking, “Yes! I’m in love! Sign me up!”, then get in touch with Pickett Street ((425) 502-5397) or info@pickettstreet.com) to buy or sell a home in the Seattle area. If you need more convincing, here are three reasons to love real estate. 1. Owning property generates income. Forbes notes that one of real estate’s main benefits is that it allows you to generate significant income without having to sell your investment. While stocks and bonds both yield about 2%, real estate allows you to…Read more
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What to Know About the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
February 9, 2018 /Recent changes stemming from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act may feel, as taxes sometimes do, a bit confusing. Luckily, Pickett Street and their preferred mortgage lender Cody Touchette of Caliber Home Loans are here with the breakdown of how recent tax changes will affect you. Keep in mind that most of these changes will not affect you until it's time to file 2018 taxes (the taxes you will file in 2019). For more information about the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Cody recommends this helpful link. 1. Standard deduction. According to the Washington Post, the new tax law increases the standard deduction to $12,000 for single filers and $24,000 for joint filers. This means that, for many homeowners, it will no longer make sense to itemize deductions. Zillow broke it down for the Washington D.C. area: under the old tax law, it made sense for 98 percent of homeowners to itemize, while under the new law, it only makes sense for 64 percent of homeowners to itemize. 2. Mortgage interest deductions. If you bought your home on or after December 15th, 2017, then you can claim a maximum interest of $750,000 for each secured primary residence. If you bought your home before December 15th,…Read more
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Hi, I’m Ansley, And I’m a First-Time Home Buyer
January 26, 2018 /I’ve been writing for the awesome Pickett Street Properties Team for nearly a year now, and it seems I’m overdue for a personal introduction. Hello! My name is Ansley. I’m a teacher and a writer. I'm also a first-time home buyer. I spent most of my life in the Seattle area before moving to Colorado for graduate school. While I fell hard for Colorado’s snowy mountains, sunshine, and blue skies (seriously--you haven’t seen the sky until you’ve experienced it out here!) it’s my dream to move back to the Seattle area. I’m good at drinking a lot of coffee while watching the Great British Baking Show and reading New York Times articles in bed. I’m also good at whining at my partner to bring me things like socks and chocolate and more coffee so that I don’t have to get out of bed. I’m lucky that I have the most patient partner in the world. I love running and hiking in the mountains with my deaf puppy. I love learning and writing about the world in all its complexities. And now, a personal anecdote. A few weeks ago, my partner and I received the catering contract for our upcoming June…Read more
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Seattle Real Estate Update: What to Expect from 2018
January 15, 2018 /As you let go of 2017, look forward to 2018, and reassess your life and goals, you may wonder what’s in store for the Seattle real estate market over the next year. 2017 was an exciting and wild year; Seattle was named the hottest real estate market in the country and home prices rose 13.4 percent, which is more than twice the national average rate of 5.9% for home price growth. So, if you are looking to buy or sell a home in the greater Seattle area, what can you expect from the market over the next year? First, you should find a great agent who can help you. Second, check out these predictions for the coming year. 1. Lower mortgage rates will make it easier to buy a home. Long-term mortgage rates recently fell from 3.99% to 3.95% (a year ago the averages rates were 4.20%). The average rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages also recently fell from 3.44% to 3.38%. According to the Seattle times, these relatively low rates can help homebuyers offset the rising costs of real estate and make it easier to afford a home. 2. Seattle, in case you haven’t heard, is very cool. According to…Read more
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Five New Year’s Resolutions for Your Home
January 5, 2018 /I love that each year New Year’s Day and the month of January bring transformation, renewal, and possibility. As everyone returns to work after the holiday bustle and the weather in Seattle remains chilly and gray, the world feels quiet and peaceful. While we tend to focus on New Year resolutions that have to do with career, health, happiness, etc, we often overlook resolutions for one of the most important spaces in our lives–our homes. Setting and achieving goals for your home can significantly improve your finances and your general wellbeing (for more about the connections between architectural spaces and mood, check out this fascinating article). Here are a few of our favorite New Year’s resolutions for your home in 2018. 1. Create a budget for home improvements. Because it’s easy to rack up credit card charges when working on home improvement projects, this is the best place to start. Create a list of projects in order of priority. Be sure to devise a home improvement budget each year–HouseLogic suggests that the owner of a $250,000 home set aside $2,500 to $7,500 per year for maintenance and repairs. 2. Cut your energy use. Energy Star has an informative guide to…Read more
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How to Take the Leap and Invest: A Conversation with Cody Touchette
December 7, 2017 /While investing in real estate is one of the best ways to build wealth, getting started can often feel intimidating. However, this exciting process is much more accessible than you think. In fact, one of my favorite parts about writing for Pickett Street has been learning from their wonderful team and realizing that investing in real estate is not just for experts in real estate and finance. I was recently able to talk with Cody Touchette, who is a mortgage planner with Caliber Home Loans and provides clients with expert guidance during their home financing processes. Here’s what he had to say. 1. Why is investing in real estate a worthwhile endeavor? According to Cody, there are four main benefits to real estate as an investment: cash flow, appreciation, leverage, and tax benefits. First, investing in real estate through buying your own home, purchasing a property to rent to others, or other options, is a great way to receive immediate cash flow that can help you purchase more property. Second, regarding appreciation, Cody reminded me that real estate has always increased in value over time, if you look at a long period or time. While the market experiences normal ups and downs, appreciation on real…Read more
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Free Holiday Events in Seattle and Beyond to Keep You Warm
December 1, 2017 /In the chaos of gift-buying, searching for the perfect party outfit, and organizing holiday travels, it’s easy to forget that some of the season’s most enjoyable events are free. In fact, there are so many free holiday events happening this month that it was impossible to fit them all into this list. Here’s a guide to just a few of the best free holiday events in Seattle and surrounding areas this December. Festivals and Other Events Reindeer Festival When: November 11th through December 24th Where: Swansons Nursery, 9701 15th Ave NW, Seattle What could be better than holiday shopping while strolling through fragrant pines and mingling with two real-life reindeer? This holiday festival includes a model train display, Christmas trees for sale, gifts and holiday decorations for sale, live music, and Santa Claus and holiday yurt photo ops. Gingerbread Village When: November 21st, 2017 - January 1st, 2018 Where: City Centre, 1420 Fifth Ave, Seattle The Sheraton’s Gingerbread Village has been a Seattle tradition for 25 years. Each year, architects from the city’s top firms, as well as master builders and the Sheraton’s culinary teams, design intricate and stunning gingerbread creations. The event is free and donations go to the…Read more
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Pickett Street Properties Gives Gratitude for 2017
November 21, 2017 /My favorite part about Thanksgiving is the chaos: family members bickering while on hour three of Settlers of Catan, something burning in the oven, the dog stealing turkey off the counter, a holiday song sung terribly out-of-tune. These sweet, funny moments of imperfection are, I believe, life in its purest form. They remind me of all the people, relationships, and tiny moments for which I feel grateful. So, in the spirit of the season, let’s talk about gratitude. Multiple scientific studies have shown that gratitude improves sleep, psychological health, and physical health. Basically, gratitude is one of the keys to a happy life. I recently interviewed the Pickett Street team to find out what they’re grateful for this year. I’ll start. I’m grateful for my partner, who makes me coffee and brings it to me every single morning (seriously, what a hero!), for my healthy body that lets me do yoga and climb mountains, for my undergraduate students, who are funny and inspiring and give me hope in the world, for the great companies with which I work (such as Pickett Street!), and for my sweet dopey pitbull puppy. Here’s what the team at Pickett Street had to say. Christi Samaniego, Listing Coordinator…Read more
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Green Lake: Neighborhood Profile
November 16, 2017 /The Green Lake neighborhood is nestled in the heart of north Seattle, surrounded by the Fremont, Ballard, Wallingford, Ravenna, and Greenwood neighborhoods. I have fond memories of spending long afternoons at Green Lake as a child, feeding the ducks and playing in the mud with my brothers (i.e. throwing mud at my brothers). Afterward, we would always pop into one of the many nearby coffee shops where my parents would buy us flavored steamed milk so my brothers and I could pretend that we, too--even at the tender ages of ten, eight, and four--were sophisticated, coffee-guzzling Seattle-ites. That was back in the nineties, and today, Green Lake is more bustling and hip than ever before. Here are the details on one of Seattle’s most beloved neighborhoods. Real Estate Stats According to Niche, the median home value in Green Lake is $581,057, and the median rent is $1,418. This neighborhood is great for single individuals, couples, and families. Many homes in Green Lake fall under the architectural category of the classic Seattle Box or Four Square home, which features two stories, an inset front porch, and a simple yet chic geometric form. If you’re interested in buying or selling a home…Read more
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Millennials and Technology: How the Housing Market is Changing
November 16, 2017 /The other day I caught myself doing a very millennial thing: I needed new winter boots, and, not surprisingly, I quickly spiraled down an obsessive rabbit hole of internet research. Before I knew it, I had roughly fifty tabs open, two hours had passed, and I still hadn’t purchased any boots. True to my millennial nature, I am extremely careful with my money, and I don’t like to own a lot of stuff. Consequently, it’s important to me that my purchases last a long time. This millennial attitude, along with Americans’ contemporary reliance on technology, is changing many things, including the housing industry. Here’s more information about recent trends in buying homes. 1. Millennials have started to buy homes. You might have noticed a pattern in headlines over the past few years: “Why Millennials Aren’t Buying Diamonds,” “Why Millennials Aren’t Buying Homes,” or, my personal favorite, “Why Millennials Are Addicted to Avocado Toast” (spoiler: because it’s delicious!). One of the main reasons millennials have been slower to buy homes than previous generations is that life is more expensive than it used to be. College tuition costs are rising more quickly than financial aid, and 83% of millennials say that student…Read more
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An Interview with Margaret Smith on Confidence and the World of Real Estate
November 9, 2017 /This week marks the fifth anniversary of Pickett Street’s Margaret Smith. Though I’ve only been working with her for about six months, I’ve already come to know Margaret as a positive and hardworking force of nature. Margaret is the Director of Operations for Pickett Street Properties; she recruits, screens, and interviews candidates and manages social media, client events, system evaluation, branding/marketing, and overall growth and planning for Pickett Street. I was recently lucky to be able to chat with her about her experiences in the world of real estate. Hi Margaret! Congrats on five years of working with Pickett Street. Can you talk to us about how you started working for Pickett Street? Before Pickett Street I was the Docent Program Coordinator for the Seattle Art Museum. I NEVER thought I would work in sales or for a sales company--and now I can't imagine anything else in my future. This career gives me an opportunity to help and inspire people in a much bigger way and through a bigger platform than I ever imagined. I was ready to leave the museum because I wanted a career where I could support myself financially, and that's hard to do in the nonprofit…Read more
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Buy now, my pretties!
November 3, 2017 /While Halloween and its festivities can be super fun, this holiday may have put you in a spooked mood. Am I the only one out there who regrets spending Halloween huddled on the couch, mindlessly eating Reese’s peanut butter cups and watching The Shining? While Jack Nicholson wielding an axe is certainly terrifying, most adults experience more anxiety over certain aspects of everyday life, including financial commitments like career decisions and buying a home. (Quick side note, another common fear is robots taking over the world.) If anxiety over buying a home sounds familiar, not to worry--this decision is not as scary as it seems. To soothe your fears and ease the process, get in touch with Pickett Street (425) 502-5397 or info@pickettstreet.com. In the meantime, settle in with that leftover Halloween candy (unless you ate it all like me), and relax by reading about common home-buying fears and why they’re not actually that scary. 1. Buying a home costs too much money, and I can’t afford it. Finding enough cash to make a down payment on a home is one of home buyers’ biggest anxieties. The median home price in Seattle is $725,000, which means that a 20% down…Read more
