March 10th, 2010
Posted by Matt Thomson
On May 1, 2010, my family will walk with hundreds of others in the Tacoma March for Babies, part of the March of Dimes charity. 4 years ago, I had heard of March of Dimes, but didn’t know a thing about it. Now, we’ll be walking in our 3rd consecutive walk. Why does March for Babies matter to me? March of Dimes exists to help families with babies who were born prematurely. Our daughter was born about 6 weeks early, weighing about 4lbs. As traumatic as her 15 day stay in the Tacoma General NICU was for my wife and I, our daughter came out just fine. We’re the lucky ones. Premature birth can be the cause of several hardships throughout a child’s life.
I invite all of you to walk with us in May. We’d love to have your support. If you’re able, I’d love for you to be able to donate financially as well. $10, $20, whatever would be appreciated. You can donate online at my March for Babies webpage or you can give me a call and we can meet up and you can donate in person. Any bit helps. You can register to walk with us on my page as well!
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March 10th, 2010
Posted by Matt Thomson
Friday night is the annual Coalition: HUMAnE’s Whiskers Wine and Dine, an auction for animal lovers. Coalition: HUMAnE, formerly the Peninsula Spay and Neuter Project, is a great organization for dog and cat lovers in the Gig Harbor area. This auction, being held Friday evening in Tacoma, is their biggest fundraiser of the year. Yours truly gets to be the Emcee for the 4th year in a row. No one has ever given me a mic more than once other than these guys! Visit their Facebook page for more info.
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March 8th, 2010
Posted by Matt Thomson
I’ve just listed a gorgeous new home in downtown Gig Harbor, complete with the famous Gig Harbor postcard views! Built in 2008, this nearly new home offers all of the luxury upgrades you’d expect. All of the living is on the main level, including an executive office with potentially distracting views! Downstairs in the walk-out basement you’ll find a huge bonus room that is a perfect play area.
If the thought of waking up to Gig Harbor Bay and sunrises over Mt. Rainier is appealing to you, this is the house you want! You can walk out your front door and be right in Gig Harbor’s historic Downtown District, complete with shops and restaurants. There are several view homes for sale in Gig Harbor, but only a select few that have “THE” Gig Harbor view.
Surrounded by homes nearing $1M, this home is also a great value at $815,000. Perhaps the best aspect of this home (okay, other than the view and location) is the incredible conveniences that the builder put into it. Begin with a great circular driveway and extra parking out front to accommodate all of the guests you’ll want to entertain. A main floor master, kitchen with fantastic views, and a private back lawn, everything you could want in downtown Gig Harbor real estate is here!
If you’d like a private showing of this amazing home, please give me a call.
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March 7th, 2010
Posted by Matt Thomson
I had a chance to swing by Narrows Park in Gig Harbor the other morning and snap a few photos of the sun coming up, the Tacoma Narrows Bridges, Mt. Rainier, and the blossoming trees. Enjoy!
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March 6th, 2010
Posted by Matt Thomson
Not even the most high end of neighborhoods in Gig Harbor can avoid the foreclosure bug. We have recently listed a fantastic, brand new luxury home in the Canterwood Golf and Country Club, one of Gig Harbor’s most sought after neighborhoods. Originally listed for $979,000, the bank is now offering this home for $799,000!
This is an artistic design by RC Barrett construction. The grand entry flows into a great room with massive fireplace, Brazilian cherry hardwoods, and attention to detail at every turn. 5 bedrooms including 2 masters on main floor and 4.5 bathrooms in this 3991 square foot home. Upper level includes a Media Center/Bonus room. The detail extends all the way to the exterior with amazing multi-colored stone and a matching stamped driveway.
Bank owned deals aren’t limited to fixer uppers. If you’re looking for a screaming deal on a brand new luxury home in a gated community with 24/7 security, give me a call. This home is worth touring!
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March 5th, 2010
Posted by Matt Thomson
Last year, Keller Williams Real Estate launched RED (Renew Energize Donate) Day, a day in which over 600 KW offices and 70,000 KW agents set aside the day to donate back to our community. At Keller Williams Gig Harbor, we were able to join forces with Habitat for Humanity and help to build a couple of houses on the Key Peninsula. You can read about our experience here.
RED Day 2010 is approaching in May, and I was hoping you could help me help the community. How? Give us some tips or ideas of someone or something that could use a helping hand. Come join us! Sread the word. If you have a few minutes, take a look at this video to get a grasp of the scope of this project, then leave me a comment or shoot me an email letting me know who KW Gig Harbor could help this year.
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March 5th, 2010
Posted by Matt Thomson
There is no shortage of new construction homes on the market in Gig Harbor (74 currently active in zip codes 98335, 98332, and 98333). Trying to find a really good value on a new home is a different story. I recently found 3 homes, all built by the same builder, that I would consider among the best deals for homes for sale in Gig Harbor.
There are 2 homes, both listed at $299,000, right next door to each other in a great close in location just off of Olympic Drive in Gig Harbor. These are both 3 bed, 2 bath, 1500 square foot homes on over 1/2 acre of land. They are just minutes from Gig Harbor’s Uptown Center and HWY 16, so if being close to the action is important but you don’t want to be cramped by your neighbors, these homes would be a great option.
They’re a couple of months from being completed, so there’s the option of choosing your own finish work which is a huge plus. If buying a home in Gig Harbor for under $300,000 is a dream of yours (or someone you know), there aren’t any other options like these two.
The other home, also built by Eagle Homes, Inc, is a 3 bed, 2.5 bath, 2200 square foot home on 1/2 acre for $415,800. Located off of Peacock Hill, this home puts you right around the corner from the Gig Harbor YMCA, Costco, Target, etc. while again giving you the privacy of a large lot. The finish work in this house is equal to what you’d find in the other new homes listed for $550k and up.
If you or someone you know is looking for a great buy on a new home in Gig Harbor, give me a call and we can take a look at these homes that Eagle Homes have built. See for yourself if you agree that they are 3 of the best buys in all of Gig Harbor real estate.
**Homes advertised on this site with written permission from listing agent
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February 25th, 2010
Posted by Matt Thomson
A touring theater group from Seattle will be at Gig Harbor’s Harbor Ridge Middle School next Thursday to do a performance on Cyber Bullying.
Taproot Theatre’s Road Company—the touring part of a Seattle professional theatre—travels to schools around the Pacific Northwest during the school year, teaching them how to respond to—and even prevent—bullying and harassment. They have a touring show called “New Girl” that deals specifically with cyberbullying. The shows are guided by some of the leading bullying-prevention curricula in the United States (from Committee for Children), and combine engaging stories with effective lessons. They’ll be performing “New Girl” at Harbor Ridge Middle School on March 4 at 1:30 p.m.
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February 24th, 2010
Posted by Matt Thomson
I’ve spent the past 6 days at a conference in New Orleans. Don’t mean to offend, but if I never go back there again it’ll be just fine with me. I wrote a little jingle to the tune of “Back in the Saddle” by Gene Autry (I know I’m in Gig Harbor, not Seattle, but Seattle sounds a whole lot more like “the saddle” than Gig Harbor!):
I’m back in Seattle again,
back with my wife, my best friend!
Where the sky is blue and the water is too,
I’m back in Seattle again!
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February 23rd, 2010
Posted by Matt Thomson
At one time, short sales and foreclosures in Gig Harbor didn’t seem like they’d be a big issue. Now, they’re a very important part of the real estate industry. Yet there’s still a lot of confusion about the difference and implications of the two. Here’s a brief really brief summary of the short sale and foreclosures in Gig Harbor.
A short sale, in short, is anything but short. What “short sale” means is that the owner is trying to sell the house for less than what is still owed to the bank. Imagine someone bought a house for $400,000 in 2007, took out a $375,000 mortgage, and now needs to sell because their job is moving them out of state. Their house is now only worth $340,000, so their sale will come up more than $30,000 “short” of what they owe the bank. In short sales, owners may or may not be making their payments still…that’s not really the issue. It’s simply a matter of owing more than the house is worth.
Foreclosures, on the other hand, are homes owned by the bank. You’ll hear these called REO properties as well. Foreclosure properties are generally easier to purchase, as you’re just dealing with the bank and they already know their numbers. Short sales, however, can take months, several months actually, to complete. You’re dealing directly with the owner as the seller, but the owner needs to get bank approval, and the bank needs to run through all of their checklists to ensure that the seller really can’t pay off the difference. It’s not uncommon in a short sale for a buyer to make an offer, and find out 3 months down the road that the bank said “no.”
Short sales aren’t necessarily something to run away from, unless you’re in a time crunch (like trying to qualify for the tax credits). You can get fantastic deals on short sales, you just have to be patient, and try to remain emotionally unattached. It also helps to hire the right short sale coordinators (like me!) to walk you through the process.
Short sales are a part of the real estate landscape now, even in Gig Harbor. Currently there are 72 homes and 6 condos in Gig Harbor listed as short sales in the MLS (Multiple Listing Service). Couple that with the 31 homes and 1 condo in Gig Harbor listed as “bank owned” and you’ve got over 17% of the total listed inventory.
If you’re looking to buy a home, either a primary home, vacation home, or investment property, in the Gig Harbor area and would like more information on short sales and bank owned homes, please give me a call. If you feel you may need to short sell your home, I can give you guidance there as well.
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