I talked to a friend tonight.  He has given thought to selling his homestead in the Yenlo Hills but really doesn’t want to part with it yet.  He spent a lot of time proving up on it.  Then he spent money on a cabin and airstrip.  Now he is offering a free place to stay if he can find the right sourdough.

If the you or someone you know would like an opportunity to live in the real Alaska wilderness upon approval he would allow them to stay in his cabin.  This would have to be someone who is pretty independent because there would be no neighbors…at all.  It is about a three mile hike to the Yentna River.  I don’t think there are any trails

The only access is by air.  I believe that he might drop you off, but you could not count on regular flights.  You would need to be prepared to stay for a long time. There isn’t a quick mart on the corner.

If you happened to really like it he might work out a rent to own arrangement, but if you don’t like it or just want to do it for a year or so, it’s free rent. 

Want to know where it is?  Just click on the google map above, it’s dead center in the map, zoom out to get your bearings.  It’s amazing how close you can be to civilization and still be in the middle of nowhere.  This is only about 60 miles from Anchorage, but if you yell for help, no one will hear you.

Oh… if you don’t know what a sourdough is, that means you are probably a cheechako and you might want to steer clear of this until you have a few Alaskan winters under your belt. 

Drop me an email, I’ll put you in touch.

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Here is a 2500 square foot house with a two car attached garage and a two car detached garage/shop on about one acre for only $262,500.  This home built in 1999 and is in like new condition inside and out. 

This home has in-floor heat on both floors and in the attached garage.  This heating system is so efficient that the owner was able to keep his bill for 2006 under $900 for this 2500 square foot home with a family of 7 people. 

It has three bedrooms and two baths on the main floor along with the kitchen, dining room, and living room.  The living room has nice vaulted ceilings and a bay window looking out over the spacious yard.  The large master bedroom has it’s own bath and walk-in closet.

The kitchen has lots of cabinets and counter space.  There is room to expand the kitchen if you would like to.  A back door leads off the kitchen to a small deck and the back yard.

The basement has a huge family room that is 34 feet long and about 14 feet wide.   You could set up a pool table at one end and still have room for a ping-pong table at the other…or whatever else you need the extra room for.

There are also three other bedrooms sized rooms in the basement along with a third full bath.  These rooms are not used as bedrooms because there are not any windows or any closets in them.  In fact there aren’t any windows at all in the basement although it is finished off nicely.  It would be possible to install window wells if you wanted them.

The 768 square foot shop is insulated and a gas heater is being installed.  The attached garage is 520 square feet, with in-floor heat and a sink with hot and cold water.

Here is a google map to help you find the area, and to the right is the Mat-Su Borough tax map showing the shape of the lot. 

Here is some more important info on this property:

Energy Rating and ICBO inspections

Covenants and Notes on Plat

Plat

Disclosure Forms

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In a previous article in the Wasilla Real Estate News I discussed the fact that Alaska has no real estate agents.  I talked about the fact that we are now Real Estate “Licensees” who have specific relationships with our clients that are spelled out in writing.

The most important relationship a buyer can have is a licensee who REPRESENTS them.  There seem to be quite a few buyers floating around the valley right now who want to set up their own showings and only represent themselves.  They make a point to say that they do not have anyone representing them and want to work with the listing licensee themselves.

That is kind of like representing yourself in court.  I think I heard a judge remark that anyone who chooses to represent himself in court deserves the level of representation he is getting.  A licensed Realtor often has been involved in thousands of transactions.  If he is only representing the seller he has no obligation to help you out in any way.  In fact, if something comes up that might easily go your way and against the seller, he is legally obligated to represent the sellers interests, not yours.

A buyer should find a Realtor to represent them because:

• It doesn’t cost you anything. Almost always the commission is a contractual agreement between the listing licensee and the seller.  It is already built in and the lister is under no obligation to change it. Often the reason a buyer says they want to represent themselves is because they are planning to ask the listing licensee to lower his commission for their benefit.  If the listing licensee does this, it in no way changes his relationship with the seller and buyer.  In fact, it cements his loyalty to the seller even more.
• It will make your transaction smoother.  If you are using an experienced licensee who has a lot of transactions under his belt you are gaining the benefit of all that experience.  Most of what an experienced Realtor has learned cannot be learned in books or on a website.  If you volunteer to represent yourself you are saying that you know more than someone who works through up to 100 transactions a year. 
• It will likely save you money.  An experienced realtor can see problems before they arrive and protect you from them.  It is often expensive to buy your way out of a big problem after closing.  For example, just because a septic passes an engineer’s inspection is not necessarily a reason it should pass your inspection…call me if you want an explanation of that statement.
• You will have developed an important long term relationship with a local professional.  I have people call me all the time for recommendations for handymen, landscapers, painters, appraisers, lenders, schools, churches, and lots of other amazing things.  If have even had people call me to ask who I think they should vote for in the school board election.  Bottom line, a local realtor who has been in the business for years has connections that they are happy to share with you.

On the other hand, maybe you are just a “do-it-yourselfer” in other parts of your life as well.  I have learned that there are better ways to accomplish certain things.  I don’t work on my own cars anymore.

Although I know the basics about internal combustion engines, I take all my car problems to Ernie at Lazy Mountain Enterprises.  I don’t have the time or expertise to fix the car even if I can figure out what is wrong with it.  Ernie fixes my car in a timely manner and charges me a fair price.  But if you are the kind who wants to buy a Chiltons manual and dig into that automatic transmission on your own, more power to you.  You also have the right to represent yourself in a real estate transaction or in court. 

But I don’t advise it.  !

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Here are a few good deals for the Wasilla Real Estate News this week. 

• $148,000 listed by Lee Mitchell, RE/MAX of Wasilla, 1200 sq ft, built in 1995.

• $165,000 listed by Kevin Crozier, RE/MAX of Wasilla
• 1,406 sq ft.  looks like a foreclosure. 

• No Photo…but 2,824 sq ft for $180,000 in Memory Lakes.  Listed with Charlene Moss, Prudential Vista…that’s only $63.74 a sq ft, one of the lowest on the market.

Finally, I HAVE to put in three of my own that are great deals:

• $149,900, I keep getting phone calls asking me if this is an unfinished price, let me say this loud and clear…THIS IS A FINISHED HOUSE.  Not only that, it’s finished very nicely.  3 bedroom, 1 1/2 bath on almost a full acre just on the edge of Wasilla on Locksley Loop.  Here are more details.
• $255,000, If this isn’t the nicest home for the price anywhere in Wasilla I would be surprised.  This house is 2,500 square feet, in-floor heat on both floors, 4 bedrooms, three full baths, a family room, den, storage room and extra large garage.  Go here for more info
• $239,900, 1560 square foot ranch just off of Fairview Loop Road.  This is a brand new home to be finished around the end of June or so.  Time to pick your colors.
• More info here.

If you would like to know about any homes on the market in the Mat-Su Valley give Jay or Marty a call.  907 373–0999 will catch us both.  We look at homes every day, we know the market.  When we are searching for homes for a buyer we scour not only the MLS, and when we can’t find one there, we start calling other people and even home owners that own a home like the one you want.  Who knows, they may want to sell!

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Here is the Wasilla Real Estate News update for this week.  We continue to add more houses to the market than we are selling.  We had 30 homes close this last week which is a little more than past market memos show, but we added 55 homes to the market, increasing our inventory again. 

I took a look at lot sales this week.  In the Wasilla map area, (click to enlarge), there are 358 lots currently on the market.  Over the last 2 months there have been only 23 sales.  That is a 30 month inventory.  I remember a couple years ago when we felt like there was a shortage of developed building lots.  The platting department at the Mat-Su Borough tells me that there are many more new subdivisions in the pipeline. 

The statistics above seem to show an incongruity that I’d like to at least partially explain.  Although there is currently about an 8–9 month inventory of homes on the market, the days on market, (DOM), is only 99 days.  There are two reasons for that:

• First, low priced homes are continually coming on the market and selling quickly.  If you have a house in the core area on one acre in good shape priced below $150,000, you will sell in a matter of days.  Even higher priced homes sell quickly if they are priced right.
• Second, and this the main reason for the discrepancy.  Listings expire or are cancelled after they have been on the market for awhile.  People feel that if their house has been on the market for 180 days or so then they want to either give up, or change realtors, or just cancel and relist again in a few days.  That starts the “days on market clock” over.

That second point reminds me of when my wife and I sold our own home a few years ago.  When Grace asked me why were weren’t getting buyers after several weeks, I joked, “I don’t know, I think we should get another Realtor !”.  Actually, after we finished packing all our junk, hired a painter to paint the interior of the house, and got the lawn looking nice in front it sold easily. 

If your home is staged well, and is on the MLS with nice photos, it is being exposed to the market.  Over 90% of the buyers use the internet to find their homes so it isn’t being overlooked.  It just has a lot of competition, you have to beat that competition with your condition and your price.

Give me a call to set up a free consultation.  907 232–7900

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Gale Larson, a local home stager wrote this excellent article on home staging.  Please note her contact information at the bottom.  If you’re one of my sellers, please contact me for a 50% discount for Gale Larson’s services.

The Sale

How Staging Helps

Home staging has been around since the mid-70’s and has been quietly utilized by a select few. Since the late 1990’s it has become a fresh standard in service and marketing in the real estate industry. As buyers have become more sophisticated, marketing, too, must become more refined.

Staging is the crucial bridge between sellers and buyers when it comes to residential transactions. A professional stager can turn an average property into a desirable, above average property that stands out among similar offerings and appeals to a broad audience. Home staging is a niche that is warmly received and widely accepted by realtors, investors, landlords, and for sale by owner sellers, nearly, worldwide.

A competent stager helps transition the home owner to a house seller. Making this transition is key to the rest of the process the stager is responsible for.

When the seller has detached emotionally from the house, 5 vitally important things can be accomplished towards the sale:

• – de-cluttering  
• – cleaning
• – downscaling the contents of the house
• – organizing
• – and presentation- which is the actual staging part

This results in an attractive arrangement of furniture, accents, art work, strategically placed vignettes that capture the hearts of buyers.

Just as a seller must disconnect emotionally to sell their house, a buyer must connect emotionally to spark the compelling desire to purchase a home.

An effectively staged property touches buyers on many levels allowing them to mentally move in, imaging themselves enjoying living in the house they are touring. And this is what promotes sales. After all, “home is where the heart is.”  

Capture the heart of the buyer, and you capture the sale. Staging can be the silver bullet for marketing current and new listings. Stage a stale listing and give it new life. It’s not a guarantee, but it’s close!

Gale Larson-owner

ShowCase Residential Staging

“the sizzle that sells homes”

Palmer, Ak

746-0698

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Better get this out while it’s still Monday Morning.  The jury is still out on Wasilla Real Estate, but otherwise this first week of May has been fantastic.  Leaves are out, it’s been sunny and warm.  Well it’s a little wet right now, but lets not let a little rain ruin the spring.

The statistics below are from the Mat-Su MLS system for the past week.  We have broken a record for the year with the amount of new listings.  If we keep adding listings at this rate we will surely drive up the inventory.  As it is, the inventory has taken a sharp upturn recently.  Look at the past Market Memos for comparisons.

I did notice that about 10 of those new listings are “to be builts” by a couple of different builders.  A “to be built” listing is a phantom house.  It really isn’t there at all, and may never be built.  It is just a builder advertising that they can build a house like the one listed on that particular lot for that price.  If you want a different house on the lot, or the same house on a different lot, you can do that as well.  The builder and his/her Realtor is just hoping that you call.

Take a look at the chart to the right.  This is showing that the average sales prices for the Wasilla area have been essentially flat and perhaps a little down for the year.   At the same time the Mat-Su Borough tax assessments have risen dramatically.  I would say that overall right now, the borough assessments are about at market level.  I have several houses listed for less than the borough assessed value. 

Give me a call if you would like a market analysis of your home.  232–7900

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Since 2006 there have been no real estate agents in Alaska.  The Alaska State Legislature passed statutes that the Alaska Real Estate Commission put into regulation that effectively eliminates real estate agents.

That doesn’t mean we can’t earn a living, we still represent buyers and sellers and we are still paid for our services.  But we are no longer agents.  The term agent carries legal baggage that was often unintended in relationships between buyers, sellers, and real estate agents.

We are now only real estate licensees that have specific duties in our relationships with buyers and sellers.  As the real estate commission’s consumer pamphlet spells out, there are four possible relationships a licensee can have with a consumer.

• 1. We can provide specific assistance.  We would not be representing the party, just assisting them in their real estate transaction.
• 2. We can provide representation.  This entails a higher level of duty on the part of the licensee toward the consumer.
• 3. We can be a designated representative.  This is when one licensee may represent the seller in a transaction and another licensee represents the buyer, but both are part of the same office.
• 4. We can be a neutral licensee. We can help both a buyer and a seller in a transaction without representing either one. 

All four of these situations require different duties on the part of the real estate licensee but all of them require at least the minimum of duties.  This minimum is the same as that owed under specific assistance.  These duties are:

• 1. Exercise reasonable skill and care.
• 2. Deal honestly and fairly
• 3. Present all written communications in a timely manner
• 4. Disclose all material information regarding the physical condition of a property
• 5. Account for all money and property received.

The other duties are outlined in the consumer pamphlet which all consumers should read.

I will deal with the other three levels of representation in future articles.

Feel free to comment with questions or clarifications.

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A friend emailed me this interesting concept about the Knik Arm Bridge.  It basically incorporates private enterprise into the Knik Crossing.  You may have heard the more famous name for this bridge…the “Bridge to No Where”.  

This has been a serious project for quite some time. I have heard it discussed for at least a decade. Here is an engineering study from 2004.  The US Congress did earmark funds for this bridge in 2005 and then took away the earmarks while still awarding the money.  So now the state has to decide whether to use the money for the bridge, or for something else.

There continues be evidence of momentum for this project.  The state legislature is talking about extending the rail road to Point MacKenzie to meet up with the bridge and road projects are in the works for the Point Mac area.  In addition a bridge would simplify transportation for the new prison which is still on track for completion.

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