Wasilla Real Estate News, Valley Market Real Estate

How To Handle Multiple Offers

marty — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 06:17:59 +0000

In the past month Jay and I have been in 5 multiple offer situations. In one case the property had 5 offers on it in a period of 3 days.

Sellers love this situation because they almost always sell their property for more than they are asking. Buyers and their Realtors hate it because we know for sure that at least one person is going to go away unhappy.

Obviously, the seller holds all the good cards in these games. About all the buyer can do is make the best offer that they can and hope. But there are certain ways a seller should respond to treat everyone fairly while still getting the best price possible.

Unless one of the initial offers is obviously so good that there is little chance that a better offer can be had, a seller should respond to the multiple offers by giving all interested buyers a period of time, (usually 24 hours), to present an amended offer. The reason for this is that the very first offer that came in did not have the advantage of knowing that they were competing with other buyers. The first buyer made their offer thinking that they were the only interested party and likely made the offer lower than they would have had they known about the competition.

Almost always at least one of the buyers is willing to raise their offer. There is the slim chance that both buyers will refuse to cooperate and walk away but it rarely happens. If neither of the amended offers are good enough for the seller to accept, he can always decide to counter one of them at a price and terms he will accept.

Every transaction must be handled carefully and the situation may call for different tactics, but the above is generally the best route to go.

Most experienced Realtors already know how to do this, but I’m posting it here because in one of the four multiple offers we had this month, these procedures were not followed. Our buyer lost out because even though he made a full price cash offer, the seller accepted one of the other offers without giving all parties a chance to amend their offer. The seller lost out because we know for a fact that our buyer would have raised his price by at least $10,000 over the final closed price had he been given the chance.

3800 S Goose Bay Drive

marty — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 02:25:20 +0000

$199,900
3 bedrooms, 2 baths

This is another fantastic home by Pacific North Construction. It’s scheduled for completion by August 31, 2010. The finished home photo is similar to this home.

1,411 sqft with a 2 car garage. This home is located on a one acre lot off Vine Road.
Features will include:
– Recessed Lighting
- Generator switch
- Rocker switches
- Media panel
- On-demand water heater
- And more!

Current Status as of July 13th:

1350 N Knapp Drive, Big Lake

marty — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 01:54:30 +0000

$177,500
3bed, 2.5 bath

This beautiful home sits on 1 acre, nestled between 3 lakes in Big Lake. There are 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths and a large loft/bonus room. Total 1880 sqft doesn’t include the latter.

Though built in 2006, this home’s finish work is brand new, with a tongue and groove ceiling to knotty alder cabinets throughout the home. The bedrooms each have large closets and the home includes both a living room and a family room.

Check out the video at the bottom…

Make yourself at home in a land dotted with lakes and only 30 minutes commute to downtown Wasilla. This home is a must-see!

3870 S Goose Bay Drive

marty — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 00:58:01 +0000

3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths
$225,000

This beautiful home is yet to be built. Work with the builder to create a custom, beautiful home to your tastes! It’s going to be a spacious 1800 sqft, 5 Star Plus home in Birch Harbor Estates in Wasilla.

It is built by Pacific North Construction, click here for 7 Reasons to purchase a home by this builder. Standard features include an HRV system, stainless appliances, pre-finished 6 panel doors, recessed can lighting, media panel, generator switch and rocker switches.

To see other homes for sale built by Pacific North Construction, click here.

Homes by Pacific North Construction!

marty — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 00:57:56 +0000

These are the current homes by Pacific North Construction available for purchase:

3931 S Discovery Bay, Wasilla – $239,600
Pending as of July 15, 2010…we can build more!

5650 E Rutan, Wasilla – $269,900

Pending as of July 14, 2010…we can build more!

3870 S Goose Bay Drive, Wasilla – $225,000

Alaskan Politics

marty — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 23:43:19 +0000

US Rep Don Young by Cheryl Campbell

It’s political season and even though this is a real estate blog I can’t help myself. We have a primary race coming up in August and we need to vote. I am pretty disgusted with our free people voting at a rate below 20%. I hope this year more people take it upon themselves to walk down to the voting booth. Full disclosure, I’m an active republican so this will primarily be about republicans.

I just attended a session with Don Young in Wasilla. Cheryl Campbell, a fellow Realtor with Prudential Jack White Vista, was kind enough to send me the photo taken today in the Meridian Center. Don Young was his usuall fiery self talking about shutting down the funding to all the new programs recently passed. I’m all for that idea except that I have never seen congress really do anything like that. He has been in the house as long as I have been voting in Alaska, and that’s a long time. This year he is running against Sheldon Fisher who is trying to outconservative Don Young. Honestly, my vote is still out on this race but it’s hard to ignore Don Young’s willingness to stand for Alaska. His main point today was that government doesn’t produce anything, they just regulate and tax people who do.

Then there is the primary race for governor. The current real contenders are Sean Parnell, Ralph Samuels, and Bill Wallker. I’ve given up on Sean Parnell because of the current budget…we can’t be spending money like water while we are heading toward an economic cliff. Unlike the federal government, the state is not allowed to just print more money when we run out. Samuels and Walker can see the future problem with a declining income but they come at it from different viewpoints. I wish I could merge the two of them together to get one good candidate. Both of them understand that we can forget about any pipeline heading through Canada…not gonna happen.

Walker wants to build a large in-state gas line to Valdez with spurs to go off in different places to bring gas to many parts of the state. Then he wants to ship it to Aisa in the form of Liquified Natural Gas and also has ideas to use the gas to build some manufacturing. Apparently he believes that this will produce enought income that we won’t worry about spending.

Samuels knows that we need to cut the budget SOON. If we don’t, we will make draconian cuts later. He wants to put a smaller gas line in to Anchorage and Kenai from the North Slope. This line will mainly be to bring less expensive energy to the bulk of the population but also will provide gas to the LNG plant in Nikiski so that it can once again export gas. He is ready and willing to cut spending but I don’t hear much about producing an income. So my vote is still out on this race too.

Then we have the race for US Senate between Lisa Murkowski and Joe Miller. On this one I am for Joe Miller all the way. In my mind, Lisa is barely on the Republican side of the political devide. She votes with the democrats more than the vast majority of her republican colleagues. Like I said, I’m a republican. I want a senator that votes like a republican. Joe Miller is way more conservative than is Lisa and he has an impressive bio to back him up.

I’m a republican. I’m a conservative republican. If you are a conservative too you might be interested in a meeting next week. It’s titled “WHAT IS A CONSERVATIVE ?”. It will be at Kendall Park behind the Regan Building at 3161 Palmer-Wasilla Highway. Speakers include: Joe Miller, candidate for US Senate; Cathy Giesell, candidate for State Senate; Jen Bettine, with the Conservative Patriots Group; Don Haase, candidate for US House; and David Eastman, West Point grad and Afganistan veteran. There will be additional speakers as well. A barbeque will be provided with no charge, donations will be accepted.

There are more races in this primary. If I get the urge again I’ll discuss them in another article.

How To Install CO Detectors In Your Home

marty — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 14:34:48 +0000

CO Detector

When I was 16 years old I experienced Carbon Monoxide poisoning. I was sleeping in my grandparents camper as we were traveling down the Alaska Highway. We stopped in Fort St Johns at a store and my little sister came to the door of the camper insisting that I go into the store with her. That was one of the few times I was thankful for her penchant of not takiing no for an answer. At her insistence I slowly woke up and staggered to the door of the camper. I had a splitting headache and could hardly walk. Inside the store I leaned against a display of watches pretending to be interested but was actually just trying to gain my balance. I fainted right there and woke up on my back staring at the white store ceiling. I assumed I was in heaven and all the people staring down at me were angels. When I slowly realized that I was still on earth I got up and walked outside where my parents layed my down in the back seat of that old Plymouth with all the doors open to allow fresh air. The headache slowly went away and as far as I know…I’m OK. But they say CO kills brain cells, so who knows. I still think about carbon monoxide poisoning more than most people do.

Everyone should have a Carbon Monoxide detector in their home. Not only should you have it, it’s the law to have one on every floor of your home. I still go in quite a few homes in the valley that do not have these installed.

They are easy to install and inexpensive to buy so there is really no excuse. The state law says that you should have one that is connected to the home wiring system and has a battery back-up. The one in the photo is probably the easiest to install. It just plugs into a socket and has a battery for back-up. Here is the link to buy it on Amazon, or you can pick one up at one of the local stores.

5200 N Heidi Drive

marty — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 03:36:25 +0000

$240,000

This cozy home sits on a 2 acre lot on Lazy Mountain. There are 3 bedrooms/2 baths and a mother-in-law apartment is included in that total. Total square footage is 2058.

Soak up the summer sun seeping through the numerous windows or sit around the wood stove in the living room and sip hot cocoa on cold winter nights. The home also has a 2 car detached garage and workshop. There are many more custom features and built-in items, schedule a showing to see for yourself!

Make this your home today! Call Marty at (907) 232-7900 for more information or to schedule a showing!

Click here for a map to the home!

663 S Gulkana Way, Palmer Alaska

marty — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 17:42:26 +0000

Borough Tax Map

This is one of the very few lots for sale in Palmer. It is the only lot for sale in the area around the downtown ball fields and tennis courts. An ideal location for someone who wants to walk to work, stores, churches, and recreation areas. Even though this is a very handy location, it’s in a quiet part of Palmer. This is just across from the corner of Dahlia and Gulkana. For a Palmer location, this is very handy.

Within just a few blocks are state office buildings, medical buildings, borough offices, tennis courts, ball fields, churches, cafes, stores and shops. It is very rare to find a property like this in Alaska. Take a look at this lot for only $49,900.

7310 False Pass Cir

marty — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 00:00:11 +0000

This beautiful 3bed 2bath home sits on a 1 acre lot off Wasilla-Fishhook Road. It has 1512 sqft, a 2 car garage and is completely wheel-chair accessible.

There is a large kitchen with dark cherry cabinets, spacious living room, and a large master suite. All appliances are less than a year old and stay with the house. All flooring is hardwood with a huge area rug and mat in the living room.

More features include: Air Exchange System, In-Floor Heat, Custom-fitted Blinds, Bonus Room, Fireplace, Vaulted Ceilings and Breakfast Bar. This is a five star energy rated home, (if you watch the video you will hear me incorrectly say it is a 5 star plus home, it would likely need an on-demand water heater to make 5 star plus).

This home is priced at only $210,000. Call Marty today at (907) 232-7900 to schedule a showing!