Leavenworth Real Estate

Author Archive

The End of Condo Financing in Leavenworth?

 We have been hearing about clients avoiding condos because they are “impossible” to finance. At least one local agent has been spreading around this rumor.   To help us learn more about financing condos, we asked Darel Ansley of Peoples Bank in Wenatchee to set the record straight.

Darel, there are rumors going around Leavenworth that it’s impossible to get financing for a condominium… is this true?

I hear the same thing from a lot of people about condos, land loans and construction as well; it’s not true, but it stems from the mortgage meltdown, where many lenders have shed programs and decided to focus on just their core business.  So while it is not impossible, it is true that there are fewer players in the game.  Additionally, the rules keep changing, so it’s hard to keep up with what can and can’t be done. My best advice is that if a lender says it can’t be financed, ask a different kind of lender to see if you get the same answer.   In our market, we have big banks, community banks, mortgage brokers, and rural lenders who all have different programs.  But getting back to condos specifically, it may be surprising to know that for a buyer seeking a primary residence or 2^nd home, almost all projects can be financed with minimal money down on a conventional loan at the current low rates.  In fact we just financed a condo purchase with 5% down on a 30 yr loan with a rate under 5%; and this was a condo conversion project that isn’t even completely sold out yet.

But it is hard to get some kinds of loans for condos right? Like FHA? What about USDA or VA loans?   

For FHA, unfortunately this is true, and always has been.  It is costly for a developer to get FHA approval for a project; consequently it is not really cost effective to obtain the approval unless the cost can be spread over a lot of units (like 40+).  In our smaller market, we rarely see projects of that size.  And without the FHA approval of the project before breaking ground, those units can never be financed by an FHA loan.  This is unfortunate, because I think FHA is missing out on fulfilling its mandate.  VA  typically follows FHA’s policies.  As far as USDA, I believe they can accept a Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac approved project, which widens the field, but the general limitation on USDA is finding a Buyer’s income and a property price combination that fits USDAs narrow band.

Some types of condo projects are really hard to finance. Can you describe them? 

  The difficult ones are those which are considered condo-tels.  These are projects, typically in resort towns like Leavenworth or Chelan where they are approved for nightly rental, and they maintain hotel-like services like a reservation desk and room service, a good example is the Aspen Suites at Icicle Village. These cannot be conventionally financed and require down payments of at least 20%, plus higher interest rates.

  It is interesting that many lenders have failed to read Fannie Mae’s actual wording about these projects.  On one of your Kahler Glen listings a couple years ago, the Buyer’s lender turned down the loan, inaccurately calling the project a condo-tel because they allowed nightly rentals.  We financed the purchase with Fannie Mae, because the rule actually states that the existence of nightly rentals  alone does not in itself disqualify a project, but nightly rentals with an ‘on-site’ reservation desk is what makes one a condo-tel.  So although people may book nightly rentals there through the Kahler Glen clubhouse or Destination Leavenworth, they are independent of the condo project, so we are able to finance those units conventionally.

Leavenworth and Lake Wenatchee – Blogs and Newsletters

I recently discovered a few new neighborhood blogs and thought it would be good to list all the different places online that folks can get information about neighborhoods around Leavenworth and Lake Wenatchee that they might be interested in buying in.

Please let us know if your neighborhood has a blog or newsletter we should add.

Kahler Glen

• Kahler Glen Neighbor to Neighbor Blog
• Kahler Glen Community Association Blog
• John Ward’s Kahler Glen Blog

Lake Wenatchee

• Lake Wenatchee Info

Chiwawa River Pines

• Chiwawa River Pines Neighborhood Blog

Ponderosa Estates

• Ponderosa Community Club “Needler” Newsletter

Love Letter to a Chelan County Snow Plow Driver

Thursdays in our neighborhood are trash day. Every week we put out the can by the street and every other week we put out the blue recycling container too.

Last week was one of those nasty wintry days where every homeowner is struggling with the snowblower to keep up with the new snow and the county has its plows running a full court press.

Unlike New York City or Seattle who have been in the press lately because of their inability for public works and road departments to handle even the smallest snowstorm, Chelan County does a great job with snow removal. On the state highways, the local WSDOT plow drivers are pretty amazing too.

So back to trash day.

When the plows are running and you have to put your trash out it’s a delicate dance between protecting your cans from the plow and not hiding them so much that the garbage truck misses them. Last week I watched with eager anticipation as the plow driver maneuvered his blade within inches if not centimeters away from our cans while maintaining the regulation speed about 5 miles above the speed limit.

 His aim was not so true when it came to our neighbor’s can.  The impact of the snowplow blade sent his can into a flying retreat.

What happened next was the real surprise.

The plow truck stopped at the end of the block. It put on its hazard lights and began backing up.  It pulled up to my neighbor’s house, the driver popped out and fixed the garbage can that he had knocked over.

Color me impressed.

Take a moment to thank a plow driver for me if you can, these folks are the unsung heroes of winter in this part of the world.

Easy to Drive Your Electric Car to Leavenworth

 The Department of Commerce and the Washington State Department of Transportation recently announced plans to make the Stevens Pass Greenway the first electric vehicle-friendly National Scenic Byway route. With Federal Recovery Act funding through the State Energy Program, the state will install two to three electric vehicle (EV) fast charging stations along U.S. Highway 2.

 

Tesla Sedan, an electric plug-in vehicle
Photo By JoeInSouthernCA via Flickr

This route will connect to the I-5 “electric highway” enabling electric vehicle drivers to travel from across the west coast to North Central Washington by the end of 2011. In addition to the state’s investment, the Port of Chelan County and the Advanced Vehicle Innovations Consortium in Wenatchee have catalyzed private investment to install Level II charging stations at popular travel destinations along the U.S. 2 byway route.

 These destinations include Stevens Pass Ski Area; Leavenworth’s Sleeping Lady Resort and Icicle Ridge Winery; and Wenatchee’s Convention Center, Town Toyota Center and SpringHill Suites by Marriot Wenatchee Hotel. Each of these venues plans to install Level II charging stations that will allow electric vehicle drivers to “fuel up” while they are enjoying the location’s activities. Level II charging stations will complement the fast-charging stations installed by the state, which can charge the battery of some electric vehicles from zero to 80 percent in an estimated 20 minutes.

 “Washington State is proud to announce another important step toward enabling broad adoption of electric vehicles,” said Rogers Weed, Director of the state Department of Commerce. “Partnering to deliver charging infrastructure is essential in Washington, and this initiative keeps us moving in the right direction, promoting local jobs, rural businesses and clean energy.”

 Over a half-dozen additional destination property owners and public entities from Leavenworth to Chelan are also expected to announce their intentions to purchase and install charging stations by the time the EV fast charging stations are deployed on U.S. 2

  The Stevens Pass Greenway is one of the richest scenic byways in Washington. Originally developed for the Old Great Northern Railroad, this route winds its way through dense forest, mountain ranges and green valleys, past orchards and wineries of Wenatchee, family farms and the Bavarian village of Leavenworth.

 “Businesses along U.S. 2 rely on tourism,” said Marsha Massey, Executive Director of Washington State Tourism. “With fast charging stations along this scenic byway, travelers will be able to drive electric cars to popular destinations such as Stevens Pass, Leavenworth and Wenatchee.”

Ira Finklestein’s Christmas Vacation – A New Leavenworth Film

 Have you heard that Leavenworth is going to be in the movies again?

 Ira Finkelstein’s Christmas Vacation is the story “of a Jewish kid who’ll stop at nothing to celebrate Christmas.”

Photo by Peachland Joe via Flickr

Written and produced by Von Piglet Productions, it was originally to be set in a Christmas town in Vermont. However, after a couple of location scouting trips to Leavenworth they have decided to not only film here, but also to change the story so that it actually takes place in Leavenworth as well.

Filming will occur in mid-February through early March so you’ll likely see the Christmas lights up a little longer this year. (You can spread the word that it’s not lazy shopkeepers who haven’t gotten around to taking down their lights, the lights will be up for a reason.) 

Apparently there will be a scene that includes a Christmas parade in downtown Leavenworth. If we get the word about a need for extras we’ll be happy to pass it along.

UPDATE:

My name is Ryan Ricks. I’m the Extra’s Coordinator for “Ira Finkelstein’s Christmas.”

 If you want to take part in more than just the parade, contact me with your first/last name, phone/email, age, pant/shirt size, and availability from MARCH 1 – MARCH 6,+ MARCH 13.

Specify if you are available DAY, NIGHT, OR BOTH FOR EACH OF THE ABOVE… DATES.

Cell: (206) 427-0907

Cell: (919) 740-4815

Email: [email protected]