Two house-buying questions (Seattle, Bellevue, Issaquah: real estate, mortgage, big house)

[Citislicker]

1. How do you know you got a good real estate agent working for you?

2. How's Issaquah Highland? Reputation? Convenience to Bellevue/Seattle? Value/quality of houses?

Well, it seems I listed more than just 2 Q's!

Thanks!

CS

[Ira500]

Originally Posted by Citislicker

1. How do you know you got a good real estate agent working for you?

2. How's Issaquah Highland? Reputation? Convenience to Bellevue/Seattle? Value/quality of houses?

Well, it seems I listed more than just 2 Q's!

Thanks!

CS

1. That's a hard one. You could ask for references, but a real estate agent could supply the names of his friends and relatives as references. Even the fact that an agent has years of experience doesn't necessarily mean they're going to work hard for you. Some agents do a really good job of working for themselves, but not their clients. I suppose you could ask an agent to do some comps for you on a particular property. That would at least demonstrate how lazy he or she is.

2. Issaquah Highlands has a very good reputation and it's nicely designed . Reasonably convenient to Bellevue. A little less so to Seattle, but a lot of people do it. There is a park and ride. Several different builders built Issaquah Highlands, so the build quality ranges from " looks nice, but really made out of cardboard" to quite good. Value is harder to peg. Prices in issaquah Highlands have dropped a lot from the 2007 peak, but that doesn't mean they won't continue to drop. Issaquah Highlands is pretty, and lots of people like living there. The lot sizes are too small for my taste, but a lot of people prefer the big house and small yard.

[AlohaHuey]

You can google the agent and see if they are reviewed anywhere. I interviewed a few agents and went with the one that had a good reputation. He was a good realtor, so my research paid off.

[Citislicker]

Thanks guys!

How do I know who the several different builders are, who built Issaquah Highlands? How do I find out about the build quality of their work, to avoid those that " looks nice, but really made out of cardboard"??

[Hemlock140]

Originally Posted by Citislicker

Thanks guys!

How do I know who the several different builders are, who built Issaquah Highlands? How do I find out about the build quality of their work, to avoid those that " looks nice, but really made out of cardboard"??

Solve your first problem and the second is also no longer an issue. A good local realtor will know which builder and about the quality.

moderator cut:

[TXknitter]

We just went through this. Above advice is good. We drove around our preferred area and noted who had the most signage. Bingo, got a great gal who sold a lot in that neighborhood. If you want some more advice that our mortgage banker-turned-realtor told us, message me privately and I will be glad to help. Lots of luck. Lots of un looking, lots to choose from and lo of sellers wanting to sell!