Cherry Point today

Cherry Point is the last deep water port location available on the West Coast. A company named SSA Marine has started the application process to built the Gateway Pacific Terminal. This has caused a HUGE controversy.

Here are the key points:

1. Shipping Coal to China
2. Increased traffic of super heavy coal trains (Our railroad tracks run right along the coast and right through town)
3. Coal dust

Shipping Coal to China

This is the big environmental issue that I don’t believe will be solved one way or the other whether this terminal is built or not. Would we like to get rid of coal burning altogether? If yes, will not building this terminal accomplish that? Will building this terminal increase coal burning?

Increased train traffic

Currently 15 trains per day run on the tracks. There are already these super heavy coal trains running on the tracks but Burlington Northern won’t say how many. The historic high appears to be around 26 total trains per day. I can verified when I checked one time 10 years ago they told me there were 23 trains per day (mostly at night).

According to the terminal builders, the new terminal can handle 8 trains per day at maximum production. They say these will not be 8 new trains because they expect to waylay some of the trains already on the tracks headed for terminals in BC.

Opponets say the heavy trains will compromise the bluffs along the route causing property damage and unsafe conditions. Burlington Northern says they routinely handle slides and it is their job to keep the tracks operational and safe. They say they are all over it.

A question I keep asking is, “What control do we, as citizens, have over how many trains can be run on the tracks?” The answer appears to be “None.” At least one case made it to the 9th Circuit Court who upheld their right to run as many trains as they want.

Coal Dust

It’s nasty, there is no doubt, but is it a risk to local residents? The Northwest Clean Air Agency has had no coal dust related aliments reported in the 20 years they have been monitoring.

At the loading terminal itself, opponents march out photos of 30 year old terminals with huge coal dust clouds eveloping the area. This is deceptive. It would be impossible to build those same terminals today anywhere. You can go to their website and check out SSA Marine’s proposed plans. It seems like they embrace state-of-the-art designs for dust containment.

I’m not sure that I support the terminal, although it certainly would be nice to have the high-paying jobs that Bellingham so desperately needs. I’m also not sure I support the opposition to the terminal. There are a lot of issues that are skewed and then emotionally charged and fed to the public. It is succeeding in riling up the locals.

What I do know is there are about 15 government agencies that have to be satisfied. Way too many for any palm greasing or funny stuff. The odds of this going through are pretty slim.

How do you feel? Where have you gathered your facts?

To start: Buy your first house and immediately start saving your next down payment. It will most likely take a few years to save it so this gives you time to enjoy your home and lay down some roots.

When you have your next down payment saved, buy your new home, but don’t sell your old house. Keep it for a rental. Most likely it will more than cover the monthly payments, so what you are really doing is letting the renters finish paying the house off for you. If there is excess money over the payments you can either apply it toward the principal and get it paid off faster or you can put the extra in the next down payment savings account.

If you buy into this plan, you will pick your first couple of homes with an eye toward rentability. Go for 2 baths if at all possible – you can get as much or more rent for a 2 bedroom, 2 bath than you can for a 3 bedroom, 1 bath. And there are less people to wear out the house. 3 bdrm, 2 bath is ideal though.

For other real estate investment ideas, click here.

Emphasis on contrasts… in textures, patterns and colors.

“The basics get bolder: Over the last year, we’ve seen wood finishes getting lighter, rougher and unfinished. As a result, upholstered furniture is fighting back from beige! We are seeing a slow trend towards bright, colorful and bold patterned sofas and chairs. It’s not “grandma’s floral,” but rather rich velvets, silks and chintz with bold patterns and contrast.”  Kelli Ellis Interiors, Orange County, CA

“Layers of silky fabrics and luxurious wool, the combination of velvet and brick, stainless steel and wood design ideas create attractive contrasts.  Mixing decor accessories, made of natural stone and shiny plastic, metal, wood and fabrics are interesting home decorating ideas that add charm and unique character to contemporary interior design.”  Accord Staging – see their blog.

What’s happening on the color front? We continue with deep and bold colors.

“The dominant color is Grey. Warm Grey, Light Grey, Charcoal Grey. On walls, furnishings, window treatments, artwork, grey will be everywhere. Also coming on strong will be Yellow! In addition, know that Orange will still be hanging around; Purple is on its way out and Brown, which had a very long run, is gone.” Stephanie Henley (Stephanie coined the title phrase.)

Remember: Paint is still the cheapest improvement with the most impact. Fresh paint makes everything look new. Pick a  modern color scheme to make your home current.

Supersizing is still in…giant mirrors, large wall art, over-sized graphic scale. On a budget? Try stencils, framed posters or enlarged photographs.

If moving isn’t in the cards for you this year, remodeling and updating can make your current home your dream home.

This new one is at 3625 W. Rusley and they are asking $205,000. It’s a 3 bdrm, 2 bath, built in 1968.  West Rusley is a little close to the freeway as you can see on the map, but not a bad area or neighborhood. It looks like a pretty good deal.

Click here to see the others available this week. Prices are as low as $73,800! The highest is $225,000.

If you’d like to make an offer, see inside or get more information, contact me.

If you don’t know about buying HUD homes, here’s what you need to know.

Ellen trusts Rudy.

First Ellen hires Mike do to some odds and ends inside the house and he does a fine job. When they discover the roof needs replacing, she hires Mike to do that also.

I met Mike. He talks the talk. He knows a bunch of the local builders and developers and we swap stories. He completes the work and Ellen pays him. All said and done, about $7500.

The house sells in the next couple of months and the purchaser prudently has a professional inspection. Much to our surprise, the inspector says the roof was “unprofessionally installed”. There were a lot of nails showing and the shingles weren’t even fully overlapped. The valleys were tarred. We had it inspected by a professional roofer and they said that basically it was a hack job done by someone who didn’t know what they were doing.

Since we told the buyer that we just installed a new roof, this made them understandably uneasy, and they were ready to walk.

Luckily, Ellen is a smart woman and knew that if the problem wasn’t remedied with this buyer, it would have to be remedied with the next, or any buyer. Besides, she paid for a new roof and a new roof she would get.

We had a new roof installed by a professional roofing company that warranties their work and saved the sale. In checking on Mike, we found that his contractor license expired in 2002 and naturally he isn’t bonded.

Mike’s story is that the roof was installed okay, although now he is not returning phone calls or emails, and he didn’t bother to talk to the inspector or the roofer. Maybe he thinks the problem has gone away. What do you think?

We are prepared to go to small claims court if he refuses to pay for the new roof. I think it’s a slam dunk win. I love small claim’s court.  I’ll keep you updated.

Moral: Don’t hire people to do expensive repairs who have no way to guarantee their work.

The amount of Whatcom County total deposits in each bank, percent change in the past year and local market share. The latest deposit numbers are as of June 30, 2011:

Peoples Bank: $644.7 million, up 7.5 percent. Market share: 21.73 percent.

Washington Federal: $397 million, down 8.5 percent. Market share: 13.38 percent.

Bank of America: $369 million, up 6.3 percent. Market share: 12.43 percent.

Banner Bank: $242.1 million, down 5.9 percent. Market share: 8.16 percent.

U.S. Bank: $232.7 million, up 11.3 percent. Market share: 7.84 percent.

KeyBank: $207.6 million, down 11.6 percent. Market share: 7 percent.

JP Morgan Chase: $179.6 million, up 3.1 percent. Market share: 6.05 percent.

Wells Fargo Bank: $177.5 million, up 11 percent. Market share: 5.98 percent.

Whidbey Island Bank: $175.2 million, up 11.9 percent. Market share: 5.9 percent.

Bank of the Pacific: $118.5 million, up 10.3 percent. Market share: 3.99 percent.

Sterling Savings Bank: $96.2million, up 6.4 percent. Market share: 3.24 percent.

Skagit State Bank: $63.7 million, up 3.8 percent. Market share: 2.15 percent.

Union Bank: $43.5 million, down 32.3 percent. Market share: 1.47 percent.

Business Bank: $18.2 million, down 12 percent. Market share: 0.61 percent.

Columbia State Bank: $1.9 million, up 46.2 percent. Market share: 0.07 percent.

SOURCE: FDIC

The vacant rooms don’t tell you anything. You can’t tell how big, or small they are. There’s no warmth. There’s no allure. If you were a buyer, which house would you want to see?

Remember that now nearly 90% of ALL home buyers search for homes on the internet. You have to make this first important cut. Your vacant rooms won’t make anyone’s heart beat faster.

A few thoughts about staging vacant homes:

• Don’t use the old furniture you don’t want to take with you. Not the impression we’re going for.
• Hire a stager. They are well worth the money and run about $350 for a consultation where they can visit the house and chose pieces that will best enhance each area. There’s a monthly or quarterly charge for the furniture. It varies widely so you’ll have to check around.
• You don’t have to do the whole house. That would be ideal but it’s not entirely necessary. Do the living room, dining room and kitchen at a minimum. Get advice from the stager on this.
• Think of it as a way to make a buyer respond positively to the first impression of your house.
• Think of this simply as a cost of doing business. Your house is a product on the market and you have to help make it stand out. Pictures of it will be blasted everywhere – make the most of them.

Your effort counts. Showing your house off, means good pictures. It’s hard to take a great picture of a vacant room.

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  Here’s the weather today!

  Bellingham snowfall – 11 inches

• Ski area snowfall – 647 inches
• Sunny days – 71
• Partly sunny/cloudy days – 93
• Cloudy days – 201
• Measurable rain – 150 days
• Occasional strong winds – 25-35 mph
• Humidity – monthly averages 73-83%