Archive for December, 2007
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Dec
12
Posted by Pam Novak
As I was driving down Meridian from Puyallup to Edgewood I saw a billboard that asked “Do you know your dry cleaner better than your banker?” I thought to myself, well, yes I know my banker. She’s Michelle Nadeau at the Milton/Edgewood branch of B of A. And as a matter of fact she knows me too. Since she addresses me by my first name whenever I walk in. At least she recognizes me. And she’s obviously better at names than I am. It’s nice going into the bank knowing that the person in charge knows you on sight. These days with so much of our lives being conducted online and over the phone that personnal touch is rare.
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Dec
11
Posted by Pam Novak
In an effort to prevent the current mortgage and credit meltdown from causing a recession, the Feds cut the rate by 1/4 percent to 4.25%. This is the 3rd drop this year. They hope that this will have a positive trickle down effect.
The people that currently have Adjustable Rate loans will be looking at smaller increases. People with large credit card balances will eventually have a lower rate as the rate the banks charge on them has also been reduced.
People that have been holding off on a new home purchase should now move forward and the real estate market will start to recover.
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Dec
11
Posted by Pam Novak
The numbers from November have come out and they really aren’t to bad. These numbers are from the NWMLS which stands for Northwest Multiple Listing Service. It is the largest listing service in Western Washington . Owned by its member brokers, it has 31,000 brokers and agents. I’m glad to say that I am a member. It serves 19 counties, mostly in Western Washington but includes Grant, Kittitas and Okanogan counties in the central part of the state.
The numbers for Pierce County are as follows:
November 2007 Single Family Homes + Condos
Listings
New 1505
Total Active 7981
Pending Sales 828
Closings 784
Median Price $262,950
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Dec
11
Posted by Pam Novak
I spent a good part of a morning last week visiting the Mountain View Lutheran Church. This is one of the few churches that I’ve seen actually do what they preach. This small church in our community has taken on the task of not only housing the Food Bank but they are constructing a building large enough to enlarge the Food Bank area and in the future provide educational assistance in all of the following areas: Employment/Job skills, Parenting, Health & Wellness, Financial & Resource Guidance and Life Skills training.
They have leveled the old Food Bank building and are working with temporary trailers and refrigerators throughout the church facilities.
The photo’s above are of the older Chapel and the area they are preparing for the new Community Center and Food Bank.
I asked about the history of the beautiful little chapel and was referred to Dan Purvis a life time Edgewood resident and member of the church.
Dans family has been part of the congregation since the church was formed in late 1904. His Great Uncle was a charter member. So Dan has heard the stories of how the church grew from family that lived it.
Hopefully I’ll get the dates correct on when the different buildings where raised. Like most small groups in the early 1900’s they met at each others homes. It wasn’t till approximately 1926 that they built the beautiful white chapel that is on their grounds and still in use today. During the late 50’s till the mid 60’s they built the new chapel and adjacent buildings.
I’ve included the links to both the church and food bank. The link to the Food Bank is on the right hand side of this page under Edgewood Links. The Food Bank and the Community Center are servicing anyone living in Pierce County. If you don’t need their help, they could probably use yours. There is a section on the Food bank site for Volunteers. The link to the church itself is below. I’ll be writing more about the Community Center and other church projects that will benefit the community. The next article will be about the planning of a community garden on property the church owns .
http://www.mtviewlutheran.org/
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Dec
09
Posted by Pam Novak
Gonzaga currently ranked#17 walked away with a win Saturday night. I didn’t get to watch it my self but from what I’m reading in the paper the boys made up for their loss to Washington State.
The only bad thing that I found in the article is that Theo Davis’s father is ill and he’s had to return to Canada to help care for him. There is no return date given. I’ll give you an update as soon as I can.
The Zags don’t have a game scheduled this week so it will be a while before we hear anything from them.
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Dec
09
Posted by Pam Novak
I’m happy to say that I got up earlier than usual on Saturday morning and went to the Kiwanis pancake breakfast at the Milton Senior Center. I’m glad I did. Not only did I have a well made low cost breakfast. I got to talk to a few Veterans while I was there.
This function is one that the Kiwanis club puts on for the benefit of the VFW and to raise money for a variety of other causes they help support. There are a number of events that they do jointly during the year. As I get to spend more time with the different clubs in the area I’ll be posting their events.
One of the things I learned over breakfast was Fife has a VFW office located just down the street from the Poodle Dog restaurant. I’ll be going there for a visit later this week. To see both places the VFW office and the Poodle Dog. I haven’t been to the Poodle Dog for a few months, and to be fair, before I write a review I’ll stop by again. It’s a good excuse to go out to eat.
Hope you enjoyed the photo’s from breakfast.
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Dec
07
Posted by Pam Novak
For those of you that read the Business section of the paper on a daily basis you’ve probably read this at least 4 times this week. But, for those of you that don’t I’ll hit the high points and give you a link to another expert opinion.
Over the past few weeks Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has been working on a plan with major lenders to prevent a foreclosure flood.
The plan at this point, although still unapproved would work at freezing the adjustments for 5 years. They hope that during that time borrowers could refiance to a fixed rate product.
According to Pat Maddock - President of Tacoma Pierce County Association of Realtors, the plan that they are trying to get approved would help the following people. “Those who purchased homes from early 2005 through June of this year may well be eligible for this relief if their adjustable rate mortgage increases place them in an untenable position. This applies to those borrower whose loans are due to reset to higher rates between New Year’s Day 2008 and July 31, 2010. Now, if they have not even made the low introductory payments, this offers no relief and it probably shouldn’t, but if the sub-prime lending packages will leave them in a position where they will soon be beyond their budgetary capabilities, there may well be some help coming.”
One of the biggest opportunities that people miss is getting help prior to actually missing a payment. If borrowers would call the lender and ask for assistance most of them have counseling programs. Homeowners that have missed payments won’t be able to participate in the plan.
For anyone wanting to read more on this topic or other real estate related info by expert Larry Cragun Click Here
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Dec
06
Posted by Pam Novak
As I told you on December 2, I’m a Zag fan. This morning I’m a very..very.. unhappy Zag fan. Last nights game was the lowest point in years. I’ll try to be nice about this, but it not easy. The No. 8 Cougars out shot the No 17 Zags and held them to there lowest scoring game since 1996. They shot just 25.9 percent from the floor. Holding one of the Zags better players (Matt Bouldin) scoreless. How bad was it…in the 44 games that have been played in the Zags new building. This game was the 2nd loss.
The only high point to this is that they played a great team. A team that is also ranked in the Top 20 and is from Washington. We should all be proud that both of the teams are doing so well.
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Dec
05
Posted by Pam Novak
Come on down for a great pancake breakfast at the Milton Sr center. The VFW along with the Milton/Edgewood Kiwanis group are putting it on. Saturday morning December 8 from 8 till 11. Cost $5, if you’re a Vet it’s $3 if your a disabled Vet it’s free. The Kiwanis club and the VFW will be sharing the funds collected. Remember that with the Milton Veterans Memorial completed we will still have on going maintenance costs. Some of the funds raised from the breakfast will help cover these costs. Please keep in mind that the funds raised by the Kiwanis club and the VFW are used to help people in our area.
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Dec
05
Posted by Pam Novak
This morning I read the second artical this week about Congress and interest rates on credit cards. They are reviewing a pattern of companies raising peoples interest rates. Not because of late payments but because of their FICO score being lowered. I’ve taken a small poll (family & friends). Not one person that I spoke with realized that your credit score can and would be lowered if you used the majority of your line of credit. Say you have a credit card with a $10k limit and you have a $4k balance, life is good. But if your balance goes up to $9k, the review starts. Even with having made no payments late you become someone that is viewed as a larger credit risk. You could have your score lowered and then your interest rate is raised. It could start a downward spiral for some people. Suddenly your payment takes a jump. The percent of the payment amount going to the principal declines. What you thought were going to be you’re payments increase and you’re short. You make a payment late and here we go again. Your FICO score is lowered and the interest rate is raised again. Remember to check the interest rate on your statements every month. If it’s changed call the company and question them. The majority of companies will work with you and could return you to a lower rate.
