Tips to Renewing your WA Drivers License

It's no wonder drivers license photos have most of us looking insane or criminal. That's pretty much how you feel by the time you make it in front of the camera. A few weeks ago on a Monday morning, my sister called from the parking lot of the Bellevue DOL; her license already expired by one day and they were closed. I got online to find her another location and hours of operation and learned a few surprising things. Also got to thinking there are some strategies I use that might also be helpful to those with fewer birthdays and therefore less experience with "The System".

1. It is now possible in some cases to renew your drivers license online! If you are eligible to do so, you will recieve a letter from DOL with a code and instructions.


2. Different locations have different hours, be sure to check before you go. In the Seattle area there is Downtown Seattle, Shoreline, Bellevue, Renton, Kent and Federal Way. Further out there is Lynnwood, Everett, Tacoma and Puyallup. Most of them are closed Mondays; closing time is between 4:30-6pm depending on location and a few locations have Saturday hours. Busiest times to avoid if possible; first thing in the morning, lunchtime, after 3pm and Saturdays.


3. Go online to check the current wait time. You'll find it on each locations specific page listing hours and address. Look for this;


4. Go on a day when you have plenty of patience and time! Be prepared to wait. The problem starts in the parking lot. Even the outlying offices seem to have shortage of parking and cars are circling, waiting for someone to leave. I usually take one pass and then go park elsewhere down the street and walk.


5. Take a number ASAP. If you have someone with you, drop them off at the door to get you a number while you park.


6. Bring food and something to do, seriously! Don't know if you can blatantly set up a picnic and eat inside but if you're way past due for a meal, your stress level will double.


7. If your number and wait time is in the distant future, spend some of the time in the comfort of your car. Believe me, it will be more comfortable than standing room only or a molded plastic chair permanently adjoined to more molded plastic chairs with an inch of personal space in between.
8. Have cash or check with you. I typically carry neither but in many cases, those are the only forms of payment accepted.

Regarding vehicle license / car tab renewals, most of this information applys. However, you can most likely renew tabs online and it is soooo much better! If you're in a pinch, you can order online and then head out to the office to pick them up. They have a special desk for internet renewals. You get to walk straight past the desperate looking people in plastic molded chairs, holding a number torn from the little red dispenser of doom and be immediately handed your tabs.

For just that moment, you'll feel like a VIP, rock star, visiting dignitary or royalty (whichever you most fantasize about).

May you enjoy your next experience at the DOL, at least more than your previous one!

Fun on a Dime

Don't let a cash crunch get you feeling down... Get out and do something fun! Here are some ideas of local things to do for free or very little cost;

• Paddle a Dragon Boat for FREE every Saturday morning at 8am at Lake Meridian



• Get culture; the Frye Art Museum in Seattle is always FREE admission and parking. There is also FREE admission on certain days of the month (usually the first Thursday) at the following museums; Seattle Asian Art Museum, Wing Luke Asian Museum, UW's Burke Museum and the Museum of Flight



• Visit a summer open air market such as Farmers Market in downtown Kent every Saturday June-September, Auburn Station every Sunday June - September, Federal Way Commons every Saturday May-October and the Des Moines waterfront every Saturday June - October
  


• Go to a movie; try Seattle Center's summer FREE Movie's Under the Stars, or for year round entertainment, check out the $2 theatre in Federal Way (Only $1 on Tuesdays!!)



• Go to the beach! Alki in West Seattle, Golden Gardens in Ballard, Coulon Park in Renton, Vasa Park in Bellevue, Idylwood Park on Lake Sammamish, Seward Park in South Seattle, Kirkland Waterfront, Saltwater Park in Des Moines, Redondo Beach in Federal Way and many more



• Do Happy Hour instead of dining out. Even if you're not a drinker, the best deals are to be had in restaurants around town between hours such as 3p-6p and 9p-midnight. You can expect 1/2 price appetizer platters and drink specials. One excellent and surprisingly special place is The Melting Pot in Tacoma which offers some incredible fondue options on the happy hour menu.

Most of these activities can be adapted to suit as a date, either casual or romantic, a family activity, or things to do with your out of town guests. Get creative and feel free to comment with your favorite low cost ideas and places!

How to Get Your Credit Report for Free

Under Federal law, you have the right to receive a copy of your credit report from each of the 3 credit bureaus, every 12 months. The long way to go about getting those is by contacting each of the bureaus individually and going through the various request processes.

Another, highly advertised way is to use the service provided by www.freecreditreport.com (baby). When you use their service to order your credit report, you are signing up for their credit report monitoring services and will be charged the going rate (currently $14.95 a month). You do have a trial/cancellation period so be sure to cancel in time if it is not your intention to utilize their ongoing services.

The most convenient way to truly get your free, no obligation, 3 bureau report is to go to www.annualcreditreport.com.

Give it a try and stay in the know about your credit.

Moving with Tight Timelines

Had another great question today; We are buying a home and the scheduled closing date is the 30th. We also have to be completely out of our apartment that day. We know there are some potential complications with our purchase, what can we do?

It is not uncommon to get into these tight closings time lines, especially when there are special circumstances such as unique mortgage programs involved, short sale, foreclosure, out of state seller etc. Not to be an alarmist but if anything doesn’t go just right, it can slip the timeline.

Some things I recommend when you know the timeline is tight… make sure your work schedule is flexible so that as soon as your loan docs are at escrow and ready to sign, you can head right over. Since the documents have to be transmitted back to your bank for a review after you sign, every hour can make a difference. Communicate with your loan officer to see if they anticipate the mortgage company making any last minute requests of you or of anyone that you can help expedite. Example; if the mortgage company has a policy of contacting HR departments right before issuing documents to confirm your employment is unchanged, you can help make sure they have the right contact info and then from your side, maybe give HR a heads up to be watching for that. If HR lets a voicemail sit from a Friday afternoon to mid-morning Monday, that can be enough to cause a delayed closing.

Logistically, be as organized and prepared as possible and have a backup plan. If you have to be out of your current place on a certain day, have a contingency plan in place just in case (have all your stuff in a moving van that you could rent for an extra day or so if it became necessary) and know who’s couch you would crash on in an emergency. Consider contacting the utility companies for your new place in advance to arrange transfer of utilities for the scheduled closing date. Best to try to do this before current homeowner completes the disconnection of service because there are often reconnect fees and delays involved after disconnects. So a transfer of utilities (even if you end up paying a day or two that you didn’t own the house due to a late close) is often cheaper than setup/reconnect fees.

Lastly, make a proactive effort to stay cool and calm. Keep in mind your best stress management mechanisms. Moving can be extremely stressful when time lines are down to the wire. If chocolate or wine helps, have some nearby! Whatever it takes…

Also know that sometimes escrow and lenders do their best work in a crunch so making things happen at the last second is not out of the question. Though your real estate agent has no control at this point in the game, they are usually great at managing communication between all parties and helping problem solve as things come up.

Mortgage in Default & Looking to Refinance?

I fielded a question today that I know is on a lot of people's mind. The question was, we're behind on our mortgage payments and received a notice of default. Any chance we can refinance into an affordable and fixed mortgage?

All is NOT lost!

If the homeowner would like to keep their home (and has at least some steady income), they need to contact their mortgage company ASAP and apply for a mortgage "modification". A typical, credit based refinance is unlikely due to the recent delinquencies. However, the current mortgage company would way rather offer a modification to their customer than proceed with an expensive foreclosure on the home. When contacting the bank for a "mod", be sure to have the following information handy;

• Current household income (typically they want to know they "net" or "take home" but clarify which numbers they want).
• Current household expenses including food, gas for the cars, utilities, clothing, other credit obligations; everything!
• The hardship - be ready to give them a couple of sentences that encapsulate what caused the problem and whether or not the problem still exists. IE; unemployed for 6 months but now employed again at 80% of your old salary. Be prepared to put your hardship info into a letter that is a little more explanatory
• Be prepared to submit via fax or mail things like pay stubs, banks statements, W-2's and a financial worksheet (a list of all your bills subtracted from your take home pay)

If on the other hand, it no longer seems feasible to be in the home and the homeowner would like (or needs) to get out of their home gracefully (and without being evicted by the sheriff 90-120 days after first notice of default), they should consult with a real estate professional and/or a bankruptcy or financial attorney about options and time lines.

The most common mistakes I see are;

• Moving out too soon
• Moving out and doing nothing else (forcing the bank to full legal foreclosure instead of allowing/facilitating a voluntary sale or transfer of the property)

There are lots of programs out there right now to help with situations like these and I've worked with quite a few homeowners to successfully resolve issues in whatever way meets their situation the best. To privately ask more questions, don't hesitate to write; rebecca@myplacetocallhome.com

Wow, $30,000 for Federal Way 1st Time Home Buyers

There have always been occassional funds put together for special interest groups and sometimes for certain geographically areas to help 1st time home buyers but in most cases, they don't translate into anything other than a 2nd mortgage loan that is none to easy to qualify for.

However, for a short time, the City of Federal Way has a fund for 1st time homebuyers that are purchasing a pre-foreclosure, a short sale or a foreclosed (bank owned) home. They may grant up to 20% for a down payment, up to $30,000. There are no monthly payments and no interest! If you sell your home in less than 15 years, you will pay back the city at the time of the sale but if you own for 15+ years, there is no payback required!

This is by far one of the most generous and easy to qualify for down payment assistance plan I have ever seen! If you know someone that could benefit from this, pass it along!

Seattle has Nation's Best Economy

Here's an encouraging article from today's Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle)

A study by a Florida research firm says that the Seattle area’s economy is the best in the country.
According to Policom Corp., an independent economic research firm that specializes in analyzing local and state economies, out of the nation’s 366 metropolitan statistical areas, Seattle-Tacoma Bellevue rates No. 1, moving up from last year’s No. 12 ranking. In 2006, Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue ranked No. 51 in the country. The company uses 23 different economic factors to create its rankings.

According to Policom, the highest-ranked areas have had rapid, consistent growth in both size and quality for an extended period of time. The lowest ranked areas have been in volatile decline for an extended period of time and Policom has created economic strength rankings since 1996.

Here are the nation’s top 10 markets of all 366 markets:

2010 Ten Strongest Among 366 Metropolitan Areas
1. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue.
2. Washington, D.C.-Arlington, Va.-Alexandria, W.V.
3. Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, Colo.
4. Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas.
5. Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville, Calif.
6. Salt Lake City, Utah.
7. Des Moines-West Des Moines, Iowa.
8. San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, Calif.
9. Madison, Wisc.
10. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas.