Author: Keith Sant

Selling a Home with a Reverse Mortgage

How to Sell a House with a Reverse Mortgage

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A reverse mortgage doesn’t chain you to the house. That’s the biggest misunderstanding I run into when people ask how to sell a house with a reverse mortgage, and it costs families months of worry before anybody picks up the phone. You can list the property tomorrow. You can also sell it to a buyer … Continued
How can I avoid paying capital gains tax on property

How to Avoid Capital Gains Tax When Selling Your House

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Most people who sell a house at a profit never pay the IRS a dollar of capital gains tax on it. That sounds too generous if you’ve watched your house climb in value for fifteen years. It isn’t true for every seller, but the federal exclusion for a main home covers most ordinary sales. The … Continued
Should I Replace My Roof Before Selling My House

Should You Replace Your Roof Before Selling Your House

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Should I replace my roof before I sell my house? It’s one of the first questions sellers ask us. A roof two or three years from the end of its life is going to cost you money at closing. The only real question is who gets that money: a roofer before the listing goes live, … Continued
How to Find a Realtor in Another State in

How to Find a Realtor in Another State Before You Relocate

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Most people pick an agent twelve hundred miles away the same way. They search, click the first smiling face, and call, which is mostly guesswork. Out-of-state buyers end up with someone who sells downtown condos while they’re shopping for a three-bedroom with a yard. I’ve bought houses in a few different states, and finding a … Continued
How to Submit a Quit Claim Deed in Washington

How to File a Quitclaim Deed in Washington

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One page. One notary stamp. A trip to the county auditor, and ownership of a Washington house moves from one name to another. That’s the whole machine. It’s also why families grab a quitclaim deed the moment a marriage ends, a parent dies, or a sibling wants out of an inherited property. I’ve bought houses … Continued
Do You Need a Lawyer to Add a Name in Washington

Do I Need a Lawyer to Add a Name to a House Deed

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One page of paper decides who owns your house. That’s it. A deed gets signed at a kitchen table, notarized at a bank branch, dropped off at the county recorder, and stamped. No one asks whether you read what you signed. The clerk’s job is to record documents, not to warn you that the four … Continued
Ways to Sell an Apartment in Washington

How to Sell an Apartment in Washington Fast

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Spokane’s median closed price sits near $355,000, the cheapest market Resideline currently tracks in Washington. Bellevue’s median runs about $1.4 million. Same state, same summer, two different worlds. Working out how to sell an apartment in Washington starts with knowing which of those markets your building sits in, because Washington isn’t one market. It’s a … Continued
Eviction Process In Washington

Eviction Process for Landlords and Tenants in Washington

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Three days. That’s the shortest clock the eviction process in Washington allows, and it fits only the worst behavior a tenant can commit. Every other eviction runs longer. Most of it runs far longer than the landlords I meet expect when they first call, which I learned the slow way, buying houses and handling tenants … Continued
Can You Sell a House As-Is Without an Inspection

Can You Sell A House As Is Without An Inspection

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Most sellers spend weeks dreading the inspection. Picture the buyer’s agent walking through the house with a clipboard, finding every crack in the drywall and every slow drain, and then coming back with a list of demands that chips thousands off the sale price. The fear is real, and I’ve watched it paralyze sellers into … Continued
The Benefits of Selling FSBO

For Sale By Owner Benefits

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Grab a cup of coffee and think about this for a second: what if you could skip the listing agent entirely and put that commission money back in your own pocket? That is the for sale by owner route, and some sellers pull it off and walk away satisfied. Others try it, hit a wall … Continued
Washington Disclosure Requirements for Homes With Termite Damage

Can You Sell a House With Termites in Washington

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Most sellers in Tacoma or Bothell hear “termites” and immediately think a collapsed sale, an angry buyer, and a lawsuit. Almost always, those assumptions are wrong. Selling a house with termites in Washington is legal, done regularly, and far more manageable than most homeowners assume. Your situation demands honesty, some strategic thinking, and a realistic … Continued
Understanding How Repair Issues Affect Your Home's Value and Marketability

Selling a House That Needs Repairs in Washington

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A leaky roof in Puyallup. A kitchen in Renton that hasn’t been updated since the Reagan administration. A foundation crack in Spokane Valley that three contractors looked at, and all gave different opinions. Every week, I see homeowners sitting across from me with a version of the same story: they have a house that needs … Continued
How Water Damage Affects Home Value and Buyer Confidence

Sell House With Water Damage in Washington

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Water ruins more than drywall. It ruins plans, timelines, and occasionally the financial cushion you were counting on when you finally decided to sell. I’ve walked through hundreds of houses across Washington State, from flooded basements in Renton to moldy crawl spaces in Olympia, and the homeowners I meet are rarely in trouble for ignoring … Continued