The Season of Giving As the holidays quickly approach, it is a time of year when many people focus on giving and helping out local charities and people in need in their communities. Camano Island’s tennis and pickleball players have been able to help benefit the community through their small donations each time they play at a resident’s personal court. Camano Island’s Indoor Tennis and Pickleball Facility As pickleball has earned its spot as Washington’s official sport, the use of this private facility has proven to be a very popular spot on Camano. Offering room for playing both tennis and pickleball, being fully enclosed and lit, as well as being…

Rising interest rates can be a major concern if you’re shopping for a new home. A higher rate reduces your buying power and increases the home cost thousands of dollars over the course of the loan. One option to avoid this is to “buy down” your loan rate. This allows you to purchase your home at a more attractive rate. A rate buydown is when you pay an upfront fee in exchange for a lower interest rate. This increases your closing costs and for every 1% of the purchase price you pay in points, your mortgage interest rate is reduced. Buying a lower interest rate may be a good strategy…

Let’s talk about one of the most critical real estate terms out there: return on investment aka ROI. If you have any investments or you’re looking at real estate, you’ve probably heard ROI thrown around a bunch. But what does it actually mean and why should you pay attention? ROI is the amount of money you get back on an investment you’ve made–like real estate. For example, if you buy a house for $350,000 and then, after a few years, sell it for $450,000, you’ll have made all of your money back plus $100,000. That’s a pretty good investment. But ROI isn’t just important when you’re buying or selling a…