Sequim Homes for Sale

Sequim & Port Angeles Real Estate

Chuck Marunde, J.D., Broker, Attorney (Ret.), Serving Sequim for 24 years.

Sequim has only 16 inches of rain annually, equal to Los Angeles.

The 24 Secrets to Buying a Country Home

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Are there really secrets to buying a country home? Yes, there are, at least many which buyers do not know. We are very excited to announce Chuck Marunde’s latest book written and narrated specifically for buyers moving to the country from the city, and of course, Chuck practices in the country known as the Olympic Peninsula west of Seattle and particularly in Sequim, Washington. This book is packed full of solid and reliable information that all buyers would love to know before they buy a country home, and now you can take advantage of four decades of real estate experience and 20 years of real estate law experience with this book written by Chuck Marunde, J.D. Chuck is a buyer’s agent, and buyers from around the country have been taking advantage of his massive Internet resources for years, including his many books about buying real estate.

Country Home

You can learn more about this book on Amazon, and you can download the ebook version or listen to the audio version. Both links are available through Amazon at 24 Secrets to Buying a Country Home.

If you’re planning to visit Sequim soon and looking at your country home online, be sure to book your appointment with Chuck Marunde long in advance to be sure he’ll be available.

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The Sequim Real Estate Blog

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The Sequim Real Estate Blog, aka SequimBlog.com or Sequim-Real-Estate-Blog.com, is the largest real estate blog on the entire Olympic Peninsula for buyers. Over 2,200 articles have been written on very specific subjects that buyers wanted addressed over the past dozen years. Actually, since the author has been in Sequim going back 25 years and practiced real estate law for 20 years, retiring in Sequim, these articles address questions that buyers have been asking for over two decades.

But there’s so much more to this Sequim real estate blog. Here’s a video that will show you the amazing resources available through this blog’s home page. You’re going to love these resources, because they are a lifetime of real estate knowledge and experience given to buyers like you absolutely free. How cool is that?

We hope you enjoy the Sequim Real Estate Blog.

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How Do I Sell My Home?

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How to Sell My HomeHow do I sell my home is a question being ask by many homeowners today. The world has changed dramatically over the past decade, and technologies and the Internet have revolutionized the real estate industry. You’ll need a few things to sell your home, and I wouldn’t compromise on these if you want to get the highest price for your home. You’ll only get that if you effectively market to the most qualified buyers. So let’s answer the question, “How do I sell my home?”

You’ll need a real estate professional who is honest, has integrity, is knowledgeable and experienced, and is an expert with modern Internet marketing. He also needs the right tools. What kinds of tools does he need to connect with highly qualified buyers for a home like yours?

Virtual Tour Camera

An outstanding professional digital camera with the best lenses, the best lighting equipment, and the know how to use it. He also needs the best photo editing software. He needs a 3-dimensional virtual tour camera with nine lenses and the servers and software to host these interactive tours. Buyers absolutely love these online interactive virtual tours. 

For especially gorgeous homes, especially homes with water views or beachfront or mountain views, an aerial drone video is essential. So your real estate broker needs all the video equipment to do that. Our broker at iRealty Virtual Brokers is registered as a drone pilot with the FAA, and he is the only local Realtor registered to use drones.

Video DroneAnd then what you need to reach the largest number of qualified buyers is a massive Internet marketing system, meaning thousands of articles, thousands of photos and videos, too. These resources must be optimized for the search engines so buyers can find them. [See the largest local Sequim Real Estate Blog.]

There is only one local real estate brokerage with all these resources and all this expertise–iRealty Virtual Brokers. We do what traditional brokers do to effectively market listings, but we do so much more, it is almost overwhelming. Call us for an in-home presentation. By the way, if you want an online peek at what we do, you can watch our video right now:  

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How to Select a Real Estate Agent

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When it’s time to select a real estate agent, do you know exactly how to do that? I’ve heard many reasons that explain why people select a real estate agent the way they do. Here are some of the most common reasons:

“I hired the first agent I talked to. Yea, I called a phone number off a sign, and some agent answered the phone, and that’s who I hired.”

“I was searching the MLS, and I saw an agent’s photo in the right margin on Zillow. They returned my call, and I hired her.”

“I got a call from a FSBO ad I ran on Craigslist, and it was an agent who wanted to list my home, so I listed my home with him.”

“My brother’s wife’s brother is a real estate agent, so I hired him.”

Select a Real Estate Agent

Select a Real Estate Intelligently

Notice what is missing in how each of these people decided to select a real estate agent. Not one did any due diligence on their agent before their hired them. They did not use relevant interview questions. They just hired any Tom, Jane, or Susan.

If you were going to invest $300,000 with an investment adviser, you wouldn’t just hire the first guy you called and give him your life savings. Neither should you trust any Tom, Jane, or Susan with your life savings when you buy a house. When it’s time to select a real estate agent, you have some research to do.

I want to share some steps you can take to make sure you do hire the right agent, but first I think you deserve to know my credentials for being qualified to share this information. I started in real estate 40 years ago, and I practiced real estate law for 20 years. In between I served as a JAG in the USAF for four years. I retired from law practice in 2005, and I built the largest virtual brokerage of any individual agent in the Northwest outside of Seattle.

I’ve written thousands of articles to help buyers. I’ve built an online marketing system to help buyers find their perfect home. I’ve written many real estate books for buyers, one for sellers, and one for Realtors. I definitely know what to look for in a Realtor. I wish all buyers and all sellers knew, but since they do not, my effort to help includes articles like this one.

Select a Real Estate Agent with Interview Checklist

You can download a copy of my Real Estate Agent Interview Checklist. It includes 22 questions to ask your prospective agent. The questions will get you thinking about the kinds of issues you want covered in your agent.

Why pay so much attention to how you select a real estate agent? Lawyers make a living off of other people’s mistakes and by suing Realtors. The last thing you need when you buy a home is a major legal nightmare. But even if you don’t get into litigation, if you hire an inexperienced agent, you could overpay for a home, and I’ve seen that. A buyer paid $825,000 for a home that was only worth $650,000. I personally watched that happen, although I did not represent either the buyer or seller. There was nothing I could legally or ethically do to save the buyer.

An inexperienced agent may not keep you out of trouble during the due diligence. There are many inspections, and there are many traps for the unwary. There are addendums, and special legal phrases you may need to protect yourself. I cannot overemphasize the importance of hiring the right agent.

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Winter in Sequim

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Winter in Sequim is sometimes overcast, sometimes rainy, rarely is there snow, but one thing we can say about winter in Sequim that is a blessing is that we don’t get these horrendous blizzards on the east coast, or the floods or the tornadoes or hurricanes. We are lucky. Yesterday as I looked out my back deck, I was looking at green fields and mountains, and it was so warm in my house, I had to leave the door to the back deck open for a while.

Winter in Sequim

Winter in Sequim

Temperatures yesterday were in the mid fifties. The sun was out. It was gorgeous. This is winter in Sequim. Not bad. New York is shut down because of a massive snow storm. Washington D.C. is too. From a Sequim perspective, it seems like New York has nightmare weather every winter to various degrees of severity.

Winter in Sequim and Looking at Homes

Even though it is this is winter in Sequim, we still have many buyers arriving to look at homes, and they are buying. It’s been an unusually busy November, December, and January.

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Why Some Sequim Homes Sell Fast

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Some Sequim homes sell fast and others do not. What’s the difference between them? I’m a guy who doesn’t jump to conclusions, but after seeing the same pattern over a long period of time, like years, I say to myself, “Hey Chuck, there’s a pattern here.” And so homes that sell quickly and homes that do not have revealed a pattern.

Sequim Homes

Sequim Homes Sell When They Sell

In a large metropolitan market there will be hundreds of homes selling every week, and it is easy to accurately predict how long a home will be on the market, how many buyers are arriving per week, and you can use sales statistics to make pretty good predictions. But in a small market, like Sequim, Washington, the inventory is very small, and the number of buyers arriving to look at homes and buy is also a small number. The number of buyers who come from week to week varies, and you cannot make accurate predictions about DOM (days on market) or how much a home should sell for.

Sequim Homes and Retirees

The truth is, retirees will retire when they retire, and then they make a trip to see some Sequim homes. The date on which a home is listed has no relation to when a retired couple arrive in Sequim to see similar homes. The ideal buyer for a particular home might arrive the same day a home goes on the market, or a month later, or 8 months later. In a small market with few buyers, you cannot draw definitive conclusions about a home just because it sold in 4 days, or just because it has been on the market for 6 months. There may be nothing wrong with the home. The right buyer may simply not have arrived yet.

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What is the Range of Experience of Real Estate Agents?

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The experience of real estate agents varies dramatically, and yet it is amazing how many buyers and sellers seem unaware of the importance of having an agent with valuable experience. Can you imagine hiring an agent who has never closed a transaction? Many do without asking about experience. Believe it or not, many buyers hire the first agent who answers the phone (or email) with no interview and no qualifying whatsoever. Now if you were buying a hamburger or a used car, no big deal if your sales person has little or no experience (or knowledge), but you’re buying a house that will cost you six figures. I assume that was money you worked decades to save. Maybe the experience of real estate agents is important after all.

Experience of Real Estate Agents

Experience of Real Estate Agents

What is the requisite experience of real estate agents in order to get a license? None. They don’t have to have any real estate background, no marketing and sales experience, no business experience, no negotiating experience, no contract experience, no legal experience, no customer service experience, no technical experience, no software experience, and no Internet experience. Everyone has to start somewhere, right? Just not on your nickel. Let the inexperienced practice with someone else’s money and someone else’s life, not yours.

Experience of Real Estate Agents Major Issue

If you’re a buyer or a seller, the experience of real estate agents you may hire is not a casual or minor issue–it is a huge issue, a major issue, one of the most important decisions of your life. Your agent doesn’t have to have the experience of a Chuck Marunde, but why settle for less, and why settle for a lot less. Chuck is one of the nation’s foremost experts on real estate transactions, and he’s right here in Sequim, Washington. Having previous experience as a real estate attorney for 20 years, he is the author of numerous real estate books, and has published thousands of articles for buyers on the Internet. His experience, knowledge, competence, and professionalism is second to none. If you are planning to buy or sell in the Sequim area, why not see if Chuck Marunde can get you in his schedule. (See his resume here: Sequim Real Estate Broker) When it comes to the experience of real estate agents, I strongly urge you to choose your Realtor carefully.

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3D Virtual Tours Offered by iRealty Virtual Brokers

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3D Virtual Tours are the latest and the hottest way to walk through on a home online, and iRealty Virtual Brokers (also registered as Sequim & Port Angeles Real Estate) is once again way out in front of all other local brokers. You can use your mouse or the arrows on your keyboard to walk through a home interactively. Try it, and see how fun it is by going inside this 3D Virtual Tour:

Virtual Tours Taken to a New Level

Not only can you walk through this home with your fingers online from anywhere you have a computer or a tablet or smart phone, you also get a floor plan so you can see exactly what the layout is. Buyers have complained for years that MLS listings don’t include floor plans, but these 3D Virtual Tours do, and buyers love them. These are the most accurate virtual reality tours available in the history of real estate. You can view more photos and the entire MLS data sheet at Bell Hill Home for Sale.

Virtual Tours

Chuck Marunde and iRealty Virtual Brokers are very pleased to bring this new technology to the Sequim, Port Townsend, and Port Angeles areas.  Be sure to play with the options on the bottom right and left sides, and notice you can enlarge the 3D Virtual Tour to fill your entire computer screen.

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Bell Hill Water View Home

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This Bell Hill water view home is beautiful from the outside, but the floor plan inside and the kitchen and master bedroom are precisely what so many retirees want now, and this home sits in a very peaceful location.

water view

Bell Hill Water View

The very first thing you undoubtedly want to do is see more larger photos, and you can right here at Sequim Water View Home. Be sure to click on one of the three thumbnail photos, and you will get more photos.

Many retirees want a modern home built with high quality materials, preferably hardwood floors, a large modern kitchen, stainless steel appliances with a gas (propane) cooktop, and an open floor plan between the kitchen, dining and living rooms. They also like the laundry room near the kitchen or between the kitchen and the master bedroom. They love a large master bedroom, a walk-in closet with a skylight or window, a modern master bathroom with double sinks and both a shower and comfortable soaking tub. Of course, it would be ideal if most of these rooms had a water view.

An attached garage with an easy entry into the kitchen for carrying groceries is important. They also like a den on the main floor. In fact, they want all of this on the main floor, all one level. Having a second floor is okay for many buyers, because the guest rooms can be on that floor for kids and grandkids, but they do want to be able to live all one one floor. 

They also would like water available outside for all the landscaping without having to worry about water restrictions. A year round irrigation ditch or a creek would be the perfect solution. A modern electric forced air heating and cooling system with a heat pump is ideal for the Sequim climate and the most efficient way to heat a home in such a mild climate.

Water View of the Strait of Juan de Fuca

Most buyers would love some privacy if they could find the perfect location. And if there is one last and major feature almost every retiree would love is a water view of our beautiful Strait of Juan de Fuca with the islands and Mount Baker on the horizon.

When I write that this description is what most buyers want, I am being totally sincere. This Bell Hill water view home just happens to have them all. If you would like to view this home, call Chuck at 360-775-5424. Meanwhile, check it out at Sequim Water View Home.

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Finding Your Sequim Home is Not Easy

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Finding your ideal Sequim home is not necessarily going to be easy. You could get lucky, like a couple who hired me to be their buyer’s agent. They bought the first home I showed them in Sequim. That’s unusual, but it was exactly what they had been hoping to find, and the price was really reasonable. So they pulled the trigger. They are very happy Sequim residents now.

Finding Your Sequim Home

Finding Your Sequim Home

But for most buyers, the process is more involved and takes months. It starts with searching the Sequim MLS online months before coming to Sequim or Port Angeles. While some buyers search sites like Zillow and Trulia, eventually most realize those sites are full of listings that are not for sale or that have lots of incorrect information. Getting bad information on properties is the last thing you need when you are searching for your retirement home. So most end up using Sequim-Homes.com, simply because it is a dedicated Sequim MLS site (and Port Angeles MLS site) that is 100% accurate by getting all it’s source data from local Realtor’s listings.

Finding Your Sequim Home by Saving Favorites

Most buyers watch the videos on Sequim-Homes.com so they can learn to get the most out of their home search. They learn to save their search parameters, and then they start saving a favorites list of homes, so when they come to Sequim or Port Angeles, they will have a short list of homes to look at with their buyer’s agent. Learning to use an online MLS site takes time, but it can be a welcome challenge, because the goal is to find your perfect retirement home, and that’s a worthy goal.

In the months before they arrive in Sequim or Port Angeles, they email and talk on the phone with their buyer’s agent. I can write about this entire process, because I am the buyer’s agent in these cases. I work with over 100 prospective home buyers every year, and I’ve designed and programmed this MLS site to be convenient and powerful for buyers.

It will take time and many trial and error searches on Sequim-Homes.com, but you will find your ideal home, even if it takes a little time. There are some great links already set up for you on this site, and you might get lucky and find your perfect home right away. If you want some guidance or help along the way to finding your Sequim home, email chuckmarunde@gmail.com anytime.

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About iRealty Virtual Brokers

iRealty Virtual Brokers reaches out to buyers around the United States with thousands of online articles, MLS sites, apps, real estate books, videos, and much more specifically to help buyers find all the answers to their questions. Call or email one of our Agents for the kind of professional help you want and expect from your Sequim Real Estate Agent.


iRealty Virtual Brokers
dba Sequim & Port Angeles Real Estate
125 Olympic Ranch Ln, Sequim, WA 98382
360-775-5424

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