Buying a home in Pierce County

How do you work with buyers in Pierce County?

We start with a conversation about how you live and a lender’s pre-approval. From there I run a focused search, write the offer, help you choose inspections and keep track of every deadline through closing.

The first conversation is usually by phone, sometimes over coffee in Sumner. I want to know where you work and how often you go in, who lives with you, what you like about where you live now and what you would change. A budget matters. So do the things people forget to mention until the third showing: a dog that needs a fenced yard, a parent who visits for weeks at a time, a car that does not like steep driveways.

Before we tour, you will talk with a lender and get pre-approved. I can suggest local lenders, and you are free to use anyone you like. Then I set up a search that sends you homes as they come onto the Northwest MLS, and we go see the ones worth seeing. Six houses that fit are worth more of your Saturday than twenty that almost do.

Washington requires a written agreement between a buyer and the broker who represents them. We sign one at the start. It spells out my duties to you and how I am paid, so neither is left to guesswork.

Which commute are you choosing? I-5, SR 512, SR 167, SR 410 or the Narrows

In Pierce County, the route you drive most mornings often decides the neighborhood. Pick the corridor first, then the house.

Traffic shifts with construction and the seasons, so drive yours at the hour you would really drive it before you commit.

I-5Fife to the Nisqually

The spine of the county, running from the King County line through Fife and Tacoma, past Lakewood and Joint Base Lewis-McChord, and on toward Olympia. Living near it puts Seattle and the state capital within reach. The stretch along the base is known for backups, and so is the approach into Tacoma.

SR 512Lakewood to Puyallup

The east-west link across the south end of the county. It connects I-5 at Lakewood with Parkland, Spanaway, South Hill and Puyallup, and it is how many people on the east side reach the base or the freeway south.

SR 167The valley route north

From Puyallup and Sumner north through Auburn and Kent toward Renton. If your work is in the Kent Valley, a home in Sumner or on the north side of Puyallup keeps the drive on one road.

SR 410Sumner to the plateau and beyond

The road up the hill from Sumner to Bonney Lake, then on to Buckley, Enumclaw and eventually Chinook Pass. Each morning it carries the plateau’s traffic down to SR 167, and the grade into Sumner is the pinch point.

SR 16The Narrows to Gig Harbor

SR 16 crosses the Tacoma Narrows to Gig Harbor and continues toward Port Orchard and Bremerton. The bridge is tolled eastbound only, heading into Tacoma. If you are moving to the peninsula for the water and the quiet, put the crossing into your monthly budget.

SounderCommuter rail to Seattle

The Sounder train stops in Lakewood, South Tacoma, Tacoma Dome, Puyallup and Sumner on its way to Seattle. For some buyers, a short drive to a station matters more than any highway. Service runs mainly at commute hours, so check the current schedule.

Should I buy new construction or a resale home?

Either can be right. It depends mostly on how much maintenance you want to inherit and how far out you are willing to live.

New construction clusters where there is land to build on: the plateau around Bonney Lake, parts of South Hill, Graham and Frederickson, and the valley floor around Orting. You get current building codes and a builder’s warranty. You also give some things up. Lots tend to be smaller, and landscaping takes years to fill in. The purchase contract is the builder’s own, drafted by their attorneys and written in their favor.

Two things to know before you visit a model home

Many builders require your broker to accompany you, or to register you, on your first visit to the sales office. If you walk in alone and sign the guest book, you may lose the ability to have your own representation paid for by the builder. Call me before you tour a model.

Builder incentives are often tied to using the builder’s preferred lender or title company. Sometimes that is a good deal. Get an outside quote and compare the whole picture before you decide.

What resale offers

Resale is where the mature trees are, and the older neighborhoods with sidewalks and a corner store. Think of the craftsman bungalows near downtown Puyallup, or the North End of Tacoma with its alleys and big street trees. The tradeoff is the maintenance you inherit, and that is what inspections are for.

What inspections do I need for a home in Pierce County?

Every buyer should get a general home inspection. Beyond that, the right inspections depend on the age of the house and where it sits.

Your inspection contingency is where you learn what you are actually buying. On the standard Northwest MLS forms, the inspection addendum gives you a set number of days to inspect, and then to accept the house, ask for repairs or a credit, or walk away. I help you choose which inspections to order for the house in front of you.

Older homes in Tacoma and the valley towns

Order a sewer scope. Older side sewers crack and take roots, and replacing one is expensive. Ask about heating-oil tanks, too. Many older Tacoma homes were once heated with oil, and a buried tank that was never properly decommissioned is something to know about before you close.

Acreage in Graham, Orting and the plateau

Rural parcels often have a septic system and sometimes a private or shared well. Budget for a septic inspection, and for a well, a water test and a careful read of any shared well agreement. If you plan to add a shop or an accessory dwelling, we check Pierce County’s rules for that parcel before you commit, since unincorporated land follows county code.

Rivers, floodplains and the mountain

Look up the parcel on the county’s hazard maps before you fall for it. Parts of the Puyallup, Carbon and White river valleys lie within mapped flood zones, and Orting and much of the valley floor sit in a lahar hazard zone from Mount Rainier. Neither is unusual here, and neither is by itself a reason to pass. A mapped flood zone can mean your lender requires flood insurance, so get a quote early. In the lahar zone, learn the evacuation route from the house before you make an offer.

Crawlspaces and roofs

Western Washington stays wet for months at a stretch. Inspectors here spend a lot of time in crawlspaces looking for standing water or a torn vapor barrier, and on roofs looking for moss and tired flashing.

How do offers work in Washington?

Offers here are written on Northwest MLS forms, with an addendum for each contingency, such as financing or inspection. Sellers weigh the whole offer, and price is only part of it.

When a home draws several offers, the seller looks at more than the number: the earnest money, how solid your financing looks, how many days you need for inspection, and the closing date you propose. I talk with the listing broker before we write, so we know what the seller cares about.

After mutual acceptance, the seller gives you their disclosure statement if you have not already seen it. Under Washington law you generally have three business days after receiving it to accept it or rescind the agreement. Read it closely; I will read it with you.

The time from mutual acceptance to closing depends mostly on your loan and the terms you negotiate. Once we have both, I will lay out a realistic calendar for yours.

What does it cost to have a buyer’s broker?

My compensation is written into the buyer agreement, and we go over the number together before you sign it.

Sellers and builders sometimes agree to pay some or all of the buyer broker’s fee, and we can ask for that in the offer. Whoever ends up paying it, the fee appears on your settlement statement at closing.