Tips for Green Living

More & more people are embracing living green. It's a responsible, forward-thinking outlook that declares, "There's no place like home - so save it." The key to living green is sustainability: living comfortably while minimizing your home's carbon footprint, lowering energy, and minimizing consumption and fuel needs. By giving consideration to green practices, everybody can play a part as a responsible citizen of the planet, aligning oneself with this ever-growing eco-friendly demographic. If you haven't already, get ready to go green.

MINIMIZE your paper usage. Through the use of email and the Internet the work has almost been done for you but you can take it a step further. Ensure that you use electronic transaction management systems for payments. Think twice before printing off every email and or invoice, request. If you have a copy electronically don't waste paper by duplicating. No one needs a paper trail following them (literally).

RECYCLING is essential to any home. Don't throw in the trash what can be recycled such as glass, plastic bottles & cans, newspapers etc....

COMPOST bins should be part of every homeowner's landscape, except for those who live in appartments. If your area doesn't pick up composting then visit your local hardware store for a compost bin, it'll cut your waste down significantly.

BEEF UP INSULATION, which can help cut your heating and cooling energy costs and consumption.

CHANGE your incandescent light bulbs to compact fluorescent light bulbs will cut your energy costs drastically.

REDUCE water consumption may not be as hard as you thought; gray water systems reuse rainwater by circulating it into the sewage system.

UPDATE YOUR APPLIANCES. The newer ones are now going green as well: dishwasher, ovens, stoves, refrigerators, freezers are now becoming energy efficient. By replacing your appliances with energy efficient ones you are making a great investment for the environment.

LOW FLUSH toilets are the new rage, wasting less water in volume per flush.

USE NATURAL LIGHTING. Thinking about renovating? Nature's answer to interior lighting is the skylight: they help to illuminate rooms so you can keep those lights off.

CHOOSE sustainably produced materials: bamboo & cork floorings, non-toxic paint, non-bleached fabrics... surround yourself with products that leave a small carbon footprint.

 

Most importantly, going green is the way of the future. And it's here to stay. Green homes are not only less expensive to maintain, they also guarantee that there will be resources for generations to come.

Lake Forest Park: DO NOT SPEED HERE

Great Harvest Bread Co in Lake Forest Park WA: This Is An Amazing Place!

Great Harvest Bread Co. in Lake Forest Park WA:  baking up some wholesome goodness!

I have been to Great Harvest Bread Companies before, but had no idea they were individually owned and the Great Harvest in Lake Forest Park, Washington is at the top of my list!  This locally owned small business has been creating wonderful wholesome food and giving back to the community they serve! If  you haven't been to Great Harvest in Lake Forest Park, then you should go experience it because THERE IS A DIFFERENCE. 

This local Lake Forest Park bread company offers up a lot more than bread and has some great eat in options with amazing soups of the day (Today's soup is Broccoli Cheddar) and a made to order sandwich bar among other fabulous items.  My very favorite spot to stop for a sandwich is right here!  They make their sandwiches with really fresh ingredients and their yummy bread. You can also buy a number of prepared baked goods packaged up and ready to go. 

So to the bread:  Great Harvest puts out a bread schedule and bakes all of their normal staples daily, but also adds some variety by adding specialty breads using a daily schedule - for instance, today's specialty bread for July is Apple Crunch, Cherry Berry Bread, Dakota, Gluten Free Bread, Swedish Rye, and Whole Grain Sourdough.  On Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, Great Harvest has gluten free breads and on Fridays they have hamburger buns. Breads are all baked from scratch and the ingredients are all local and organic. 

You will be greated with a smile and great service even if it is crowded.  Great Harvest Bread Co.  always has a table of samples that they will go through with you and give you a chance to try.  I have never been disappointed - it is just good food!

After 24 hours if not sold Great Harvest donates to a local food bank.  This is truly a company making a difference. I would highly recommend stopping by Great Harvest in Lake Forest Park if you get a chance and if you are a local, then buy all your bread here all the time.  We should all support our local businesses and especially when they are stellar!

Great Harvest Bread Co. in Lake Forest Park is located in the lower mall portion of the Lake Forest Park Towne Centre on the corner of Ballinger and Bothell Ways in Lake Forest Park WA.  They are open M-F 6AM to 7PM and Sat-Sun 7AM to 6PM

17171 Bothell Way NE, Lake Forest Park, WA 98155  206-365-4778

If you want to know more about the amazing Seattle suburb of Lake Forest Park and want to know why this community is so wonderful, please feel free to get a hold of me or visit my Lake Forest Park real estate web page as well!  It is small businesses like the Lake Forest Park WA Great Harvest that are making a difference in our local economies!

Sheridan Beach Real Estate in Lake Forest Park WA

Sheridan Beach Real Estate in the Seattle Suburb of Lake Forest Park, Washington - this is a wonderful Seattle waterfront neighborhood!

Sheridan Beach is right across from the Lake Forest Park Towne Centre in the heart of Lake Forest Park WA - it is a small waterfront community with some amazing homes!  The waterfront Sheridan Beach homes in Lake Forest Park are on the banks of Lake Washington and have wonderful low to no bank water frontage.  The other homes in Sheridan Beach are all also close to not only the water, but the Burke Gilman trail and all that lake Forest Park has to offer.

Wondering what it might cost to get into Sheridan Beach in Lake Forest Park? Sheridan Beach real estate has a large range due to the nature of its boundaries to the East and West.  On the West side is Bothell Highway and there are Sheridan Beach homes available starting in the $350,000 range from time to time, but only a couple blocks over is Lake Washington and waterfront Sheridan Beach homes start in the low million range and up.  You can get a really nice Lake Forest Park lakefront home in Sheridan Beach for under 1.5 million.

Sheridan Beach is a great neighborhood to choose when looking at Lake Forest Park real estate if you enjoy the outdoors and want to be close to both the lake and the trail for walking, biking, and more.  Having the Town Centre right across the street helps, too, and a car can actually become unnecessary in this neighborhood!  The Burke Gilman trail runs all the way into Seattle and interconnects with other trails both North and South of Lake Forest Park. 

The Town Centre has grocery, restaurant, banks, coffee, videos, book store, pet store, library, cafe, Subway, and more.  In addition, there is a seasonal farmer's market and city hall is right there, too!  Lake Forest Park has a lot to offer and is a pretty easy commute to Seattle!   Sheridan Beach is one of Lake Forest Park's  fabulous neighborhoods and has some great perks!

Courtney Cooper, Cooper Jacobs Real Estate Services 206-251-5948

UNDER APPRAISALS! The Next Shoe To Drop?

Hope you had a great weekend, folks!  Cool here in Chicago - not complaining at all!

Up until last week, during my 15 years in Real Estate, I suffered through ONE under-appraisal!

Last week, I endured THREE!

And I am not talking about a few bucks under!  Serious stuff!  $25,000 light on a $215,000 home.  $15,000 low for a $179,000 townhouse.  $20,000 below for a four-bedroom brick home, in the very attractive, but by no means affluent, Dunning Neighborhood on the Northwest Side of Chicago.

Why?

A dearth of direct comparable properties!   Or, too many short sales and foreclosures nearby!  Or, no two-bedrooms, and three-bedrooms adjusted downward will not be accepted by the now-more-persnickety Review Appraiser or the Underwriter, according to one appraiser who completed the inspection and appraisal report on one of our "subject" properties.

The boundaries from which to pull comparable properties are far tighter these days - here in the City of Chicago - maximum one-mile circle.  Preferably, half a mile!  No crossing neighborhood boundaries.  In the suburbs - identical elementary school districts, identical neighborhood "feel," according to appraiser's discretion.

And nothing more than four months old!  Three months are preferable!  If all that has closed in the last few months are poor condition bank-owned properties and short sales, these become your comparison panel!   Adjustments for condition - minimal!

Lenders can't dispute the findings!  Realtors can't dispute the findings!

And, if you attempt to force another appraisal, at buyer's expense, the bank rarely adjusts upward - even if the appraisal comes in higher the second time around!

In the average neighborhood of Chicago, our Team has seen appraisers apply a one-percent depreciation factor per month to their appraisal reports.  So, for example, a house appraising for $200,000 on May 1st, would now, theoretically, value at $197,000! 

In some Chicago Neighborhoods, we have seen the time adjustment over the last few months hit close to 2%.  That same $200,000 home, again selling in early May, 2009?  It theoretically appraises for $194,000 today!

So, please, plant this picture in your mind -

The buyer sells his house cheaper than he thought possible, even a year ago.  An overly-aggressive buyer asks for nearly every inspection item on his report be corrected, at considerable cost, to the seller.

Further, the seller, fearing a replacement buyer is only a distant possibility, agrees to the big credits.

Then, the borrower has to clear loan conditions that seem like an obstacle course on one of those reality shows - what's that crazy show, "Wipeout?"  After great effort - the buyers clear the course!

But then the appraiser comes in, low, without opportunity for anyone to refute it.  The only way the property can sell is if the seller grants another price reduction.

He doesn't!  Or, he can't, financially!  So, the transaction dies!  And, nobody wins!

The pendulum has turned, folks - 180 degrees from where it was just a couple of years ago!  At that time, nearly anybody could qualify for a loan, and closing on a home after an offer was tendered was almost a foregone conclusion.

Today, that happy conclusion is not just tougher to realize.  It's too often . . . FANTASY LAND!

The NEW Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC).  Protection for homebuyers?  Or, just too much over protection, and too much discretion for nervous appraisers?

Any thoughts?  Please share!

DEAN & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO

Horizon View Real Estate in Lake Forest Park WA

Horizon View real estate in Lake Forest Park WA - this is a great neighborhood in the Seattle suburb of Lake Forest Park Washington! 

Horizon View is the highest point in Lake Forest Park and because of that the homes here tend to have some great views!  The Horizon View neighborhood has views of Lake Washington, the Cascades, Mount Baker, Mount Rainier, and Seattle on a clear day.

The real perk here for  Lake Forest Park Horizon View homes, though is the park itself  and great reason to look at Horizon View real estate- Horizon View Park is one of the most phenomenal around and a great smaller scale version of all the things we all like about Green Lake in Seattle!   There is a quarter mile loop and a mile loop, enclosed tennis court, basketball/sport court, ball field, playground complete with choo choo train and separated by age appropriateness, and more!  There is parking, porta-potties, a water fountain, and dogs are allowed here on leash. In true Lake Forest Park fashion, there is a dog bowl here for your furry friends to sip out of as well. The park is 8.4 acres and includes a giant Seattle reservoir which is inside of the larger loop. 

Little known Horizon View Lake Forest Park fact:  Ready for this one? Horizon View Park used to be a Nike Missile site!  It was the radar tracking portion of the system, but it was right here in Horizon View Park from 1957 until it was decommissioned in 1964.  You can still see the relics if you look closely.  After my daughter beat me at a game of tennis, we wandered up an old staircase that was covered in brambles and seemed to literally lead to nowhere.  I didn't know it at the time, but this was one of the radar pads left over from the old site - it was still a bit eerie.  The actual launching site is over on 1st and 228th on Nike Hill in Bothell (I also had no idea where the nick name had come from for the hill). Through out the 1950s Seattle got a lot of these installed apparently. 

Horizon View is a great neighborhood and Lake Forest Park is a wonderful Seattle suburb in Washington!  I have written about Lake Forest Park real estate before, but wanted to start really getting out some cool neighborhood information - Horizon View is a cool Lake Forest Park neighborhood and there are some wonderful homes here!

Cooper Jacobs Real Estate Services 206-251-5948

Lake Forest Park : Garden Tour

Third Place Books New Hours

Honey Bear Bakery New Hours!

Lake Forest Park Living: Doggy Bags....hmmm