Its My DarlinFun Seattle Local Blog -

Dana London writes a really entertaining Seattle blog filled with amazing fun fashion and food around Seattle - her latest post was on  the July 4th Vegan BBQ at Quickie's on Capitol Hill in Seattle. 

Some might not know I am a vegetarian, but I also grew up on meat and the idea of a BBQ without having to worry about the meat juice or smoke getting on my food sounds heavenly.

Quickies also has a location in the U District, and I would recommend the visit if you get the craving...  Nothing like vegan home style meals.

Capitol Hill has so many awesome places to be entertained, but even just a walk down the street makes you really feel like you are living the Seattle dream.

Some of my favorite spots -

Portage Bay (Roanoke Park), Volunteer Park, Byzantion Greek

Looking to Live In Seattle's Capitol Hill?

Capitol Hill homes are beautiful - especially the old historic Seattle mansions, but I also love all the Green townhomes they have been building lately.   Some of the condos in Capitol Hill are also very cool because many are old houses converted or old 1930s apartments that have been upgraded and converted.  Check out Capitol Hill and make sure to check out some of these spots and Dana's blog:)

 

So is blogging dead? Are all 150,000+ members of Active Rain wasting their time? 

Sunset Hill ParkIs that what David Gibbons (my birthday twin) of Zillow meant when he said: Blogging is so 2008 on Twitter the other day?

 

I keep hearing that blogging is a dinosaur, but 2009 seems a little different.  Twitter and Facebook have been around longer than 2009, but what has changed?   The growth they have both seen this year is truly phenomenal.  Is social media taking over blogging?  For some and that is a good thing.

This is my favorite recent quote out of a great blog post written by Brian Clark on Copyblogger:

"But the story remains the same: people who mainly want to socialize, share links, and post pictures of their cat should be using social networks instead of blogging, and that's exactly what's happening."

Blogging isn't dead. 

Social media is important in order to share your content with your network, but did you know that Facebook doesn't share its info with Google?  Facebook and Google seem to have emerged as arch enemies for Internet Dominance and it is really important for anyone launching or running a successful web campaign to be highly visible to both camps.  Blogging is going to help you with both.  Google will pick up your blogs when they crawl and you need to make sure you are posting wonderful relevant link bait on at least one of the two fastest growing social media sites: Twitter and Facebook.  If you are serious, you should be posting links to your content from both of these places. 

But don't think that is enough.

There are two more very important rules for success:

1. Create good content in your blogging efforts.  This not only attracts visitors, but if they take the time to click on your link and it is poor content, they won't stay and you will lose your credibility

2. Engage socially.  Don't just post links to your content.  Make friends and be social. 

In closing, I am being sarcastic with such a title....

It is important to know where I am coming from here.  Blogging on ActiveRain is one of the very best things you can be doing for your real estate business.  It is at least the very minimum in Internet marketing.  Whenever I look at the Google analytics for my Seattle real estate website, I can see that I get a great deal of traffic from a number of sites including Google, Yahoo, Facebook, and Twitter and this pleases me.  When looking at page views per visitor, though, the number of pages that people view on my site when they visit from ActiveRain, Localism, or my Seattle Suburbs blog site are always much higher than the number of pages from other sites. A very targeted audience is reading your blog. 

Blogging is just beginning and Brian Clark is right, for the people sharing pictures of their cat the journey may have ended, but for the rest of us we should be creating compelling content to link to!

(PS - You can find me on Facebook:  Courtney Cooper and also Twitter)

 

We like to go out and get lots of pictures of Seattle whenever we are showing homes - here is a great shot from a recent Seattle floating homes tour we did for a wonderful couple.  It is a picture of Westlake towards the houseboat community there (Westlake is the floating home community that the Sleepless in Seattle houseboat is in) with Queen Anne in the background.  The picture was taken from Eastlake on the banks of Lake Union looking through some houseboats on the East side of the lake. 

Seattle floating homes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interested in Seattle real estateWestlake Real Estate? Queen Anne Real EstateEastlake Real Estate?

 

This is pretty funny - Gas Works Park was mentioned on the Colbert Report surrounding the 4th of July fireworks...

Gas Works Park is located on the South end of Wallingford on the banks of North Lake Union.  It is a wonderful place to visit and was also featured in the movie Ten Things I Hate About You among others...

Are you interested in Seattle real estateWallingford real estate is also a great place to start for wonderful Seattle Neighborhood homes!

 

seattle real estateThis is one of my favorite spots on the Northeast corner Capitol Hill!

  I love Roanoke Park and the Portage Bay homes that surround it are amazing!  Huge views of Lake Washington and lovely tree lined streets - you can even find Seattle floating homes in this neighborhood! This is one of the best places in Seattle!

You can find more info about Roanoke Park here:

http://www.seattle.gov/parks/park_detail.asp?ID=479

Interested in Searching for Portage Bay Homes? You can find this neighborhood and other Capitol Hill neighborhoods on www.cooperjacobs.com

 

 

 

 

Summer 2009 in Seattle's Green Lake neighborhood!

Besides going around the lake in many varieties of ways, the Seattle neighborhood of Green Lake offers a lot of other great things to do this year! 

The wading pool opened and will be open daily from 11-8PM as long as the weather is 70 degrees:)

Woodland Skatepark open daily  http://www.seattle.gov/parks/maintenance/lowerwoodlandskatepark.htm

June 25th 6:30-8:00  Wine tasting at Green Lake PCC http://www.pccnaturalmarkets.com/community/events/gl.html

July 11th 10AM   Milk Carton Derby...  http://www.seafair.com/events/mcd/

July 18th 10AM  Seattle Parks & Rec Low Cost Life jacket Sale  7201 E GreenLake Dr N, Seattle, WA

green lake seattle

Are you interested in Greenlake real estate (Green Lake real estate)?  There are so many great things about this North Seattle neighborhood!  Green Lake homes to check out:

1010 N 47th St

348 NE 53rd St

731 N 70th St

Follow me on Twitter @CourtneyCooper if you want some great Seattle real estate insight and also access to very cool listings. You can also become a fan on Facebook:  Courtney Cooper 

 

Seattle real estate has been interesting this year -

Great prices for buyers, lower interest rates, and lots to choose from, but unfortunately this has been couple with uncertainties in both buyers and sellers as well as tighter lending requirements and absolutely ridiculous appraisal guidelines and rules. 

How can you even begin to find the confidence to buy?  When you do realize that your situation allows for home buying now, then you need to find someone to help guide you through the process. 

  1. Find a Realtor that you truly enjoy working with.  They should keep you informed even when there is nothing to tell.  Life is way too short to work with someone you do not trust or like.
  2. Know what your guidelines are!   Wife wants X features, but husband only thinks they can afford Y features in a home. Buyers remorse is a big issue if you don't make this decision up front.
  3. Get help locating a property in Seattle within your guidelines.  This is very important!
  4. Realtor structuring a strong offer on your behalf and going through the paperwork with you
  5. Negotiations are always with with your best interests at heart, but you have to be honest and let us know what you want.
  6. Realtor - helping to schedule inspections, appraisal, escrow appointments, etc.
  7. Also providing you with an overall picture of the sales process
  8. Make sure to get them: Referrals, referrals, referrals! - Inspector, insurance contacts, utility contacts, favorite restaurants or vets and doctors in the area, etc...
  9. Look at the resale!!! Seattle buyers should always look at their exit strategy- this is an investment as well as a home!  How well will this house or condo sell in the future?

Eastlake real estate

 Finding your way... 

I like to make up a binder with lots of information for my first time home buyers in Seattle - I want to give them something that might help along the way or clear up any confusions.  I also like to look over the Good Faith Estimates from the lender to make sure all charges seem to be in line and have them ask questions if I see anything out of the ordinary. 

Do you need info on being a first time home buyer in Seattle?  Need a free home buying guide? Want info on the $8000 tax creditcourtney@cooperjacobs.com  Cooper Jacobs Real Estate, Seattle real estate, @CourtneyCooper

Picture credit:  Morgan Cooper Photography  morgan.cooper@comcast.net

 

Or call it something else....

Whatever you call it, just ride it. The Trolley/ Streetcar that runs through South Lake Union has had some name controversy in the last year or so...

 

No matter what you decide to call it, it is a great thing for Seattle to have mass transportation so get on board! If you are interested in South Lake Union real estate or want to know more about this neighborhood, please visit our Seattle neighborhoods pages and check it out!

Follow me on Twitter @CourtneyCooper if you want some great Seattle real estate insight and also access to very cool listings. You can also become a fan on Facebook:  Courtney Cooper 

 

Green lake seattleJust a few things to get you excited about Summer 2009 in Seattle's Green Lake neighborhood!

Besides going around the lake in many varieties of ways, the Seattle neighborhood of Green Lake offers a lot of other great things to do this year! 

The wading pool opened and will be open daily from 11-8PM as long as the weather is 70 degrees:)

Woodland Skatepark open daily  http://www.seattle.gov/parks/maintenance/lowerwoodlandskatepark.htm

June 25th 6:30-8:00  Wine tasting at Green Lake PCC http://www.pccnaturalmarkets.com/community/events/gl.html

July 11th 10AM   Milk Carton Derby...  http://www.seafair.com/events/mcd/

July 18th 10AM  Seattle Parks & Rec Low Cost Life jacket Sale  7201 E GreenLake Dr N, Seattle, WA

Are you interested in Greenlake real estate (Green Lake real estate)?  There are so many great things about this North Seattle neighborhood!  Green Lake homes to check out:

1010 N 47th St

348 NE 53rd St

731 N 70th St

Follow me on Twitter @CourtneyCooper if you want some great Seattle real estate insight and also access to very cool listings. You can also become a fan on Facebook:  Courtney Cooper 

 

Skate park at Green Lake is pretty cool!

Lower Woodland Park, 5201 Green Lake Way North

 

Are you interested in Greenlake real estate (Green Lake real estate)?  There are so many great things about this North Seattle neighborhood!  Green Lake homes to check out:

1010 N 47th St

348 NE 53rd St

731 N 70th St

Follow me on Twitter @CourtneyCooper if you want some great Seattle real estate insight and also access to very cool listings. You can also become a fan on Facebook:  Courtney Cooper 

 
 
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Seattle Realtor Courtney Cooper Seattle Real Estate, Seattle Washington

Seattle, WA

More about me…

Seattle Real Estate: Cooper Jacobs Real Estate Services

Address: Seattle, WA, 98107

Cell Phone: (206) 251-5948

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