One thing I love about selling real estate is that no two days are alike and we can make them whatever we want them to be. There are days however that I just wished I had stayed in bed.The following story should have been one of those days.

One of my more interesting and thicker files, took place years ago as I excitedly took my first listing. It was a bank owned home and this was not a down market. I knew that I could find the right buyer and that the while the house was a mess, there was a lot of potential in the 5 acres that accompanied it.

I headed right out and put up the sign, filled the flier box  and placed a well worded ad. Then the next thing I knew the phone rang and an offer was on it's way.

It was a good offer and the other agent was great to work with. I wish I could have said the same for her client or her clients boyfriend who had just been released from prison.

The bank took the offer and I let the other agent know. She sounded happy and said she would tell her clients immediately.

I was in the area and I decided to swing by the property and check on the flier box to make sure it was still full. After all we had a deal but not a closed transaction yet.

As I pulled up the twisting drive I immediately spotted smoke coming from the property. Not a good sign. I parked and ran up to the home only to see a large flaming burn pile in back of the house. Nearby was a hose and an aquarium pump spewing the contents of the septic onto the property. The doors to the home had been pried open as the buyer boyfriend hurried around with his busy work.

I managed to explain to them that the buyer had not bought the property yet and that he would need to leave or be accompanied by his agent. He did not agree, so I got the Buyers Agent on the phone to explain.

I thought all was resolved as I watched him clean up and leave. Apparently we were still not on the same page though, as a week later when I stopped by all of the flooring had been removed from the home and replaced.

In the end the property did close with another buyer. The original buyers check did not clear escrow and they eventually moved on. And I finished writing a pile of notes that my Designated Broker read with her mouth open in wonderment. Some clients are special some are VERY special.

So, do you have any stories to share about an adventure in real estate? I would love to hear them!

The Northwest is full of treasures. From the dew drops sliding off the limb of an ancient cedar tree to the morning mist revealing a lake born to reflect Rainier.

The newborn deer stumble up from the soft earth to breath in a new day. The  blossoms emerging from their nights slumber beckon them to breakfast.

Time changes everything as it drifts from season to season and century to century calling all to try again.

Life is full of moments that are made for each one of us. If we pause long enough we may be able to catch one and enjoy its depth.

I have enjoyed reading blog posts all night. Some of them leave me with a smile and others seem down right scary. Some I comment on and some I have no idea what to say.

So why do you post a comment? Do you plan to change someones mind or do you agree with the author? Do you relish the points or want to share the information? 

I know on Facebook, I may not always see a comment but it does not mean that my post was not read. Sometimes we post things that people only want to share their thoughts on with you privately ...or not at all.

When was the last time you posted and did not hear a word? When was the last time someone told you what you wrote meant something to them even if they didn't tell you at the time?

The one thing that we are constantly reminded of on the Internet, is that what we leave behind here, stays here. Who says that is a bad thing? Sometimes a message waits for all the right reasons and you never know if the impact you make will be felt today, tomorrow or 100 years from now.

My Grandma's house was home to us all the entire time I was growing up. It was the one thing in my life I could count on. Grandma would be at the dining room table reading a book and enjoying a steaming cup of coffee with cream and sugar of course, at any given moment. A fresh baked batch of cookies could disappear before your eyes  and a beautiful display of flowers from her garden could always be found delighting the table's center.

Why does this memory matter? Because it is a gift. A gift that was given without strings attached. A place I could count on when the rest of the day stormed around me. It was her house that was home to me. The place where cousins gathered dressed up for  the occasion and forbidden to get dirty,  aunts and uncles debated the politics of the day and the place I tear up when I drive by.

Home ownership is not just a monetary investment. It is =piece of mind and security in the storm. A place where priceless memories are made and Christmas shows up in pictures.

When I bought my home, I thought of Grandma's. The cat laying in the sunny window and the sidewalk I skated around and skinned my knees. I thought to myself home is where life is made and dinner is waiting. It is where we connect and understand each other.

I purchased my first home when I was 19. I was thrilled to be able to share our home with our children and build that tradition with them.

I know now that it meant something to my kids, as they tell me what they want in a home of their own. What memories they hope to pass on and where their adult lives will begin.

Owning your own home is not about a price tag or a market. Owning your own home is about the life you lived and the place where memories live on forever.    

This is a great post with hints on how to select the perfect color. Every room has a purpose and choosing the right color to highlight it can make a difference!

I have been working from home the past few months and I really enjoy it. The coffee is always hot and my favorite brand. I can play whatever station I want to listen to with out anyone groaning. And dinner is always hot and on the table, not a last minute grab and go at the grocery store.                                                     

The downside is the phone calls all day long. I get hang up calls from nearly every organization under the sun and if they are on the line, they proceed to tell me how bad life is, and that for just a few dollars their group can fix it. When I ask them to take me off their list they try to negotiate calling me fewer times a year. While I understand this is someone's living, I have really just about had it with the phone stalking!

So I began to think about my own business and how my clients want to be communicated with. I prefer e-mailing them but that is how I want to communicate. It is more important to know how they want to communicate. I want to make sure that the service my clients receive is top notch according to them...not necessarily only according to me.

So they next time you take on a new client ask them the simple question- How would you like me to communicate with you? You might be surprised at how responsive they are when you have an update or a question and how much happier they are to have you working for them.

The Theler wetlands is the perfect way to enjoy a lazy Sunday afternoon. Birds dip and soar as they call to the winds. Small animals pause on the graveled path as if to consider the humans. Breezes carry through the channel of Hood Canal to retell a legend lost to time. The coy sun melts though the gray and understands that Theler is more than a moment to be found.

This last May I had to make a tough choice. Continue marketing homes and helping buyers though the purchase process or address the real reasons homes are not selling like they should.

I went back and forth and had many sleepless nights. I thought about the implications of temporarily giving up a career I love. It finally came down to the real reason I became a Realtor.

In 2004 I decided that I would choose a career that would help people. My husband and I had recently refinanced our home and had a mortgage broker that broke all of the rules and then some. I felt burned. I hated the thought of that happening to anyone else. So I thought that a career where I was there to guide people through the home purchasing process and protect them was a way to give back.

The last few years have not seen the best market but I was happy to plug along because I knew I was making a difference. I became a Managing Broker in March of 2010 and dreamed of opening my own office in the future. Then the next  April, I had three houses fail to close in a one week period because the buyers had lost their jobs. It was no ones fault. 

 One of the houses was headed to foreclosure and the bank had already approved the short sale. I was as happy for the stressed out seller as I was for my client. Then it all fell apart...again and there was nothing I could do. I could not create the conditions in our area so my buyer could find employment....or could I?

Since May I have poured myself into supporting people that are serious about turning our economy around. Some of them are already elected and some are not. I do not have the vote them all out mentality. What I do know, is that if you go to Olympia and listen to the House debate the bills you will identify very quickly who has a clue that we are even in a down economy/recession and who is willing to fight to fix it.

My husband is running for the House in the 35th District in Washington State. He is a firefighter who serves our community. One day like me, he saw too much and he had to do something about it.Dan Griffey understands what needs to be done to get our State back on track and get Mason, Thurston, Grays Harbor and Kitsap counties back to work again.  Drew MacEwen running for the other seat also has an excellent plan, as does Realtor endorsed Rob McKenna running for Governor.

Before you vote Republican, Democrat or incumbent take a good long look at the people seeking the positions and why...Your Career Depends on it!

By most accounts the remarks made by Kathy Haigh last year recommending "crossing our fingers and hoping for the best" concerning Washington State's budget, have come to pass and the results are not good.

At this time the revenue forecasts are only 2.1 billion for the next two years not the hoped for 3.5 Billion. Those numbers are far apart and seem to be growing farther.

Dan Griffey shared-

"We need real leadership in Olympia. A sustainable budget was not passed this year. It was a wait and see...cross you fingers and hope for the best budget, that now is projected to be over 1.4 Billion short! We must  honestly address the budget concerns and not rely on gimmicks to make it look better than it really is."

Rob McKenna had this to say-

"This announcement underscores the need for state government to begin living under sustainable budgets. It is simply wrong to overspend in good times, adding billions in future spending without means to pay for it, and then cutting in bad times and not living up to promises our citizens have planned on."

Did we have warning that this could be the case? Yes. Was there something we could have done about it? Yes. Is it too late to address it? No.

Some of the options that should have been used, included:

No use of one-time money for ongoing programs

No transfers from other budgets

Strong reserve to meet unforeseen emergencies or revenue drops

Protect constitutional mandates

Transparency — no gimmicks

Utilize priorities of government

Reflect priorities of governing board

Minimize legal disputes

Seek efficiencies and reforms where cost effective

No new taxes

Restrict fee increases to benefit of payer

Provide flexibility in administration/ compliance

While we do have options for addressing the current shortfall, we would have been far better off if it had been addressed sooner rather than later, after all time is money.

The other issue we are facing is that the ones who voted in the unsustainable budget are the very ones who are now going to address it. Do we trust them to make the tough choices or are they just going to sell (tax) us another bill of goods?

We all know that our home values have gone down with the current economy. It is not that they are a bad investment, it is that at this moment they are not reflecting the value that we would have hoped that they would.

One way to bring the values back up, is for the demand for housing to increase. The more people that have jobs and need to relocate to an area the more stable and profitable the housing market will become in that area.

Protecting existing jobs and promoting a business friendly environment to create new ones is a top priority of Dan Griffey's.

Dan Griffey believes in sensible solutions for the economy. We all know that a healthy economy in our state depends on a vibrant job market. Washington State has burdensome taxes and regulations that get in the way of job creation, and all too often cause our employers to just hold on when they would rather be expanding. We need to look ahead and make Washington the best place in the World to locate a business for success.

Dan believes that we must foster a competitive economic climate that retains and attracts employers. He remains focused on stabilizing our state economy and putting people back to work. This means ensuring businesses stay in Washington, through free market principles and work to preserve every job in the state by supporting policies that help employers and opposing policies that would kill jobs.

When asking Dan how he plans to lead he said,

"Every idea that I will consider should answer one question: will it create private-sector jobs or will it kill them? Everyone wants quality schools, safe communities and to take care of our most vulnerable citizens. A stronger economy is how we pay for these things. I am committed to removing the barriers and complex government red tape thereby making our state attractive to companies all over the world considering locating in Washington.

Washington must be more conducive to job growth and opportunity. The proposals I support will help families prosper and improve our state's economic health. When businesses are doing well, people are working and revenue is generated to pay for public safety, schools and other important services."

Dan Griffey has a few ideas on how to stimulate the economy, and promote job creation:

Business & occupation tax reductions to help our struggling businesses.

Further stimulate job creation by putting a freeze on new rules or regulations imposed by state agencies.

Pass a balanced budget within current revenues without raising taxes. Out-of-control state spending has put taxpayers and small businesses at risk.

Make permanent the Taxpayer Protection Act, requiring a two-thirds vote requirement to raise taxes by passing a constitutional amendment.

Require permits be granted or denied within 90 days. I support removing red tape from state agency permitting. Employers need certainty; foot-dragging at state agencies is unacceptable and costs employers money they could be using to hire employees.

Reign in state regulations by requiring state agencies to determine whether compliance would have a specified economic impact on jobs and taxpayers before adopting a rule.

Replace the Growth Management Act with one that protects property ownership rights.

Ensure all taxes and fees have a clear and explicit basis in law.

“Our Government is in place to protect our rights and freedoms, not to protect us from them.”~ Dan Griffey

Daniel Griffey is the leader we have been looking for to get our Communities and our state back on track.