Fort Lewis, Defender of Liberty - 01/31/10 05:22 PM
Fort Lewis, Defender of Liberty - - -
As soldiers come home this year, we have the opportunity to assist them in reconnecting with life back in the states. It is an honor to give great service to the men and women who serve this country and defend our liberty.
The local base highlighted for this article is Fort Lewis, in Washington State. Fort Lewis is our premier military installation in the Pacific Northwest. Fort Lewis is the station for several of our nation's top military units now serving to protect our country.
Fort Lewis is located between … (5 comments)
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Vacation Time? - 01/29/10 10:52 AM
A Realtor asked me to do a commissioned painting for her that she could give to a friend as a gift. The Realtor gave me some photos of a sailing trip they took to the South Pacific and requested I use them to create a memorable piece for her sailing buddy. This is the resulting 15" by 30" painting. What was really kind of fun was that after she saw the painting and paid me, she said she was thinking of keeping it for herself.
Someone told me once that when times get tough, maybe it's time to treat yourself to a … (12 comments)
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Out of Order - 01/28/10 09:25 PM
This is a 24" by 30" acrylic painting I completed recently; inspired by photos I took on a trip to Port Townsend, Washington. "Out of Order" points to what I see as our growing dependency on technology and the inherent vulnerability of not being able to survive without it at some point.
Meanwhile other species continue to adapt and evolve within their traditional relationship to nature.
As far as real estate goes, sometimes we get so involved in the latest new tech tool that we forget to just have some good old communication with our friends and associates as … (19 comments)
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Did I Tell You the One About the Wealthy Saudi and Bellevue Square? - - - - 01/27/10 08:26 PM
Did I Tell You the One About the Wealthy Saudi and Bellevue Square? - - -
Well, Nina acquired a very wealthy Saudi businessman as a customer. He wanted to purchase a summer home in the Bellevue Washington area. After looking at many high priced properties, around Lake Washington and elsewhere, the Saudi businessman settled on a luxury home in the City of Redmond (home of Microsoft) close to my hometown of Woodinville and our office in Bellevue. Before even moving in, the Saudi businessman wanted to add extra living space to the already large house, for his chauffer and maid, which … (9 comments)
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Video for 9682 Beacon Ave S. in Seattle - 01/27/10 05:24 PM
Video for 9682 Beacon Ave S. in Seattle:
This 2 minute video gives you a tour of, not only the property, but also the surrounding area. Note that this home is located across the street from the last working farm in the City of Seattle. The location is quiet and peaceful, yet close to the new light rail system and other commuting options to get you to work or shopping.
… (2 comments)
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What Makes King County and the Greater Seattle Area Strong? - 01/27/10 12:02 PM
What Makes King County and the Greater Seattle Area Strong?
How about this list of strong and well positioned employers for starters . . . click on the links below to get to their job sites:
Microsoft
Boeing
Starbucks
Amazon
Costco
University of Washington
Nordstrom
City of Seattle
King County
. . . And the list goes on with great smaller companies and employers . . . Making the King County and greater Seattle areas a great place to live and work. If you are looking to relocate to this area, … (3 comments)
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Seattle Area Housing Market Shows Strength in Two Reports, Buyer and Seller Competition Heats Up --- - 01/27/10 10:46 AM
Seattle Area Housing Market Shows Strength in Two Reports, Buyer and Seller Competition Heats Up ---
The Standard and Poor's/Case-Shiller report indicated that after two and a half years of decline, housing prices have gone up for the second month in a row in the Seattle area. The report that tracks 20 major cities shows that 14 of the 20 tracked cities showed an increase for November. Karl Case, a co-producer of the report, indicated that any sign of at least a flattening of prices is better than the rapid decline experienced over the past few years.
So, the … (1 comments)
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Sharing the Land . . . Do You Want to Live in a Sustainable Community? - - - - 01/26/10 03:36 PM
Sharing the Land . . . Do You Want to Live in a Sustainable Community? - - -
One of the goals of a sustainable community development is to minimize the impact of home construction on the land itself. Ultimately, the common natural habitat becomes as important as the individual living units. The shared outdoor living space arrangement is attractive to those interested in nature and community as a mix. This stands in contrast to the tendency toward cocooning in today's society. Last night Nina and I were treated to an inspiring presentation about a new development in the Seattle area. … (3 comments)
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McChord Air Force Base, Defender of Liberty - 01/25/10 04:44 PM
McChord Air Force Base, Defender of Liberty - - -
McChord Air Force Base is located about 40 miles south of Seattle in the Tacoma area. The base was developed prior to World War II and is seen in this historic photograph of the main gate with a favorite recreation spot, Mt. Rainier in the background.
This base is home to a significant fleet of Boeing C-17 military transport aircraft, used on a variety of missions, including some civilian oriented operations. McChord is currently providing National Science Foundation support in Antarctica, bringing vital cargo and people into incredibly cold temperatures and harsh … (5 comments)
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How Can We Assist Our Defenders of Liberty? - 01/25/10 04:44 PM
How Can We Assist Our Defenders of Liberty?
As we move into a new decade, with trouble throughout the world and threats to our liberty here at home, what can we do as real estate professionals to assist our military personnel? In an exchange of communications with ActiveRain members Steve and Jan Bachman--Northern Virginia Realtors, we've begun discussing this issue, and would like input from others with similar interest. What support can we provide?
My partner, Nina Cross, is a volunteer with the USO here in the Puget Sound area, providing support to our military as they transit through the … (4 comments)
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Attention: Self-employed borrowers. Make sure you're proving your income! - 01/24/10 05:31 PM
An important part of the home search process is selection of a loan company you can trust and rely on, particularly in the type of market we face today. Paul McFadden is the kind of straight shooter you want on your team. Nina and I need to have true professionals to assure our customers the type of success they expect. In this following post, Paul informs us of important considerations for self-employed borowers. Please give it a read as the type of counseling you can expect from a professional:
Via Paul McFadden Mortgage Loan Officer Bellevue Washington Home Loans … (1 comments)
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Snoqualmie Falls - - - Great Puget Sound, WA Destination - - - - 01/24/10 12:23 PM
Snoqualmie Falls - - - Great Puget Sound, WA Destination - - -
Snoqualmie Falls is one of the most popular tourist destinations in all of Washington State. Located near the scenic North Bend area and the fabulous collection of old railroad trains and equipment in the town of Snoqualmie. Fortunately, it is not far from my hometown of Woodinville, and Nina's home at the south end of Lake Washington.
Also in the area of the falls is one of Mary's favorite dining spots, the Fall City Roadhouse. What a great area to spend a few days, just soaking … (13 comments)
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Good News at the Columbia Winery in Woodinville, WA - - - - 01/24/10 10:47 AM
Good News at the Columbia Winery in Woodinville, WA - - -
It was disheartening to have read a while back that the Columbia Winery in Woodinville, WA was considering closing up after the dinner train was placed on a siding for the time being. It must have been a real shock to business not to have that great crowd stop and get off at the Columbia Winery. But, there is good news to follow . . .
When Mary and I stopped by the other day, it was good news to hear they've had a change of … (6 comments)
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Home Sales Trending Woodinville WA 98077 - 01/23/10 05:14 PM
Home Sales Trending Woodinville WA 98077
This report offers a look at the existing home sales activity in 98077, Woodinville, WA. Through Q3 '09. All home sales information is derived from public records provided by the county offices.
As you can see by the trends, both Number of Home Sales Transactions and Avg Sale Price are moving upward through Q3 '09.
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Disclaimer:
The first and last quarters shown may not include all the sales from that period.This … (0 comments)
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Want to Send ANOTHER Message to the White House? - 01/21/10 11:24 AM
Want to Send ANOTHER Message to the White House? ---
Massachusetts voters just sent a very powerful message to the White House. The future of this country is with all of us and our courage to speak out on the critical issues confronting us. Let's keep the ball rolling . . .
Throughout the next seven days, the White House will be looking for input on who should receive the 2010 Presidential Citizens Medal. This is our chance to nominate a candidate to receive this recognition.
I'm not naive enough to think a nominee who stands against any … (0 comments)
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Seattle Area Home Buyers and Sellers, Time to Take the Leap? - - - Interest Rates Are Great! - 01/20/10 01:04 PM
Seattle Area Home Buyers and Sellers, Time to Take the Leap? - - - Interest Rates Are Great!
The best reason to buy or sell now is the fact that interest rates are below 5% currently and may be on the way to move above 6% in the near future. More important than the compelling home buyer tax credit due to expire in a matter of weeks, or the current low prices, is the current interest rate and the impact it can have long term. Lower interest rates mean more than the thousands of dollars you can get now as … (2 comments)
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Brian Buffini Restarts After Six Years - - - "Winning in the New Era of Real Estate." - 01/19/10 07:14 PM
Brian Buffini launched a new series of Turning Point events with a kickoff free session in Seattle today, presented as: "Winning in the New Era of Real Estate. The thrust of his message is that we as agents have survived the Great Recession, or we would not have been in attendance today. We've taken the best shot off the chin by the housing mess monster.
Buffini went on to project that somewhere around 400,000 Realtors have dropped from the NAR roster. The upside is that those of us remaining have significantly reduced competition. Combine that with low prices and low … (20 comments)
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Need to Be Pointed in the Right Direction? - 01/19/10 03:20 AM
Did you ever find yourself needing to be pointed in the right direction? During a hike on Mt. Rainier, not far from the Seattle area, we received unique directions. Sandy, a yoga instructor, and our guide for the day, took the occasion to utilize one of her poses to direct us down the right path at a fork in the trail system. It was an amazingly delightful day!
If you need some direction in you Seattle area real estate search, we are here to guide you down the right path . . .
… (5 comments)
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CHILDREN ARE DYING IN HAITI - PLEASE HELP BRING THEM HOME! - 01/18/10 10:02 PM
There is no greater act that a human being can perform than showing compassion to those in need. Please do what you can to help these children.
Via Mirela Monte, Your Myrtle Beach Real Estate Connection:
The earthquake that hit Haiti 6 days ago left behind it a path of destruction. According to official estimates, there are 330,000 Orphans in Haiti right now. Some of these kids are in the process of being adopted by parents from the United States and other countries. Many of these orphanages are in dire need of food and water. Some of these babies are … (0 comments)
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Seattle and Tacoma Washington Areas are Bright Spots in 2010 Housing Picture --- - 01/18/10 07:55 PM
Seattle / Tacoma WA Areas, Bright Spots in 2010 Housing Picture ---
Two major factors align to forecast stabilizing, if not improving, housing markets for the major metropolitan areas of Seattle and Tacoma, with a general strengthening of the surrounding Puget Sound housing markets.
According to an analysis recently completed by Moody's Economy.com the State of Washington Puget Sound cities, most notably Seattle and Tacoma, will pretty much stabilize their housing markets in 2010, and even show some growth in their economies. Significantly, these areas lagged behind in the inflating of the housing bubble with housing prices remaining geared to local … (0 comments)
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Stand Tall and Be Ourselves Online - - - Public vs. Private - - - Is There a Choice? - 01/16/10 12:47 PM
Social Media creates a demand for presenting ourselves online on a daily schedule. To some, it is fun and entertaining to engage with friends in sharing the latest adventure or discuss normally taboo subjects, like politics. It can get dicey, though, when a carefree, if not reckless, online image migrates into our business practice, unless we've decided that transparency is a key element in our value set, and let the chips fall where they may. Saying in effect, if you don't like who I am, I'm not interested in you either.
Public relations people make a career out of shaping … (31 comments)
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What's Great About Redmond WA Real Estate - - - Home of Microsoft? - - - Try the Water! - 01/15/10 05:33 PM
What's Great About Redmond WA Real Estate - - - Home of Microsoft? - - - Try the Water!
One thing I've come to know about Nina, my real estate partner, is that she is a fine judge of character. Nina has know Kevin Murphy since he was 12 years old, so when Nina says listen to what Kevin has to say, you pay attention to him.
For over five years, Kevin has worked as the Wellhead Protection Lead for the City of Redmond's Natural Resources Department. Kevin recently went on the record stating that Redmond's water supply is … (6 comments)
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Stressed --- Take a Hike --- Mt. Rainier - 01/13/10 10:03 PM
Stressed --- Take a Hike --- Mt. Rainier
One of my favorite hiking spots on Mt. Rainier allows you to experience the beginning of the Nisqually River below, as it starts to flow from the bottom of its glacier. This is just one of 26 major glaciers on the mountain. Mt. Rainier, a dormant volcano, is located about 54 miles southeast of Seattle, and is the highest mountain in our lower 48 states . . . at 14,411 feet . . . a very nice place to take a hike.
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Your Last Chance to Help Protect OUR Internet - 01/13/10 10:39 AM
Your Last Chance to Help Protect OUR Internet
By Thursday (January 14, 2010) midnight your chance to voice your opinion to the FCC regarding Net Neutrality will be over. Who will protect your rights, if you don't stand up for your freedom to compete with anyone else on the Internet on an equal footing? If you have already commented to the FCC, thank you, and think about commenting again.
If you don't understand Net Neutrality, learn about it quickly, so you can write an informed comment to protect your rights to equal access.
If you don't care about Net … (4 comments)
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Need to See a Bit of Light Breaking Through? - 01/12/10 05:15 PM
Need to See a Bit of Light Breaking Through?The Federal Housing Finance Agency's newly released (Jan. 8, 2010) third quarter, Foreclosure Prevention & Refinance Report includes some rays of sunshine breaking through the dark clouds that persist overhead.
According to the report, although loan payment delinquencies are still showing an upward trend, foreclosure sales have gone down as a percentage of foreclosures started by lenders. In other words, a variety of solutions available to borrowers becoming delinquent are more successful. This is keeping more people in their homes and reducing the flow of more foreclosed property into the inventory of … (8 comments)
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Competition or Cooperation, What do you Choose? - 01/12/10 02:08 PM
Competition or Cooperation, What do you Choose?
I enjoy the adrenalin rush of competition and the knowledge that a competitive spirit is at the heart of what makes America so great.
At the same time, the events and conversations of the past few days have made me consider the value of cooperation, even with those considered to be competition.
Consider the fact that even though we may be in the same general business as our "competition" we all have our specialties, and our distinct capacity to connect with specific individuals. In that we are in the business … (7 comments)
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Stepping Out of Virtual ActiveRain and into a Real Live Coffee Shop - 01/11/10 09:01 PM
ActiveRain came to life for us today when Paul McFadden stepped off his profile page and joined us for a mid-afternoon coffee break at everyone's favorite virtual office these days, a local coffee shop. I felt like we already knew each other and were like old friends catching up on a few current details. We swapped stories, figured out how we might work together, discussed a real live potential customer, and generally had a good time. There was no need to spell check our comments, or format any text. Wow, this is the real deal. He was all I hoped for … (20 comments)
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The White House Blog - - - Silence Won’t Work For US Now - 01/11/10 01:02 PM
The White House Blog - - - Silence Won’t Work For US Now - - -
No matter if you agree or disagree with the current administration, we need to speak our minds or we have given up our freedom of speech and shouldn’t be too quick to complain if we don’t like what is going on.
As I’ve posted in the past about communication with the White House regarding the housing mess and job creation, I am now the recipient of another invitation to wade in on discussions at the White House. So, here is the schedule of opportunities for … (5 comments)
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Buyers, Start Your Engines - 01/10/10 06:42 PM
Buyers, Start Your Engines ---
If you need to buy a house, now is the time to get real serious. The government tax credit is about to expire (contracts must be in place by the end of April).
Interest rates are starting to go up (which will eventually reduce the number of homes for which you are qualified).
We can help you find a trustworthy lender to get you prequalified We are ready to work with you in determining your housing needs and match them to the appropriate inventory. We will help you negotiate a transaction that protects … (9 comments)
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Sellers, Now is the Time - 01/10/10 06:31 PM
Sellers, Now is the Time --- If you need to sell, there is no time like the present. The government tax credit is going to expire (contracts must be in place by the end of April). Buyers are now coming out in increasing numbers.
Inventory is low.
Interest rates are starting to go up (which will eventually reduce the number of qualified buyers).
In order to be able to market your property to the maximum number of buyers at this point, and get a contract that is acceptable to you into escrow, the time to list is now. … (4 comments)
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Right Light, Right Moment - 01/09/10 09:30 PM
While looking through my photo files for a picture to illustrate a post earlier this week, this picture jumped out and caught my attention. The photo brought back the memory of the moment it was captured. It was while strolling through a friend's garden under a pretty dense canopy of trees that the light broke through and fell on these wonderful flowers.
I remember it was a magical moment as if the flowers were waiting for the blessing of the light to show up just then. I also remember feeling that I was blessed to be there at that … (6 comments)
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Beware of Home Improvement Books - 01/09/10 05:40 PM
Beware of Home Improvement Books
Yesterday (1/08/2010) almost one million home improvement books under the "Lowe's" and "Sunset" brands were recalled by the publisher Oxmoor House of Birmingham Alabama. One other additional lesser known brand "AmeriSpec" was included in the recall.
The recall was over inaccurate do-it-yourself diagrams on how to do electrical wiring for basic home improvements and repairs to water gardens and general wiring. These books were published from the beginning of 1975 through the end of 2009. So in other words, anytime during the past 35 years. Yikes!
The Consumer Product Safety Commission said that while no … (8 comments)
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Woodinville Real Estate, Check It Out - 01/08/10 09:33 PM
Woodinville Real Estate, Check It Out
If you are looking for a place that offers small town friendliness, close to big city amenities, and a wide variety of employment and educational opportunities then you must consider Woodinville, Washington. The city is named after Ira and Susan Woodin, the first permanent settlers, who homesteaded 160 acres in 1871 along what is now called the Sammamish River.
The City of Woodinville is situated adjacent to the City of Redmond, home of the sprawling Microsoft campus and is minutes from Seattle.
Woodinville real estate includes both properties incorporated into the town, … (3 comments)
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What's the Rush? - 01/07/10 08:43 PM
As I hurriedly drove onto the private road of some clients for a meeting, I was met by one of the local residents standing by the side of the road. I immediately slowed down, paused, and snapped this picture.
I then proceeded at a greatly reduced speed; knowing that there are usually more than one of these graceful creatures around somewhere. It seemed appropriate to slow down even though I was running a few minutes late for the appointment, due to traffic on the way to the property.
I was immediately reminded of the importance of being careful in our daily routines. … (8 comments)
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Do you want to fix up a home? Consider a HUD FHA 203 (k) - 01/05/10 02:13 PM
Do you want to fix up a home? Consider a HUD FHA 203 (k) - - -
This loan program is intended for the rehabilitation and repair of single family properties of up to 4 units. Many lenders use this loan program to assist borrowers, sometimes even in cooperation with other programs offered by local housing authorities, as well as state and federal agencies.
It is even possible to combine other financial programs like the current HOME and HOPE programs also offered by HUD.
A few of the features and intentions of the FHA 203 (k):
… (5 comments)
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I'm Shopping at McLendon Hardware in Woodinville WA in 2010 - - - Are You Planning to Support Your Local Businesses This Year? - 01/04/10 09:17 PM
I'm Shopping in at McLendon Hardware Woodinville WA in 2010 - - - Are You Planning to Support Your Local Businesses This Year?
Even though our general practice is to shop local, if at all possible, this year we are going to make an extra effort to support our local businesses in our hometown of Woodinville. Besides being generally the right thing to do, it is now more important than ever in our current economic situation to support the backbone of our country, our local business people.
Pulling together in tough times is how we can help sustain our communities. … (9 comments)
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