Visit me at an open house on Saturday

There are several open houses being held in the Gig Harbor area this weekend, but none so important as the one that I'll be holding open (#11 on the map)!  While the address says Port Orchard (4576 SE Keystone Ct, Port Orchard), you're only 12 minutes away from Gig Harbor's YMCA, Costco, and other amenities of Gig Harbor North (that's much closer than many parts of Artondale and Cromwell in Gig Harbor).  It's 3bedroom (4 actually, but a 3 bed septic) with a HUGE bonus room.  Don't forget the 3 car garage, views of the Olympics and Mt Rainier, and great proximity to a boating lake.   Only $468,950, open Saturday 1-4pm.

Click here or on the photo of the home for the complete list of open houses this weekend.

Information is from the NWMLS and is reliable but not guaranteed.

A Day at the Ballpark

One of the great things about living in Gig Harbor is that you get the small town lifestyle, yet you're still quite close to the big city events.  We got some tickets to the Seattle Mariners game today versus the Cleveland Indians.  From our house in North Gig Harbor it took 53 minutes to drive up to SafeCo Field in South Seattle.  Not bad.  Our tickets looked pretty good online...section 137 row 6.  What we didn't know until we got there was that section 137 is right behind the visitor's dugout, and the first 4 rows are the dugout...so we were in the 2nd row!  Sunny skies, 72 degrees, and baseball.  What a great day!  The M's are horrible this year, and although they gave up 9 runs before they had an out in the 3rd, it was still fun.  Here's a few photos from the game.

Oh yeah...it was 80's day at the ballpark.

Open Houses take back seat to Art Festival

With the Gig Harbor Art Festival happening this weekend, I wasn't sure whether agents would all try to hold open houses to capture all of the visitors of if nobody would hold opens so they could enjoy the festival.  I'll take B.  Only 9 open houses in Gig Harbor this weekend, and I had to go out to Olalla to get the number that high! 

Click on the map for details.

Information is from the NWMLS and is reliable but not guaranteed.

Great value in Port Orchard, WA

I speak with a lot of folks who want to move to Gig Harbor, but don't think that they can afford it.  Sometimes they're right.  Here's a great option.  We just lowered the price on a house at 4576 Keystone Ct in Port Orchard.  This home is 12 minutes from the Gig Harbor YMCA, Costco, Target, etc.  Only 5 minutes to HWY 16.  You're also a stone's throw from Long Lake recreation area, a great place for freshwater boating and water skiing.  Views of the Olympics and Mt Rainier, new home ('05), large (2792sf, 3bds, office, bonus room), large fenced lot with gate for boat or RV parking, and a great location at the end of a cul-de-sac in a nice quiet, low traffic neighborhood.  Priced at $468,950, you can get way more home for your money than if it were in Gig Harbor.

Click on the home's photo for more information. Please give me a call if you'd like to view the home.

A little pat on the back

I'm generally not one to toot my own horn, but I'm proud of my most recent accomplishment and since I'm the only author of this blog I thought it'd be a bit silly to wait for somebody else to do the tooting for me. 

I've spent portions of the past 7 months completing 120 hours of continuing education in real estate practices and real estate law.  I travelled to Olympia (that's our state capitol by the way, not Seattle as some folks next to me on the plane this past week thought) this morning to take my real estate broker's examination.  I'm usually not nervous about tests, but this one had me a bit shaky...but I passed! 

Terminology is different in different states, but in Washington (for the time being anyway) a real estate agent gets a salesperson license, and each real estate office has a designated broker (obviously requiring a broker's license).  Ultimately, the broker is in charge of overseeing the agents, making sure each and every contract is valid and correct, and ensuring that each of his/her agents have the tools, education, and support necessary to provide their clients with the best possible service. 

Basically, being a broker is a lot of administrative work, which I love.  It's detail-oriented work, which I love.  I'm not quite sure yet what my next step will be, as our office already has one of the area's best brokers (sorry Joe) the area's best broker.  I'm in an interesting position in that there's no opening at my current office, and even if there were an opening at another office I can't imagine ever leaving Gig Harbor's Keller Williams for any reason.  So for now, I'll just be proud of myself for doing the work, relieved at having passed the exam, and eager to use my new enhanced knowledge to serve my real estate clients even better!

Open house list for Gig Harbor, WA

If you're visiting Gig Harbor this weekend, or if you're a Gig Harbor resident who likes to see what folks in the area are doing with their homes, there are 15 open houses this weekend.  Several are slated for Saturday, so be sure to check the date and time before you head out the door.  Ranging from a $269,950 condo (a great price for a condo in Gig Harbor) to a $1.55M home (not an unusual price for Gig Harbor waterfront and Gig Harbor waterview homes), there's a little something for everyone this weekend.

Click on the interactive map to see the open houses, their basic statistics, who the listing agent is, and when the open will be held.  If you're interested in purchasing any of these homes, or any other homes or condos in Gig Harbor, please give me a call.  I always enjoy chatting with folks and walking you through the home buying process.

The information provided here is from the NWMLS and is reliable but not guaranteed.

Gig Harbor, WA Open Houses

Sorry for being late on this one...the holiday threw me off.  Didn't make a big difference though, as there are only 5 open houses in Gig Harbor this weekend, and they're all tomorrow from 1-4pm.  Click on the map below for information on the homes and who the listing agent is.

Information is from the NWMLS and is reliable but not guaranteed.

Gig Harbor outdoor concert series

Small towns are fun.  Gig Harbor is a small town.  Therefore Gig Harbor is fun.  One of the fun events that you'll find in Gig Harbor this summer is the Gig Harbor Concert in the Park series.  Various local artists set up under the pagoda (I think that's what it is) in Skansie Brothers Park right on the downtown waterfront and put on a free concert.  It's a pretty fun deal.  You can't beat the view, and the music is usually pretty good too.

Click here for scheduled performers and more information on the concerts in Gig Harbor.

Photo courtesy of the Butner Family on Flickr.

Come on down to Gig Harbor, WA

Sometimes blogs don't need words...come enjoy Gig Harbor, Washington.

Photo courtesy of LaVeta Jude and Flickr.  Posted here with written permission.

Introductions are important!

I learned something interesting at our softball game yesterday.  As I sat on the bleachers, melting in the 93 degree sunshine, filling out our line-up card the coach from the other team came over to greet me.  You only get one chance to make a first impression, right? 

I was wearing an old t-shirt from my days as a track and field and cross country coach at a local high school.  The other coach approached me and as I looked up, I heard:
         "Do you coach cross country?"

         "I used to.  It's been 5 years, but I loved doing..."

         Cutting me off and extending his hand..."Cal State Hayward, 14:11 5k."

         "Westmont College, 14:52 5k, nice to meet you.  My friends call me Matt."

How do you respond to something like that?  Then I realized how many real estate agents, especially the online agents, introduce themselves the same way.

         "XYZ Realty, 89 transactions last year." 

Great.  I'm not impressed.  Why?  One, I don't care how fast you ran 25 years ago or how many transactions you closed last year.  Two, I have no clue if you're telling me the truth or not.  I could have said I ran a 14:10 5k, or closed 91 transactions, and you'd either have to take my word for it or assume I am a liar.

How are your blogs, or other websites, introducing you?  What do you suppose prospective clients care about?  These answers will vary for everybody, and what works for some won't work for others.  I believe this business is still about personal relationships.  I do want an agent who can produce, but not at the expense of having an ego I can't deal with.  I do want to play softball with, or run against, somebody who is athletically gifted, but not at the expense of being with someone who drives me nuts.

Are your blogs YOU?  Nice to meet you.