Just a quick reminder to all the first time home buyers out there, that you only have until November 30th 2009 to close on a house in order to qualify to collect the up to $ 8000 tax credit.  I am attaching a video that explains exactly how the tax credit works!   

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIVb2ordwNQ

Here's a great opportunity to own a 3 bedroom condo with 2 full bathrooms in Kirkland!   

I have a new listing on Lake Washington.  The home is in Kenmore and features 62 feet of no-bank waterfront, moorage for 3-4 boats and it has 4 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms.  All primary rooms face the lake!  Rather than me writing about it, check out the video I made on the house!

Kirkland, WA is a suburb of Seattle on the eastside of Lake Washington.  An affluent community,  Kirkland, with its art gallery and boutique store downtown fronting  Lake Washington, has some of the highest priced real estate in Washington.  A few miles up from downtown is Totem Lake, a community of Kirkland.  With many condominiums, apartments, established neighborhoods as well as some newer construction commuinities, Totem Lake is a great place to live.  With easy access to the interstate, Totem Lake provides area residents an easy commute to major area employers on the Eastside as well as a do able commute to Seattle or Everett.  Totem Lake has good area schools.  The Totem Lake area is also known for its medical services. One of the biggest hospitals on the Eastside, namely Evergreen Hospital, is located here and surrounding the hospital are numerous private practices by specialists. 

I just wanted to share a bit of happy news.  Late last year I sold a wonderful house to clients in the 55+ community of Trilogy in Redmond, WA.  I just heard that they, like all the residents I've ever spoken to in that community, love their home and the whole lifestyle that Trilogy offers.   Trilogy is a very active community.  One of the on-site sales agents likes to say that the "R" word doesn't ever enter their vocabulary and he is right...Trilogy is not a "retirement" community.  Instead it is a community for active adults who love the outdoors (miles of trails, a golf course, tennis courts) love to be active in clubs (over 60 of them exist at Trilogy including a travel club) love to take great courses (offered at the club house by UW) and love to remain active (fantastic health club in the community with spa and massage services!)  So glad my clients have found such a wonderful place to enjoy living!

Incorporated as a city in 1913, Duvall  has about 5000 residents and is located about a 20 minute drive from Redmond, WA.  It is a wonderful community with a mix of affordable new construction family homes, established neighborhoods, homes on acreage and a few farms scattered in between.  Downtown Duvall is a delight with antique stores, coffee shops, restaurants and more.  A bit south of the historic downtown several new hip shopping plazas offer area residents the convenience of city life while enjoying the ambience and tranquility of country living.

From sidewalk art as pictured above, to a very friendly and walkable downtown as pictured below, Duvall offers plenty to do for residents and visitors alike.

So you've just lost a whole lot of money, yet again, on the stock market.  The market will probably eventually  recover, as it has done countless times in the past.  What to do if you are afraid to invest in the stock market right now?  Buy a house!  If your credit is good and you have the money for a down payment, this is a most ideal time to buy a house.  Mortgage rates are very low and there are hundreds of wonderful homes on the market...besides which, invest in a house and you can live in it, whereas stock is just paper.

For those of you that are moving to the Seattle area,  specifically the "eastside" areas of Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, Issaquah, Sammamish & Woodinville, who wish to send your child/children to private schools, here is a list of the private schools that are available plus a link to most of their websites.

The list will include Elementary & Junior High Schools & Highschools (PK-12)

Bellevue:

School:                                               Grades:                         Website:

Absorbent Mind Montesorri School           (PK-4)                           www.absorbent-mind.com

Bellevue Children's Academy                  (PK-6)                           www.academicinstitute.com

Bellevue Christian School                       (7-8)                             www.bellevuechristian.org

Bellevue Montesorri School                     (PK-6)                           www.bellmontesorri.org

Cedar Park Christian Schools                  (PK-6)                           www.cedarpark.org

Chestnut Hill Academy                           (K-8)                             www.chestnuthillacademy.com

Cougar Mountain Montesorri                   (PK-K)                           www.cougarmountainmontesorri.com

Dartmoor School                                   (K-12)                           www.dartmoor.org

Eastside Christian School                       (PK-8)                           www.eastsidechristian.net

Educational Advancement Academy         (6-12)                          www.ea2.org

Emerald Heights Academy                      (PK-8)                          www.emeraldheights.org

Eton School                                          (PK-8)                          www.etonschool.com

Forest Ridge School of the Sacred Heart   (5-12)                         www.forestridge.org

French Immersion School of WA              (PK-5)                         www.fisw.org

Hillside Student Community School          (5-12)                         www.hillsidesc.org

The Jewish Day School Of Metro Seattle    (PK-8)                        www.jds.org

The Little School                                    (PK-6)                        www.thelittleschool.org

Medina Academy                                   (PK-6)                        www.medinaacademy.com

Open Window School                              (PK-8)                        www.ows.org

Sacred Heart School                               (K-8)                          www.sacredheart.org

St.Louise Parish School                          (K-8)                           www.stlouise.org

St. Madeleine Sophie School                   (PK-8)                         www.smsbellevue.org

Three Cedars School                              (PK-8)                         www.threecedars.org

Redmond: 

The Bear Creek School                           (K-12)                         www.tbcs.org

Cascadia Montesorri School                     (PK-4)                         www.cascadiamontesorri.com

Montesorri Children's House                    (PK-3)                         www.mchkids.com

The Overlake School                              (5-12)                         www.overlake.org

The Sammamish Montesorri School         (PK-3)                         www.sammamish-montesorri.com

Kirkland:

Eastside Preparatory School                   (5-12)                         www.eastsideprep.org

Holy Family School                               (K-8)                           www.hfkschool.org

Kirkland 7th Day Adventist School          (K-8)                           www.ksdaschool.org

Issaquah:

Cougar Mountain Academy                  (PK-5)                           www.cougarmountainacademy.org

Dartmoor School                                (K-12)                           www.dartmoor.org

St. Joseph School                              (K-3)                             www.sjsissaquah.org

Sammamish Christian School              (PK-5)                           www.scsna.org

Snoqualmie Springs School                 (PK-2)                          www.snospring.com

Sammamish: 

Arbor Montesorri School                    (PK-8)                            www.arborschools.com

Eastside Catholic School

Woodinville:

Chrysalis School                              (K-12)                           www.chrysalis-school.com

Woodinville Montesorri School           (PK-9)                           www.woodinvillemontesorri.org

Bellevue Christian School                 (K-6)                             www.bellevuechristian.org

Someone told me about a group discussion that recently took place at lunch.  Someone in the group was thinking of selling their home and wanted to know if anyone knew a good realtor.  One person in the group started challenging the whole idea of using a realtor, saying that realtors do not earn their commission.  This person went on to say that unless you are new to an area and need to learn about the different communities, schools, etc., you could just as easily  find a new home yourself online.  This person added that realtors don't work hard when selling a home and that they are not worth their "5%" commission.  Besides the fact that this person obviously does not realize that the commission is split between the listing and selling office (plus between the broker and agent,) it made me wonder what the general perception of realtors is and how  best to respond.  

Thinking of how hard I work for my clients, I wondered what I would have said to this person had I had the opportunity to participate in the discussion.  Yes, it is possible to see homes online, but how, without the professional experience, would you know if a house is competitively priced, what other homes in the neighborhood sold for, and how to negotiate the best price?  There are so many little details that go into buying and selling a home!  And contrary to this person's ideas, listing a home is not an easy task; the right listing price has to be analyzed, marketing has to be co-ordinated, staging has to be done (and yes, I have even help paint rooms in my clients homes as well as provide assistance with the general clean up of a property before it is on the market!) photos have to be taken and I even produce videos on my listings.  And let's not forget about setting up title and escrow and making sure that everything is fine on title and that the buyer has the funds to close!  How would you respond to someone like this person?  Why should someone hire a realtor?

I would like to have some feedback on a house that I have listed in Woodinville, WA.  Any comments would be appreciated!