Storm Shakes Seattle Psyche, Warms Hearts - 12/17/06 05:22 PM
As I write this, Seattle and environs are very slowly being restored to normal life. Normal is what we take for granted; in this case normal is the supply of electricity.
The things you can’t do without electricity are countless, but high on the list are filling your gas tank and getting cash from your ATM. The police had to escort some tanker trucks to gas stations; some gas stations newly supplied and functioning had to shut down because impatient customers were behaving badly.
Seattelites are self-reliant people; they like their personal space, the more the better. This kind of … (3 comments)

List and Locate are NOT the Same as Sell and Buy. - 12/14/06 01:25 PM
“The days of paying thousands of dollars to real estate agents are over…” Working with the TV running in the background (a bad habit), this is what I thought I heard. I looked up to see a bird’s eye view of suburbia with signs of promised savings hovering over the landscape. Next, the viewer was directed to the website – www.shopprop.com Curious, I checked it out. (You should, too.) An introductory slide show proclaims: “Today’s technology makes it easier than ever to list and locate properties but the rates have remained as high as ever.”  That’s in part correct. The rates … (27 comments)

Stop Working on Your Website and You Could Drop like a Rock. - 12/10/06 05:17 PM
So I’ve redesigned my main website – GNAde.com - yet another time. I do this always myself because (a) I know how and (b) I enjoy doing it. Since I write it, design it, code it (strictly html and css) and optimize it all AT ONCE the site is cut from one cloth instead of being a patchwork put together by different experts with different skills. The search engines appear to agree with me. The site has a Google page rank of five. And, my latest rankings for search terms that matter to me are 18 first positions on page one … (10 comments)

A Genuine Interest in Your Clients is a Requirement for Doing a Good Job. - 12/10/06 03:23 PM
I was looking for one of my client’s addresses in order to send her a Christmas card. Not all the addresses had made it onto my new laptop so I looked through that transparent plastic file box marked “real estate archive.” Next thing you know I spent nearly three hours wading through these papers, reading a phrase here and there and tossing out duplicate documents.
What struck me again is that I am not nearly as interested in the properties as I am in the people who buy and sell them. Surely, I remember that the crawlspace in that remodeled rambler … (3 comments)

Real Estate Theater - 12/10/06 02:53 AM
Can you think of a business where each transaction is like a new play being performed by a new cast of characters with only the most basic facts known to all? What is known? The asking price and the location of the subject property. There is no playwright and no director. Some of the actors barely know each other and a few of the actors barely know their roles. With nobody knowing the outcome this play is a mystery. The Cast
The main protagonists are the seller and the buyer. They have not much of a speaking role but leave most of … (12 comments)

Welcome Consumers to ActiveRain! - 12/09/06 09:49 PM
As a consumer am I better of with the Internet? As a consumer of products, I routinely shop online: for books and watches at Amazon.com, for shoes at zappos.com, socks at footsmart.com. Yes, as a consumer of products I am better of. Great selection, the means could not be more convenient, pricing is competitive. How about as a consumer of services? I have my doubts. None of my doctors has email. When I go to specialists, they hand me the same forms to fill out. Any heartburn? Yes, from having to answer the same dozen questions again. The internet did not … (3 comments)

Learn About the Listing Agent Before Writing that Offer. - 12/02/06 01:52 PM
The obvious preparatory work before making an offer is to find out as much as possible about the property, the neighborhood, the comparative sales data, the market conditions, and, if possible, the seller. Armed with that knowledge and the input from the buyer we decide on the terms of the offer, most importantly on the offering price. But wait, there is more. 
Agent Profile on MLS Member WebsiteBefore I present an offer for my buying client I like to know as much as I can about the agent who represents the seller. I first look for the “Agent Profile” on … (30 comments)

 
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Gerhard Ade

Seattle, WA

More about me…

RSVP Real Estate

Address: 10900 NE 8th St, Suite 1000, Bellevue, WA, 98004

Office Phone: (425) 891-8213

Cell Phone: (425) 891-8213

Email Me

Some idle talk, some serious thoughts, live and learn


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