Great News!  The Government Accountability Office has determined that it supports Boeing's bid protest regarding the air refueling tanker!  This means it may be re-bid!  Read the full story here.

No, we can't celebrate quite yet, but for those of us that live in Washington State, good news was released today regarding the tanker contract which Boeing lost earlier in the year.  Honestly, in my opinion this affects everyone around the country due to tax dollars and jobs being lost when the tanker contract was awarded to a non-American company. 

Reuters reports that the Air Force admitted to errors in the calculcation of life cycle costs between the two air refueling tankers.  The 767 Boeing offered will cost less over time.  Read the full story here!

The Government Accountability Office still needs to rule on this one, but that decision is expected soon.  Keep your fingers crossed!  I am....

New to Western Washington? Are you considering a move to the Emerald State? Just ask for my Welcome Home Washington booklet filled with helpful information about the area.

Thinking of buying or selling? I would appreciate the opportunity to meet with you! I offer full time real estate expertise and advice to buyers, sellers, corporate and military relocations, new home purchases and investors.

Buyers: My services to you are FREE; Sellers: I don't get paid unless your home sells. I look forward to hearing from you!

Tina Faust, GRI
RE/MAX Champions
Direct: 425-374-2728
Email: Tina@TinaFaust.com
Web: http://www.tinafaust.com/

RelocateAmerica.com, a web site offering resources to people relocating within the US, has published their Top 100 Places to Live list and, you guessed it, Seattle was on that list.  But even better - it made the Top 10!!!  I can certainly attest to this positioning, I love living here!

In addition to this good news, the PMI Mortgage Insurance Company just released their Spring 2008 US Market Risk Index and Seattle was on the low end.  The Company is rating cities based on the likelihood that home prices will be lower in 2 years.  They ranked cities from 1-5 with 1 being the most risk.  Seattle was in the 5 ranking.

The published web site address for more information is http://www.pmi-us.com/eret, however the site wasn't working when I tried going to it.

New to Western Washington? Are you considering a move to the Emerald State? Just ask for my Welcome Home Washington booklet filled with helpful information about the area.

Thinking of buying or selling? I would appreciate the opportunity to meet with you! I offer full time real estate expertise and advice to buyers, sellers, corporate and military relocations, new home purchases and investors.

Buyers: My services to you are FREE; Sellers: I don't get paid unless your home sells. I look forward to hearing from you!

Tina Faust, GRI
RE/MAX Champions
Direct: 425-374-2728
Email: Tina@TinaFaust.com
Web: http://www.tinafaust.com/

What I wanted to chat about today is a topic we hear a lot of lately: Going Green.  What you should know right now is that you won't be reading about Global Warming, I'm not even talking about Climate Change.  Too many arguments out there for and against those issues.  What I am talking about is Sustainability.  I don't think many can argue about that.

Folks, we need to be more concerned about being wasteful.  It's not difficult, nor does it cost significantly more, to forward think about what's going to be left in 100 years.  Ok, so many of us reading this post now won't be here in 100 years... but our families will. 

So, here are the things I've done in thinking more about the planet:

• Changed all incandescent light bulbs to Compact Flourescent Lightbulbs (CFL's).  Not only do they use less energy to light up a room, but in warm climates where summer temperatures soar, they don't generate additional heat in a room that you are paying to cool.  Note: CFL's now come in a range of sizes made to fit recessed lighting, flood lights, track lights, lamps, etc.
• Planted trees and shrubs in my yard.  I now have over 120 plants and 15 trees.  I also have a vegetable garden.  This not only helps the air, but I am able to eat my own fruits and vegetables.  Note: There are lots of small tree varieties, and many herbs, vegetables and fruits can be container grown, so even those with small spaces can garden.
• Ordered the yard waste service through my garbage collection company. Rather than send my food waste and yard waste to the landfill (which creates dangerous gases during decomposition), these items now get composted and turned into something that can be used for gardening.  In addition, most recycling programs won't take shredded paper, paper plates, paper towels and pizza boxes.  The yard waste service will!  Note: I get the compost friendly (cardboard) paper plates, not the styrofoam ones.  When I'm shopping for groceries, I look for items in compost friendly packaging.  For example, Fresh Express (in my area) distributes organic salad mix in a plastic container that's made from corn so it can be composted!
• Ordered kitchen waste Bio Bags so I can send more of my food scraps to the yard waste bin without worry of non-solid items (like sauces) making a mess.  Note: I use Bio Bags for my pet waste disposal as well... even though this waste is not compostable, I'm not sending plastic bags into the landfill.
• Keep my thermostat lower.  I try to use less energy in the house by wearing long sleeve/pants if I get chilly.  My heat setting is rarely above 68 degrees.
• Reusable grocery bags.  Plastic grocery bags are one of the most wasteful products coming through my house and they are so bad for the landfills.  I am now transitioning to reusable grocery bags.  Note: After putting away your groceries, store your reusable bags in the car so they are always there for the planned or impromptu visit to the store.  Use them for more than just groceries - anytime you shop fill up your reusable bags first.
• Reusable water bottles.  Even though plastic water bottles are recyclable, we are still using this product to make new ones - beyond that - many of these bottles are not recycled.  Note: Look for bulk packaging to make it more affordable.  A recent visit to my local Costco got me 12 reusable water bottles for about $15.

In addition to the list above, my future plans for continuing in the sustainable direction include: switching plastic silverware to compostable kind, switch my plastic garbage bags to a material that will breakdown in the landfill, add solar panels to my home and continue to plant more shrubs and trees each season.

Some of my favorite nurseries to shop at are: The Plant Farm, Flower World, Sunnyside Nursery and Clearview Perennials (Wholesale Nursery only only a few weekends per year to the public). 

For information on purchasing environmentally friendly products and Bio Bags, go to BuyGreen.com

For information on CFL bulbs, go to the Energy Star web site

Want a unique gift idea? Try these handbags made from re-purposed movie billboards and candy wrappers.

HOMEOWNERS: If you are moving towards sustainable living, I'd love to know what works for you.
REALTORS: Are you promoting sustainable living in your communities?  If so, how and what kind of response have you received?

New to Western Washington? Are you considering a move to the Emerald State? Just ask for my Welcome Home Washington booklet filled with helpful information about the area.

Thinking of buying or selling? I would appreciate the opportunity to meet with you! I offer full time real estate expertise and advice to buyers, sellers, corporate and military relocations, new home purchases and investors.

Buyers: My services to you are FREE; Sellers: I don't get paid unless your home sells. I look forward to hearing from you!

Tina Faust, GRI
RE/MAX Champions
Direct: 425-374-2728
Email: Tina@TinaFaust.com
Web: http://www.tinafaust.com/

Cities shown above may not reflect all cities w/sales.  See County Totals for actual totals/averages as published by the NWMLS. 
Information deemed accurate but not guaranteed.

New to Western Washington? Are you considering a move to the Emerald State? Just ask for my Welcome Home Washington booklet filled with helpful information about the area.

Thinking of buying or selling? I would appreciate the opportunity to meet with you! I offer full time real estate expertise and advice to buyers, sellers, corporate and military relocations, new home purchases and investors.

Buyers: My services to you are FREE; Sellers: I don't get paid unless your home sells. I look forward to hearing from you!

Tina Faust, GRI
RE/MAX Champions
Direct: 425-374-2728
Email: Tina@TinaFaust.com
Web: http://www.tinafaust.com/

Copyright 2008, Tina Faust, All Rights Reserved

Despite real estate sales being down over years prior, we're still in a good place!  Forbes.com just rated Seattle among the Top 10 Recession Proof cities when looking at the 50 largest metro areas in the US.  In naming these cities, they looked at:

Unemployment Data for year ending February 2008;
Median Home Price Data;
Data from a November 2007 report, "U.S. Metro Economies: The Mortgage Crisis," by the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

Here's the Top 10 Cities:
Oklahoma City, OK
San Antonio, TX
Austin, TX
Houston, TX
Charlotte, NC
Dallas, TX
San Jose, CA
Raleigh, NC
Salt Lake City, UT
Seattle, WA

Read the whole story here.

New to Western Washington? Are you considering a move to the Emerald State? Just ask for my Welcome Home Washington booklet filled with helpful information about the area.

Thinking of buying or selling? I would appreciate the opportunity to meet with you! I offer full time real estate expertise and advice to buyers, sellers, corporate and military relocations, new home purchases and investors.

Buyers: My services to you are FREE; Sellers: I don't get paid unless your home sells. I look forward to hearing from you!

Tina Faust, GRI
RE/MAX Champions
Direct: 425-374-2728
Email: Tina@TinaFaust.com
Web: http://www.tinafaust.com/

This recipe actually comes from my husband, with a little twist from me.  This is a great weeknight pasta recipe that tastes great and it's easy!  It's another dish that we don't measure for, so these are approximate:

1/2 box ziti, penne or rigatoni pasta
2 TBSP olive oil
1 TBSP diced/minced garlic
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (more or less depending on how hot you like it)
1/4 cup finely diced onion (or 2 TBSP dried minced onion)
2 cans diced tomatoes (I use the italian version)
1 TBSP balsamic vinegar
Pinch sugar

Cook pasta according to package directions.  Start this first, the pasta sauce doesn't take long to make.  While the pasta is cooking saute the garlic, red pepper flakes and onion in the olive oil until the onion and garlic are tender/lightly browned.  Add the diced tomatoes, balsamic vinegar and stir.  Add the pinch of sugar (to reduce the acidity of the tomaotes).  Bring to boiling and reduce heat.  Cook until heated through and/or pasta is done.  If desired add meatballs and or cooked, diced chicken.  Top with fresh shredded parmesan cheese and minced fresh basil.  Served with salad and bread this should feed 4.

Here are the sales numbers for the first quarter of 2008 as compared to 2007 by County.  I've included Snohomish, King and Skagit Counties.

As you can see, despite reports of doom and gloom we were still in a 'healthy' market through March.  The number of sales were down and the average days on market were up; though overall we remained in a 90-120 day marketing time and our price change over the three counties is minimal as compared to this same period last year.

Other states across the nation aren't as fortunate.  Despite these numbers, sellers still need to be realistic with their pricing and may need to make adjustments to match the market.  Within these counties are 'pockets' that are selling either better or worse than the averages shown above.  Keep an eye out for the April sales numbers I'll post here this week.

If you would like to know what is happening in your area, city or neighborhood please give me a call or drop me an email - I promise to respond quickly!

New to Western Washington? Are you considering a move to the Emerald State? Just ask for my Welcome Home Washington booklet filled with helpful information about the area.

Thinking of buying or selling? I would appreciate the opportunity to meet with you! I offer full time real estate expertise and advice to buyers, sellers, corporate and military relocations, new home purchases and investors.

Buyers: My services to you are FREE; Sellers: I don't get paid unless your home sells. I look forward to hearing from you!

Tina Faust, GRI
RE/MAX Champions
Direct: 425-374-2728
Email: Tina@TinaFaust.com
Web: http://www.tinafaust.com/

With the temperatures starting to warm up and the rain subsiding (it will happen!), the Department of Transportation begins to make their plans for the summer season road construction. 

Here's a link to the Key Projects in Snohomish County.  Here's a quick rundown:

Ongoing Projects
I-5 Expansion and HOV Lanes in Everett
I-5 Park and Ride in South Everett
SR-9 Road widening
I-5 Bicycle Pedestrian Overpass at 124th
SR-9 Safety Improvements

New Projects
SR-9 Road Widening - Lake Stevens
US-2 and SR-92 Guardrail
US-2 Rumble Strips
US-2 Sunset Falls Slope Stabilization
US-2 Slide Repair near Index
SR-9 Road widening
SR-526 Repaving
SR-528 Repaving

A detailed description of these projects is provided in the link above.

New to Western Washington? Are you considering a move to the Emerald State? Just ask for my Welcome Home Washington booklet filled with helpful information about the area.

Thinking of buying or selling? I would appreciate the opportunity to meet with you! I offer full time real estate expertise and advice to buyers, sellers, corporate and military relocations, new home purchases and investors.

Buyers: My services to you are FREE; Sellers: I don't get paid unless your home sells. I look forward to hearing from you!

Tina Faust, GRI
RE/MAX Champions
Direct: 425-374-2728
Email: Tina@TinaFaust.com
Web: http://www.tinafaust.com/

The thought of buying the first home is often just as scary as it is exciting.  There are so many questions unanswered many don't know which direction to go.  Instead of going about this process 'blind', email or call me to receive a free, no obligation brochure on facts for the First Time Homebuyer.  It's filled with great information and things to consider before taking the big step.

For many this is the single largest purchase they have ever made.  It's important to be protected.  When you request this brochure, your personal information will not be shared or sold to any other parties. 

Email: Tina@TinaFaust.com
Phone: 425-374-2728

I look forward to hearing from you!

New to Western Washington? Are you considering a move to the Emerald State? Just ask for my Welcome Home Washington booklet filled with helpful information about the area.

Thinking of buying or selling? I would appreciate the opportunity to meet with you! I offer full time real estate expertise and advice to buyers, sellers, corporate and military relocations, new home purchases and investors.

Buyers: My services to you are FREE; Sellers: I don't get paid unless your home sells. I look forward to hearing from you!

Tina Faust, GRI
RE/MAX Champions
Direct: 425-374-2728
Email: Tina@TinaFaust.com
Web: http://www.tinafaust.com/