Bidding wars are more and more common in 2021 and the Wenatchee Valley is no different. The average single family home in the Wenatchee metro area is selling for 2% higher than the list price in the first part of the year. What about the condominium market? In our latest blog post we answer the question on everyone's mind: How much should I offer over asking price on a Wenatchee Condo? The answer may surprise you. Only about 1/3 of Wenatchee condos are selling above asking price and the average condo is selling for a slight discount.   04/21/2021

Are you watching the housing market and wondering when there will be new Wenatchee condos for sale? Inventory is at an all time low and right now (mid April 2021) there are actually ZERO condominiums on the market in either Wenatchee or East Wenatchee. Are you worried that you might miss an opportunity to buy a condo when one becomes available? We can email you new condos for sale in Wenatchee as soon as they hit the market. Sign up here to get an email the first thing in the morning when new condos come on the market.   04/20/2021

We recently interviewed Don Hester of NCW Home Inspections for our Wenatchee Condo Blog. We asked him the questions that most buyers seem to have.  Do you need to conduct a home inspection on a condo? Doesn't the HOA take care of all repairs? How long will the inspection take? What are common issues you find? What's the strangest thing you have found?  You can read more about condo home inspections on our website.    03/27/2021

Big shout out to Wenatchee photographer Travis Knoop for his help on our new Wenatchee condo website.  We have worked with Travis for a decade now and his photos really do a great job helping us tell stories.His drone photos of Wenatchee condos show off the incredible views of the local landmarks like Saddle Rock and Castle Rock and of the nearby Columbia River. Our neighborhood pages that describe local condo associations really shine thanks to his incredible images.Here are a couple of my favorites. 03/13/2021

What's the best month to list your condo for sale in Wenatchee? In our latest Wenatchee condo blog we tackly the question:When is the best time to sell a condo in Wenatchee? We compared the inventory and the number of new homes listed each month over the past 5 years. What month do you think is best for listing a house for sale? 03/10/2021

I'm excited to share my new Wenatchee Condo website with readers of Active Rain. I wa surprised that no one had built this resource for condo buyers in Wenatchee and East Wenatchee. We have tons of neighborhood info from places like Ambercrest and the Legends in East Wenatchee to Fontanelle and the Racquet Club Condos in Wenatchee.  We hope to have a condo blog as well and will write content that we hope can be a great resource. Please stop by and take a look. We would love your feedback. 03/08/2021

This is BS (Before the Snow...lol)I thought clients and others might enjoy seeing what happens on a day in the life of a local REALTOR. This video, complete with the going back to the beginning in my car because I forgot to get the shsots the first time, is a small, very small insight. People often think showing a house(s) or writing a contract is the major part of the business... it is up there but not the hardest nor most involved. It all comes down to a point I have heard Brian Buffini and Tom Ferry make over and over again." You need to work on your business not so much in your business". Calls, notes popbys, researching information, looking ahead down the road of the future out past your headlights to plan moves are all important and are the things that create, showings, listings a... 02/18/2021

"Skiing is a dance and the mountain always leads."It's winter in Wenatchee and I thought it might be fun to show you a short video of Mission Ridge, the ski area 13 miles south of town.  This is where I learned to ski when I was 19 years old.  I took lessons every Saturday the first winter after I moved to Wenatchee. After I met my husband, we had a lot of fun skiing together on these slopes. One of the beauties of Mission Ridge is it is so close to Wenatchee.  We were, literally, on the slopes less than 45 minutes from the time we left our house.  Mission Ridge is located in a 2,000 acre basin, with 4 chairlifts and 36 designated runs.  We get a lot of people from the West side of the state coming to Mission Ridge, even though there are two major ski areas much closer to them.  That is... 12/09/2018

"Surely the apple is the noblest of fruits."-Henry David ThoreauApples are big business in the Wenatchee Valley.  We grow other crops here, too, but apples is what we're famous for and the main agricultural crop.  On average, Washington State ships approximately 125 million 40# boxes of apples each year.  Wenatchee, as the Apple Capital of the World, plays a major role in the international business of apples.  We are home to the Washington State Apple Commission, the primary advertising and promotional agency for the Washington apple industry. If you've ever bought apples in the store (and who hasn't) you may be interested in the 4:52 video below.  It shows how the apples are handled once they are delivered to the warehouse for sorting, sizing and packing.  Technology has changed the in... 10/21/2018

"The greatest joy comes from knowing you have changed someone's life for the better." One of the wonderful organizations we have in the Wenatchee area is the Alatheia Riding Center. Alatheia is a therapeutic riding center for those with special needs.  It was opened in 2011 and has been providing life-changing experiences for children with physical, emotional and/or mental challenges ever since.   I encourage you to peruse their wonderful website.  Be sure not to miss the heartwarming rider stories . I have a friend whose grandson has Downs Syndrome and he loves his time at Alatheia each week.I had tears in my eyes as I watched the video.  It is only 3 minutes long.  I hope you enjoy it too! 10/07/2018

"When it comes to air quality, 10 isn't quite perfect but it's pretty darn good."We've been enjoying good air quality this month, allowing us to get back to enjoying all the amazing outdoor activities North Central Washington has to offer.  I've been watching and waiting to get into single digit readings but it hasn't quite happened yet.  We ARE getting close.  Today's reading is 10.Most of the week has fluctuated from 12 - 20. !  We gladly accept that after an unusually smoky summer. 09/22/2018

 "We invite you to choose this place; To visit, to explore, or to stay."  If you have any interest in geology and have 4:33, you may enjoy this video describing the geology of the area. It focuses on the Ice Age Floods. Wenatchee River Valley features are also described from the Columbia River to Leavenworth, Washington. Giant flood bars, ice-rafted erratics and rhythmites are all explained.: 06/10/2018

"Visiting a museum can help you understand the past, appreciate the present and contemplate the future."-Carol WilliamsThe Wenatchee Valley Museum & Cultural Center in Wenatchee, Washington houses local and regional history, including information and artifacts of our Native American heritage.  For those of you unable to get to the museum, here is a link to a wealth of very interesting information about the History of Washington's Native American Tribes of Washington State.  The apple industry has long been a strong part of the economy of the Wenatchee area and the museum has a very interesting section on the history of the apple business. The Washington State Apple Commission, based in Wenatchee, Washington offers information on every aspect of the apple industry.  They have a very inte... 05/29/2018

What are you missing? Wenatchee Home Inspection  On home inspections having the right tools are always a must and often a blessing. Here was a great example. When doing an IR scan of the ceiling I find a dark blue to black area of the wall area in the front room/kitchen area. This was the unmistakable sign of missing insulation which leads to energy loss, potential for moisture transfer in the adjacent attic space as well as a general comfort issue.    Area in Infrared                                                                   Area in Visible Light Often the homeowners do not even know they have this issue other than it being a bit drafty in this area or needing to crank up the HVAC to compensate. Luckily this was a pretty simple correction but this is not always the case. This w... 03/12/2017

What is the creepy crawler in my presence?Wenatchee Home Inspection What is this little bugger that is covered in legs, with a black to greyish-white colored body (they can also be yellow)? Their legs with a flurry of movement surround their body and propel these little creatures in quick, darting motions. Though Centi means a hundred these guys only have 30 legs consisting of 15 pairs of banded legs.  So what is it? The answer is the House Centipede. I run into these guys fairly frequently when and performing the crawlspace part of my home inspection. Typically I get the “what the heck” jolt from them as they make their darting movement to try to get out of my way and hide. I am always messing with their habitat it seemsAs creepy as these guys are they are actually beneficial. The Hous... 03/09/2017

Wiring a disposer… is it that hard?Wenatchee Home Inspector  Well if evidence is based on observation it must be because I see so many disposers not properly installed.Having the wiring not properly installed and secured is a recipe for a bad day. All electrical connection and wiring need to be properly performed by a qualified party.    “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”Benjamin Franklin   If you find any errors or have additional information that would expand on any code, building standards or manufacturer requirements please let me know.   NCW Home Inspections, LLC  is a Licensed Washington State Home Inspection service located in Wenatchee Washington serving Chelan County, Douglas County, Kittitas County, Okanogan County and Grant County Washington and the cities of ... 03/08/2017

Golf is my favorite active pasttime and I enjoy playing many various courses near Wenatchee, across the State and in the Southwest during the winter months.  One of my very favorite courses ever is Bear Mountain Golf Resort, just 35 miles north of Wenatchee. Bear Mountain is not only a fun, yet challenging, course to play... it has fabulous views overlooking Lake Chelan from every single hole.  So, even if you're having a bad game you can still enjoy the amazing beauty of the Lake Chelan Valley.In the above image, the lake in the forground is on the golf course.  Lake Chelan is in the distance.  Many holes offer a much greater view of Lake Chelan, which is slightly over 55 miles long and 1486 feet deep in places.Other entertaining golf courses in the Wenatchee area are:Three Lakes Golf ... 04/23/2016

How to destroy an appliance in one easy step…  250v receptacles.  Wenatchee Home InspectionsAhh in the land of home inspections we get to see a lot of fun things. Quite often many homeowners do things without really understanding what the final outcome may be. Here is an example of such a case. On a home inspection I find a receptacle that has been wired for 240/250v (bottom receptacle marked 220v) that is on a standard 120/125v receptacle. This is a problem since it most likely will destroy most 120v appliances in a very short time if plugged into it.Receptacles are designed and configured to an application. The blade configuration of a receptacle will typically tell you what type of circuit you have, i.e. 120 v 15 amp, 240 v 20 amp etc… ( Link to NEMA Plug & Receptacle Configurations-... 08/10/2015

I think you need to be a groupie… Grouping of conductors in MWBC- Wenatchee Home Inspections   It is very common to find multiwire branch circuits (MWBC) in homes, especially newer homes.  A multiwire branch circuit is where you have two or more hot/line conductors (ungrounded conductors) sharing a common neutral (grounded conductor).   We can argue the merits of this type of wiring in residential, you find those who like them and those who do not.   But as home inspectors and electrical inspectors it often hard to tell if  the hot conductors (ungrounded conductors) have been properly landed on opposing buses. What leg are they on?   This is important because if both hot conductors are on the same buss/leg the currents on the neutral conductor will add up versus canceling each other out... 12/04/2014

Is my window too high off the floor for emergency egress? Manufactured Homes Rules.   Wenatchee Home Inspection Services.   This is a quiz for those who sell and do home inspections on Manufactured Homes. What is the required sill height for egress windows/emergency escape and rescue?   Well lets look into this a bit.   Most of us home inspectors know that the IRC (2012 IRC- 310.1) requires a sill height of not more than 44 inches measured from the finished floor to the bottom of the clear opening.       But the standard for a manufactured home is actually different. Manufactured home use the HUD standards which are define in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR’s) specifically 24 CFR Part 3280 - “MANUFACTURED HOME CONSTRUCTION AND SAFETY STANDARDS”   Here is the HUD Standards for egres... 10/27/2014