[photopress:header.jpg,thumb,alignright]The Fremont Fairis this weekend (June 17th and 18th)! It is a great celebration and always a lot of fun!
There will be four stages with lots of music and a parade at noon on Sunday!
In addition, the Seattle Art Car Blowout is not to be missed!
The Seattle Times just listed some home preparation ideas worth reading:
Don’t make radical changes without careful consideration…
Talk with a real-estate agent to find out whether major changes should be considered. If it’s something your home desperately needs — a new roof or new exterior paint job, for example — it might be worthwhile…
Maximize curb appeal.This is the impression made by your home when a potential buyer arrives to see it for the first time. That initial impression is worth a great deal. If a home is even halfway decent inside, a good curb-appeal impression will help it sell itself.
Here are some ways to generate better curb appeal:
- Repair any cracks in the driveway or walkway and resurface if necessary.
- Keep the landscaping clean and neat.
- Make sure the home looks freshly painted.
- Keep the garage doors closed when potential buyers visit.
- Make sure garbage cans and other paraphernalia are out of sight.
…
Clear the clutter to make the inside of your home look as big as possible…
Speaking of smells, use them to your advantage. Have a small bowl of vanilla warming in the oven or a slow cooker of apple cider brewing and a fresh batch of chocolate-chip cookies baking.
The Seattle Times had an interesting article regarding home equity building rapidly in our fast moving real estate market and investors using home equity to make more speculative investments:
According to Economy.com, Americans pulled out roughly $705 billion of equity from their homes last year, up from $266 billion in 1999.
The bulk of that money came from capital gains made by people selling houses, and these profits often are used to purchase another residence.
Many people also use some of the extracted cash to pay off credit-card debt, which is widely viewed as a sensible way to use equity. Another large chunk of the equity withdrawn goes into home improvements. Spending on such projects totaled $138.3 billion last year, up 38 percent from five years before, according to Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies.
Are you an real estate agent looking to refer clients to the Seattle market (Seattle, Bellevue, Redmond, etc.)? I love referrals and I’m willing to give your client the red carpet treatment on their arrival to Seattle!
Why should you consider referring your clients to me?
If you want to learn more about the service I will provide, please don’t hesitate to contact me at anna@raincityguide.com or 206-251-3821.
Today’s NY Times discusses how existing home prices are continuing to soar:
Sales of existing homes swelled to a record in April, rising 4.5 percent, and selling prices climbed at the fastest rate in almost 25 years, the National Association of Realtors reported today, defying predictions of a slowdown and adding to some analysts’ concerns about an overheated market.
While the article is based on national data, the same scenario is playing out locally here in Seattle. Homes that I would have put on the market for only $400K just a few months ago, are easily selling for $430K or more.
I’ve talked with many people recently that are interested in investing in real estate but not sure where to start. If that descrives you then I would recommend reading Gary Keller’s most recent book, Millionaire Real Estate Investor
A previous book of his, Millionaire Real Estate Agent
(Read the Amazon.com reviews on the above links and you’ll see that I’m not the only one who thinks they are worth reading!)
If you are a potential investor in Seattle-area real estate interested in reading either of these books, let me know, and I would happily pass along one of my copies to you!
[photopress:25063873.jpg,thumb,alignright]This is a Spectacular Sunset Hill Tudor!
This enchanted wood frame Tudor sits on terrific lot owerlooking the Sound and wonderful views of the Olympic mountains. It includes secret gardens, lush landscaping and a glorious master suite with walk in closet, bath with skylight and a jet tub. The award winning kitchen design creates a wonderful atmostphere for gallery-style cooking.
The main floor features a formal entry, mahogany woodwork and doors, original full-tiled bath , a dining room, a family room with build in book cases and an entertainment center. Second floor features 2nd and 3rd full bath with larger than average guest bedroom and wonderful 3rd bedroom view suite. Lower level includes 4th bedroom , 3/4th bath, small kitchenette, hobby room, and a rec-room.
What more? There’s lots of storage, high efficiency gas furnace, a laundry room and access to the covered patio leads to gardens and Grotto. Homes like this in Sunset Hill do not come on the market very often!
Details
Address:
7007 34th Ave NW
Seattle, WA 98107
Bedrooms: 4
Bathrooms:3.75
Square Feet (approx):3350
MLS #: 25063873
List Price: $ 995,000
Are you interested in learning more about this house? Contact Me!
[photopress:costumes_1.jpg,thumb,alignright]The Norwegian Constitution Day parade is going on tomorrow, May 17, in Ballard!
The official Syttende Mai site gives the meaning behind the day along with a list of events. For more info, check out the wikipedia entry.
The Seattle Times describes the event as “One of the largest May 17 parades in the United States begins at 6 p.m. tomorrow at 24th Avenue Northwest and Northwest 62nd streets in downtown Ballard. It winds through the business district, ending at Ballard Avenue Northwest.”
The highlights from the list of events include:
Lunch
Eat excellent food and listen to important speakers.
Time:
12:00pm (Noon) to 2:00pm
Location:
Leif Erikson Hall, 2245 NW 57th Street
Parade
The parade starts at 6 p.m. near Adams School in Ballard, at the corner of NW 62nd and 24th Avenue NW. The route follows south to Market Street and eastward to Bergen Place, which is named after the Seattle Sister City of Bergen, Norway.
Time:
6:00pm to 8:00pm
Bergen Place
Entertainment featuring music and dance from Norway and other Nordic countries.
Time:
2:30pm to 5pm
Location:
Bergen Place is located at the intersection of Market St., Leary Avenue and 22nd Avenue.
Children’s Games
Children enjoy traditional games from Norway and the United States with awards going to all who participate. A surprise guest is usually on hand to delight one and all. The games are free and open to the public.
Time:
2:00pm to 4:30pm
Location:
At the Ballard Community Center, 6020 28th Avenue NW.
Dance to Pickled Herring Band
Dance the night away…
$10 at the door. Must be 21 years of age or older.
Time:
9:00pm to 12:00am
Location:
At Leif Erikson Hall, 2245 NW 57th, No host bar.
Hope to see you there!
Hopefully you’ve noticed that this blog is not your typical real estate web site. I’ll try to answer some of the more typical questions I get here:
What is a blog?
Blog is short for “web log” and essentially, blogs started out as on-line journals. There is no fundamental difference between a blog and a website except that blogs are designed to be updated on a regular basis, whereas a typical website is not as easy to update.
Why did I forgo my website in favor of a blog?
I’ve always wanted a way to interact more and provide more timely information to my clients. The blog gives me a simple and effective medium with which to interact with you.
Another great feature of my blog is that it can be syndicated over RSS… Rather than describe this process, the end result is that you can read updates from my site directly on your “my yahoo” or “my msn” page (among MANY other RSS readers!). To add my site simply click on either of the two links:
Who writes on this blog?
All the entries are written by someone on my real estate team. You might have noticed that many of the blog entries are written by Dustin. Dustin is my husband and a vital part of the team. Dustin is also famous for using the “royal I” when blogging on this site. He feels no compulsion about writing things from my perspective and we’ve been married long enough that I can’t seem to stop him. 🙂
What am I trying to accomplish with this site?
There are two markets I focus on with this site: Buyers and Sellers!
For buyers, I will continue to add current information about the local real estate market and local neighborhoods so that someone who is moving to seattle will find this website informative enough that they will contact me when they are looking for an agent in the Seattle area.
For sellers, I will continue to post information about current home values and community news so that you will consider contacting me when you are looking to sell your home in the Seattle area.
Is there something else you’d like to see on this website? Just leave a comment and I’ll see what I can do!
This home is one of the most cozy and fascinating houses in Ballard! The home has retained its Victorian style and has been nominated each year for the Ballard Historical Society’s Old House Tour. The decoration is impeccable and it is obvious that the current owners had a keen attention to detail.
The house is two stories with a basement and a wonderful yard and is in a great locations! It is within walking distance of Downtown Ballard and all the coffee shops and stores there…
It has 3 bedrooms, 1.75 baths, dining room, eat-in original kitchen, office, family room and incredible aura from turn of the century! If you are looking for a home in this price range, it is a must visit!
Details
Address:
1757 NW 60th St.
Seattle, WA 98107
Bedrooms: 3
Bathrooms: 1.75
Square Feet (approx): 2097
MLS #: 25046278
List Price: $ 549,950
Are you interested in learning more about this house? Contact Me!