Team Reba Real Estate

I came across this article in the REALTOR online magazine.  It lists the top 10 cities for singles, and Seattle is noted as number 6.   Hot-lanta (Atlanta) is listed as #1 and NYC is #8…. interesting.

Do you have any thoughts on who should have ranked in the top 10 that isn’t listed there already?  I was a little surprised to not see Portland, but then again, I think fewer people have spent time there than Seattle.

I’m just curious, would this be a good marketing strategy?  And why is REALTOR Magazine that worried about it if we can’t really talk about marital status in the local market place because of Fair Housing mandates?  Yes, I’m being a little funny on this last bit, but it is interesting to see the article and then have to think about it in terms of what I can do with that information.  As a seller, you can’t really talk or promote to a particular group but as an agent preparing general marketing of my services to various demographics, I could tout this as a reason why people relocate here or to focus on buyers from this demographic.

Regardless of the impact on real estate, I agree that Seattle should be in that top 10 list!

Tonight is a town hall meeting in Covington for the Transit Now initiative that was passed in 2006.  King County voters approved a .1% sales tax increase to help expand transit alternatives and part of the new services will be targeted toward areas like Kent and Covington, cities which have experienced incredible growth over the past 20 years but with little additional transit infrastructure to support anything but cars on the roadways.  You’ll recognize the lack of transit options mostly by all the crappy traffic on I-167.

With the addition of more buses and the train going through downtown Kent heading both to Seattle and Tacoma, there are more options.  We need even more, but at least this is a start.

If any of our readers out there went to the meeting, I’d love to hear how it went.  Feel free to leave your comments!

This fantastic Chancellor home has incredible space for the price. With 3220 sqft of space encompassing 5+ bedrooms, an office, bonus room, and extra finished room you’ll love it.  Thoughtful built-ins help maximize the space you get and keep clutter at bay. Easy access to transit and commuting options make this a fantastic place to call home. (Metro buses 236 to downtown Kirkland and 257 to downtown Seattle come by within a half block.) 

Relax in the large back yard on the deck, or shoot some hoops and then ease your muscles in the hottub. You can’t go wrong with this home!  To make it even more relaxing, there is a 1-year basic American Home Shield home warranty that is available to the buyer at closing to help cover the appliances and systems in the home.

A slideshow of all the photos is available here.  A total of 17 photos to be exact showing all the rooms of the house except for the garage interior and laundry room.  There is an eat-in kitchen with space for a couple of barstools and/or a kitchen table for more informal dining.

The home is located near Totem Lake, where Evergreen Hospital is growing by leaps and bounds and it is also near one of the first Trader Joe’s in Washington.  Lots of local amenities and there is a community pool you’ll have access to as well.  Better get busy before Labor Day weekend if you want to enjoy it this year!  Local park & ride nearby makes the possibilities of reducing your carbon footprint easier.  Easy access to Eastside companies and employment centers(Bothell, Bellevue, Redmond) such as Microsoft, Expedia, and Overlake Hospital.

We’ve even got a great offering from Eric Aasness (one of our co-contributors) that if you use his office for the financing portion, they’ll offer 1% of the loan amount toward your closing costs!  With 10% down, the loan amount will still be under the new, temporary increased level of conforming loan limits - which is $567,500.

Come swing by and take a look for yourself!

We’ve been getting some good news from many of our past clients in the last several weeks and I must say that it’s really nice after reading so much of how the media slams our industry and the gloom and doom news that abounds. 

One of the stories I love is about a client who moved to Costa Rica a couple of years ago.  We originally met this clients as she prepared to sell a long time family owned property that sat in L3 zoned land in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle.  Because of the size, location, and level aspects of the site she was able to get much for the single family home than she might normally get in residential zoning. 

Since moving to Costa Rica, she has been sending me updates about her adventures and now the house she is having built.  Just this week I received several photos of which I am thrilled to view and share here.  It’s also intriguing to me to see how construction is handled in a country other than the USA. Check out some of these shots….

Joan and her builder, Richard, walking by Nispero lumber.

Temporary power set up

House view to the north

View east to the garden

Congrats, Joan, on making your dreams come true!  It’s a ton of work, I’m certain, but it’s great to see you putting together what you planned and watching it come together.

Recently, I was able to confirm my belief in the notion of there being only 2 degrees of separation between any one of us and another person.  Even though the more commonly held viewpoint is that there are 6 degrees of separation, or in the case of a fun game, known to many, “six degrees of Kevin Bacon.”  I started my belief in 2 degrees after Michael and I first met 7 years ago shortly after which I held a party called the Mix & Match. The intent was to bring my friends together and some new people into our circle by asking each couple and single invited to bring a single person I personally didn’t know to the party.  What we found was that there were roughly 2 degrees of separation between a large number of people at the party once people started asking how they knew me or Michael.  Leap forward to this year and how I’m even more solidied in my view…

So, a client I’ve been working with for over a year by email comes into the USA for a monthlong trip.  The couple lives overseas in South Africa where the husband works for a government run organization.  He’ll be retiring in the next 1-3 years and, since they have family here, will be moving back to the Pacific NW to be close to their daughters who live up this way. 

Now, I’ll say, these folks were referred to me by an agent in Idaho so I really didn’t think much about who else they might know.  I did get them introduced to an agent in Vancouver and one in the Portland, OR area since these are some of the locales they are considering outside of the Greater Seattle area.

It turned out that with my client’s price point requirements we didn’t really find much for them in King County that was interesting, so we ventured down to Pierce County and focused on the City of Tacoma for the most part since it had commuter services to Seattle and a pretty decent housing stock that met our requirements list.  The house hunting crew consisted of me, the couple, and one of their daughters.  The first day we all went but on the 2nd day their local host offered to take the daughter mall shopping, something she (at 22 yrs old) was more interested in.

While out driving around on our 2nd day of home hunting I got a phone call from a friend and colleague of mine in escrow, Jamie Kondo (yes, one of our co-contributors to this blog).  I told her I couldn’t really talk and asked if I could call her back.  She asked, “are you with your out of town clients?”  Yes.  And she then said, “I think I just met their daughter.”

Huh?

It turns out that the host couple who my clients were staying with in Newcastle, WA are related to Jamie.  In fact, the lady she was telling me about, who brought my client’s daughter to where she was, is her aunt.  That’s 2 degrees of separation to me.  So, from Idaho, to South Africa, to Seattle/Newcastle to Pierce County (Jamie’s stomping grounds) and Oregon (where the daughter lives). 

Jamie and I have worked together on many real estate transactions over the 5+ years we’ve known each other (through 2008) so it’s pretty funny to have this connection work itself out with neither of us having generated it.

What really cracked me up was to hear my clients say that I’d just proven a point to their daughter.  They’d always stressed to their kids that you should always watch your actions in public because you just never know who knows who in the room and where information about any bad behavior might go.  A good lesson for agents too as bad service may travel farther and wider than you can imagine.

Kevin Bacon… I may just have you beat.

So, the other day I’m posting yet another of our client listings to Zillow when I get an email telling me that I have become a Zillow All-Star.  I think to myself, “what the heck is that?”  So, in looking it up I find out that, according the notice posted on their site:

It’s kind of funny, really.  When Zillow first came onto the scene a lot of agents saw them as a horrible new type of competition.  We’ve never felt that way although we did make sure to try and understand what the online service was, and wasn’t, so that we could help educate our clients and the public on this new tool.  Being that the firm is locally based, I’d like to see them do well because it helps bring jobs to our local economy and I think the services they offer are valid.  There’s nothing wrong with wanting to get a bit of an idea of what your home value might be without having to get an agent involved, or to hire an appraiser.  If it’s just curiosity you’re dealing with and not a sale or a refinance, then checking this site out is not a bad thing.  It also helps people understand where their neighborhood values may be going too.

We’ve even gone so far as to include it in our marketing of properties when we have listings.  One of the tools I like on the site is the “claim my home” because we can do that and update the information on the site if there have been changes to a house. Frequently the info that Zillow is working from is incorrect or out of date - so this is a way to make the data that is publicly available match what we’ll have in our listing packages. It’s a good tool overall since we know a large number of people look here to compare Zestimates(R) with listing prices.

What is a Zestimate(R)?  Again, from the site:

“ Zestimate

A Zestimate home valuation is Zillow’s estimated market value. It is not an appraisal. Use it as a starting point to determine a home’s value.
Learn more

The Value Range is the high and low estimated market value for which Zillow values a home. The more information, the smaller the range, and the more accurate the Zestimate. See data coverage and accuracy table “

For people who are relocating to a new area, Zillow helps an out-of-town buyer understand neighborhood price points and values with this information available once they go home after a whirlwind trip into a new town to look for a home.

Anyhow, I guess it feels good to be an “All-Star!”

While sending out a note to a friend of mine, David LeClaire, a local sommelier who is now running SeattleUncorked wine club, I stumbled up a new restaurant find in the (Le) Renton area. 

The new place is called Blossom Asian Bistro and, oddly enough, they were recommended on the Red House Beer and Wine website (this was the place I was recommending to David initially).  Perhaps there is an ownership interest there?  It doesn’t really say. 

(update: it IS co-owned by some folks from Red House and the restaurant group involved)

One of the great things I found out on the Blossom website is that nothing on their menu is over $10.  That’s pretty amazing if you ask me!  Come on down to “Le Renton” and check out yet another lovely addition to our downtown restaurant community.

They even have a 4-6pm Happy Hour as well where all the food bites are under $4 and certain adult beverages range from $2-5.  Sounds pretty “happy” to me…

OK, an update!  We did make it down to Blossom recently and it was AWESOME!!!! Here’s a fun photo of some of “the goods”!!!!

Team Reba presents a new listing of a classic 1950’s style home in the Seward Park neighborhood of Seattle.  It’s modern neighbor was featured in this past week’s Pacific Northwest Magazine in the Seattle Times which was built on land formerly a part of this dwelling’s land parcel.

Our listing has many sought after, yet hard to find, features such as: Two (2) Master bedrooms, Universal Design features, 2 kitchens (actually what could be 2 full living quarters and was previously used in this fashion), expansive views of Lake Washington in a serene setting, large lot, and environmentally conscious features such as broad overhangs for passive cooling, ceramic tile roof, and large windows for wonderful natural lighting.  In addition to these features you’ll find numerous outdoor sitting areas, ample parking space besides a 2-car garage, and an elevator between the 2 floors.

See some of photos of this wonderful property below or check out all the photos at our slideshow:

Front of home with circular driveway which supplies excellent additional parking for guests. Here you can see the tile roof which is original to the structure.  Roof products of this kind typically require a substantial structure to support their weight - this is a very solid home!

This view from the northeast corner of the home shows the layout of the walk-out daylight basement - the slope of the site allows for a very open and bright lower living area along with providing fantastic views of Lake Washington and Seward Park from both levels of the home.  It also represents the true size of the home with its 4410 square feet of space.

Gleaming oak hardwoods flow throughout the main level spaces including the dining area, sunken living room, office, family room, kitchen, hall and the 3/4 bath. Deck and patio areas off each level allow for many entertaining opportunities.

Wood cabinetry, stainless appliances including double wall Viking ovens, 2 Miele dishwashers (for the serious entertainer) and tile countertop with a new cooktop in the main level kitchen. The large stainless refrigerator is just out of view to the left of the photo. Space is available for an eat-in kitchen and there are bountiful cabinets and pantry spaces. Note the glass case ahead for displaying favorite art pieces. Upper halogen lighting casts a beautiful glow on glass artworks.

The family room adjacent to the kitchen area enjoys the same magical views as the rest of the living areas and provides secondary access to the deck. This is also the area for entry to the 2-car garage. An alternate staircase passes between the garage and the lower level of the home to provide covered parking for each living space, if necessary.

To see the two master bedrooms, 2nd kitchen and other spaces of the home, please visit the slideshow which will have additional details about the house and its amenities.

Proudly offered at $1,410,000

Serious inquiries by pre-approved or qualified buyers only.  NWMLS# 28131238.

My partner and I were walking our 3 dogs this morning and came across this golden retriever who was wandering alone in our neighborhood.  If you recognize her, or might know who her owner is, please contact me.  We’d like to find her regular home and are keeping her with us till we do.

A happy ending to our little story.  Sadie apparently resides in Renton, albeit a couple of miles from our abode. Somehow she safely journeyed a couple of miles through town where she ended up in our neighborhood.  On Wednesday she was safely returned to her owners.

The way we were able to find her owners is that a local vet did a check for a microchip (for free) on the dog and that’s how we learned where she came from originally. Those owners had given her away but had contact with the family that they’d given her to, so they helped track down the current owners. Had the past owner not had the dog microchipped Sadie wouldn’t be back with her family.  If you own a pet it is a good thing to have it chipped for situations just like this one.  It also reminded me that with our recent move to this new neighborhood, we need to update all of our pet’s chip information in case we run into our own wandering pup in the future.

Buyers/Sellers - consider having your pet(s) chipped and be sure to update the info when you move!

We recently went on market with a beautiful Murray Franklyn resale home out in the Snoqualmie Ridge area. It’s a lovely home with a sophisticated color palette.  The home has 4 bedrooms (all with closet organizers), a gorgeous 5 piece master bath and walk in closet, 2.75 baths and a wonderful built in buffet in the dining room.

You’ll have plenty of room to spread out in this gorgeous home with numerous upgrades (listed below). With an office, media room and a fantastic great room you’ll have plenty of good times with friends & family. Get to know the members of your community by joining the local country club with a social or full golf membership. Rest easy in the large tub of the master bath - there are a total of 2.75 baths here. Great patio and yard for summer fun.

Below are a few photos for your perusal.  You can find them all in a slideshow at this link.

The current homeowners had such nice taste in furniture we didn’t have to do too much for staging other than the usual decluttering and some color infusion.  The house is only a few years old so it is in excellent condition and there are some nice upgrades like granite counters and accents, carpet, full house speaker wiring for multi-room music enjoyment, and much more.  A list of upgrades is noted below:

Featured Upgrades

Premium Carpet, Tile Upgrades in all bathrooms, Granite countertops, and Tub Surround in Master Bathroom, Tile Countertop in additional Bathrooms, Tiled Fireplace in Family Room, Granite Countertops in the Kitchen, InstaHot Hot water in Kitchen, Pendant Lighting in Kitchen, Additional ceiling lights in Living Room, Granite Countertop Buffet with Wine Storage and Mirror in Dining Room, Rough In for ceiling Fans in All Bedrooms, Ceiling Fan in Family Room, Blower on FirePlace in Family Room, All Crown Molding, Sound System with indoor and outdoor speakers, Sprinkler System, Gas Line for BBQ, Rough in for Central Air, Closet Systems in 3 bedrooms, Upgraded closet racks in all bedrooms.