Traffic Goes Too Fast Past My House!

Seattle is unique in that it has well over 1,000 neighborhood traffic circles spread throughout the city.  They’re effective at reducing accidents at intersections.  They also reduce speeds at the intersection and multiple traffic circles can reduce speeds along the entire street corridor.  Seattle Department of Transportation receives many requests for traffic circles, although there [...]

Washington State’s version of distressed homeowner help

Washington State has added, in July of this year, a method of bringing owners of distressed properties together with the banks who are owed money on them – something that was sorely lacking.  It’s a great step forward in moving through this foreclosure mess, and it’s called the WASHINGTON FORECLOSURE FAIRNESS ACT HOMEOWNERS MEDIATION PROGRAM.  [...]

Important – Read Only If You Live in a Building

I’ve recently been reminded of a common danger that we can all easily avoid – carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning.  Most of us know to not run a generator or a barbecue indoors where it’s not properly ventilated, but as a Realtor helping buyers all the time, I do see cracked heat exchangers on furnaces during [...]

Worth-the-Price Home Fix-ups

Home Gain, a marketing company, surveyed 600 real estate professionals, to discover which DIY improvement projects give sellers the biggest return for their bucks. Here are 6 projects under $1000 (costs are estimates,) that made the list: 1-Cleaning and decluttering… Declutter countertops and refrigerators, organize closets and shelves, and make the home sparkling clean.  Cost: [...]

How to Get Even More Out of Your Home

We’ve been dreaming lately of getting more Europe in our lives, or anyplace really, and since we’re trying to spend less, we found a great way to do it. House swapping, or home sharing, is a way to save tons of money while visiting almost any place you want to go, domestically or internationally.  With [...]

Why Not Investment Property?

Real estate is a great investment right now. Prices are low, interest rates are at an all-time low, rents are up. I would by a dozen if I had the money right now. Between bank owned homes, short sales, and multifamily buildings there is lots of upside.  If the rents cover your payments and you [...]

Don’t Depersonalize Before Selling

“Depersonalize” – this term drives me crazy. Some agents and sites suggest completely depersonalizing your home. My suggestion is a resounding don’t do it! There is a big difference between de-cluttering and de-personalizing. Houses in my opinion are not just brick and mortar. There is history and an energy about them. Buyers want to know [...]

Great Online Safety Tips

We’ve all heard of various ideas to keep our personal information secure when we’re online, but it’s always good to be reminded…check these out: -Never respond to spam – Even if you’re responding to be asked to unsubscribe – your amount of spam may triple -Never send anything in email you wouldn’t want to see [...]