Market News Thoughts for 2011 As we approach the end of 2010, I like to pause and reflect on the events of the year relative to both the economy as a whole, and the real estate markets in particular.
More There are secret Santas amongst us… I recently read this great story about the Kansas City Secret Santa. Every year for twenty-six years, an anonymous man dressed in red or a Santa disguise would hand out $100 bills to people in need of help. His identity was disclosed in 2006, shortly before he died of cancer. People all over the world, […]
More December Perspective: Looking ahead It is December again, and beyond all of the holiday festivities it is also prediction season. It’s that time of year when prognosticators everywhere wax eloquent on what might happen next year and beyond. Looking back, history is full of predictions from silly to bizarre, and from incredibly wrong to amazingly correct.
Living Getting Through the Holidaze Perhaps it is just me, but I don’t remember the distance between Halloween and mid-December ever being so short. I am shocked Chanukah has come and gone and Christmas is nearly here. Consensus seems to be that the year has flown past.
More What You Need To Know About Buying a Bank Owned Home Recently, news about how to purchase a real-estate owned (REO/bank owned) home, foreclosure property or short sale is everywhere. Bank owned homes are sold directly from the lender after the foreclosure process is complete, and while you may save quite a bit of money by choosing to go for this type of home, it is not without trials and tribulations.
Buying Does the Home of Your Dreams Really Exist? When you ask yourself to visualize the home of your dreams, what comes to mind? Certainly not a nondescript 3 bedroom, two bath home. It’s much more likely that your vision could include features like maple flooring, granite countertops, 6-panel doors, built-in speakers, or access to 220-electricity in the garage for a workshop. Everyone has their own custom needs and desires.
More Inspired Gratitude Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and it is a great time to spend with friends, family, pets, or volunteering. Everyone has different traditions over the holidays, shaped by beliefs, family, location and other factors, but gratitude and thankfulness typically run through the season.
More Upcoming office events for charity and Foundation fundraising The holidays are a busy time of year for most charities supporting low-income and homeless families. If you are looking to find some good ways to give back, join our Windermere offices by adopting a family in need, attending one of these great fundraisers, or dropping off food or warm coats and blankets at a […]
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Selling Considering becoming a landlord? How to evaluate whether to rent or sell your property In deciding whether or not becoming a Landlord is right for you, there are a number of factors to consider, but primarily they fall into the following three categories: Financial Analysis, Risk and Goals.
More Divorce, Custody, and Employee Mobility Divorce, child custody and relocation are all difficult topics however, knowing the facts will help you make the decisions that are right for you and your family. Below you will find an excerpt from an article recently published in Mobility Magazine by Windermere’s own Peggy Scott, GRI, CRP, GMS.
Buying The Reality of Home Improvement: HGTV installment On any given weekend in my house, at least a couple of hours will be spent watching the designers, craftspeople and entertainers on HGTV or its spunky sister station, the DIY Network.
Market News GDP Growth – The Good and the Bad I was just looking at figures released this morning relative to how our economic output is doing. Gross Domestic Product is a figure that is very important as it shows how we, as a nation, are growing economically by looking at the value of all the goods and services that we generate inside the U.S.
More Many hands make light work: building the Garden of Hope Amazing things happen when seven Windermere offices come together to accomplish a large project. On June 18th, 2010 Spokane offices: Valley, Liberty Lake, City Group, Manito, Palouse, North-Spokane and Cornerstone all came together to create an outdoor space for the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Spokane.  More than 200 agents and additional volunteers worked together […]
More Foundation newsletter: quarterly report Greetings from the Windermere Foundation, Thanks to you and the wonderful support the Windermere Foundation has received so far this year, we disbursed over $836,000 to qualifying social service organizations dedicated to serving low-income and homeless families throughout the West. Our amazing agents, staff and owners, along with public supporters, continue to contribute generously to […]
More The First Decade The other day I was searching for my daughter’s cell phone number – which I haven’t memorized because I simply speed-dial it – and I realized it’s been years since I memorized anyone’s phone number.
More Bringing comfort to families in need: Tacoma Professional Partners volunteer at Multicare Tree House Windermere Tacoma- Professional Partners spent May 20th serving the families and volunteers at the Tacoma Multicare Tree house. Volunteers prepared a fully stocked Taco bar for families.
Living Weatherizing your home: protecting your investment through the harsh winter months Weatherizing your home--especially in light of harsh warnings--will protect your investment from preventable damage, save money on energy costs and, most importantly, keep your home safe and warm for you and your loved ones throughout the winter season.
More Windermere Agents have a “get it done attitude” In June 2010 agents from the Windermere Ballard office in Seattle responded to the need for volunteer labor to move the Ballard Food Bank to a new facility.
Selling Sellers: Making the Most of your First Impressions We all know first impressions are very important, but it’s the lasting impressions are the ones that sell your home.
Market News Reconsidering Expectations I was fascinated to read my associate Karl Case’s article on housing published in the New York Times a couple of weeks ago. In it he suggests that the “American dream” of home ownership, rather than being dead in the water, is actually alive although somewhat battered!