Jan
20
Inaugural Inspiration!
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Inspiration!
That is what I am feeling today as I bear witness to the inauguration of OUR 44th President of the United States of America. What I am most impressed by is his call to action from ALL of us.
President Obama is not a messiah, nor do I believe that he is trying to be. No one can make massive changes alone. However, one person can start a movement of change. It takes just one light of a candle to light another and then another and before you know it, the darkness will be lifted. President Obama is just one candle. It is up to us to work together to heal our nation and choose to take and pass that light on to others. Regardless of your political allegiance, it is up to us [working together] to make this a better nation. So go forth and make a change and pass the light.
May
13
Critter Free Crawl Spaces
Filed Under Blog, Buyers, Household Tips, Issaquah Highlands, Misc, Real Estate, Sellers | Leave a Comment
It’s not cute; in fact it can be down right ugly. But it is nothing to be embarrassed about. Critters in our crawls spaces are a very common problem. In fact my two most recent transactions turned up rodent infestations in the crawl spaces and attics.
So what do you do about this?
Whether you are a buyer or a seller don’t panic. It is actually an easy fix, but it can be pricey, so shop around. The best vendor out there that I have found is Clean Crawls. They do excellent work and are competitively priced - and YOU don’t have to get dirty! I don’t know about you - but I sure don’t like to be face to face with a rat.
If you are thinking of selling your home, it is not a bad idea to have a preliminary home inspection done prior to going on the market. Doing this allows you to address issues before they have a chance to turn a deal upside down.
If you are a buyer and this issues comes up - again don’t panic. Just have your agent get some quotes from reputable vendors so you know just how much of a problem you are dealing with. From there you can go into your inspection negotiation and home ownership with your eyes open.
Little critters can be cute, but for me and my clients, I much rather see them in a cage than scampering around my house.
Jan
21
Recycle Your Old Electronic Equipment…Or Else!!!
Filed Under Blog, Household Tips, Misc | Leave a Comment
Wondering what to do with old electronics that have since been replaced by great gifts you received over the holidays?
The Take It Back Network can help you with that dilemma. They have several locations in King County that recycle old TV’s, computers, monitors, etc. This is a great resource since you can no longer dispose of these types of items in your garbage container in King County. Costco also works with a company called Green Sight where you can recycle the stuff for free and potentially get some trade in value.
They can also recycle old cell phones, but if you have cell phones to dispose of, check out Cell Phones for Soldiers or WirelessFundraiser.com where you can choose a wide array of charities that will get the proceeds from the recycled cell phones.
Both organizations will help get cell phones or money into the hands of those in need.
Jan
17
The Ugly Side of Issaquah Highlands
Filed Under Blog, Issaquah Highlands, Misc | 3 Comments
Every neighborhood has it’s ugly side. You know, the stuff that nobody wants to talk about. For some neighborhoods it could be the Home Owners Association. For others it might be that bad resident that parks cars on their front lawn and leaves their trash out in the street all week long or that the city is going to build a giant monorail smack dab through the middle of the development.
My husband recently sent me an email from one of the Issaquah Highlands residents and I immediately realized what the ugly side of Issaquah Highlands is.
TRASH!
That’s right, you heard me. TRASH! For some reason visitors to the Issaquah Highlands think the side of our roads and our green space is a proverbial dumping ground for their milk jugs, beer cans and Mc Donald’s lunch bags. Take a look at some of these pictures below and you will see what I mean.
I am sure their is a resident or two that are guilty of this kind of behavior, but by and large this is being done by non-residents. This kind of behavior infuriates me. I take pride in my community and I want visitors to see that pride when they come here. I don’t want them to see a landfill.
If this kind of behavior and defamation of our neighborhood bother you too, I encourage you to contact the Issaquah Highlands Council and sign up for the proposed Adopt-A-Block program. In addition, please report all litterbugs to the non-emergency number for the Issaquah Police Department; provide as much detail including license plate numbers if possible. It is a pretty steep fine for the infraction and might make someone think twice about doing it. And last but not least, pick up a few pieces if you see this stuff. Everyone pitching in a little goes a long way.
Please do your part to help keep Issaquah Highlands clean and green.
Jan
14
It’s Snowing in Issaquah Highlands
Filed Under Blog, Issaquah Highlands, Misc, Weather | Leave a Comment
That’s all. No big fancy blog post. Too dark to take any good pictures of the white stuff. But it is coming down and sticking.
Jan
3
Attention All Issaquah Highlands Residents, Do You Have L’esprit de Cul du Sac?
Filed Under Blog, Events, Issaquah Highlands, Misc, Other Development, Real Estate, Restaurants, Retail Development | 2 Comments
Recently I ran across an interesting editorial piece - 72 hours in the Issaquah Highlands - about Issaquah Highlands. It talks about real estate, retail, entertainment, dining, overall community as well as the lifestyle. At first I thought it was somewhat amusing, but I am continually drawn back to it and each time I read it makes me fume (just a little).
Maybe it was all in good fun. Maybe there is a bit of truth to it. Maybe I have a grey hair or two. But does that give someone the right to point it out and rub it in? I can take a joke just as well as the next person, but I take a lot of pride in the community that I live in as well as the people that help define it. As a resident, I feel it is my privilege and obligation to share all the wonderful things about this great little place I call home.
Just to indulge the author, some of the more amusing quotes from the article include:
Unless accustomed to the intensely exciting pace of Highlands life, you should take a mild tranquilizer (Xanax or Valium) three times a day during your visit.
and
Amateurs often have difficulty identifying which of the 47 shades of grey have been used on the exterior of each home.
and
With hundreds of TV channels available via cable or satellite, Highlanders can choose among an almost infinite variety of nighttime entertainment.
So what’s the point you ask? Well as a resident of Issaquah Highlands, I know for a fact that several of the characterizations in the article are far from true; especially the ones about the sights and people. I’ll give the author credit for the retail comments and maybe even the ones about dining.
I propose a challenge/contest to the residents of Issaquah Highlands. For those that are up to it, I would like to see a “Visitors Guide To Issaquah Highlands” written by a resident. The guide should be written in similar fashion, travel guide style, and should cover the following categories.
- Events
- Dining/Nightlife
- Shopping
- Art and Music
- Activities
- Lifestyle
The guide should be informative and witty. The winner of the contest will be published on this site with full credit and receive 2 FREE MOVIE TICKETS to either Regal or Loews or a $15 Gift Certificate to Cafe Ladro. The deadline for submissions will be January 15th. Please email me all submissions or if you have any questions.
Jan
1
Happy New Years, and a Few Thoughts To Go With It.
Filed Under Blog, Buyers, Lending, Misc, Real Estate | 3 Comments
Happy New Years! It should a year of renewal. I have hopes this year for our economy to finally get to the bottom of things and start moving on. The whole daily surprise that the “housing” sectors numbers are low is getting old! It is not that I want our economy to go into recession; it is not that I want any of our fellow employees to have trouble holding their jobs or getting new jobs. I just want our news industry to quit hyping on this like it is a surprise. Everyone expected it sooner or later, it just here now. The facts are that interest rates are spectacular right now. The fact is our national employment is still wonderful and the fact that we don’t know that real estate is cyclical is NOT a surprise.
My goal this year is to look at the positives. Homeowners are recognizing that home values are changing. That there are pockets of appreciation but when they put their homes up for sale they are now listening to the real estate professionals and listing for “true” values instead of inflated values. That there are many terrific bargains to be had and exceptional interest rates! I appreciate that the lending sector has decided to go back to normal underwriting guidelines by having buyers do their due diligence in saving their money for down payments, buy within their means and show they can repay their debt with a solid credit history. These are all good things and things I want to be a part of.
I believe in American dream of owning a home and working for it. I believe in hard work getting there and the satisfaction of achieving this dream!
My goal this year is to pass along all the good information that our country has available to us all. We can work if we want to, we can save money in our stock markets and feel fairly safe and we are allowed to travel freely from state to state and spend our well earned money on the economy.
My wish to you all this year is your PHYSICAL HEALTH, YOUR MENTAL HEALTH AND YOUR FINANCIAL HEALTH. I also wish to you that you achieve your goals and dreams you’ve set for yourself this year. Happy 2008
Yours truly,
Barb Paetzold
CTX Mortgage
425 820-0601 direct
800 591-5626 toll
206 217-0591 fax
Dec
12
Tomorrow morning I leave the cold, rainy and sometimes snowy, Pacific Northwest in pursuit of warmer weather.
Dec
5
Looking For The Perfect Christmas Tree?
Filed Under Blog, Misc | Leave a Comment
It’s that time of year again. We are all stuffed from Thanksgiving dinner and quickly running out of leftover turkey. The temperature starts to drop and we get the occasional snow flurry. Holiday lights start going up on homes.
You know what that means? For those that celebrate the Christmas holiday, it’s time to pick out a fresh Christmas tree.
I’m old school so I can’t succumb to buying an artificial tree that I can use over and over. Some will criticize how un-environmentally friendly that is. My comment - TOUGH $&@!.
I need my fresh tree fix. For those of you that are in the same boat as me, I thought I would share a few of my favorite tree farms in the area.
Red-Wood Christmas Trees - 13925 Redmond-Woodinville Rd NE, Redmond (425-482-6795)
Trinity Tree Farm - 14237 228th Ave. S.E., Issaquah (425-391-8733)
Carnation Tree Farm - 31523 N.E. 40th St., Carnation (425-333-4510)
Crown Tree Farm - 13005 424th Ave. S.E., North Bend (425-888-1506)
Mountain Creek Tree Farm - 6821 440th Ave. S.E., Snoqualmie (425-888-1770)
Holiday Mountain Trees - Highway 118 and Southeast 104th St., Snoqualmie Ridge (253-838-7979)
For those that want to be a bit more adventurous and try a new tree farm not on this list, the Pacific Northwest Christmas Tree Association has put together quite an extensive list of tree growers in Washington state. And there are also the local pre-cut trees stands in shopping mall parking lots or places like Home Depot and Fred Meyer. But you will pay a price; the cost is significantly higher and the experience leaves something to be desired.
And if you know of any other places or wish to share your experiences about a special tree search, please leave a comment.
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