Concrete countertops

Concrete countertops are a newer trend in many kitchens. It is a product that is fairly flexible in the respect that you can choose the color, and also have it fitted in custom areas easily.  

There are even newer products now that let you recoat your Formica countertops with a thin layer of concrete to achieve concrete tops (this is definite the thriftier way about it). 

Concrete counters are pretty solid and are not to susceptible to staining.  

Is it a good idea to loan your kids money to buy a home?

With the housing market being so hot especially in places like Seattle the younger generation is finding it harder and harder to buy a home. 

Some home buyers use their saving or 401k's to get into a home but the younger guys out there don't always have this option available to them. They need to be more clever about their down payment and sometimes turn to family to help them. Whether it is a loan or a gift there are different ways to go about giving them the money. 

An interesting article was published recently explaining the different advantages and disadvantages to giving your kids money for a home. It explains the minimum federal interest rate. It brings up good points on what makes more sense financially for you. If you would like to read more go check out the link below.

http://www.interest.com/mortgage/news/should-you-lend-your-child-money-to-buy-a-home/

Ballard seafood festival

Ballard Seafood Featival is celebrating it 40th year this year. Come on into the heart of Ballard and hang out. It happening Saturday and Sunday of this weekend. The weather should be perfect. There is tons of food to come enjoy and also lots of other vendors to support. The music should be great too. If you would like more info go check out their website seafoodfest.org You can see all the options as well as hours and directions. 

I mentioned the weather... Check out the forecast!!

If 88 is a lillte hot for you there are many restaurants with indoor seating around the festival. 

Whatever you choose to do I hope everyone has a great weekend! 

Happy 4th of July!

Hope everyone is having a fun and relaxing day. 

Happy 4th of July 

Different types of exterior trim

During the summer many homeowners in the Pacific Northwest think of doing exterior home updates. Since we have mild summers it is easy to work outside and you can make many changes to give your home a face-lift. You can paint the exterior, replace the roof, update the window and door trim, redo the landscaping. Really the possibilities are endless...

Here are a few pictures of window trim to give you an idea of the different looks and feels it gives to homes.

Different Styles of Walkways For Your Home

There are so many different styles of walkways that you can create for your home. You can make them as simple or as intricate as you want. You can do it yourself, or hire it done. The choices can go on forever. Here are a few pictures of different types of paths.

Stones set in ground with grass growing around them

Subway tile style stones with either sand or grass growing around them

Boardwalk style path made from wood

Pavers that fit together to create a pattern

Gravel path lined with rocks

Pavers that allow grass or groundcover to grow around them

Simple poured concrete path

More pavers with gravel in between the spaces

Poured concrete with a stone pattern stamped on top

Colored bricks set in a pattern

Summertime in Seattle

Year after year Seattle has been voted one o the best cities for summer. The polls and surveys have been based off of weather, things to do, vicinity to water, sporting events, festivals and more. 

The weather the last couple weeks has been amazing and if this is what we have to look forward to then it is going to be another amazing summer. 

Some ideas for summer fun are....

Boating at Greenlake

Hiking/walking Discovery Park

Shopping at one of the fantastic farmers markets

Go to a music festival

Check out the Woodland Park Zoo

So take advantage of the sun and warm temperatures. Go enjoy the views Seattle has to offer and explore all the fun things there are to do!

Look at the Weather!!!

Spring is here.... kind of feels like summer today though. And check this out..... The next 4 days look AMAZING!! Hopefully you can take some time and enjoy the sunshine!

Streaky and dirty windows? Here's a cleaning tip!

Are your windows trying to tell you something??

As the sun starts to shine more in Seattle you may begin to notice how streaky and dirty your windows are. 

Here is a quick tip for cleaning them... Instead of paper towels, use newspaper. It will clean better and there will not be any paper towel fuzz left behind. You can also use a vinegar and water solution if you find you are out of window solution. I find that newspaper holds up longer then paper towel and the windows get a better finishing shine. 

Spring Forward!!!

It's that time of year, Daylight Saving Time, the time where we lose an hour. It's okay though because the days are becoming longer and summer is on it's way. Make sure you turn those clocks forward at 2 a.m. on Sunday March 9th. Also it is a good reminder that you should check your smoke detector batteries as well as your carbon monoxide detector batteries as well. If you check them twice a year at the same time as you change your clocks you should always have good batteries in your detectors.

Smells you never want around when trying to sell your house

Home odors are one of the top complaints of potential buyers. Pet smells and smoke are at the top of the list with mold and mildew not far behind.

It is unfortunate that when you live with odors in your home for any given length of time it is harder to detect them then it is from the nose of a stranger. As embarrassing as it may be have a friend or relative come over and give your home the sniff test if you think you may have a problem.

There are many ways to get rid of pet odors, lets just list a few. Removing your pets from the home is a good start, if you are already in the process of moving start to transition your pets to their new home. Next start vacuuming. Get rid of all that unwanted pet hair, don't forget it likes to collect in carpets, under furniture and also in corners. You can also vacuum your furniture, if you notice hair still hanging around go ahead and try using a lint roller, it helps pick up the stragglers. After vacuuming, sweep up the rest, after that a good carpet cleaning and floor mopping is called for. Now you are almost done, lastly I suggest washing down at least the lower portion of the walls and door frames. This should really get a handle on the pet odor.


Smoke odors use a lot of the same techniques as above. Even though it doesn't seem like the smoke is in the furniture and on the walls it is. Smoke just seems to settle on everything. One additional thing to do along with the list above is to dust everything and/or wipe it down with a damp cloth. You will see the residual smoke appear on your cloth, and you know it is working.



One thing to note is that buyers do not want to smell fragrances. They just want to walk into a clean smelling home. Covering up the smell with scented candles, Lysol, or any other spray can also be a major turnoff because it seems as if you have something to hide.

5 simple things that will make a large difference at listing time.

In the market we are in now homes that are priced correctly move quickly. When you decide it is time to list your home, you need to start acting on the possibility of a sale. There are a handful of things you can start to do now to help ease the stress of listing time.

Clear the clutter from your home. Chances are your home feels lived in and homey. That is fantastic for you and it fits your lifestyle but to a potential buyer it can feel overwhelming. Take a bit of time to go through each room and remove clutter. This could be extra papers (we all know we have the week old mail still laying around), it could be stacks of books and movies that are there for our viewing pleasure. It could also be the overwhelming amount of laundry that there is to fold and put away. Whatever it is, clean it up. It is amazing what a difference this makes. It creates more open spaces with a clean feel. The potential seller’s eye will be more drawn to the features of your house then the things that may be wrong with it.

If you are having a hard time removing the clutter or finding a place for it that looks natural you can start packing things up. Take some of those extra books off the shelf, some of the unused kitchen appliances off the counter. Take your off-season clothes out of your closets and pack them up for next year, old papers and items that need to be saved for long term storage, they can get packed now as well. This can be less stressful then decluttering because you do not need to make a decision right away, you are just packing it up and can unpack it at your new place.

Once you have taken care of the surfaces in your home it is time to look at the bigger items. The furniture you have works for you, but it might be a bit too much for the home viewers. When you walk into a home that you might purchase you start to look at it as a skeleton that you are going to put your own personal things into. You try and visualize what that would look like. You may even look at how the home is staged to see if your furniture will work like that. You get ideas, you picture yourself being at home. With too much furniture in the home it is hard for the buyer to do that. It makes the rooms look smaller and can feel jumbled, it can also mess with the natural flow of the home. You do not need to discard the furniture forever but possibly you could move it into a storage unit for temporary keeping, you could even keep it in the garage, but that can become another issue we will address later.

Now that you have the rooms down to a more minimal look, take a peek around your home and look at the minor projects that need to be done. Maybe you are missing trim in part of a room, or the front door has scuffs in it and just needs a fresh coat of paint. Maybe there are stains in the carpet, something that can be remedied by a quick carpet cleaning. The kitchen, does your sink have stains in it? You could hire someone to re-coat it, or possibly with come elbow grease you can get that thing to shine on your own. Look at the screens in the windows (if you have them) are they all in properly, all undamaged? This can be a simple Saturday project, re-stretching screening. Wash your windows while you are there. It has a huge impact especially if the sun is shining on open house day! Little things will make the house more polished. Things that you have become accustomed to, that are not damaging the home, are things that potential buyers see as projects. Take a little time to wrap up these projects and give your home a finished feel.

Lastly do your homework. Before you hire a Realtor interview with some. This can be done with a list of questions and a phone call. See what they think the value of your home is. Let them tell you their marketing strategy. Ask them for pointers on a quick sale. Make sure that they are a good fit for you, last thing you need is a Realtor that you do not see eye to eye with.

By completing these few things it will help you to prepare for a home sale. It should not cost a fortune, and when the time comes to put the home on the market you will be ahead of the curve. Do not wait till the last minute as this can add stress to your lives and selling a home should not be a stressful time, more a time of change.

Your Homes First Impression

When you meet someone, when you look at something, when you try a new restaurant whether you realize it or not it has left a first impression with you. The moment you see it, what it meant to you, how it made you feel. These are all things that make up that first impression. That is why you want to make sure your house has a memorable first impression, and not a bad one either. A little front yard makeover will do the trick. It can help polish the house, make the house shine. Think of your yard like a picture frame. You want it to complement the picture within. Trimming shrubs, bushes, and trees, edging the yard, keeping the lawn maintained, these are all things that will help.

Below are a list of a few things you can do to make your home look great from the outside.

• Paint your front door. It can be a complementary color to the home or a bold color that makes it POP!
• New house numbers for your home. It is amazing how simple this is but makes a fresh new look.
• Move all you toys and lawn equipment out of the front yard to give the home an open and clean feel.
• Clean your windows.
• Mow your lawn and trim the edges.
• Sweep the front walk.
• Clean out your gutters. On the off chance of a big rain you do not want them overflowing, it can give the potential buyer the feeling of a project before they have even stepped foot inside.
• Put a seasonal wreath on your front door.
• Make sure that when your curtains are drawn it has a clean and tidy view. You do not want “stuff” piled inside. It can make the buyer wonder what’s next.

These are just a few things you can do for the outside of your home to give it a nice inviting feel. Some buyers do drive-bys before they even go in with an agent, and so looking good is important. Also once your FOR SALE sign goes up you will be attracting more attention to your house, and people who have been your neighbors might truly start noticing more. Clean and crisp, a perfect first impression.

Why is spring the best time of year to sell your home?

There are many reasons. There are also a couple of downsides as well.

In Seattle the weather finally starts to warm up. It is decent outside and people are starting to get out more. It seems that spring is busier for many families. Sports are starting up again, school is having more outings, and you are going on more walks and adventures. Generally there are many more people out and about in spring then winter. Because of this it makes spring a perfect time to list your home.

Many people list their homes in the summer because they know it is the best weather and has the most buyer traffic. Open houses will be busy and offers will be written. Why not start in spring? Get ahead of the curve. The same people who buy in the summer have actually been looking starting in the spring.

Another good reason to list in the spring is that if your house is sitting vacant you do not need to pay to heat or cool it. With the mild temperatures of spring your home should stay fairly comfortable and this is more attractive to buyers. If your home is too hot or cold during the selling process it will make potential buyers wonder why the temperature is so extreme.

One last advantage for a spring listing is that families tend to not want to move their children during the school year. Many will wait until the year is finished and move during the summer. Because it can take a few weeks for closing a deal starting your search in spring is perfect for this timeline. If you move in early summer that gives the buyer the rest of the summer to get settled and make sure the kids are comfortable for the new school year.

Now for the downsides, in Seattle spring means rain. With rain you can discover new leaks, your yard can be soggy, and it can be miserable to go outside.  Also gardens can begin to grow and may need some work from sitting all winter. By paying attention and doing a little work these things can be avoided.

Really, now is a great time to begin the selling/listing process. Getting your home straightened up and ready to market is a great place to start.  It’s great to be ahead of the curve of other sellers, now is the time to get started.

2014 Olympics....Starting Tomorrow!!

2014 Olympics

Tomorrow is an exciting day. It is the opening ceremony of the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
This is the 22nd Winter Olympics, and runs from February 7th-23rd. It will be broadcast on NBC.

This Olympics will feature 12 new events. The ski halfpipe (men's and women's), ski slopestyle (men's and women's), snowboard slopestyle (men's and women's), snowboard parallel slalom, women's ski jumping, biathlon mixed relay, a new figure skating team event and luge team relay.Most of these events were added to bring a fresh new feel to the Olympics and it has been said it will help liken it to the popular X-Games.

Click the link below the image above to be taken to the Sochi Olympics website to view when each event will occur. Also be sure to check out nbcolympics.com to see the local television schedule.

Seattle Times: Home prices spiked sharply last year in some neighborhoods

Home prices spiked sharply last year in some neighborhoods

By Sanjay Bhatt
Seattle Times business reporter

The median price of single-family homes sold in King County in 2013 hit $415,000, its highest in five years, as the local housing market’s recovery gained steam.

After tumbling to a seven-year low of $340,000 in 2011, the median rose 7 percent in 2012 and grew 14 percent more last year, according to data from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service. The median price means that half of homes sold for more, half for less.

But some areas in King County saw bigger spikes than others, according to a Seattle Times analysis of MLS data.

The Jovita/West Hill neighborhood in Auburn led all King County areas with a 29 percent increase in the median price, to $273,000.

Close behind, with 24 percent appreciation: Seattle’s Sodo/Beacon Hill area, also with a below-average median price of $320,000, and Bellevue’s neighborhoods west of Interstate 405, with the county’s highest median price: $1.3 million.

The smallest increases, from 3 to 6 percent, were in Central Seattle, Newcastle/Issaquah and North Seattle.

Despite the strong annual gains for homes, the median sales price for 2013 in nearly all areas of King County was still below its peak in 2007, when the housing bubble burst. But some places are close to recovering all the ground they lost.

Overall, the countywide median price of homes sold in 2013 was still 9 percent below its 2007 peak of $455,000.

In South King County, where foreclosures were rampant during the Great Recession, the median prices of homes sold in Skyway, Burien, Des Moines, Federal Way and Kent in 2013 were still below their peak by 25 percent or more.

Areas close to downtown Seattle have bounced back more quickly.

In Seattle, for example, West Seattle’s median price in 2013 was 7 percent below its peak; the Queen Anne/Magnolia area, 4 percent off its last peak; the Ballard/Green Lake/Greenwood area, just 3 percent below.

In Eastside tech hubs like Bellevue, Kirkland and Redmond, the median price has returned to between 7 and 9 percent below its last peak. But the median price in bedroom communities like Kenmore, Renton Highlands and Vashon Island is still between 12 and 22 percent off the peak.

Central Seattle record

Central Seattle, which includes Capitol Hill, Washington Park and Madrona, is the only area where the 2013 median price — $619,000 — surpassed the level set during the 2007 housing bubble and saw a new high.

“My gut tells me that’s on the strength of infill development,” meaning new housing built in established neighborhoods, said Michael Doyle, a managing broker for Windermere in Seattle.

According to the Multiple Listing Service, the median price of new single-family homes in King County was $455,500; for condos, it was $438,303.

There’s been a flurry of homebuilders redeveloping single-family lots in Central Seattle: They buy an old house for $300,000, demolish it and build three high-end town homes priced at $500,000 apiece.

But there were also more than 100 homes sold in that area last year for $1 million or more, according to Redfin.

The luxury-home market is booming across King County. According to the MLS, there were 1,426 sales of $1 million-and-up homes last year, about 50 percent more than in 2012.

The highest price paid for a single-family home last year was $9.75 million for a property in Medina, while a penthouse condo in downtown Seattle sold for $6.2 million.

Among luxury buyers is Frank Loyko, who bought a downtown Seattle condominium last summer for just over $1.3 million.

In an interview last year, Loyko said he’d lived on the Eastside for more than a decade, but once his children had grown up, he and his wife wanted to leave the suburbs. Downtown Seattle’s food, arts and music scene appealed to him, as well as the idea of a high-rise community.

“It seems as though the baby boomers, the downsizers, had their retirement accounts flush again and were able to make moves they were previously unable to do,” Doyle said.

The article continues talking about Condos and their place in the market. Over all 2014 is a new year ready for more growth. As the months go by look to the market for higher listing volume and more activity.

To read the entire article please visit: The Seattle Times

Free Ballard......From What?

Free Ballard…..From what?

Did you know that Ballard was settled in the 1860's and in 1890 it was incorporated into its own city? It was not until 1907 that Ballard was annexed by Seattle.

If you have spent any time in Ballard I am sure you have seen the ever popular Free Ballard bumper sticker. This is Ballard's proclamation to push to become its own again.

Ballard is home to the Hiram Chittenden Locks. These locks connect Lake Washington and Lake Union with the Puget Sound. Nearby the Locks is Fisherman’s Terminal. It is just that, a place for fishermen and fishing vessels. It homes hundreds of local ships and boats.

Ballard is very strong in Nordic Heritage.  It has Nordic gathering halls, Nordic bakeries and restaurants, Nordic statues, and the Ballard Ave Historical District that was established in 1976 by King Carl XVI of Sweden.

Ballard is also home to farmer’s markets, live music, art galleries, small boutiques, ship yards and more. It is a great place to reside because not only is there a lot happening all the time, there are amenities all within walking distance. Banks, stores, library, restaurants, and more are scattered throughout the Ballard neighborhood.

You could even come for the day and check out the Locks, Fisherman’s Terminal, Golden Gardens Park, Ballard Farmer’s Market, and all the other local businesses. There is always something to do in Ballard, so come on over and check it out!

Take steps to prevent frozen pipes....
Frozen pipes may mean good business for plumbers, but it’s bad news for homeowners. Now’s the time to prepare for the next cold snap, if you haven’t already.

Seattle Times has a series of articles featuring questions from readers....
HomeWork is the weekly column by the Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties’ Remodelers Council about home care, repair and improvements. 

This week they are answering a question about frozen pipes. They give many different ideas for how to keep them functioning and from freezing. Seattle has fairly mild winters and there are not many days to worry about this but on the off-chance we have a frigid day, or string of days, this could become very important. Better to plan ahead then need to call an emergency plumber.

You can read the complete article here.