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.