Seattle's Urban Villages

Magnolia View home...Meeting the homeowners today.

Today I met with a couple who have a wonderful home in Magnolia with views of Puget Sound, Elliott Bay, The Space Needle , Downtown Seattle and Mt Rainier... this is their view.....

Unfortunately, the online photos of the views were of gray, overcast skies, not the sun drenched, bright, open concept rooms and their stunning views.  Their home had been listed on the market for awhile earlier this year with another real estate agent and had not sold, even with price reductions.  This house is ideal for a couple who are downsizing from a larger home, and want to live a more urban Seattle experience, but want more privacy, parking and square footage than they would find living in a high rise Seattle condo. 

Last spring I sent the listing to a couple who live out of state who were thinking of retiring and moving to Seattle where they moor their 40 foot boat.  I previewed the house and strongly encouraged my clients to see the house next time they were in town, because the view really needed to be experienced in person, and the online photos did not do it justice.  Unfortunately my clients plans have changed and are putting off moving for awhile.   

Later, when the house was no longer listed on the market, I called and left a message with the homeowners saying that I had some ideas about improving the marketing for their home.  Last week I received a call from the owners that resulted in our meeting this afternoon.  We talked for quite awhile after I toured their home.   They had questions, and we talked about my ideas for marketing their home if they decide to hire me as their real estate agent to list and market their Magnolia home next spring.

Now that we are in the slower, fall market I feel waiting until next spring will be a better time to list and present their home to potential buyers, because the views are shown off to their best advantage in the spring and summer.  Wouldn't you love to enjoy views like this?

Open Houses; a great way to "interview" agents when you are thinking about selling your home

A great way to find a good Seattle real estate agent when you are thinking about selling your Seattle home is by attending open houses in your neighborhood. 

You get to see an agent "in action" at an open house!  While you are there you can gauge their professionalism by the way they greet you, engage you in conversation and talk about the house they are hosting the open house at.  Ask questions about the neighborhood, the Seattle real estate market both in general and specifically homes in the neighborhood and comparable homes.  While talking to the agent, do you find them knowledgeable, and a good "fit" to work with you?

Check out the agents' marketing materials (flyer's etc.) are they informative and interesting to look at?   Ask the agent what they did to help their client get the house "market ready" and their philosophy for marketing and selling homes.  Later when you get home, look the house up online to see the quality of the online photos, and the marketing remarks for that house, do you find them to present the home well?

A good agent will be happy to answer all your questions, but be careful not to monopolize their time after-all, they are working to sell their clients home!  The agent is there to show their clients' house to potential buyers so they will need to greet and talk with other visitors at the open house too.

Sometimes the agent hosting the open house is not the listing agent, so that is something to find out while talking to the agent.  The hosting agent is still a good potential agent for you even if they are not the listing agent.  Sometimes a listing agent is not available to host that week's open house for one of several reasons, and another agent is hosting it.  Even if the agent you meet and talk to is not the listing agent, that hosting agent may be a good fit for you if they impress you with their professionalism, knowledge and marketing savvy.

Be sure to get the agents' business card and a flyer too so that you can follow up and call them later to talk about what they can do for you to market and sell your home.  A little time and effort spent doing this will help you to find the best Seattle agent for you when the time comes to sell your home.

Montlake, in the Mild and Fair Month of May...

My new Montlake  listing-to-be is nearing the end of it's "spa treatment" with a contractor who is freshening it up so I will be be listing it for sale in the Seattle Real Estate market in a week or two.  There are many details to be attended to for my client who lives out of state, and since we are nearing it's completion, I have been spending even more time at the house and working with the contractor in my client's absence, and my job at the Listing Agent has not even begun!

The Montlake neighborhood is absolutely gorgeous right now with our mild and fair May weather producing lush flowers, shrubs and trees.  Wednesday afternoon and evening I spent planting the flowers for the newly redone front yard and noticed all the walker's, some with their beautiful dogs, and joggers out in the afternoon and evening.  Everyone seemed to be particularly enjoying the beautiful days, and many gave me complements on how wonderful "my garden" (to complicated to explain that I was the Real Estate Agent !) was turning out.

Montlake, with it's many Tudor style homes, lovely gardens and parks reminds me of what I imagine England is like, of course since I have never actually been there, my mental images are based on movies and books! 

  The neighborhood is surrounded by parks so is very green and peaceful, and since much of it is level with some gentle slopes, the neighborhood is perfect for enjoying an evening stroll or jog.  There are many great places to walk, jog or ride a bike in Seattle, places like Green Lake , Alki or other parks, but not so many that are the neighborhood itself like Montake.

My seller's home is returning to it's previous lovely state with the attention it has been receiving this spring, and like the Montlake neighborhood itself, springtime refreshed and soon ready to be enjoyed by it's new owners. 

My journey to "The Center of the Universe" the third day after I moved to Seattle....

I moved to Seattle the fall of 1994 not knowing a soul in town.   But when I arrived my best friend who had moved to Lewiston, Idaho a few years before, met me at my new apt. in a suburb of Seattle - Tukwila.   

It was in the afternoon when I pulled in the parking lot driving the huge rental moving van and pulling the trailer with my VW Bug (the late Bugasaurus).  My friend helped me unload the van, and some nice neighbor guys helped with some larger things.  The following day my friend and I unpacked and set up my home for the 15 months until I was ready to buy a home in Seattle.

My third day was the beginning of my Seattle Adventure of exploring what I now call Seattle's Urban Villages.... 

We went to Fremont, self proclaimed Center of the Universe!  There, resides the Giant Troll hiding under Aurora Bridge, a kitschy 53 foot rocket ship stands ready at launch, and a statue of Lenin is frozen mid-stride in a plaza.  Fremont also hosts it's annual Solstice Parade (June 16th) with it's wild and fun celebrants both on the street and along the sidewalks, and as the Fremont Chamber of Commerce notes, Fremont is "Far from Normal".

We explored shops like Les Amis, Deluxe Junk, and Fremont Antique Mall, that are still our favorites to stop by every time we visit.  I had my first Thai food that day and of course my first official cup of coffee in Seattle!

This funky and fun introduction to Seattle began what would eventually transform into my interest in sharing Seattle's Urban Villages to the world with blogging and, as a Seattle Real Estate Agent, allow me to help my buyer clients know where to look when buying a home in Seattle that best suits their goals and lifestyle.

Tip for Sellers - Make sure your agent posts great photos of your home on line.

Last Saturday, I was across the hall in another Seattle Real Estate Agent's office chatting about Seattle real estate (what else!) and I noticed on the screen of her laptop an article on MSN.  The article was on the ethics of using PhotoShop to "touch up" online photos used in marketing homes for sale.  This was a very interesting and engaging article, I really enjoyed it.  Ethically challenged people sure make life more interesting and complicated!

Well...of course then I wanted to air (okay...vent!) my opinion on BAD real estate photos.  Most Seattle real estate agents do a credible to fabulous job with the marketing photos as Listing Agents...then there are the ones who's cameras should be taken away!  It riles me up so much when I see a listing with poor photos, all I can think is poor, poor sellers. 

You have probably seen them online:  crooked photos (yikes an inebriated photographer!) dark photos (scary, who would want to live there?) photos of unlovely rooms (no photos of the "cooks kitchen" but one of the semi-finished basement?) poor choices of angle (nice ceiling, but what does the room look like?) and the real money loser, amazing Sound (Lake, City etc.) view and no photos or good ones to draw a buyers interest!

The home a friend of mine was leasing recently has been listed for sale.  On Lake Washington, it has wonderful views of the lake from almost all the rooms, so you can imagine the list price.  Well, at that price I would have thought the Seattle Listing Agent, (Marketing Agent) would have engaged the services of a professional photographer to capture the value of this house, but instead, the photos online barely show the views.  I wish I could share some examples with you, but unfortunately I would have to have the permission of the Seattle Listing Agent, and it's not likely they'd give it for a post like this. 

So next time you are on line looking at houses and condos, look at the photos, do they show an appealing home?  Does the written marketing celebrate a home's virtues but the photos tell a different story?   

So a Tip for Sellers, make sure you ask to see examples of your Seattle Listing Agent's Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS) Listing or Marketing Photos, and ask to see the listings for similar types of homes and compare them.  Make sure your Seattle Realtor will truly market your home properly so that it appeals to as many potential buyers as possible.  You don't want to miss the opportunity to capture the eye of the buyer who is willing to pay the highest price for your home by having less than great photos posted on line.