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Residential Real Estate Services with Passion, Integrity, Knowledge

Another Truly Amazing and Unique House!

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Everyone now and then a house just captures imagination. Such is definitely the case for this unique house located in Wales, UK. This “hobbit” house was built completely by the owner, for an amazing sum of less than $5,000. It reminds me of the fairy tale houses of childhood stories.

Just imagine how much fun it would be to live in such a place!

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Now, of course, I’m totally curious about how well our local building inspectors might appreciate the framing techniques used here:

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An overview from the inside of the rafters:

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And the windows are perfect too!

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The kitchen from the overlooking bedroom balcony:

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With many thanks for posting photos and information, please visit the owner’s site at www.simondale.net. SOOO cool!

A Special Thank You to Past Clients & Associates

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I’m especially honored in 2011 to have been chosen as a Five Star Professional in their real estate category. I’m new to this one, so please forgive me as I carry on for a moment about this special award.

It’s my understanding that this award is the result of polling of both the homeowners and other professionals involved (such as escrow, title and mortgage folks) for closed transactions for 2011. I understand that they asked for specific opinions about the folks with whom they dealt, looking for the highest standards of customer service, knowledge, and professionalism.

As you know, for me, customer service is number one on my agenda. After all, a real estate transaction is all about you … my treasured clients. I want you to know that I care about your purchase or your sale more than anything else. I want you to know that I have your back … and that I’m working hard to be sure that whatever it is you strive for in your sale or purchase … I’m there too!

So thank you again. Your recommendation means the world to me and I treasure your confidence in my services.

As I understand it, the list of agents that made the cut for 2011 appears in Seattle Magazine’s December 2011 issue. There are a lot of agents featured, but these best of the best are only a fraction of the agents that practice in the greater Seattle area. (I need to get to a news stand and buy one of these copies!)

I’m honored. Thank you.

Time to Publicly be “Thankful”

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Thanksgiving is almost here .. almost! Just a few days away.

In our family, that means the kids come to our home with grandchildren in tow (“I’m” the grandma now), with special treats tucked in baskets, games to play and visiting to be done. We’ll spend 2-3 days chasing the little ones around while they decide that “gramma” and “grampa” live on a farm (NOT), have lots of good hot cocoa and whipped cream, hugs, and stories. They’ll likely ride the “tractor,” (read that as the riding lawnmower), chase the dogs, pick up the eggs from the chickens, feed the neighbor’s horses, and try to prevent the cat from bringing his latest mousing finds into the house.

Then there’re the evenings to sit with a quiet glass of wine with the grown children after the crowd of little ones go to bed. (When did my children grow up and become real people with whom a glass of wine is such a treat? They’re all adults now with families of their own.)

It’s a hectic, chaotic, blessed time.

I’m so thankful!

This upcoming 4th Thursday of November is just the accepted, public time to express thankfulness. Underneath it all, I’m thankful every day for the life we lead. It’s full of stress, but it’s full of laughter as well. It’s full of real estate clients that express hope when they have a real estate need, frustration when things go sideways, gratefulness when things get back on track, and delight when the transaction finally closes. Their trust is a huge responsibility … and I’m thankful to be someone to whom they look to lead them through the quagmire of real estate purchases and sales.

I’m tremendously thankful.

In our family, we’ll all hold hands around the dinner table for a moment on Thanksgiving afternoon and express our thankfulness to each other.

Now it’s time to virtually hold hands with all of you – clients, friends, coworkers, and acquaintances. I’m thankful to have each of you in my life.

Farmer’s Markets are “Springing” Up All Over!

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It’s Spring, which means Farmer’s Markets are “Springing” Up All Over!

I love shopping at local Farmer’s Markets. Just mingling amongst all the fresh produce, the local crafts, and flowers is inspiring. I always come away with the zeal to go home and weed. Or something equally as dirty.

Not to mention, of course, my reusuable shopping bag, full of goodies. Veggies, lettuces, fruits…even an occasional quart of fresh fresh milk. Yummy. We eat really well for a few days after my trip.

Near my home in Auburn, Washington are a few Farmer’s markets worth mentioning. I missed all of the grand openings this year, but I definitely stop by a couple of times a month for goodies!

Here’s the info you’ll need to visit. Click the heading for additional information.

 Auburn International Farmers Market

June 12 to September 25
9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.  Auburn Sound Transit Plaza, 23 A St SW

The Auburn International Farmers Market boasts more than 40 vendors offering a variety of fresh locally grown farm-based foods, hand-crafted items, and concession stand that are restaurant-based but feature a home-cooked taste. The 2011 weekly market starts June 12 and runs through September 25. The market will again include free performances, guest chef demonstrations with farm-fresh ingredients, children’s activities, and classes on health, nutrition, and gardening. AIFM 2011 Special Events June 12 Opening Day ceremonies begin at 8:30am June 19 – Sound Transit and Metro Appreciation Day July 10 – Kids Day July 24 – The Dog Days of Summer | Complete with the annual Parade of Market Dogs August 7 – National Farmers Market Week | Vendor Recognition Day September 11 Remembrance Day September 18 – Senior Appreciation Day

Kent Farmers Market, sponsored by the Kent Lions Club

Saturdays, June 4 to September 24
Town Square Plaza — 2nd Avenue &b Smith Street

When in Auburn and Kent, Take some time to visit each of these local sources for fresh foods and produce. After all, Farmer’s Markets are “Springing” Up All Over!

 

 

 

 

Thank You Tacoma Sprint Store! — You Were GREAT!

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Customer service should be a critical part of every business .. and yet so often it’s lacking. Sometimes, however, there are folks that go above and beyond to be helpful. Today I had just such an experience!

I use Sprint as my cell carrier. And their customer service with regard to phone repairs and support has, in general, been okay. Not exceptional. Just okay.

Today, however, was totally different!

A bit of background: About 3 weeks ago I decided that it was time to request repairs for the fuzzy call quality on my phone. Called Sprint and got the typical run-around. “You have to take the phone to the repair center and they’ll diagnose it.” Sigh. 45-minute drive one way. Wait my turn until they could even put me in the “we’ll look at your phone” queue. Then 2 hours while they looked at it. Only to be told … “oh, you’re phone has liquid damage and we won’t fix it. It’ll cost you $100 deductible through your insurance!” AACK!!!

So I whined, and got terribly cranky all to no result. I paid $100 to get the phone replaced.

Yesterday I dropped my phone off the edge of a wastebasket onto a tile floor–about 8″. The screen cracked. I call up Sprint to be told “well, we normally can’t fix these and it’ll be another insurance claim.” Imagine my dismay. I’m REALLY ticked off at this point, but thinking … okay, this is going to cost me yet ANOTHER $100.

Due to a full day of real estate appointments, however, my time was very limited and I knew I’d just have to drop in to the repair center in Tacoma as I was passing through. Crossing my fingers on a tight schedule, I was really praying that this thing could be fixed.

So I dropped in. Diana, the receptionist, was incredibly sweet and understanding. She listened to my whine with empathy. She didn’t think the phone was fixable, but would ask the technician. Guess what? They fixed it! Totally. Without a hassle at all. And FAST, too! It took them just enough time for me to walk across the street to Starbucks, buy a cup of coffee, and a couple of “thank you” gift cards for Diana and the Tina, tech.

When I got back to the store, Tina came out personally so that I was able to tell her how grateful I was that she was able to repair my phone! And, you know what? She told me that “nobody” had ever thanked them with a cup of coffee.

If you ever need phone repair from Sprint, go visit Diana and the folks at the Sprint store near the Tacoma Mall–3702 S. Fife Street. They’re fabulous!

And treat ’em nice. They’re worth it!

Keeping Transactions on Course is a Bit Like Herding Chickens

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My family is new to the world of chicken-keeping. Funny busy noisy creatures those chickens. But inclined to running all over the place when attempting to direct them from one place to another. Block one bird from running off course, then look around and another one has doubled back and is heading back to the pen … or off to dig up a worm in a totally different area of the yard.

Kind of like keeping real estate transactions on course. Sometimes it takes a lot of arm waiving and shirt flapping to keep everyone moving in the same direction from start to finish. But persistence does pay off. Sometimes you have to pick one chicken up and carry it to the final destination. Seems like I’ve done that in my real estate career just a few times! Well, I guess I haven’t actually picked up any clients and carried them around, although sometimes it felt like it!

The business of real estate is hard work. It takes perserverance, tenacity, professionalism, exacting and timely actions, smiling personality, and a  lot of arm waiving and shirt flapping as well.

Maybe my career in real estate has trained me well for chicken-keeping! Or maybe it’s the other way around. Give me a call if you ever need someone to herd your real estate transaction through from start to finish.

 

Protect Your Privacy … Again!

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Information available on the Internet grows exponentially. I mean, truly …. the number of sites and the amount of information where personal information can be found is staggering and a bit overwhelming, frankly.

Now, I’m a public person — you can find information about my business in any number of places. Those of us in any sort of a public sales role can easily be located. And I don’t mind sharing a bit of personal information as well. After all, my phone number, Web site address, office/work affiliation are plastered all over the place.

Where I take exception, however, is when one particular site takes it upon themselves to gather all of that public … and sometimes not so public … information into a central location and then allows other folks to see it for free, pay for the privilege of seeing it, or perhaps even hack into their database to find it.

Such is the case with spokeo.com. A quick visit to their site, typing my name, located all sorts of information about me, all neatly gathered together and available for curious eyes. The same thing was available for my husband, my children … even one of my grandchildren popped up for heavens sake (and they’re all under 8!) As tightly as possible, I lock down my information on Facebook, Twitter, etc. — everywhere I subscribe. Some info is there for the sharing, but only if you ask to be my friend. I like to pick my friends carefully … but frankly even friends don’t need to know everything! A quick Google search of Spokeo brings up a rabid angry crowd of folks who are incensed that their information is this easily available.

Granted this Spokeo information is a compilation of public information that is available in other places and on other sites. But frankly if someone wants to know that sort of information, they’ll daggone better have to search for it a bit harder. Personally, I also believe that one should not need to chase down all of these public sites to remove oneself from them … seems to me that they should be asking for permission to publish rather than the other way around. I guess I’m a bit old fashioned that way. And yes, this may be a bit naive, but it’s my personal soapbox for the moment.

Here are the steps to removing yourself from Spokeo:

1. Go to www. spokeo.com

2. Type your name into the search box, then click Search or press Enter.

3. If you have a common name, you may need to locate yourself from the list on the left of the screen. Click on your name to see the “teaser” box displaying basic information about yourself. … Whatever you do, don’t pay $$$ to see anything more.

4. Copy the URL address at the top of your browser — this will include your name, usually separated by % symbols, followed by a number and /info. A simple way to copy is to highlight the entire address, then use Ctrl+C

5. Now go back to the home page of Spoke. Click the “Privacy” link at the bottom of the page (it’s in teeny tiny letters). A Remove a Link page will open.

6. Click in the URL text box and paste your personal URL address. (A quick method is to use Ctrl+V)

7. Remove the “/info” that follows the numbers of the URL. Your “ID” number to them must end the URL

8. Type your e-mail address in the email text box, and then also complete the Captcha code.

9. Click Remove Listing. A confirming message will be sent to the e-mail address you provided.

10. Once the confirming message is received, click the “Click Here” link in the phrase “To complete the removal process, please click here.” You should be returned to the Spokeo site with a confirming message that your record has been removed.

From briefly skimming some of the comments about Spokeo on other sites, it appears that it’s possible your record will be re-created should you add a new public record of some sort, e-mail address, etc. You may need to keep an eye on this one.

And .. if you haven’t done so … be sure to go back and check your privacy settings in the public or social media sites you frequent. I believe that one can be active on the Web and out there, but we really do have to be a bit cautious about the type of information that’s easily available. I mean, after all, nobody needs to see my “Wealth” information unless I offer it to them.

Merry Christmas 2010!

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 I thought it might be nice to share our Christmas newsletter this way, as it’s sometimes fun to share a bit of family life as well as just business events. — Merry Christmas and may you also have a blessed New Year — full of happiness, surrounded by loved ones, and prosperity too, of course! Here’s praying that 2011 settles down economically a bit!

 

 

 

What an amazing whirlwind it’s been since Thanksgiving, starting with hosting the annual everybody come home Thanksgiving tradition, and then the very early birth of our fourth grandchild, little Clara Joy, born December 4th – nine weeks early.

At 3 pounds, 15 ounces and almost 18” long , she’s actually a pretty big “preemie,” but her development still has a ways to go before she can go home sometime in January. Her Mom and Dad (our daughter-in-law Erin and son Aaron) are both doing well, although feeling a bit overwhelmed by daily demands.

I feel incredibly fortunate to be able to periodically go to Hillsboro to be with big sisters Sophia and Madeline as they adjust to the hectic schedule of hospital visits combined with school and activities. Sophia is turning into a champion member of her swim team while Madeline is coming into her own at preschool. What a smart little cookie she is. Kindergarten can’t come too soon!

Our next newest grandchild, little Tyler, is now a busy busy! 15-month-old toddler that just wins everyone’s hearts. He’s definitely an engaging little bud, with a huge smile, never ending baby vocabulary, and feet that go just as fast as they can before they lose traction or balance, plopping him down on his little bottom.

With Jen, Steve & Tyler in Port Coquitlam, BC, and Erin, Aaron, Sophia, Madeline & Clara in Hillsboro, OR, we sure wish all the grands lived closer! Being Gramma and Grampa is FUN!

In our own household, Galen is now within reach of his AA degree in Construction at Green River Community College. It’s tough finding work in housing construction at the moment, but he’s picking up piece work now and then, while looking for something full time.

Bill’s job at Microsoft came to an abrupt end in July, so he and Galen are pounding the pavement (& keyboards) together along with challenging each other weekly to see who can put in the most job applications. We’re hoping jobs for both of them come along … SOON!

I’m still hard at work peddling houses through RE/MAX. The housing market is challenging, but I’ve been blessed with a fairly steady stream of business for the last few months. (Thank heavens!) In addition to transaction work, my days are filled with prospecting for business through blogging and Facebook, etc., along with an ever-increasing variety of community involvement.

All in all, we’re hanging in there through this blasted economic downturn — working as hard as we can and praying for jobs and business — just like most everyone else. We know that 2011 will be an easier year!

May your Christmas and onward into the New Year continue to be blessed with much happiness and laughter! We hope to see you or talk to you soon!

Sending Best Wishes to Dana Babb and Paws-Abilities!

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Over the years, we’ve taken our dogs to what I consider to be the premier dog training facility in our area: Paws-Abilities. I’ve referred literally dozens of clients to Dana Babb, the owner, whenever doggy training of any sort was needed – behavior issues, puppy manners, agility classes, companion classes, and so on. Some folks just bond with dogs and know how to get the best from them; others, like me, are loyal followers hoping to glean another nugget of technique on why my dog does what he/she does and what the heck I’m supposed to do about it.

One of my favorite techniques was learned while we had a very stubborn … and busy! … dalmation named Gateway. Oh my, Gateway was one of those training challenged dogs. Think Marley and Me, except covered with spots! Anyway, Gateway had a habit of jumping our six-foot cedar fence. And she was really really good at it. It was amazing how she could go up and over the thing with a leap, a slight catch with her back feet on one of the runners, and then over she’d go.

We were in classes with Dana and Larry at Paws-Abilities at the time and I was totally frustrated with trying to get this dog to STOP! Gateway wouldn’t stop going over the fence and the neighbors were calling because there she’d be. Running all over the neighborhood wagging her tail and just generally happy to be out of her own very lovely and large back yard.

Larry’s solution: teach her to jump. Say what??? “Teach her to jump. That way she’ll only jump on command.” The weirdest thing was … it worked! Once Gateway had mastered jumping hurdles she never again jumped the fence. These guys know dogs!

Over the years and especially after Larry’s passing, Dana and I have become trusted advisors to one another. She calls when she has a real estate need. I call when I have a doggy issue.

Yesterday I received a call from Dana explaining that the dog center needed a new location and looking for some advice and thoughts both about leasing a new facility and valuing her home. Bless her, Dana will be undertaking a challenge now as a service dog trainer in the Wounded Warrior Project and Warrior Transition Battalion at Joint Base Lewis‐McChord. I couldn’t be more delighted for her, although it means that Paws-Abilities will be moving along to new heights! She’s hoping to begin offering classes again sometime in the future, but for now will be focusing on being part of this very rewarding and needed program.

Best wishes, Dana! Visit Paws-Abilities to keep tabs on training opportunities. They’ll be open again soon!

Time to Downsize?

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I must admit that this time of the year … when family is due for Thanksgiving and the Christmas holidays are looming too … I give a wee bit of thought to the idea of downsizing. Just small enough so that I don’t have to spend a day scrubbing the place down. All those rooms! Of course, three bedrooms isn’t a lot of space, but still. I’m just that lazy sometimes.

There’s been a lot of hype lately about downsizing. I see it on the news and “home” shows constantly. Give away the stuff (and I have a lot of it), learn to live with less, enjoy the freedom, etc.

This morning I got a bit sidetracked surfing the news sites. And came across this video on one of my local stations:

Now, I’ve seen some itty bitty places, but this one takes the cake! Can you imagine living in a home that’s built on a mere 300 square feet!? It’s really quite intriguing!

I’m not too sure that I could downsize to quite this level. And to think that it cost a mere $500,000 to build! Maybe I’d better think twice about cleaning all these rooms …