The Northwest Multiple Listing Service announced its 2011 year end statistics. There is good news: a positive trend has started for home sales in King County. For two months in a row, during 2011, home sales were up. We are starting to see a healthy marketplace emerge as the inventory level drops. Right now is the prime time to list a home before the housing inventory increases. Take Care.
Jeff Menday
Major Construction Begins the Week of January 3rd, 2012
Phase 1 of the work to rebuild and repave N/NW 85th St between 15th Ave NW and Greenwood Ave N begins 01/03/12.
Eastbound traffic, including transit will detour to 80th St during this phase. When Phase 2 begins, traffic on 85th will be one lane in each direction, and intermittently closed. Expect temporary closures of sidewalks and driveways as well as restricted access to side streets.
Also, the intersection of 85th St and Greenwood Ave will close for weekend work in late January.
For more information, including a detour map, please visit:
Happy Holiday’s everyone!
I wanted to send a reminder that tolling starts on the 520 bridge the 29th of December. If you haven’t ordered your Good To Go pass and are interested, all the information you need is at:
http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/goodtogo/
The pass looks like the least expensive way to go.
Safe travels to all!
December 9th, 2011
Hi Jeff,
George Tyler here, I want to start off with saying pardon my spelling its terrible. Anyway, in the past I have told a lot of people about what you did for Lori and I with getting the house over by the Crown Hill cemetary sold for us. And when I tell the story I tell them that you’re not really a realtor, you’re a miracle worker. I keep a framed copy of the flyer that you had printed up in my home office, so the transaction comes to mind quite often. And when I show that flyer to people they say that I’m a bandit, and I say no, I just had a damn good realtor on my team. I retired five years ago and Lori will retire next spring and we plan to hop in our 32 foot motor home and spend some of that windfall cash you found for us. Thanks again for everything, and keep the mailings coming.
And if you ever get up this way give me a call and we’ll do coffee.
Lori & George Tyler
From Ask Tara at Trulia
1. HAVING LOADS OF CASH, TONS OF EQUITY, AND A WELL PAYING JOB MAKE YOUR CREDIT SCORE IRRELEVANT…
Lenders will look at your credits score. No matter how much cash you have your lender will have FICO score guidelines that you will have to meet. The best predictor of whether you will default on a loan is how you’ve handled credit in the past. Assets do not necessarily diminish riskiness.
2. HAVING NO DEBT OR LATE PAYMENTS MEANS YOU HAVE GREAT CREDIT…
Financial responsibility and credit are two different things. Your FICO score is a measurement of how you’ve managed your debt. So if you have credit accounts, use them but do not abuse them. If you do not have any credit accounts, you do not have good credit, you have no credit.
3. CHECKING YOUR OWN CREDIT SCORE IN ADVANCE PREVENTS SURPRISES WHEN APPLYING FOR A MORTGAGE…
Your mortgagor or mortgage broker must pull their version of a credit report, which can be very different than the free one you get online. This is why it is very important to work with a professional as early as possible – so you can detect any errors or issues and get working on them.
4. IF YOU HAD A SHORT SALE OR FORECLOSURE, YOUR CREDIT SCORE WILL BE DAMAGED FOR 7 YEARS…
These will appear on your credit report for 7 years, but your credit score can be rehabilitated enough to perhaps buy another home in less time. This depends on what type of loan you are seeking.
5. SHORT SALES HAVE FAR LESS IMPACT ON YOUR CREDIT SCORE THAN FORECLOSURES…
According to the FICO folks themselves, short sales and foreclosures have the SAME impact on your credit score. What may make a difference are the number of missed payments before your home was lost to foreclosure or short sale.
Lots of factors can influence how well your brain functions – amount of sleep, stress, age, medications. One factor we can all control and improve upon is nutrition.
The following list contains 5 foods that can actually improve brain function:
1. Green leafy vegetables like spinach, cabbage, and broccoli are rich in folate, and vitamins B6, and B12. These chemicals help break down harmful substances that can accumulate in the brain and lead to forgetfulness.
2. Whole grains such as brown rice, oatmeal, and items made with 100% whole wheat flour can increase blood flow, which helps deliver oxygen to your organs, including the brain.
3. Eggs, a good source of protein contain choline which is essential in the production of some neurotransmitters that regulate mood and memory
4. Green tea has several benefits. Most notable are the flavinoids which can reduce the production of a protein that forms plaques in Alzheimer’s patients.
5. Blueberries are packed with antioxidants. Researchers found that a diet that consistently included blueberries improved memory.
Features
3 Bedrooms
1.75 bathrooms
Living room with gas fireplace
Newer kitchen with chef’s stove, SS appliances, and glass faced cabinets
Remodeled main floor bath with marble
Gleaming hardwoods
Detached 2 car garage with RV parking and alley access
Year built 1924
Gas forced air heat
1,600 Sq. Ft Home (per Realist)
5,080 Sq. Ft. Lot (per Realist)
2011 taxes: $3,521
Walk Score: 85
MLS #296993
Now that trees are losing leaves and the storms have begun, the chance of flooding increases.
There is one simple thing you can do to prevent localized flash flooding…adopt a drain!
The storm drain at the street outside your home can clog with leaves and rapidly cause flooding. Please add this to your yard clean-up list when the leaves begin to fall…you will be happy you did.
According to the U.S. Fire Administration report, in 2006 there were:
3,425 deaths
16,400 injuries
$11.3 billion in property loss
These statistics represent residential figures. Tragic, that the 2006 deaths due to fire surpassed the combined deaths of all other natural disasters in the US at that time.
An installed and properly functioning smoke alarm can reduce residential fire death by over 50%. Sadly, two-thirds of the fire deaths occur in homes with no smoke alarms or smoke alarms that do not work. A recent University of Washington study revealed that 1 in 5 homes in the U.S. do not have a working smoke alarm, and that 73% of the alarm failures are due to dead or missing batteries.
So what to do?
For more information on smoke alarms, visit these valuable resources on the web:
Consumer Product Safety Commission: http://www.cpsc.gov
U.S.Fire Administration: http://www.usfa.dhs.gov
National Fire Protection Association: http://www/nfpa.org
As reported on the local myballard.com blog, Thursday Oct 6th, 2011, more than 30 people gathered at the Ballard Community Center to talk about crime in the neighborhood. Representatives from Seattle Police Community outreach, SPD crime prevention coordinator, BallardCommunity Center and Ballard District Council were all there to answer questions.
The most prominent concern was homelessness and public intoxication. In addition, there were concerns raised about graffiti and theft. The representatives from SPD repeatedly advised concerned residents to call 911 and stated that 911 was not only for life and death situations. The local crime prevention coordination, Terrie Johnston, advised against calling the non-emergency number noting that “it’s not very friendly.”
There are only 10 officers to cover the Ballard area. 911 calls are prioritized, which would explain the long response time to calls. Many of the residents felt their calls were not taken seriously. The SPD advised to enlist neighbors and call incidents at the same time to move it up in priority.
Please follow the link to contact your SPD community outreach representative.
http://www.seattle.gov/police/publications/Prevention/CrimePreventionMap.pdf