No sooner had I posted the blog about the vast majority of new Seattle area homes being called “Craftsman,” that I spotted a related article in The Wall Street Journal. In the Weekend Journal (October 6, 2006) under the title “Designing America,” an article talks about production architects who
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10/07/2006
An absentee owner called from San Diego and asked me to give her an estimate of the value of her condo. After looking on the Multiple for past sales and current listings in the complex I decided that a personal visit was in order. I was right. The place had been rented and was in pretty bad shap
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10/06/2006
A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of showing a client from France some homes around the Seattle aera. (Yes, many of them were Craftsman homes.) I was reminded again of the different scale we use in the USA (“super-size it”). By comparison to French and German houses our dimensions are so much la
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10/06/2006
The Pacific Northwest is blessed with spectacular geography and Seattle offers sights to behold in every direction from the Olympics to the Cascades, from Puget Sound to Mount Rainier to Mount Baker. What this area lacks is imagination when it comes to the style of (new) homes. When I started he
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10/06/2006
What does it mean to be a closer? Sell the buyer on a home they don’t need or don’t want? Glossing over some obvious deficiencies of a property? Downplaying the client’s concern over the traffic noise? (“You’ll get used to it.”) Telling the buyer the home will be gone by tomorrow so you better m
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09/18/2006
Finding a home for a renter can be a challenge around here – that’s Seattle and environs. Many apartment complexes have been converted to condos already and many more are on the drawing board. That’s driving up rental prices for apartments and houses alike. Still, helping to find a rental for a r
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09/18/2006
The phone rang. “Fred” here, may I speak with Frances Ann, please?” That’s my wife and the mortgage consultant in this family. “I have an offer here and need to know more about the buyer’s financial circumstances,” Fred added. I told him my wife was out but would call him back. Then I asked: “You
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09/18/2006
During a recent all-day home showing trip my relocation client remarked that in France nearly everybody had a GPS device to find their way around. His comment must have been prompted by my u-turn and look of disgust on my countenance. Of all places I’ve lived – and there are many – Seattle and e
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09/18/2006
Another tool that’s changed my daily routine is using the Internet for phone calls. I was paying the local phone company about $40 a month just for the privilege of having a land line. (A good chunk of that money went for taxes.) When I decided to take the plunge late last year I chose a company
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09/16/2006
The Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS) recently introduced a feature called “Attached Documents” such as would be the Legal Description of a property. The listing agent uploads the “contact-critical” document and the agent representing the buyer downloads it and includes it as part of the
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09/16/2006