Photo taken by Paul S. Henderson, ABR, CRS, GRI, SRES, Realtor® with RE/MAX Professionals & Four Seasons Inc. of DuPont & Lacey, WA. Making real estate services a positive experience for home buyers and sellers in DuPont, Lacey, Olympia or Pierce, Thurston, Mason, and Kitsap counties for over 10 years now. ©2009 Paul S. Henderson, My view of America in Lacey, Washington! All Rights Reserved Provided 10/25/2009

What's up with direct marketing catalogs? My mail box explodes this time of year with catalogs. My wife calls to discontinue our name on their mailing list only to find more catalogs still arriving from these people. Rather than being taken off the list, we get  duplicates. This is a picture of yesterday’s bounty! So you ask, what’s the problem? I get 10 catalogs at my home address 10 at my billing address maybe 5 at my office address Now duplicates, when my wife called! ©2009 Paul S. Henderson, For God’s sake, save a forest! All Rights Reserved Authored 10/23/2009

  Are you moving to the Fort Lewis area of Washington State?  Do you need a Realtor® to help you locate an affordable home in your new community?  Well, help is only a call or e-mail away. Lacey Washington offers affordable homes within a short commute of Fort Lewis. This area has long been a favorite of the discerning buyer with orders to this area. I offer my clients a full spectrum of affordable options, not just my listings but all the houses for sale in your price range. I look for houses that fit your needs and explain the benefits of each house and the commute. I am an Army Veteran and know what a strain moving to a new area can be. Is buying a house in Lacey an option? Ask people who have served here what they think. Ask about;   Schools   Shopping   Job opportunities   When you... 10/22/2009

Photo taken by Paul S. Henderson, ABR, CRS, GRI, SRES, Realtor® with RE/MAX Professionals & Four Seasons Inc. of Dupont & Lacey, WA. Making real estate services a positive experience for home buyers and sellers in DuPont, Lacey, Olympia or Pierce, Thurston, Mason, and Kitsap counties for over 10 years now.   ©2009 Paul S. Henderson, So much to enjoy in Lacey, Washington, All Rights Reserved   Shared 10/14/2009

Photo taken by Paul S. Henderson, ABR, CRS, GRI, SRES, Realtor® with RE/MAX Professionals, DuPont, Lacey & Olympia, WA. I’ve provided positive results to home buyers and sellers in the cities of Dupont, Lacey, Olympia or Pierce, Thurston, Mason, and Kitsap counties for over 10 years now…  ©2009 Paul S. Henderson, Peaceful Lacey WA..., All Rights Reserved 10/11/2009

September 2009 Real Estate Market Report for Lacey WA... Pre-Owned single family homes 169 Homes Active For Sale 29 Short Sale For Sale 7 Active Bank Owned Properties 24 Homes Are Pending/ Under Contract 22 Homes have sold since September 1st 46 Canceled or Expired listings Average days on market of home SOLD in Lacey in September (119 Days) Highest SOLD price in Lacey since September 1st was listed at $489K and sold for $398K in 307 days. Pre-Owned Condos 17 Condos Active For Sale 6 Short Sale For Sale 0 Active Bank Owned Properties Average HOA (Home Owner Association) Monthly Dues $334 3 Condos Are Pending/ Under Contract 1 Homes have sold since September 1st 1 canceled or Expired listings Average days on market of home SOLD in Lacey in September (108 Days) Highest SOLD price in Lacey... 10/02/2009

I recently had the privilege of sitting down with one special Olympia resident. Her name is Sandra Kozlowski and she is on a mission. Her passion and determination have helped her turn a lifelong dream into a reality. What's unique about Sandra's dream is that it is not about her.... Three generations back in Sandra's family, her Great-Grandmother, Conchetta, was a single parent struggling to provide for her family. She had great aspirations to go to nursing school, however, due to her selfless nature and her commitment to her children she was never able to realize that dream. Years later, Sandra finds herself in a similar position, trying to manage her own schooling dreams while still providing constant presence and attention for her children and grandchildren. In a testament to the po... 09/03/2009

Wok on fire Mongolian Grill    8640 Martin Way E. Lacey WA. 98516 (360) 455-4256  BEST BANG FOR THE BUCK RATING! Price Range: Low to Moderate   Credit Cards: Accepted  Attire: Casual Good for Kids: Yes  Wheelchair Access: Yes  Outdoor Seating: Yes  Take Out Yes Reservations: No Delivery: No Alcohol: No Waiter Service: No This is a very popular small restaurant.  Secret for your success: If you have never been to a Mongolian Restaurant, you need a strategy. Grab your bowl and proceed to the meats first. (Ask the service person if the meat supply is low.) Pour your choice of sauces over the frozen meat in your bowl. Move on to the vegetables. Finish with noodles and head to grill.   You'll be sorry if you go in the opposite order because you won't get enough meat.  MY KIDS RATE THIS AS YU... 08/13/2009

You need to get pre-approved for a loan so you look in the price range for a home, most sellers won't accept an offer without a pre-approval letter... The list price isn't set in stone! Chances are slim that a seller will accept an offer $20 thousand below the list price in the first week on the market! The listing Agent works for the seller. He has no fiduciary responsibility for you in most states... Make sure if you want something, get it in writing... The $400 you spend on a home inspection will save you thousands in heartache. When in doubt, ask a professional! If you are planning on collecting on the government $8000 tax credit you better be narrowing your search to make an offer! Now is not the time to climb up on the fence! It's time to get off the fence and buy a house!    Aut... 08/08/2009

Time is indeed running short on the federal government's $8,000 tax credit. To have any chance at finding a home and having an offer accepted by the first week in October, buyers will have to get off the fence and jump into the home buying process right away to meet the December 1, 2009 deadline. The immediate actions include making a desired list of home amenities, driving through areas and neighborhoods, meeting with a mortgage professional and getting a pre-approval letter in hand. Then begin your home search either online or with a Realtor ®. Though the official expiration date of the credit is December 1, in reality procrastination by buyers will not be rewarded and a decision one way or the other must be made soon. The reason: in order to qualify for the credit, the home purchase ... 08/06/2009

I believe we have one of the best adult communities in Washington State. It's called Jubilee which means celebration to me at least. Some people think it's a prison sentence rather than a celebration, but I tend to look at the positive side of life and to live it to the fullest. 55 is only a number and a speed limit! We don't call them retirement communities anymore. Why should we? Who has time or can afford to retire anymore?My last client, who was interested in downsizing, said it was nice dealing with a Realtor ®, who could actually live in the adult community they were showing. She also told me that she had worked with another agent who she felt was trying to commit her rather than help her make the decision on whether or not she should buy in a adult community. I feel I can bring ... 07/25/2009

If you are looking for some free entertainment this summer, come check out what Lacey has to offer!  Lacey's Parks Department (www.ci.lacey.wa.us)  is sponsoring a series of children's entertainment, lunch time musical concerts in the park, games shows based on TV games shows, and outdoor movies under the stars! Remaining childrens' entertainment includes Shakespeare in the Park today (7/21), Henrik Bothe on the 28th, Angel Ocasio on Aug 4th & Recess Monkey Aug. 11th - these are all at 6:30 PM in Huntamer Park (corner of 7th Ave & Woodland Square Lp) in Lacey. The lunchtime music is noon til 1:00 on Wednesdays and is also in Woodland Square Park - bring your blanket or lawn chair and some lunch and listen to Creme Tangerine do some Beatles tunes this week, or Gaelica's Celtic/Appalachia... 07/21/2009

If you've turned on a TV or read a newspaper in the last year then you have likely heard talk that we are in the midst of a buyer's market in the real estate world. A buyer's market would lead you to believe that buyers are in control and are able to negotiate fantastic deals on their purchases. You may also be led to believe that sellers are desperate and that they will welcome all offers. While these things may be true in parts of the country, they certainly ARE NOT true here in the Olympia area! Unless you plan on purchasing a property that needs some good old sweat equity (in other words it is UGLY), you should plan on likely paying within 10% of the asking price. Depending on what price range you are looking at, you may actually find yourself in the middle of a bidding war. In fact... 06/17/2009

Are you waiting for mortgage rates to drop back down? It seems many potential buyers out there in the real estate market these days are trying to hold out until that perfect scenario presents itself: Low prices AND low rates. Well here is my word of caution...don't wait TOO LONG! We've been fortunate over the past 15 years to have some extremely low interest rates available to homebuyers. However, when you turn the clock back a bit further things begin to look quite different. Rather than rattle off a list of statistics and data I think this message is best told with a picture. I've created a chart which tracks the Annual National Average Contract Mortgage Rate Index. This index tracks conventional fixed and adjustable rate mortgages on resale single family homes, as reported by a sampl... 06/15/2009

Lacey Parks and Recreation Department has yet another action packed summer planned for kids and adults alike. Starting June 23rd, you can enjoy some great family friendly entertainment ABSOLUTELY FREE at Huntamer Park (map). On Tuesday evenings at 6:30 you can enjoy the Children's Entertainment Series with events including Shakespeare in the Park, The Tom Question Show, and Recess Monkey. Then on Wednesdays at noon, starting June 24th, there will be live musical performances in the park for "Lacey in Tune" concert series. Come out and see local performers take on jazz and swing, American pop, calypso & reggae, The Beatles and more. On the weekends bring the whole family out for the Outdoor Cinema Series. Starting July 11, Saturday evenings will start off with 'Lacey's Got Game' at 7:00.... 06/09/2009

This past Saturday we went to the Lacey Rotary Duck Dash in Tumwater Falls Park & it was a blast!  I'm not sure how we managed to have not gone before this year since this is the 20th year it has been held, but I'm glad we got there finally this time.  Our almost 2 year old granddaughter thought it was a great idea right from the time we parked and rode on the shuttle bus to the event (actually she has been wanting to ride the bus again ever since!). The park had games, a giant slide, face painting, a fishing pond, balloons, a bouncy house, music, and local food booths to entertain the crowd while they waited for the actual duck dash to happen.  When the time neared for the ducks to be released, the crowd started moving into position along the river to see the big crane hoist up the con... 06/08/2009

**UPDATE: 2011 Lacey Rotary Duck Dash in Olympia information now available!**     June 5th, 2010 at Tumwater Falls Park DUCK DASH IS HERE! 11:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Note: The following post and prize information were written for the 2009 Duck Dash: Feeling Lucky? If you are, or if you just want to contribute to a number of worthy local causes, come out to Tumwater Falls Park and participate in the festivities of this year's 20th anniversary of Lacey Rotary Duck Dash! What do you do at a Duck Dash, you might ask... Its really pretty simple. You purchase a ticket for 5$ (or multiple tickets if you want), the number on the ticket corresponds to a number on one of the rubber ducks that get dumped from a giant crane into the Deschutes River. The ducks race down the river toward the finish line ... 06/05/2009

Coming soon will be the 20th annual Capital Food and Wine Festival at St. Martin's University in Lacey!  This event will be going on March 28th from noon - 10 PM & will be featuring yummy food, wine and microbrews to sample.  The event is in the Marcus Pavilion and the Worthington Center at St. Martin's University - & what a great place to enjoy chatting with old friends while you try some of the best food and drink offered, as well as live entertainment all day.  The wine will include offerings from many regional vintners, the microbreweries will bring their most tempting brews and local restaurants will have all their special dishes featured to munch between sips of wine or brew!  Entertainment includes jazz, an a cappella group, classic and modern swing, and classic horn band dance h... 03/15/2009

The Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater area has for many, many years enjoyed a lovely swath of forest & river (namely Fort Lewis and the Nisqually Delta) to the north, separating us from the metropolitan central Puget Sound. But we do have all the little gems of city city life- great theaters, music, political sideshows, etc. We just get to enjoy them in a more relaxed, personal setting. The slow pace fosters a whole bunch of wonderful family-owned businesses too. And because they operate on personal scale, they are unique from each other, and very different from the big stores selling so much of the same stuff in strip mall after strip mall (I just returned from Tucson, if you want to hear about strip malls). It also means we rely on each other to share when we find a new gem! So I am doing my dut... 03/15/2009

I am writing this as I get ready to leave for another closing in Lacey. That's right, things are still selling and there are three reasons why. The house was priced right from the start The house was prepared to sell The house was marketed properly Sounds pretty simple doesn't it? Don't play games with your most valuable investment. I am currently working with buyers and sellers from all over the country and world. Unless your house is marketed on the Internet with pictures, how can I sell your house to someone in Iraq, Panama, or Korea? Hire a full time professional to sell your house. Make sure they know the web and use it to sell your house Get an agent that publishes your listing on the best national websites Get as many pictures as possible in the listing including a virtual tour. ... 12/15/2008