Don't Miss the Tulips in Washington State --- The annual Skagit Valley Tulip Festival in Washington State got off to an early start this year, and now it is in full bloom. With my children here for spring break, the timing could not have been better for a ride up to tulip land and a wonderful adventure in nature's display of marvelous colors.   Red is always one of our favorite tulip colors, but only one of many amazing varieties.   At Tulip Town, you will find artistic displays, food, coffee, and a very warm and cheerful gift shop. The motto at Tulip Town is "To God Give the Glory." There is also a World's Peace Garden on display. The trip can be a spiritual adventure for sure.   The wall murals are well done and give you a real sense of the history of tulip cultivation. Even if it is ... 04/07/2010

We are not quite a month away from the big Tulip Festival in the Skagit Valley. This festival, beginning April 1, is now famous in this region and it draws photographers and admirers from all over. The tulips in their full splendor are most amazing to see and are in the La Conner and Mount Vernon areas. They gets less publicity than the tulips but the Skagit Valley is right now ablaze with daffodils. The tulips are the main show but the daffodils are earlier and they are splendid in and of themselves. Soon the heads will be cut off and the growers will harvest the bulbs and sell those to gardeners all over the world. Many of the tulip bulbs grown in the Skagit Valley end up being sold as Holland bulbs. Many of the farms are owned by people with Dutch names. Thanks for stopping by, Stev... 03/10/2010

Price: $165,000 FIZBER.com ID 14266347 Single Family with 3 bed, 1.5 bath, in 2000 N 35th Street Mount vernon, WA, 98273 http://www.fizber.com/14266347/ 2000 N 35th Street - For Sale By Owner Property Details: Type: Single Family Address: 2000 N 35th Street, Mount vernon, WA, 98273 Sq footage: 1040.0 Floors: n/a Bathrooms: 1.5 Bedrooms: 3 Year built: 1987 View full property details and seller's contacts. View more Washington homes for sale. Homes for Sale by Owner. Description: Live-in condition rambler is immaculate and ready for you to move in. New 30-year roof, landscaping, and paint (inside & out). All new flooring, kitchen countertop, sinks, faucets, and fixtures. Cozy and well-insulated, this easy-to-heat house has city water, sewer/garbage, and is cable ready. It is nicely tucke... 02/07/2010

I thought I'd share this message from the Lincoln Theatre's executive director: In light of the horrific events we are witnessing in Haiti, the Lincoln Theatre will be stepping up to support the aid effort while bringing our community together. This Saturday, the Lincoln is donating net proceeds from Cambalache, the Northwest's hottest salsa band, to the William J. Clinton Foundation Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund.  Ticket prices have been dropped to $15 general admission, to allow as many community members as possible to come together and make an impact in the face of a world tragedy. The Lincoln is a platform for connecting our community, making it a perfect place to respond to this disaster together. The scope of the devastation in Haiti is unimaginable, but as a community which cares ... 01/19/2010

Hey Everybody, According to an article in BusinessWeek and Yahoo! Finance from November 6th, 2009, our great little town of Mount Vernon Washington is expected to top the Nation's job growth in the first three months of 2010. Wow! The article says that our "tourism, retail and hospitality will make a comeback as the economy improves."  I think that is outstanding and likely to become the reality. In Real Estate, we're already seeing the recovery.  In the latest monthly recap published by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service, Pending Sales in the month of October 2009 were up an amazing 94.44% from the October 2008 Sales in Skagit County. Simply amazing!  The recovery is here and it is real. Add this to the near historic low interest rates and the $8,000 First Time Buyer Tax Credit, or... 11/19/2009

I just walked in the door after a biking event. My wife and I took off at 7:00 AM to participate in the "Tulip Pedal." This is in the La Conner and Mount Vernon area on an annual basis. It raises money for charity and provides good exercise for the hearty participants. There were three possible routes. We choose 20 miles. The other two options were 40 miles and 60 miles. It was fun and the weather cooperated. The one thing that DID NOT cooperate was the darn tulips. For those of you who do not know, the Skagit Valley is one of the top growing areas in the world for "Official Dutch Bulbs" as in Tulips from Holland. The tulips are largely dependent on the weather, how warm it is, as to when they emerge in all their splendor. Well, based on the temperatures this year, and the look of the ... 04/04/2009

  **While we would love to be able to predict the future, we know the best we can do is look at all the indicators and ofersound opinions. Are we optimistic? Yes. Are we cautious? Absolutely. We are in unchartered waters. Like you, we are not certain what our economy will look like next month, let alone 12 months from now. What we do know is that our current real estate market offers wonderful values for buyers, and interest rates that we may not see again for many years. We lso know that buyers arekey righ now - the dominoe effect of one buyer buying a home means that home's seller can also buy their next home, which in turn means anoter seller can buy a new home. And a rebounding real estate market is one indicator of economic recovery.   **Information posted in the Windermere Real Es... 02/26/2009

I had a call from a REALTOR that started out that way. I had never done business with this individual just a few folks in her office. It just points out that the "thinning of the herd" is really hitting the real estate industry hard. In some ways thinning the herd is healthy for the marketplace as the weak and underfunded service provider drop by that wayside leaving the strong and profitable companies.Unfortunately when these companies drop by the wayside they leave behind websites and literature to confuse the public. This also tell me that I need to spend a little more time in the offices and get my next newsletter out letting everyone know that we are alive and thriving!   //Rick Rick Bunzel, CRI Pacific Crest Inspections NAHI Member of the Year 2008 NPSAR Affiliate of the Year 2006... 02/24/2009

Yesterdays inspection almost came to an abrupt end. As soon as the buyer's Realtors and myself walked in I sensed that the home was too cold. I carry an infrared thermometer and a quick check of the inside temperature showed it at 29%. Yikes - fortunately the pipes and toilets had not frozen yet. The listing agent was lucky. If the pipes had been frozen I would have called off the inspection and requested a plumber defrost everything. Once we got the Ok from the plumber then we could do the inspection. With Realtors carrying lots of listings they need to stay on top the vacant properties and make sure that they have heat on and maybe even the walks shoveled so buyers can get inside without wading through the snow Rick Bunzel, CRI Pacific Crest Inspections NPSAR Affiliate of the Year 20... 12/20/2008

Do you have a steady working relationship with a certain loan originator?  Are they keeping you up to date on industry changes?  If not, then how will you know what to expect when your customer goes to buy their first home or possibly their 5th or 10th? I used to market for a local Mortgage company before I went out on my own as a Contract Mortgage Loan Processor.  There would be times when some realtors would ask me why certain things were holding up their customers transaction from closing.  Surprisingly all it took was a little education as to what the Loan Origiantor might be facing concerning the lending industry. Just like now as well all know getting a loan from the time of application to funding is taking a considerable amount longer than it used to.  There is a reason for that.... 09/11/2008

Hi, I'm in the Chaffey Model Home in Nookachamp Hills in Mount Vernon.  In a few minutes Megan Doyle & Elisa Filoni from Puget Sound Energy's Energy Efficiency Services division will be changing out ALL of the light bulbs in the model home from the traditional incandescent type to the new Energy Star high efficiency light bulbs! We're all very excited to be promoting the Green movement.  Chaffey Homes has always been a responsible builder, now as the newer technology, terminology and environmentally friendly standards are being developed, Chaffey Homes is at the forefront. Chaffey Homes recently built an environmentally friendly concept house with Dave and Anna Porter.  To date, over 10,000 unique visitors have toured their home.  You can both see it and read all about it on their web-s... 08/22/2008

Mount Vernon Washington is a great place to live and own real estate.  Mount Vernon is a reasonable drive to Bellingham, Anacortes, Oak Harbor, and Everett to the North, West and South.... Homes in all of these places cost more than the equivelent homes in Mount Vernon. The Skagit Valley is a beautiful place to live as well, surrounded by mountains, farmland and forests it is simply peaceful. If you're thinking of a move, Mount Vernon, Washington is well worth considering! Visit my web-site to learn more about this great place!   08/06/2008

The 2008 Skagit-Island County Home Tour will be September 12-14. The first house of the tour will be one my listings in Nookachamp hills.  The 3,731 Sq.Ft. 'Sheadon' model by Chaffey Homes is a great home with a Fantastic Kitchen, Luxurious Master Suite, and Spectacular Lake and Mountain Views. The Hours for the 2008 SICBA Home Tour are:-  Friday       Noon       - 6:00pm-  Saturday   10:00am - 6:00pm-  Sunday     11:00am - 5:00pm   Nookachamp Hills is a Planned Residential Community with beautiful homes still being built. Situated just a few minutes Northeast of Big Lake, most homes come with beautiful Territorial Views of the local forested hills or of Big Lake itself.... or both. There are several builders that have built/are building homes in this development - including Hansell Mit... 08/06/2008

  Nookachamp Hills is a Planned Residential Community with beautiful homes still being built. Situated just a few minutes Northeast of Big Lake, most homes come with beautiful Territorial Views of the local forested hills or of Big Lake itself.... or both. There are several builders that have built/are building homes in this development - including Hansell Mitzel Homes as well as Chaffey Homes, and Christopher Homes among several others. You can learn more about Mount Vernon's Nookachamp Hills development by visiting www.NookachampHills.com.  It is still in the building stage and will be for at least a couple more years. Check it out, you'll be glad you did. 07/31/2008

I will say that up until a few months ago, my attitude towards the Real Estate market was becoming one of fear and anxiety.  Sound familiar?  and the news reports weren't helping.Then I met a wonderful, experienced and seasoned broker, Gertie Jacobs. I assumed when I met her that she lived and had been selling Real Estate in the town where I lived for quite a few years if not her whole life, only to learn she had recently relocated here within the past 6 months and was actively selling Real Estate.Upon hearing my negative comments on this " bad and slow Real Estate market" , she stated: " Real Estate is always a good market, it just depends on who it's good for."  " There is always someone benefitting from Real Estate, be it the sellers or the buyers." WOW!   What a refreshing voice. So... 07/10/2008

These Beautiful New Chaffey Homes are Available Now in Nookachamp Hills!     (Click on the pictures above for full details.) LET'S MAKE A DEAL... And Have We Got A Deal For You! Saturday, May 31st & Sunday, June 1st from 12pm - 6pm ONLY, we invite you to take advantage of something big! All Reasonable Offers Considered Guaranteed 30 Minute Response Time 1 Page Contract Negotiation* For further details contact Bill Sauneuf at (360) 708-2929. * Must be converted to full Purchase and Sale Agreement within 2 (two) days of approval. Prices are subject to change without notice. Photos are for illustrative purposes only. This offer valid on Chaffey Homes standing inventory of homes only and must close by July 25th, 2008. 05/30/2008

I found the following posted on the City of Mount Vernon's Web-Site. Here is a link to the page:http://www.ci.mount-vernon.wa.us/page.asp_Q_navigationid_E_730 Please take a few minutes to complete the survey!!  A dog park is something we desperately need around here!You can also tell people to visit http://www.mountvernondogpark.com/  I've built a web-page there with a link to the survey as well as a printable flyer if you would like to tell more people about the survey and the possibility!Thanks,-Bill----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mount Vernon Parks and Recreation would like your input!! Take our 5-minute survey regarding the possibility of establishing a Dog Park in within the City of Mount ... 01/07/2008

Mount Vernon Real EstateMount Vernon is in Skagit County, Washington. It is home to the annual Skagit Valley Tulip Festival that happens each year in April. The beautiful tulip, daffodil, & iris fields draw thousands of people into Skagit County each year.The city of Mount Vernon, Washington is along the Interstate 5 corridor about an hour South of Vancouver, British Columbia and about an hour North of Seattle. State Highway 20 is just North of Mount Vernon (in Burlington). State Highway 20 goes West toward Oak Harbor, Anacortes, the San Juan Islands, and Victoria/Sidney British Columbia (by ferry). State Highway 20 also goes East through Sedro Woolley and the Cascade Mountains (on the Cascade Loop).The Mount Vernon School District serves over 5,700 students attending 10 schools from gr... 12/14/2007

 "Bill did a great job for us. He really went the extra mile to make our plans work. Great service!"                    -- Glade & Sally B.                        Happy Vacant Land Buyer   At the conclusion of every transaction, I send out a client satisfaction survey to see how I did from the customer's perspective. It is a great tool for me to learn how I can improve the service I provide to my customers.I must also say that it feels really good to receive the compliments I've received.This is just part of my Customers For Life program.  12/11/2007

"We feel you being so energetic and aggressive in your sales approach is why our property sold over others. This is the 2nd piece of property you have sold for us within 1 - 2 years. We will use you next time around also. Thanks."                    -- Brian O.                        Happy Vacant Land Seller   At the conclusion of every transaction, I send out a client satisfaction survey to see how I did from the customer's perspective. It is a great tool for me to learn how I can improve the service I provide to my customers.I must also say that it feels really good to receive the compliments I've received.This is just part of my Customers For Life program.  12/02/2007