My name is Shawn Martin.  I am the new owner of Crosby Inspections.  Tina has semi-retired.  I am striving to do the exact same service that Tina has done for you and your clients over the years.  The reports, phone numbers and e-mail address are all the same. So if there is anything I can to for you or your clients please fell free to call me anytime.   I have been inspecting residential property for almost 5 years I am a certified ITA ( Inspection Training Associate) I am certified by Washington State for Structural Pest Inspections WSDA (SPI)   Sincerely,   Shawn Martin Crosby Inspections E-mail Crosbyinspections@comcast.net PH 360.721.4577     P.s.  Attached is a special coupon offer and if you would like to know more about me please feel free to call me anytime. 10/04/2008

Vancouver WA Real Estate For Sale | Lincoln and other West Areas Market Report for September 2008 This month has 42 fewer Vancouver WA homes for sale in the active category, and the average days on the market has decreased 1 days to 105 days. For the listings that are agreeing to offers the average time on the market is now 81 days -- 17 days fewer than the prior month. With the month of September we have seen a slight slowing in activity for homes priced below $300,000, while it is still slow for the higher priced homes. For August year-to-date the MLS data is showing the Average home Selling Price for these Vancouver areas ranging from: $170,700 to $339,700; and the Median Selling Price ranging from: $165,800 to $240,000. The Clark County - wide Average Home Selling Price is: $285,300... 10/04/2008

Vancouver WA Real Estate | Fircrest, Orchards, Maplecrest Market Report for September 2008 This Vancouver WA Real Estate market report is a simple matrix of the RMLS North East-areas homes in the real estate data base, separated into price ranges, and: Active, Pending and Sold categories, for the historical month of September, 2008. The Vancouver North East areas are east of Andresen and north of Mill Plain. Of the Vancouver Washington real estate areas, this set has the largest number of homes for sale. With Summer coming to a close the month of September has seen a slight decrease in listings (-68) and another increase in homes going pending (10). This market is still in a bottoming period, with all the appearances of a Buyer's Market, with savvy buyers making offers on some excellent... 10/04/2008

Vancouver WA Real Estate | Cascade Park; Fishers Landing, Evergreen Highway Market Report for September 2008 This report on Vancouver WA Homes For Sale is a simple matrix of MLS South East-area's homes in the real estate data base, broken down into price ranges, and: Active, Pending and Sold categories, for the month of September, 2008. This South-East area report includes: Cascade Park, Fishers Landing, and the East Heights and Evergreen Highway Neighborhoods. This month has 42 fewer homes in the Active category, and the average days on the market has decreased 1 days to 105 days. For the listings that are agreeing to offers the average time on the market is now 81 days -- 17 days fewer than the prior month. With the month of September we have seen a slight slowing in activity for home... 10/04/2008

Vancouver WA Real Estate For Sale | Salmon Creek, Felida and Hazel Dell Market Report for September 2008 This month has 25 fewer Homes For Sale in Vancouver WA in the active category, and the average days on the market has edged up 7 days to 131 days for the active listings. For the listings that are agreeing to offers the average time on the market is now about 98 days -- 11 days more than last month. This month we have 55 homes Pending -- 2 more than last month. All prices ranges in these MLS areas continue to be a "Buyer's Market." For August year-to-date the Vancouver Washington MLS real estate data is showing the Average home Selling Price for the Felida, Salmon Creek & Salmon Creek areas ranging from: $267,600 to $344,500; and the Median Selling Price ranging from: $255,000 to $31... 10/04/2008

Reading our local paper... We had fallen behind on disposing of the local paper, so that's probably the reason I noticed a possible correlation in trends report on Thursday, October 2 and on Friday, October 3. On the 2nd they reported bridge traffic over the I-5 and I-205 highways. On the 3rd, they reported marriage licenses issued. Here's what I noticed: the number of marriage licenses issued from 2005 until 2007 decreased from 228 to 186, then in 2008 they jumped to 238. Meanwhile, the traffic over I-5 has steadily decreased since 2006 and except for a small increase in 2007, has been decreasing on I-205 also. Here's my theory: Portland has a lively nightlife - attractive to singles. So, people have been leaving Vancouver, crossing over to Portland for the dating scene, finding a mat... 10/03/2008

3 Tips to Selling your Home in a Short Sale Market In a market where short sales are reaching 35 to 40 to 50% of all of the listings on the market, you may be asking yourself, "how will I sell my home?" This isn't just a problem in the Vancouver Washington real estate market. This is happening across the nation. Whether you are in a short sale situation or you have equity in your home that you will be taking away from the sale, these tips will be of help to you. 3 Tips to Sell Your Homes Quickly and for the Most Amount of Money in a Short Sale Market 1. Find a qualified Real Estate Agent with experience in this a buyer's market or short sale type of market. 2. Interview that agent. How many short sales have they negotiated as the LISTING Agent? This is not something that you should glos... 10/02/2008

Is a flattened market a good thing? The Vancouver, Washington market has maintained a steady 12 months (give or take a couple of weeks) of inventory since March. Prices have continued lower overall. Is that the steady push of the inventory? Is this flattened activity a good sign when the rest of the economic world is in a panic? The RMLS summary for September isn't out yet. In my own numbers tracking I see that the ratio of pending to active listings over the last two months has worsened, so I expect that will be reflected in a slight increase in inventory in September's report. What does this suggest for home buyers or sellers (or investors)? Well, if you don't have to sell and you aren't planning to buy up, stay out of the fray. If you do have to sell, price below the last sale of com... 10/01/2008

Just a quick reminder that this month's Green Drinks event in Vancouver Washington is almost here! September 30th Hula Boy-downtown Vancouver Washington  Introductions will begin @ 6PM-feel free to gather earlier   Anyone who is interested in Green building, Green Living, or a more Eco-Friendly lifestyle is invited. This month our 5-minute spiel speaker is by Alyssa Kail, account representative with The ReDirect Guide (www.ReDirectGuide.com).  Alyssa will provide us with a brief walk-through of the ReDirect Guide, a sustainable living directory for the Vancouver/Portland metro region and talk about how businesses and organizations are qualified as sustainable in order to be included as members of ReDirect.  We'll attempt to define what 'sustainable' truly means.       When you choose us... 09/28/2008

Looking for something to do in Clark County this September? Here is a short list of upcoming events. I hope to see you around town! K-Rod Memorial Scholarship Walk - RunOctober 4th (register 9am walk starts 10am)Clark College Christensen Soccer Fieldwww.clarkcollegefoundation.org/links/krod_reg.pdf Pumpkin FestivalOctober 4th & 5thPomeroy Living History Farm20902 NE Lucia Falls Road, Yacolt, WAwww.pomeroyfarm.org Harvest Festival & Pumpkin PatchOctober 4th - 25thBiZi Farms, 9504 NE 119th Streethttp://www.bizifarms.com/ Chestnut FestivalOctober 11th (12pm - 5pm)Allen Creek Farms29112 NE 41st Avenue, Ridgefieldwww.chestnutsonline.com Birdfest & BluegrassOctober 11th - 12thVarious locations in Ridgefieldwww.ridgefieldfriends.org CROP Hunger Walk (5k)October 14th (register 12:30 walk starts... 09/24/2008

Vancouver WA Real Estate | Fircrest, Orchards, Maplecrest Market Report for August 2008 This Vancouver WA Real Estate market report is a simple matrix of the RMLS North East-areas homes in the real estate data base, separated into price ranges, and: Active, Pending and Sold categories, for the historical month of August, 2008. The Vancouver North East areas are east of Andresen and north of Mill Plain. Of the Vancouver Washington real estate areas, this set has the largest number of homes for sale. With Summer coming to a close the month of August has seen a slight decrease in listings (-10) and a slight increase in homes going pending (15). This market is still in an adjustment period, with all the appearances of a Buyer's Market, with savvy buyers making offers on some excellent prope... 09/23/2008

Vancouver WA Real Estate For Sale | Lincoln and other West Areas Market Report for August 2008 This month has 18 fewer Vancouver WA homes for sale in the active category, and the average days on the market has increased 3 days to 106 days. For the listings that are agreeing to offers the average time on the market is now 98 days -- 21 days more than the prior month. With the month of August we have seen the increase in activity for homes priced below $300,000, while it is still slow for the higher priced homes. For August year-to-date the MLS data is showing the Average home Selling Price for these Vancouver areas ranging from: $170,700 to $339,700; and the Median Selling Price ranging from: $165,800 to $240,000. The Clark County - wide Average Home Selling Price is: $285,300; while the... 09/23/2008

Vancouver WA Real Estate | Cascade Park; Fishers Landing, Evergreen Highway Market Report for August 2008 This report on Vancouver WA Homes For Sale is a simple matrix of MLS South East-area's homes in the real estate data base, separated into price ranges, and: Active, Pending and Sold categories, for the Historical month of July, 2008. This South-East area report includes: Cascade Park, Fishers Landing, and the East Heights and Evergreen Highway Neighborhoods. With the last month of Summer, the month of August has seen a slight decrease in listings available (-3) AND one fewer homes going pending (31 vs. 32 last month). This market is still in an adjustment period, with an over-all appearance of a Buyer's Market. For August year-to-date the MLS data is showing the Average home Selling... 09/22/2008

Vancouver WA Real Estate For Sale | Salmon Creek, Felida and Hazel Dell Market Report for August 2008 This month has 54 fewer Homes For Sale in Vancouver WA in the active category, and the average days on the market has edged up to 124 days for the active listings. For the listings that are agreeing to offers the average time on the market is now about 77 days -- 6 days less than last month. This month we have 53 homes Pending -- 7 fewer than last month. All prices ranges in these MLS areas continue to be a "Buyer's Market." For August year-to-date the Vancouver Washington MLS real estate data is showing the Average home Selling Price for the Felida, Salmon Creek & Salmon Creek areas ranging from: $267,600 to $344,500; and the Median Selling Price ranging from: $255,000 to $314,600. The... 09/19/2008

It's not all bad news in the mortgage industry.  It really depends on how you look at things.  I know, you're probably thinking, "I just heard that Wall Street is falling apart", or "I just heard on the news that there are a record number of foreclosures".  While this is true, what does that mean for someone looking to buy a home or for anyone who is looking for ways to cut down on their bills?  I have great news!  Keep reading... 1.   Mortgage Rates for both conventional and FHA loans are extremely low!  This means people who currently own homes, now have a way of refinancing into a lower payment, paying off debt and saving money all around.  For anyone looking to purchase a home, they can now do so with a fantastic interest rate. 2.   Mortgage Rates for jumbo loan amounts are finally ... 09/19/2008

Residential Highlights for August  When comparing August '08 with August '07, new listings in Clark County fell 17%. Additionally, closed sales decreased 30.6%. And, pending sales dropped 10.1% At the month's rate of sales, the 5255 active residential listings would last approximately 12.7 months which is unchanged from last month. Year to Date Looking at January - August 2008 in Clark County compared with the same period last year shows that new listings have decreased 8.1%. Pending sales fell 28.8% while closed sales dropped 32.1%  12 Month Sales Price ChangeWhen comparing the rolling 12 month sales prices with those for the 12 months immediately prior, we see that the average sales price decrease from $307,200 to $289,900 (5.6%) and the median price fell from $264,500 to $250,000. (5... 09/15/2008

I just received an email from my friend Laura Sauermilch over at Green Drinks. She is reminding us of our upcoming meeting as well as informing everyone of some great events in the near future. Thank you Laura for allowing me to share this information via my blog! Hello Everyone,   Our next event seems to be right around the corner.   Sept 30th Hula Boy-downtown Vancouver Washington  Introductions will begin @ 6PM-feel free to gather earlier   This month our 5-minute spiel speaker is by Alyssa Kail, account representative with The ReDirect Guide (www.ReDirectGuide.com).  Alyssa will provide us with a brief walk-through of the ReDirect Guide, a sustainable living directory for the Vancouver/Portland metro region and talk about how businesses and organizations are qualified as sustainable... 09/11/2008

You are invited! Sgt. Brad Crawford Park Dedication and Fundraiser October 11, 2008, noon - 3pm   The park is located at NW 131st Street and NW 47th Avenue intersection.   A community celebration picnic will be held immediately after dedication at the park or at the Family of Christ Lutheran Church ( NW 36th Avenue/NW 130th Street), depending on weather conditions. When you choose us to handle your Vancouver, Washington real estate needs, you choose a team of realtors® who care about you and your family. Buying or selling a home is always more enjoyable when you work with professionals who will listen to your needs and who will work together with you to achieve your objective. We are very familiar with all types a real estate in Clark County and we specialize in Vancouver, Ridgefield a... 09/10/2008

This question seems to be asked frequently  If I did use a note when should the note be due and what do I do If the buyer does not redeem the note on time. Is the note redeemable if the buyer defaultsWho collects the money "check" to replace the note. Does a note have to be redeemed on or before closing. Can there be a late fee if redeemed late. Vancouver Wa Homes 09/08/2008

This Home search locates homes For Sale in the Vancouver Wa area. Or just give me a call or email and I'll set up a custom Vancouver Wa home search for you.  View Vancouver Wa Homes for sale in the Clark County area right now. including distressed property, short sale homes, houses and building lots.  Search Condo's, Building Lots, Town Homes and Detached single family homes for sale in the Vancouver Washington area. Free  Vancouver Wa Foreclosure List 09/04/2008