What Makes a Maple Valley Property "Hot" ?</h1> <article> <h1>What Makes a Maple Valley Property "Hot" ?</h1> <div style="font-family:arial, geneva, lucida, sans-serif;">What Makes A Maple Valley Property "Hot" ? (edit/delete) There are various reasons why one home may sell over another, including but not limited to: price, condition, timing (a buyer was just waiting for that particular type property to come along). But occassionally a new listing will come on the market that's just absolutely primed and ready to sell fast. There have been several hot properties come on the market in the Maple Valley area within the last few months and they're selling quickly...sometimes within a matter of days. So whether you're considering selling in the future, or are trying to sell now and want to know the secret recipe for a hot property...here you go: The home has got to be Clean....even in places you may not think peopl would look-Window sills, baseboards, tubs, sinks, etc. De-clutter and HIDE "STUFF"-make spaces look as large as possible, pulling small appliances off the Kitchen counters, products from Bathroom counters, ..<span style="font-size:90%;margin-left:5px;color:#0000FF;vertical-align:baseline;"><font size="-3" color="gray">(</font><a style="text-decoration:none;" href="http://colleenfish.com/blog_post.asp?post=10074">read more</a><font size="-3" color="gray">)</font></span></div> </article> <article> <h1>Just Listed Valley Green Townhome...Ready to Go!</h1> <div style="font-family:arial, geneva, lucida, sans-serif;"> Super Stylish & Clean Townhome in Valley Green! Location: Maple Valley, WA Super Stylish & Clean Townhome in Valley Green III where you own the land & dues are low! Open concept floorplan is designed for maximum privacy, but still affords numerous opportunities to enjoy the greenery of private open space to the back. Extensive laminate flooring & recent interior paint compliment the white millwork. Spacious Kitchen with gas range. Great room with gas fireplace & large window looking onto private rear yard. Upstairs are 3 bedrooms plus Loft. Close to neighborhood parks, shopping & schools! Information Contact Information Contact Reply Form Forward to a Friend View Other Flyers Pricing Asking Price: $312,500 Property Location 22925 SE 241st Place Maple Valley, WA 98038 View Map Links Virtual Tour Features Bedrooms: 3 Bathrooms: ..<span style="font-size:90%;margin-left:5px;color:#0000FF;vertical-align:baseline;"><font size="-3" color="gray">(</font><a style="text-decoration:none;" href="http://colleenfish.com/blog_post.asp?post=10069">read more</a><font size="-3" color="gray">)</font></span></div> </article> <article> <h1>What's Selling in Maple Valley?</h1> <div style="font-family:arial, geneva, lucida, sans-serif;">The Spring real estate market in Maple Valley is definitely showing signs of increased activity. Sellers are understanding more and more that price is now the driving force right behind showing activity and offers. Buyer are out there, ready and willing to buy, but they need to be able to justify their offered price and will simply not look at any listings which, in their minds, are not priced competitively for current market conditions. Overall, pending home sales in Maple Valley are up with a good portion of those homes being new construction. Of the 80 sales currently pending, nearly half of them (37 to be exact) are new construction. </div> </article> <article> <h1>Just Listed The Ponds at Greenbrier!</h1> <div style="font-family:arial, geneva, lucida, sans-serif;">Private 1/2 Acre on Greenbrier Pond!Location: Greenbrier PondDynamic open concept Mainfloor Master Suite floorplan with over 4000 square feet! Spectacular Curtis Lang resale with 4 BR and 3.5 Bath boasts a full basement; Theater Room, Weight/Exercise area, Shop and Pool Table/Wet bar area. Soaring two story ceilings and a wall of windows in the Family Room looks onto the private rear yard and natural protected wetland beyond. It's like owning your own wildlife sanctuary! This home also offers a recently installed generator, sprinkler systems front and rear yards and has been wired for a security system. Located with the Tahoma School District!InformationContact InformationContact Reply FormForward to a FriendView Other FlyersPricingAsking Price: $649,950Property Location23008 SE 291st STBlack Diamond, WA 98010View MapFeaturesBedrooms: 4Bathrooms: 3.5Year Built: 2001Subdivision: GreenbrierLot Size: .55Garage Size: 3School District: TahomaSquare Footage: 4073*Agent Name: Colleen ..<span style="font-size:90%;margin-left:5px;color:#0000FF;vertical-align:baseline;"><font size="-3" color="gray">(</font><a style="text-decoration:none;" href="http://colleenfish.com/blog_post.asp?post=9332">read more</a><font size="-3" color="gray">)</font></span></div> </article> <article> <h1>My Foray into Video Blogging....UGH!</h1> <div style="font-family:arial, geneva, lucida, sans-serif;">Ok, so I'm reading and hearing all over the web and at industry seminars that video blogs are the future of web 2.0 marketing. I've always been willing to try new things, but admittedly this is the most painful of them all. Hopefully I'll learn lots in the coming months about editing and weight loss...but until then, here's my first attempt (very primative) at a video blog entry. </div> </article> <article> <h1>There's a New Girl in Town!</h1> <div style="font-family:arial, geneva, lucida, sans-serif;"> And she's such a sweetie! Around the office we've dubbed her "Hope" but the lucky bidder at our 2nd Annual Little Miracles Auction will get to call her whatever they'd like. "Hope" is an 8 week old AKC black Lab puppy who was generous donated by Gordon & Ashley Chubb of the Tri-Cities. Hope's Daddy, Coal is a sweet tempered Lab who loves to hunt and fetch. Last year, the Little Miracles Auction, which is held at the Olson Mansion in Maple Valley, raised over $60,000 for Children's Miracle Network. This year King 5 Television personality John Curley will be the auctioneer and we know we will have a good time raising funds for Seattle Children's Hospital & Pediatric Brain Tumor Research. Thanks to many generous donors, we have some amazing items up for bid this year, with more arriving every day. There are still a few tables & seats available. </div> </article> <article> <h1>Thank You John Talton..Who is John Talton?</h1> <div style="font-family:arial, geneva, lucida, sans-serif;">For several weeks I've been stewing about the frustrating mixture of forecasts, outlooks and prognosticating which seems to be everywhere I turn lately. One economist says interest rates are going to soar, another states they will trend down. The local Economy is booming, the local Economy is on the brink of a recession. Then I stumbled upon an Inman news article which spotlights the conflict between media and industry interests. I had to ask myself honestly, is my negative reaction to all the forecasts and prognostications (I use that word deliberately) due more to the fact that I'm afraid it's negatively impacting my business..... or is the frustration because I think no one really knows and it's all beginning to sound like a broken record (borrowing from Shakespeare) full of sound and fury but signifying nothing? A few weeks ago, Active Rain's Matt Heaton wrote a post asking if being a good agent ..<span style="font-size:90%;margin-left:5px;color:#0000FF;vertical-align:baseline;"><font size="-3" color="gray">(</font><a style="text-decoration:none;" href="http://colleenfish.com/blog_post.asp?post=9123">read more</a><font size="-3" color="gray">)</font></span></div> </article> <article> <h1>Keeping the Greens...Lake Wilderness Golf Course Homeowners Assessments Still Not Finalized</h1> <div style="font-family:arial, geneva, lucida, sans-serif;">Homeowners in the Lake Wilderness Country Club neighborhood are still awaiting final numbers from the City of Maple Valley on a Local Improvement District assessment the City will likely be imposing to recoup much of it's $4.5 million acquisition cost of the 18 hole golf course. When rumours of a sale of the public course for development first began surfacing, the City stepped up and bought the course in the interest of preserving open space. Currently the course and restaurant is being run by Premier Golf Centers. According to some Homeowners who have attended previous meetings, there is talk of the assessements being tiered per golf course lot-based on the extent each property would have been negatively impacted by the development. Numbers quoted have ranged from a few thousand dollars to well over ten thousand. There are several upcoming meetings pertaining to the proposed LID by the City.</div> </article> <article> <h1>What Did the Grape Say When the Elephant Stepped on It?</h1> <div style="font-family:arial, geneva, lucida, sans-serif;">Not much, it just let out a little Wine. Get it? Ok, it's a groaner, but for some weird reason this joke (the first one I ever memorized and repeated after reading it in the Highlights Magazine at the Dentist's way back in 3rd grade)comes to mind every time I walk through a listing and hit a floor squeak. Sometimes I find the squeak first and other times the buyers will find them. The discoverer often will freeze on the spot, and rock back and forth over the squeak repetitively until the other party notices as if to say "Look what I found". When my boys were teenagers we lived in a two story which had a great squeak at the top of the stairs. No way around that baby if you were trying to sneak downstairs. But when we sold the house, that was on the top of the list of things to repair. As it has been explained to me, most squeaks arise from a nail having come loose in a joist below the subfloor. As weight is put on the floor it moves up and ..<span style="font-size:90%;margin-left:5px;color:#0000FF;vertical-align:baseline;"><font size="-3" color="gray">(</font><a style="text-decoration:none;" href="http://colleenfish.com/blog_post.asp?post=8811">read more</a><font size="-3" color="gray">)</font></span></div> </article> <article> <h1>March Report Maple Valley Bank Owned Homes</h1> <div style="font-family:arial, geneva, lucida, sans-serif;">Although Bank or Asset Company owned properties don't always represent the best value on the market, many buyers and investors like to keep up with current inventory. Here is the March Bank Owned Inventory Report For Maple Valley, WA 6 Homes on the Market Prices Ranging from $285,000 to $535,000 Size Ranging from appx: 1850 square feet to over 4,000 square feet </div> </article> <article> <h1>South King County Active Listing Snapshot by School District</h1> <div style="font-family:arial, geneva, lucida, sans-serif;">The following chart demonstrates current active listing information for South East King County market areas by School District.These numbers respresent Residential Single Family properties which are listed through NWMLS. Obviously the larger districts, such as Kent has higher inventory, based on a larger geographic area. </div> </article> <article> <h1>We Have a Lazy Boy in Our Kitchen!</h1> <div style="font-family:arial, geneva, lucida, sans-serif;">Fortunately it hasn't been there very long. And hopefully it won't become a permanent fixture. It's actually been bouncing around the house for a few weeks, ever since my son decided he didn't want it in his room anymore. I can't decide whether to send it to storage for if/when any kids ever move out, or give it to Goodwill. But when I rounded the corner and saw the chair sitting right smack in the middle of the traffic zone between the Kitchen and the Great room my first thought was "Please, please please..... Let no one ring the doorbell tonight!" I would be mortified to have anyone think we actually lounge in the Lazy Boy which is now sitting in my Kitchen. (Although you'll notice Carson thinks it's no big deal) But this is what life's like when your home is not on the market. Things are out of place, sometimes not exactly the way we would like them to be. We live in our homes much differently than we do when we are selling. Sometimes, I actually feel slightly ..<span style="font-size:90%;margin-left:5px;color:#0000FF;vertical-align:baseline;"><font size="-3" color="gray">(</font><a style="text-decoration:none;" href="http://colleenfish.com/blog_post.asp?post=8499">read more</a><font size="-3" color="gray">)</font></span></div> </article> <article> <h1>The REAL Scoop on Seattle Rain</h1> <div style="font-family:arial, geneva, lucida, sans-serif;">When my Husband and I first began telling friends and Family about our move to the Seattle area, one of their first responses often was, "but it rains all the time there!" or "how are you going to stand all that rain?". If my parents hadn't already lived in Bellevue at the time, I may have been more concerned, but we were assured that it didn't rain much more in Seattle than in other cities...it just rained more often. . Seattle averages approximately 36" of rainfall a year. Compare that to other cities such as New York which gets 46.6" or Kansas City Missouri which averages 42" of rainfall per year or Dallas which also has a 36" average. NOT more Rain....just more rainy days. In fact, after living here for a while, you'll begin to notice the various degrees of rain: Downpour, RAIN, Sprinkles, Drizzle & Mist (or as I like to call it, ..<span style="font-size:90%;margin-left:5px;color:#0000FF;vertical-align:baseline;"><font size="-3" color="gray">(</font><a style="text-decoration:none;" href="http://colleenfish.com/blog_post.asp?post=8404">read more</a><font size="-3" color="gray">)</font></span></div> </article> <article> <h1>Black Diamond Bakery Now Open For Dinner...Yum!!</h1> <div style="font-family:arial, geneva, lucida, sans-serif;">I'm not sure how I missed this, but I just found out one of my favorite breakfast spots, Black Diamond Bakery, is now serving Dinner! This is a Big, Big deal, as one of the most common complaints we "Maple Valley Folk" have is our shortage of local Dinner spots. Here's a link to their Dinner Menu. Black Diamond is a small town about 10 minutes South of Maple Valley, and on the way to Enumclaw. The Bakery first opened in 1902 and is known for it's fresh breads which are made daily. The atmosphere is family friendly, with a restaurant, Bakery, coffee bar and a few gift shops. If you're looking for someplace new to try, check it out....but go hungry. If the Dinners are any thing like their super hearty breakfasts......you may want to wear your "big" pants. Enjoy!</div> </article> <article> <h1>Maple Valley Market-Price is the Name of the Game!</h1> <div style="font-family:arial, geneva, lucida, sans-serif;"> My mom used to watch Days of Our Lives every afternoon when I would come home from school. Although I haven't watch a Soap Opera for years, I can still here the music and the announcer's voice over "Like Sand through an hour glass....these are the days of our lives" For many home owners having their property listed may seem as painful as watching grains of sand slip slowly through the hourglass.....day after day living life outside their regular routine; making the beds every day, (yes, some people don't make their bed every day!) keeping the dishes out of the sink, the dog in the laundry room...whatever the hoops they need to jump through may be. The fact of the matter is, if you want to sell now, you have got to price your home aggressively and if it doesn't sell, be prepared for a price reduction. In my market area, of the 29 stick-built homes with sales pending, 75% made at least one price reduction after the initial list price. These ..<span style="font-size:90%;margin-left:5px;color:#0000FF;vertical-align:baseline;"><font size="-3" color="gray">(</font><a style="text-decoration:none;" href="http://colleenfish.com/blog_post.asp?post=8311">read more</a><font size="-3" color="gray">)</font></span></div> </article> </main></body></html>