Puyallup, WA

Come view this beautiful home in Puyallup Lipoma Firs Neighborhood Today Sunday 6/28 from 11am-1pm

Live life, be well...Namaste!

Krisy Clayton

krisy@kw.com

253-576-4304

"Where Commitment and Possibilities Meet"

I posted a blog yesterday showing off what one agent was doing with an aerial photo to help promote a unique listing, and it sparked a discussion about spending money to promote your listings. Since I'm not a real estate agent, I don't honestly know what is normal and customary.

How Much Do YOU Spend On Each Listing?

Does it depend on the listing itself? Or do you have a fixed budget for each listing? How do you decide - gut feeling? Or stick to some plan you learned? Do you ever ask the seller to pay for your marketing services up front?

Has the slower real estate market caused you to cut back on your marketing efforts? Or just the opposite as you realize that it takes extra effort to help get your home noticed amongst so many competing listings. Or do you just hang a sign and hope?

I'd love to hear answers and get a conversation started on this topic. Hear your successes and failures. Did you do something special for a past listing that really paid off? Did you spend good money promoting a listing only to have the seller turn around and burn you in the end?

What are your feelings on "buying" customer loyalty? Is this a good idea or a foolish one these days? Can successful listing agents buy up the current market because they can afford to promote more heavily than the typical part-timer who's also working working full time at a warehouse job? Or are successful listing agents cutting back too?

Where do you stand on this issue? I am very, very curious - and I'm sure others are too.

Thanks for sharing!

Check out this gorgeous listing sign. Normal listing signs have agency and agents names and something creative like "For Sale" on them. But notice what this agent did with this one - which he positioned right on the main thoroughfair in town pointing it right up the street to the house on the hill.

I wrote a blog earlier on this particular listing because the home has some historical significance in Puyallup, and the agent is using this blog to help promote his listing too. Using an aerial photo on listing signs and telling the home's unique story through internet advertising and flyers in the home? That's taking some extra steps to attract some buyers, for sure!

I was sitting with this agent at an open house a few weeks back when a lady came in asking about the photo on the sign. Turns out, she does aerial photography and we got to talking about what it would take to put something like this together for a seller (the seller of this home already had this photo hanging up in the living room, and the agent was smart enough to see the potential for it - but he had no idea how to do this for future listings).

So we asked Jane Hartman with Hartman Foto Works (she can be reached at ejkhartman@hotmail.com what it would take. An address and about $300 for a basic package and she hits the skies and gets you what you need. Do you have listings that you could use this technique with? Maybe not your everyday listings, but those distinctive properties that need that little extra touch?

Puyallup Event June 20th: Jane is also putting together a big event at Spark's Stadium on June 20th to benefit the Puyallup Fish Food Bank. Each participant receives a yellow umbrella (reminiscent of our famous Daffodils) and is assigned a spot on the football turf - spelling out "Puyallup" on the field. Jane is flying over to photograph the event and everyone gets 8x10 shots of with-umbrella's up and with-umbrella's down poses, plus other goodies. Cost to participate is $35 and a portion of the proceeds goes towards supporting this wonderful charity.

Deadline to register is soon - call Jane at 253-970-8020 or email her for more info and directions. Meet other agents and community leaders and support a great cause!

Spring is here and so is the real estate activity in Puyallup. After a dismal 2008 and a rough start to 2009, it seems that buyers are beginning to come out and actually purchase homes in Puyallup. Granted a majority of the sold homes in the past month are bank owned or short sales, the increase in activity is a welcome sight.

The biggest indicator of the increase in real estate activity is the number of pending sales in Puyallup, 143 as of this posting for the past 30 days. Compare that to 68 pendings in March of 2009 and 86 pendings in April 2008.

Now the question is how many of those will turn into SOLD properties. The ratio of pendings to solds has dropped in the past year, due to a number of factors, mainly financing difficulties. As underwriters of the loans continue to enforce strict guidelines, conditions imposed make it more challenging to close on a transaction. Appraisers are also under much scrutiny, so they are being more cautious with value estimates.

Overall, the indication is that we are either in the late stages of the down curve or the early stages of recovery. Either way, is appears we are near the bottom and it is a good time for qualified buyers to catch a good deal with low interest rates in Puyallup.

Rose Bowl, Blueberries, Daffodils, and Silent Snap Counts?

The last time this home came on the market was in 1947, so when I say that this "For Sale" offering is truly a rare and special event, I don't think I'm over-exaggerating the unique opportunity that sits here before you.

The home and surrounding land is known to local residents as "The Bond Blueberry Farm", and this home has a wonderful place in the history of the Puyallup Valley and beyond.

Chuck Bond was a star for the University of Washington football team - one of many such UW stars to come from Puyallup High School over the years. Chuck was Captain of the Huskies team that faced the University of Pittsburgh in the 1937 Rose Bowl. Chuck was a defensive tackle but as good as he was, he and his teammates were unable to stop the Panther's "Dream Backfield" of Bobby LaRue, Frank Patrick, Bill Daddio, and Marshall Goldberg who rolled up 254 yards and two rushing touchdowns enroute to a 21-0 victory.

One thing that was interesting about that Husky's team was the way they won a key victory over powerhouse USC to secure that Rose Bowl birth. USC's homefield advantage featured rowdy fans with megaphones and a HUGE marching band that would play as loud as possible while opponents had the ball, making communication and play-calling very difficult (Sound familiar Seattle Seahawks fans?).

So the Huskies came up with a unique system of silent hand signals to call plays - much like many of today's NFL teams use. Years later, when asked about the "new" system of silent snap counts that teams were putting in to combat the noise levels at the Kingdome, Chuck responded, "We used them in 1936 to help us beat USC. You'd think that now, 50 years later, the pros might have perfected that particular tactic." After graduation, he was drafted and played 22 games as an Offensive Tackle for the NFL Washington Redskins.

Chuck returned to Puyallup, married his sweetheart Francis, and in 1947 they purchased this home and started their blueberry farm. (Oh, and their son, Chuck Jr. later played for two UW Rose Bowl Teams in 1961 & 1964 - also playing Tackle. They were the first Father/Son Rose Bowl players in UW history.)

Chuck and Francis worked hard raising and selling their blueberries together, but they also loved to play hard too. They were avid tennis players and formed a formidable doubles team. The family joke was that Chuck would use his long arms to cover most of the court but he made Francis do all the running to get to the tough shots.

In 1971, the Bonds built the Puyallup Valley Tennis Club on a section of their property. They hosted tournaments and some of the local high schools would use the courts for matches and try-outs over the years. After Francis passed away, Chuck met Mary in 1979 who also loved to play tennis and she became Chuck's new double's partner and second wife. The Puyallup Valley Tennis Club later became the location for Puget Sound Gymnastics - which is still using the facility today.

Since first writing this article, I have had numerous people tell me how much the Bond Blueberry Business meant to them when growing up in the Valley. Years of Puyallup school children relied on the summer berry picking income to pay for back to school clothes and special mad money. How many romances started because school boys could afford to take their sweetie to the downtown Liberty Theater, using the picking money for tickets and popcorn?

Chuck and Francis (and Mary) were active supporters of Puyallup, including our famous Daffodil Festival. They were an important part of Puyallup history, and their beautiful brick farm home with the amazing interior woodwork, lots of square footage, lush acreage nestled into a wooded hill (the perfect combination of "secluded" and "close in") is an important example of local historical architecture.

Don't miss your chance to own this home! Make an offer today. Last offered For Sale in 1947 - If history holds true, the next time you'll get an opportunity to own this home, if you miss out this time, should be around 2,071.

(Please contact me for your financing needs. I'd love to help you write the next chapter of this home's history!)