Anita Beach - Real Estate Professional Maple Valley, WA

This past weekend my 2 daughter and I set out to help "Make A Difference" in our community. The Girl Scout troops project was to re-landscape the front of Rock Creek Elementary School. It really needed a facelift and that is just what it got. We even had a fun wheel barrel race!!

Starting at 8:00 in the morning, we dug our shovels in and started tearing it up. We started having a few Boy Scouts show up, a few neighbors, and an entire crew of Fire Fighters. The Rhododendron that we are standing in front of - came right out of my front yard. We were planning on landscaping until 1:00. By 11:15 we were done and the school looked beautiful. It was a great sense of community with all that helped out.

Are you scared yet? YOU WILL BE! Wild Waves Theme Park transforms into Wild Waves SCREAM Park during our annual FRIGHTFEST 36201 Enchanted Parkway S, Federal Way, WA

Get ready for the scariest event of the season. HOUSE OF TERROR just got scarier! Locaed at Auburn Supermall. 10200 Quil Ceda Blvd, Tulalip, WA

Visitors wind their way through both outdoor and indoor scenes at NIGHTMARE AT BEAVER LAKE in Sammamish. 25201 Se 24th Street, Sammamish, WA

Alive and waiting to unleash it's horror is FRIGHT FACTORY Haunted House located in a secluded area of Buckley where no one will hear you scream. 400 A Street, Buckley, WA

Costco Wholesale is opening it's 30th Washington area location on Saturday October 25, 2008 at 8:00am in Covington. It will feature approximately 155,000 square feet of retail space and a self-service 16 pump gas station south of Fred Meyer and east of Highway 18.

Costco customers will find an array of products and services available similar to other Costcos throughout the region. Included will be a bakery, groceries, an optical department, pharmacy services, appliances, electronics, furniture, clothing, hardware and many other kinds of products. Costco is known for carrying top quality national and regional brands at wholesale prices.

The opening comes at a good time. While retail sales have dipped nationwide, Costco will provide a huge boost to the local economy.

"The Costco store in Covington will bring over 200 new jobs to our community" says the City Manager Derek Matheson. "Our hope is that the Covington Costco Wholesale store will serve as a magnet for area shoppers who will also find their way to other Covington businesses." added Matheson.

Costco is the fourth largest retailer in the United States. They operate 537 warehouses, 393 of them in the U.S Costco gets national attention for compensating its employees well - the average hourly wage is $17.00 and offering impressive benefits to even it's part time staff.

Open only to members, Costco offers three types of membership: Business, Glod Star (individual) and the executive membership. Membership fees start at $45.00 annually. Store hours will be ...

Monday through Friday 10:00 am to 8:30 pm

Saturday 9:30 am to 6:00 pm

Sunday 10:00 am to 6:00 pm

Gas station hours are Daily 6:00 am to 8:00 pm

I have recently picked up a few first time home buyers and got to thinking what information I need to provide them with as first time buyers and here is some great information I came across and thought I would share this information. Educating the buyers is essential to a great transaction.

No matter what the condition of the housing market, purchasing a home is a major commitment and a vital financial decision. A home is much more than a financial investment; it is an investment in a new lifestyle and a new way of looking at property. Those who are unprepared to make the leap from renting to home ownership can make some costly mistakes, and learning to avoid those blunders is vital.

Think With Your Head Not Your Heart - One of the most common mistakes made by first time home buyers is allowing emotion to rule the day. Although buying a home can be an emotional process, there are some things home buyers can do to prevent emotional ties from getting in the way of sound financial discipline.

While it is all too easy to picture your family relaxing in the backyard of a new home, take a step back and look at the home with the eyes of an investor. Pretend for a moment that you are not going to live in the house but are buying it as a pure investment. Is it still just as attractive, or has it lost some of its appeal? Emotional attachment is fine, but it should not overrule your good judgment.

Consider All the Costs of Home Ownership - Buying more house than they can afford is a classic blunder for many first time homeowners. One of the chief culprits behind this error is factoring in only the cost of the mortgage versus the cost of continuing to rent. While it is certainly appealing to go from collecting rent receipts to building up home equity, keep in mind that the costs of owning a home do not end with the monthly mortgage check.

Don't Try to Time the Market - Market timing doesn't work in the stock market, and it doesn't work in the home market either. Although it can be tempting to try to wait for the market to hit rock bottom, you may be left out in the cold when the market starts to turn around. Many professionals, including home builders, lenders and real estate investors, have a great deal of difficulty timing the market, even with all their specialized knowledge and experience.

While some home buyers will be lucky enough to sell their existing homes at the top of the market and buy their next one when the market craters, most of us will not be so lucky. There are bargains to be found in every real estate market; the key is to arm yourself with as much information as possible and shop smart.

My family moved here from Kansas in 2001 and we were looking for a house to buy and knew that this Kansas gal did not like being in the city wanted to move out from the metro area. A real estate agent was referred to us by a co-worker of my husbands. Her name was Colleen Fischesser and she worked in the Maple Valley area.

She was dedicated and worked for us for several months before we found just the right place. Coming from Kansas we had major sticker shock moving into the area, but Colleen never gave up on working with us. It took us 7 months to find just the right place and we couldn't have been happier when we did.

When I decided to get into real estate 2 years ago, it was a no-brainer to hang my license up where Colleen was the Broker. The dedication she showed me when I bought a home could only be followed through as a Broker. We met for coffee and she told me all the ends and out of the business and told me to interview all the agencies in town and make the decision for myself and I did.

Remax Select is owned and operated by Colleen and is a real estate office that has amazing camaraderie amoung all who work there. Colleen pushes us to become better agents and she is always there if there is anything that we need. Her knowledge of the market area is unmatched. She is a very brilliant agent and broker. She is very passionate about what she does and it shows through everything that she does. She doesn't like to have her horn tooted - but it needs to be :)

Everyone should be as fortunate as I am and have a broker like Colleen!!!