Tracy Stephens of Coldwell Banker Bain in Kirkland has lived in Rose Hill since 1989. Rose Hill is one of the most affordable communities in Kirkland 98033, along with Bridle Trails Kirkland. Both Rose Hill and Bridle Trails Kirkland are in the Lake Washington School District with Kirkland Schools on the Elementary and Middle School Level in these neighborhoods primarily feeding to Lake Washington High School.
Often people think one needs to spend a million dollars or more to live in Kirkland 98033. Not so! There are many affordable houses and neighborhoods. You just have to know where to find them. Often the most affordable and best homes are scooped up quickly, even when other homes are sitting on market for 180 days or more. So be sure to set up an account at www.CBBain.com so that you will receive an email when new listings come on market.
I listed two "fixer" houses back in April. The investors were no where to be found and the people looking for homes to live in said "too much work!"
I am pleased to report that both of my fixers are in escrow with closing to be within the next 10 days. Both were bought by people who live nearby and NOT relocating people. Given the reduction in the number of buyers, a larger percentage of buyers are relocating. Generally speaking people who are relocating do not like "fixers".
So I am pleased to report that the fixers are finally getting some attention and even sold.
I've always liked boxwoods, and while walking home this afternoon in my town of Kirkland WA, I saw this very boxlike boxwood. I just love the idea of being able to form shaped hedges. I think I've liked the idea since I visited Versailles. What magnificent shaped gardens they have.
I have a "doughnut" boxwood. At least that's what I call it. I can display anything I want in the middle of it. Right now the geraniums have "center stage". At Christmas time it's a tree of swirled lights with a star on top that stands 5% tall. My boxwood below creates a stage and I can see whatever I put "on the stage" from my living room window and front porch.
The simple pleasures of life are always within reach. I love that about my life.
This is the "house" a couple of houses down and across the street from me in Kirkland, Washington. If you look closely, you will see a cave opening shaped whole in those bushes. Everyone once in a while a beat up red car comes in and out of there.
I once heard someone joking that it was Kirkland's "Batcave" :)
I love small town living. I love the idea that people can pretty much do as they darned well please with their homes. I don't like a bunch of rules that tell people how to keep their homes and how to manage their lives.
This is Kirkland, Washington...and Characters are Welcome!
If you are thinking about moving to The Seattle Area, chances are you'll have to choose between Seattle and The Eastside. If you are coming to work at Microsoft, the large campus is in Redmond WA and growing into Bellevue, though some Microsoft employees are in Seattle and some in Issaquah.
Above is the City of Bellevue taken from across Lake Washington just over the I-90 Bridge in Mt. Baker - Leschi in Seattle. If you see mountains to the East as in this photo, they will be The Cascades. If you see mountains to the West behind Seattle, they will will be the Olympics.
Mt. Rainier is part of the Cascade Range. For me the most notable feature of the Olympics is "The Brothers" shown below. Besides knowing which direction you are facing, you can tell you are looking toward the Cascades if you see Mt. Rainier and The Olympics if you see the Brothers.
As I'm driving up 85th toward Central from Bellevue/Redmond toward my home in Kirkland, I can often see The Brothers quite clearly just driving home. Spectacular sights can be everyday events when you live in the Seattle Area...and these sights can rejuvenate and fill your soul.
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Real Estate related posts focusing on the Seattle Area including Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, Green Lake, North Seattle and around Lake Washington to the Eastside aka either side of the 520 bridge.
"Ardell and Kim are outstanding real estate agents, and have gone above and beyond in getting us our dream location.
Our search took several months but they never lost patience and were always following up with good advice and good information. They were with us in the entire process, being there for us at short notice to look at properties, helping and educating us on various pros cons, giving us lots of advice throughout the process, and helping us make good decisions.
Above all, they have very high integrity. They were not afraid to turn us away from many, many properties even though they had a commission to lose at each point. They were more concerned that we get the right property for us at the right price. That is admirable indeed.
In addition, Ardell and Kim have an enormous amount of experience, both in evaluating properties, as well as evaluating buyers, sellers, and the 'other' agent. You only need to look once at Ardell's Blog and you will know they are super-smart.
In short, they rock!!"
Ganesh & Kala (Google)
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"Ardell and Kim are patient and trusted advisors, and we wouldn't think of making a real estate decision without them. We found their expertise to be reassuring and their transparency to be refreshing.
After being burned by an agent in the past we were skeptical about the value that agents could offer, but the level of knowledge, professionalism, ethics, and client dedication that Ardell and Kim brought to the table far surpassed our expectations. We recommend them highly."
-Erik & Chris
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"...I found Ardell. Full disclosure - we're working with her now. I'll tell you this, she walks the freaking walk..."
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"Is it real you ask? I keep pinching my arm just to verify and although I'm still not fully convinced, I'm pretty sure it's real... I went from discouraged internet home seeker to proud home owner in 2 and a half days. Couldn't have done it without you Ardell.
Thank you so much."
"Jack" - As Good As It Gets
If you are relocating to Seattle, see the link below for an ongoing discussion that has lasted for about two years between Seattle Area residents, agents and people moving to Seattle. You may find your questions and answers addressed there by others over that time. It is clearly one of the best sources of info for people thinking about Moving to Seattle that is available on the internet.
Top 10 Things You Should Know Before Moving to Seattle, Seatttle and Seatle
http://www.raincityguide.com/2006/03/07/10-things-you-should-know-before-moving-to-seattle/
Remember, the info is in the comments, not just the post itself.
The majority of my clients already live here and are both selling and buying in the area. Many are selling in Seattle or Edmonds or Shoreline or most any part of North Seattle through Mt. Baker and Leschi (I do very little if any real estate in West Seattle), and are moving to the Eastside and often to Kirkland, Bellevue or Redmond, but sometimes Kenmore and Bothell in the Northshore School District. Lake Washington Schools and Northshore Schools being my primary focus on the Eastside. Kirkland is annexing, or expected to annex, some areas toward and to Kenmore. So the Juanita and Finn Hill markets are interesting and more affordable at times. The new (not there yet) Totem Lake Mall will also be an interesting development as will be the revamping of the area near Overlake Hospital and Microsoft.
I have assisted buyers in the purchases on the Seattle side, but those clients were very internet savvy and did a lot of the looking on the internet and did drive bys as well. Rarely do my clients want "tours" of homes except on a first time out. Mostly we target homes to see via the internet and jump up and meet at only the best homes. Buying a home and the home search process has gone way beyond looking at what is "for sale". Often it involves the home listed 30 minutes ago and finding property that is not for sale. Life has changed and me and my clients run at the top fo the ridge in that regard. No old fashioned real estate except for my "having their back" part.
Should You Buy a Short Sale?
http://www.amazon.com/Newcomers-Handbook-Moving-Seattle-Handbooks/dp/0912301732
Sunday Night Stats for King County Washington
http://www.raincityguide.com/tag/sunday-night-stats/
Neighborhood Stats, this one is for Tam O'Shanter in Bellevue, but by special request I will do any neighborhood that I work in as "my service area". Just ask on this blog post and I will get the current info for any neighborhood by request.
http://www.raincityguide.com/2008/03/01/tam-oshanter-in-bellevue/
My blog is a place where I can write anything I want, but I don't notice comments there as well. So ask on the http://www.raincityguide.com/ site on one of my posts for quick response. My blog is a good source of more detailed market stats for those who like to Track the Seattle Area Real Estate Market beyond the Sunday Night King County version above. I try to keep them all in one category and the stats go back to 2005 and maybe even 2004.
http://www.realtown.com/Ardell/blog/tracking-the-market
ARDELL DellaLoggia - Seattle Area Real Estate - For all of your real estate needs. If you just want to talk about the market without being obligated to buy or sell real estate just because you spoke with an agent...just comment anonymously on my blogs here and there as noted above.
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