There's almost nothing more inspiring than the light of the sun breaking through on a dark cloudy day. Yes, we live "almost" under the power lines, but it's almost impossible to have space like this in the City. Scenes like this make it all worthwhile ... those are the Cascade foothills way in the background.
This evening I began making calls to agents in preparation for Friday evening and Saturday showings.
On Monday and Tuesday this week , two GREAT houses came on the market -- one for each couple. Today I received calls from both couples asking to see these homes. Today, both houses are Pending Inspection.
Homes appealing to first time buyers -- especially those that are bank owned -- are selling in our area. And selling fast! The listing agents both reported multiple offers within hours of placing the homes on the market.
Don't wait. Please, don't let this opportunity pass. Don't let the fear of a short sale, or navigating a bank-owned home frighten you away. Let your trusted Buyer's agent help you.
This is your moment to purchase using a tax credit, banks that are often willing to help pay all or at least a large portion of your closing costs, and phenomenal prices and interest rates.
Don't make this the year you look back and say "Could'a, would'a, should'a!"
Get on it!
In the minds of the Seller, the most important question at a listing presentation is "What Would You List my House For?"It doesn't really matter that I may say, "well, it's your house and although I can give you experienced and researched suggestions, ultimately, we're going to list the house at a price you choose," the seller looks up at you with hope in their eyes that you'll name a really big number!
As market values have continued to fall here in our area, it's often difficult to help a Seller understand that what their house will sell for is less than it would have been a year, or even six months, ago. In listing presentations until very recently, I've relied on spreadsheets and comps to help lay out the numbers. I've talked about how prices in our area are just above the 2005 numbers ... and slightly lower than the 2006 numbers for pricing. And it was always a tough sell and sometimes I allowed myself to get talked up in the ultimate question of "what's it worth?" Okay, that's it. Time for pictures!
And, you know what? They worked! Did a listing presentation on Tuesday evening. Held my breath a bit when we got to the number parts because, gee whiz! My numbers were a full $75,000 below the only "looks like this house" listing in the neighborhood. And even further below those that had sold in the recent couple of months. Really kinda sad.
I laid out all the data I had in graph form. And my comps, etc. All the stats about absorption rates and days on market and all that stuff. With data from 2005 forward. And, dang! It worked. The Seller actually came up with a number lower than mine! Good grief.
The chart below illustrates that Median Sold Prices in Maple Valley through the 3rd week of March, are just above the prices in effect for the same time period in 2005 --and below those those of 2006!
Next, a quick graphical look at how long houses are staying on the market before sold.
Finally, here's an illustration of the huge gap between what's really happening, price-wise, between what's on the market and what's actually selling:
Try using charts and graphs! They worked for me!
A couple new Active Rain members!
I've had an opportunity to work with a number of incredible business people as an Ambassador to the Auburn Chamber of Commerce, here in western Washington.
Two of my new friends, Ron Copple, and Theresa Timms are experts in business networking and both are heavily involved with the Chamber and the Ambassador program. They've been inspirational resources for me so far and I'm looking forward to their perspective on insurance!
I hope you'll help me in making them welcome here at Active Rain. Let's encourage them to start posting!
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Auburn, Kent, Covington, Renton, and Maple Valley are my personal stomping grounds. I live here, work here, play here, and spend money here! Southeast King & north Pierce County specialist!
I'm a Seattle native, have always lived the south Puget Sound area, and have moved around quite a bit within the region. As the mom of three grown (well, almost -- one is still at home) children and several four-legged ones, I wanted to remain in this area and ground my children with the best of schools and the friendly warmth of the Pacfic Northwest. 
Over the years, my husband and I have been heavily involved in Little League baseball, both Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, and just tons of school activities. And we're now the proud parents of two energetic golden retrievers, Hobbs & Bailey.
By the way, I believe heavily in giving back to the community in which I live, especially where children are concerned. A portion of every single transaction, whether a sale or a listing, is donated to the Children's Miracle Network. In this area, that means that this money goes directly to Children's Hospital.
Prior to real estate, I had a diverse, technical ... and art ... background. From managing law firms, to owning and operating the very first computer training company in the Pacific Northwest, to publishing "how-to" computer books and art materials, I've managed to accumulate quite a variety of skills that all lend themselves perfectly to both the big picture and detailed versions of working through a real estate transaction.
I absolutely love working with both buyers and sellers, and I've applied my technical skills to assisting clients -- whether individual homeowners, developers or builders -- prepare and market their homes too.
You deserve the very best representation when buying or selling a home. You're making huge money commitments -- and you deserve to work with an agent that takes your trust seriously. I promise to always do my very best to listen to you, communicate with you, effectively and skillfully guide you through your transaction, and negotiate on your behalf.
You absolutely deserve the best. I'm committed to standing up to your trust.
In addition to knowledge and experience, today's complex market requires agents that have tenacity, empathy, and true desire to be of help. Working with folks that are in financial stress is challenging! Helping homeowners through the complexities of short sales and preforeclosures ... or just helping them retain as much of their equity during a sale ... is intensely satisfying and I look forward to helping you and your referral clients through the process.
There's a tremendous amount of knowledge and experience needed on the Buyer side of real estate, too! After all, getting all the way through the closing table is also challenging right now. And there's just nothing like sharing the excitement of first time homebuyers!
"Working with Gabrielle on developing her new website, it was immediately impressed upon me how invaluable her clients find her. She has a talent for working out the trickiest of details in challenging transactions, ensuring her clients achieve a successful end when purchasing or selling their homes." August 4, 2009 Jennifer Juhasz, Owner , Virtual Staffing Team
"Gabrielle jumped in to help me purchase a home when I was relocating from out-of-state. I had been working with another realtor, who hadn't been able to hit the mark, but within one session with Gabrielle, we saw several homes that met our criteria. She was efficient and knowledgeable and was able to expedite our close and eliminate the need for intermediate housing. I would recommend her to anyone!" Beth Galliher, Edgewood
"Gabrielle, worked with my wife and me both in buying our new home and selling our existing house. She knows what she is talking about and was always there for us to answer our many questions. She made a stressful situation much easier. I tried several other agents prior to meeting Gabrielle and the experience was miserable. I can't think of anyone whom I would give a higher recommendation to."
--Dave Rackleff, Auburn
"We have worked with Gabrielle both on buy and sell sides of the business, and consider her a valued friend as well as a trusted service provider. She partners with her clients, and maintains that partnership far beyond the service one expects from a good realtor. I would recommend her to anyone needing any service or advice in the field; if your need is not in her toolbox, she'll find you an expert you can trust who can and will meet the need."
--Marilyn Carlson
Senior Manager, R&D, Oberto Sausage Co.
"Gabrielle is an excellent professional. Our business relationship lasted for quite a few months. She has excellent realtor skills combined with no less excellent customer relationship ones. She was very attentive and understanding to our needs and managed always to provide us with a plethora of real estate choices.
But our greatest appreciation ... occurred when we had to deal with a problematic seller. Gabrielle proved herselve to stand behind her client needs to the last point. She was very helpful, knowledgeable, and encouraging. We managed to finalize the purchase, in my opinion, mostly due to her professional assistance.
Even after the purchase was finalized. Gabrielle continued to help us out with necessary tips and information. This came very handy as we moved to Washington from Tennessee.
We are very satisfied with Gabrielle Nemes, both professionally and personally. I shall definitely recommend her services at the first opportunity and for years to come."
-- Igor Lesko, Covington
ActiveRain Corp. is not responsible for the accuracy of the site's content (which is written by members of the ActiveRain Real Estate Network) and does not endorse the views of the real estate agents, mortgage brokers, and others listed here.
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