Belfair, WA

89% of all properties sold were first seen on the Internet. That means the single most critical moment in selling a home is to move a buyer from their screen to your living room.

If an Internet shopper does not see your listing, they cannot consider it. Syndicate every listing to the big real estate search engines. Don’t forget Facebook. It’s become a Swiss Army Knife and makes a fine website, well-connected and SEO coming out its ears. Also, don't forget a backlink to your website.

Buyers are looking for pictures - lots of them with detailed descriptions on a website made just for that home. They want a video tour, a 3D Google Earth overview and a PDF of your brochure. The better a buyer thinks they know your home, the more comfortable they are to take the next step.

33% of American adults own smart phones. Increase the number of screens that can see your website by 84M with a qr-code.

Buyers, sitting in front of their screens - this is the moment of decision – the moment where more opportunity is lost. Increase your odds.

Preparation

• Deck manufacturers suggest using a plastic or rubber-tipped shovel, never a metal shovel, to remove snow from a wooden deck. Choose a sturdy plastic snow shovel with rounded corners to effectively remove heavy snow and debris. Do not shovel across the decking but instead shovel in the direction of the wood grain, to prevent scratching or denting the decking.

Loose Ice

• Use the same plastic or rubber-tipped shovel to remove loose pieces of ice from the deck. Shovel gently and don't try to dislodge any pieces to avoid scratching or denting the wood pieces. If your deck wood is older or pressure-treated, take even more precautions when shoveling the decking, as the wood is more fragile.

Melting Ice

• Wooden deck manufacturers sometimes recommend using a pet-safe ice melt to get ice off your decking. It's less corrosive than other products and it's eco friendly. For an even gentler approach, pour a bucket of hot water and a little dish-washing detergent on your wooden deck. This not only will remove the ice, but also should keep ice from forming for up to a week.

Warnings and Suggestions

• Do not use rock salt on a wooden deck. Rock salt is corrosive and causes the wood to dry out. It will permanently stain your deck. To protect your wooden deck through the winter months, apply a sealer in the fall before it snows. Wash the decking first with a commercial deck cleaner or a detergent and water solution

My magical crystal ball fogs up and my head spins everytime I even try to figure out or anticipate what a bank is thinking or what their reasoning is for something.

What are they thinking?

I can honestly say that I feel a "change in the air" and a new trend coming.....

Yes - I have had numerous clients already this year call and request my services because their lenders told them to list their home with a real estate agent and sell their home - short.

They did not want to hear back from the borrower or their agent until there was an offer on the table.

Another client had a buyer for his home, had already submitted his short sale package because his tenant was purchasing the property (all without agent/negotiator involvement), and the bank directed the borrower to list the home with an agent in order to complete the short sale process.

The banks are suggesting to their borrowers to "short sale" their home instead of Deed in Lieu or foreclosure. Thinking about it, from the conversations I have had, they are not even suggesting it, they are flat out telling them to find an agent to market the home and short sale it.

Now mind you - I am not complaining! Because I truly do love a challenge!

I am just curious to what others are seeing and hearing out there and is this a new trend for the banks?

The client does not qualify for a modification or a modification would do the client no good with it still leaving them in a pickle.... the bank does not want to do a foreclosure,nor accept a Deed in Lieu.

Are they realizing that many of the homeowners that want to modify their loans are still in a pickle - so they move them to short sale the home?

Okay.. Are the banks moving to the short sale because it is too costly for them to foreclosure or accept a Deed in Lieu on all of the homes that are upside down?

Is it because their inventory is already so heavy with non-working assets (foreclosures) that they do not want any more inventory and realize that it is more cost effective to participate in a short sale?

Is it more cost effective?

I only know that this has been the majority of my phone calls for the last two weeks and my mind has started processing this as a new trend and change in the air......

I feel a change in the air and a new trend happening.....Or am I just slow in figuring it out??

Soooooo .....What do you think?

According to Rich Childers of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, 2011 appears to be a record year for the amount of crabs harvested by recreational crabbers in Puget Sound. An estimated 2.1 million pounds of crabs were taken in the summer season from July 1 to Labor Day, with additional harvest coming during the fall and winter.

"Lots of people enjoyed a high rate of catch this year", Childers said. "We are seeing an abundance of crab, phenomenally high in some of the Puget Sound marine areas," he said. "We're seeing the same thing with shrimp. Something in the environment is favoring the survival of Dungeness crabs from larvae to adult."

Crab season will close in all areas on Dec. 31, and anyone with a winter catch record card must report their catch by Feb. 1 — even if no crab were caught.

Read more: http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2011/dec/28/record-year-likely-for-puget-sound-sport/#ixzz1hwlPWoYx