We have been busy staging lots of Seattle area condos lately. Some of these have what is described as a "den" or "home office". Unless these petite rooms are staged, to potential buyers these spaces look like a storage closet!

Don't sell yourself short when marketing your condo...every square inch of usable space will add $$$ to the offers you receive.

This is what I'm talking about:

Den before staging:

Den after staging:

Some other staged "dens" -

Staging by SISTERS Interior Redesign, Edmonds, WA, 425.776.7890, sisters@sistersredesign.com

Photography by Rick Landreth, Edmonds, WA, 206-914-0194

Give your listing the advantage of professional staging and photography. Contact us today for a complimentary quote. We look forward to working with you!

Buying A Hotel In Everett

If you’re looking at the real estate industry in Everett and commercial buying you may or may not have already considered buying a hotel. This is a completely different form of real estate since it is in the hospitality business, but it is a very lucrative career for someone that wants to take the real estate game up to a higher level.

Hotels are not often put on the market due to their high cost. In most cases hotel deals are made behind the scenes between influential companies and investors. It is certainly something to strive for, however, if you are interested in this service industry and would like to try something new and exciting.

Motels

Sometimes you’ll run into a motel that’s been run as a mom-and-pop industry at the side of the road or even a small motel inside the city. Some of the motels in Everett have been around for years and are sitting on prime real estate property. If you have any interest in investing in a motel you can talk to a real estate agent about this kind of business venture. An agent is in more of a position to hear through the grapevine when a motel could possibly be sold, either as a business or as a location.

The hotel industry risks

There are a lot of risks that go along with owning a hotel. Vacancy rates can be a problem and lower the profits to the extent that the business is no longer viable. If you are looking for a small Everett motel to run and own your best bet is to look for one in a location that would automatically attract customers. Advertising will also help get in the traffic, and you should enlist the help of an advertising agency to help get your business off the ground quickly.

If you’re looking for something different and exciting as an investment opportunity, you may want to consider buying a hotel or motel in Everett. If you are interested in managing the hotel yourself, it is a good idea to have previous experience in the hospitality service industry. If you want to become an owner you’ll have to look at the profit potential if a manager is hired to run the entire operation. Find out what youragent thinks about this possibility and ask him for any advice he has to offer.

Related posts:

1. Basic Checklist For Buying A Condo in Shoreline (6.3)
2. Bothell Home Buying Goals- Looking For the Follow Through (6.2)
3. Buying Your First Shoreline Home – Co-Buying Options Part 1 (6.2)
4. Buying A Condo In Shoreline – Digging Deep Before Setting Pen To Paper (5.5)
5. Frequently Asked Questions about Buying A Condo In Seattle (5.4)

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One of my clients is buying a home in an older neighborhood off Mukilteo Blvd. in Everett. Her title report records the CCR (also known as CC&R), which stands for Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions. CCRs are intended for the home buyer, who reads through the covenants and decides whether to agree to them.

This particular neighborhood covenant was signed, dated, and notarized on February 18, 1944. The CCR states that the covenant is binding through January 1, 1960, and then automatically extended “for successive periods of ten (10) years” unless a majority of the owners vote to change said covenants in whole or in part.

The CCR contains the usual stipulations about residence size, as well as rules pertaining to the construction of “Out Buildings.”

There’s even an item about “Noxious Use of Property,” which designates that “no noxious, illegal, or offensive trade, or use of land shall be carried on… or anything which may be, or become, an annoyance or nuisance to the neighborhood.”

Item 9

But one item really caught the attention of the home buyer. It was Item 9: Racial Restrictions. It states:

“No race or nationality other than the White or Caucasian race shall use or occupy any building on any lot, except that this covenant shall not prevent occupancy by domestic servants of a different race of nationality employed by an owner or tenant.”

The home buyer – a single Caucasian mom of two bi-racial sons – was absolutely shocked. Understandably, she did not want the Racial Restrictions on the title report, so I called the title company and they removed Item 9 from the report.

It’s intriguing and more than a bit disconcerting that these types of restrictions remain on title reports today.

Racially Restrictive Covenants

Prior to the 1960s, many covenants were used for segregationist purposes. However, African Americans openly defied these covenants, and in 1948, the U.S. Supreme court ruled racially restrictive covenants unenforceable, in Shelley v. Kraemer.

However, private contracts kept them alive until The Fair Housing Act of 1968 banned discriminating on the basis of race or color.

What’s in a CCR?

Typically, CCRs cover the following topics:

• Exterior paint colors
• Required siding
• Pet restrictions, including rules about barking dogs, unchained pets, livestock and poultry, and breeding for profit
• Road maintenance fees
• Easement rights (such as a pathway for power lines)
• Storing RVs or dead vehicles on the property
• In-home businesses
• Clutter
• Tree-cutting
• Outdoor television antenna (whether they’re allowed, and if so, placement of antenna)
• Parking
• Garage use (some CCRs specify that garages are to be used only for parking vehicles, not as storage units, home offices, or man caves)
• Maintenance of joint property (such as a neighborhood swimming pool or playground)
• Fencing (whether fences are allowed, and if so, which type and how high)
• Set backs (how far homes must be from streets and interior lot lines)
• Home rentals
• Common areas (times at which exercise rooms, tennis courts, or pools can be used)
• Trash (where trash receptacles must be stored; how soon cans must be taken in from the street after the garbage is collected)

And, of course, there are rules about how to change or void the covenants!

Chime In

Does your home’s CCR contain any unusual rules? Please share them.

Just staged this 850 square foot condo yesterday in Edmonds. We added some color, style and texture to this space to highlight the cozy charm of this petite home.

Living Room before staging:

Living Room after staging:

Staging by SISTERS Interior Redesign, Edmonds, WA, 425.776.7890, sisters@sistersredesign.com

Photography by Rick Landreth, Windermere Real Estate, Edmonds, 206.914.0184

Give your listings the competive advantage of professional staging. Contact us today for a complimentary quote. We look forward to working with you!