About Shelton's Oak Park

This last May I had to make a tough choice. Continue marketing homes and helping buyers though the purchase process or address the real reasons homes are not selling like they should.

I went back and forth and had many sleepless nights. I thought about the implications of temporarily giving up a career I love. It finally came down to the real reason I became a Realtor.

In 2004 I decided that I would choose a career that would help people. My husband and I had recently refinanced our home and had a mortgage broker that broke all of the rules and then some. I felt burned. I hated the thought of that happening to anyone else. So I thought that a career where I was there to guide people through the home purchasing process and protect them was a way to give back.

The last few years have not seen the best market but I was happy to plug along because I knew I was making a difference. I became a Managing Broker in March of 2010 and dreamed of opening my own office in the future. Then the next April, I had three houses fail to close in a one week period because the buyers had lost their jobs. It was no ones fault.

One of the houses was headed to foreclosure and the bank had already approved the short sale. I was as happy for the stressed out seller as I was for my client. Then it all fell apart...again and there was nothing I could do. I could not create the conditions in our area so my buyer could find employment....or could I?

Since May I have poured myself into supporting people that are serious about turning our economy around. Some of them are already elected and some are not. I do not have the vote them all out mentality. What I do know, is that if you go to Olympia and listen to the House debate the bills you will identify very quickly who has a clue that we are even in a down economy/recession and who is willing to fight to fix it.

My husband is running for the House in the 35th District in Washington State. He is a firefighter who serves our community. One day like me, he saw too much and he had to do something about it.Dan Griffey understands what needs to be done to get our State back on track and get Mason, Thurston, Grays Harbor and Kitsap counties back to work again. Drew MacEwen running for the other seat also has an excellent plan, as does Realtor endorsed Rob McKenna running for Governor.

Before you vote Republican, Democrat or incumbent take a good long look at the people seeking the positions and why...Your Career Depends on it!

It is coming up on election time again. The multi-candidate races are narrowing down and it is time to support the candidate of choice. With all that has happened this year and the phrase "vote them all out!" being tossed around like a toy boat in a leaky toddler pool, it can be tough to know what to do.

We will be realizing many "new" taxes over the next few weeks, months, and years to come that have been stuffed somewhere in some of the big bills, such as the Health Care Bill. There are so many pages and references to references that it is nearly impossible to see all that has been packed into these bills. I have read the Heath Care Bill but was unable to research all of the references in the bill. They make the size of the 1,000 + page bill in comparison look like a letter to the editor.Staying on top of it all is more than a full time job. Just the Ghost bills passed this year in Washington state alone, are of a huge concern.

These bills have been "designed" in such a way as to pull out certain aspects, when it is convenient to do so, for added revenue or to ignore them when it is not popular. What we really need is a change in what is allowed into a single bill. The supposed transparency we were promised was a lie. There is more hidden now then ever before, making it that much more convenient to promise one thing on the campaign trail, and deliver a completely different product.

If we are going to change any of this, it is going to be at the election box. Research who you are voting for and ask the simple question...why are you running? Then pause and wait for the response. Don't be afraid to let some silence laps and provoke them into sharing more than they intended. This will tell you more than you could even imagine about their motivations and their drive to work for you. If their answer is too polished, they choose to twist the question so they can complain about their opponent, or they start reciting their excellent voting record...be wary.If it seems to good to be true it probably is.

I am getting off my soap box now. I am still recovering from the senate debate last night and have a few e-mails to send concerning a couple of candidates running against Patty.( Check out Art Coday and Clint Didier- great guys!)

So you have decided on a new dog. It is a lot of fun. Although the puppy training is not my favorite. I do love puppy playing. Who doesn't?

So now that you have a new pet- how do you decide what the name should be? Everyone has differnt ideas. My family chooses names based on their favorite charecters in the books we read together. Another way would be to get a list of names to choose from. I have included a list to help in the selection or maybe just to see if your best friends name made the most popular cut.

1. Max

2. Buddy

3. Rocky

4. Bailey

5. Jake

6. Charlie

7. Jack

8. Toby

9. Cody

10. Buster

11. Duke

12. Cooper

13. Riley

14. Harley

15. Bear

16. Tucker

17. Murphy

18. Lucky

19. Oliver

20. Same

Most Popular Female Dog Names

1. Bella

2. Molly

3. Lucy

4. Maggie

5. Daisy

6. Sophie

7. Sadie

8. Chloe

9. Bailey

10. Lola

11. Zoe

12. Abby

13. Ginger

14. Roxy

15. Gracie

16. Coco

17. Sasha

18. Lily

19. Angel

20. Princess

I wanted to share a site with all of my friends on Active Rani that my partner Michelle Roethle and I just put up. It has most access to bank owned, foreclosure and HUD homes in greater western Washington. The information is easy to access, informative and best of all FREE! Please click on the link and visit us today at FreeNorthwestREO.com