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By Courtney Cooper, February 18, 2010 1:41 pm

Seattle Suburbs Real Estate: Brier Homes For Sale: We have some great Brier homes for sale right now, but Brier in general has some cool properties at very good prices. Brier is a Seattle suburb which happens to be quite convenient to all directions of commuting. On top of that all the best shopping and restaurants are all in close proximity. Schools are good and homes are well priced – especially now.

The transit system all around Brier is quite advanced with newer transit stations in all directions..Canyon Park, Lynnwood, and Mountlake Terrace are all newer transit stations (MLT even has solar) for quick commutes to Eastside (Bellevue and Kirkland or Redmond0, North (Everett) or South to Shoreline and Seattle. Even in heavy traffic, Downtown Seattle is a half hour bus ride tops form the Mountlake Terrace Transit Station.

Brier homes for sale right now:

2931 224^th PL SW: This is a 3 bedroom spacious home right in the heart of Brier – close proximity to all city offerings and good floor plan – large lot – ask about Bonuses. 3 bedrooms/2.25 baths 1812 sq ft Built in 1984 on a large lot – 12632 sq ft! 2 car attached garage, large rec room, more – private quiet road $309,950

19207 Locust Way – not quite in Brier city limits, but close to Brier and enjoys all great Brier amenities. 3 bedroom/1.75 home on 2.42 acres!!!! This home is in a great location in Lynnwood and has wonderful park like spaces - Big bonus on this one, too… $887,400 or Best Offer

22424 Old Poplar Way – practically a stone’s throw from Brier City Hall – giant horse or farm property with AMAZING spaces – this one even has a giant 5 car garage with RV parking and a shop. Expansive 1933 home with 5 bedrooms and 3 baths – 2558 sq feet – It is like Sunset Boulevard in Brier – horse facilities already in place and only a quick jaunt to Brier’s own Equestrian Arena! Looking for a Seattle Equestrian Property???? THIS IS IT!

Want to see these and other Brier Real Estate? We are happy to show you anything in this nice Seattle Suburb. Brier has a lot to offer! realestate@cooperjacobs.com

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By Courtney Cooper, February 11, 2010 10:31 am

Bellevue Neighborhoods: Relocating for Microsoft?

The three areas I really like in Bellevue for the close proximity to Microsoft are Overlake, Lake Hills, and what we also just call Microsoft because it is so close – Microsoft is a huge part of the local economy and there are always people relocating to be here because of it. Redmond and Sammamish are typically first on the list for Microsoft people moving in from out of state, but Bellevue neighborhoods are a great option and these three MLS areas are quite affordable when looking at a good combination of schools, walk ability, and amenities.

Cooper Jacobs Real Estate Services has a great house listed right now in the Overlake/Microsoft area of Bellevue – near Crossroads Mall and all the other great shopping centers right there. It has easy access to both 520 and I-90 and is on a private cul de sac with a great walking trail to the major drag for easy transit or cycling access. You can check it out here:

15002 NE 9^th PL

Bellevue homes in this neighborhood don’t come up for sale very often and this one has some great spaces. If you are looking at moving to Seattle and want a Seattle suburbs map or some direction on where you might start looking for your particular situation, please feel free to give us a call or drop an email. We have successfully helped many clients with their relocations to the Greater Puget Sound area!

Bellevue real estate:

You can find more great Bellevue Real Estate on our site! We have all listings by all companies and it sweeps the MLS every 15 to 20 minutes for changes. Search for free with no obligation to sign up, but you can sign up and save your searches, save your favorites, or set up custom email alerts so you are always notified when a new Bellevue home comes on the market that meets your needs!

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By Courtney Cooper, November 7, 2009 12:05 pm

New Tax Credit Take Three!

The newest version of the Housing Credit is finally finalized!  There has been lots of speculation, but Obama signed the newest housing credit into law so it is official now. There are some surprising changes that open up the world of credits in 2009 for buying a house to many more people. Here is what you need to know:

The current first time home buyer $8000 tax credit is extended to April 30, 2010 and you have on top of that an additional 2 months to close on the property after that (close by July 1st, 2010).  Income levels have been raised to modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) of $125,000 for singles (up from $75,000) and $225,000 for married (up from $150,000). An additional credit has also been approved for purchasers of new homes regardless of first time home buyer status as long as they have lived in their current primary residence five of the last eight years.  This credit is for $6500 and seems to have the same deadlines/MAGI requirements. 

The $6500 credit for “move up” buyers does seem to be retroactive for all year, but I have not found a specific sentence on either the government page or the IRS page to tell me whether or not this is true.  The IRS tax form has not been updated online yet so I can’t go to the form and see there yet, but I will update this once I verify that if you bought your home in 2009 and other wise qualify it is retroactive regardless of when this bill went into effect.  (Stay tuned)

You can find the official bill here - it was written into an unemployment bill so scroll down a bit:  http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?c111:5:./temp/~c111dG8SpH::

Please do email me if you want more info or are interested in Seattle real estate. We have agents that specialize in every area of Seattle neighborhoods and suburbs and would love to help!  courtney@cooperjacobs.com

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By Courtney Cooper, September 21, 2009 5:05 pm

If you are in the market for Mill Creek real estate right now, I can tell you that I spent a major portion of the last few days touring what is available in the $500,000 to $600,000 range. I have sold and listed Mill Creek homes quite a bit, but I am always delighted to go on a great tour a really compare apples to apples for a particular buyer. As a result of the tours and showings, I have found myself bombarded by listing agents asking me for feedback.

Most of the Mill Creek homes have just been very nicely presented and all together great choices. I can tell you that there were a few comments from my buyers that Mill Creek sellers should think about - not because I am the expert or my buyers are the only buyers around, but just because it is the general consensus really.

Wall paper. I only saw one room that was pretty neutral, but overall buyers do not want wallpaper. It does not matter how designer or how pretty it is (or how awful), they just DO NOT WANT wallpaper. I always recommend to my sellers that they removed wallpaper prior to putting their home on the market. It is pretty general knowledge and so I was surprised to still see so much of it. I personally liked most of it, but most buyers do not and as easy as it is to take off (it really is most of the time, I swear!), it is a big factor when it comes to how a buyer feels about a home.

Landscaping – well thankfully I was within the Country Club boundaries most of the time and Mill Creek is known for its rigorous CC&R’s and landscaping so the yards were nice although I will say that I would highly recommend that you FULLY fence your back yard. Let’s face it – the majority of Mill Creek prospective buyers will most likely have children, but at the very least they will have a pet if not kids. Again, I know – small thing, but having big gaping holes in your fence line not only takes away from the privacy of the backyard, but overall just doesn’t quite feel homey to most buyers.

Updated kitchen – this was the biggest complaint. For half a million and up a buyer should expect to have at least granite tile in the kitchen and not the original cabinetry.

There are some impressive Mill Creek homes in the $500k to $600k range – if you might be even thinking about living in this highly organized community, then I would recommend looking now. Sellers, if you are thinking of moving out, there are some great buyers looking for quality homes. They like clean lines and updated kitchens. Updated baths are a bonus (please take the carpet out of the bathroom when you update it – no one likes that anymore).

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By Courtney Cooper, August 6, 2009 10:14 am

Seattle suburbs homes under $300,000 are blazing on to the real estate market right now and there are some good ones in here! Take that and add it to the upcoming deadline to take advantage of the $8000 tax credit and it makes for some good steamy competition in this Seattle real estate market! You can find Seattle suburbs homes here, but just take a peek at these numbers!

Seattle Suburbs Real Estate $300k and under by city – look at these homes!

Edmonds WA homes under $300k: 32 of them ranging in price from $182,900 for a bank owned home to $285,000 – with most under $250k!!! That is a lot of houses in that range for a Seattle suburb like Edmonds!

Shoreline, WA homes under $300k: 43 of them listed right now! These Shoreline homes range in price from $192,900 for a bank owned foreclosure home to $300,000 and you can even find some of them in Richmond Beach!

Lynnwood WA homes: 102! These are the residential only listings – no condos here, but you can find those, too! These Lynnwood homes start at $184,900!

Mountlake Terrace real estate: 25 homes here for under $300k! $171,884 for a bank owned home is the lowest and there are several that hover just above that low range as well – on up to $300k. Surprisingly, Mountlake Terrace has very few, but that is most likely due to the fact that people are seriously starting to see the value of this Seattle suburb that has long been ignored. Revitalization, new transit improvements, and quality businesses moving in can surely account for the improvement here.

Brier real estate There are only five homes in Brier WA for under $300,000. These Brier homes start at $219,000 and go up to $299,950 for a newly reduced 3 bedroom 1.5 bath rambler with 3 out of 5 of the houses under $250,000.

Lake Forest Park Real Estate: Lake Forest Park has some great places, but nothing under $300k! I did bump it up to $350,000 and got 6 listings there - $324,950 to $349,500. There are some pretty nice choices in these.

Kenmore WA homes: Kenmore real estate has gotten hot again probably due to its recent mention as one of the best places to live in several media venues. There are 10 houses for sale in Kenmore WA that are under $300,000 so why not come find out what everyone is talking about here? In fact, you can get a home here for as low as $255,000 on Finn Hill! There is also a house in Juanita for $284,000 – it is bank owned and waiting for some love!

So there you go! 217 Seattle Suburbs homes under $300,000 and in close in suburbs to Seattle. If you are looking to take advantage of the first time homebuyer $8000 tax credit, then this is a great starting point for you! We can also help get your closing costs paid by the seller in most cases. If you want more info about using this credit, short sales, foreclosures, or more: realestate@cooperjacobs.com or call 425-502-5431

Cooper Jacobs Real Estate Services: Serving Seattle neighborhoods and Seattle Suburbs with care.