This magazine provides amazingly detailed information for all things for your Seattle area dog in Puget Sound! I find myself in awe at just how many dog friendly events happen in Seattle and I wouldn’t know about them without this magazine! Yes, it is true! Seattle based CityDog also puts on some amazing events and the Puppy Love Mutt Mixer this Feb was no exception! I heard it first hand that this year’s event was wildly popular with the puppies! Seattle residents are lucky to have such a creative dog lover running this fabulous mag! Here is what CityDog has planned for March (straight from the invite):

Seattle’s Pioneer Square is Going to the Dogs!

WHO
CityDog Magazine, you and your furry, four-legged art lover.

WHAT
Join CityDog Magazine and the Pioneer Square Community Association for the first-ever dog friendly art walk as part of the First Thursday Art Walk in Pioneer Square.Be sure to check out the CityDog-hosted, one-night-only art exhibit showcasing the fabulous works of some of Seattle’s finest dog photographers and artists all under one roof!

Photographer extraordinaire Amy Soper of Dane & Dane Photography will be on hand to snap portraits of your own furry friend (available for purchase) and Pioneer Square’s own Dry Soda will be there with refreshing samples of their gourmet sodas.

WHEN
March 6, 2008, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

WHERE
Seattle’s Pioneer Square on the corner of S. Washington & Occidental
(at the old Fenix; enter through the atrium on Occidental Square)
Click here to view map

FEATURED PHOTOGRAPHERS & ARTISTS

• Bev Sparks, B Sparks Photography
• Emily Rieman, Best Friend Photography
• J. Nichole Smith, Dane & Dane Photography
• Jenifer Flynn, Four Legs Photography
• Jamie Pflughoeft, Decopaw Design
• Jennifer Sellers, Artist
• Shai Steiner, Animals In Primary
• Angela Ketelhut, Art by Angie

This dog friendly event is one-night-only, so don’t miss this chance to mingle with fellow dog lovers and visit with the photographers and artists who specialize solely in the art of the four legged. Each will be on hand to discuss and share their wonderful works of fine art and photography with you. Then, look for the “CityDog Friendly” sign at other participating, dog friendly galleries as part of the First Thursday Art Walk in Pioneer Square.

RSVP rsvp@citydogmagazine.com

Party Animal Rules: Dogs must remain on-leash and be under your control at all times. Dogs (and people for that matter) must also play well with others. Thank you for your understanding!

I highly recommend you subscribe to this amazing magazine!

Want info on Green Seattle topics?

Seattle Built Green Info , Seattle Green Remodeling , Seattle Going Green Guide, Going Green in the Seattle Suburbs

Courtney Cooper ….For all your Seattle Washington Real Estate Needs! Seattle Area Real Estate Agent: Broker and Realtor serving North King & South Snohomish County.  Seattle Real Estate and Seattle Suburbs!  Cooper Jacobs Real Estate Services:   Experienced REALTOR with a background in accounting – I love my clients and work hard for them! Please call me if you are looking for a home or investment property (including short sales, preforeclosures, foreclosures, and REO properties) in Seattle (Ballard, Crown Hill, Phinney, Ravenna, Maple Leaf, Greenlake, Greenwood, Northgate, Lake City,University, Sand Point, Laurelhurst, Windermere, Fremont, Wallingford, Queen Anne, Westlake, Eastlake, Lake Union, Downtown, Madison Park), Shoreline, Edmonds, Brier, Lynnwood, Mountlake Terrace, Lake Forest Park, Bothell, Mill Creek, Everett, or other Seattle Suburbs!

 If you are thinking of relocating to Seattle, I am an expert at Seattle Relocation services and can help you find the perfect home while making sure it is a solid financial investment!

Some of the basics – These Eastlake sellers did all things I asked them to do and followed my Seattle seller tips exactly! They updated some of the fixtures, cleaned the place completely, put in a few new touches, allowed me to put some Staging pieces in, and priced the place right! Our sale price was 98.76% of our list price and we closed successfully in about a month! Sellers who are serious about listing their houses and condos need to be very diligent in this market to make sure and follow a clear plan of attack when it comes to getting their home ready for the 2008 Seattle real estate market. Savvy Seattle buyers will respond as a result.

Want info on Green Seattle topics?

Seattle Built Green Info , Seattle Green Remodeling , Seattle Going Green Guide, Going Green in the Seattle Suburbs

Courtney Cooper ….For all your Seattle Washington Real Estate Needs! Seattle Area Real Estate Agent: Broker and Realtor serving North King & South Snohomish County.  Seattle Real Estate and Seattle Suburbs!  Cooper Jacobs Real Estate Services:   Experienced REALTOR with a background in accounting – I love my clients and work hard for them! Please call me if you are looking for a home or investment property (including short sales, preforeclosures, foreclosures, and REO properties) in Seattle (Ballard, Crown Hill, Phinney, Ravenna, Maple Leaf, Greenlake, Greenwood, Northgate, Lake City,University, Sand Point, Laurelhurst, Windermere, Fremont, Wallingford, Queen Anne, Westlake, Eastlake, Lake Union, Downtown, Madison Park), Shoreline, Edmonds, Brier, Lynnwood, Mountlake Terrace, Lake Forest Park, Bothell, Mill Creek, Everett, or other Seattle Suburbs!

 If you are thinking of relocating to Seattle, I am an expert at Seattle Relocation services and can help you find the perfect home while making sure it is a solid financial investment! 

The weather is beginning to turn in Seattle – I always know when the woodpeckers start banging on my chimney to attract mates that spring is near! More and more buyers will be out as warmer days set in and with this will come some competition. Sellers should have their full service agents price their home competitively. They should pay the extra money and have an accredited Stager help them get their home ready for the market if their Realtor suggests it. Spring on its way doesn’t mean that Seattle sellers don’t need to put their best foot forward so that a buyer’s first impression is the best it can be. The 2008 Seattle market is still strong, but just trickier and it takes savvy on your agent’s part and on your part to sell your home.

Smart Seattle buyers who are out there right now: it is possible to get incredible prices, deals and bonuses from these sellers without completely low-balling them on your offer! Have your Realtor be aggressive, but write a strong offer and choose where you want to negotiate rather than beating down the offer from all directions. The window of primo opportunity is getting smaller as more buyers realize how enticing Seattle real estate is right now!

Courtney Cooper ….For all your Seattle Washington Real Estate Needs! Seattle Area Real Estate Agent: Broker and Realtor serving Seattle neighborhoods and Seattle suburbs in both North King & South Snohomish County.  Seattle Real Estate and Seattle Suburbs!  Cooper Jacobs Real Estate Services:   Experienced REALTOR with a background in accounting – I love my clients and work hard for them! Please call me if you are looking for a home or investment property (including short sales, preforeclosures, foreclosures, and REO properties) in Seattle neighborhoods (Ballard, Crown Hill, Phinney, Ravenna, Maple Leaf, Greenlake, Greenwood, Northgate, Lake City,University, Sand Point, Laurelhurst, Windermere, Fremont, Wallingford, Queen Anne, Westlake, Eastlake, Lake Union, Downtown, Madison Park) or Seattle suburbs (Shoreline, Edmonds, Brier, Lynnwood, Mountlake Terrace, Lake Forest Park, Bothell, Mill Creek, Everett) or other Seattle Suburbs!

Being more green can save you money on top of being good for Seattle! I have a lot of good ideas about living green in the Puget Sound, but I know that I got many of them from my friends, family, and clients. I can recall on many occasions exactly where some of these ideas were stolen from. For instance, I know for a fact that I should be bringing my own take out containers to restaurants that I frequent thanks to S&E.

?????S&E’s take out container idea: One day we went to lunch with S&E and after the meal they whipped old containers straight out of their canvas bag and started passing them around the table for us to scrape our left overs into. At first I honestly thought that they were crazy, but I complied and took my left over Phad Thai home in an old washed up cream cheese tub. I started thinking about the Styrofoam take out containers from most of the Thai places that I have been to and realized that S&E had it right, although they looked a bit hippy doing it. We can have a big impact on the environment by following their lead. So five stars to S&E for this one – it can really add up! (BTW, S&E also drive a hybrid car, use florescent lighting, and walk to the local farmer’s market to buy their organic groceries. They are a very good example for me to aspire to.)

I sent out the following email to many friends and clients:

I am doing a series on Going Green in Seattle online – I would love your tips and advice to include if you have time.  My clients and friends have always been so “in the know” about these things and I strive to put that good advice to use!  If you get a minute, I would love your top five ways to go green so that I can include them in the series?

Here are some of the basics in my own home that we strive for:

• Recycle like crazy and reuse as much as possible (instead of recycling cardboard box use it to send something out). I honestly believe that recycling is the very basic thing that all earthlings should do. I was surprised to find while visiting another state that there are places that actually do not recycle their cans, bottles, paper, etc. To me this is such a foreign concept. Every household should recycle at the very least. Even hazardous waste should be disposed of properly and there are places that do this. Recently our yard waste containers are now able to have food scraps in them and that has seriously cut down on our garbage output – things like pizza boxes and paper napkins can go in there, but I also like the idea of composting in Seattle!Seattle recycling info, Seattle hazardous waste disposal info, King County Hazardous Waste info, Snohomish County Hazardous Waste info, Snohomish County recycling info
• Less usage
  Turn the lights off if you aren’t using them and don’t use them as often as you think you might need to. Purchase the more efficient florescent bulbs for all your lighting fixtures – these come in an array of forms now and they actually look good now. We have been replacing all of our canned lights with the canned version of fluorescence over the last year. It is making a difference already in our bill and energy use. The only thing with these is to make sure proper disposal occurs because of mercury content. The hazardous waste sites take them and properly dispose of them.
  Lower the thermostat a degree or two in the winter for increased savings. Raise it a few degrees in summer if you need to use an air conditioner. I also use my curtains to help control the temperature in the house. Shorter showers (showers instead of baths), rain water to water plants outside – Less toilet flushes, never leave faucet running, Energy efficient appliances, hanging clothing out to dry in summer and washing clothing less (wear it a couple times at least if it is still clean…)
• Less driving/more efficient cars I have a large family and need a bigger car, but I was still able to find a Flex Fuel version of the car. Driving a Hybrid makes a difference and I plan on purchasing a Hybrid car in the next year. In the mean time, I try to drive less and do more work over the computer. I am able to sign my clients electronically to save energy and also add convenience to them. I use the fax and internet more and more to save gas! I also clump my trips together so that I am doing a big circle errand and hitting all my stops at once rather than driving to each one individually. A little extra planning really helps cut down on wasteful driving time.
  
• No Toxins in the house!!!
  Toxins in the house eventually reach our groundwater and streams….
  No chemicals in the lawn: We used to have a lawns service keep our lawn nice and green and it occurred to me one day that they were saturating my property with poisons that my children walk on and my dogs play in. I now have a patchy at best lawn full of moss here and there and bits of clover, but it is not leaching toxins into the groundwater. I occasionally will go outside with a tip from my hubby’s grandmother. She said to spray the dandelions at the base of the plant with a bit of vinegar and water in a spray bottle. It actually works like magic! They brown up in a couple days and go away for a while before I am out there with another spray bottle.No toxic cleaners…
  OK, I still have a few, but I am down to mostly Mrs. Meyers products and Method products. They work great, smell great, are better for the environment, and keep things tidy.

  No parabens – This one will probably make me look like a complete nut, but I do not allow products with parabens in my home AT ALL. No exceptions. Parabens are known to be endocrine disrupters and are found in just about everything – shampoos, lotions, make up, etc. – even found some in Huggie’s baby wipes! There have even been studies to suggest that they can cause breast cancer and low sperm count in men – just saying… So you rub the Body Shoppe Body Butter on your skin and shower it off into our water supply. Do some more research if you think I am off my rocker on this one, but I personally think parabens have a huge impact on our environmental health as well as our personal health. Products that I have found to be safe and paraben free: Oil Of Olay beauty fluid (just the basic stuff – I have seen parabens in their other products), Paul Mitchell Tea Tree Shampoo, Burts Bees – all products I have seen so far!

• Eat local and organic food! If it is local then it didn’t cost a lot of energy to get here. If it is organic then less impact on the earth went into producing it – no pesticides! S (of the S&E take out idea above) recently sent me info on a pesticide study done on Mercer Island children… The study showed that the pesticides are definitely getting into our kids’ bodies, but that they quickly were rid of pesticides once they began eating organic foods only.
  

OK – On to some of the ideas from you guys so far (keep them coming by the way):

• Jen says her cloth baby diaper service is awesome and she also uses canvas grocery bags. Here is a link to a Seattle cloth baby diaper service. There are pros and cons, but each site is very informative.
• I noticed that Animal Care Center (one of the best vets in Seattle is Tracy Tomlinson) in Mountlake Terrace has some interesting posters up about Dog waste pollution and its impact on the environment. My friend recently mentioned buying or making a dog waste solution for her back yard.
• I got flush the toilet less from both Rob & M – I would also add that buying a low flow toilet or dual flush model could go a long way. I personally have to recommend the Toto brand
• Rob says cloth diapers, solar panels, fluorescent light bulbs and less toilet flushing. I also saw recently that REI among others are selling cool solar chargers for cell phones, etc.
• Kathi likes rain barrels and I have to get at least two! Here is some info on attaching a rain barrel to your gutter system in Seattle. There are tons of Seattle rain barrel sources!

Look for more in upcoming segments – and please comment! Let me know what your amazing eco-ideas are for Seattle!

Courtney Cooper ….For all your Seattle Washington Real Estate Needs! Seattle Area Real Estate Agent: Broker and Realtor serving North King & South Snohomish County.  Seattle Real Estate and Seattle Suburbs!  Cooper Jacobs Real Estate Services:   Experienced REALTOR with a background in accounting – I love my clients and work hard for them! Please call me if you are looking for a home or investment property (including short sales, preforeclosures, foreclosures, and REO properties) in Seattle (Ballard, Crown Hill, Phinney, Ravenna, Maple Leaf, Greenlake, Greenwood, Northgate, Lake City,University, Sand Point, Laurelhurst, Windermere, Fremont, Wallingford, Queen Anne, Westlake, Eastlake, Lake Union, Downtown, Madison Park), Shoreline, Edmonds, Brier, Lynnwood, Mountlake Terrace, Lake Forest Park, Bothell, Mill Creek, Everett, or other Seattle Suburbs

In Seattle real estate, I have written about all the great Built Green properties in Seattle neighborhoods & Seattle suburbs before, but I thought it was pretty cool that the Master Builders Association in partnership with both King and Snohomish Counties also offer a Built Green Self Certification checklist for Seattle area remodelers, too!!! This is huge since I put all new energy efficient appliances in my house and also had Bamboo flooring installed throughout, but I also think it is so wonderful that Seattle buyers looking for a built green house can now look to existing properties for a Built Green rating!

Return on Your Investment?

Yes! Green for green! Seattle Built Green properties are popping up all over the place in the new construction arena. I think a great way to add value to your house before you decide to sell is to make sure that any remodels done are certified by this program as being green and better for the environment! It will add to your ability to market your home to all the savvy buyers out there looking for these types of properties, and it will be contributing to making Seattle real estate more green!

Courtney Cooper ….For all your Seattle Washington Real Estate Needs! Seattle Area Real Estate Agent: Broker and Realtor serving North King & South Snohomish County.  Seattle Real Estate and Seattle Suburbs!  Cooper Jacobs Real Estate Services:   Experienced REALTOR with a background in accounting – I love my clients and work hard for them! Please call me if you are looking for a home or investment property (including short sales, preforeclosures, foreclosures, and REO properties) in Seattle neighborhoods(Ballard, Crown Hill, Phinney, Ravenna, Maple Leaf, Greenlake, Greenwood, Northgate, Lake City,University, Sand Point, Laurelhurst, Windermere, Fremont, Wallingford, Queen Anne, Westlake, Eastlake, Lake Union, Downtown, Madison Park), Shoreline, Edmonds, Brier, Lynnwood, Mountlake Terrace, Lake Forest Park, Bothell, Mill Creek, Everett, or other Seattle Suburbs!

 If you are thinking of relocating to Seattle, I am an expert at Seattle Relocation services and can help you find the perfect home while making sure it is a solid financial investment!

Here is the invite for their upcoming get together:

CityDog Puppy Love MuttMixer! WHO CityDog Magazine, you and the furry, four-legged love of your life. WHAT Join CityDog Magazine and fellow dog lovers to mix and mingle, sip cocktails and swap doggy tails. Are you single? Even better! Puppy love will be in the air, so who knows…you might just meet that special two-legged someone to add to your pack. Photographer extraordinaire J. Nichole Smith of Dane & Dane Photography will be on hand to snap portraits of your furry friend (available for purchase). WHEN Wednesday, February 13, 06:00 PM – 08:00 PM WHERE W Seattle, W Bar and Living Room 1112 4th Avenue Seattle, WA 98101 Click here for directions WHY Why for the love of dog, of course! RSVP rsvp@citydogmagazine.com Party Animal Rules: Dogs must remain on-leash and be under your control at all times. Dogs (and people for that matter) must also play well with others. Thank you for your understanding!

Here are the Seattle townhome market update figures for real estate in 2008 for the Ballard, Greenlake, Fremont, Crown Hill, Sunset Hill, and Wallingford neighborhoods in Seattle.  This is on townhomes priced $500,000 and less.

There are 64 Seattle townhome listings on the NWMLS right now with a status of ACTIVE.  These range from a 2 bedroom/1 bath to a 3 bedroom/3.5 bath with an average of a 3 bedroom/2.25 bath layout.  Square footage ranges from 818 square feet to a spacious 2219 square feet with an average of 1531 square feet.  They range in price from $309,950 to $499,999 with an average of $427,678.  The average days on market for these townhomes is 73 days. 

So what is happening in this Seattle townhome market?  Well, while there are 64 listings to choose from, there are not a lot of new townhome listings coming on to the market.  This is probably due to the recent media scare tactics which may make some sellers or builder hesitant to put their properties on the market right now.  I have buyers who are very well qualified in this market, but the current inventory does not suit their needs for one reason or another, so we are actively looking for new townhome listings in this particular area of Seattle! 

Courtney Cooper ….For all your Seattle Washington Real Estate Needs! Seattle Area Real Estate Agent: Broker and Realtor serving North King & South Snohomish County.  Seattle Real Estate neighborhoods and Seattle Suburbs!  Cooper Jacobs Real Estate Services:   Experienced and with a background in accounting – I love my clients and work hard for them! Please call me if you are looking for a home or investment property (including short sales, preforeclosures, foreclosures, and REO properties) in Seattle neighborhoods, Shoreline, Edmonds, Brier, Lynnwood, Mountlake Terrace, Lake Forest Park, Bothell, Mill Creek, Everett, or other Seattle Suburbs! If you are thinking of relocating to Seattle, I am an expert at Seattle Relocation services and can help you find the perfect home while making sure it is a solid financial investment!

Chad & Vicky’s Espresso! (BTW – that is a picture of Chad and Vicky dressed up for Halloween 2007) – a great Seattle neighborhood place to go!

I should start this by saying that I am not by any means an anti-Starbucks girl – I love my lattes and was more than pleased to see a local Starbucks within twenty miles from my parents’ remote home outside of Scottsdale, AZ (although they left me high and dry when they closed for Christmas……), but enough is enough in some cases! There are already at least two locations on this particular side of town in Mountlake Terrace!

OK – Back to Chad & Vicky!!!!

Chad & Vicky’s Espresso has served me the most yummy lattes for almost nine years and I am sure they served many more before that. The combination of low prices, delicious drinks, and extremely fast and friendly service has always kept me coming back even during some of my most crazy diet kicks. No matter how many times I switch drinks, Chad always knows what I drink!

Chad & Vicky’s Espresso is on the corner of 228^th Street SW and Cedar Way in Mountlake Terrace. It is inside the south side of the Chevron station building. They have a convenient drive-thru and no matter how busy they get the service is still fast, consistent and friendly. Chad & Vicky get patrons from both the cars going in and out of the drive-thru line as well as the Mountlake Terrace and Brier locals who like to come inside and have a chat with them or in some cases have a longer talk.

So, Starbucks is putting in a brand new store right next door to Chad & Vicky’s Espresso! Chad was literally standing in its shadow as he served me my coffee this morning with a smile on his face as always. I am honestly disgusted by the audacity of a company that thinks they can thrive in the Mountlake Terrace market by parking themselves right next to the city’s most beloved local coffee fixture. I will even go a step further to say that I doubt anyone really did their research on this one. I could have given Starbucks far better locations to look at, and honestly, Chad probably would have given them some helpful tips, too, if they had asked him because that is the kind of guy he is.

I am pleased for the Mountlake Terrace residents who seem to have finally had their real estate values “validated” officially by Starbucks deciding to move in to a location that has previously hosted one failed business after another, but the blatant disregard for a community’s culture is not only disrespectful, but also just plain stupid from a business perspective. I would think a local company would care more for the local businesses, but I guess that is just me.

Courtney Cooper ….For all your Seattle Washington Real Estate Needs! Seattle Area Real Estate Agent: Broker and Realtor serving North King & South Snohomish County.  Seattle Real Estate and Seattle Suburbs!  Cooper Jacobs Real Estate Services:   Experienced and with a background in accounting – I love my clients and work hard for them! Please call me if you are looking for a home or investment property (including short sales, preforeclosures, foreclosures, and REO properties) in Seattle, Shoreline, Edmonds, Brier, Lynnwood, Mountlake Terrace, Lake Forest Park, Bothell, Mill Creek, Everett, or other Seattle Suburbs! If you are thinking of relocating to Seattle, I am an expert at Seattle Relocation services and can help you find the perfect home while making sure it is a solid financial investment!

Here are some good starting points for discovering which Seattle suburb might be good for you. If you find that it is too overwhelming, just send me an email and I will be happy to guide you through the maze of choosing a Seattle suburb that fits your specific needs.

Seattle suburb information – this is some of the basics

Seattle suburb commutes – transit and commuting info

Seattle suburb school information check out the suburb schools as well as other schools in the state

Current Seattle suburb real estate market for 2008 – an overview of some of the suburb communities and how they are faring market-wise.

Seattle suburbs parks, Seattle suburb skate parks, Seattle suburbs trails

Courtney Cooper ….For all your Seattle Washington Real Estate Needs! Seattle Area Real Estate Agent: Broker and Realtor serving North King & South Snohomish County – Experienced and with a background in accounting – I love my clients and work hard for them! Call me if you are looking for a home or investment property in Seattle, Shoreline, Edmonds, Brier, Lynnwood, Mountlake Terrace, Lake Forest Park, Bothell, Mill Creek, Everett, or other Seattle Suburbs!

Seattle real estate prices have increased greatly in recent years, but we are still one of the most underpriced cities on the West Coast. There are also still Seattle neighborhoods and suburbs that offer an affordable price range to fit tighter budgets. I am constantly amazed when I show a new buyer what they can afford and pleased when I see how happy they are in their new home! Look to the South and North of Seattle for great new construction deals and make sure and check out my Seattle suburb 2008 real estate market reports. Look at the Seattle suburb schools information and also check out the Seattle commuting tips in these areas. Make sure and learn about the parks and other facilities available to residents. After looking at my housing lists and area tips, many buyers are amazed at just how affordable the Seattle suburbs actually are!

Courtney Cooper ….For all your Seattle Washington Real Estate Needs! Seattle Area Real Estate Agent: Broker and Realtor serving North King & South Snohomish County.  Seattle Real Estate and Seattle Suburbs!  Cooper Jacobs Real Estate Services:   Experienced and with a background in accounting – I love my clients and work hard for them! Please call me if you are looking for a home or investment property (including short sales, preforeclosures, foreclosures, and REO properties) in Seattle, Shoreline, Edmonds, Brier, Lynnwood, Mountlake Terrace, Lake Forest Park, Bothell, Mill Creek, Everett, or other Seattle Suburbs! If you are thinking of relocating to Seattle, I am an expert at Seattle Relocation services and can help you find the perfect home while making sure it is a solid financial investment!

Seattle Suburbs offer more than giant shiny new houses and builder perks galore! Open spaces, trails, beaches, lakes, shopping, and more! But how do you get around the Seattle Suburbs?

Easy Transportation in and out of major cities like Seattle, Everett, and Bellevue -

Going green? Even if you aren’t, don’t forget about these local Seattle suburb Park and Rides!!! This transportation system is wonderful and already improving further in some Seattle suburbs (Look at the Seattle suburb Mountlake Terrace system for a prime example!)! We are lucky to have this transit system in Puget Sound! We complain about it, but the truth is it works very well! Our traffic is bad during peak hours, but grab a book or your iPod and let someone else do the driving for you! Be green and save on gas and take some “me” time!

If you think you might be interested in relocating to Seattle Suburb real estate, make sure and have a FULL SERVICE experienced Realtor help you find the community that is best for you!

Did you know there were skate parks in the Seattle burbs? The cities of Edmonds and Lynnwood WA got together in 1999 and created a 5000 square foot concrete skating structure at Lynndale Park for the local Seattle suburb skaters.

Lynndale Park: Lynndale Park is located at 7326 Olympic View Drive and has parking and bathrooms. It was built in 1999.

Features: 5000 sq ft surface, snake run, quarter pipe, six foot deep bowl, banks, ledges, hips, rails, curbs

Bothell Skatepark: Located at 9815 NE 188^th St in Bothell – this Seattle suburb skate park originally opened in 2000, but recently had a facelift – among other features, it has a six foot half pipe.

Other Seattle suburbs looking at putting in skateparks: Mountlake Terrace, Brier

Even Ocean Shores WA is looking at putting a skatepark in!!!! All parks seem to be skate at your own risk, but do have guidelines and rules from what I can see. Make sure to check out the rules and safety precautions.

Courtney Cooper ….Cooper Jacobs Real Estate Services – For all your Seattle Washington Real Estate Needs! Seattle Area Real Estate Agent: Realtor serving Seattle and Seattle Suburbs! North King & South Snohomish County – Experienced and with a background in accounting – I love my clients and work hard for them! Please call me if you are looking for a home or investment property (including short sales, preforeclosures, foreclosures, and REO properties) in Seattle, Shoreline, Edmonds, Brier, Lynnwood, Mountlake Terrace, Lake Forest Park, Bothell, Mill Creek, Everett, or other Seattle Suburbs! If you are thinking of relocating to Seattle, I am an expert at Seattle Relocation services and can help you find the perfect home while making sure it is a solid financial investment! Check out my Seattle real estate and Seattle suburb real estate blog at http://www.raincityhouses.com/!
 

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Check out these January 2008 Seattle Suburb Real Estate Market Reports:

Brier Wa 2008 Real Estate Market Report

Mountlake Terrace WA 2008 Real Estate Market Report

Woodway WA 2008 Real Estate Market Report

Cooper Jacobs Real Estate Services  – for all your real estate needs in Seattle and Seattle suburbs! 

Courtney Cooper

Owner/Broker & Realtor, Cooper Jacobs Real Estate Services

p 206-251-5948 

For more information:  courtney@cooperjacobs.com

No matter what aspect of buying and selling Seattle area real estate you need assistance with, Cooper Jacobs can help!  Areas of expertise:  greater Seattle and Seattle Suburbs including Lake Forest Park, Shoreline (including Richmond Beach), Mountlake Terrace, Edmonds, Lynnwood, Bothell, Brier, Mill Creek, Kenmore, Snohomish, and South Everett.   Each of these Puget Sound Real Estate market areas have their own unique qualities and it is important to find a qualified Realtor to guide you. 

Cooper Jacobs Real Estate Services….For all your Seattle Washington Real Estate and Seattle Suburbs Real Estate Needs! Seattle Area Real Estate Agent: Broker and Realtor serving North King & South Snohomish County – Experienced and with a background in accounting – I love my clients and work hard for them!

Seattle Suburbs: Thinking about Relocating to Edmonds, WA?

Seattle real estate is beautiful and the Seattle suburbs have much to offer! Edmonds WA is gorgeous, but besides the art and wonderful shops and eateries, there are also beautiful beaches!

Edmonds, Wa residents enjoy four parks in their city by the Sound plus numerous attractions:

Bracketts Landing is a marine sancuary right next to the ferry dock and surrounds the loading cars. The smell of salt and sand is a perfect way to sit down and have a snack or take a walk. At Railroad Avenue, you can find both beautiful Olympic Beach and also the fishing pier which is open all year – just make sure to get a license!

For active outdoor enthusiasts, check out the Union Oil Wildlife Trail with a ton of sights for birdwatching and marsh animal lovers.

The really cool park in Edmonds for divers is the 27 acre UNDERWATER park!!!! Edmonds Underwater Park is just north of the ferry dock and offers marine life views and passageways under the water. As you drive on to the ferry, look off to your right and take note of all of the buoys and diver markings and know there is a whole different world under there!

Come see this Seattle Suburb and all it has to offer!

Edmonds has a lot to offer and there are also some wonderful perks and bonuses on real estate in Edmonds! If you are interested in learning more, please feel free to email me for more info and also my list of top buys in the Edmonds, Wa real estate market! Want to know more about Seattle and its suburbs? courtney@courtneycooper.com

Courtney Cooper ….For all your FULL SERVICE and QUALITY Seattle Washington Real Estate Needs! Seattle Area Real Estate Agent: Associate Broker and Realtor serving North King & South Snohomish County – Experienced and with a background in accounting – I love my clients and work hard for them!

Call me if you are looking for a home or investment property (including short sales, preforeclosures, foreclosures, and REO properties) in Seattle, Shoreline, Edmonds, Brier, Lynnwood, Mountlake Terrace, Lake Forest Park, Bothell, Mill Creek, Everett, or other Seattle Suburbs!

Some benefits of renting:

1. Flexible – nothing to tie you down
2. Less out of pocket in the short term (although in some cases, a mortgage is the same or less than your rent)
3. No home maintenance to deal with

Seattle real estate and its surrounding suburbs are the best investments you can make! Despite a bit of a slow down due to the current lending environment, we are still one of the most undervalued real estate markets on the West Coast! Even in this cooler market, Seattle houses are appreciating! Seattle real estate is one of the best ways to build wealth today.

Not convinced? Let me give you just a few more good reasons why you need to buy Seattle real estate instead of renting!

1. Pay yourself instead of someone else by building equity each time you make a house payment
2. Tax benefits – The interest you pay on your home mortgage is tax deductible in most cases!
3. Freedom to decorate and make yourself really feel at home!

If you think you might want to look at buying a Seattle house or a house in the Seattle suburbs, now is the exact time to make that move!  We are in a buyer’s market for the first time in a long time and there are some good buys out there!  The inventory is plentiful so you can choose your very perfect house and the rates are low on top of it!  Need help with your closing costs? I can help you get your closing costs paid for!  In addition, there are buyer perks out there that make buying Seattle real estate too good to pass up!

Courtney Cooper ….For all your Seattle Washington Real Estate Needs! Seattle Area Real Estate Agent: Associate Broker and Realtor serving North King & South Snohomish County – Experienced and with a background in accounting – I love my clients and work hard for them!

Call me if you are looking for a home or investment property (including short sales, preforeclosures, foreclosures, and REO properties) in Seattle, Shoreline, Edmonds, Brier, Lynnwood, Mountlake Terrace, Lake Forest Park, Bothell, Mill Creek, Everett, or other Seattle Suburbs!

Seattle Real Estate Suburb: Mountlake Terrace, Edmonds, and Brier Wa Flood Aftermath Update 

 Among others, 214th was flooded and horses were being brought in left and right.  The hillsides were flowing, but luckily the water has receded.  Unfortunately for some residents, though, there was damage as a result of the December 2007 storm in Washington state.  The Cities of Mountlake Terrace, Edmonds, and Brier all declared some type of state of emergency in order to clear the way for clean up funding.   This means that affected residents might be eligible for some reimbursement from the federal government for flood damage caused by this latest storm. 

Courtney Cooper ….For all your Seattle Washington Real Estate Needs! Seattle Area Real Estate Agent: Associate Broker and Realtor serving North King & South Snohomish County – Experienced and with a background in accounting – I love my clients and work hard for them! Please call me if you are looking for a home or investment property (including short sales, preforeclosures, foreclosures, and REO properties) in Seattle, Shoreline, Edmonds, Brier, Lynnwood, Mountlake Terrace, Lake Forest Park, Bothell, Mill Creek, Everett, or other Seattle Suburbs! If you are thinking of relocating to Seattle, I am an expert at Seattle Relocation services and can help you find the perfect home while making sure it is a solid financial investment!

Seattle has seen some homeowners go into foreclosure based on their inability to pay their mortgages once the rates adjusted. Seattle lenders have tried their best to help and refinance these borrowers, but in some cases the borrowers are no longer qualifying under stricter guidelines. According to MSNBC.com, it was just announced that the Whitehouse is going to step in and help the lending industry hold rates steady on some of upcoming adjusting mortgages. Bush has a plan apparently to freeze some of these upcoming adjustments for a period of five years in an effort to slow down the flow of foreclosures in to the Seattle real estate market as well as the rest of the nation.

The relief comes for those who got their loan anytime from the beginning of 2005 to July 30^th of 2007 with rates set to adjust between January 1^st of 2008 and July 31^st of 2010. Unfortunately, the relief does not help some people I have already talked to who fit just outside those parameters, but it’s a start. Call me if you want to discuss your mortgage and options which might be available to you. I know several ethical lenders in Seattle and the Seattle Suburbs and would be happy to help you find someone who will work hard for you!

Courtney Cooper ….For all your Seattle Washington Real Estate Needs! Seattle Area Real Estate Agent: Associate Broker and Realtor serving North King & South Snohomish County – Experienced and with a background in accounting – I love my clients and work hard for them! Please call me if you are looking for a home or investment property (including short sales, preforeclosures, foreclosures, and REO properties) in Seattle, Shoreline, Edmonds, Brier, Lynnwood, Mountlake Terrace, Lake Forest Park, Bothell, Mill Creek, Everett, or other Seattle Suburbs! If you are thinking of relocating to Seattle, I am an expert at Seattle Relocation services and can help you find the perfect home while making sure it is a solid financial investment!

   Contact info:

Courtney Cooper     

  phone (206)251-5948

  email: courtney@courtneycooper.com

Some homeowners find themselves questioning whether or not they should remodel their Seattle house or just move. In some cases, remodeling is not the answer. You can remodel that little house on the busy street to your hearts content, but if it being on the busy street is still going to bother you in the end, then you should consider a different type of remodel. Instead of the extremely high end finish work you would prefer to live with, do some simple upgrades and cosmetics to help it sell faster and for more money. On the flip side, if you love your Seattle neighborhood, but your house is just too small, consider adding on.

I have one client who needs an extra bedroom in her Seattle suburb home. Her house is perfect except that it is missing a bedroom so she finds herself looking at bigger houses, but always coming back to the realization that she loves her house. She has gorgeous twenty foot vaulted ceilings just off the landing loft upstairs above her dining room so I suggested contacting one of my architects or contractors and looking at putting in that extra bedroom above the dining room. The high ceilings are nice, but the bedroom would not only make her house more valuable, but also make it more livable for her. . She wonders why I would tell her not to buy a house when I am a real estate agent, but the truth is that I want my clients to be happy and she would never be happy living in a different neighborhood – I know her this well after other investment property dealings I have gone through with her. Remodeling is the best choice for her.

Sometimes it takes an extra set of eyes to decide whether or not remodeling in Seattle is the right decision. There are a lot of factors that go into the choice of buying another house in Seattle and moving or hunkering down and coming up with a sound remodeling plan for your current home or real estate investment property. Seattle has a lot of fabulous contractors and many that specialize in specific areas of remodeling. Unfortunately, there are always bad with the good so make sure you get referrals from people who know and have worked with the contractor. Also, make sure you get at least three estimates or bids before choosing one.

If you need someone to come and take a peek at what your plans are and give you an honest opinion, please feel free to send me an email – I am happy to let you pick my brain on the decision to remodel or move in Seattle. I also might see an idea you hadn’t thought of before… courtney@courtneycooper.com

Courtney Cooper ….For all your Seattle Washington Real Estate Needs! Seattle Area Real Estate Agent: Associate Broker and Realtor serving North King & South Snohomish County – Experienced and with a background in accounting – I love my clients and work hard for them! Please call me if you are looking for a home or investment property (including short sales, preforeclosures, foreclosures, and REO properties) in Seattle, Shoreline, Edmonds, Brier, Lynnwood, Mountlake Terrace, Lake Forest Park, Bothell, Mill Creek, Everett, or other Seattle Suburbs! If you are thinking of relocating to Seattle, I am an expert at Seattle Relocation services and can help you find the perfect home while making sure it is a solid financial investment!

Contact info: Courtney Cooper   phone (206)251-5948   email: courtney@courtneycooper.com

Flood insurance wasn’t actually very accessible until the late sixties when a national flood insurance program was put into place. With this program came the availability of flood insurance for anyone who needed it and lived in a community that participated in the program. In addition, regulations in the form of floodplain maps were also put into place to provide specific levels of risk for any given area.. Flood coverage is required by your lender if you live in any of these high risk areas, but is not included on the standard home owner’s policy of the majority of real estate in Seattle and its suburbs.

This is a question each homeowner in Seattle and the entire Puget Sound should ask themselves. Do you live on low ground? At the bottom of a hill? Near a waterway? How is your property drainage? These are all factors which increase your risk of water intrusion and each homeowner should take the time to consult with an insurance agent and evaluate their own risk. I live on a hill and have sufficient drainage for my property. I keep my gutters in proper working order and also regularly monitor my weatherproofing plan. I do not have flood insurance. It is important to note that if you do decide to purchase flood insurance for your Seattle property, keep in mind that there is a thirty day waiting period in most cases.

Courtney Cooper ….For all your Seattle Washington Real Estate Needs! Seattle Area Real Estate Agent: Associate Broker and Realtor serving North King & South Snohomish County – Experienced and with a background in accounting – I love my clients and work hard for them!

Call me if you are looking for a home or investment property (including short sales, preforeclosures, foreclosures, and REO properties) in Seattle, Shoreline, Edmonds, Brier, Lynnwood, Mountlake Terrace, Lake Forest Park, Bothell, Mill Creek, Everett, or other Seattle Suburbs!

King County has 180 parks and 175 miles of trails with a combined acreage of 25,000 acres!

One of my favorite trails is the Burke-Gilman trail – it starts in Seattle down in Shilshole Bay and goes all the way up through the University District, Lake Forest Park, Kenmore, and then on to Bothell. It is roughly eighteen miles long and intersects with the Sammamish River Trail System in Bothell. It is a huge commuting trail for cyclists who commute from Seattle to the Eastside during the week! The Burke-Gilman is used by cyclists, walkers, joggers, runners, skaters and also lots of strollers!

Courtney Cooper ….For all your Seattle Washington Real Estate Needs! Seattle Area Real Estate Agent: Associate Broker and Realtor serving North King & South Snohomish County – Experienced and with a background in accounting – I love my clients and work hard for them! Call me if you are looking for a home or investment property in Seattle, Shoreline, Edmonds, Brier, Lynnwood, Mountlake Terrace, Lake Forest Park, Bothell, Mill Creek, Everett, or other Seattle Suburbs!