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By Courtney Cooper, June 2, 2008 2:34 pm

Seattle suburb real estate and gas savings? Is she serious? Here is why I think this is a good idea:

Seattle suburbs offering the most gas savings bang for your buck and also good schools, houses, neighborhoods? Lynnwood, WA houses, Mountlake Terrace houses, Brier houses – these are all conveniently located right in that intersection of I-5 and I-405 – perfect for transit commute to Everett, Seattle, or the Eastside – all have access to the large interconnecting trail system for biking across Puget Sound. The Park and Rides are fabulous, the shopping is amazing, and there are movies and restaurants galore…. Houses are available in all ranges and have not risen to the astronomical levels of other Seattle suburbs offering comparable properties. This is why these are my picks for gas saving suburbs…..

Interested in Brier real estate? Lynnwood WA real estate? Mountlake Terrace real estate?  realestate@cooperjacobs.com

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, Green Lake (Greenlake), Greenwood, Northgate, Lake City,University, Sand Point, Laurelhurst, Windermere, Fremont, Wallingford, Queen Anne, Westlake, Eastlake, Lake Union, Downtown, Madison Park), Seattle Suburbs Homes in Shoreline, Edmonds, Redmond, Kirkland, Brier, Lynnwood, Mountlake Terrace, Lake Forest Park, Bothell, Mill Creek, Everett, or other Seattle Suburbs!

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By Courtney Cooper, May 5, 2008 8:28 pm

I love the green building going on around Seattle – I actually am working on my ECO Broker designation and love looking around at all of the different variations of “building green” going on in houses, townhomes, and condos. Most of the builders who claim to be green builders are completely legitimate with well thought out plans for green homes that not only are better for the environment, but also have thoughtful design. I have however come across some that just seem to be trying to ride the coat tails of the green trend. Luckily, they are the minority in Seattle!

I haven’t gotten all the way through my studies, but I checked out a development yesterday that has been sitting for a while. Suddenly, the entry sales sign changed and it was claiming to be “Built Green”. This bugged me because except for the really energy efficient siding on the houses, they really don’t seem to be very green. In fact, I know for a fact that the builder got into trouble by knocking over a bunch of trees without getting proper permits. I got inside and almost all of the floor was marble and the off gassing from the MDF made my eyes water.

I need to find the Built Green police and report this one! In the mean time, it is a good lesson to Seattle buyers who are looking to buy green. Buying green should not be about getting more customers in for a few buzz words, but rather changing the way people are living. Selling something that couldn’t possibly be that green in spirit really seems like bad business to me. Just my two cents.

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By Courtney Cooper, January 7, 2008 1:10 pm

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!

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By Courtney Cooper,

Seattle suburbs have a lot to offer and the Seattle park systems are absolutely incredible! I recently found out that Brier WA is putting in its own skate park – a Brier skate park!

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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By Courtney Cooper, January 5, 2008 11:30 pm

Seattle Real Estate & Seattle Suburbs Real Estate…….. Seattle Relocation Information

*******************

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!

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By Courtney Cooper, December 16, 2007 7:49 pm

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!

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By Courtney Cooper, December 5, 2007 6:52 am

Seattle real estate is so much fun and nothing is more fun for me than walking into a house and seeing the remodeling that a client has done or is thinking of doing. I have a lot of clients who want me to come over and just take a peek at plans for a potential remodel. They know that I am the queen of knocking down walls, but still possess the sensibility to advise them of what will offer the best return on their real estate investment. Sometimes I can give them a few pointers to smooth out the rough edges of a potential remodel. I also have an army of remodeling contractors I can refer to them.

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

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By Courtney Cooper, December 1, 2007 10:10 pm

Broker Price Opinions in Seattle Washington can vary depending on what specific neighborhood or Seattle suburb you are in as well as other outside factors. It is important for an asset manager to hire an experienced agent and also one that is extremely detail oriented! A BPO (broker price opinion) should be completed with extremely accurate and up to the minute information in order for the asset manager to make an informed decision regarding an REO (real estate owned) property. A good BPO can make all the difference!

Agents interested in performing BPOs for asset managers: Sign up with third party websites and make sure to accept as many assignments as you can. If you consistently do good BPO reports, the various companies will continue to give you assignments. If you consistently do not accept assignments, they will stop pouring in. An agent can make a very decent living from performing BPO reports, but it is just as important to provide detailed reports with accurate information. In order to do a normal BPO report, you must visit the property and take pictures according to the instructions on the order.

Cheap Seattle BPO work: Bpo reports do not pay well individually, but if you do many of them, it is easy to schedule them between normal appointments and group your property visits into tours so that you are not out driving back and forth to the same areas. This not only saves gas, but also makes your BPO property visits more efficient. An asset manager will usually give you at least two days to get the report in unless it is a higher paid rush file, and some give you as long as a week. The pay range for a BPO can be as low as $35 and I have seen them go as high as $100 for a super rush file. This may seem pretty cheap, but if you group them together as I have suggested, you can punch them out pretty quickly. It takes an extreme amount of discipline to make sure to complete them on time and accurately, but it is worth it if you can get the orders to start coming in.

It took me a few months, but at the peak of my BPO work, I was making between $35,000 and $50,000 on BPO work alone. This was in a slower BPO market. Right now, there is opportunity out there and an agent could make a stand alone living performing BPOs for asset managers if they wanted to. Today, I do quality Seattle area BPOs and also take Seattle area foreclosure listings in addition to my regular clientele.

Accurate BPO reports: A broker price opinion has to be accurate! Make sure to find the best comps! In addition to lending integrity to your work, an impressed asset manager could end up placing a listing with you. The bottom line is: If you can’t fill out a simple BPO accurately, then why on earth would they ever place an asset with you?

Courtney Cooper ….For all your Seattle Washington Real Estate Needs!

I have an accounting degree and provide extremely accurate and detailed Broker Price Opinions! courtney@courtneycooper.com if you need a BPO done in King or Snohomish county. Asset Managers: I can help you with your Seattle foreclosure!

Seattle Area Real Estate Agent: Associate Broker and Realtor with a BS in accounting 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!

 

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By Courtney Cooper,

Brier, Washington, Don’t forget that Santa arrives tonight in Brier Park!!!! The annual tree lighting for the city of Brier, Wa is tonight and Santa arrives at 6:30! Also don’t miss the Holiday Parade of Boats where local Brier, Wa residents dress up their boats and parade them at the event!

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!

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By Courtney Cooper,

Seattle Real Estate is so much fun, but it is really amazing when something cool happens along the way………………………………..

I recently sold a gorgeous view home in Edmonds, WA..it was one of the most unique houses I had ever seen or had the pleasure to sell. In addition to being a view home, it had a really unique floor plan. The uniqueness probably caused it to be on the market just a tad longer than it normally would have been, but it was perfect for my buyers! The sellers were extremely kind and after close, brought something really cool to my buyers….a time capsule of sorts!!!

Apparently, during the major tear down and remodel job the seller did in the seventies on the original 1910 house, they found a bottle embedded in one of the walls. Upon opening it, they were treated to a letter from the long deceased original owner! It made the local papers and the seller was kind enough to give my buyers the press clipping as well as the letter.

I thought this was so cool! I had to share! What is in the walls of your old Seattle home? Love letters, trinkets, old stocks, perhaps?

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!