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By Courtney Cooper, February 15, 2008 1:49 pm

Seattle’s real estate market may be a bit soft right now, but the rates are incredibly low for qualified buyers and as a result the good Seattle lenders I have talked to recently are incredibly busy – and even backed up in some cases. Sure, there are going to be refinances in this mix of increased business, but the savvy Seattle buyers are out there in neighborhoods and suburbs right now trying to scoop up some deals before others realize that the market isn’t as bad as they thought! The truth is that Seattle has a booming real estate market in 2008 – it is just a very different market than we have seen in recent years. Seattle sellers, agents, and buyers need to adapt and stop looking to the media for “expert information” because the media seems to be gripping more of a doom and gloom Seattle bubble attitude. Instead, ask someone out there who is actually listing and selling houses in 2008! WAMU might be backed up because they cut their staff down to the bone, but other lenders are busy, too!

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!

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By Courtney Cooper, December 11, 2007 10:26 pm

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!

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By Courtney Cooper, December 8, 2007 9:12 pm

Seattle Suburb Flood Aftermath : Mountlake Terrace, Edmonds, and Brier Wa – Horses, roads, and clean up….

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!

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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 2:18 pm

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!

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By Courtney Cooper, November 30, 2007 8:43 am

S

Seattle Washington Real Estate is still an excellent market, but has changed from what it used to be and sellers need to take note!

Obviously the mortgage industry has played a major part in this new Seattle buyer’s market. Loan programs are stricter and as a result the pool of qualified buyers has dwindled down. Even though this means there are less buyers competing for your home, you can be sure that the buyers out there are stronger more qualified buyers! Now that Seattle has found itself in a buyer’s market, many home sellers are having to adapt. In order to be competitive in Seattle’s new buyer’s market, Puget Sound sellers should have every edge possible! Here are some of the things that could help your home get noticed!

1. Hire a full service
   Realtor!!!!! This is probably one of your biggest investments – not the time to cut corners! You need the superior quality help to have the edge in this market!
2. Staging – I have an accredited Stager help me with my listings to make sure they are stunning when any buyer walks in. I want them to walk in and fall in love! It is amazing how dressing your home up like a Pottery Barn catalog can help to emotionally sell it!
3. Housekeeping/Lawn Maintenance – Hire a housekeeper and a yard maintenance team! You want your home to shine! The extra money will most likely be worth the investment.
4. Process – This is something I have to go through weekly in my own house. I call it processing. It is simply going through clutter and sorting it into piles – charitable contributions, trash, give away to friends, recycling, keep. It is helpful to do this regularly, but taking the time to do a big process job on your garage and closets can really pay off!
5. Dress Your Cabinets and Closets – Your Stager might do this, but if not, you should. Take the merchandising approach and color code your closets – hang clothing by shades of color and really make your closet look like a rack at The Gap! The same thing can be done with your kitchen cabinets – turning all the labels on the cans outward and making sure the pantry is organized and not cramped is vital.
6. Storage – Make the investment to store extra furniture or clothes that clog up closets and garages. Clear your kitchen counters of appliances and clutter. Your home needs to scream spaciousness and plenty of storage.
7. Be gone – Leave your house well before showings! You want the buyers to be able to picture themselves in your home. They can’t do this with you in it. It is also uncomfortable for buyers to be in your home with you there.
8. Buyer Incentives…Offer to pay closing costs or some other from of bonus to “sweeten the pot” for a buyer when they are making a purchasing decision. They have lots to choose from right now!
   
9. Selling Office Commission: Don’t discount it – that agent is the hero who is bringing you a qualified buyer!!! I would even consider offering an agent bonus! It might encourage them to bring even more buyers back!
10. Price your home right! Doing all of the above won’t matter if you don’t price your home correctly. Again, your full service Realtor is qualified to do this! Also please keep in mind that starting a bit lower could not only get you multiple offers even in this market. More importantly, starting lower would save you thousands and thousands in carrying costs that your home would be incurring while it sits on the market at a higher price!
    

Use some or all of these and look for good results! Just because it is a buyer’s market out there doesn’t mean it is a bad time to sell. Houses are still selling and in some cases with multiple competing offers. The last three deals I have done involved multiple offers and back up buyers so I know it is happening! The important part is positioning your home correctly in this market!

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!

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By Courtney Cooper, November 29, 2007 9:45 am

It is important to make sure and take every precaution to keep your house water tight, but in Seattle we need to be especially mindful of some pretty important home maintenance! We get a lot of blue skies here along with our rain and it is important to take advantage of those lovely sunny days in order to keep our homes water tight!

Some Blue Sky Day Jobs to Check off your list:

• Gutters!!!

• Roof

• Siding

• Windows/Doors

• Vegetation control

Gutters: Please, please, please – have your gutters cleaned and checked twice a year – or at the very least once a year. I, too, thought that the cascading waterfall over my front porch was quite beautiful when it was overflowing from my gutters, but those gutter systems are put on there for a reason!!!! I have a wonderful client (who shall remain nameless) who has finally learned the importance of gutter maintenance after the first two homes had issues as a result of bad gutter attention. One house had the basement flood and the second house had water flow over the top of the gutters right on to the fireplace exhaust and then straight down to his newly refinished hardwood floors (He put a protective flap over his fireplace vents in his next house.). If you don’t want to go up there, hire someone, but gutters are almost as important as a roof in my opinion.

Roof: Of course monitor it – make sure and have a licensed roofer check it once in a while. Look for missing shingles and look for moss. Moss is quite common around here and it starts to grow up under the shingles and causes them to fail after a while. Moss should definitely be cleaned and again, there are professionals that can do this!

Siding:
Look for cracks in the siding or caulking spots that need re caulking. Make sure that the siding is properly stained or painted to avoid water exposure to untreated wood. If you are unsure, call in a professional contractor.

Windows/Doors: Obviously make sure they are properly functioning, but also check the water tight weather strip at the bottom and around the edges and make sure all the caulking around the exterior is intact or call a contractor in just to make sure if you aren’t.

Vegetation Control: Every single inspection I have been to calls out one thing: Make sure the plant life dirt are away from the house!!! Weed the perimeter and cut back the branches – it will cut back on water intrusion as well as have a positive effect on pest control.

Your home is your biggest investment! Seattle does get a lot of rain, but simple home checks once or twice a year can save you from costly deferred maintenance mistakes!!!

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!

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By Courtney Cooper, November 28, 2007 10:54 am

Seattle Suburbs offer more than giant shiny new houses and builder perks galore! 

Easy Transportation in and out of major cities like Seattle, Everett, and Bellevue - don’t forget about the Park and Rides!!! They are everywhere and they are improving on top of that (Look at the Mountlake Terrace system for example!)! The transit system is wonderful in the Puget Sound! We complain about it and are constantly improving 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! Save on gas and take some “me” time!

Large open spaces - Seattle offers some wonderful parks and places to play in city, but look at what the Seattle suburbs have to offer! Besides loads of parks to play in and enjoy, there’s more! Like horses, dogs? Brier, Washington has its own horse arena at City Hall. Woodinville is just one of the communities with horse trails. Check out the dog parks in the various towns and don’t miss the dog oriented events!

Trails and more trails!!! Want to bike, run, walk, or hike in the Seattle Suburbs? Wanna hike? There are tons of neighboring trails and parks. Bike on the Burke Gilman trail through Lake Forest Park or Kenmore and all the way down to Wallingford and beyond if you feel like it. Mill Creek, Brier, and Mountlake Terrace are just a few Seattle suburbs that have interconnecting trails for their residents.

Beaches and Lakes???? Besides heading to the sandy beaches of Edmonds, Washington or the shores of Lake Washington, there are also many smaller lakes including Martha Lake in Lynnwood – or Silverlake in Everett. If you want a water event, just look around!

Shopping! When I lived in city, I had to drive forever to find anything – Luckily, Northgate Mall is being revamped, but try Alderwood Mall in Lynnwood if you want everything from Macy’s and Nordstrom’s to PF Chang’s, William-Sonoma, and J Jill. The shopping is good in the burbs!

If you think you might be interested in 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,

Check out the burbs!

Seattle is a beautiful place to live and work, but if you are craving the open floor plans and large spaces of new construction, then look no further than the many beautiful Seattle suburbs! In the south, wonderful developments are popping up in Kent, Renton, and Des Moines. If you go east, you can still find some wonderful new construction in Bellevue and Kirkland, but the trend is heading towards the mountains with more activity in Sammamish and Issaquah – and even Cle Elum, North Bend, and Roslyn. Real estate is going crazy in North Seattle with areas of Lynnwood Washington like Martha Lake and Mill Creek still growing considerably. Edmonds, Richmond Beach and Woodway have some good options – some of them complete with views of the sound! Lake Forest Park has some beautiful custom homes going in. Even Brier and Mountlake Terrace have new construction going in! South Everett and Snohomish just North of Mill Creek are probably the most active and the homes being put in are loaded with all the new features buyers are looking for today.

Granite?  Stainless? Seller Paid Closing Costs?  No Problem!!!

Granite and stainless steel seem to prevail as standard rather than being an option and builders are throwing in perks left and right – plasmas, gift cards, you name it! Seattle Suburb builders have finally realized that they are in a buyer’s market and as a result, Seattle buyers are getting some amazing deals! On top of that, the housing interest rates are low so Seattle buyers are getting the best of both worlds!!!! Buying in the Seattle suburbs is a good choice because the price is right – right now! Home maintenance costs are lower and you can actually sit back and watch your equity grow rather than have to dip into it to make costly improvements or repairs.

Get in there and Negotiate for you!!!! Your experienced full service Realtor can help you get the best investment possible! Take advantage of the buyer perks available right now! It doesn’t happen very often!!!!

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By Courtney Cooper, November 27, 2007 7:37 am

Brier, Washington’s Timberline Park is in its 11th year of their lighting tradition. If you haven’t seen it, it is definitely one of Seattle’s must do activities for the holiday season! These Brier, Washington Residents go all out with gorgeous handcrafted painted figurines and beautiful lighting schemes.

It isn’t all for the lights – these beautiful people collect non perishable foods and cash for the Lynnwood Food Bank. According to their website, just in the last four years alone, they have collected over $100,000 in CASH and roughly 40,000 pounds of food!!!! They just opened up a couple of days ago and already have almost six hundred dollars as of yesterday. These guys are making a difference!

You can find Brier Lights at 3700 228th St SW, Brier, WA 98036….

If you are interested in other happenings in Brier Washington Real Estate, call Courtney Cooper….For all your Seattle Washington area Real Estate Needs!

Seattle Washington Real Estate Agent: Courtney Cooper  – 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!