Siding Remodelby Brian PerryEastside RealtorOnce you have your house wrapped, all the real fun begins!  Time apply the tough stuff.  In my project, I used 8 1/4" x 12' cedar grain HardiPlank siding.  It is sold at the Home Depot and costs $5.98 a piece. Like I talked about in the day 2 article about wrapping your home with Tyvek, applying the siding is just as easy.  If you are planning on using Hardi-Plank siding, you can download and print the installation instructions here.  I would give you my version...but I think it would be wiser to follow the manufacturers suggestions for installation.  I really enjoy working with the HardiPlank.  It is clean, tough, cuts easy with a heavy duty Chop saw (I use a 16" compound Miter saw) and installs straight and beautiful.  Here are the tools you... 05/31/2007

Siding intallationby Brian PerryEastside RealtorOnce the demolition is done, and you have carefully gone over the surface of your exterior walls checking for stray nails, its time to wrap the house.  Wrapping the house is simply adding a waterproof vapor barrier... like wrapping it in a gortex coat.  The tools I needed for day two include:1 roll of Tyvek vapor barrier1 roll of Tyvek Tapetape measureutility knifestaple gunlevelhammer (for removing missed staples and nails)crow bar (to pinch hit for hammer in certain situations)teeth (for cutting tape when your utility knife is lost) The application is easy!  So easy in fact my wife declared "hey this is as easy as wrapping a giant christmas present". Here is the procedure:1) Measure the length of the wall to be covered2) Start in the low... 05/31/2007

By Brian PerryKirkland RealtorThis week I am replacing the siding on my home.  I am not hiring anybody to do it... this my friends in a do it yourself project!  Throughout the process I will be posting articles about how it goes.  The good, the bad and the ugly so that you can see for yourself everything involved with this intimidating, but not so difficult home improvement.  Jennies dad came over and helped with the demolition of the original siding.  My home was built in the late 1930's.  Needless to say, they just don't build 'em like these anymore.  We had to pull off 1 layer of old growth cedar shake, then work our way through 1/2" horizontal siding.... that is covering the 3/4" tongue and groove wall!  Todays construction usually consists of 7/16" strand board wrapped with vapor b... 05/31/2007

KIrkland Real Estate Market Goes RED HOT! (Over $1,000,000 homes)Kirkland Real Estate Market Goes RED HOT ! ($1,000,000 and over)By Greg Perry, Kirkland Realtor    For months, I have been tracking the Eastside real estate markets, especially Kirkland.  I've been fascinated by the rebirth of the East of Market (Norkirk), West of Market (Market), Downtown and Houghton neighborhoods, as it seems every week a new bungalow falls to make way for a new McMansion.  NWMLS area 560, which consists of Kirkland/Bridle trails has carried more $1,000,000 plus home in inventory than any other Eastside Area.  I've also watched Kirkland with concern, as inventory levels seemed to continually build, creating very high absorption rates (the rate of inventory sell through).  Kirkland has been plodding alon... 05/29/2007

I had a chance to visit the Puget Sound Archives over at Bellevue Community College yesterday.  By appointment, you can go view all of the historical photos of your house and get copies.I ordered the front and back sides of my 1921 home taken by the Counter Assessor's office in 1939.  I passed onthe one taken in 1945, as it looked about the same.  I bought the one taken in 1992, just before the massive addition was put on, expanding it from 900 square feet to over 3,200 square feet. My house still looks like a little bungalow from the front, and not like the McMansion pictured in this article.  People like when the town looks the same and the houses can be expanded to today's standards, without creating McMansions and tearing down our history.I'm proud to own a non-McMansion, but not al... 05/19/2007

Kirkland Real Estate Statistics  7 Week AveragesBy Greg Perry, Kirkland RealtorNWMLS Area 560 (Kirkland/Bridle Trails)  Residential Only Each week, we track the ACTIVE inventory in every price range, and what has SOLD (PENDINGS) in every price range.  We then take each week's statistics and average them over a 7 week period.  When we divide PENDINGS into ACTIVES, we can create a market absorption rate.  Tracking absorption rates  allow us to see trends immediately.We track these statistics for all the Eastside NWMLS areas for both condos and residential sales.  Becuase my office is in Kirkland we'll focus on Kirkland statistics for awhile.  Here are the Kirkland, 7 week statistics by price range, residential only.  Remember, these are the 7 week averages.Price range AverageActiveAverage... 05/17/2007

Lunch with Active Rain's Matt Heaton and Jonathan WashburnBy Greg Perry, Kirkland RealtorI have always loved good ideas.   The trouble with good ideas is that often, they just remain -- good ideas.  However, when a good idea is executed with passion and belief, magic happens.  Matt Heaton and Jonathan Washburn are "Rainmakers" and the magic is happening at Active Rain.Active Rain is a real estate agent community.  In the Internet world it's called a social network. It's a place where agents, mortgage professionals, home inspectors, home stagers and other real estate related industry professionals can post blog articles, network with one another and share listings.  Participating professionals sign up using the city or town they do business in.  For instance, I signed up in Kirkland.  No... 05/16/2007

Eastside Real Estate April 2007 Condo StatisticsBy Greg Perry, Eastside Realtor As with the residential side, Eastside condo inventory increased from last year.  In April 2006, the Eastside had 444 units.  April 2007 is showing 621 units for an inventory increase of 39.9%.  Pending sales are off as 2006 had 400 PENDINGS, this year there were 377 PENDINGS for a decrease of 5.8%.  Normally we would think that if inventory is rising and pendings are falling, prices would fall. Median prices, however continue to rise with a whopping 24.5% increase over last year!  2006 saw a median price of $271,082 with this coming in at $337,533.  This might be partially explained by the fact that even though we saw a significant rise in available inventory,  overall inventory levels remain at an all time... 05/11/2007

By Brian PerryEastside Realtorwww.425realty.com Did you know that Lake Washington is considered to be one of the cleanest lakes surrounded by urban development in the world?  Here are a few reasons why:The cleanliness of the Cedar River, which provides half of its inflow; A rapid flushing rate, with average water residence only 2.3 years; The lake's depth, which causes waters in the lake to mix from top to bottom annually, oxygenating the lowest waters (which prevents the chemical release of phosphorus from the lake floor). Oh, and Lake Washington's Sockeye Salmon are known as being unusually large for the species!www.425realty.com 05/11/2007

Kirkland meets Bermuda!By Greg Perry, Kirkland Realtor Last year at this time, we were vacationing in Bermuda.  Now Bermuda is different place to visit for sure.  It's a small series of islands with close, windy roads.  Because it is a former British colony, everyone drives on the wrong side of the road.....the left!   Because Bermuda has very stringent car laws, and the roads are so narrow and windy, most residents and many tourists use scooters for transportation.  Yes, we rented a scooter and spent several days tooling around.  Try this for a mental image:  Two 50 somethings, who haven't been on motorized 2 wheels for about 30 years, renting a scooter for 2, and trying to remember to keep on the wrong (left) side of the road!  A recipe for disaster!  We made it to tell the tale.Well,... 05/10/2007

Marketing real estate listings.  Where are Buyer eyeballs?By Greg PerryEastside Realtor For the last several months, we have been contemplating, studying and synergising with other Realtors on the subject of marketing listings.   I think the most basic question is, "Where do Buyer eyeballs go when they are searching for homes?" In 1997, ten short years ago, where did Buyers find homes?  The #1 way was through their Realtor. We were about a year or two away from the MLS "book".  The book that the MLS published every other week to let agents know what was listed. Next, agents had archaic MLS computer search feeds, which by today's standards had very limited information.  Information was coming quicker to agents, but not to the Buyer.  Newspaper ads played a huge role in marketing.  The "h... 05/09/2007

Eastside Real Estate Statistics For April 2007By Greg Perry, Eastside Realtor Although inventory remains near historic lows, the Eastside NWMLS areas saw a 35% increase in inventory (2,661 units to 3,065)between March 2007and April 2007.  At the same time, PENDING sales were off 10% (1,231 to 1111).     Despite building inventory, MEDIAN prices continue to rise.  Year to year MEDIAN prices rose to $655,946 from $621,544 last year for a 5.5% increase.Interestingly enough, the average LIST price for ACTIVES in March 2007 was 639,801 and in April dropped to $619,208.  Does this mean that the MEDIAN prices are poised to dip?  Or are Sellers more realistic as they place their properties on the market?With inventory rising and sales falling, I think it's fairly certain that we'll see longer m... 05/08/2007

A fine day to be a RealtorBy Greg Perry, Kirkland Realtor  Yes, the Eastside, King County region is often gray and rainy.  We had our share of wind storms, snow storms and long rainy periods during this past winter.Today made up for it all.  There is nothing more beautiful than a blue sky day on the Eastside!  Normally, I have my assistant deliver fliers and service listings.  Today, I took matters into my own hands.  I opened my sunroof, put on my sunglasses and took the slow way to the Sammamish Plateau to deliver fliers.  There was a warmth in the air and Lake Sammamish was glass smooth.  On the way home I drove through Kirkland to service another listing and visited Tom, a builder client on the job East of Market.  He's building a 4500 square foot house that is in the framing stages... 05/07/2007

From NWMLS Housing Market in Western Washington Remains Relatively HealthyKIRKLAND, Wash. (May 7, 2007) - Unlike many regions of the country, the Puget Sound area continues to enjoy a healthy housing market, according to the latest figures from Northwest Multiple Listing Service. Condominiums are showing steady - and in some areas very strong - demand.Pending sales fell short of year-ago volumes, inventory is still growing, and prices are still rising to continue the pattern of recent months. Northwest MLS brokers tallied 9,156 pending sales (offers made and accepted, but not yet closed) during April, about 5.6 percent fewer than the same month a year ago.That total includes single family homes and condos. Viewed separately, sales of single family homes slipped 7.5 percent from twelve m... 05/07/2007

 Wellington Woods is one of the nicest neighborhoods in Kirkland.  It is basically one long street lined with homes, backed by woods on both sides, with a sport court at the end of the street where the community stages a few neighborhood events each year.  The street is lined with cherry trees, which are absolutely beautiful in the spring.  It is about 1 block from Kirkland Junior High, close to Peter Kirk Elementary school, and right around the corner from Crestwoods Park.  Since it is not a through street, a lot of people don't know about it.   There are residents of all ages and stages of life.  It is a particularly caring neighborhood for kids.  I think it is one of the prettiest neighborhoods in Kirkland! 05/07/2007

It's Buyer Beware!By Greg Perry, Eastside realtor We've had considerable discussion in office meetings about the Washington State Supreme Court decision that says Buyers will no longer have a claim for negligent misrepresentation in post-closing property condition disputes.  The Court applied the "Economic loss rule" in the context of a real estate transaction which limits a Seller's loss to the confines of the contract.  The mantra once again is "Buyer beware".  The SC decision essentially puts the onus on Buyer's due diligence to protect themselves.This does not protect a Seller who fraudulently fails to disclose known issues, but does protect the Seller for unintentional lack of disclosure.  The issue the court decided on was a septic system that failed after soon closing to the tune... 05/01/2007

 Kirkalnd Mother's day eventsGreg Perry, Kirkland Realtorwww.425realty.com The Voice of Seattle's Eastside There is plenty to do in Kirkland on Mother's Day.  Here are some events you may want to put on your calendar!Celebrate Mother's Day in Kirkland! (Sunday May 13):Kirkland's Artists Studio Tour May 12 and 13thBon Appetit Hosts Mother's Day Tea!May 12, 10:30am | Sur La Table  KirklandThe Crab Cracker Mother's Day Brunch! Sunday, May 13, 2007Mother's Day Brunch at Waters, a Lakeside Bistro Sunday, March 13, 2007Mother's Day at Yarrow Bay Grill, Sunday May 13, 2007Mother's Day Brunch at the Beach Café Sunday, May 13, 2007Kirkland Half Marathon Walk and Run & 5K Run-WalkMay 13, 2007 | Throughout  Kirkland 04/29/2007

Two days after Christmas in 1913, Washingtons first auto ferry named "Leschi" made her maiden voyage across Lake Washington.  The Leschi was a steam powered sidewheeler and ferried cars from Eastside communities to Madison Park from 1913 to 1950.Lake Washington ferries were the only way to go across Lake Washington, before the i-90 foating bridge was built in 1940.   The ferry system was run by King County until 1940. Afterwards, the Madison to Kirkland run was run privately until August 31, 1950, when the last ferry made it's crossing. 04/27/2007

Kirkland's Norkirk and Market Neighborhood Plans Update Project: The Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on April 26, 2007 to receive public comments on the draft Zoning Code, Zoning Map, Municipal Code and Subdivision amendments implementing recently adopted Market and Norkirk Neighborhood Plans and Market Street Corridor Plan goals and policies.  -  Regulations will establish incentives to 1) preserve historic homes and 2) retain or create small homes on small lots in various zones in the Market and Norkirk Neighborhoods.-  Design standards and zoning changes for the Market Street Corridor are also proposed.Once the Planning Commission has received public comment they will provide staff with direction on any revisions. The staff reports prepared for the April 26th Planning ... 04/24/2007

Spring scenes from Marina Park, Kirkland, Washingtonby Greg Perry, Kirkland Realtor Kirkland is often referred to as the "little Sausolito,CA of the north".  Kirkland is a very pedestrian city, with the downtown waterfront and view areas built with more condos than any other Eastside city.  Locals and visitors alike love browsing downtown boutiques and art galleries.  Restaurants are varied and world class.  Because Kirkland is such a popular place to live, and lots are hard to come by, downtown Kirkland real estate values are higher than most areas in King County.The crown jewel of Kirkland's waterfront is Marina Park.  The magnificent gazebo hosts concerts and organized events all summer long.  Visitors coming in from the lake can moor their boats at the public marina to spend the day... 04/23/2007