A great way to experience the lifestyle of living in Mill Creek is by visiting Town Center. Mill Creek Town Center is more than just a collection of retail stores and restaurants.  It was designed to have the look, feel, and charm of a small town's main street.  You definitely can "feel" the lifestyle of living in Mill Creek simply by walking from shop to shop.  Every shop is within easy walking distance, and there is a wide variety of restaurants, services, and boutique shops.  But I think one of the most appealing aspects of Mill Creek Town Center is that most of the merchants are much smaller than the mega department stores inside other local shopping malls.  They really make you feel appreciated when you visit their store, and it's also nice to have them personally remember you. We ... 01/07/2010

Over the last 20 years, Snohomish County has seen an enormous amount of residential real estate growth, especially East of Mill Creek. Construction of new houses exploded in that area, and people continue to move in everyday. But along with rapid growth, comes higher population densities, more commercial development, street traffic, pollution and crime. Fortunately, most of Mill Creek was a planned residential development. Today, it is that very structure that makes Mill Creek one of Washington State's most desirable places to live. Unlike many of today's developers, United Development Corp. (UDC), had a lot of raw land available to them. This allowed them to plan and develop a huge area. With so much property at their disposal, UDC was able to accomplish two critical things. First, the... 01/05/2010

Good news! The home buyer tax credit has been extended! The new expiration date is June 30th, 2010. Notice anything missing from that opening line? I have omitted the words "first" and "time" because 'move-up' buyers are now potentially eligible as well (conditions apply see IRS for details etc. etc. etc.). I suppose you could be a move-down buyer as well though... AND it's not well-publicized but almost any home that is your primary residence qualifies. Always wanted to live in a house-boat? Here's your credit. Thought about touring the country in an RV? Yep! You could qualify. Just remember -- if you don't want to have to pay the credit back, you must live in the home as your primary residence for 3 years. That might be pushing it for the RV trip... Here's a run-down on important cons... 11/06/2009

NEWS FLASH: the Department of Housing and Urban Developed announced today that they will delay changes to the FHA Condo policy. This is good news to anyone involved in the low to mid range condo market. The changes have been delayed until December 7th (after initially being delayed from last year until this month, and then were pushed back again until November). They have also announced additional leniencies to address the difficult market conditions and augment some portions of the Mortgagee Letter 2009-19, providing additional information. So "Spot Loan Approvals" are still on for another month! Here's where you can find the FHA Mortgagee Letters 1996-41 and 2009-19: http://www.hud.gov/offices/adm/hudclips/letters/mortgagee/ There are also new Mortgagee Letters I haven't gone through ... 10/21/2009

How long -- REALLY -- will interest rates stay low?!?!? This is a question I'm asked almost daily. It's probably safe to say everyone agrees one of the primary reasons why mortgage rates have stayed so low for so long is the commitment the Fed has to buying Mortgage Backed Securities from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. This artificial, temporary demand has kept prices for MBS higher (which means rates are lower) than if we hadn't had the MBS purchase volume coming from the Fed. By the by -- "the Fed" in this instance refers to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, which is carrying out the MBS purchases. You can view their Web site here. By the by the by -- "MBS" refers to Mortgage Backed Securities. The total amount the Fed is committed to spending by the end of 2009 is $1.25 trillion; to... 09/18/2009

For those who are acronym-challenged, MTOTD stands for "Marketing Tip of the Day." Yes I made the acronym up and really didn't expect anyone to get it, but thought it might at least get someone's attention...   Marketing Tip of the Day: Coffee on you!   Pair-up with a business partner (Title Rep, Escrow Rep, your favorite Mortgage Loan Originator hint hint, nudge nudge), meet at your preferred walk-in coffee spot and each of you put $20 onto a gift card from that location. Then hand the gift card to the cashier and ask them to pass the word -- that you would like to pay for each single order of coffee until the gift card runs out. Let them know where you will be sitting and that you'll be talking about home buying and selling if anyone asks who paid for your coffee. Then grab a drink of... 08/24/2009

greetings all! Today marks my first day at Bank of America Home Loans. With this change comes additional responsibilities a shorter commute (a.k.a. a happier wife) and a new home city: Mill Creek! I'm very excited about this new chapter of my career and I am re-affirming my commitment to blogging and providing useful information to Real Estate Agents and home buyers/owners alike. My contact information has been updated and I will be providing additional finormation as I become settled in my new office inside the Mill Creek Town Center! South Snohomish/North King County folks, please come by and say hi (I'll be in the office as of Thursday). And I'll write more soon! --James Wirth 08/10/2009

This 4 debroom, 2.5 bath home is ready to enjoy!  Located near the Mill Creek Towne Center on a quite street it is priced to sell, so hurry and see it before it's gone! MLS #29088132         $369,900        Staging by SISTERS Interior Redesign, Edmonds, WA Staging provided by SISTERS Interior Redesign, 425.776.7890, www.sistersredesign.com Contact us today for a complimentary staging quote.  We look forward to working with you! 06/22/2009

According to The Herald, Mill Creek has been voted as the second best suburb in the country according to Business Week Magazine.   The community of Mill Creek has been named the second-best affordable suburb in the United States by BusinessWeek magazine The magazine rated cities within 25 miles of a major community, looking at such aspects as the length of commute, pollution, green space, education, test scores, crime, job growth, median household income and weather. I have to agree, Mill Creek is a very nice community with a great shopping at the Mill Creek Town Center, easy access to Hwy9, I-5 and I-405.    The area is still developing and growing and The Martha Lake Airport Park is going in now with a new 18 acre park with soccer and baseball fields on the west side (technically it i... 02/26/2009

            Maybe your insurance agent has used this term with you, but most people are not entirely clear on what it means. Self-insurance is a pretty simple idea, but it's also an important one to understand.             Self insurance is when a person or a business accepts the risk of financial loss and depends on savings or statistics to safeguard them. If you've ever suffered a loss, whether you were covered for it or not, this may sound like a pretty scary - or a pretty foolish idea. It doesn't have to be.             We all self-insure against certain risks every day. Most people don't carry health insurance for their pets. Veterinary care is more affordable than medical care for people, and with some planning, we pet owners can usually save a little each month to anticipate pet-... 12/15/2008

According to information from the ACLI, Washington State insurance companies Invest a lot in the community and help protect those that need it most. Below are some statistics that you may be interested to learn.....  PROTECTING WASHINGTON RESIDENTS Washington residents have $490 billion in death benefit coverage. State residents own 2 million individual life insurance policies, with coverage averaging $140,000 per policyholder. Group life insurance coverage amounts to $210 billion. Individual life insurance coverage purchased in 2006 in Washington totaled $30 billion.  $6 billion was paid to Washington residents in the form of death benefits, matured endowments, policy dividends, surrender values, and other payments in 2006. Annuity benefits paid in the state in 2006 totaled $2 billion.... 08/04/2008

At some point in time we have all come to that moment in our lives that no matter what we do we find ourselves stuck at a red light.  Understanding how to change that light to green is important not just in business but in life as well.Here are a few tips that I have adopted to help change the red light a little faster or avoid them all together!1. Read a book in your field every month. By doing this you will become an expert at it as well as discover new tips, tricks and ideas to help you along the way.It has been said,"Invest 30 minutes a day in reading books that will make you stretch. Avoid the easy stuff. You won't grow. 30 minutes a day for six months will make you one of the most knowledgeable people in your office/field. After a year, in your town; two years, the county; five ye... 04/03/2008

Seattle Suburbs to the North are a nice mix of good schools and more affordable housing.Price is usually a factor when looking at Seattle suburbs real estate. Generally the Eastside suburbs of Bellevue, Kirkland, Issaquah, and Sammamish tend to be on the pricier side. Some of the ferry suburbs (Bainbridge Island) should also be considered to be in the pricier category. Some of the immediate Northern Suburbs can have some more expensive neighborhoods (Lake Forest Park, Brier, Richmond Beach in Shoreline, Mill Creek) as well. Each of these Seattle suburbs also have some economical choices so they can also be a good choice in any price range.Check out the Seattle suburb schools.Look at prices and search for homes in these Seattle suburbs.Cooper Jacobs Real Estate...For all your Seattle Was... 03/16/2008

 I feal this service is possibly the easiest way to find out how your home might fair on todays market.  By providing your homes most basic details, you will not only see what homes have sold, but you will also see how long it took as well.  That cuppled with the competion that's currently available for sale simply makes this information priceless and it's FREE. Cruz WebsterVisit my website HERE to search for your new home from Bellevue to Bothell and beyond. 02/26/2008

Seattle Suburbs Real Estate Update:(Updated 2016) What's going on in the burbs as far as Seattle Suburbs homes for sale and neighborhoods?  Real estate is also going crazy in North Seattle with areas of Lynnwood and Edmonds - like Martha Lake and Mill Creek still growing considerably (Take a minute and look at any available Martha Lake waterfront homes possible if you can for a real treat...). Edmonds, Richmond Beach and Woodway have some good options – some of them complete with views of the sound!  Many Seattle suburbs that we have looked at have 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 fe... 11/28/2007

Here are some helpful hints on repairing your credit.  It is very easy to do and if corrected can save you thousands of dollars when applying for a mortgage. *NOTE* You are allowed by law, 1 free credit report per year. To get one you can go to http://www.annualcreditreport.com/ and sign up. When you are asked which of the 3 bureaus you  would like to pull from, select all three, Or you will find your self retyping all of your personal data in 3 times.Steps to Repair Your Credit1. Obtain your three credit reports.2. Review the reports and locate the negative items.3. Dispute the negative items with the credit bureaus. (You can do this by simply sending them the printed out report with false items that have been marked with a red, green, or blue pen, followed by a letter asking them to r... 08/11/2006