RIDDLE ME THIS, BATMAN!  IF AN AGENT CAN WAKE UP IN THE MORNING, AND GET THE MLS ON HIS HOME COMPUTER... WHY DOES AN AGENT NEED A DESK AT THE OFFICE?   IF AN AGENT CAN BE AVAILABLE ALL THE TIME WITH A LAPTOP AND A CELL PHONE: WHY DOES HE NEED A PHONE AT THE OFFICE?   IF WE CAN REDUCE THE OVERHEAD IN THIS BUSINESS BY HAVING LESS INFRASTRUCTURE, AND IN TURN PASS THAT SAVINGS ON TO THE CONSUMER...WHY DO WE HAVE OFFICES OF 50 DESKS THAT ARE FREAKIN' EMPTY!!!!  WHO IS COMING TO YOUR OFFICE AND WHY AND IF IT IS COSTING THE CONSUMER MORE TO HAVE DESKS FOR THE COFFEE DRINKING, OPEN HOUSE LUNCH EATING, NEED A PLACE TO HANG OUT PEOPLE... WHY SHOULD THE CONSUMER PAY FOR YOU TO PARK YOUR BUTT IN AN OFFICE WITH NO PURPOSE??? TIME TO RETHINK EVERYTHING.  CUT THE COSTS.  IF THE DESKS ARE EMPTY OR THE... 02/03/2007

Seattle - Queen Anne's Kerry ParkOne of the most beautiful places to view the Space Needle, Downtown Seattle, Elliott Bay, West Seattle and Mt Rainier (when the mountain is out!) is from Queen Anne's Kerry Park.  The Park is a destination for tourists, Seattlites, photographers, and the neighborhood.  Located on the South Slope, near the top of Queen Anne Hill with all it's shops, restaurants, pubs and Queen Anne style (as well as others!) homes.Seattle with its' hilly terraine has views everywhere, and with all the bodies of water, many have water views as well.  Because Queen Anne is so high (second highest hill in Seattle) and is sandwiched between Elliott Bay on the southwest, Lake Union on the east, and Salmon Bay on the north it is nearly surounded by water.  Many homewoners and c... 02/02/2007

 Seattle - Capitol Hills' decadent dessert cafe, Dilettante Mocha Cafe  on Broadway at 416 Broadway E (one of 7 in the Seattle area)  was the scene of a recent visit with out of state friends for dessert (CHOCOLATE!) and coffee.  Veronica (works there Tuesday through Saturday) was our "Guru" of chocolate experience as we consulted with her for what to choose!  Rich was glued to the glass display case trying to choose between all the fabulous chocolate (and other treats!) radiating chocolate goodness....  All hail Veronica for her wise, and knowledgable   guidence!  In the end Rich chose the German Chocolate Cake, Jacquie the warm Fruit Crisp with melting vanilla ice cream, and I had the Cafes' signature pastry, the classic Hungarian tort, the Rigo Jancsi (jan-say).  Chocolate mousse bet... 02/02/2007

 Downtown Seattle - Belltown's Cascadia Restaurant,  2328 1st Avenue, Between Bell & Battery Streets,was recently featured on The Food Network with "Giada's Weekend Getaways" when she visited Seattle.   Giada had the Mini Burgers and Cascadia's signature cocktail, the Alpine Martini, so when my friends came to visit me the last weekend of January...that's where Jacquie wanted to go for Happy Hour.  We ordered the Mini Burgers (nice and rare), Alpine Martinis, fries in a cone and Iced Tea (Rich declared the best he's had)  Our server told Jacquie that ever since the episodes began airing, the place has been packed at Happy Hour (5 to 7) with people wanting to experience the shows' menu.  The crowds are undeterred by the scaffolding obscuring the entrance while the facade is undergoing so... 02/02/2007

 Seattle's Northwest Flower & Garden Show is coming!February brings to Downtown Seattle The Northwest Flower & Garden Show to cheer up northwest gardeners with the promise of our coming spring!  With our gray, drizzely February weather, this comes as a warm breeze to brighten up our month.  Every year since it's debut in 1989, the Northwest Flower & Garden Show has been wowing gardeners with the stunning display gardens, the seminars and the exhibitors displaying new plants, garden accessories, ideas, and garden themed stuff.  This year the show runs February 14-18, Wednesday through Saturday 9AM to 9PM, and Sunday 9AM to 6PM.  For more information on tickets, parking, seminars etc., see: http://www.gardenshow.com/seattle/theshow/   So if you need something to cheer your self up with to... 01/31/2007

  Based on a reader suggestion I received on my condo blog, I've compiled a list of pet friendly condos in the downtown area neighborhoods.  Eventually, I'll expand the list to include other neighborhoods as well.  I've also included some condos that are pet-unfriendly, too. If you know if any that we've missed, please let us know and we'll add it to the list. 01/23/2007

Seattle's new Olympic Sculpture Park is now Open!  The new 9 acre park located in Seattle's Belltown neighborhood (Urban Village) celebrated it's Grand Opening over the weekend! There was bright sunshine, blue skies, crowds, shades, Alexander Calder's Eagle, and The Space Needle for the Grand Opening on Saturday, January 20th 2007!  Given our horrible weather these past few months, it was amazing to have such a dazzeling day for the long awaited opening of the new park!  The park was jammed with Seattlites enjoying the the ART, the SUN, the Park, and the new Beach on Elliott Bay. Fireboat welcomes the crowd as they photogragh all the wonderful ART.  My friend Patti laughing about the "Ask Me" sign.  Seattlites exploring this new addtion to Downtown Seattle and Belltown!  Down near the w... 01/23/2007

Last night I posted my first blog on the Seattle PI's website titled Real Estate Licensing. Being such a huge opportunity to share my opinion, yes my opinion, on serious topics reaching a wide audience it was thought to take conservative approach while bring to light a controversial topic.It is different to post a blog on a nationally recognized than posting on ActiveRain and my personal site. Why? There are different rules of conduct in my view and some items are harder to address. Blogs are seen as being a personal place and an arena to point fingers in directions that may not be politically correct.Right now I am feeling nervous of my post for reason that are beyond my comprehension but the ideas put forward are helpful and topics that need to be addressed. How does one balance ethic... 01/21/2007

 Today in Seattle's Belltown, SAM's Olympic Sculpture Park has it's Grand Opening!  Today the barriers come down and the public can view their new fabulous Park!  The celebration lasts both Saturday and Sunday, January 20th and 21st, 2007.  For more information and times for the celebration,  see: www.seattletimes.com/sculpturepark  Check out this site for lots of interactive information on the park, the sculptures, maps, development (including watching the park developed over a year's time in one minute) it's really cool!  "Where Art Meets Earth"....  The Park lies on 9 acres in Seattle's Belltown at the corner of Western Avenue and Broad Street, and conects the Downtown to the shore of Elliott Bay with a newly reclaimed beach accessible from the Park.  The Parks designers are New York... 01/20/2007

 NWMLS #26199618, 2530 39th Ave. E., Seattle   $3,290,000. Last Saturday evening the streets were still fairly icy and the temperature was below freezing.  I had made an appointment with a client and we decided we would still check out the properties.   This client knew Capitol Hill very well and could keep me off the steep hills.  I had taken a flash light because the listing agent said he would not be there--it was a good thing because we had to wander around in the dark to find the lock box.The place is lovely--it has a complete Nanny's quarters with its own elevator (the main house has an elevator also).  The water view is of Lake Washington and has protected moorage for a large boat.  4970 sq. ft., 5 bedrooms/ 4.5 baths.NWMLS #26164972, 909 E Newton St #B3 Seattle  $3,100,000.This ... 01/19/2007

My partner Kim Harris offers his perspective on what drew him TO the Pacific Northwest in 1964 and KEPT HIM in Seattle since he got off the plane from Vietnam in 1969... The History - The Tremendous Impact and Signficance of this area on the Music Industry (Kim's previous life and passion, as founder of Easy Street Records and teacher of "The History of Rock and Roll" at the U and BCC and original manager of Queensryche, when they were high school kids hanging out at his Easy Street Records, of then, on Bel-Red Road...long past history all over the world managing bands and music venue and private label and much more...on to his LOVE of Seattle from a music perspective: The (fabulous) Wailers - Tall Cool One, being able to find things in Seattle he spent two months trying to find in reco... 01/17/2007

 I have a client that I have taken condo shopping four times now.  I have sent her many listings and she goes through them and then lets me know what she wants to see.  Initially, she told me that she needed to find a new place soon because her lease was ending the end of February.  Last week we found one that she liked well.  We went to see it twice and then she wanted to write an offer on it.  The offer she was making was quite low but that was her decision.  We didn't get a counter offer then, but a couple of days later the listing agent called and said the buyer they selected decided not to buy and that her seller would take less now (at a substantial amount).  I relayed the message to my buyer and she thinks something must be wrong with the unit.  What she also told me is that her ... 01/17/2007

This 1921 Bungalow was restored instead of being torn down. Tear downs are prevalent in our town.  Small 890sf bungalows with porches are torn down and replaced with new homes for $1,300,000 or more.  The previous owner of this home added a huge 750sf master suite on the second floor in the back with a jacuzzi-five piece master bath, tow sitting areas and a fabulous view of Lake Washington, Mt. Rainier and the Seattle City Skyline. The main floor was expanded to 1,600 square feet with additional bedrooms on the lower level. The two car garage is not seen from the street, as it is a street to alley lot and is accessed from the rear, but is attached. The City of Kirkland would love to see more of these, quaint original frontages, but exapanded to today's modern interiors and amenities. 01/10/2007

It's snowing outside my office right now!  The evening commute will not be fun....We have had a lot of challenging weather here in Seattle for the past few months...quite unlike our famous mild maritime climate.  November had record breaking rain fall and flooding, and after the Seattle Seahawks vs the Green Bay Packers game a sudden snow storm caught the commuters and game goers in a 6 hour "ice rink" commute home.  In December, we had windstorm that toppled so many trees causing "The Great Seattle Blackout" 10 days before Christmas and over a million homes lost power in Puget Sound, many for day, and as long as 8.   Yesterday while driving I was caught between Belltown and Lower Queen Anne when wind gusts started pushing my car around, so I went to Alki to take photos of the wind wave... 01/10/2007

This weekend's playoff game, Seattle vs Chicago, is going to be a rematch of an early season game where Chicago destroyed Seattle 37-6. Hopefully the game ends on a different note this time and Seattle can continue onto the NFC Championship game two years in a row.I know many out there are not going to give Seattle a chance but that doesn't affect this fan one bit. Last week Seattle got a win against Dallas and all I have read is that it was luck that Seattle got a win and Dallas should have really won. But what isn't talked about is the two first downs Seattle had to get to be able to run the clock out at the end of the game and when they started on their own one yard line.Seattle has a great time when it functions as one solid unit and with all the injuries this year it is hard to get... 01/10/2007

Right or Wrong, for Good or Bad, it is just Who I Am.  I didn't "create a persona" for Active Rain, not do I intend to change my persona for it either. I spend my days representing people who are trying very hard to do the right thing.  I will not represent people with greedy or underhanded motives.  I will not align myself with agents who are trying to "make a sale" instead of representing people well. It's not a real popular concept apparently.  And yet my heaven is a world where everyone tries very hard to do the right thing and my hell a world where everyone just wants to "follow the money". There is an exception in my book, and that is helping someone in the industry who is "doing it wrong" to "get it right".  When the little light bulb goes on and an agent realizes that the buyer ... 01/09/2007

There are key points in the contract where a buyer can change their mind and receive their Earnest Money. You have two choices: 1) Contact your client and say, if you have any second thoughts about this, TODAY is the day to "speak now or forever hold your peace!"  2) Hold your breath and hope the time passes so the buyer is "locked in" and the sale more likely to close There's a lot of talk about "Fiduciary" relationships.  I have more background in Fiduciary Relationships than likely any other agent in the Country, given I was a Trust and Investment officer for a very long time before becoming a real estate agent.  It is why I harp on fiduciary type topics.  It is just my forte.  It is also my dissappointment in an industry that should be representing people better, but who choose to t... 01/09/2007

I am following up to a comment I made on Broker Bryant's post: "It's free, it's free, I tell you!""Spending a dollar to save a nickel."  There can sometimes be a "short-sightedness" in seeing the "big picture" that people will actually spend a dollar to save a nickel.  Of course the cost is not necessarily actual cash (or in Broker Bryants' story, depreciation) but time, life experiences or some other valuable thing.  Unfortunately, the person who is not able to see (because of lack of knowledge, experience or sensibility) this cost to them, they may need outside help to "see" what they are actually paying.  I think that when it pertains to consumers and real estate that the more information available to consumers (ie blogs and other avenues) helps them to make better choices so that th... 01/07/2007

In the Overview, the first step was to create One MAIN Consumer oriented blog. Mine is with RealTownBlogs  While from a technology standpoint, some do not feel it is the best blog platform, I have had a lot of success with it as long as the consumer is looking for a blog to read. As the popularity of blogs grows, people will not be using the same keywords when searching in Google or other search sites. They will be putting "Seattle Real Estate Blog" in the search box.  At present, my writings on Rain City Guide.  I personally cater to MSN.com search vs. Google and come up as number two as http://www.searchingseattleblog.com/ and number three as http://www.ardell.realtownblogs.com/  I cater to MSN because I work near Microsoft, though some have my "blog clients" worked for Google.  Micro... 01/07/2007

Tonight was game to be marked the Seahawks history books. In a Wild Card Playoff Game the Seahawks hosted the Cowboys at Quest Field. From everything I was seeing the Cowboys were picked to win but the game tells a different story that has 68K plus Seahawks Fans happier than a puppy with two peters, read full article. 01/06/2007