Last weekend was our first ever Woodinville “Hottest Homes” Tour hosted by our real estate team. We had a few different groups of buyers out with us to see some of the best values in Woodinville. Feedback has been great and one of the homes has since been in negotiations for a sale! We definitely found some great gems hiding in the Woodinville area.

With the short time to advertise last event, we are excited to announce our next event giving even more potential buyers an opportunity of our next tour. Our next tour will be very similar to the last one. It is set to begin at 10 AM on November 8. All RSVP’s must happen by November 7. Space will be limited again and we are expecting an even greater response on this trip.

We will be spending abot 90 minutes out touring some of the best pre-foreclosures, short sales, bank owned, and generally best deals around the Woodinville area. We will also have information on some great loan programs you can use to purchase fixers as well as other creative financing options.

RSVP today by calling 425-939-0890 or emailing samuel@agentsamuel.com.

We look forward to seeing you November 8!

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Ok, Ok…I have to apologize to all my faithful readers. Those of you who see or speak to me often already know all the changes that have taken place over the past month and a half. Real Estate is a highly changing market and I had to make sure to make changes and position myself with it. Well, over the next few minutes I will try to give a brief synopsis of the changes that I have made to add value to my clients and my own personal business.

Being on my own for the first 14 months of my real estate career was quite a challenge yet accomplishment. I was continuing to move forward and my business was sitting at a breaking even position, not bad for a new agent in a slow market. However, I wanted to position myself to get even farther ahead and offer more value to my clients. I began lightly exploring new opportunities. …more

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It’s a tough market to be a seller in…let’s face it. There are many obstacles to overcome. Everyone knows that price is generally one of the main factors in why a listing sits on the market for weeks…sometimes months on end without getting an offer. However, price is not the only issue. Sometimes it is the solution to other issues that may be wrong with your home though.

A couple days ago I came across one of the best written articles that I have ever seen giving advice to sellers on why their home may not be selling. It does a great job of walking through the main problems. I couldn’t wait to have a couple of minutes to spare where I could sit down and share this article with you while adding my own comments. Read the actual article here. …more

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Today’s post isn’t going to be as much about real estate but more a reflection on a recent success I had. I have always been a huge fan of marketing techniques, especially when it comes to creating the right message for the right audience. I think this is the thing that attracted me to real estate the most a while ago…I have the opportunity to market and brand not only myself but also my clients homes. Each one is unique and I have complete freedom to do with them what I want. In the past, corporate always seemed to have the control. Yes, I still have lots to learn but what better way to learn than here in real estate.

One of my favorite parts of marketing is the branding aspect. This is a reason I chose Take Us Home…I found their unique marketing with the caricatures and “team concept” incredible. It really set them and me apart giving me an advantage as I got my career started. I also love branding clients homes…each home has unique selling points and a unique potential buyer. My job is to reach and attract that audience and point out why they should be interested in this home. …more

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Skyrocketing gas prices have affected many areas of our everyday lives. Consumers have been used to prices going up for years but not any where close to recent rates. I was excited over the weekend to fill up at the Safeway in the Kirkland/Kingsgate area for $4.26. Wow, talk about a change of thinking from just a few months ago! Yesterday, I filled my small Element’s tank of gas and it still cost me almost $50…for a little tiny Element!

People always wondered at what point people would say “enough is enough” and now we know…$4. People are finally starting to change the way they live their everyday lives. This is not necessarily a bad thing…just quite a difference from how things were over the past several years. One area that we don’t always think about gas prices really affecting is the housing market. However, recent surveys indicate that gas prices actually help some areas while severely hurting others. …more

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Let’s not beat around the bush…I’m a relatively young Realtor. Generally, if I am at a meeting or training session with lots of Realtors, I am one of the youngest in the group. It is up to me to either let this become a hindrance in my career or use it as an advantage. I choose the latter. One of the primary ways that I feel that being young has helped me be successful is that I tend to be on top of new technologies and embrace new trends. I am quick to check out a new website or online resource.

The biggest problem with this is that I sign up for multiple things weekly…most of which I use for a couple of days…decide it will not help me in my business and then ignore it. In the meantime, some of these sites after 6 months or a year begin to grow and I try to revisit them…only to realize that I have no idea what log-in or password I used. I now can either create a second account or work hard to figure out how to get into my original account. I was reading something yesterday and realized that I am not the only one who has this problem. …more

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The press has seemed to really pick up surrounding FHA loans in the past couple of weeks. Professionals in the housing and mortgage industry have been talking about this solution for months. For many potential buyers, it was and still is the only valid option out there. Lower down-payments and more flexible credit requirements are beginning to make homeownership an affordable option again.

Also, in the past few weeks the Economic Stimulus packet has really begun to positively affect our local market with the better lending standards on what were traditionally “jumbo loan” limits. Between this and another article in the Seattle PI last Friday…word and excitement seems to be spreading. …more

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With inventory at extreme highs being a seller in today’s market is more difficult than in many recent years. Some places still are seeing multiple offers while some continue to sit…without even being shown. Sometimes it obvious as to why a home is not selling…other times it is not so clear cute. However, the key to the successful homes always seems to center around two things: 1) correct and aggressive pricing and 2) unique and strong marketing techniques.

As the internet really begins to change the way that real estate works around the country it is interesting to see what Realtors are doing to embrace new technologies in marketing their homes. I recently saw one of the best examples of video marketing that I have seen to this point. I plan on utilizing many of the techniques that this Realtor from New York uses in his video marketing on an upcoming listing. It will be interesting to see what kind of response it gets. …more

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