5 Tips to Keep Your Hot Dogs Cool in Hot Weather Shhhhh….. Don’t tell anybody!  A little known secret about living here in the Pacific Northwest is that we have some incredible summers!  Skies are a brilliant blue, the air is clear, humidity is low, and the sun warms body and soul.  Those couple months of perfect summer make the other 10 months of clouds and rain bearable!  And what do I mean by warm summer temperatures here in the Pacific Northwest?  Well, especially in reference to taking care of your pets, anything above 70 degrees.  That may shock folks who aren’t from here, but those of us who live and work here in the Pacific Northwest know that it feels really warm when it’s above 70 degrees.  In fact, many of us have acclimated to living here so much, that we’re putting our shor... 07/26/2010

How to Avoid the Top 10 Moving Mistakes   Are you getting ready to close on the purchase of a new home?  Congratulations!  The window of time you are under contract and in escrow is the perfect amount of time to get ready for a move.  There are definitely wasy to make the process go as smoothly as possible.  Plan ahead and you'll avoid these 10 costly moving mistakes.     1. Not going through and getting rid of old and unused stuff from your currrent home, and not planning where everything else will be going in your new home.  O.k., maybe these are two things, but they're important and go hand-in-hand.  Whether you're downsizing or upgrading, a move is one of the biggest events in your life.   It's a great opportunity to re-evaluate what's most important to you, and what kind of lifest... 07/24/2010

We have just listed a lovely tri-level home on Education Hill in Redmond.  We put together an extensive portfolio of "before" and "after" photos that show how we prepared this home for market.  The first set of before and after photos start with curb appeal. In the first photo, you can't see the house!  The shrubs were so overgrown that destroyed the view of an attractive house and reduced natural lighting inside.  The lawn need mowing, garden beds were full of weeds.  The front door was worn and faded.     Now, the house has much better street appeal.  We can see the house.  All the concrete was pressure washed to clean it up.  The front door was painted a nice, inviting burgundy color.   Greg PerryKirkland Realtor www.425Realty.com  07/19/2010

By Greg Perry Kirkland Realtor www.425Realty.com Greg Perry | Windermere Real Estate/NE | (425) 829-7012 16421 SE 107th, Redmond, WA Redmond Listing! Education Hill area Tri-Level. Updated from top to bottom! 3BR/2+1BA Single Family House offered at $399,000 Year Built 1977 Sq Footage 1,750 Bedrooms 3 Bathrooms 2 full, 1 partial Floors 3 Parking 2 Car garage Lot Size 7,300 sqft HOA/Maint $0 per month DESCRIPTION Clean! Clean! Clean! Nothing to do but move in! New interior paint. New kitchen and bath counters. New carpet and bath/laundry vinyl floors. New moldings. New light fixtures. New title entry. Many new plumbing fixtures. Great tri-level floor plan with large lot in on of Education Hill's best private loop street neighborhoods. Back yard is flat and fenced with plenty of room for ... 07/19/2010

Home Loan Basics Now that you’re ready to buy a home, it’s time to consider how you’re going to pay for it.  Unless you’re paying cash, you will need to borrow funds from a 3rd Party.  Buyers can borrow money from credit unions, banks, and mortgage companies.  The way you approach mortgage shopping can literally save thousands of dollars.  Take time to understand the system and make educated decisions.  Remember, every household is unique.  So be sure to evaluate your financial situation and short term and long term financial goals, and how the investment in a home factors into those goals. Given that your monthly payment will likely be your highest recurring monthly expense, you really want to make sure it fits your budget and is comfortable to you.  Your monthly payment is based on a ... 07/16/2010

Bacon Explosion: The BBQ Sausage Recipe of all Recipes This recipes is from BBQ Addicts  The people that run the BBQ Addicts web site are my heroes. They are BBQ FANATICS. Everything they make, create, smoke, grill or dream up is amazing. If you don't want to take the time to assemble a Bacon Explosion you can order 1 that is ready to heat and eat! Here’s what you’ll need… 2 pounds thick cut bacon 2 pounds Italian sausage 1 jar of your favorite barbeque sauce 1 jar of your favorite barbeque rub To kick off the construction of this pork medley you’ll need to create a 5×5 bacon weave.  If the strips you’re using aren’t as wide as the ones pictured, then you may need to use a few extra slices to fill out the pattern.  Just make sure your bacon weave is tight and that you end up with a nice... 07/14/2010

Tonight begins the 4th Annual Summer Movie Series sponsored by The Redmond Youth Partnership Advisory Committee. This summer there will be 7 outdoor movies and the best part is THEY ARE ALL FREE!!! Movies start at dusk, about 9:30. Bring a picnic basket and blankets and make a night of it. Tonight's Movie is Iron Man and will be showing at the Great Lawn at City Hall, which is located at 15670 NE 85th St next to King County Library. Randy RandolphUber Agent206-234-3647 v206-400-1125 f randy@randyrandolph.comwww.randyrandolph.comwww.uberrandy.com RSVP Real Estate Servicing  King County, Snohomish County, Redmond WA, Kirkland WA, Bellevue WA, Sammamish WA, Issaquah WA, Woodinville WA, Renton WA, Seattle WA, Bothell WA, Lynnwood WA, Edmonds WA, Everett WA, Lake Stevens WA, Snohomish WA, M... 07/09/2010

The median list price in Redmond, WA this week is $599,825 the median sales price was $457,000 the 496 properties have been on the market for an average of 148 days. The Market Action Index has been trending down lately, while inventory and days-on-market are climbing. The trends imply a weakening market. Supply and Demand Inventory levels have been relatively consistent relative to sales. Despite the fact that there is a relatively high amount of available inventory, this Buyer's market is still seeing prices move higher. Given inventory levels, these price conditions are relatively fragile. If the market cools off further, the price trend is likely to reverse. In the English Hill and Education Hill Neighborhoods we have seen relatively strong sales as home sales have been exceeding ne... 07/06/2010

As we start getting more sunny days and more chances to play outdoors, the notion of having one's own sport court for playing with kids and friends gets pretty attractive.  In Kirkland, Redmond and Woodinville on Seattle's greater eastside there are quite a few homes with larger lots where owners have put in sport courts or full tennis and basketball courts. It takes a larger lot because a full size tennis or basketball court will take about 7,000 sf of level ground, in addition to the house, other structiures and whatever setbacks are required. Sports KnowHow.com is a good source for court layouts and dimensions.  So I generally expect we need at least a 20,000sf lot, nearly half an acre, to start with.  But there are lots of those around here, and the large lot doesn't necessarily mea... 06/03/2010

Windwood Village at River Trails Market Update May 2010   Here is a summary of recent home sales for Windwood Village at River Trails from January 1, 2010 through April 30, 2010. Even though the news media is still insisting that the real estate market is in trouble, if you look at hyper local markets you can see that the River Trails area of Redmond and more specifically Windwood Village homes are still selling. So far in 2010 there have been 4 homes SOLD and there is just 1 home currently listed for sale. The median sales price this year is $449,750 and it is taking about 134 days on the market to get it sold. The median price per square foot is $268.18. Compare that to ALL off 2009 where just 2 homes SOLD! Although last year the median sales price ($496,000) was substantially higher ... 05/16/2010

Trilogy at Redmond Ridge by Shea Homes in Redmond, Washington is a nature lovers paradise with spectacular views and scenic surroundings. The ideal location of this 55+ community is just 20 miles from downtown Seattle allowing residents convenient access to world class dining, shopping and cultural attractions. The city of Redmond offers unique restaurants and shops, miles of biking and hiking trails and sparkling lakes for boating or fishing. The Trilogy Redmond, WA community features a spectacular clubhouse of 32,000 square feet. The Cascade Club is home to a state-of-the-art fitness center, aerobics and yoga studios, Junior Olympic-sized swimming pool and an indoor walking path. Residents also enjoy being pampered in the full-service Tranquility Spa overlooking gorgeous forests of to... 05/08/2010

The median list price in Redmond, WA this week is $589,968 the median sales price was $650,000 the 456 properties have been on the market for an average of 196 days. The Market Action Index has been climbing lately while days-on-market are trending down, these point to a positive near-term outlook for the market.. Supply and Demand The market has shown some evidence of slowing recently. Both prices and inventory levels are relatively unchanged in recent weeks. Watch the Market Action Index for changes as it can be a leading indicator for price changes. In the English Hill and Education Hill Neighborhoods we have seen relatively strong sales as home sales have been exceeding new inventory for several weeks. As of 5/03/10 here are the real estate home sales stats for the Redmond WA 98052... 05/03/2010

The median list price in REDMOND, WA this week is $589,000 the median sales price was $493,000 the 453 properties have been on the market for an average of 201 days. The Market Action Index has been basically flat recently, and days-on-market decreasing, there are not strong signals for the direction of the market. Supply and Demand  The market has shown some evidence of slowing recently. Both prices and inventory levels are relatively unchanged in recent weeks. Watch the Market Action Index for changes as it can be a leading indicator for price changes. In the English Hill and Education Hill Neighborhoods we have seen relatively strong sales as home sales have been exceeding new inventory for several weeks.       As of 4/26/10 here are the real estate home sales stats for the Redmond W... 04/28/2010

Real Estate Market Overview Our Greater Seattle residential real estate market is jumping! But perhaps just temporarily until the tax credits expire – they only apply to transactions signed by April 30 and closed by June 30. Then we’ll see if the economy has picked up enough to keep things going. The number of Closed Sales for both single family homes and condominiums in March was up over 50% above February’s number, and also over 50% above last March’s numbers. Prices continued to look solid, and have now spent a whole year at essentially the same stable price level. Inventory for single family homes is somewhat lower than a year ago, but condo inventory has moved a bit higher. Buying clearly has been stimulated by the Federal Homebuyer Tax Credits, and we should expect to see that ef... 04/26/2010

Home Warranty: I just sent a text message to one of my clients who bought a new construction home almost a year ago regarding their “Builder Warranty”. A new home will have its fair share of minor settlement cracks and“nail pops” and many quality builders will come back at the end of the 1st year to fix these. Some will have a limit as to how many times they will come back to the home to fix them, so I generally advise my clients to read their warranty very carefully so as not to use up their total return visits in the first week. Many, many times I have gone to someone’s home to list it for sale finding these settlement issues, and the owner never bothered to call the builder in the warranty time frame to have them corrected. Trying to fix them 5 years later is not only more costly, s... 04/25/2010

The median list price in REDMOND, WA this week is $569,000 the median sales price was $525,000 the 453 properties have been on the market for an average of 211 days. Inventory is up and Market Action is trending down recently. While days-on- market appears to be trending lower, the overall conditions are weakening a bit. Supply and Demand  The market has shown some evidence of slowing recently. Both prices and inventory levels are relatively unchanged in recent weeks. Watch the Market Action Index for changes as it can be a leading indicator for price changes. In the English Hill and Education Hill Neighborhoods we have seen relatively strong sales as home sales have been exceeding new inventory for several weeks. As of 4/05/10 here are the real estate home sales stats for the Redmond W... 04/07/2010

  There are a dozen Easter Egg Hunts going on this weekend on the Eastside. Most are very TRADITIONAL and a few are VERY DIFFERENT. Here are a few to check out: In Issaquah there is something called an UNDERWATER EGG HUNT! It will take place on Friday April 2 from 6:30 to 9:00 pm at the Julius Boehm Pool. Bring your swim suit, towel and basket for collecting the eggs. It will be help in the shallow end of the pool. There will be prizes awarded for the most eggs collected. Cost: $6 per child and $4 for each adult with a child. Hunt times: • Ages 1-5: 6:45-6:55 p.m. • Ages 6-9: 7:30-7:40 p.m. • Ages 10-16: 8-8:10 p.m. The pool will also be featuring open swim time in between the egg hunts. More information can be found here: Underwater Egg Hunt   I have never attended a Egg Hunt at night,... 03/31/2010

The median list price in REDMOND, WA this week is $569,450. The 450 properties have been on the market for an average of 209 days. With inventory trending up but dayson- market trending down and the Market Action Index essentially flat recently, conditions do not seem to have strong up or down pull. Supply and Demand  The market has shown some evidence of slowing recently. Both prices and inventory levels are relatively unchanged in recent weeks. Watch the Market Action Index for changes as it can be a leading indicator for price changes.In the English Hill and Education Hill Neighborhoods we have seen relatively strong sales as home sales have been exceeding new inventory for several weeks. Median Price Subscribe to my REDMOND Market Intelligence report for weekly neighborhood trends. ... 03/29/2010

Out ofThe downtown Redmond neighborhood of River Trails has seen an increase in homes for sale and SOLD! A quick overview of the area: There are 3 separate Condo or Townhome developments in the River Trails neighborhood River Trails Meadowview Village at River Trails Windwood Village at River Trails As of March 24, 2010 out of almost 500 Condos and Townhomes in the River Trails neighborhood there are only 10 that are currently listed for sale. They range in price from $323,000 to $479,500 depending on which of the 3 complexes the unit is in and the size. In River Trails development there are 7 homes for sale 2 Bedroom 2.5 Bath 1258 sq ft for $323,000 3 Bedroom 2.5 Bath 1470 sq ft for $354,950 3 Bedroom 2.5 Bath 1470 sq ft for $375,000 3 Bedroom 2.5 Bath 1516 sq ft for $385,000 3 Bedroom... 03/24/2010

The Offer Part 1 By Friday the professional pictures were available, my favorite stager Tim Foley had done his magic and the property went on the market. I posted the property on www.philipleng.com and 26 other websites.         That first Sunday I did an open house. Twelve sets of people through. Good sense of excitement over the property. Five minutes before closing, a man from the former Soviet Union came through. Loved the property. Needed to show his mother and brother. Could I wait? I waited a half an hour after normal closing time. He came back. They all loved the house. He said he would make an offer today. Could I give him a good deal? I closed the property and found all my open house signs, even though it was now dark outside. I drove home, expecting to write up the offer for ... 03/17/2010