I printed 70 flyers and went for a walk in my farm area on Sunday morning. My intention was to speak to people, not just leave those flyers on their front doors. I visited 100-120 homes, but I left this flyer only at homes where people opened their door and talk to me. I was surprise to discover that 80% people in my farm area retired or going to retire in 5 years. So, two weeks later I got 6 bags and sent three boxes to the orphanage. Thank you dear people in Harbor Ridge community at NE Tacoma!  I also want to say thank you to the General Federation of Women's Clubs Sokico, for organizing Bunco party to raise money for shipping. Thank you Ladies!Bunco party with Sokico club members. Coming home after picking up bags around the neighborhood on March 2nd, 2008.    03/19/2008

North East Tacoma, WA 98422. Browns Point and Dash Point. February 2008. In February 2008 the Real Estate market in NE Tacoma started with 173 homes for sale. During this month 18 homes were sold, 2 sales failed, 17 listings were cancelled, and 17 expired. So, at the end of the month, we had 149 homes for sale and the months of inventory went down by more that 3%. The amount of days that now takes to sell home in NE Tacoma decreased from 99 to 60, which was the result of new listings that were priced at accurate market values and have been sold fast. The average price per square foot went down dramatically, which helped to stimulate buyers' interest.  The average price of sold homes keeps dropping in comparison with active listings. That is a great example of buyers market. The analysis... 03/13/2008

I was looking for a mission statement. I want it to be powerful, funny. Something about honesty, professionalism, quality. But I started reading aphorisms and I could not stop. So, I wanted to share some of them with you.A home is not a mere transient shelter: its essence lies in the personalities of the people who live in it.Henry Louis Mencken  We live in an age when pizza gets to your home before the police.Jeff Marder  Every day I get up and look through the Forbes list of the richest people in America. If I'm not there, I go to work.Robert Orben A diplomat is someone who can tell you to go to hell in such a way that you will look forward to the trip.Caskie Stinnett I like pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.Winston Churchill I look forward to an ... 03/05/2008

This months Green Drinks is being held from 5 to 8 at Doyles Public House. Located at 208 St. Helens Ave. Tacoma, WA 98402Come talk with other like minded people about sustainability, conservation, and the environment. Members of Historic Tacoma's education committee will be in attendance. I hope that I will see some of you at this event. More information can be found here.  Best wishes,ScottContact Scott Cowan Rainier Real Estate, Inc. Puyallup, WA 98372 at (253)-219-1194 to purchase or sell homes or property in Tacoma, Puyallup, and the greater Puget Sound region.    Visit my profile for more information on my services. Call today (253)-219-1194. You can contact me via email by using the email link on my profile.  I know the Tacoma Pierce County area and will help you buy a home or se... 03/04/2008

Today is that most special of days in Washington. I am sitting on my deck for the FIRST TIME THIS YEAR! That’s right it is sunny and not too cold and I am spending the afternoon catching up on emails and other tasks while sitting in the sun. I have some great Cuban music streaming through my wireless network and I am truly enjoying working! In Tacoma we take our sunny days seriously. We don’t seem to get that many. I know that we actually have a great climate but it always seems like winter drags on way too long. What does this have to do with real estate? Glad you asked. Technology has advanced so that with a small investment real estate agents can do their jobs from just about anywhere. A laptop that will do everything that the majority of us require can be purchased for less than $8... 03/04/2008

Do you own a classic or historic home in Tacoma Washington? Have you wondered what it would take to put your home on the historic register? What are the requirements? What benefits would you receive for doing all that work? Historic Tacoma is co-sponsoring a lecture on March 13th. that you will want to attend.  Tacoma Register of Historic Places: Nuts & Bolts/ Dollars & Sense Date: Thursday, March 13, 7-8:30pm Location: Castle Hall, Knights of Pythias, 926 1/2 Broadway Co-Sponsor: Tacoma Landmarks Preservation Commission Reuben McKnight, City of Tacoma Historic Preservation Officer and members of the Tacoma Landmarks Preservation Commission will describe what it takes to get your property on the Tacoma Register, the Secretary of the Interior's standards for the treatment of historic pro... 02/27/2008

Historic Tacoma's Old House lecture series is going GREEN! in 2008The annual Old House lecture series is discussing eco-friendly and green remodeling this year. Three lectures will be held in April. I am excited that Historic Tacoma is continuing to promote and educate about historic renovation, preservation,  and how to best use the exciting historical and classic buildings in the Tacoma Washington area. I hope that many of you will attend one or more of the lectures. I hope that we can meet and discuss Tacoma, and classic buildings. Look for me. You'll know what I look like by looking at my photo on my profile. =) Lectures start at 7pm at the Knights of Pythias Hall 926 1/2 Broadway$5 a ticket for Historic Tacoma members $8 a ticket for the general publicCo-Sponsored by The Built Gree... 02/24/2008

2007 Year In Review - Tacoma's North Slope Historic District Home SalesReviewing the home sales in the North Slope Historic District of Tacoma for 2007, the following was noted-Total # of Homes Sold  - 63Sales averages-Average square footage of home- 2642Average price per square foot- $178.81Average Days On Market- 89Average Sales Price- $457,196 The High Sales Price was $1,600,000The Low Sales Price was $159,000Interestingly May and July both saw spikes in sales. These two months reported the most sales in a single month for the year. Which means April and June is when the homes were put under contract. May sales average days on market was 52 and July's average days on market was 92. Based on the number of sales (closed transactions), currently there is about a 10 month supply of homes... 02/12/2008

Hello Golfers....University Place, Wa is holding U.S. Open coming to Chambers Bay.... "The Lone Tree" is the signature of Chambers Bay Golf Course. Did you see the front page of the Tacoma News Tribune this morning?  Chambers Bay will be holding the 2015 U.S. Open!  This is very exciting considering the PGA only has 4 major events during the year. This is also very fortunate for the South Sound region. If you look at the likelihood of have a major coming to your town, remember 2 of the majors will never be here, because they are alway committed to 2 other geographical locations. The Masters is always at Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta, GA, and The British Open is always Somewhere across the Atlantic on the British Isles. Given the fact that there are only TWO opportunities a year to... 02/09/2008

New Features on www.BrettSellsHouses.comWe've made some changes to our Tacoma Real Estate Page that will make it easier than ever to find your dream home online.  In addition to our popular map search and MLSfinder service, we've recently added a handy little tool right on the page allowing you to search by price.Just one click! No complex instructions or multiple forms to read thru, Just great Tacoma homes at great prices!  02/07/2008

Golfers are you looking to golf at the course rated the best new course in 2007? If so then you will be heading just outside of Tacoma Washington to University Place to walk the links at Chambers Bay Golf Course. This Scottish inspired course was designed by Robert Trent Jones II and was created in the traditional links style.   The Puget Sound is your majestic backdrop as you walk the 18 holes. There are no carts on this course. Harking back to simpler times you will enjoy your day with your caddy. From the teal tees the course is over 7,500 yards with a slope of 135. This is one challenging and beautiful course.   The 930 acre site has been a paper mill, a quarry, and is now part of the Chambers Creek Properties owned by Pierce County.  There are two miles of saltwater shoreline and ... 02/05/2008

In 2006 Stadium High School in Tacoma held their 100 year anniversary reunion. Almost 3,300 people attended the reunion setting a world record for the number of people to attend a school reunion. This record will be included in the upcoming 2009 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records. Here is a link to a blog that celebrates the 100 year history of Stadium High School.Here is another link. This is the Celebrate Stadium website. The castle as it is often called was originally intended to be a hotel for the Northern Pacific Railroad. Due to a downturn in the economy the shell of the building was abandoned. There was a fire of questionable origin and the Northern Pacific decided that enough was enough. The Tacoma school board was consulted and Frederic Heath was commissioned to turn... 01/28/2008

I would love to host children myself when we will have kids. I think it is a great opportunity for children to learn more about other cultures, learn different language and understand that not everyone in the worlds as lucky as they are. I do not know any child from Belarus who says something like "I do not eat tomatoes...". I hope my children will have chance to live in  different countries while they are growing up. I also hope they will appreciate what they have and share it with less lucky people. 12/29/2007

Offered at $210,000, 3 bedrooms & 1 bath 2 generous bedrooms and 1 bath on entry levelTerrific master with bonus room upstairs could be used for office, study, or dressing room  plus plenty of room to add second bath upstairs (adding instant equity) Approximately 1,445 Sq ft Double lot (.23 acres) with potential to sub-divide per city, or is currently fully fenced with alley access granting plenty of room for toys, animals, and gardening. Detached one car garage, long drive, plus alley access to back yard if black berries are cleared to provide plenty of parking Hardwood floors through out All appliances stay including washer & dryer and NEW fridge Large laundry/mud room Easy access to 1-5, Shopping & Pacific ave Economical gas forced air heat & hotwater heater. Large master upstairs wi... 12/12/2007

Tama sushi is a walking distance from my office, so I go there for lunch. It slows you down, transfers you to a different world. I had the best sushi there when we went there with our friend from Tokyo. He spoke Japanese to our server. And he didn't even look at the menu. That is why I have no idea, what we eat. But the sushi was the best I ever tried. I make sushi myself too. My favorite had an unusual minty-sour-salty leaves wrapped in the fish. I loved it!   They have a good Japanese beer and different meat dishes. Interior is alright. I think if they were going for simplistic Japanese style, then everything needs to be real, simple and clean. Right now, interior and exterior screams for help. So, when you come there for the first time, you might be surprise by appearance, but you wi... 12/12/2007

Despite the news reports, homes are selling.  However, unlike years past we can not expect to just make up a number that sounds good and get it.  Remember, up until about 2002/2003 the rule of thumb was that we had to stay in our homes for about 5 years to expect to recover our closing costs, down payment, and make a few bucks.  We've all forgotten about that!  So, its back to the future.  If we were frozen in time in say, 1999, and we just thawed out right now and the first thing we did was to towel off and go out and buy a house - things would be exactly the same!  We wouldn't miss a beat!  We'd know we had to have a few bucks to put down (or go FHA or VA), we'd have a good amount of choices, and when we purchased we would know that we had to stay in our homes for about 5 years! Purch... 12/12/2007

Its nearly Christmas 2007 and I'm reflecting on our year in real estate. Its been filled with many twists and turns to say the least! We began the year on the fumes of a good market....96,000 plus sales recorded in the NWMLS, prices were still going up, sellers were demanding their price, builders refused to sign offers less than full price and often would not offer incentives unless you used their lender, their title, their escrow, etc. Fast forward to the end of the year...unbelievably we still have nearly 90,000 sales recorded with a month left to go. However, market times have stretched to many months, inventory sits unsold, lenders have closed up shop up and down the I-5 corridor, and agents will soon follow. At the beginning of 2005, the Northwest Multiple Listing Service had abou... 12/11/2007

Bush Administration Puts the Freeze on Subprime ARMs After weeks of meetings between Treasury Department officials, mortgage lenders, and Wall Street firms, the Bush administration today announced that an agreement has been made to "freeze" interest rates for up to five years on certain subprime adjustable rate mortgages. According to the New York Times, the goal of the President's plan is to convert as many subprime ARMs as possible into "more sustainable loans." However, the freeze applies only to borrowers who: Took out their loan between January 2005 and July 2007 and whose rates are set to increase between January of 2008 and July of 2010; and Have less than 3% equity in their homes; and Are current on their payments (or no more than 60 days behind); and Are able to handle their cu... 12/06/2007

Paddy Coyne's is a new Irish Pub in Tacoma's downtown. It has been open since January, 2007. It has a great interior, a lot of dark wood, carving, unique light fixtures and a fireplace. You can sit in the bar having one of their great selection of draught beers, talking to some strangers like in an old charming European "Public House" village. Pub has a good selection of food. I had a shepherd's pie ($7.95) - ground beef and vegetables covered with a broiled brown crown of mashed potatoes. It feeds you fast and you will probably ending up by taking half of it home. With some dishes come slices of yummy soda bread with butter, and I think it is the best part of the meal.  The fish and chips are great and not too greasy.  I tried the potato leek soup. It was a bit bland, so I tried to hel... 12/03/2007

Tacoma's McKinley area is one of the more challenged areas in Tacoma. Home to some wonderful older housing stock and also an area in transition. On Monday December 3rd. at 5:30 to 7:00pm The University of Idaho Associate Professor Anne Marshall and her Senior Architecture Students will be presenting their concepts for innovative designs for the McKinley business district. The designs are for mixed use projects to help return the McKinley business district into a vibrant district. If you are in the area and are interested please attend. Meeting will be held at: Celebration Hall 3523 McKinley Ave. Tacoma, WA 98404 View Larger Map Best wishes, Scott Cowan Rainier Real Estate www.scottcowan.com 11/27/2007