Self-Less-Ness

We have had an incredible amount of snow over the last week. Living in Bellingham when it snows is a severe reality adjustment for those of us originally from back east where snow removal actually happens! People don't shovel their sidewalks and the city does not remove snow from the roads. Everyone just waits for the snow to melt....

AS I have had more time to surf the net due to being housebound, I decided I might need a new puppy. In a big burst of giving attitude, I decided to troll the rescue websites looking for a perfect pup. Giving a loving home to a sad pup seemed pretty selfless and giving to me...... THEN reality set in......My sister is one of the founders of the Medical Advocacy Team (MAT). MAT has been working hard to get two babies to the US for surgery before they die. They need to fundraise to pay for the flights. The smaller of the two children, Berlange, is only a few weeks old. He is in critical condition and may not survive the trip if it doesn't happen SOON. Uh, helping a dog seems a little self serving......I think my extra funds will go to help these poor children. If you want to join in, you can see their stories at http://www.medicaladvocacyteam.blogspot.com/

Paperwork

The reality of realty is a ton and a half of paperwork. First there is the purchase and sale agreement, then the multiple addenda, then the inspection, then the financing paperwork, then closing...... It seems that all you do is shuffle and explain horribly written contract. The fun side of realty is looking at houses. Sometimes it is a bit scary, sometimes a bit funny and sometimes just fills you with envy. Realtors see a little of everything and hopefully helps every buyer find their dream home. The real work starts when the dream home is found. I love the thrill of competently filling out contracts to my clients advantage. Negotiating sales is also fun to me. Watching over the transaction from mutual acceptance to closing is a thrill. Something invariably produces a new challenge in every transaction and keeping things on track is MY JOB.

In The Holiday Spirit!

I am feeling merry and bright today. There is winter in the air and my favorite time of year is upon us! It has nothing to do with receiving and everything to do with remembering those who are near and dear to us. Family, unity and togetherness are a huge part of the holiday season in our house. We are hopeful that the little boy that we are hosting from Haiti will be with us before the end of the year. This is a wonderful opportunity for my family. To get to closely know a child from another culture will be exciting. My children have been patiently awaiting his stay for months now and can't wait to have a new "sibling" for the next few months.





The housing market is typically slow this time of year. Interest rates are super low, but the selection of homes and condos for my clients is a bit on the thin side. So that is a frustration. I have the luxury of having two ready, well qualified buyers but we can't find them their dream homes! My listings are waiting to find their buyers too. Hopefully the new year will bring new hope to the market. The country should start to feel some relief from the recession in the new year (I HOPE).





My horses are well. The snazzy new pony won many ribbons at her first show and is beginning to show a new fit and spoiled attitude. Forbid that she should go a day to two without love, attention and riding. She becomes the power trotting pony and zips around the ring at top speed. Hopefully the daughter's riding skill will soon match the abilities of her Cyder-Ella pony! Diego (my horse) continues to be a joy. He is smart and fun. Hopefully the new year will give me loads of time to ride and train so that he actually lives up to a bit of the potential he is currently showing.

I had to add another photo from the despook, mounted police clinic. I call this photo "horses meet fire".

Grateful and Greatly Full

As I sit here stuffed from our Thanksgiving dinner, there are so many things I am grateful for this year. I am grateful for my wonderful clients in real estate and dressage training that I have had the opportunity to serve. I am grateful for the health and love of my family. I am grateful for the opportunity to help with the wonderful children that the Medical Advocacy team helps. I am grateful for my wonderful horses and puppies. I am grateful for the strong friendships that I have maintained over the years.

One of my good friends is on my mind today. She has been close to me and I have depended on her for the last 15 years or so. We are very different in many ways, but so very much the same in many others. She took over ownership of my old FEI horse when he was 14. I had owned him for 9 years and often commented that if it came down to choosing between my husband and my beloved horse, the husband would have to go! I had grown to a point in my riding and training that I felt this horse had been pushed as far as he was able to go. My dear friend had suffered two severe accidents with her current horse and needed my equine friend to take her riding up to the next level. My friend owned him for the last 9 years of his life. She rode him to the FEI levels and we both learned so much from him. He was not the prettiest horse, or the most talented. He had a huge heart and an unmatched work ethic. He was truly a case where the total package far, far exceeded the sum of his parts. This dear horse passed on this year. He was buried on the hillside that he loved. I am so grateful to have a friend that took such wonderful care of my old partner to the end. I am so grateful that I had a chance to ride such a wonderful animal.

Road Trip....

A few months ago my little sis (mother of 13, foster mom of 1 and cofounder of the Medical Advocacy Team) asked if I would escort her current foster baby (codename Stinky Minky) to Yakima for her final surgery. I thought, wow, an all expense paid trip to YAKIMA! and said sure. Now the time has arrived and I will be spending the remainder of the week at the hospital in Yakima with a very unhappy 10 month old baby. I will most definitely be stir crazy. I am NOT used to sitting still or being in one place all day. 4 days in Yakima, in one tiny room will be CRAZY. Wish me luck. And keep Minky in your thoughts.

And then My Vote Was not Counted

So much for feeling passionate about the election and voting. I dutifully filled out my ballot weeks ago and sent it off to be counted. I sat watching the election coverage all day and tore myself away only to walk out to get today's mail. Guess What? Their was an official letter stating that my ballot is being challenged due to a questionable signature. SAY WHAT? Now my vote will be counted, with more verification, long after the race is called. What a let down!!!!!

Seattle Market Tops List of Rebounds!

By Dorothy Pomerantz, Forbes.com
Nov 3rd, 2008
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If you're a homeowner seeing property values plummet, look to the commercial real estate market for solace. It might tell you which areas will recover fastest--and which will likely remain weak.
The Urban Land Institute recently asked 700 real estate professionals to name the best (and worst) places to invest in commercial real estate in the coming year. Those surveyed included private developers, Realtors and Real Estate Investment Trust executives. Their answers also apply to the residential market, since the single-family-home sector typically follows the economy. As wages go up and there are more jobs, more people can buy homes, pushing prices up.
The best cities in which to invest are those that are considered gateways to international investment, have vital downtowns where people can forgo cars, and don't have a glut of condos or office space.
In Depth: Best and Worst Places for Real Estate Investors
These traits landed Seattle the No. 1 spot on the list. No city scored above a 6.15 on a scale of one to nine (one being an abysmal place to invest and nine being excellent).
Seattle is "a diversified market, has a good base of business and is becoming a 24-hour city," says Stephen Blank, senior resident fellow, finance, of the Urban Land Institute. "It's going to be in a good position to come back."
Although the city is suffering from the loss of Washington Mutual and the downsizing of Starbucks, Boeing and Microsoft are still relatively strong. Apartment vacancies are low and there aren't too many new buildings going up, meaning the market won't be oversupplied. The same is true in the retail space.
San Francisco comes in second with a 6.12. The City by the Bay learned from the tech crash of 2001 not to overbuild. There is a reasonable supply of office and apartment space, which should limit vacancies. San Francisco's port is also expected to help the city during the downturn as Americans continue to rely on Asian imports.
Washington, D.C., New York and Los Angeles round out the top five.
Of course, there's no guarantee that an improved commercial market will lead to an improved home market. However, investors have a better chance of seeing home prices rise in fundamentally strong markets like Seattle than in struggling cities like Detroit.
It landed at the bottom of the list, scoring a 2.24. Detroit has been reliant on the car industry, which is rapidly shrinking. Other businesses are unlikely to fill the void in the next few years, which means the city will be hit hard by further economic struggles.
New Orleans also lands near the bottom with a score of 3.33. The city has been losing businesses to Houston, Dallas and Atlanta since Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005.
The other cities at the bottom of the list-- Columbus, Ohio, Milwaukee, Wis., and Cleveland--suffer from dying industries and lack of tourist appeal.
Recent attempts to turn downtown Milwaukee into a thriving 24-hour city haven't been enough to protect it from the coming downturn. Increasingly picky investors are expected to favor higher-quality port cities over Midwest towns.
And while Columbus has the potential to become a major shipping hub for goods traveling cross-country, that revitalization may have to wait for a stronger economy and a government focused on improving the nation's roads.
For now, prospects are dim.
In Depth: Best and Worst Places for Real Estate Investors

Funny and True......

So the Republicans have decided to run against themselves. The bums have tiptoed out the back door and circled around to the front and started yelling, "Throw the bums out!" They've been running Washington like a well-oiled machine to the point of inviting lobbyists into the back rooms to write the legislation, and now they are anti-establishment reformers dedicated to delivering us from themselves. And Mayor Giuliani is an advocate for small-town America. Bravo.They are coming out for Small Efficient Government the very week that the feds are taking over Fannie and Freddie, those old cash cows, and in the course of a weekend 20 or 50 (or pick a number) billion go floating out the Treasury door. Hello? Do you see us out here? We are not fruit flies, we are voters, we can read and write, we didn't just fall off the coal truck.It is a bold move on the Republicans' part -- forget about the past, it's only history, so write a new narrative and be who you want to be -- and if they succeed, I think I might declare myself a 24-year-old virgin named Lance and see what that might lead to. Paste a new face on my Facebook page, maybe become the Dauphin Louie the Thirty-Second, the rightful heir to the Throne of France, put on silk tights and pantaloons and a plumed hat and go on the sawdust circuit and sell souvenir hankies imprinted with the royal fleur-de-lis. They will cure neuralgia and gout and restore marital vigor.Mr. McCain has decided to run as a former POW and a maverick, a maverick's maverick, rather than Mr. Bush's best friend, and that's understandable, but how can he not address the $3 trillion that got burned up in Iraq so far? It's real money, it could've paid for a lot of windmills, a high-speed rail line in Ohio, some serious R&D. The Chinese, who have avoided foreign wars for 50 years, are taking enormous leaps forward, investing in their economy, and we are falling behind. We're wasting our chances. The Republican culture of corruption in Washington hasn't helped.And a former mayor of a town of 7,000 who hired a lobbyist to get $26 million in federal earmarks is now running against the old-boy network in Washington who gave her that money to build the teen rec center and other good things so she could keep taxes low in Wasilla. Stunning. And if you question her qualifications to be the leader of the free world, you are an elitist. This is a beautiful maneuver. I wish I had thought of it back in school when I was forced to subject myself to a final exam in higher algebra. I could have told Miss Mortenson, "I am a Christian and when you gave me a D, you only showed your contempt for the Lord and for the godly hardworking people from whom I have sprung, you elitist battle ax you."In school, you couldn't get away with that garbage because the taxpayers know that if we don't uphold scholastic standards, we will wind up driving on badly designed bridges and go in for a tonsillectomy and come out missing our left lung, so we flunk the losers lest they gain power and hurt us, but in politics we bring forth phonies and love them to death.I must say, it was fun having the Republicans in St. Paul and to see it all up close and firsthand. Security was, as one might expect, thin-lipped and gimlet-eyed, but once you got through it, you found the folks you went to high school with -- farm kids, jocks, the townies who ran the student council, the cheerleaders, some of the bullies -- and they are as cohesive now as they were back then, dedicated to school spirit, intolerant of outsiders, able to jump up and down and holler for something they don't actually believe. But oh Lord, what they brought forth this year. When you check the actuarial tables on a 72-year-old guy who's had three bouts with cancer, you guess you may be looking at the first woman president, a hustling Evangelical with ethics issues and a chip on her shoulder who, not counting Canada, has set foot outside the country once -- a trip to Germany, Iraq and Kuwait in 2007 to visit Alaskans in the armed service. And who listed a refueling stop in Ireland as a fourth country visited. She's like the Current Occupant but with big hair. If you want inexperience, there were better choices.(Garrison Keillor's "A Prairie Home Companion" can be heard Saturday nights on public radio stations across the country.)© 2008 by Garrison Keillor. All rights reserved. Distributed by Tribune Media Services, Inc.

Please VOTE!

This election is stacking up to be one of the most important elections of my lifetime and yours. Our economy is in recession. Our children are being denied the same quality of education that we recieved. For one of the first times in the history of our country, we are less well off than our parents, and our children may be less well off than we are..... Please check out this website www.ourhaitianjourney.blogspot.com for a wonderful post that outlines some critical issues in the election that are close to my heart.

I have a wide range of friends from across this country. There is so much fear out there regarding accepting that it is time for a change. I want everyone in our country to use their voice and vote. Educate yourself on all of the issues. Don't give in to fear. Vote your heart, but regardless of how you vote please, vote. Hopefully the votes will actually be counted this time!

CONSEQUENCES

Teaching consequences to our children is such a crucial thing. Looking at the decisions made by lawmakers, banks and investors for the last few years shows a distinct lack of foresight into the CONSEQUENCES of their decisions. Looking at my personal choices in spending discretionary money also shows an inability to realize consequences. HOW do we teach the next generation to make better decisions, to look to their futures?

This was brought home this weekend as our beloved (HAH!) goldfish "Dot" had another brush with death at the hands of one of my nieces......Dot is a SURVIVOR. He lives in a huge tank, without company, because he has a habit of eating all friends we provide him with...... A few years ago my beloved niece tried to "feed" Dot her chocolate cupcake. This resulted in a huge mess and a very unhappy, sideways swimming Dot. Miraculously, Dot pulled through. We explained to the beloved niece that FISH DO NOT EAT CUPCAKES. That she should not feed animals without permission..... This weekend my beloved niece forgot that her actions sometimes have unpleasant consequences. She again fed Dot. This time an entire jumbo can of fish food. Once again Dot swam sideways for a few days. This morning Dot perked back up and is now on the lookout for something to cannibalize.......

Hopefully beloved niece can learn that there are sometimes consequences.....

InVigOraTing

The days are whipping by in a crush of real estate, parenting, and horsetraining. For a market that isn't moving, it is providing loads of work, albiet not many sales..... Hopefully the market will begin to dribble on forward as we move past the election. On the note of Law being more lucrative than realty right now, my father "the best attorney I know" weighs in that no-one has money to pay for a lawyer right now, so unless you run a bankruptcy clinic you are still feeling the pinch. Good to know..... At least I actually ENJOY real estate as a career!

I started another 10 week BOOT CAMP session. This is part of "paying myself" with good health (I think maybe this was some sort of resolution, or maybe just too much Oprah watching....) The last session was cut short with my injury. I am now operating at about 90% so I hope to make more gains this session in fitness.

On the credit crisis, the banks are all saying locally that they have plenty of money to lend. The catch seems to be that it is available to well qualified borrowers (read top credit scores only please). Hopefully some of the banks will begin to loosen their hold on this ready cash and begin to lend to the slightly less qualified borrowers!

Feeling the PINCH

As the days have passed I have begun to contemplate how the current financial crisis effects me directly. It is all beginning to trickle down and I can clearly anticipate how this might affect me in the coming months. People are tightening their belts in anticipation of a long recession or depression (which I admit reflects my current state of mind!) All the pundits on TV are recommending paying down your debt and living within our means. This is wonderful advice and advice that I fight like most Americans on a daily basis. We all buy in to the fact that we can have it now and pay for it later. Living in a state of deferred payment makes for deep stresses that impact my daily life and the life of many around me. Many of my clients have seen their investments dwindle in the past weeks. Several of my long time clients are involved in finance and are facing heavy stress right now. I can only wonder if my horse training business will be impacted by belts tightening.....I know the housing market is grinding to a big pause right now. My buyers are struggling to find houses to view as few new options are making their way on to the market. My sellers are fielding "low ball" offers from investors looking to pick up a bargain. This all leads me to think of my colossal ill timing on becoming a realtor. I love my job. It is fun, exciting and I have made some wonderful new friends. I guess my mother was right, that law degree may be a good thing to fall back on one day.......

My Busy Phone.....

This week has been very interesting for the stock market and the real estate market. Many Realtors are have clients that are pulling back from buying houses due to the volatility in the stock market.

MY phone has been ringing off the hook! I have had more inquiries on my lovely multifamily listing in this one week than I have had in the last two months. WHY? I think that people are looking to put some of their liquid assets in to a more secure investment. Bellingham's housing market has taken a small hit this last year. However, rentals are booming. What better investment than a charming and solidly maintained. Not only should the investor be able to grow some equity in the property over the years, they will be able to generate positive income in the mean time.

Interesting.....

Lessons From the Fall

I have always believed that the curve balls that life throws us are meant to be lessons. Sometimes you have to look VERY hard to find a lesson in adversity! Almost two months ago I was bucked off one of my training horses. I will bear scars on my shoulder and hip for the rest of my life. I am still struggling to heal from a torn ligament. What lesson is there in all of this? After much moping and self searching I can only think that I need to learn to not be so STUPID! I often feel obligated to take on work when I really don't have the time. I was raised to believe that I can accomplish anything..... This sense of capability has gotten me far in this life, but it also makes me want to shield others from responsibilities that they should shoulder themselves.

This lesson has been particularly appropriate in my real estate career lately. Virtually every transaction has it's share of struggles and bumps along the way to a successful closing. I have long felt it was my job to insulate my clients from as much of the stress of the home buying or selling process as possible. Some areas of the transaction are outside my capability to fix. I can't make a loan appear when none are available. I can't remodel a home to make it sell more quickly. I am working hard on accepting that some burdens are just not mine to bear. The scars and physical pain that I feel now are a great reminder!

Step Outside The Box

This past weekend I literally stepped outside the box. I participated in a mounted police training session with my 3 yr. old horse Diego. I am NOT a daredevil at all. This was an activity that was FAR outside my zone of comfort. It was liberating and thrilling to realize that I am much more capable than I thought. This was more than a horse lesson. It was a life lesson. Sometimes you need to shake it up a bit and reach outside your comfort zone. Open yourself to a new experience.

Getting Involved

I have volunteered to be my community organizer for the Democrats. This is quite a step for me as I have always found politics to be a very personal issue. I can be a bit ambivalent about party politics and have never been officially involved in politics in any capacity. Despite my ambivalence, I have faithfully voted in every election since I turned 18. I think it is a huge privileged to be able to vote and we all must give our opinion and support to the candidate that most closely mirrors our views on how we want our country to be run. I have long felt that at the very least, if the candidate that I support doesn't get elected, I have the right to say that the woes of my country are NOT MY FAULT! So please, regardless of your beliefs, educate yourselves on all of the issues that effect you lives and VOTE for someone. This country is too precious to entrust it's care to someone you do not believe will do a good job.

My Favorite Stock Options.....

After much debate and self rationalizing.... we have added a new member to our family. Cyder-Ella is a wonderful little pony that we found for my daughter right before the current stock market issues arose. Many of my close friends work as stock brokers and financial planners. They have encouraged me to invest in the market over the years. We have put most of our money in to our home (real estate is a great long term investment, even with the hit that the market has taken lately!) I love to tell people that the only stock that I own has four legs.....So many farms and stables are in trouble financially and need homes for some really wonderful and experienced horses and ponies. Cynder has settled in to our fabulous boarding stable without any issues at all. I am excited to be able to share one of my lifelong pursuits with my daughter!

GIVING BACK

I am excited to announce that I am in the process of developing a new program that will allow me to give 10% of my share of commission on the sale or purchase of a home to any designated charitable institution. I have been inspired to do this by some of the other agents in my office and by my younger sister who is deaply involved in humanitarian issues. This is a small way that I can both encourage people to use me as an agent and help make the world a better place.

The process will work like this: you use me as an agent to either list your home or help you find a new home. After closing on the house, I will send a check in your name to a predesignated charity. It is really pretty simple and could make a big difference to some organizations. My sister is involved in helping find orphans in Haiti and Burkina Faso homes. A mere $12 can vaccinate a child for Malaria. So a check for several hundred dollars to this type of organization would make a big impact. If any of you would like more information on this project, drop me an email.

Exciting Interest Rates!

Interest rates are DROPPING like a rock. One day last week rates went to 5.1% on 30 year fixed rate mortgages. This low rate only held for 4 hours, but still, rates are dropping like a rock. So how do you know when to fix your rate? When will they go up? If you fix a rate are you "stuck" with it?

It can be quite a job of speculation to decide when you should fix your rate. News of the feds dropping the wholesale rate makes everyone believe the home mortgage rate will drop too. This CAN be true, but not allways. The fed rates drop as a way to stimulate the economy. The mortage rate is low due to the slow economy. So, at some point the stimulation of the economy will cause a RISE in rates instead of a drop. That is where speculation comes in!

If you fix a rate, you are not STUCK with it untill after you close on the loan. You may have to pay a penalty ($300) to get out of the loan, but you are not bound to it until you sign at closing. Some loans have provisions to fix your rate while you are shopping for a home. If the rates drop prior to you finding a home and closing on it you have a one time ability to reset the loan rate at the lower rate.

Hmmmmmm......all this talk of rates makes me want to move or refinance.......

The Real Estate GAME?

I woke up this morning with a phrase running through my head. "Buying a home is not a GAME". Often I hear other Realtors refer to their job as a "game". I can think of nothing less "game" like than buying or selling a home. It is listed as one of life's biggest stresses. To have a realtor who thinks it is some kind of a "game" is a little disturbing. I can only surmise that people in the industry who feel this way are on some sort of power trip. There is a ton of negotiation and strategy involved in buying a home. Buyers and Sellers both rely heavily on the advice of their realtor's . I view it as a huge responsibility. Some view it as a game.....

New Year, New Attitude

I hope all of my readers have had a wonderful holiday. The Thompson holiday was a busy one with celebrations and a busy work and teaching schedule. The new year brings me many resolutions. In fact, I have resolved to be a daily blogger in 2008! So check back regularly for interesting information on Western Washington and the real estate market. Nation wide it looks like real estate markets are beginning to steady. It seems (hopefully) the worst of the credit crisis is behind us and we can look forward to a year of steady or growing home prices. On a local front the outlook is even better. Buyers who were holding back on entering the market are beginning their search. Hopefully home owners thinking about a change will go ahead and list their properties now that the holidays are past and help out our low inventory! There are still "bargains" coming on the market every week for the savvy shopper. I have been seeing more sales pending at close to asking price and I haven't seen any low ball sales in a few weeks. This is good news for the sellers and a message to the reluctant buyers that now is time to leap in to the market.