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Big Local Fun in a Small Town at Lake Chelan!

Thursday, March 18th, 2010

In the next few weeks are two big events that signal Spring at Lake Chelan.  These aren’t the type of events you will hear advertised to attract visitors to come to town.  They are all about local flavor.  In their own way, they’re both parades.

The events are the St Patrick’s Day Top Dog Parade on Saturday the 20th and Metals Recycling Days on March 27th and April 3rd.  I’ll explain how metals recycling is a parade in a minute!

Top Dog Parade 09

That’s a picture from last year.  Click on it to see more at the Chelan Historic Downtown Association web site.

Basically this parade is everybody, and their dog, getting together to walk though the couple blocks of downtown Chelan on the Saturday closest to St Patrick’s day each year.  Well, not everybody walks through town, a lot of folks line the streets and cheer the others on.  It is a big, silly social event that gets people gathering at 11:00 and home not very late for lunch.  But, it gets everybody out and saying hello after the winter months and is a great way to usher in Spring!

Metals recycling day is a similar Spring event!  It is also a parade, with folks lined up to drop off old metal stuff.  You wouldn’t believe what people bring in!  Since there’s usually a line, you get to wander and chat with other folks and comment on all the stuff everybody else brought while telling any stories that fit about your junk.

While neither of these events would qualify as extreme sports, which I will chat about later, these are great family fun in a little town where, kinda like Cheers, nearly everybody knows your name!  This is some of the local color of a small town where most communication happens as you see people day to day.  Real estate works the same way at Lake Chelan.  If you want to really know what is happening, get somebody on your side who is immersed in the local scene.  Whether it is Chelan or Tacoma, the folks who are involved in life are your best guides to a new area.

It’s a great life in Chelan, or anywhere you want it to be!

Wednesday, March 17th, 2010

First, thanks to Scott for allowing me to write on the Classic Homes Blog!  Yes, I live in Chelan.  You may be wondering, what a real estate developer, broker and serial entrepreneur living in Chelan has to do with classic homes in Tacoma.

Actually, there is more in common than that first blush might indicate.  My family and I actually lived in Steilacoom during some of my formative years and I graduated from Lakes High School.  So, I’m still familiar with Tacoma and still visit and have friends in the area.

Sure, I’m going to talk about real estate from time to time.  I’ll even talk to you about fun things about North Central Washington you might find interesting.  But what I also want to talk about with you is finding that “good life” for yourself!  I’m not going to be trying to sell you anything, unless maybe you choose to find your good life in the Lake Chelan area.  But the good life I’m talking about is finding a way to meet all of your responsibilities while moving towards having more and more time and resources to pursue things you really want to be doing.  Of course, that means different things to different folks.

It is also a topic that we can have some fun with here since I don’t have to be “Lake Chelan” focused here as I tend to be on my other real estate blogs.

Some people may want to have more time to spend with family and friends.  Others may want to have more money, a more rewarding career, or just independence. Some may want more freedom.  Personally, I’ve had different goals at various times in my life.  I’ve had periods when I traveled 3 weeks out of every month, and loved it.  But, that wouldn’t work for me now!

I’m constantly adjusting, learning and making my life better and more fun.  Sure, I love real estate!  It is a great way to create your ideal spot, wealth, and more.  But it is not the only way.  I’m deciding on another business to bring to North Central Washington this year myself.  I suppose even more than real estate, I enjoy business.

So, off we go on the quest for our own great lives!  I know Scott and the gang at Classic Homes are happy to join you in that quest.  Drop me an email, or comment if you have any questions.  My career, and for that matter my personal life, have already been a great ride so far.  I hope you will find my insights entertaining.  Happy Saint Pat’s!

Music and the MCC

Tuesday, March 16th, 2010

Well, this is my first blog post! As you can see from my bio, I’m a musician as well as a mortgage lender so I thought that I’d talk about two things:

1. Don’t miss the Tacoma Symphony concert this Sunday afternoon! We’re doing a Gospel and Broadway show with local singer, James Caddell. You can find out more on the Tacoma Symphony’s website at:

caddellfunky

http://tacomasymphony.org/index.php/Concerts/JamesCaddellGershwinGospelMotown/

I’ve been a member of the Tacoma Symphony Orchestra for 10 years now and it’s been great! We’ve been so lucky to play with such great artists as Ray Charles, Marvin Hamlisch and Wynonna. James is a great local talent and this promises to be a great show!

2. I am so glad that I have the opportunity to work at Wells Fargo! It’s been a great switch but best of all I have discovered the joys of the Mortgage Credit Certificate or MCC for short…

Now, this isn’t just our program, it’s administered by the Washington State Housing Finance Commission and is actually an IRS tax credit that a first time homebuyer can get OVER AND ABOVE the $8,000 first time buyer credit that expires soon.

The MCC is great because it’s an ongoing tax credit that gives a first time homebuyer a credit of 20% of the interest that they pay over a given year. For example: if you pay $10,000 per year in interest on your mortgage you can get a tax credit of $2,000 towards your refund (or payment) and the other $8,000 is able to be itemized with all of your other deductions… and the best part is that the homebuyer can claim the credit as long as they occupy the house as their primary residence!

Of course, there are restrictions… All of the guidelines can be found at www.wshfc.org or you could contact me at 253.224.1275 or kevin.s.jones@wellsfargo.com. You can also visit my webiste at: www.kevinstirretjones.com to see more first time buyer links.

We can do these tax credits with most 1st mortgages and even use them along with some down payment assistance programs so that you can get into a house with very little out of pocket AND have the IRS continue to pay you for living there… I wish I’d known about this where I used to work!

Until next time…

Kevin

Classic Homes Northwest Welcomes Al Lorenz!

Tuesday, March 16th, 2010

We’re excited that Al Lorenz has agreed to become an author for us here at Classic Homes Northwest. Al is a contributor at Bloodhound Blog and I was lucky enough to spend some time with him at the Bloodhound Unchained Conference in Phoenix in 2009. Since Al lives and works in Chelan Washington he will be bringing to the blog the perspective of real estate as an investment and as recreational property.

Al Lorenz: I am a Real Estate Broker in the Chelan Valley. Yes, I am living the dream life at Lake Chelan!  Having moved from the bustle of the Puget Sound Area and the fast-paced, techno- entrepreneur lifestyle, I have found the best commute is no commute.  I can chat with you about how you can live the dream too.  I could also be your real estate broker.   But I’m not just any broker, I work with clients who appreciate marketing, really want to hear reality and get their business done.  You won’t find anyone more honest or motivated to get your needs met.  My company is a boutique independent real estate agency, Criterion Properties, LLC. I have a degree in engineering. I have 30 years of business, investment, marketing and technical experience. Plus, I do some real estate development of my own and know the process!  As a citizen and business person, I participate in public process surrounding land use in both Chelan County and the City of Chelan.

Thanks for joining up Al we’re looking forward to hearing more from you soon! We encourage all of you to visit Al’s blog about everything related to Chelan. Take a few minutes and check out his blog today.

2010 Fiscal Year USDA Loan Program Expected to be Out of Funds by End of April

Monday, March 15th, 2010

The USDA program funding for 502 Guaranteed loans is expecting to be out of money by the end of April. Once the funds are gone the agency will not be issuing conditional commitments “subject to receipt of appropriated funds” This is due to the uncertainty of when additional funding will be available.

This does not impact at this time the 502 Direct Loan Program.

What does this mean to you the potential home buyer looking in rural areas of Pierce County? The limited funds along with the expiration of the $8,000 tax credit will be motivating factors for some people to get off the fence and make an offer on the home that they feel will be a good fit for their needs. If you have been looking online and as of yet have not actively started looking today would be a great day to make a few calls to Realtors to see who would be a good fit to help you purchase a home in the next 30 days.

If you have not started talking to a lender to see if you are qualified for a USDA loan pick up the phone today and call a lender to see what you need to qualify for a USDA loan. You can start by calling any of the three lenders who are authors here on this blog. All three can do USDA loans.

Happy House Hunting!

Site upgrades completed

Saturday, March 13th, 2010

Well, I am calling it a day. The site has been updated with a lot of the little loose ends that I have been trying to get taken care of. I have a few more plug-ins I want to install but I am testing them on the test server for a few more days.

Thanks for your patience. Now back to our conversations on buying and selling homes in Tacoma Washington.

Go Huskies! Pac 10 Mens Basketball Champs!

Upgrades to site in progress…

Saturday, March 13th, 2010

Hello everyone. This is just a quick note to let you all know that I am working on making some upgrades to some of the things that happen behind the scenes. I have been testing the upgrades on a back up copy of the site hosted on another server. It appears I have all of the “bugs” ironed out and I will be doing rolling upgrades to the site over the next week.
One of the upgrades might be a new theme which will change the look and structure of the blog. I will be testing this so the site might look a bit different if you visit it often during the next few days.

Until upgrades are finished I apologize for any interruptions to the site and the sites availability.

Best wishes,

Scott Cowan
Classic Homes Northwest
Keller Williams Realty West Sound

Visit our regional real estate weblog

Direct:    (253) 353.2194
Mobile:  (253) 219.1194
Fax:         (253) 857-8700

Buffini

Thursday, March 11th, 2010

I went to the Brian Buffini live nationwide cinemeeting that Wells Fargo Home Mortgage sponsored today. It was great! I haven’t heard Buffini speak before. Made me feel very encouraged that the market is improving. He makes a strong case for the fact that there could well be a housing shortage in the coming years. Those of us in the industry that are consistent and stick with it can look forward to a brighter futurer. Everything he has to say about doing business is common sense. Problem is we often don’t take the time to be disciplined and systematic. Being reactive rather than proactive will hold us back. Here’s the bottom line: call your past clients and check in with them. Don’t be afraid to sound like a pushy sales person. If you don’t keep in touch they’ll think you are indifferent.   Your past clients are your best resource for new business.  Simple but we forget..

I’m encouraged. SO encouraged that I decided that I’m going to buy a house!! (actually a condo) Wish me luck!!

 

www.rosemarykendall.com

Classic Homes Northwest Welcomes Marguerite Giguere!

Thursday, March 11th, 2010

We’re adding another author! Please welcome Marguerite Giguere The Skydiving Agent! to Classic Homes Northwest! Marguerite is with Crescent Realty. She is very active around Tacoma and has been kind enough to post some of our articles on her blog Get Real Tacoma. Having her contribute her views on the Tacoma real estate market is something we will all benefit from.

When we pressured her to provide a bio she shared this with us

Marguerite Giguere is a lifetime resident of Pierce County and currently resides in Downtown Tacoma. She’s a REALTOR Specializing in homes and condos in Downtown Tacoma and the surrounding neighborhoods under $400,000.  She has special expertise in buyer representation and foreclosures.  Marguerite loves Tacoma, Karaoke, and jumping out of perfectly good airplanes.

Welcome aboard Marguerite! we’re happy to have you here and we’re looking forward to doing a cross sale one of these days!

Is Tacoma’s Wedge District Historic? Speak Your Mind on March 17th. 2010

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

The City of Tacoma’s Planning Commission is holding a public hearing on March 17th. 2010 at 5:00pm. This hearing will concern the creation and review of the “Wedge Neighborhood” for consideration of being a historic district. This process was started in 2008 when residents of the “Wedge Neighborhood” requested to be designated as a historic district. In 2009 The Landmarks  Preservation Commission sent a recommendation to the Planning Commission for the creation of a historic special review district surrounded by multiple conservation districts.

Interested individuals may testify in person or submit comments in writing by e-mail or fax, (253) 591-2002. Written comments will be accepted until 5 p.m. March 26.

So, what exactly is a historic special review district? Glad you asked. Historic special review districts provided guidelines for the design of new construction within the district. Also, modifications to existing structures are reviewed for compliance to the guidelines approved. Properties within a historic district can potentially be eligible and receive certain tax benefits.  Conservation districts are buffer areas between historic districts and other areas of the city. The goal is to provide guidelines for new construction and protection of historic buildings. Historic Districts are one way for our community to help preserve the classic and historic character of our neighborhoods. For the people who live within a historic district official designation can bring a sense of pride and community.

Classic Homes Northwest supports the creation of a Historic Wedge District.

Here is a copy of the hearing notice for the Wedge Neighborhood on March 17th.

Here is a copy of the Public Review Documents for the hearing.
Historic Tacoma produced a walking tour of the Wedge District. The walking tour is a fantastic way to learn more about one of the more interesting areas in Tacoma. Historic Tacoma has published the walking tour online and you can find the tour here.

Will we see you on March 17th?

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