Homeownership • Real Estate News & Information • September 16, 2019

You’ve Moved into Your New Home. Now What?

by Don Koonce

Congratulations on your new home! You made it through the arduous process that is buying a new home. Now it’s time to take on the task of moving in.

You did your research about the neighborhood and you feel like you know the home like the back of your hand. However, there are some things to do as you move in to protect your newest investment, and yourself, from the unknown variables in and around your home.

Change the locks garage door codes

Previous owners might have changed the locks, but they may not know who all has a key or a code to open your garage, especially neighbors who they trusted to watch their place while they were away. Changing the codes and locks on all the doors ensures that you have complete control over entry to your home.

(more…)

Events • September 9, 2019

SAVE THE DATE: Windermere Real Estate Mount Baker Community Fundraiser

by Don Koonce

MARK YOUR CALENDAR!

This fun annual event is scheduled for Saturday, November 2, and we’re planning to mix it up this year with a BINGO “Fun”raiser.

Here are some of the local organizations my office, Windermere Real Estate Mount Baker, is proud to support:

Rainier Valley Food Bank
Treehouse
Kids Co.
Wellspring
Mount Baker Community Club –
Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship
Seattle King County Coalition on Homelessness-
Project Cool Back to School

(more…)

Community News & Information • Local Giving Opportunities • September 4, 2019

Windermere Teams Up with the Seahawks to #TackleHomelessness

by Don Koonce

Windermere is proud to partner with the Seattle Seahawks for the fourth season to help #TackleHomelessness. For every Seahawks home game defensive tackle, Windermere will donate $100 to Mary’s Place, whose mission is to help families on their journey out of homelessness. To date we’ve raised nearly $100,000 through our #TackleHomelessness campaign and we’re looking forward to raising even more for our friends at Mary’s Place!

From Don • Restaurant Reviews • August 26, 2019

RESTAURANT REVIEW: Georgetown’s BOPBOX

by Don Koonce

BOPBOX is located at 5633 Airport Way S., Seattle WA 98108. Photo courtesy of BOPBOX.

Dear friends: One of my favorite pastimes is trying out new restaurants with my husband Alan and other friends. This review is my way of sharing that with you as well. Enjoy!

BOPBOX is an Asian fusion lunch restaurant located in the Georgetown neighborhood of South Seattle. It is a women-owned restaurant featuring seasonal and hand-crafted Korean Bibimbop, made-to-order grain bowls, and fermented goods.

Everything from sauces and marinades to the pickles and kimchi are made by hand in small-batches, with a seasonal rotating menu.

BOPBOX is a small restaurant where you order at the counter and then find an open table. Each table has napkins, forks, and chopsticks. Water bottles and cups are in the fridge next to where you pay. The look and feel of the restaurant is pretty trendy and casual. They have vegan and vegetarian options.

All the tables tend to fill up at lunch time, but the food arrives fairly quickly. There is street parking, but it can be a challenge to find a spot at lunch time.

(more…)

From Don • Real Estate News & Information • August 19, 2019

REAL ESTATE INFO COLUMN: Is the housing market crashing?

by Don Koonce

Welcome to my Real Estate advice column, “Dear Don,” where I answer all your burning Real Estate questions. Send yours to me at donkoonce@windermere.com, and I’ll try to answer them in future columns.

Dear Don:

Is the housing market crashing?

Nervous Nancy

(more…)

Guest Post • Interior Design • August 12, 2019

GUEST BLOG: The only design guideline you need

by Don Koonce

Dear friends: Please enjoy this guest blog post from South Seattle-based interior designer Michele Bayle, who owns Bayle & Co. and is one of the many local contractors that can help make your house a home. Find her at michele@bayleandco.com or www.bayledesignstudio.com. Enjoy!

by Michele Bayle

You’ve got a million ideas. Your head is already spinning and a new Pinterest board entices you to keep looking, pinning and planning. With so many choices, beautiful options and creative ideas for redecorating or designing your home, it’s easy to overlook the question that supersedes any design element.

The most important question is, how do you want to feel when you enter your space for the first time?

(more…)

Real Estate News & Information • August 5, 2019

Western Washington Real Estate Market Update

by Don Koonce

The following analysis of the Western Washington real estate market is provided by Windermere Real Estate Chief Economist Matthew Gardner. I hope that this information may assist you with making better-informed real estate decisions. For further information about the housing market in your area, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

by Matthew Gardner, Chief Economist, Windermere Real Estate

ECONOMIC OVERVIEW

Washington State employment jumped back up to an annual growth rate of 2.4% following a disappointing slowdown earlier in the spring. As stated in the first quarter Gardner Report, the dismal numbers earlier this year were a function of the state re-benchmarking its data (which they do annually).

The state unemployment rate was 4.7%, marginally up from 4.5% a year ago. My current economic forecast suggests that statewide job growth in 2019 will rise by 2.6%, with a total of 87,500 new jobs created.

(more…)

Community News & Information • From Don • Restaurant Reviews • July 29, 2019

RESTAURANT REVIEW: Renton’s Sansonina Ristorante Italiano

by Don Koonce

Alan & me at Sansonina with our friends Scott, Mark, & Laura, who was visiting from California.

Dear friends: One of my favorite pastimes is trying out new restaurants with my husband Alan and other friends. This review is my way of sharing that with you as well. Enjoy!

Sansonina Ristorante Italiano is a relatively new restaurant that was started by one of our favorite servers from another south end Italian restaurant. Fernando, who always makes you feel like family.

I always cut new restaurants some slack until they get into their groove with the service and the food, but this wasn’t needed at Sansonina because the food and service were top notch from the very beginning.

“This is a new place that has the right balance of service, selection and mouth watering cuisine to make it well worth coming back! Intimate with nice tables and comfortable seating,” said one guest, Damien L. “Prawns are a nice start to the meal. You can tell they take pride in what they do.”

From our first visit on their second night open, and every subsequent visit–there’s been many–the service has been excellent, and the food amazing with fresh ingredients superbly combined for exceptional Italian food.

(more…)

Case Studies • July 26, 2019

SELLER SUCCESS STORY: Making a Silk Purse Out of a Sow’s Ear

by Don Koonce

Michael Jarus found me through sales records on a popular real estate search site. He contacted me because I sold the property next door last year, so he knew that I was familiar with the area.

Michael lives in Pennsylvania, and had inherited a property in Des Moines from his uncle who recently passed away.

He called while I was on vacation, but given his position, I felt that I should help him take the right steps to promptly get clear title to the property. I walked him through the most immediate and important steps to get the process started, and a few weeks later, he came to Seattle to finish it.

I met him at the property, which was in very rough condition, with non-permitted additions and a lot of deferred maintenance, including a leaking roof. It was in fact a borderline tear down, but it was on a nice corner lot, which could have views of the mountains and Puget Sound with a second-floor addition.

(more…)

From Don • Real Estate News & Information • July 19, 2019

REAL ESTATE INFO COLUMN: Is it better to rent or buy?

by Don Koonce

Dear Don:

Is it better to rent or buy?

Questioning Carla

(more…)