Greenwood Phinney Undressed

Ken’s Market

This is my rant for the day:  I live in the Greenwood/Phinney neighborhood because I love community and a small town feeling and being able to walk to everything.  I really hate strip malls and big box stores.  I love boutique shops, independent shop owners, pubs, unique restaurants and the personal experiences when you visit the shops and services here on Greenwood and Phinney.  I was mortified when I found out that Ken’s was expanding.  Ken’s has been part of my cozy neighborhood feeling.  It is a convenience stop.  I can literally run up the street for a last minute ingredient, grab some milk in the morning for coffee on the way home from the gym or a quick sandwich.  I can walk to it and carry my small supplies home.  For this convenience, I am willing to pay the high prices.  For my major shopping, I go to QFC, Fred Meyer or pop down to Safeway which, gosh, is only 20 blocks away, has a ton of parking and a ton of choices and really isn’t in the boutique part of Greenwood.  Seriously, do we need another big grocery store?  And, can Ken’s really compete on price and selection?

 The other issue is that Ken’s has no parking.  If they tear down the Chinese Restaurant for parking I’ll be really angry and even that is not an answer.  I will not be dragging a shopping cart across the street and back.  That corner is already congested and often difficult to manage with the delivery trucks, the stop light and people trying to pull in and out of the lot.  Can you imagine a bunch of people trying to push carts down the sidewalk and across the street?  And how do the close in neighbors feel about way more delivery trucks?  Bigger store, more deliveries.

The displacement of 3, possibly 4 businesses is what really hurts.  We are going from a section of well loved shops to a grocery store.   We loved the bakery!!!  It was so great to pop in for the yummy bila’s, pick up a desert for dinner or order a quiche for a special occasion.  I also shop at Allusia’s and we all loved the book store.  What a huge loss to our neighborhood.  I was especially sad when the Bakery just shut down one day with no warning.  We actually walked up there to give them our well wishes and enjoy, perhaps, one last treat and poof they were gone. 

As rents go up it is harder and harder for small business owners to make a go of it.  I was very happy to see the last shuffle result in everybody staying on Greenwood just flip flopping locations and I’m very happy Allusia has found a new home somewhere on Greenwood.   I am not happy at all about Ken’s expansion!

written by:  Kerri Sheehan - realtor, Keller Williams

Allusia on Greenwood

I love Allusia’s.  It is one of my favorite stores for buying gifts and fun treats for myself.  I’m happy to report that Allusia’s will be staying up on Greenwood at another yet undisclosed location.  Proprietor Jimi Lou is still working out the details but decided to not prolong the closing of her current location and is blowing out inventory and shutting the doors this weekend.  She hopes to be set up in her new location by November in time for some Christmas sales.  If your organized buy now - the prices are great.  I picked up a very cute handbag for $50 that use to be $75 and did a bit of Christmas/Birthday shopping as well.  If you are not in the shopping mood just please stop in and sign her book and she will send you the announcement about her grand re-opening.  you can also contact her at:

allusiahomeandgifts@hotmail.com.

I’m really happy that Allusia’s will be back!

written by:  Kerri Sheehan - realtor, Keller Williams

It’s An Agents’ Life

Most Real Estate Agent’s have a love hate relationship with their job.  Just like any career no matter how passionate you are…there are those days and moments……. I had one of those last Sunday. 

It started off as a nice morning, a tad questionable whether it was going to sprinkle or not so, fortunately at the last minute, I did grab my rain coat.  Off I went to do an open house.  I don’t mind holding houses open at all but I HATE to do the signs.  It can be hazardous duty especially if you are trying to sign a busy intersection.  I always put my hazard lights on and try to find a parking lot, parking strip or some out of the way place but that doesn’t always work so you do the best you can and hope no one has agent road rage that day.  I tried a new sign vendor and my new wood signs are HEAVY.  I always turn them inside out so they lay flat in my car but then you have to flip them back to put them out.  There have been numerous times when I’ve hit myself in the ankle or whatever schlepping the signs.  So anyway, I got my signs out and commenced with holding the open. After about an hour or so it started raining.  Then, it started pouring.  Then, the lake formed on the street out in front of the house.  Then, it started pouring harder.  You know - Sunday the 24th.  I watched quietly from inside the home hoping it would subside and when that didn’t happen I planned my escape.  The first obstacle was my A-board on the posted sign - you know, the one posted by the lake.  I couldn’t put my briefcase down in the water so holding my briefcase and reaching overhead I jostled my HEAVY  A-board until it finally came down and leaped out of the way before a car strafed me with water.  On to the next sign.  By the 3rd sign my glasses were a mess and alternately they fogged up or were dripping water.  By the 4th sign, my leather shoes and lower legs were soaked.  My raincoat is terrific with a hood and it goes to my knees…..  My 5th sign was standing in a foot of water and there was no way to retrieve it without further soaking at least one of my shoes.  By the 6th sign….I was not a happy camper.   Actually, I was not a happy camper back when I left the open house. but now I was not a happy camper with mascara running down my face and really fuzzy hair.  I got home and decided I would wait until the next day to dry my signs off otherwise I would be packing them from the car to the garage one at a time in the pouring down rain and that didn’t sound like fun either.  I just now realized in writing this that I did not dry my signs off ahhhhhhhhhhhhh.  I hope my new sign vendor got the fact that signs get wet thing right.  

written by:  Kerri Sheehan - realtor, Keller Williams GRSE

Road Trip to Yakima

It was an impromptu idea and we jumped on it.  By 5:00 Friday night, Ron and I were on I-90 heading to Yakima.  I had an open house on Sunday so our plan was to wine taste Saturday and drive back Sunday morning. 

It was a beautiful drive over and we reached our hotel at 7ish and hit downtown Yakima immediately after checking in.  There are a few tasting rooms down town now so we did pop into a couple of those but mostly wandered the historic area.  Part of downtown’s main street was closed down as they were setting up for a 3×3 basketball tournament which made it really easy to wander back and forth checking out the various shops and restaurants.  Needless to say…. Downtown was pretty quiet. 

I saw one interesting building/sign called the Barrel House (www.thebarrelhouse.net) on N. First St. and figured it was either a furniture store or some type of wine venue so we wandered over and discovered a lovely bar & restaurant.  The menu was excellent and it was very hard to decide on what to have.  We settled for sharing a braised pork shank with creole risotto.  YUM.  We could not believe how tasty it was and were mortified when it was gone.  The owner/chef Tim Schroeder wandered out and we had to do a few bows to him.  I highly recommend the Barrel House for dinner!!!  Next time we go we will eat there again.

 Pork Shank w/ creole Risotto from the Barrel House

 Saturday morning we drove to Prosser and had breakfast at the Red Barn before hitting the wine tasting.  Given past experiences we knew we could only handle so many tastings in a day (we even share) so we tried to break it up with a few in Prosser, several in Zillah, hit the casino, few more in Zillah and then Sagelands further up towards the hotel.  It was a beautiful day, not too hot although the car did get a bit heated so we bought a cooler at a flea market to keep the wine from cooking in the car. (Note to self: bring cooler for wine).

I had never been to Bonair winery but it was apparently listed in “Washington’s Best Places to Kiss” so we had to check it out.  I personally disagree with the listing.  The winery is very nice and we did enjoy the wines and a snack but Hyatt smokes them for ambiance. 

   A beautiful glass door on a shop in Yakima

 We had dinner at Santiago’s Gourmet Mexican Restaurant in Yakima (www.santiagos.org) and given the nice warm day, lots of little sips of wine all day…we were done.  Had a pleasant drive back Sunday morning, caught up a bit and did an open house.  This was a great, quick road trip that we will do again, maybe even this fall.   Afterall, we need to have 6 more wineries stamp our passports so we can turn it in and be invited to the wine dinner next year! 

written by:  Kerri Sheehan - Realtor, Keller Williams GRSE

10 Weeks to a Sculpted Body

Youv’e probably seen the A-board out on 83rd and Greenwood promoting a 10 week body sculpting class and wondered what it was all about.  Well, I checked into it and Ron and I took the challenge and had a blast.  The program is done at the MKG Martial Arts Studio located at 8310 Greenwood Ave N. (info@mkgseattle.com).  For 10 weeks from 6:30 am - 7:30 am we let 3 different instructors “kick our butts” with 3 days of cardio and 2 of strength training every week.  We loved it.  We never knew what we were going to do when we got to class in the morning;  kick boxing, sticks, circuit training, bands, those horrible balance balls (I am so uncoordinated it isn’t even funny) and all kinds of other fun stuff they would come up with.  We were guaranteed a variety every day and the hour went by quickly.  While Ron and I did not have stellar weight loss or inches lost, (it is summer and we do like our cold beer and food with friends…) we did increase in muscles and strength in a very significant way.  One person in our class did loose 12.5 pounds and 9 inches and there were some other dramatic results as well.  We all were much stronger by the end of the program and came away knowing that if we really want to sculpt our bodies we know what we need to do which is –EAT RIGHT!!!  while working out.   The class comes with boxing gloves and a program manual to help you track your results and modify your diet.  We received regular emails with the same encouraging us with our food issues and results of our 3 fitness tests.  I went from being able to do 12 regular push-ups and 22 girlie push ups in one minute to 35 regular push-ups which I was very pleased with.  Another gal in the class could only do 2 push ups when we started and did 22 at the last test!!  A number of us signed up for the next session.  If you want to find out more about this or the other programs and classes they offer (lots of kids classes) they are having an open house on Sept. 6th from 10am -2:30 pm with free courses, refreshments and door prizes. 

written by:  Kerri Sheehan - Realtor

What the heck is a Short Sale?

Darn it anyhow - a short sale is the result of an owner owing more on their home than what they can sell it for.   We agents see these sales a lot these days and it is very distressing for everyone involved.  In the Phinney- Greenwood area, as well as other Seattle neighborhoods, prices have dropped a bit but nothing like other parts of the US where folks may have lost 100’s of thousands of dollars in equity in their homes.  Folks who took out almost all of their equity in equity loans prior to the pricing slide and people who bought at the higher price with minimal down can be caught in a short sale situation if they have to sell.  A Short sale does not necessarily mean that the home is heading towards foreclosure or that the owners are in financial distress (most of the time they are) but it makes for a painful transaction neverthelss for everyone involved. 

Because the sale will not result in paying off 100% of the mortgage, the lender must approve the sale and they can say no way or ask for a higher offer. If there is a second loan on the property, that lender could say no way as well all of which adds a considerable amount of time to the closing process.  If you fall in love with a house that happens to be a short sale and it doesn’t have a lender’s prior price approval, you need to take a vicadin and cool your jets for oh….maybe 60ish days and only when you have lender approval should you move forward with inspections etc. otherwise you could be out $4-500 if the bank rejects the offer.  If the home is heading for foreclosure, things could go faster if the bank wants to avoid the foreclosure process.  A lot of short sales come back on the market because the buyer can’t wait.  Financing is also a big issue, if interest rates change while a buyer is in a holding pattern that could make the home all of a sudden unaffordable.

On the selling side, the lenders can hold a seller accountable for some or all of the shortfall by requiring an unsecured note unless they deem a seller unable to pay.  Short Sales must be listed as such on the NWMLS and there is some additional paperwork involved (of course!)  Basically, when it comes down to a short sale… the lender is in charge.

written by:  Kerri Sheehan - Realtor for Keller Williams- Greater Seattle.

WHAT CONSTITUTES A CRAFTSMAN HOME?

My favorite style of home is by far a true Craftsman.  I once lived in a 1904 Craftsman on lower Phinney that had some interesting add ons (no bathroom back in 1904) and now a 1919 bungalow on upper Phinney that has been restored and updated for modern living.  The Craftsman home was popular during the Eclectic Period from 1880 - 1940.  It got it’s start in Britain as somewhat of an offshoot or maybe even a toning down of Victorian styles which actually includes a stick style, shingle style and queen anne style all of which are represented in Seattle.  Components from each of these styles can be found in the true Craftsman home.  Typical elements of a Craftsman home include; low-pitched gabled or sometimes hipped roofs with exposed rafters, very wide overhangs which also include fake braces and beams under the gables (watch out - birds love to hang and try to nest in these areas) and a porch supported by columns.  The porches are either full or partial width and the columns typically continue to the ground without a break at the porch level.  The columns are wood or sometimes encased in stone.  Porches have often been enclosed over the years which can add to the homes live-able square footage by adding electricity and heat to the area.  I have seen these enclosed porches move beyond a dry entry mud room to offices and just plain cool reading rooms.  I personally have a bungalow where this works. 

 The California Bungalow is the style that tends to get the most mention and where much of the Northwest bungalow influence came from.  The typical bungalow is a one story house with a pitched overhanging gabled roof.   In the East it was more common to have a bigger pitch to the roof to allow for a partial second floor and low shed dormers to let light in.  You will find this style in and around Phinney/Greenwood as well including gabled dormers.  The tapered porch posts are the most obvious feature of a true bungalow.

Bungalows typically have 2 bedrooms with 1 bath and sometimes a basement.  In the old days, these “crawl spaces” were not finished and you can still find a  lot of those or partially finished basements in Seattle.  If your lucky, you might find a bungalow with an unfinished basement with good height which will allow you to add on another 400+ sq feet depending on the supports and foundation.  Given how old most of the bungalows in Seattle are, there usually has been some remodeling done to them.  I’ll get into materials and age issues in other blogs but remember; older homes can be healed, settling is common (think water, earthquakes…) this fact may or may not be an issue and those plaster cracks …hmmmm - A very thorough inspection is necessary and may include a well versed contractor and a sewer scope to make sure you are not buying a major project.

written by Kerri Sheehan - Realtor, Keller Williams

OUR AREA REAL ESTATE STATS

Did you know that townhomes are included in all NWMLS stats along with single family homes? Townhomes and Single Family Homes are very different types of properties so combining them doesn’t really give a clear picture of what is going on or maybe what is happening in your target property type.  Our area as previously defined:  area 705 which runs south to the canal, North to 145th and east to I5, currently has 168 townhomes on the market and 489 single family homes.  The current Townhome price range is a low of $248,000 to a high of $669,000.  As of today, there are 34 pending but most importantly, 309 townhomes have sold since 2/16/08  which means there is a little over a 3 month inventory - Not a huge inventory.

Out of the 489 Single Family Homes currently on the market in our area, 141 are under $450,000, 252 range in price from $451 - 750,000 and the other 96 are over $751,000.  In the past 6 months 632 single family homes have sold in our area which gives us about a 4.64 month inventory - Not so doom and gloom eh?

If you want details for any price ranges you might be interested in, you can either visit my website at www.kerriproperties.com or just drop me an email with your questions to kerriproperties@comcast.net and I’d be happy to reply.