Free Recycling Event! It’s a great opportunity to get rid of larger unneeded items. Tomorrow/Sunday from 10 AM to 3 PM at Windermere Bellevue Commons (1200 112th Ave NE, Bellevue 98004). Sunday, 2/21, from 10 AM to 3 PM[/caption]

I'm the 2nd guest speaker. My portion begins around minute 32.

Guest speaker on The Money Hour discussing home buying.[/caption]

Got junk? Save the date for Windermere's Recycling Event: Sunday, 2/22, from 10 AM to 3 PM.

I’ll admit to being a recent, bandwagon-type fan, as the 12th man was initially off putting for my University of Texas self (12th man was/is a Texas A&M thing). Regardless, LET’S GO HAWKS!!!!!

I attended an amazing meeting regarding Bellevue’s future. The presenters were Kemper Freeman discussing downtown Bellevue, the people developing the Spring District (where the old Safeway distribution center was), and Sound Transit discussing light rail. Bellevue has an amazing future, but it will take time! Kemper Freeman’s project along Bellevue Way will be completed first—in 2.5 years. The Spring District and Sound Transit won’t be complete until the 2023 timeframe, at the earliest. It will interesting to see how the vision (and more importantly the execution) will evolve over the years.

Received a great review from a client today. Made my day! She captures items that I work hard to achieve. (And, I know this took some time to write, which I also appreciate).

http://www.zillow.com/profile/sanditampa/Reviews/?review=1146884

~~I found Sandi's contact information via Yelp initially, as well as 3 other realtors based in Bellevue/Kirkland area, back in Fall 2013. I went to meet each of them individually for a chat, and actually like all of the realtors I met on a personal level. But there are several reasons that lead me to work with Sandi. During our first meetup, I find her very candid, approachable, and super organized. At that meeting, she was also nice enough to provide me a binder with helpful information, take the time out to explain the mumbo-jumbo about home purchase, and make the seemingly complicated subject matter as simple as possible for a first-time home buyer like me. Secondly, Sandi trusts her client in a working relationship. This is fairly important to me as I prefer not to sign any paperwork if unnecessary – which increasingly realtors appear to request for. To me, trust and commitment should be a two-way street and I appreciate this coming from Sandi. One could also say I have been with Sandi long enough to comment on her working style. As I am somewhat picky about the home I want, it took me quite a while to find and close on my home – all in all, slightly over a year after I begin my home search proper. When looking at various homes on the market, Sandi will offer her frank, analytical opinion about it, but ultimately, leave the decision of go/no-go (in terms of making an offer) to the buyer. This is exactly what I am seeking for in a realtor, and I am glad I got it from Sandi. Throughout the lengthy process, Sandi has also been unfailingly patient with me, continuing sending me numerous MLS internet listings as potential homes to look at even when I occasionally feel dejected in the competitive housing market. Finally, I would like to give a shoutout to Sandi for the excellent advice/tips she offers me for consideration to help make my offer attractive, her formidable negotiating skills in turning the tide in difficult situations under purchase contract, and most importantly, her kindness in continuing to help me with random home issues post-close. I am very grateful to have Sandi as the guiding beacon in my first home purchase, and know I will go back to her for any real estate transaction matter in a heartbeat.
 

 

Cheers to 2015 being your best year yet![/caption]

Credit scores are fascinating and not always logical. This articles captures a few of the common misconceptions. Keep that older credit card open, even if you don’t use it, both to improve your available (unused) credit, but length/age of credit helps your score too (not mentioned in the article).

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/14/credit-score-myths-_n_6296012.html?cps=gravity

 

Wishing you a fun and festive Thanksgiving! Cheers![/caption]

I'm proud of this one. Here is the story as told by the seller on LinkedIn.

 I cannot recommend Sandi highly enough as a listing agent, especially if the home you're selling isn't perfect. After our home sat on the market for 6 weeks and 3 price drops with another agency, we listed with Sandi and had an offer within 7 days, $7k over asking price and almost $18k over the lowest previous listing price. Here's the story: When we originally met Sandi recommended some upgrades to our property to get it ready for sale. What she said made sense but we decided to use another agency with a "team" approach who told us we could easily sell "as is". As time dragged on and we continued to decrease the price we realized that what we needed was a strategy, so we called Sandi and worked together to maximize the appeal of the property. Sandi's attention to detail and staging were inspired, and we felt confident enough to raise the listing price by $10k when we re-listed, and sure enough we were under contract within a week. Sandi worked tirelessly to respond to every communication from the buyer and walk us through every aspect of the process. We'll never try to sell a house without her again!