-
Ten Reasons You Should Work With A Real Estate Expert
June 1, 2016 /Everything seems automated these days. Self-service stations are proliferating in grocery stores, cars are parallel parking themselves, and everyone seems to be jumping on the robotic bandwagon. The real estate world is not immune to this electronic trend; the vast number of online resources has lead some house hunters to believe that real estate agents have gone the way of the dodo. While searching for a house alone is an option, it’s important to understand that navigating the real estate world without an agent is difficult at best, and disastrous at worst. Below, you’ll find the top ten reasons why you should always work with a real estate expert. Access to Listings Yes, it’s true: the Internet is amazing, and it contains more information than any human could consume in a lifetime. That said, it’s guaranteed that any real estate agent will have access to more listings than the Average Joe surfing the web. For instance, many properties might be available but won’t be advertised publicly, and most websites are not as up to date as the multiple listing service (MLS). As such, agents can help you access more and better listings. However, while access to listings is great, it’s…Read more
-
Pickett Street Properties: Named as One of the Best Places to Work in 2016!
May 26, 2016 /Bothell, WA—May 26, 2016—The Business Intelligence Group today announced that it has awarded Pickett Street Properties a Best Places to Work in their inaugural business award contest. The organization sought to identify companies that are actively working to improve their own performance through efforts to challenge employees in environments that makes work fun and engaging. “We firmly believe in creating a work environment where team members have autonomy and are challenged to be experts in their area of real estate.” said Jesse D. Moore. “If we hire intelligent, self-motivated and driven individuals, why not create an environment where they never want or have to leave?” Researchers, including Gallup, have determined that employee satisfaction and engagement are key indicators for employee productivity and customer satisfaction, which ultimately results in improved profitability and growth. “Congratulations to the entire team for making employees satisfaction and performance a priority at Pickett Street Properties,” said Russ Fordyce, managing director of the Business Intelligence Group. “Employees have voted and provided clear evidence that this is a special company, one where executive leadership and management focuses on making work more than…just work!” Nominations for the Best Places to Work award were submitted to the Business Intelligence Group…Read more
-
Living in Washington State: Rain
May 13, 2016 /Back in high school, I had a peculiar winter routine: each morning, I woke up at 6 am (also known in layman's terms as Utter Darkness O’clock), tried to remember where I mislaid my socks, ate a piece of blackened toast in the kitchen, and then spent about half an hour trying to break into my own car. The problem, you see, with my car (which, it’s worth mentioning, was a ‘99 Geo Metro whose engine seemed inclined to explode once every six months) was that its doors’ wizened and decrepit locks froze overnight during the winter. As such, I spent each morning from the end of November to the end of February jamming my keys with Neolithic stupidity into the lock on the driver’s side door. Usually, I had to resort to prying open a rear passenger door (often with an unused coat hanger) and then, through a backbreaking series of acrobatics and advanced yoga poses, crawl into the front seat. Thankfully, I lived in the woods, and so was spared the embarrassment of performing this ritual in front of neighbors. I mention this elaborate routine because it was always accompanied by a lavishly icy rain. Indeed, it was…Read more
-
Did you know that in the 80’s the mortgage rate was 16.6% at one time?
May 4, 2016 /On Wednesday, the Fed voted to maintain the current rate of interest but did signify the possibility of rate hikes later in the year. As such, the federal funds rate will remain in the current range of 0.25-0.5%. In its press release, the Fed indicated a sense of optimism in regards to the presence of improvement in both household incomes and the labor market. Additionally, the Fed noted the housing sector has continued to improve since the beginning of 2016. However, inflation is still below the Fed’s ideal rate of 2%, while consumer spending, investment in the business sector, and net exports are not as strong as they could be. The Fed’s overall consensus is that, while the economy is still showing steady signs of improvement, there are still a few obstacles in the way. As such, the Fed has chosen to keep the federal funds rate unchanged for the time being. The Fed’s next meeting will take place in June, and there is a possibility that we’ll be seeing rate increases by July. At any rate, the Fed hopes to authorize about two rate hikes during the remainder of 2016. How Does This Affect Mortgage Rates? Contrary to a…Read more
-
Living in Washington State: Pine Trees
April 15, 2016 /My mother never let me shirk trash duty. No matter how much I begged, no matter how much I railed against the Machiavellian family dynamics that forced me to take out the trash every night after dinner, my mother remained unmoved. “Listen here, buckaroo,” she used to say, pointing at me with a wooden spoon. “I just spent half the day slaving over dinner and the least you can do is take out the trash. Besides, it’ll build character.” “But Mom!” I wailed, “Coyotes will eat me!” “Fine. Take Emily Dickinson with you.” (Emily Dickinson was the name of our basset hound, a pitiful creature who waddled through life in a remarkably portly and morose fashion. Her companionship was little consolation.) Before you scoff at my cowardly reluctance to finish my chores, it’s important to understand that our house was surrounded by a vast forest of pine trees. When I took out the garbage, I wasn’t blithely strolling to the end of a suburban driveway; instead, I was venturing out into utter darkness, into a wilderness rustling beneath a web of stars. Taking out the garbage at night was less like performing a mundane duty and more like participating in…Read more
-
Living in Washington State: Coffee
April 8, 2016 /I’ve drunk a cup of black coffee every morning since I turned 16 and, apart from the occasional spasm of anxious twitching, I don’t seem to have suffered any permanent damage. It might seem strange that I graduated to the Black Coffee Stage at an age when most folks are still dilly-dallying with milk and sugar, but you have to understand that I am a native of Washington State, and for me, that means black coffee. I grew up in a household of obsessive coffee drinkers, a world of bleary-eyed adults shuffling groggily through each morning, clutching mugs of java like partially drowned sailors clinging to life preservers. My mother and stepfather were especially avid coffee drinkers, people who brewed a cheap and rugged beverage in a dented percolator during the wee hours of the morning. For them, coffee was an Everyman drink, a drink for the Average Joe that ripped enamel off our teeth and boiled in our guts, emboldening us to persevere through nine months of rain and cold and darkness. It was an unspoken rule in our house that talking was not permitted until we’d had our coffee. Each morning we’d sit around, clad in slippers…Read more
