Half Price Books has several advantages, besides the fun of the treasure hunt, wandering the shelves (if you like old book stores or even flea markets, you’ll love it here!).  First, they take all the books you bring, and offer you a price.  My understanding is it’s 10-15% of cover value of the ones they intend to sell, vs. about 20% at a regular used book store.  But they take all the others too, and donate or even recycle them.  And once I took what turned out to be a rare book in and they informed me of it and looked up a fair price.  Nice.  For me, it’s a lot better than taking my bagfull to a regular bookstore because I am basically weeding my library, anything they give me is good toward a purchase which I’m sure to have made while they are looking at what I brought in, and I don’t have to haul any books away.  This is an alternative to donating that bag of old books.

Second, there is a clearing-house aspect to the shop, you run into so much.  They are not so picky as to take only newer titles or best sellers, so you get a chance to see a lot of history and older things that still have a lot of value.  I have picked up some really good titles on Seattle real estate too!  And on Northwest history, Seattle history, local aspects.  You’ll find the Lion’s club photo history of Green Lake or whatever it is, sometimes these are invaluable.  If you have older software, you can find the manual to go with it!  Etc.  On the other hand, they don’t keep multiple selections of one title much so there is a wider variety on the shelves.

Third, it offers new, discount and used DVDs, videos, CDs, as well as old records, whatever media you’re looking for.  And calendars, notebooks, craft kits in book format, greeting cards and stationary, little toys, puzzles, software, computer games, and for Christmas I got several of my favorite couples a hot stone massage kit that went over big time!  All of these things are at ridiculously low cost compared to the pumped up pricing in the high-end, high-rent, high-cost-advertising mainstream stores.  For which, no argument from me, there is a good and necessary place.  But live dangerously, spend less, help save the world!  Try Half Price Books and let me know what you think, maybe even find something great there for Father’s Day.

There are Half Price Books conveniently located around the Seattle area:

Bellevue Crossroads Store
Everett Mall Store
Lynnwood James Village Store
Redmond Town Center Store
Seattle Capitol Hill Store
Seattle U District Store
Tacoma Rainier Place Store
Tukwila Parkway Square Store

There are truly inspiring Litterary Series, wonderful events, writing drop in periods (6 to 8 p.m. and the bar is open) and many other chances to write and connect with writers in community.  Explore the website for more details!

If you are the parent of a college kid,  you might want to take a minute to think about real estate investing.  You’re already spending a ton of money sending the kid to school, “investing” in his or her future, so why not hedge your bets on an investment that might actually pay you back someday?  Think about it- you’ve got at least four years of living expenses to pay for on top of the tuition. You can either throw it away paying for a tiny, overpriced dorm or some dumpy, overpriced rental, OR you can take that money and put it toward something that has a future. Like real estate.  Let me explain…

I went to Western Washington University in Bellingham, WA, so I will use that area as an example, though the numbers would likely look quite similar in just about any college town. Rates per person at Western’s dorms run roughly $500 (3 kids in a room) to $800+ (single occupancy) per month, NOT including food expenses.  Rental rates anywhere near campus run about $400-600 a month per room, depending on the number of rooms.  Studios and 1-bedrooms are commonly $700-900/month, whereas you might find a decent  3-bedroom for $1400.   Let’s be conservative and say it’s about $600/month on average, per room. Over 4 years (48 months) that’s almost $30,000(!) that you will NEVER get back.  As Everett Dirksen famously said,“ A billion here, a billion there…pretty soon you’re talking about real money!”

Consider this:  Right now, you can buy a 1-bedroom, 600 square foot condo, built in 2006, less than a half-mile from Western Washington University, for $120k.  With 20% down at 6% interest, the monthly payment, which includes taxes, insurance, and HOA dues (W/S/G) comes to about $825, leaving only electricity and cable for expenses.  Sounds like kind of a lot, doesn’t it? Let’s take a closer look.

• Similar units in this building are currently renting for between $725 and $800.

• You can write off some (maybe  all) of your interest payments , giving you roughly 25% back at tax time, depending on your bracket, making the effective monthly expense closer to $600. Make sure to talk to your accountant about this and other creative write-offs you might find…

• As an owner, your monthly expenses remain fixed over time.  According to a colleague who studies rent growth in the area, rents near Western have increased at an average of about 6% per year, over the past 5 years.  Assuming that trend were to continue, the monthly rent on that same unit would go up  to almost $900-$1000 by the 4th year of your student’s education. Over 4 years, that would cost you between $38000-$42000 in rent! Gone, flushed….never to be seen again…

• Don’t forget about appreciation! Even in these tough times, most analysts are expecting the market to have corrected itself in the next couple of years, meaning there is a good chance the value of your investment will begin to increase during the 4-5 years that your student will live there. That’s right, you might even MAKE money on this thing! Worst case, you can always hang onto it to make sure the kid doesn’t try to move back in with you after college…

This is just one example, of course.  There  are several other condo opportunities I can point you toward.  There are also houses and duplexes, etc… The numbers can look even better if you buy something with more rooms. Then, you can collect $500-$700/month of OTHER PEOPLE’S money! That ‘s the best kind of money, after all…

If you’d like to look more seriously at this type of investment, keep in mind that there are all kinds of different programs available, requiring anywhere from 3.5% to 20% down.  You can buy as an investment property, as a second home for yourself, or possibly as a first home for the kid. Each of these options has it’s own credit and income requirements, as well as unique tax implications.  Again, I would suggest consulting your accountant, as well as a mortgage professional, to make sure you understand clearly these particular details. You can talk to me if you want to know where to find these properties.

Thanks for reading! Please leave comments or suggestions below, e-mail me at rob.leroy@exprealty.com, or call me at 206.883.6668 …and yes, you CAN hire me as your real estate agent!

Rob LeRoy is a Seattle real estate agent and social media marketing coach with eXp Realty.

20th Century Architecture across from Moore Theater

Got the sunshine bug?  Pulled out your shorts and sneaks yet?  Here’s something you might enjoy on a Thursday, Friday or Saturday (Apr-Dec).  For inquiring minds: when you notice fern motifs on the interior of Macy’s downtown or stone eagles perched on top of the Seattle Athletic Club’s building; and for guests who are visiting our city and wanting to explore ~ Seattle Architecture Foundation (SAF) offers an array of city tours highlighting architecture, details, design and art!  Moving out and about to experience urban Seattle and our neighborhoods enlightens participants and sparks conversation.  Here are some that you can discuss afterward over an outdoor dinner and a glass of fine NW wine:  Green Building Tours (The Cobb and Skinner Buildings tour.  Or The Starbucks Center tour.); Art Deco Diamonds and Gold; Design Details Lions, Griffins and Walruses; Harvard Belmont District historic millions and quite a few more.  See you around town…looking up!

Marybeth Cicirello * 206.214.6556 * marybeth.cicirello@exprealty.com * Downtown Seattle Real Estate

Classic Craftsman house in Mount Baker

Seattle is known for an early 20th-century American architecture called Craftsman.  People who visit our city notice the abundance of Craftsman houses & bungalows and note that these aren’t quite so common (or exist at all!) in their own home towns.  Considering the weather in the NW and our history in lumber and fishing industries, it’s an architectural response to Seattle’s rainy season and blue collar roots.

Bungalow in Genesee

The term “bungalow” refers to the size of many Craftsman homes we may see in parts of West Seattle, Wallingford, Fremont, or Genesee and some still have original built-in benches, ironing board closets and bookshelves.  Larger – more formal – Craftsman houses  can be found in Queen Anne, Leschi, Capitol Hill and Mount Baker with deep eaves, asymmetrical facades and wide street-facing gables.  Generally, the structural, siding and interior element is wood and the floorplans are similar, but still irregular from home to home.  In Seattle’s in-demand neighborhoods, a solid Craftsman house will range upward from $699,000 and a Craftsman bungalow upward from $450,000, with some exceptions.

Marybeth Cicirello * 206.214.6556 * marybeth.cicirello@exprealty.com * Downtown Seattle Real Estate

Seattle Neighborhood market data is unique to each...

As of April 25, 2010, the statistic is that a median single-family home in “The Seattle Market” is $392,731.00 and I can say confidently right now, there is no move-in ready 3-bedroom house on Montlake, Capitol Hill, Mount Baker or Queen Anne for this price.  But in Maple Leaf?  Yes this price point will buy a house and yard, maybe a nice 2-bedroom mid-century home.  In West Seattle?  Yes definitely in some micro-neighborhoods in West Seattle this is possible.  In Beacon Hill?  Yes again, a mid-century or Craftsman bungalow at $392,731.00 is definitely possible.  So for buyers, it quickly becomes clear what neighborhoods your price point allows and this makes your search constructive and efficient.  And for sellers, be the best option in a certain bracket within your neighborhood, because even in this economy, we still see multiple offer situations if you’re priced right.  Buyers know a good residence when they see it!

Marybeth Cicirello * 206.214.6556 * marybeth.cicirello@exprealty.com * Downtown Seattle Real Estate

The big news in the Madison Park real estate market last month was the report by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service (MLS) that the median price of Seattle homes sold in January was actually higher than in the same month a year earlier. For the city as a whole, this represented a 2.63% increase over the past year (houses and combos combined). It is the first time in almost two years that there has been a year-over-year increase in Seattle’s residential property values. The rest of King County did not fare as well, however, with home values continuing their downward trend.

But how did prices hold up in our neighborhood? Madison Park itself is a market that’s a bit too small for year-to-year median price comparisons to be meaningful (seven total home sales in January 2009 and only five this year). But for our general area of the City (MLS Area 390, which also includes Capitol Hill, Montlake, Madison Valley, Madrona, and Leschi), the news was pretty good. There was a modest 2.1% increase in value between January last year and this. This improvement, however, perhaps has more to do with a year over year change in the mix of sales (houses versus condos) than a real move up in home values.

Nevertheless, it’s a good start to 2010. Whether this welcome news means we’re on an upward trajectory will only become evident when we’ve got a few more months of sales data in hand. It’s just possible, however, that for our area of Seattle—like for the rest of the City—the downward slope of real estate values has been arrested. At minimum, the rate of decline seems to have abated.

Thanks to Bryan Tagas for providing this article. To read more, click here to see the full piece on his website.

For more information on Madison Park real estate, please contact Rob LeRoy at eXp Realty at 206.883.6668, or by e-mail at rob.leroy@exprealty.com

The Japanese Garden in the Arboretum is about to end its winter hiatus, reopening on Sunday, February 14, for its 50th Anniversary season. Rated by a garden journal as one of the ten favorite Japanese gardens in the country, Seattle’s Japanese Garden was inaugurated in July 1960, after only four months of construction. It’s now ready to celebrate a half century of giving pleasure to visitors seeking sanctuary and a connection to nature.

The concept of adding a Japanese Garden to the Arboretum goes back to 1937, but it took another twenty years for the idea to gain enough popular support to enable fundraising to begin for the project (a war against Japan had intervened). In 1959, with funds in hand and the design completed, Juki Iida and Nobumasa Kitamura were hired to build the garden, which originally was scheduled to take up to three years to complete. Using heavy construction equipment, a somewhat scaled-back design, and a capable crew of mostly Japanese-American gardeners, the builders transformed an Arboretum ravine into a colorful and tranquil garden, offset by boulders, water features and formal elements. And they did it all in record time. (That’s Juki Iida in the photo below, standing on the site during the construction). Click here to read more.

Thanks to Bryan Tagas at Madison Park Blogger for letting me re-post this great article!

Rob LeRoy is a Seattle real estate agent and social media marketing coach with eXp Realty.

Realtor

Helen@SeattlePowerSearch.com

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