Eastside Deal of the Week

Each week I’m picking out the Deal of the Week out of my Eastside Value Buyer’s List.  I’m looking for a house that is already discounted to fair market value at the list price and is in good repair.  I visit the house, take 60+ photos, and record a video of my impressions.  Read on about my property analysis and bidding strategy:

Eastside Deal of the Week

Eastside Deal of the Week

Eastside Value Buyer’s List

Today I launched a weekly series of MLS searches to discover the best prospects on the Eastside for investors and handy owner occupiers to buy houses at a discount.  This is an amalgamated list of bank owned homes that already appear to be fairly priced, estate sales, out of state owners, listings with data entry errors, houses sitting unsold for an excessively long time – a whole variety of searches I use to find situations with distressed owners.

Learn more here:

Eastside Value Buyer's List

Bellevue View Home

In the hills of South Bellevue nearby to where I live, I recently found this Bellevue view home with many attractive features:

• A great view of trees and greenery with the mountains in the distance.
• An oversized master suite with with room for an office or TV/entertainment area besides the bedroom furniture.
• Beautiful, many-tiered decks for entertaining in the back yard.

And much else besides: new kitchen appliances, upgraded windows, etc.  Overall the house is in very fine condition.  It is currently set up for 3 bedrooms with office and workshop space, but could be converted to 5.

Learn more about this Bellevue View Home (see full photo album with 122 images).

Low Maintenance Back Yard in Bellevue

Seattle Growth Outlook

The Seattle metro region has several advantages that should help its economy to outperform the nation as a whole:

eXp Realty would like to welcome its newest real estate investment expert, Bob Kelly, to our team in Bellevue, WA.  Bob is a newly licensed agent, since June. He lives with his wife and three sons in Bellevue, WA.

Real estate investment background:

Bob and his wife have purchased six rentals houses between Bothell and Olympia. They own a vacation rental beach house out at Pacific Beach. They self-manage all of those properties. That experience has taught Bob about advertising, blogging, and building websites. He began last year to turn over the rental portfolio on lease options and owner financing for greater cash flow, and recently learned about the business of flipping mobile homes in senior parks. His first project is currently for sale on the MLS (#152530).

Bob Kelly joined eXp Realty for the technology platform, training in Social Media Marketing, the company leads, and the reasonable fees. He is excited to be the first agent on the Eastside (Bellevue, WA),  and looks forward to the opportunity to build the company’s business over there.

Unique Real Estate Services:

Investors: Bob likes working with investors. He’s a member of the REIA in Bellevue , a real estate education and networking club. He will fearlessly make low bids for investors.

Vacation rentals: Based on his personal experience, Bob can help buyers with the acquisition, furnishing and set up, remote management, and advertising of a vacation rental property. He also offers a vacation rental marketing service, where he will photograph the property, create a new website, and post daily ads to Craigslist.

Bellevue Real Estate Services: Bob Kelly has  lived on the Eastside since age 3, so he expects to fill out the company’s websites with articles about Eastside communities and make Bellevue his area of expertise.

Education:

1. Data Processing at Bellevue Community College – 1983 to 1985
2. Lots of real estate investor seminars and programs: Robert Shemin (wholesaling), Dean Graziosi (wholesaling), Todd Toback (lease options), Jerry Lucker (mobile homes), Jeff Adams (REOs), and Rich Dad.

Former career: Computer Programming (25 years). His favorite part was the six trips to Italy to work with Olivetti in the late 80s and early 90s.

So, if you are a real estate investor looking in the Seattle, Bellevue or Greater Puget Sound area, Bob is your guy. He’s been there, and he’s done it, so you can bet he will get you a good deal.

Bob Kelly is a real estate broker with eXp Realty in the Bellevue, Washington area, near Seattle. He specializes in residential investment property. He can be reached  at (360) 480-9154 or bob.kelly@bellevuepowersearch.com

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

These studies, judged on students graduated, grades, honors classes taken,  general academic record and other critera.  Ranked in the top 100 were Bellevue’s  International School as number 11 nationwide , followed by Inglewood at 18, Newport Hills at 35, Sammamish at 48,  and Bellevue at 79.  Following those Eastside schools were Edmonds-Woodway High,  Garfield and Ingraham in Seattle, Redmond, Mercer Island, Issaquah, and Inglemoor in Kenmore. 

So what does this mean?  Seattle and the surrounding schools, especially Bellevue, Kenmore and Northshore schools consistently rank as the top schools in the nation.  For most of us that cannot afford to enroll our kids in privately schools, this is of great comfort knowing that our students will be getting a good education from our local school districts.  Sports and music, which also carry weight, are well recognized with Roosevelt, Nathan Hale and Garfield High Schools in Seattle winning nationwide awards for both their Jazz Ensembles and Athletic Achievements in Varsity Football, Basketball, and Soccer. 

Congratulations to our educators and students for their outstanding efforts in making national recognition for excellence in public high schools!   Truly an honor well deserved.

Bellevue Square

There are times when nothing else will do, and then it’s better not to fight it. Put on something newish, something that goes

glittering levels

with your favorite shoes, and a little flair. Check to make sure you have your credit card. And head out to Bellevue Square for some serious shopping.

We hear it’s Vibrant, Urban, Sophisticated and Adventurous. I tend to agree. Not only is there Everything, but there is room and time to enjoy it. The mix works. The levels and the spaces are up down and sideways, like an amusement park for adults. Every conceivable fashion choice is available in it’s 180 stores, anchored by Macy’s and Nordstroms, and including Mercer, Tiffany and Co, the Apple Store, LEGO, Armani Exchange, Williams-Sonoma, Lascoste, to name only a few.

urban, sophisticated, yummyworlds of play

Restaurants like P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, The Cheesecake Facotry, Red Robin, and Ruth’s Cris Steak House are scattered throughout. Bellevue Square also has concierge services, a local shuttle bus, valet parking, children’s play areas, and miles of tiled indoor shopping streets, staircases, elevators, and shiny shiny artlike plate glass windows into your future…if you buy and bring home some of the goodies.

Don’t let me forget to mention the huge covered parking garage…yes, it’s free…which

Bellevue Art Museum

will get you in and out without getting wet, even on the wettest of Northwest days.  And if you get tired of extreme materialism, there’s always the Bellevue Art Museum just across the street which invites you into the eternal world of images and smoky memories found only in the land of untouchable art.

Once you have begun to wish you’d worn your other favorite shoes, the ones that are good for walking, it may be time to cross the bridge to Lincoln Square and settle down in the three story atrium in front of one of the gigantic fireplaces with a cup of some coffee beverage from one of the nearby venues, open up your laptop, and zone for a while. Or at least check your email before you

Glass Art in Atrium

take your first load of packages to the car and head back for another round, passing under the wiggly fun humongous glass sculpture that is the crown jewel of the vaulted space at the east end of the bridge. Some may say it’s not quirky enough to be as fun as the Seattle shopping, but for those days when you know what you want, it’s nice to know where to get it.

April brings a whole new pallate and lots of pizzaz, so plan an afternoon enjoying the fun!  There isn’t a better time to go and see what’s really new and bring the best home, tastes, sounds, sights, and of course, the lovely spring colors blooming everywhere.

Edy Kizaki
Realtor, Team Leader
edy@seattlepowersearch.com
206.402.9155 cell