Mar 31st, 2009 by admin
List Price: $315,000
MLS#: 29044345
Address: 2118 49th St SE, Everett WA 98203
Bedrooms: 2 in each unit
Bathrooms: 1.5 in each unit
Square Feet: 1752
Price/Sq. Ft: $185.50
Year Built: 1976
Taxes: $2,953 (2008 Tax Year)
Heat Source/Type: Electric Baseboard
School District: Everett
Call Lisa Bender at 425-770-4438 or Jesse Moore at 425.876.0766 or Dennis Pearce at 206.931.9945 for more information.
Mar 27th, 2009 by Andy O'Shea
Situated on a level fully-fenced greenbelt lot, this large and beautiful 3-story home in Bothell is full of possibilities. Spacious fully finished daylight basement has a second kitchen, a separate entrance, and would work perfectly as a mother-in-law or apartment. Primary living space has formal living & dining rooms, family room with fireplace, and breakfast nook that opens to deck. Three bedrooms and two bathrooms upstairs, including a lovely master suite with 5-piece bath. Mother-in-law has its own kitchen, a large bedroom, a living room, and 3/4 bath. Over 2,650 square feet in all, with a 3-car garage and a private, level backyard.
UPDATE: Another Pickett Street lisitng under contract! As of 5/21/2009.
List Price: $399,999
MLS#: 29043053
Address: 820 Grimes Road, Bothell, WA 98012
Bedrooms: 4
Bathrooms: 3.5
Square Feet: 2,660
$/Square Ft: $159.77
Lot Size: 0.16 acres
Year Built: 1997
Taxes: $3,685 (2008 tax year)
School District: Northshore
To print a PDF property flyer of this home, click here: Bothell Flyer
Call Andy O’Shea 425-422-3642 or Jesse Moore at 425.876.0766 for more information.
Mar 26th, 2009 by admin
After an intense (and fun) Pickett Street Properties retreat, I needed a bit of mind-numbing TV. In my search for something to watch, I came across the Food Network show called “Food Detectives.” It’s a show that does experiments with food—sort of an Alton Brown meets MythBusters.
On the night of my respite, they did an experiment on food and how it tastes based on presentation and flowery descriptions. Two groups of diners were told they were going to be reviewing a new restaurant and after their meal they were given a survey to fill out.
The first set of diners’ menus said they would be having “Green Salad, Fish, Green Beans, Potatoes and Chocolate Cake.” They were sat at tables with plastic table cloths, served New Jersey red wine in plastic cups, and their meals were presented on rather dated plates.
The second set had “Crisp Mescluin Seasonal Greens, Succulent Panko encrusted St Peter’s Fish, Hericot Vert, Potatoes au Gratin and Belgium Double Chocolate Cake.” They were sat at tables lit by candelight and adorned with linen table cloths. They were served a red wine from Nappa valley and the meal was presented on a classic plate.
Did I mention that the food itself was from a warehouse store and aside from the presentation, the food was the same?
The hypothesis is that people will be biased based on expectations and will seek to verify their expectations. In other words, if you think it’s going to be crispy or succulent, you will look for that. While I anticipated the results would show the better presented food would be the “winner,” I was surprised at the difference in perception.
Plain Jane customers rated the food on average at 3.5 (out of 10) and would pay an average of about $10 for the meal. Some of the people were interviewed on camera and the comments were very critical. One person even said that they couldn’t finish their meal.
The second group with the better fancier menu names and nicer presentations rated the food an average of an 8 and would pay $38 – nearly four times as much as the first group!! One of the interviewee’s said that the fish reminded her of her childhood and it brought back lots of fond memories of eating dinner with her mother. Same frozen fish – many very different opinions.
The same is true in real estate. A home sparingly adorned will be thought of simply and sell for less money – the same home, once staged by a professional, can change the entire experience for a potential buyer. The results from Food Detectives reinforce the Pickett Street Team’s belief that a home should be professionally photographed, staged and promoted with excellent marketing copy.
Successful marketing is no more than managing perception. Choosing a real estate agent that understands this can mean the difference between a frozen fish and a memory of mom. Perception is a powerful thing – if Food Detectives is any indication, it might be more powerful than reality itself.
Mar 19th, 2009 by Dennis S. Pearce
Warning: if Accounting isn’t your language of choice, your eyes may be about to glaze over. However, as with many things arcane, mark-to-market accounting may be having a huge impact on the world we live in right now, and according to many critics, could well be one of the root causes of the current financial crisis. Mark-to-Market accounting is a reporting rule that requires financial institutions to value their current investments at today’s value, even if they have no intention of selling those assets now, or anytime in the foreseeable future.
As an example, if you were to consider the current value of your own 401k, which most of us are already doing with some significant trepidation, you’re likely down about 50% from the highs of 2 years ago. However, you’re able to do the calculations and realize that so long as you don’t sell today, you’ve still got a chance to recover on the long haul. Mark to Market doesn’t allow banks that option, but instead forces them to report the values on their holdings at todays value, as if they were going to sell everything today.
Because banks are not allowed to lend every dime they have access to, but must hold a portion back to cover their loans (see fractional lending), some argue that an accounting rule that ties asset value to current valuations, rather than allowing them to take a longterm view, much as we would, places artificial restrictions on their ability to recover from market fluctuations, and is at least partially responsible for the current liquidity problems in the world financial system.
The other side of the argument says that banks, whose actions with risky assets have largely brought this crisis on themselves, should not be allowed to price their asset valuations at anything other than current market value. Allowing them to do so essentially is seen by some analysts as rewarding the irresponsible behavior that started the initial cascade, and passing the risk on to the taxpayers.
Ultimately, the question of mark to market accounting will be coming to congress in the not so distant future. Legislation being what it is, we’ll have to see what comes of this, and whether our current administration decides to address it as an accounting problem, or a consumer protection issue.
Mar 19th, 2009 by Dennis S. Pearce
Sometimes it’s necessary to just purge. Collecting stuff can be such a burden, and the mental space required to keep everything ‘sacred’ weighs so heavily that eventually the only sane option is starting over. And yes, this can be a metaphor for many stages of life.
I just went through it in a minor way this weekend, as I was forced to deal with the assorted detritus of several years worth of projects. The last one, a bunk bed for my daughter, resulted in a fine coating of wood dust on every surface of the garage, and enough wood scraps to build a small barn.
My parents have been in town for several weeks now and Grandpa, being retired and a restless woodworker, was ‘inspired’ by his granddaughter (my 7-year old) to ply his skills in her employ. They both got what they wanted; I got another project. Namely, the disassembly of the old bed, reassembly of the new one ( 2 flights of stairs, 2×6′s, and MDF panels, anyone?), and the subsequent cleanup and disposal of said debris.
Both cars are now back in the garage (a result of the persistent voice in my head that sounds remarkably like my wife), and I’m feeling almost restored. BTW, just in case you haven’t tried it lately, Craigslist is the killer app. Within 1 hour of posting the old bed as ‘free to the first taker’, I had 4 responses lined up to drag the thing away. Now that’s an effective purge tool!
I’ve been emailing this weekend with a new acquaintance who’s going through a similar, but completely different, process as she comes to grips with being cast off by our current economy. Say what you want about statistics, no matter how slim the odds may be, somebody IS one of those numbers.
In this case, Keri is one of the recently laid off Microsoft employees who, in coming to grips with her new reality, has taken the philosophical ‘purge’ approach- laying bare her newly unemployed soul with the wry black humor of the freshly jilted. She may be lining up a new career in comedy, which the current economy could certainly use; we need more reasons to laugh now than ever before! Note: due to language and some adult concepts, the above link may not be appropriate for all ages.
Speaking of the economy, here’s one for you:
Q. What’s the difference between a pigeon and an investment banker?
A. A pigeon can still make a deposit on a BMW.
here’s another-
I went to buy a toaster; and came back with a bank.
See, you can still smile.
If you have sorrows that still need drowning, may I recommend chocolate? Quality is the key. No point putting Hershey’s on your hips when you could have the good stuff. We’ve found the chocolate holy grail- handmade custom chocolate truffles, (We recommend the orange) paired with a tasty sweet wine. This is where sorrows come to wallow!
Mar 17th, 2009 by Andy O'Shea
I’m proud to be an O’Shea. And I’m very proud to be Irish – as are more than 35 million other Irish Americans.
Even though I’m really only 1/8th Irish (my great-grandparents both came from Ireland), I look forward to one opportunity each year to truly celebrate my Irish heritage on St. Patrick’s Day.
But what does it really mean to be Irish? And why do nearly 1 in 8 people in the U.S.A. proudly report having some degree of Irish ancestry (and often millions more claim they’re Irish while caught up in the “Irish spirit” enjoying St. Patrick’s Day parades and festivities).
What is it about the Irish that so connects with people? Here’s this Irishman’s opinion:
One of America’s currently most famous Irishmen, Brian Buffini, is the founder of America’s #1 Coaching company. He’s trained, inspired and coached millions over the past 20 years. I’ve been a part of his training and coaching program for 3 years. Brian is such a great example of an inspiring Irishman.
Brian often weaves in humor and story-telling in his events & coaching, captivating audiences with stories of growing up, why he emigrated to America, and what a difference his Irish heritage makes for him.
I’ve learned so many things from Brian, but especially something he once said that his father taught him. His father was a painter, as was his father before him. Brian’s father told him: “When you do something, make sure you can ‘put your name to it’.” The Buffini’s family & business reputation hinged on doing a “good job” for people, because everyone knew which homes or buildings the Buffinis had painted. “Ah, that’s a Buffini job,” folks would say.
That really struck me. Now I continuously ask myself: Can I put my name to what I’m doing? Am I doing my best? Am I proud of what I’m doing? I am Irish after all, and proud. Maybe his words will inspire you this St. Patrick’s Day: ”Can you put your name to it?”
And now for some Irish fun:
If you’re looking for a great Irish Restaurants or Pub for St. Patrick’s Day, check out:
And finally, an Irish blessing from me to you: “May your blessings outnumber the shamrocks that grow, and trouble avoid you wherever you go.”
Until again, Andy
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