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Neighborhood Profile: Waterfront Living in Lake Stevens
January 31, 2020 /Neighborhood Profile: Waterfront Living in Lake Stevens For those who wish to live in the greater Seattle area but want to avoid city prices, Lake Stevens is a lovely, growing lakeside community between Snohomish and Marysville, just east of Everett. The town offers both convenience, with a fairly central location and plenty of amenities, as well as mountain views and easy opportunities to get out on the water. As part of its downtown development plan, Lake Stevens recently completed major renovations on its North Cove Park to increase lake access and visibility. The city is also developing an extensive trail network to connect local and regional spots for bikers, joggers, and hikers. If you’re interested in real estate in Lake Stevens, or elsewhere in the greater Puget Sound area, call or email Pickett Street at info@pickettstreet.com or (425) 502-5397. In the meantime, here’s our quick guide to life in this town. Neighborhood Vibe Lake Stevens is currently home to around 33,000 residents, and as the 23rd best school district in Washington, it’s known for excellent schools. The town centers around the beautiful Lake Stevens, which, from the 1920s to 1950s, made this town a resort community with beach hotels scattered…Read more
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Empty Nester Investors: A Conversation With Mary Smith
January 23, 2020 /This month, Pickett Street is excited to begin their new Empty Nesters Investors program, which focuses on helping empty nesters and retirees bring in extra cash through smart real estate investments. If you are an empty nester, or a full nester, or a single-nester, let Pickett Street help you make smart investment decisions—contact them at info@pickettstreet.com or (425) 502-5397. To kick off this series, I chatted with Mary Smith, an empty nester investor and Margaret Smith’s very own mother. In 2015, Mary and her husband Andy sold their current home and purchased a 1950s rambler with a mother-in-law (MIL) cottage in Edmonds. When they purchased the home, the MIL unit already had a tenant and brought in $950 per month. Since then, Mary and Andy have continued to rent the unit and have occasionally used it as temporary housing for their grown children as they saved to buy their own homes. Mary and Andy now earn $1,200 per month from renting the unit. One of the most inspiring things about Mary’s story is that she and her husband did not start out with loads of cash. Instead, they used smart, simple real estate investments to build wealth. “Andy and I…Read more
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Embrace Winter Dark With These Lighting Design Trends
January 17, 2020 /Embrace Winter Dark With These Lighting Design Trends As Scandinavian folks know, the trick to enjoying winter is embracing the darkness rather than simply enduring it. And those living in the northern countries should know. Take Tromsö, for example—a town in the northern tip of Norway, where, currently, the sun is down all day, leaving residents in perpetual darkness, and making Seattle’s 4 p.m. winter sunsets look like the brightest summer days. Despite the long winters, Norwegians are some of the happiest people in the world. One of their strategies to embrace the cold season is to increase coziness through candles and fireplaces. Norwegian homes are also typically designed to maximize light, with bright whites and sheer or translucent window treatments. According to Bruce Renneke, Seattle’s lead National Weather Service forecaster, the Pacific Northwest’s weak daylight is due to both cloud cover and latitude. Renneke explains that “the cloud-caused lightlessness is compounded by the Northwest’s latitude, which combines with the winter tilt of the earth to thicken the atmospheric filter the sunlight has to penetrate.” So, how to maximize and embrace the soft, muted grey light of Pacific Northwest winters? First, reach out to the Pickett Street team (info@pickettstreet.com or…Read more
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Mid-Century Rambler
January 13, 2020 /Mid-century rambler located in the Northshore School District on a large and level lot. Walk over the architectural water feature and enter on hardwood floors that lead you through the living room with wood fireplace. Remodeled kitchen boasts quartz countertops, stainless steel appliances, and espresso shaker cabinets. Kitchen opens to dining room and family room with large frame windows. 3 bedrooms including master bedroom with full bath. Sliding doors in dining room and 3rd bedroom open to the deck. All this plus a full guest bath, utility room, 1-car garage, fully fenced yard, garden shed and fire pit. Call Jesse Moore at 425.502.5397 for more information.Read more
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Transformation and Collaboration with 2020’s PNW Operations Retreat
January 10, 2020 /Transformation and Collaboration with 2020’s PNW Operations Retreat It’s that time of year again...and no, I’m not talking about the superbowl. Margaret Smith’s Pacific Northwest Operations Retreat is scheduled for April 2-5th. According to Margaret, she first started this retreat four years ago after recognizing the lack of professional events, conferences, and retreats for real estate administrators and operations managers. If you want to read about last year’s weekend, check out this interview with Margaret Smith. The PNW Operations Retreat features diverse speakers and aims to coach, empower, and create a supportive, honest community for real estate admin. “Many admin have a lot of fear about talking to their team leaders/bosses about what they want or think they deserve,”says Margaret. “Thus, much of this retreat is all about personal development. By working on ourselves first, much of what we need will follow.” If you’re curious about this retreat and her other work supporting admin professionals, retreat out to Margaret at Margaret@pickettstreet.com or 206-228-5067. Or, if you have questions about investing in real estate for the Pickett Street team, contact them at info@pickettstreet.com or (425) 502-5397. In the meantime, here are the deets about the 2020 retreat’s amazing speakers. Gary John…Read more
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What’s Your Word for 2020?
January 3, 2020 /What’s Your Word for 2020? While chatting about the new year, Margaret suggested writing about everyone’s “word for the year.” I like this idea a lot, mainly because writing resolutions can sometimes overwhelm me—it's like, what do I want to accomplish this year? I don’t know, everything! Distilling my thoughts and feelings down to a single word feels simpler, less extreme, a bit more focused. My word came to me this week while I was running with my dog on a mountain trail. We had already been out for a decent amount of time, my legs were aching, my dog was more interested in sniffing and peeing on things than in running, and the top of the ridge was only a couple hundred yards away—we were basically to the top! I almost decided to turn back. But then I thought about how much better it would feel to actually finish the trail's climb, rather than just turning back when the end was in sight and calling it good. This is a long way of saying that my word for 2020 is “finish.” I have started a lot of different creative and professional projects over the past few years, but many…Read more
