Our Thoughts

Get Self-Actualized: Become the Most You Can Be With Finely Clicked Coaching

Get Self-Actualized: Become the Most You Can Be With Finely Clicked Coaching After years of answering questions from and providing guidance for other real estate admin, agents, and rainmakers, Margaret Smith and Jesse Moore decided they should make it official with their brand new coaching program. Both Margaret and Jesse are extremely passionate about building businesses and helping people set and crush their personal and professional goals. With personalized attention through in-person, phone, or Zoom meetings, Finely Clicked Coaching works with you to:  build a strategic partnership change your mindset and get inspired create social media strategy and presence host client events build out your operations manual optimize your work environment design marketing and branding strategies cultivate a voice for your company etc., etc., etc.! To learn more about coaching, and to hear Jesse’s hilarious British accent, listen to the latest episode of the podcast Finely Clicked. To work with Margaret and Jesse, contact Margaret at 206.228.5067 or Margaret@pickettstreet.com. Or, to work with the rest of the Pickett Street team, reach out to them at (425) 502-5397 or info@pickettstreet.com.  In honor of Margaret and Jesse’s coaching practice, here’s why personal development and setting goals is important to thrive in not…Read more

Fall in Love With the Podcast Finely Clicked What are you up to for Valentine’s Day this weekend? Might I suggest checking out the podcast Finely Clicked? As if Margaret Smith and Jesse Moore didn’t do enough already, a little over a year ago they also started this funny, wise, and authentic podcast about business and personal development. While it won’t replace a romantic dinner, it provides the perfect entertainment while commuting, cooking dinner, or getting ready for all your exciting social events. To get you started on Finely Clicked, we’ve gathered a few of the podcast’s best episodes. Feel free to also reach out directly to Jesse and Margaret at (425) 502-5397 or info@pickettstreet.com for more information about the podcast, or about real estate and business in general. Episode 74: Off Market Properties Housing inventory in Seattle is currently low. With homes for sale often receiving multiple offers within just a few days of being listed, low inventory results in a competitive real estate market for buyers. In this episode, Jesse provides a wealth of information about how to get what you want in this kind of market. He explains his creative process when it comes to finding homes…Read more

Secret Agent Profiles: How Pickett Street’s Experts Can Help You Invest and Earn

Secret Agent Profiles: How Pickett Street’s Experts Can Help You Invest and Earn Real estate is an endlessly exciting arena. While some people believe that once they find their dream home they no longer need to work with a real estate agent, this isn’t true. A good agent can suggest housing hacks to earn you even more money, such as this empty nester investor’s secret, or this duplex investment. A good agent can also help you invest in a second or even third property, so you can make money and work on that early retirement. Did you know that Pickett Street has three new agents who can help you achieve your real estate investment dreams? You can get started working with them by calling (425) 502-5397 or emailing info@pickettstreet.com.  In the meantime, here’s a little bit more about each team member and what makes them so good at their jobs. Jessica Townsel, Buyers Agent and Champion Wealth Builder Jessica specializes in all aspects of the home buying process and provides as much knowledge as possible for each client. She likes to challenge buyers to think outside the box. According to Jessica, “a traditional single family home isn't always the smartest…Read more

Neighborhood Profile: Waterfront Living in Lake Stevens

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

Empty Nester Investors: A Conversation With Mary Smith

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

Embrace Winter Dark With These Lighting Design Trends

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

Transformation and Collaboration with 2020’s PNW Operations Retreat

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

What’s Your Word for 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

Pickett Street’s Last-Minute Holiday Gift Guide

Pickett Street’s Last-Minute Holiday Gift Guide My husband and I are currently scrambling around shopping for our last few gifts, which is—arguably—one of the most exciting parts of the holidays. We’ve already shopped for our easiest loved ones, like our mothers who enjoy a wide range of goodies, from pretty jewelry and scarves to innovative kitchen doo-dads. Now, we just need gifts for those slightly frustrating individuals who insist that they “don’t need anything” or, who, when they do need something, immediately buy it for themselves (Dad, I’m looking at you).  This year, my family decided to do a non-materialist Christmas and buy each other experiences instead of objects. For our parents, my husband and I are buying gift cards to their favorite local restaurants. For my environmentally conscious brother, we donated in his name to the National Parks Service. For our extremely minimalist best friend, we are buying a massage gift card. I also decided to ask the Pickett Street team for advice on last-minute gifts this year. Here’s what they had to say. (P.S.—if you’re looking for real-estate related gifts, you might reach out directly to the team at info@pickettstreet.com or (425) 502-5397.) 1. For those times when…Read more

Seattle Real Estate News: What To Expect for 2020

Seattle Real Estate News: What To Expect for 2020 What’s on your gift list this year? If this list includes a new home, it’s not too late to reach out to Pickett Street (info@pickettstreet.com or (425) 502-5397). To help you get started, here’s a quick real estate news update for the Seattle area. It’s a seller’s market. Just when it seemed that the wildly hot, competitive Seattle market had cooled, November brought a few real estate surprises. According to the Seattle Times, “the number of closed home sales in King County rose by nearly 12% compared to the same time last year.” These sales mostly include higher-priced homes, although the general real estate market seems to be tipping toward sellers as well. Additionally, with a small new tax cut for home sellers in 2020, it might be wise to remodel, sit on your home for a bit longer, and sell in the new year. On January 1st, the state’s excise tax will change. Washington currently applies a flat 1.28% excise tax is applied to all home sales. This means that home buyers pay 1.28% of their home’s total closing price. However, due to the recent state excise bill, this rate…Read more

Local Crafts, Wizard 5k’s, and More: An Alternative Guide to Black Friday

Local Crafts, Wizard 5k's, and More: An Alternative Guide to Black Friday With the holiday season’s arrival, my inbox is quickly filling with emails about Black Friday and other shopping deals, which are always tempting, but also, to be honest, a bit overwhelming. As such, I’m currently pondering the alternatives to spending money this week on more stuff that I probably don’t need... A note: this post isn’t to shame Black Friday shoppers! For many families, this day is an opportunity to buy gifts and have fun with each other. And for many low-income folks, Black Friday is the only way they can afford “extras” such as Christmas presents, new electronics, or new clothes.  But, if you don’t need to buy anything this year, or if you’re like me and grow easily overwhelmed in shopping malls, there are plenty of other choices for the day after Thanksgiving. Shop small and local. While shopping online is incredibly convenient—how else can one order Christmas presents while eating leftovers in pajamas?—consider getting out of the houses to support businesses in your community, many of which host Black Friday events just like larger chains.  Local pop-up markets and craft fairs like downtown Renton’s Small…Read more

Six Historic Homes from Seattle’s Colorful Past

Six Historic Homes from Seattle's Colorful Past With its ancient Northwest tribal cultures to its secret underground city to the rum-runners during Prohibition, Seattle hosts some rich history. Luckily for us, several fragments of these stories remain, in the form of historical homes around the area. If you’re interested in buying or selling your own home, historic or not, let Pickett Street help you (info@pickettstreet.com or (425) 502-5397). In the meantime, here a few historic homes if you’re in need of a fun distraction. San Fermo Seattle This Italian restaurant occupies an old pioneer house built in the 1880s. Originally located in the International District, the city eventually moved it to the Ballard Avenue Landmark District to protect it from demolition. The house is a small, carpenter-built, vertical plank, wooden structure, typical of the late 1800s. The Duwamish Longhouse and Cultural Center Though the existing longhouse is not an original structure, the Duwamish tribe built it on a major historical site (Duwamish Site No. 1), the location of two ancient villages called Ha-Ah’-poos (“Where there are Horse Clams”) and Tohl-ahl-too (“Herring House”). Hundreds of families lived in these villages. The longhouse comprises traditional Salish elements, including carved cedar posts and…Read more