In his book entitled The Road Ahead, published in 1995, Bill Gates said about finding homes for sale on the Internet:

“If you put your home on the market, you will be able to describe it fully and include photographs, video, floor plans, tax records, utility and repair bills, even a little mood music. The chances that a potential buyer for your house will see your ad are improved because the information highway will make it easy for anyone to look it up. The whole system of real estate agencies and commissions may be changed by the principals having direct access to so much information.

At first on-line classified ads won’t be very attractive, because not many people will be using them. But then word of mouth by a few satisfied customers will entice more and more users to the service.

There will be a positive feedback loop created as more sellers attract more buyers and vice versa. When a critical mass is achieved, which might be only a year or two after the service is first offered, the information highway’s classified advertising service will be transformed from a curiosity to the primary way private sellers and buyers get together.” (pg 173)

I have an unusual listing for sale, it’s an American Institute of Architects-award winner and was featured in Pacific NW Magazine, so I’m excited about the property and wanted to share the details.

I just did an interview with NPR and it’s featured on their website. There’s a short article about light and how it affects Seattle home prices. You can read the interview on the NPR website, or you can listen to the Podcast and my interview starts at minute 10.00. It’s on the local channel KUOW. It’s always so weird to hear yourself on the radio. Why do I sound like Minnie Mouse?

I also did an interview for the television show “What You Get For The Money” on HGTV. You can watch the clip on YouTube and have a laugh.

And in case you’re particularly intrigued about this home, you can view the website here: http://BarclayCourt.SeattleDreamHomes.com

Buzz Osborne wastes an unidentified real estate agent’s time in this amusing little video. Agent to Buzz: “Go back to Seattle!”

Boing Boing writes of a survey of the 1.9 million accounts on AshleyMadison.com, a dating site for people looking to cheat on their spouses, and come up with a list of the most would-be infidelitous.

Transcribed from the radio and the Hellickson website:

“Hi, it’s Glenn Beck. You probably know how I feel about real estate. I have too many family and friends who have lost their savings, college fund, retirement money, even their own home. But here’s the thing. It doesn’t have to end that way, because not all Realtors are created equal. There are some who put a sign in some yard, put your home on some endless list and then cross their fingers.

But then there are others that go another way. I’m talking about real estate agents like Michael Hellickson.”

You can hear the entire transcript of the Glenn Beck ad on the Hellickson website.

What kind of a company is Hellickson?

I would love to tell you, but I’ve been censored by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service. I noted the rule-breaking and fines that this company has received over the last few years and received a request that I remove this information from my website.

I’m really torn about this idea. On the one hand, I would love to raise the professionalism of my chosen career. On the other hand, I love the idea that for someone who has common sense and wants to work hard, the sky’s the limit. It’s one of the few jobs a woman can do while raising children, it’s schedule is very adaptable. It’s also a great 2nd career for many people. Why should we look down our noses on those without college degrees or make it again another job that requires a degree, when it really is not necessary.

Neither Air Traffic Controllers nor Nuclear power reactor operators nor commercial pilots (all life-or-death/serious jobs) need a college degree…. why should this one? The definition of a professional is a prescribed course of education, a code or set of rules and regulations, and membership in a professional organization, and membership in the National Association of Realtors fulfills these requirements to raise real estate agents to the level of a professional. Why put a college degree on that requirement, too?

The reality, however, is that many Realtors have college degrees. But you can’t teach common sense and you can’t teach someone to be clever.

According to the NAR, Realtors are well-educated, with 44 percent holding at least a bachelor’s degree, which is about double the national average of degree holders in the U.S.. They are active in the political process – 95 percent are registered to vote; 91 percent voted in the last national election and 81 percent voted in the last local election.

In addition, many Realtors hold at least one professional designation, with the most popular being GRI (Graduate, REALTOR® Institute), held by 19 percent of respondents; ABR® (Accredited Buyer Representative®), 14 percent; and CRS® (Certified Residential Specialist®), 10 percent. Smaller percentages hold one of 14 other designations.

In addition, twelve percent belong to the Council of Residential Specialists, 11 percent are members of the Real Estate Buyer’s Agent Council, 5 percent the Women’s Council of Realtors and 3 percent the Council of Real Estate Brokerage Managers; smaller percentages belong to five other affiliates.

Why all this lamenting about lack of professionalism? It seems to me that there are plenty of folks working hard to take continuing education classes after they get their license.

Yes, some agents and Realtors act unprofessionally. Not sure how to stop that. I can only hope they fail miserably and go back to practicing law or whatever else they were doing prior to becoming Realtors, sales agents and real estate brokers.

Unbelievable story out of Florida, about BOA seizing the wrong house in a foreclosure. These poor homeowners weren’t even Bank of America customers, as they had paid cash for their home.

Link HERE

Must submit offer with $10,000 earnest money deposit into escrow subject to inspection. There are no tours so, luckily, there are photos.