Just Listed in Valley Meadows

Hot new 4 Bedroom Chaffey resale just listed in Valley Meadows, one of Maple Valley’s most sought after communities! Traditional 2410 (appx sq ft.) floorplan with formal Living & Dining Rooms, Island Kitchen, Family Room and Main Floor Den. All bedrooms upstairs are oversized & spacious. Laundry room is conveniently located upstairs as well. The lot is located on a cul-de-sac within walking distance of the central Community park and is fully fenced. Priced aggressively at $439,950….compare the comps, this is a great value! More information coming soon….

Ready to Sell in Maple Valley? Go Global!

One of the things I pride myself on as a Listing Agent is the power of my internet marketing program. When I meet with potential sellers in the Maple Valley area, I am able to demonstrate to them through statistics and anecdotes how an effective internet marketing strategy, combined with an experienced eye on local trends can help them be successful, even in today’s market.

One of the features I offer to website visitors is the ability to sign up for automatic Listing updates for the Maple Valley market. A few weeks ago I received an email from a soldier in Iraq who had signed up to have new listings emailed to him. He is researching different communities in the Seattle area, trying to determine where he and his family will settle when he comes home.

Here’s a snippet of his email:

We really do have a broad geography.
I am looking for good schools from Bonney Lake to Lake Stevens.  Maple
Valley is the center and your web-site kept turning up every time I
searched on “Maple Valley”. (Emphasis added by me)

On a weekly basis I have people visiting my various websites and blogs from New York to Texas to California to Dubai (?), and other many other international locations (ok, I’ll admit I don’t even know where some of these countries are) and many of them are repeat visitors.  

Over 80% of home buyers begin their home search on the internet. Today more than ever, it’s imperative to your success that your property have maximum (read global!) exposure beyond a simple MLS listing format. Buyers want details, photos and virtual tours. They want to shop in their PJ’s from the comfort of their living room.

And I’m happy to help them!

If you plan on selling your Maple Valley home in the near future, I’d love the opportunity to talk with you (no obligation of course) about the power of internet marketing and how it is possible to sell, even in a slower market.

 

 Colleen Fischesser is the Broker/Owner of RE/MAX Select in Maple Valley, WA. She has been successfully selling and marketing properties all over South King & North Pierce counties since 1990 but specializes in the Maple Valley Washington area. .She may be contacted directly at: 425-432-5400

 

Copyright 2008, All Rights Reserved Colleen Fischesser

Foreclosures Among Us

It’s a sad fact that our community has not been immune to the mortgage meltdown and downturn of our economy. Every day I see more and more notices of foreclosure for local Maple Valley homes, more bank-owned homes and more short sales which may soon run out of time before being sold at a Trustee’s Sale on the courthouse steps.

But what is even more upsetting is to see people in financial trouble who are not aware they have options. Just this week I heard the story of a woman currently in foreclosure. The bank wanted to work with her on a short sale (where the bank is willing to accept less than what is owed on the house if the seller has a buyer for the property) but either because she didn’t understand the process, or received some bad advice, she ran out of time. Her home will be sold at auction and her credit will reflect that she was foreclosed upon.

If you or someone you know someone is facing foreclosure, there may be options available. Steps which could help you to either postpone or avoid the foreclosure sale altogether. If you are given a Notice of Default, my advice would be to seek legal advice immediately and then contact an experienced real estate professional to help assess the current market value of your property and discuss whether a short sale is a possibility.

Spooky Houses Don’t Sell Well

I should have taken it as a sign when the listing agent told me that the property I was calling about was “very interesting”. Instead I got excited and told him how much I loved to see interesting homes….he just chuckled. (and in hindsight I think his laugh actually sounded a little diabolic) And now I know why.

The original plan was for me to go preview this home first for a client, but at the last minute he called to say he was available to go with me….which was a VERY good thing. Little did I know this house was hands down the spookiest listing I’d ever seen!

Think of any scary movie…it starts with the closed gate at the road, all overgrown- the house completely hidden from the road. No driveway. Had to park in the road and walk through the gate just to see where we needed to go next. Walking carefully, not knowing what might be hiding in the thick vegitation, we finally found the house and keybox. I must have told my client 5 times on the way to the door how glad I was that he was with me. A little dog came out from across the street and I was convinced he was about to say something to warn us about going inside, but he trotted off.

And the house?  Well, I won’t “out” it here, but interesting doesn’t even begin to describe it. Odd….bizarre… eerie….. or how about flat out spooky?

In fact, my client referred to the movie “The Ring” on more than one occasion. (are you getting the picture?) He was willing to walk through the house while I hovered indecisively; not sure whether to follow to make sure he didn’t disappear (you know how often that happens in the movies right? The one who leaves the room never comes back?) or stay close to the exit in case he let out a sudden scream.

Fortunately he did come back after deciding he’d seen enough. We locked up and ran walked back to the car.

It made for good conversation, but in reality this is a home for sale. It’s on the market for buyers to consider. Maybe the owners should un-spook it a little. Can you imagine that staging conversation? “You may want to open up the creepy little room because it will conjur images of b-a-d things”.

I wish the sellers and the agent well and hope someone can see this house in a different light. It may take a while though because spooky houses just don’t show sell very well!

Maple Valley Microsoft Employees Get a Better Commute Option

It looks like Microsoft is expanding it’s commuter bus service to accommodate more employees in outlying areas.  According to a recent article in the Seattle PI, Microsoft will expand it’s connector bus system to add routes both North and South of it’s Redmond campus. A Maple Valley route will be added in October, which has to be great news for local Microsoft commuters. Not only will they be able to save money on gas, but can make good use of the time given that the buses are wired for internet access.

The Maple Valley area market offers a strong school district as well as significantly more affordable housing compared to the Redmond area which is why so many “Microsofties” have chosen to put down roots here. Now they can add commuting convenience to that list of reasons to buy in Maple Valley!

Colleen Fischesser is the Broker/Owner of RE/MAX Select in Maple Valley, WA. She has been successfully selling and marketing properties all over South King & North Pierce counties since 1990 but specializes in the Maple Valley Washington area. She may be contacted directly at: 425-432-5400

Maple Valley Neighborhood Market Update: Valley Green

The following market report is for the Valley Green Neighborhood (Div 1-3) and reflects only single family homes & townhomes listed and sold through NWMLS.

Active Listings: 7 Average List Price: $343,336 Average Days on Market: 142

Expired/Cancelled Listings: 10 Average List Price: $335,630 Average Days on Market 67

Sold Past 6 Mo: 8  Average Sales Price: $336,988 Average Days on Market 69

Valley Green Neighborhood Snapshot

Colleen Fischesser is the Broker/Owner of RE/MAX Select in Maple Valley, WA. She has been successfully selling and marketing properties all over South King & North Pierce counties since 1990 but specializes in the Maple Valley Washington area. .She may be contacted directly at: 425-432-5400

 

Copyright 2008, All Rights Reserved Colleen Fischesser. No part may be reprinted or republished without prior written permission

 

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