Seattle Real Estate:

Buy Real Estate. Invest in Gold. Make Private Loans. These are just a few of the things you can do with funds that you have in your retirement account. It’s all part of the magic of self direction. 
We’ve heard from lots of friends and clients lately that they’re disappointed with the performance of their retirement accounts, [...]

Crisis situation! Sealed bearing broke in my bread machine pan, icky gray lube gunk leaking out. Life as I know it may end. #
I just can’t help myself…it’s stuck in my head. ? http://blip.fm/~4m9jt #
Reading: An emerging opportunity in U.S. housing http://tr.im/jr2i #
RT @NormGregory Ritz Crackers: Seattle is America’s most fun city: http://bit.ly/njOVx #
RT @iggidotcom [...]

We’re hearing a lot about values of bank owned homes these days. There has been debate in some circles on whether or not foreclosures and/or bank owned homes should be used as comparable sales for determining market values in an area.
Naturally, this has led to a great deal of interest in the appraised values of [...]

I appreciate the spirit but if I see another headline along the lines of “Beat Negativity and Stay Positive” I think I’m gonna be sick. #
Happy Birthday Thomas Jefferson! Doesn’t seem very sporting to give him circumstances that surely have him turning in his grave. #
RT @tvanderwell New on Straight Talk Okay, ask yourself something…..: [...]

The Kirkland Reporter ran a story on the latest happenings in the ongoing Kirkland annexation issue. 
“Kirkland City Council voted 5 to 2 to approve legislation to move forward with annexing the Potential Annexation Area of Finn Hill, North Juanita and Kingsgate neighborhoods following a City Council public hearing April 7.“
Google “Kirkland annexation” and take a quick [...]

It’s going to get easier for buyers to tell if Seattle area listings are bank owned or short sales!
The Northwest Multiple Listing Service, which serves the Seattle area (and other areas around the state), announced that they’re rolling out new search fields for “3rd Party Approval Required” (that’s the short sale one) and “Bank/REO Owned.”  The fields are [...]

Three cheers for having the windows open on a warm, sunny day in Western Washington! #
“Let me wander over yonder ’til I see the mountains rise…” ? http://blip.fm/~3v2cr #
Whew…long day…Alex’s presentation tonight was excellent! #
GAH! Anyone else overwhelmed with “Men’s Health” spam lately? #
Reading: Why home prices may never recover - http://tr.im/irSJ - interesting anecdotally, [...]

There has been an unprecedented proliferation of loan modification offers and practitioners recently.  What is a loan modification?  It’s when a person that owns real estate and has a mortgage on the property asks the institution that holds the loan to change the terms of the mortgage - like reduce the interest rate temporarily, reduce [...]

The Seattle Times ran a story today talking about the recall of certain GE ranges sold between 2002 and 2005 - “GE Profile Freestanding Dual Fuel Ranges” to be exact.  You can read the details of the affected model numbers here. 
Also buried in the article was a link to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission.  [...]

Thinking about living in Redmond, WA?  You’ll find the next entry in our Seattle Community Information series interesting.  This installment covers Redmond - from homes listed in Redmond to information about the schools, utility companies, and more.  Check it out!