Seattle’s 2010 greenfest

Last year the Green Festival was held in March. I went to check out the web site to make sure I didn’t miss it and found it is not until June this year.

Bummer we have to wait that long but that will give everyone more time to tell their friends about it! I hope they have a Live Blogging zone again this year! That was really fun and that is how I met Ricardo Rabago of PCC Natural Markets and Chadd Bennett of Retro Razor!

Another Native Plant Stewardship Training Opportunity

The Washington Native Plant Society is partnering with the cities of Bellevue, Issaquah, Sammamish, Kirkland, and Redmond, along with King County DNR and Parks to train local volunteers.

Learn native plant ID, ecology and restoration skills, and then volunteer with a small team from the class restoring a local natural area.

Classes are held Fridays, Beginning April 16th, through June 25th. There are three Saturday Field Trips. Class will be held at Lewis Creek Park, Bellevue.

The training is free, but in exchange, Native Plant Stewards commit to providing at least 75 hours of restoration and 25 hours help WNPS with skills you ve learned. Teams of stewards will get to design and implement their own restoration management plans for a specific site within East King County.

To Apply:

Download an application from www.wnps.org under *What’s New*

Contact Stewardship Coordinator, Deborah Gurney at 206.200.3310 or email at npsp_kc@wnps.org

This Thursday evening: I feature “green” pottery artist Michael Eric Dennett at my office during West Seattle Art Walk

First appearing at the November grand opening party of my office on Harbor Avenue SW (Suite 104 of the ActivSpace building), potter Michael Eric Dennett returns for another sale event. This is currently an exclusive outlet of his functional hand-crafted clay wares, being held during the West Seattle Art Walk.

In this video I show off Eric’s many pieces, and then in a short interview Eric explains “chattering: and “wedging”, then reveals which is his favorite piece out of all of the ones he currently has available.

This video was shot in February, so certain pieces seen here might have been sold. But new pieces will also be appearing. So come check it out, this Thursday, March 11, from 6 to 9 PM.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWfDOIdJ_Cc]

Fannie Mae Offers Money for Closing Costs and Appliances

Thinking about buying an “REO” property? This is a home that has been foreclosed on, is vacant and now the lender owns it. But Fannie Mae (or any lender) does NOT want to own property! They are in the business of managing money, not managing real estate!

So they are offering some incentives to get rid of their inventory of homes they now unfortunately own.

From today’s Realty Times –

More Incentives To Buy Home: Fannie Mae Offers Money for Closing Costs and Appliances
————————————————————————————-

Fannie Mae wants to sell its housing inventory that it acquired through foreclosures. The properties are listed for sale on HomePath.com. To do so, it’s offering buyers incentives for those properties

Full Story

And as a reminder, I am a real estate agent. If you know someone looking for a good deal on a house, even maybe they check out this Homepath list of homes, have them drop me a line!

Low Rates Help Make Home Buying More Affordable

Fresh from today’s Realty Times

Low Rates Help Make Home Buying More Affordable
———————————————–

Freddie Mac today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey in which the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.97 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending March 4, 2010, down from last week when it averaged 5.05 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 5.15
percent.

Full Story

Why I can’t give up my SIRIUS satellite radio

I got my MINI in April 2003, and Steve bought my MINI Sirius for Xmas that same year. Gabbing on the radio by DJs drove me nuts and so did the ads, and weather every 10 minutes like it had changed? Stupid. To have a radio where all I did was listen to music? What a concept. Happy to pay for that ability.

In 2004 we drove across a large part of the country and never had to change the station. What a concept.

At gas stations people would see the sticker on my car (or the magnet) and ask me about it. I sounded like a salesman. I wished I had money to buy stock. I was an enthused fan for sure.

Tonight I just spent 70 minutes on the phone with Sirius since I got a phone call last night after they tried to charge the bank card for annual renewal and the bank account had been closed (oops forgot to tell them). So we owed them money and they were going to cut me off if I didn’t call right away.

I’d been meaning to call for weeks to wheedle a free receiver out of them since mine is over 5 years old and I’ve decided they must have a 75k mile limit on their solder connections. Whenever I hit a pothole, bump, or railroad crossing my receiver would cut out and it would take 10-15 seconds for the signal to get picked up again.

Seems bold to ask for a free radio when you owe money. But since I had been a customer for probably almost $2k worth of service over the last 6+ years, I felt I was warranted.

After talking to Mister “K is for Kilo” about my problem (I asked after he said that and found out he was from Egypt), the money I owe, and how much it was going to cost to renew for another year, I bought in to getting the all new Starmate 5, being advertised for $129.99 plus only $4.99/mth for 3 months service. But I was going to get the receiver for only $39.99.

To just renew the two lines and not change anything was $273.81. It seemed like a good deal to me.

So I authorized a charge for $52.83 for a new radio to be shipped to me, and in a couple days’ time there will be another charge for $42.20 for service and activation. After my receiver arrives I can call up and activate it and switch to something new that they have, called “a la carte” service. Never had heard of it. He was prompted to tell me about it when I said look, I just listen to 5 stations, I don’t need anything fancy (like a new radio).

Evidently “a la carte” service lets you pick up to 50 stations to listen to and the receiver screens out the rest. And it’s only $8.99 + .97 music royalty fee, instead of $14.99 plus $2 something or other.

I am glad Sirius got smart and figured out who their customers are. And what we are right now is financially challenged. After arranging for this deal I was transferred to the Cancellation department to cancel the old receivers. I knew Steve would be willing to listen to his iPod rather than pay $98.89 for his 2nd receiver, after paying $164.24 for the first. $273.81 right now for something that other people get free out of the air just wasn’t going to fly.

Of course, Cancellation told me they could have just sent me a free replacement for my current bare-bones receiver. It seems Sales doesn’t know that replacement for receivers as old as mine are free. But I admit the thought of actually being able to read the song artist and title sold me. My current receiver is not readable unless it is dark out. And you’re not moving.

So I was still going to cancel Steve’s receiver. Then she told me I could keep it active for 5 months for only $20. This is essentially half price, and they’re not making me pay for the whole thing up front. This I could do.

Steve will be so happy. After he gets his car back from repairs. He hasn’t been in his own car for weeks. Luckily he’s in a borrowed vehicle. It’s weird parking next to a green Jeep Cherokee in the garage. It takes up too much room for sure!

And I taught Mister “K is for Kilo” that for us it’s K is for Kangaroo or Kit Kat bar, no kilos around here.

The Starmate 5 radio has a blue wide-screen display, sleek black finish, push-button navigation and advanced features to maximize the SIRIUS experience in your vehicle. Effortlessly move your radio from your vehicle to docking kits or audio systems for the home, office or other vehicles.

March Edible Plant Sale Kicks Off Year of Urban Agriculture

Seattle Tilth Promotes Spring Veggie Gardening

Seattle Tilth’s first ever Early Spring Edible Plant Sale will launch Seattle into what Mayor Mike McGinn and the City Council have proclaimed “The Year of Urban Agriculture.” The event will take place on Saturday, March 20, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. at Magnuson Park.

Choose from a wide selection of locally grown organic vegetable plant starts that are ready to plant during the spring season. Rare, heirloom and favorite organic veggie varieties will be the stars of the show. Also available will be culinary herbs, edible flowers, favorite cane fruits, unusual fruiting shrubs, and fruit bearing trees. All of these plants have been chosen by the Seattle Tilth garden experts because they grow well in the Pacific NW climate, helping new and experienced gardeners bear fruitful rewards for their efforts in the garden.

This new event for Seattle Tilth is intended to encourage spring vegetable gardening, a great way to extend the growing season beyond those precious warm weeks of summer, one of the major benefits of our maritime climate for gardeners. The Early Spring Edible Plant Sale in March is the first on the calendar in a series of three sales offered this year by Seattle Tilth. The annual Edible Plant Sale on May 1 and 2 will offer the largest selection of organic edible plants in the region, with a focus on summer crops. Eastsiders can attend the Issaquah Edible Plant Sale on May 22. These plant sales are an important fundraiser for Seattle Tilth, supporting educational programs for families with limited financial resources.

Free talks on seasonal gardening topics will be offered during the plant sale, and garden experts will be on hand to answer gardening questions. People who want to shop early with the best selection are invited to come to the “Early Bird” Pre-Sale on Friday, March 19 from 5:30-7 p.m. by purchasing tickets for $25, helping raise additional funds for Seattle Tilth, or people can work as a volunteer for the event and receive an invitation to the pre-sale.

“For all those who would like to get started gardening this spring, or learn how to grow more food successfully, Seattle Tilth can help. Interest in growing food using organic methods has skyrocketed, and we are offering a wider variety of classes at more locations than ever, all over the city, to meet that interest.”

Celebrate the first day of spring with the gardening community by coming to the Early Edible Plant Sale and get your garden started with healthy plants for your spring garden. Find more information at seattletilth.org.

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About Seattle Tilth: Begun in 1978, Seattle Tilth is a regional organization with learning gardens in north, central and south Seattle, and in the City of Issaquah, offering classes and programs that serve adults and children throughout King County.

Seattle Tilth’s mission is to inspire and educate people to garden organically, conserve natural resources, and support local food systems in order to cultivate a healthy urban environment and community.
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What consumers need to know about 2010 license law changes affecting real estate practitioners

Actually this should be called “what agents need to know”, but consumers do too and the headline sounded more intriguing this way.

I took a “core” clock hour course recently. Every license renewal period real estate agents are required to take this course, which is updated annually. Licenses renew bi-annually, tho, so you could miss important updates if you don’t take the class every year.

There are some big changes happening this year – July 1st to be exact. These changes affect agents AND consumers in a big way so I wanted to do a public update so real estate customers know what changes effect them the most. (Please keep in mind this update is for Washington state only.)

John Hanson of Olympus Real Estate School from Olympia taught the class. Below are my notes only from the class. The instructor handed out a very nice take-away packet with all of the important information in detail for attendees. It was a full class!

John started with a motivational/humorous story but my takeaway was this: “Real estate agents are catalysts, they make things happen.”

License Law Changes
There are some big changes coming this year for Washington real estate agents. The biggest change is that every agent will be licensed as a Broker, it will no longer be called “Salesperson”. The levels are broker, managing broker, and designated broker. Agents won’t have to do anything to begin using the new title July 1st. There is no new authority given to the licensee, just a name change. Associate Brokers become Managing Brokers. Any real estate company in WA state must be licensed as a “firm” and every “firm” must have a Designated Broker (a Managing Broker from that office).

Agent teams require the lead agent to be licensed as a Managing Broker. This provides an added layer of qualified and educated supervision between the Designated Broker and the individual agents who might make a misstep. Anyone who has a supervisory position over another (say an agent who as an assistant) will have to be licensed as a Managing Broker.

Agents (brokers) with less than 2 years experience will have to have every transaction reviewed by the Managing or Designated Broker and the supervisor’s initials and date must be on the first page of the contract within 5 days of mutual acceptance..The State Audit department will be looking for this.

Distressed Properties and Short Sales (SS)
Did you know it costs the lender $50k to go through a foreclosure?

Advising a Seller on whether they should go the route of a SS is perhaps overstepping your expertise. Being knowledgeable as to who is appropriately licensed and prepared to handle the situation is often the best service that we can give. There are some lingering possibilities that you should not have been doing what you were doing (helping with a SS).

First ask them if they can work something out with their lender.

Maybe they should be renting the property out?

We have a statute duty (not fiduciary) to put the sellers interests ahead of our own – which may mean we don’t get paid.

New Carbon Monoxide Statute
Do you remember the December 2006 Wind Storm of the Century? I do, because I got caught in a flash flood shortly before the wind storm hit and my MINI Cooper ended up blowing its engine because it “snorkeled” on West Marginal Way when I drove through maybe two feet of water for 30 feet – twice – in my attempt to beat the storm home. We were without power for over 24 hours but were fine because we had installed a wood stove fireplace insert with a cooktop and had oil lanterns. We were warm, we were able to cook, and although the 100 year old cedar tree that “made” our property split and hit the neighbor’s house, we suffered no other damage.

Some people, though, lost their lives during the recovery period of that storm from cooking indoors with a barbecue or running a generator to provide electricity to the house from an attached garage and fumes being sucked in to the living areas. Eight people died and over 1,000 people went to the emergency room as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Washington State has enacted legislation that is effective January 1, 2011 requiring all new construction to be equipped with state mandated carbon monoxide detectors. By January 1, 2013 all residential dwellings must be equipped with the alarms. Owner occupied single family residences legally occupied before the effective date of this act are exempt. But for anything that is sold thereafter must have the alarms installed when going on the market – otherwise it is a material defect that must be disclosed on the Form 17 (Property Condition Report by Seller).

As an agent I am responsible to make my clients aware that to list their home for sale they need to install the alarm. And as a buyer, my client needs to be sure a state certified alarm is installed before closing.

Labor and Industries Requirements
Even though real estate agents are independent contractors. real estate firms are required to set up an account with Washington State Labor and Industries. All real estate licensed affiliates are required to be covered by and it is important for them to know that. It is paid for by the for by the broker (and often the expense is passed on to the agents in office costs). The amount of hours each agent works in their business determines the rate the firm pays for that agent. If an agent is injured while in the office or while touring a property, then there is worker’s compensation available through L&I.; Become more familiar with your coverage at http://www.lni.wa.gov/

Referrals of Title Insurance Providers
A new RCW 18.85.053 says the real estate licensee can not give any fee, kickback, payment, or other thing of value to any other real estate licensee as inducement or reward to use a particular title insurance providers.

It goes on to say that real estate licensees or a person who has a controlling interest in a real estate business is forbidden to solicit or accept (or both) anything of value from a title insurance company or agent while the title insurance company or agent is not permitted to give anything.

It further states that a licensee (assume broker in control of an office) is prevented from stopping a title insurance company or agent from delivering printed promotional material to other licensees so long as the material is legitimate.

So, a real estate licensee cannot:
1. Give gifts, kickbacks, or money
2. Accept money, or things of value
3. Deny access to competing title companies, or
4. Require consumers to obtain title services from a title company where the licensee has an interest.

Home Inspector Referrals
Effective 1/31/09 designated brokers were to have a written policy in place that establishes a procedure for the referral of home inspectors to buyers and sellers. WAC 308-124C-050 requires full written disclosure by the licensee of any previous relationship with a home inspector that is being referred to a client, prior to the service being performed.

It is always better to over-disclose than under-disclose. It is good policy to disclose, disclose, disclose.

Property Management
Evidently sales agents have been engaging in property management activities without the broker even knowing it was going on. That has been changed with WAC 308-124D-215 which states there must be a written management agreement and it must be signed by the property owners and the designated broker. At a minimum the management agreement must state:

The firm’s compensation
The type and number of units in the projec
t, or square footage (retail or commercial space)
Authorization to collect and disburse funds and for what purpose
Authorization to hold security deposits and the manner of disbursement
The frequency of furnishing summary statements to the owner

All properties rented or leased by the firm must be supported by a written rental or lease agreement.