N-Provements, Inc.

Gary Nims

425-269-8151

Alpental Construction and Services LLC

Dan Wolfe

206-484-2034

One very important step in buying a home is completing a neighborhood feasibility study. This is often taken lightly or even overlooked by emotional buyers. As a Realtor, I view this study as a very important step in your buying process. What is your commute going to be? Is this the right school district for your children? Are there any registered sex offenders in the neighborhood? What is the crime rate? What is the neighborhood's proximity to your church, family or friends? These are just a few of the important questions you should have answered before you buy your home. So, how do you get the answers? The first step is to make sure you buy your home with the professional assistance of a good Realtor. They can help you with information and leads that will answer many of your questions. Take some time, do some research and get the answers before making your purchase decision. Here some links to help you get started:

Registered sex offenders links:

WASPC: Washington State Sex Offender Information Center

Washington Public Records

Snohomish County Sheriff

Family Watchdog

School districts:

Superintendent of Public Instruction

It was Great! Josh met with me, he did all the paperwork, called me everytime he had a contact. He stayed on top of the time lines I was in, too.

Josh was attentive, detailed, prompt and persistant. He could not have done a better job!

Sellers comments

I had the opportunity to take a good look at real estate from a different perspective last weekend - from the seat of a bicycle riding from Seattle to Portland. During my 10 hour and 49 minute ride, it occurred to me that biking the “STP” with a team is not unlike completing a real estate transaction. The group I rode with was comprised of a team captain and five team members. During the 203-mile ride, we would all take turns “pulling” the other team members by taking the lead biking position. This “pulling” creates a draft for the following riders, and gives them a bit of a break for a short time. Interestingly enough, the same is true in buying or selling real estate. Your team is comprised of inspectors, lenders, escrow and title officers, lawyers, contractors, and real estate agents to just name a few. During your transaction, your team works together. But at any given time, a different member of your team will be “pulling” the other members. The real estate agent, being the captain of the team, keeps track of the team members, timelines, and condition of the team, and signals when its time for a new lead rider to take his place. Another bike analogy has the real estate agent as the hub in the wheel, keeping all the spokes on the same line moving together in the same direction. Interesting comparison? I think so.

Excellent service received. Fast informative. Kept me up to date. Friendly courteous. I don't think someone could do a better job than Josh. I will definitely refer Josh and Windermere to everyone I know that is thinking about selling or buying.

Buyer/Seller comments

Positive, informative, efficient and responsive! Josh was very easy to work with-he gave us a clear plan for marketing the sale of our home, implemented it on time and was available to meet with us at our convenience, which was very helpful. He was also willing to take us to comparable homes in the area on numerous occasions to make sure we decided on the optimal selling price.

Josh did a great job and we would recommend him to anyone looking to buy or sell a home! He was very informative and gave recommendations of price, timelines, preparing our house for sale, etc. without being pushy or obnoxious- he really listened to what we wanted and helped accordingly.

Seller comments

Josh was tireless in his efforts to help us find the perfect home-then when we selected a new construction home he was a key liason between us and or builder. He kept us informed, empowered and involved-and kept the builder held accountable for deadlines, upgrade options and inspections.

Some neighbors in our new community chose to buy their new home without a Realtor and said they regretted it. Having Josh work with us was very beneficial and caused our builder to take our request more seriously. Josh's advice and help got us the perfect house!

Buyers comments

Outstanding! I will refer Josh to everyone! He was the greatest agent I have ever worked with.

Buyers comments

A little piece of advice for anyone who chooses to purchase real estate without involving an agent. Never let the seller hold your earnest money! I recently came across a buyer who decided to purchase a home listed for-sale-buy-owner. The two parties used a lawyer to draw up the agreement, and the earnest money was given to the seller. After some time had passed, the buyer realized that this wasn’t the home for him and wanted out of the deal. And, I might add, he had every contractual right to back out of the agreement. But when the buyer requested a refund of his earnest money, he learned that it had already been deposited (and probably spent!) by the seller. You guessed it; my buyer had great difficulty getting even a portion of his earnest money back, even when he should contractually have received the whole amount. The moral of the story is, when you are purchasing a home on your own, be sure to have an escrow company, a lawyer, a trust account or a third, disinterested party hold your earnest money.