Awake: 6:36am sleep 7+26 overcast; later rain overnight @ Seattle, WA.
Nick & Eriko invited us to join them in touring (2) small houses this morning in the Queen Anne area. We were picked up @ 9:30am; 1st stop, the Coffee Fiore...ahh, what a rich & strong coffee aroma!
Nick parked close to the house we were about to tour, so with coffee in hand, the (5) of us sauntered back to the van & met Noah, the agent for our tour.
Noah's technique as a Realtor is different; there is no pressure, no exaggerating, no taking sides, etc. He gets a salary, not a commission or percentage. Both Nick & we felt more relaxed with this honest approach to exposing anything & everything about a house that other agents wouldn't dare disclose.
In the heart of Queen Anne, the property & house values have been & continue to be very expensive; yes, the property values have dropped a little over the months, but not far enough to buy a decent middle valued home without forking out $ 800,000 to a million plus.
The 1500 square foot house we were looking @, built in yr 1900, is on a squeezed parcel of land, (2) floors with the basement ceiling so low that Eriko had to be careful about hitting her head when casually looking around. Upstairs, the kitchen appliances need to be updated & the bedrooms are very small; in the basement, there is a modest mother-in-law kitchen in decent shape. On the plus side, it does have a small, fenced in back yard, a (2) car garage in poor shape & a paved parking space for (2) more vehicles. Asking price: $525,000.
Next, we met Noah about a mile further west, still in Queen Anne but down the hill & away from the activities & the main services of Q.A. This 1510 Sq Foot Bungalow with (3) bedrooms, (1) bath & updated kitchen, was built in 1909, & is in much better shape.
It too, had a basement (with a higher ceiling) but not what one would call a finished basement. There was no yard to speak of & parking was on the street. Nick rejected this house strictly on location & cost. Asking price: $425,000. He is not ready to buy, but they do get out there & casually tour the homes for sale.
Back @ Zack's house, we all had a small lunch & afterward, K & I called Andrew in PA & wished him a "Happy 4th" Birthday." Andrew said this: "Hi! I love you, bye." He said the same to Kathy. Melissa came to the phone & reminded us that Andrew is not up to phone talk yet. She couldn't talk very long herself as they were getting ready to have birthday cake.
Kathy & I finished packing our suitcases & then Kathy decided to make us & the Nick family a dinner before it got too late. She found some leftovers from previous meals & that was good enough for us; there are still more leftovers for whoever might be hungry.
Meanwhile, Katie came back from her work & Nate finished early so he was also home. Katie & Zack have New Years Eve plans so they didn't join us for dinner & Nate was not ready to eat.
Around 5:45pm, we give the gang a "Happy New Year 2010" in advance; thanked them generously for their hotel accommodations, entertainment, hospitality, sunny days & cheery discussions.
After hugs & kisses, Nick loaded our suit cases into his van & with the Nick family & the rain, we were off & headed for Sea-Tac airport. Traffic moved along quickly regardless of the rain; we said our goodbyes & thanks to Nick & Eriko for all their transporting days & good times (Jerry was fast asleep in his car seat) & more hugs & kisses. Gosh, a hug for Eriko; this lady is really pregnant.
With our extra time, I talked Kathy into sharing a glass of Alaska Amber beer after going thru security; after all, we are flying on Alaska Airlines.
Security was no problem even though I had to open my suitcase & show a few objects to the inspectors.
At our gate, Kathy saw how few people were flying & asked the agent if we could have a seat further forward; she obliged & we went from row (26) to row (9). Our flight was running about (30) min late due to strong headwinds from the previous flight coming from Houston...so I called Larry & gave him a heads up on our arrival for San Diego.
Also, on this "New Years Flight," the steward gave us each a small complimentary bottle of booze to celebrate the occasion. Upon landing, we got the ok for cell phone calls so I notified Larry, who was parked in the cell phone lot that we were on the ground @ 11:05pm. Larry & Sally dropped us off @ the campground gate about 11:40pm. We turned on our TV, watched the BIG ball drop in Times Square, New York City & welcomed 2010 by watching some commercial fireworks out of our motorhome window.
Lights out: 2:00am.
Nick & Eriko invited us to join them in touring (2) small houses this morning in the Queen Anne area. We were picked up @ 9:30am; 1st stop, the Coffee Fiore...ahh, what a rich & strong coffee aroma!
Nick parked close to the house we were about to tour, so with coffee in hand, the (5) of us sauntered back to the van & met Noah, the agent for our tour.
Noah's technique as a Realtor is different; there is no pressure, no exaggerating, no taking sides, etc. He gets a salary, not a commission or percentage. Both Nick & we felt more relaxed with this honest approach to exposing anything & everything about a house that other agents wouldn't dare disclose.
In the heart of Queen Anne, the property & house values have been & continue to be very expensive; yes, the property values have dropped a little over the months, but not far enough to buy a decent middle valued home without forking out $ 800,000 to a million plus.
The 1500 square foot house we were looking @, built in yr 1900, is on a squeezed parcel of land, (2) floors with the basement ceiling so low that Eriko had to be careful about hitting her head when casually looking around. Upstairs, the kitchen appliances need to be updated & the bedrooms are very small; in the basement, there is a modest mother-in-law kitchen in decent shape. On the plus side, it does have a small, fenced in back yard, a (2) car garage in poor shape & a paved parking space for (2) more vehicles. Asking price: $525,000.
Next, we met Noah about a mile further west, still in Queen Anne but down the hill & away from the activities & the main services of Q.A. This 1510 Sq Foot Bungalow with (3) bedrooms, (1) bath & updated kitchen, was built in 1909, & is in much better shape. It too, had a basement (with a higher ceiling) but not what one would call a finished basement. There was no yard to speak of & parking was on the street. Nick rejected this house strictly on location & cost. Asking price: $425,000. He is not ready to buy, but they do get out there & casually tour the homes for sale.
Back @ Zack's house, we all had a small lunch & afterward, K & I called Andrew in PA & wished him a "Happy 4th" Birthday." Andrew said this: "Hi! I love you, bye." He said the same to Kathy. Melissa came to the phone & reminded us that Andrew is not up to phone talk yet. She couldn't talk very long herself as they were getting ready to have birthday cake.
Kathy & I finished packing our suitcases & then Kathy decided to make us & the Nick family a dinner before it got too late. She found some leftovers from previous meals & that was good enough for us; there are still more leftovers for whoever might be hungry.
Meanwhile, Katie came back from her work & Nate finished early so he was also home. Katie & Zack have New Years Eve plans so they didn't join us for dinner & Nate was not ready to eat.
Around 5:45pm, we give the gang a "Happy New Year 2010" in advance; thanked them generously for their hotel accommodations, entertainment, hospitality, sunny days & cheery discussions.
After hugs & kisses, Nick loaded our suit cases into his van & with the Nick family & the rain, we were off & headed for Sea-Tac airport. Traffic moved along quickly regardless of the rain; we said our goodbyes & thanks to Nick & Eriko for all their transporting days & good times (Jerry was fast asleep in his car seat) & more hugs & kisses. Gosh, a hug for Eriko; this lady is really pregnant.
With our extra time, I talked Kathy into sharing a glass of Alaska Amber beer after going thru security; after all, we are flying on Alaska Airlines.
Security was no problem even though I had to open my suitcase & show a few objects to the inspectors.
At our gate, Kathy saw how few people were flying & asked the agent if we could have a seat further forward; she obliged & we went from row (26) to row (9). Our flight was running about (30) min late due to strong headwinds from the previous flight coming from Houston...so I called Larry & gave him a heads up on our arrival for San Diego.
Also, on this "New Years Flight," the steward gave us each a small complimentary bottle of booze to celebrate the occasion. Upon landing, we got the ok for cell phone calls so I notified Larry, who was parked in the cell phone lot that we were on the ground @ 11:05pm. Larry & Sally dropped us off @ the campground gate about 11:40pm. We turned on our TV, watched the BIG ball drop in Times Square, New York City & welcomed 2010 by watching some commercial fireworks out of our motorhome window.
Lights out: 2:00am.
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