Tag Archives: Fox Island

What You Need to Know About Relocating

Moving, whether across town or across the country, can evoke a blend of excitement and dread. New job? New digs? New scenery?  Hooray! Good-bye to friends and family? Loss of familiar routes and routines? The hassle of packing, moving, and setting up in a new location? Perhaps not so exciting.

One thing I’ve learned over the years is that “what you focus on expands.” Sure, you need to address the downsides. But by focusing on the upsides, your positive perspective will make all the difference in the world. Just think: you’ll get to explore a whole new place and all that that new place has to offer! There’ll be new activities, new restaurants, new friends, new parks, and more.

With that in mind, here are some suggestions about the kinds of things you’ll want to research before or during your move process:

1. What amenities are available in the new location and how important are they to your lifestyle?

The area or neighborhood you live in makes your home what it is. Check out Google Maps before your big move. Maybe even make a list of the advantages and disadvantages to each area you research—it can help make the decision easier. If your kids are in school, you’ll likely want a school facility close by. Do you want them to attend a private or public school? Is there one close by? What about grocery shopping? Is it easy to get to? Do you like to have a gym you can walk to? Are there parks? Ask yourself these questions ahead of time. Determine their importance to you and your family.

2. What is there to do in the new location (e.g., recreation and events)

Find out what big events and attractions there are. If your family is into skiing or mountain biking (or any other sport/activity), look to see if there is a place close by where you can participate. What events are there coming? (Finding activities and fun events to look forward to can lessen the impact of a move, such as moving far away from friends and family.)

3. How much does it cost to live in the new location? (Be prepared.)

Cities come with different price tags, as far as cost of living goes. Make sure you know what you’ll be spending before you commit. Gas and grocery price can be different in different regions. Calculate what you can expect to spend in your new city—how does that work for your budget? Shrewd financial planning in advance can make all the difference in avoiding future panic or crises.

4. Plan how you’ll connect once you get there. What are ways you can meet people in your new location? A sense of community and belonging is the first and best way to feel settled and “at home.” Some of this may come from a job or school, but not all of it.  Where can you find likeminded new friends to share life and experiences with? Is there a faith community you can connect with? Civic clubs? Non-profits and community service organizations you can join or volunteer with? Sports teams/fitness clubs you can join? Jumping in to environments like these can make the integration process go much more quickly.

My motto is “love where you live,” and there are so many ways you can help make this happen for yourself and your family when a relocation is involved. I hope these have been helpful; they are only a start.

If you are anticipating a move and have real estate needs as a part of the package, I hope you’ll give me a shout or send an email. Even if you’re moving across country or in another town, I can help with referral and connection to a trusted real estate professional in my network. I’ll do my best to help you and your family “love where you live,” wherever that may be!

Doug Lawrence is a licensed broker with Keller Williams West Sound. He is a certified Veterans and Military Relocation Specialist and a Global Property Specialist. No matte where your move may take you, he can help! You can reach him through this site, by email at dlawrence@kw.com, or by phone/text at 253.341.5287.  

Amazing Views of Hales Passage from Ready-to-Build Fox Island Lot!

Have you been thinking of view property on beautiful Puget Sound in Washington State? Look no further than this: the development has already been done . . . so bring your plans and get going on the water-view house you’ve been dreaming of!

From your vista on desirable Bella Bella Drive on Fox Island, you’ll enjoy unobstructed views of Hales Passage and the Fox Island Bridge. The over 1/4-acre lot is level and has been fully cleared; a three-bedroom septic has been installed and water and electricity are already to the property.

$299,950

Offered by Doug Lawrence and Keller Williams West Sound
MLS#1358855
224 B Bella Bella Dr, Fox Island 98333.

Call for showing; listing agent must be present at initial viewing to highlight all the incredible amenities of this exclusive property. 253.341.5287
dlawrence@kw.com
www.douglawrencerealestate.com

Offers: Seller intends to review offers upon receipt.

Doug Lawrence is a Fox Island resident whose motto is “Love Where You Live!” He especially enjoys the opportunity to offer others a chance at the “island living” enjoyed by residents on Fox Island. You can find out more about Doug and Fox Island living at www.foxisland.net and www.visitgigharbor.com.

Overcoming Deferred Maintenance: Prepping a Fixer for Sale

So, you want to sell your house, or maybe someone else’s house—an aging or deceased relative, for example. And, for whatever reason, the property has experienced “deferred maintenance.” It needs a lot of work!

Bringing a “fixer” home up to a sellable standard can seem overwhelming sometimes, especially when it needs significant improvements. Getting top dollar for a property that needs work can be challenging, especially if your budget for improvement is tight. That being said, with the right perspective, some creativity, and strategic emphasis on the right things, it can be done—for less time and money than you probably think.

Where to Get the Most Bang for Your Buck

Experts often say to put your energy into updating the kitchen and bathroom for maximum impact. However, a major renovation in these areas can set you back tens of thousands of dollars and take weeks to complete, which simply isn’t possible within a tight budget and time frame. So instead, make your focus on the areas of the home that will make a good first impression and enhance the overall look of the house—for a minimal outlay of cash. Here are my top five recommendations:

1. Get rid of the clutter. Buyers need to be able to visualize their own life in the house—impossible if there are piles of stuff everywhere! The clutter has to go. (If this feels overwhelming, hire a high school or college student who wants to make a few extra bucks to help you sort.) Have three categories of bags or boxes available as you move through the rooms: throw away, give away, put away (keep). The “keep” pile will be the minimal amount of stuff you either want to take with you to your next home if you are selling your own home, or perhaps mementoes or heirlooms you want to pass on to family members, etc. in the case of liquidating a home for a relative. “Give away” goes to Goodwill or other similar charity (often these organizations can arrange to pick up your stuff). And “throw away,” well, that just goes straight into the garbage or to the dump! (You may also have a “garage sale” pile as well.)

2. Give rooms a facelift. Repaint the interior walls in a neutral color. Replace carpets (opting for a low-cost but good-quality laminate floor is often a good choice). Paint and new flooring not only improve the look of the house, but also the smell, giving the impression of fresh, clean, and new.

3. Get rid of dated or dodgy furniture. Keep only the nicest furnishings (less is more). If you don’t have any, consider borrowing statement pieces from friends or neighbors temporarily to improve the look of the home for showing. Or pick up a few new inexpensive or free things on Craigslist or local give-away websites. If staging isn’t your forte, ask a friend with an eye for style to help you arrange the rooms attractively. Your real estate professional may be able to provide assistance with this.

4. Give every surface a deep clean. Include exterior surfaces and windows, interior walls, floors, trim, doors, bathrooms, tile, etc. If you don’t have the time or energy for cleaning, hire some help. It will be worth it!

5. Tidy the front and outside of the house. Weed and trim the gardens, prune hedges, and mow the lawn. This makes a tremendous improvement in the curb appeal, for little to no money. The changes that will make the biggest impact may actually cost nothing more than a few weekends of hard work! Tip: adding bark mulch is an affordable update that is especially effective, as it injects color and makes garden beds look neater. Also, clean the roof and gutters. (If the roof needs to be replaced, do it now. You don’t want the roof to be an area of distraction and it will likely be required anyway.)

 Keep Your Buyers’ Goals in Mind

Consider that potential buyers of a dated or fixer property will likely be planning on renovating themselves, and will have their own ideas on what changes they want to make. So you don’t have to do everything, especially things they will likely later undo. That’s why spending big on significant improvements can actually be counterproductive in these situations. Your job is to make the home and property liveable, neat, and tidy, so they can best see and appreciate its potential.

Your buyer can take it from there!

(c) 2018. Doug Lawrence Real Estate. All Rights Reserved.

Doug Lawrence is a licensed real estate broker with Keller Williams West Sound in Gig Harbor, Washington. Do you have a “fixer” you’ve been thinking of selling and are dreading getting it prepped? Give him a call, whether you’re around the corner or across the country.  He’s happy to help you get the process started and guide you all the way from sorting to SOLD! 

The Best Place in Washington to Retire

Welcome to the Best Place in Washington to Retire!

Gig Harbor is proud to enjoy the distinction of having been named first on a list of “Best Places to Retire in Washington,” according to a study released by financial technology company SmartAsset. Gig Harbor scored a whopping, state-high score of 87.60 on SmartAsset’s Best Place to Retire index, edging out Sequim (84.93) for the top spot. Not only that, SmartAsset’s recreation index also placed Gig Harbor at the top among Washington cities!I

What makes Gig Harbor such a great place to retire? The study cited, among other things, the benefits of Gig Harbor’s 12 percent tax rate, 11.5 doctor’s offices per 1,000 people, and 23.6 percent of the population at senior age.

But besides the facts and figures, the retirement lifestyle in The Maritime City offers all kinds of delightful opportunities.  Make new friends or meet up with old ones over coffee or a happy hour; both the Uptown area and the downtown waterfront offer multiple enjoyable options. Many Gig Harbor retirees also enjoy the all-ages, fitness-oriented environment at the Tom Taylor Family YMCA in Gig Harbor North, where they can take a walk indoors, make waves in a Silver Splash water aerobics class, or volunteer and become part of the fun and dynamic community. They can also join the Active Retirement & Senior Club of Gig Harbor, a membership-based organization offering a full slate of recreational and cultural activities.

Outdoor opportunities are plentiful, rain or shine, including “walking the harbor” (what locals call a stroll or jog on the waterfront) or the Cushman Trail, kayaking or paddleboarding, boating, fishing, and more. The arts are alive and well in Gig Harbor’s monthly Art Walk and the many local galleries and annual Art Festival.

Have a bit of the wanderlust? If you’re wanting to venture beyond Gig Harbor’s relative peace and quiet, opportunities for outings abound. The big city amenities of Seattle and Tacoma are not far away, nor is the unsurpassed beauty of coastal communities and mountainous national parks to the east and to the west. Whether your bent is concerts or camping, a delightful variety of entertainment and recreation options lie at your doorstep, and the time to enjoy them is . . . now!

Doug Lawrence is a licensed real estate broker with Keller Williams West  Sound in Gig Harbor. Give him a shout for all your buying, selling, and investment in real estate needs; he’s here to serve and make your transition to or within Gig Harbor (and the surrounding area) as smooth as possible! www.douglawrencerealestate.com

Walk/Run/Bike the Cushman Trail

#PierceCounty: are you looking for an all-ages, all-skills route for your next run, walk, or bike ride?  If you’ve not yet checked out Gig Harbor’s five-mile Cushman Trail, now’s the time!

The Cushman Trail is a paved community trail that will keep your interest and adrenaline pumping along its undulating hills and changing vistas. It’s as much of a workout as you’d like to be, depending on which parts of the trail (or all of it) you take advantage of. Like hills? A roundtrip between the trailheads on 14th Avenue Northwest and Borgen Boulevard climbs nearly twice as many vertical feet as a round trip on the similar Foothills Trail (from Puyallup to South Prairie), even though it’s less than half the distance. In some places, the Cushman Trail has a grade of 10 percent.

That being said, the trail is accessible to walkers of all ages and skills, and hand rails and benches are found at many spots along the trail (as well as restrooms, five to be exact). The trail has a difficulty rating of 3 (5 is most difficult; 1 is easiest). If you do the whole thing and back, you’ll travel 12.4 miles round trip with an elevation gain of 800 feet along the way. The trail is 16 feet wide with four-foot-wide gravel shoulders. Dogs are permitted on leash (and please clean up after them!).

For cyclists, the Cushman Trail can easily be linked with Tacoma’s Scott Pierson Trail, which adds a scenic trip over the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. To access the Pierson Trail from the Cushman Trail’s 14th Street trailhead, head south to 24th Street and turn right. From there, locate the Pierson Trail on your left after crossing State Route 16. There is no toll for crossing the bridge by bike.

Summertime is a great time to get out and take advantage of the beautiful weather and views around Gig Harbor. Check out the Cushman Trail, get some exercise — and enjoy!

DIRECTIONS: To reach the 14th Avenue Northwest trailhead, take the 24th Street Northwest exit from State Route 16 and turn east. After one block, turn left on 14th Avenue and drive north for half a mile. The trailhead will be on the left.

(c) 2018 Doug Lawrence Real Estate. All Rights Reserved.

Doug Lawrence is a licensed broker with Keller Williams West Sound in Gig Harbor, Washington. He loves finding new things to do in his hometown and is always eager to pass it on! Find him at www.douglawrencerealestate.com #lovewhereyoulive #douglawrencerealestate 

(Close) Quarters for the Holidays

As much as I love summer and sunshine, winter—and the holiday and festive occasions it presents—is by far my favorite time of year. I am a sucker for the lights and music and the food (and did I mention the food?)! But for me, the “the most wonderful time of the year” is all about family and friends.

My wife and I have a large family and we love to hang out together. We also like to maintain an open-door policy with that rather large family and any of their friends. This offer of hospitality will often include an overnight stay or two at Stone’s Throw, our home.

If the holidays will be bringing overnight guests to your house too, you may be looking for some ideas about how to accommodate them. With that in mind, here are some helpful ideas to provide the warmest and most inviting guest spaces for the holidays. (Guest room not required.)

  1. Create a warm welcome and environment. Fresh towels, chocolates on the pillow, and a bottle of water or two close by, and do not forget an extra amazing cozy blanket.
  2. If your living room doubles as your spare room, be creative by creating an area that lends itself to sleeping. Add a screen for privacy and invest in a good quality airbed. Add as many bedroom-type touches as is practical. Create a little nightstand and a place to charge a cell phone.
  3. Also remember: when your living space doubles as a sleeping space, be sensitive to your guests’ need for rest. When we have a houseful, we often will give our master bedroom to guests and we will use the airbed in the living room. This especially helpful if your guests have a little one. Plus, it allows us to move about late at night or early in the morning and not disturb our guests.
  4. Make an effort to provide a space for luggage and personal belongings. No one wants to have to keep moving their stuff every morning and back again in the evening. A luggage rack or closet, or even a private corner of the room, are some ideas.
  5. Be sure to help your guests feel at home. Share house rules if any and direct them to all provisions and amenities (food, drink, hot tub, Wi-Fi password, TV remote instructions, etc.)
  6. Keep yourself sane. Go for your walk or run in the morning and drink your glass of wine in the evening. Be flexible with everything else.
  7. Not everyone loves your furry friends as much as you do. If you are a little tight on space this holiday, consider boarding your pets to allow for less congestion. We will be boarding our two dogs for a few strategic days this month.

I love this time of year and I look forward to sharing it with family and friends both near and far. I hope you, too, are able to take the most of this amazing opportunity to enjoy this time of year—along with all who will gather in your home.

Doug Lawrence is a licensed broker with Keller Williams West Sound in Gig Harbor, Washington, serving Pierce and Kitsap Counties and referring across the United States and around the world.  Whatever your real estate needs may be, now or in the New Year, you can find him at www.douglawrencerealestate.com.

(c) 2017 Doug Lawrence. All Rights Reserved.

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Think You Can’t Afford It? Think Again.

September means back to school, back to routine, and back to . . . home shopping?  Yes, for many folks!

Although, as I mentioned last month, this has been a challenging market lately, affording the mortgage payment for the house they want IS possible for many prospective homeowners. Why then, by all accounts, is a sense of “unaffordability” plaguing the market?

Researchers at Freddie Mac offered several answers to that question in its latest Insight, the first one being perception. Homebuyers struggling to find reasonably-priced listings perceive the housing market in general as unaffordable — a reasonable conclusion, if their only options to date have been out-of-reach stock.

Secondly, the high likelihood these days for competition (i.e., “bidding wars”) is off-putting, both for first-time homebuyers and for sellers re-entering the market. The hesitation of these would-be sellers is notably tamping down already tight inventory.

“Thanks to very low mortgage rates, monthly mortgage payments are affordable for the average household despite currently high house prices,” says Sean Becketti, chief economist at Freddie Mac. “Nevertheless, hurdles to homeownership arise from the difficulty of finding a house. The supply of homes for sale is very tight, especially starter homes, and underwriting requirements are more rigorous than they were in the past.”

Would-be homeowners are also not confident about their prospects because their incomes have stayed relatively flat compared to home prices. Incomes have grown by an average 2.4 percent annually since 2012; home prices, however, have grown an average 6 percent.

“Many potential first-time borrowers are stymied by variable employment and income histories and the challenge of accruing a down payment while simultaneously paying down their student loans,” Becketti says. “In fact, a high level of household debt, particularly student debt, poses perhaps the largest obstacle to first-time homebuyers.”

Homeownership — stripped down to just the mortgage payment — is affordable, the researchers concluded, but challenged by barriers that play a hefty role in the home-buying process. Perception, after all, is reality.

Are any of these factors playing into your decision to buy or not buy, to sell or not sell?  I’d be happy to talk through with you how these issues might affect you (or not), and help you find workable solutions for your unique home-buying or home-selling situation. After all, I’m here to help you “love where you live!” ~Doug

Doug Lawrence is a licensed broker with Keller Williams West Sound in Gig Harbor, Washington. You can find him at http://www.douglawrencerealestate.com, or by email at dlawrence@kw.com, or by phone at 253.341.5287

Source: Freddie Mac , Photo by 2.0 Generic

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On Low Inventory: From Challenge Comes Opportunity

The last few months have been a bit frustrating for a number of my clients as it took longer than anticipated for them to secure contracts on new homes. Finding suitable and available houses, and then securing the winning bid among competitors, has been a challenge!

My clients are not alone when you look at what’s going on around us: low inventory is the foremost issue in the housing market right now. Buyers in today’s market in our area face relentless demand for a scarce supply of reasonably priced homes. In fact, in a recent survey by the National Association of Mortgage Professionals (NAMB), fifty-eight percent of mortgage professionals cited low inventory as the biggest hurdle for homebuyers today.

The inventory dilemma has even overshadowed concerns about mortgage lending standards. These standards, which some still view as too strict, have relaxed since the early, strong-armed days post-recession. In fact, according to a recent survey by Fannie Mae, more lenders have taken steps to open up access to credit since the start of 2017, and more plan to continue to do so in the future. This is good news! And coming up with enough money for a down payment has also become less of a factor, according to the same NAMB survey.

I was glad to be alongside my clients, helping them navigate this challenge, and ultimately helping them find and secure their homes. At the same time, my clients who are sellers have also appreciated the  professional assistance to deal with multiple offer situations.  Face value is not always an accurate representation of reality. That’s why having an experienced real estate agent is more important than ever to help both buyers and sellers navigate this intensely competitive market.

Undeniably, there are fewer homes on the market—but there are also many opportunities. How will you use today’s environment to your advantage?

Doug Lawrence is an agent with Kellers Williams WestSound in Gig Harbor, Washington. You can reach him at dlawrence@kw.com for advice or assistance on your upcoming home sale or purchase.

Love Where You Live: The Adventure

In other posts, I’ve written about the joy of loving where you live, and I certainly do! (When I say “love where you live,” I’m not just talking about the space you occupy, your home, or the town you live in, but also the region you inhabit.)

Loving the region where you live can take a bit more work than simply loving the house you live in, making an effort to get out and discover it to appreciate it. I thought about that recently when I had the privilege of accompanying one of my sons-in-laws on an overnight backpacking trip to one of his favorite places: La Push, Washington.

Not all destinations are easy to get to and this was one of them. La Push is a wild place where land meets water and jagged rock formations make stunning silhouettes against the brilliant red sun when it sets over the Pacific Ocean off Washington’s west coast. First, Second, Third, and Rialto Beaches are highly recommended there; we chose Second Beach, a mile-long stretch with several freshwater streams that meander from sand to sea. It’s one of the few places I’ve encountered where you’re still free to help yourself to driftwood for a fire.

You can’t see Second Beach by just pulling off the freeway at one of those visitor viewpoints and jumping out of your car for a quick look. No, this is one of those places that requires some planning and attention to detail to get there. So, we diligently packed our backpacks, grabbed our bedrolls and—oh, did I mention our bear cans?—and set out.

Once on the beach, we found a place to make camp: close to fresh water but far enough away from other campers to make us feel like we were miles away from anywhere and anyone. The continuous sound of the waves was both our lullaby and our alarm clock. No cell phones, no computers. It is some of the best of the wild that Washington has to offer.

This kind of adventure reminds me that many times, the best things in life take work to experience and appreciate. Loving where you live can require planning and preparation, not at all unlike buying and selling real estate. Buying a home—or selling one—is admittedly a lot of effort. But it also can afford you that sweet spot of being in a place that’s perfect at just the right time in your life.

My ocean adventure was worth every bit of effort it took to prepare for it and get there. It reinforced my conviction that the best things in life require effort—and reminded me how much I love where I live!

(c) 2017 Doug Lawrence. All Rights Reserved.

Doug Lawrence is a licensed broker with Keller Williams West Sound in Gig Harbor, Washington. He loves the opportunities the real estate profession gives him to help people love where they live! If you’d like to buy, sell, or invest in real estate in the Pierce or Kitsap County area, give him a shout (or a call, or an email): dlawrence@kw.com or 253.341.5287.

The Gift of Giving

christmasgifts

The value of a (person) resides in what he gives and not in what he is capable of receiving.

~Albert Einstein

As much as I enjoy receiving Christmas gifts, I think my favorite part of Christmas has always been watching my family unwrap and enjoy the gifts I have chosen for them. I really do find it more fun to give than receive (not that I don’t like receiving!).

The quality of “living to give” is something I admire in others. People who live generously—not just with their money, but who give generously of themselves—really make the world go around. Many times, they are nameless and faceless, so to speak—not motivated by recognition or financial return on their investment, but rather by the intrinsic joy that comes with generosity.

This runs counter cultural to the messages we receive around us in our culture most of the time and especially over the holiday season. Buy, buy, buy. Accumulate. Indulge. You deserve it. At the same time, there is a whole population, a whole world, that is desperately in need—and not just materially. Sometimes the greatest needs are needs of the heart, for things like compassion, friendship, and assistance.

Generosity is that quality that empowers us to be the answer to another person’s need, whether that need is financial, emotional, practical, or spiritual. A friend of mine pointed out, “We win by losing. We gain by giving away. And, our greatest memories are of the gifts we gave rather than the ones we received.” I couldn’t agree more.

I hope you enjoy the best gift of all this holiday season – the gift of giving!

Best wishes, Doug

Doug Lawrence is a certified real estate broker with Keller Williams Realty in Gig Harbor, WA.