Category: Bussing Broker

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Bussing Broker: Week 31

Super busy this week, but I made it out for a quick tour today.  I snagged a ride on the 49 to take a look at some properties at the north end of the neighborhood.  Today was a great day for properties with a view – lots of dramatic clouds over the water with piercing sunlight.

One of the upsides, for me, of touring Capitol Hill is that at this point, I know a lot of the other brokers who work the area.  Touring means we can swap stories about how the market is doing, and check in on transactions and clients we wouldn’t otherwise hear about.  One the tour properties I visited today was being held open by an agent who very generously shared a ton of information about co-ops and how they work, way back when I first moved to the Seattle market.  I had virtually zero chance of bringing a buyer to her, but she spent time with me anyway.  That was an area where I didn’t even know there was information for me to look into – co-ops in Seattle aren’t like co-ops elsewhere.  It was a big kindness and very welcoming experience to have early on.  Today I got to see another of her listings and pay that back a bit with feedback based on what I’m seeing with my buyers.  That’s a good day.

Location: Capitol Hill
Time: 1 hour
Transit modes: Bus, foot
Cost: $2.25
Cats petted: 0
Tea consumed: Hot cider
Properties Viewed: 3

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Bussing Broker: Week 30

This time of year, any day that’s a bikable day is worth snagging, and I snagged this one.  It was still a bit drizzly when I headed out, but that cleared up and it wound up being a nice day.  I saw five properties, all of them relatively easy to get to via bike from the Burke-Gilman trail.  Not gonna lie, that trail is probably my favorite stretch of bikeable territory in the city, so that made abandoning the office for a few hours even more appealing.

Here’s hoping there are more such days as the season wears on.

Location: University District, Fremont, Ballard
Time: 2.5 hours
Transit modes: Bike, train
Cost: $2.50
Cats petted: 0
Tea consumed: N/A
Properties Viewed: 5

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Bussing Broker: Week 29

Client needs meant I snagged a car anyway, and while I had it, I dashed out for tour on Queen Anne.  This is the one part of town where even my boundless enthusiasm can’t quite overcome the conveniences a car provides.  Lots of divided streets that don’t share elevations, lots of extremely steep streets that are, for me, unbikable.  Which is a shame because Queen Anne is gorgeous, with some of the best views in the city, and toodling around on foot would be great fun.  I’m still determine to pull this off without catastrophe someday, but this week didn’t bring that day.  I did see some really great properties, though.  The best part: a couple of them have been on the market for a little while.  That’s an opportunity for buyers that’s been in short supply for a long time.

Location: Queen Anne
Time: 2 hours
Transit modes: Car
Cost: $15.80
Cats petted: 0
Tea consumed: Oriental Beauty, hot
Properties Viewed: 6

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Bussing Broker: Week 28

The sun is shining and I shamelessly abandoned the office for a lunch time tour.  I hopped on the train, took it down to Pioneer Square, then worked my way north until I was at Westlake station.  Back on the train and back to work.  That netted me visits to five properties and some spectacularly great views of downtown and the sound.  It was a really great Tuesday tour, and I’m not just saying that because it didn’t involve Queen Anne.

The takeaway theme for today was, “Isn’t this a great balcony? It’ll be quieter, of course, when they finish work on the viaduct.”  Someday!

Location: Pioneer Square, Downtown
Time: 2 hours
Transit modes: Train, feet
Cost: $2.50
Cats petted: 0
Tea consumed: Ice black tea with basil
Properties Viewed: 5

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Bussing Broker: Week Jury Summons

I was just getting back into a streak when, out of nowhere, Jury Summons!

Actually, it wasn’t very out of nowhere.  I was summoned in August, replied with a, “Hahaha, no, try October,” and they obliged.  Nevertheless, it means I spent my property tour time this week hanging out at the Federal courthouse and raising a laminated placard with a number on it.

And now, rainpocalypse!  I love autumn.  I’m just hoping my office keeps power long enough for me to wrap up everything on the to do list.

Next week, though, we’re touring some things.

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Bussing Broker: Week 27

This week was a car week in Queen Anne.  I made it to five places before I had to dash off to meet a client.  I went for houses in the less transit-accessible portions of the neighborhood.  There was a fun range available, with some in need of a lot of TLC and others that have had a full overhaul.  It was also practically a textbook example of what different price points will get you in terms of finish quality and views.

Of course, the low end of that text book example was still listed for over $500,000, and I wouldn’t consider it over priced.  Oh, Queen Anne.  So charming, so expensive.

It has been a long time since I found a kitty to pet on tour.  I’m tempted to call the local staging companies and put in a request for decorating houses with flesh and blood felines.  With the trend toward listing vacated properties, that’s probably the only way I’m going to keep getting my cat-fix at work.

Location: Queen Anne
Time: 2 hours
Transit modes: Car
Cost: $0.00
Cats petted: 0
Tea consumed: None 🙁
Properties Viewed: 5

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Bussing Broker: Week 26

Queen Anne hill remains my great nemesis.  Someday I will take my bike there without suffering ignominious defeat.  Today was not that day because I opted to leave the bike home.  I have no regrets.

If we use a very generous concept of lunch break, I snuck off to tour during today’s.  The 8 runs very near to my office, so I hopped on, took it all the way to its end, and got started.  A new townhouse development on Olympic was open for tour and I checked out the offerings there.  (I’m only counting it as two properties even though there were technically four.)  Between that, the nearby co-op apartment, and the condo on Roy, it’s very fresh to me right now how easy it is to have a gorgeous view in Queen Anne.

After the condo on Roy I hopped on the SLU Streetcar toward Denny and took a look at two condos on Blanchard.  More views, but very different.

The best part was the lucky timing; the 8 arrived to take me back to the office just as I reached its stop.  Very efficient!  And this was yet another tour where I noticed distinct envy from others when I didn’t have to find parking.  I’m definitely a huge fan of that part.

Location: Lower Queen Anne, Cascade
Time: 2.5 hours
Transit modes: Bus, Feet, Streetcar
Cost: $4.50
Cats petted: 0
Tea consumed: Honeybush with Lychee Syrup, Iced
Properties Viewed: 6

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Bussing Broker: Week 25

We’re back!

Happy autumn.  I really should have expected that the entire summer would go by before I had time to make a habit of property tour again, but here we are.  I did get back in with enthusiasm.

Yesterday I hopped onto my bike and took a look at two properties, a house in Wallingford and a condo in Fremont.  Round trip was two hours, but most of that was time on the bike.

Today I hit four condos in Capitol Hill (and returned a stack of books to the library).  There were a lot more buyers out doing the open house tour than I’m used to seeing which was fun for me.

How was your summer?

Location: Fremont, Wallingford, Capitol Hill
Time: 3
Transit modes: Bike, feet
Cost: $0
Cats petted: 0
Tea consumed: Early Gray
Properties Viewed: 6

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Bussing Broker: Week 24

Not even sneaking out for a short Capitol Hill lunch break tour saved me this week.  I suspect this won’t be the last time it happens, either.  This will be the last time I post just to note that nothing happened.  However, I will try to drop in with other goodies for you as the summer wears on.

Location: Nowhere
Time: N/A
Transit modes: N/A
Cost: $0
Cats petted: 1
Tea consumed: Too much
Properties Viewed: 0

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Bussing Broker: Week 23

The business continues, so it’s another sneaking out on Thursday lunch break for tour week.  I originally intended to see only three properties for a fairly quick tour, but the weather was so nice that a tossed in a fourth that wasn’t that much further away.  Also, it was a penthouse with a view, and it’s rarely a mistake to spend a little time taking a look at those.

This is definitely another week where I’d have skipped tour if not for my dedication to science.  Even if I’d had a car I probably would have walked; parking in Capitol Hill is not fun and things were close enough that they’d have likely had overlapping parking spots.

Location: Capitol Hill / East Lake
Time: 1.5 hours
Transit modes: Foot
Cost: $0
Cats petted: 1
Tea consumed: Strawberry milk tea
Properties Viewed: 4