Bipartisan bill might boost the US real estate market

My client in Korea told me about a news he read from Korean media that might boost American real estate market. Of course I was intrigued so I googled to see what it is about and found LA Times article:
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-visas-home-buyers-20111021,0,6715779.story

"Two U.S. senators have introduced a bill that would allow foreigners who spend at least $500,000 on residential property to obtain visas allowing them to live in the United States."

" The legislation would create a new homeowner visa that would be renewable every three years, but the proposal would not put them on a path to citizenship. To be eligible, a person would have to buy a primary residence of at least $250,000 and spend a total of $500,000 on residential real estate. The other properties could be rented. "

"The program would come with several restrictions.
The purchase would have to be in cash, with no mortgage or home equity loan allowed. And the property would have to be bought for more than its most recent appraised value, Schumer said.
The buyer would have to live in the home for at least 180 days each year, which would require paying U.S. income taxes on any foreign earnings. Buyers would no longer be eligible for the temporary visa if the property were sold.
The buyer would be able to bring a spouse and minor children to live in the U.S. but would need to apply for a work visa to hold a job. Neither the buyer nor dependents would be eligible to receive Medicaid, Medicare or Social Security benefits."

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Posted in: Real Estate

Pumpkin time

Pumpkin time is here. I go to Stoney Ridge Farm in Everson every year on my kids' school field trip. It is the best place in Whatcom county! When you are done taking a wagon ride, picking apples and pumpkins, having fun in corn maze, feeding goats, checking out queen bee & animals, taking millions of pictures with all the cute display of pumpkins, make sure to drop by Rusty donut shop for mini donuts and coffee. Yum!

After I dropped my camera the other day, Hubby came home and he made it to work again(I hate when that happens :). Well, it works but is not taking great pictures. I'm not sure if it has more to do with cloudy weather and wrong auto setting I had on but let's just blame on the camera for now.

Anyway, I looked up some old photos I took a couple of years ago. I can't believe how big these kids are getting! This place provides us good fall time fun year after year.

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Posted in: Bellingham event

Whatcom Artist Studio Tour

Have you checked out any artist studios? If you haven't yet, check out a few of your favorites. It runs one more weekend. If you don't have time to go around, you can have a taste of each artist's art at Blue Horse Gallery downtown.

We went to David Ridgway's on Saturday. How I loved his paintings. The vibrant color of local scenary and architenture. I really had hard time leaving his studio. Some day...

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Posted in: Bellinghaml event

Bringing outside in

Bringing outside in adds so much to the room. If you don't have amazing water, mountain or city view to speak of, no worries. Nice tree or a little side yard view is wonderful too.

modern living room design by los angeles architect Ehrlich Architects

contemporary living room design

contemporary dining room design by vancouver interior designer Claudia Leccacorvi

modern kitchen design by other metros architect Ogawa Fisher Architects

traditional patio design by seattle architect Bosworth Hoedemaker

contemporary bathroom design by seattle interior designer Garret Cord Werner

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New addition

I brought this home a while ago because it looked so sad and lonely sitting in a curb all alone.

I gave a good sanding, a couple of coat of Benjamin Moore elephant tusk, put Minwax Wipe on poly to protect the top, changed the hardware. Voila!

I'm using it as a bed side table so I can put all the magazines, books, computer and whatever I want by the bed.
Sorry for the grainy photo that my phone took. I dropped my Nikon and broked the lens and I think I broke the camera too as it is not working with the other lens either. I'm still so mad at myself.

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Posted in: DIY

My first log cabin listing

A good friend of mine is selling a house. I had a previlege of staging their home for professional photoshoot yesterday.  I wanted the house to look the best so I volunteered to do the staging last minute. I can't help it sometimes. It was kind of impromptu so it wasn't really well thought out or anything but still, the difference is so ovbious. It is a log cabin and I wanted it to exude the charm and warmth of everything this house has to offer. My favorite part of this house is radiant heat everywhere and the wok room. I usually like open floor plan but having a separate place for high temperature cooking is divine. Gotta love that. It is a private heaven situated in 21 acre lot!

Photographer, Lyle from Jansma did a great job capturing all of the nice features.
Seller did a great job declutterring everything. If you can not afford staging or professional photography when you sell a house, one thing you must do is decluttering and cleaning.

This house will go on the market tomorrow! I'm so excited.

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Do you need to sell your home and buy your dream home on the beach or simply downsizing? Please give me a call at 360-296-3431. I'd love to help.

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Posted in: Real Estate

From dream home file

exterior design by seattle architect Greif Architects / LIVING ARCHITECTURE

How perfect it would be to have a special place like this to meditate and do pottery. A girl can dream right?

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Posted in: Dream home

My father-in-law is visiting. We hit Farmer's market, Bite of Bellingham and Lynden fair in one day. Oh my, what a day. Here are some photos to share.

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How low it can go.

Can you believe these rates? I am going to buy another house to get this rate. Just kidding.

Don't miss this opportunity to refinance my friend.
Contact Cathy Digby at 360-738-7857.

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Posted in: Interest rate

I am back

I have been having fun renovating the house I bought in Seattle. I have been going down almost every week for a couple of months to renovate it. That explains my absence in this blog world a little bit. As the project is winding down, I'm almost back to my normal life.

I bought a house before but buying a house as a real estate agent taught me invaluable lessons. It gave me client's perspective of what they go through during a transaction, which taught me how I can support and serve them better. Also, it was a short sale purchase and I gained a ton of indispensable knowledge on short sales.

During renovation, I learned a ton about house construction itself. I am acting as a general contractor and project manager and I wasn't expecting such a drama over a small project like this. The most fun thing for me of course was interior design part of the project: picking paint colors, designing kitchens: we have two kitchens in this house and both were pretty challenging to work with. We ended up knocking down a couple of walls to open up the space and it was really cool to learn what wall can be easily knocked down without breaking the bank.

Having a limited budget challenged me to be more creative. Thrift shops and second use building material shops are my best friends now. If you are close to Seattle, this is a great place: seconduse.com and if you are in Bellingham, I'm sure you are familiar with ReStore on Meridian. seconduse has really great website and you can put on hold or even purchase over the phone.

Here are some before and after photos.

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Bellingham is number 5- Housing Markets That Will Rise Most This Year

Wall Street Journal has a crystal ball that I wish I had. They ranked Bellingham #5 of housing markets that will rise most this year. And I didn't know Bellingham is suburb of Seattle. I had to laugh. But I'm excited to hear that they see the value I see in Bellingham.

5. Bellingham, Washington
> Projected Price Increase Through 2011: +4.9%
> Unemployment Rate: 9%
> Median Family Income: $59,000
> Vacancy Rate: 11.4%­
> Drop From Peak: -13.8%

Bellingham, like Bremerton, is suburb of Seattle, which allows residents access to the city’s job market. Bellingham has several major hospitals and universities, and the abundance of steady institutional jobs has kept the population relatively economically stable. The city was one of the few to have vacancy rates drop between 2000 and 2010. Home prices are expected to increase 12.4% by the end of 2012.

Read more, please visit:
http://247wallst.com/2011/05/11/housing-markets-that-will-rise-most-this-year/#ixzz1NIA5G9l7

If you need help with any Real Estate need, please give me a buzz at 360-296-3431.

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Lovely Advice

I found this 'Lovely advice' from my favorite blogger Erin's blog. I'm going to read it every morning to remind myself what's important in life.

Health:

1. Drink plenty of water.
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
4. Live with the 3 E’s – Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy
5. Play more games.
6. Read more books than you did in 2010.
7. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.
8. Sleep for 7 hours.
9. Take a 10-30 minutes walk daily. And while you walk, smile.

Personality:

1. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
2. Don’t have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
3. Don’t over do. Keep your limits.
4. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
5. Don’t waste your precious energy on gossip.
6. Dream more while you are awake.
7. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
8. Forget issues of the past. Don’t remind your partner with his/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
9. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don’t hate others.
10. Make peace with your past so it won’t spoil the present.
11. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
12. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
13. Smile and laugh more.
14. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

Society:

1. Call your family often.
2. Each day give something good to others.
3. Forgive everyone for everything.
4. Spend time with people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.
5. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
6. What other people think of you is none of your business.
7. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

Life:

1. Do the right thing!
2. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.
3. However good or bad a situation is, it will change. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
4. The best is yet to come.
5. Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.

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Posted in: Life