Blog - Janet Bell

Living

Your Guide to Spring Cleaning

Many of us have found ourselves spending much of our time indoors as of late, and as spring blooms in the sunlight, you might be noticing that it’s time to treat your home to a little TLC. When it comes to wellness, your health and the health of your home go hand in hand. Here are some tips to guide you through […]
Real Estate

7 Ways to Make Life Easier When Selling Your Home

When it’s time to sell a home, we all dream of a flawlessly executed transaction where everything goes smoothly and ends with a win-win for you and the buyer. Here are seven tips to help make that happen—and avoid surprise expenses along the way… 1. Repair Your Home First Making repairs to your home before […]
Living

Which Documents Should You Shred, and When?

As the spring cleaning bug hits, many of us will finally be tackling those stacks of paperwork that have been piling up throughout the year. It’s tempting to chuck it all in the recycle bin and be done with it. However, did you know that it’s actually legal for someone to dig through your trash/recycling […]
Real Estate

30 Tips for Increasing Your Home’s Value

The road to selling a home can be a long one. Learn to improve the value of your home based on your budget with these 30 tips below. Don’t miss my complete Home Prep Checklist, too! Home Improvements: Under $100 Tip 1: Spend an Hour With a Pro Invite a realtor or interior designer […]

Living Your Guide to Spring Cleaning Many of us have found ourselves spending much of our time indoors as of late, and as spring blooms in the sunlight, you might be noticing that it’s time to treat your home to a little TLC. When it comes to wellness, your health and the health of your home go hand in hand. Here are some tips to guide you through […]

Real Estate 7 Ways to Make Life Easier When Selling Your Home When it’s time to sell a home, we all dream of a flawlessly executed transaction where everything goes smoothly and ends with a win-win for you and the buyer. Here are seven tips to help make that happen—and avoid surprise expenses along the way… 1. Repair Your Home First Making repairs to your home before […]

Living Which Documents Should You Shred, and When? As the spring cleaning bug hits, many of us will finally be tackling those stacks of paperwork that have been piling up throughout the year. It’s tempting to chuck it all in the recycle bin and be done with it. However, did you know that it’s actually legal for someone to dig through your trash/recycling […]

Real Estate 30 Tips for Increasing Your Home’s Value The road to selling a home can be a long one. Learn to improve the value of your home based on your budget with these 30 tips below. Don’t miss my complete Home Prep Checklist, too! Home Improvements: Under $100 Tip 1: Spend an Hour With a Pro Invite a realtor or interior designer […]

Real Estate Preparing to Sell Your Home: A Complete Checklist Getting your home ready to sell can feel like a circus act. Without the right organization, juggling the countless moving parts involved in this stage of the selling process can take its toll. This is the perfect opportunity to create a checklist to keep yourself on track and within your budget. The following information will […]

Community Property Tax Relief Programs in King County More than 26,000 low-income seniors and disabled people in King County who qualify for a tax exemption haven’t claimed it…are you or your family member one of them? If you are homeowner, make $58k or less per year, and are either age 61+ or retired due to disability, there is a good chance you qualify. […]

Real Estate Q4 2022 Western Washington Economic & Real Estate Update The following analysis of select counties of the Western Washington real estate market is provided by Windermere Real Estate Chief Economist Matthew Gardner. I hope that this information may assist you with making better-informed real estate decisions. For further information about the housing market in your area, please don’t hesitate to contact me. Regional […]

Real Estate How’s the Market? Annual Review of Seattle Area Real Estate While 2022 began on the heels of an extreme seller’s market we saw in the wake of the COVID pandemic, the second half of the year showed a marked shift back toward normalcy. Rising interest rates and tech layoffs significantly slowed down the number of home sales. The good news for buyers is that we […]

Real Estate Matthew Gardner’s Top 10 Predictions for 2023 This video shows Windermere Chief Economist Matthew Gardner’s Top 10 Predictions for 2023. Each month, he analyzes the most up-to-date U.S. housing data to keep you well-informed about what’s going on in the real estate market. 1. There Is No Housing Bubble Mortgage rates rose steeply in 2022 which, when coupled with the massive run-up […]

Real Estate What is an Adjustable-Rate Mortgage (ARM)? Securing the most advantageous financing for your situation is an integral part of the success formula of buying a home. After getting pre-approved but once you’ve found the home you’d like to pursue, one of your primary tasks is exploring different loan products to see which best fits your situation. This is the fork in […]

Community 2022 Holiday Happenings Around the Sound As the days grow darker and rain settles in, a little holiday cheer couldn’t be better timed! Grab your umbrella and brighten your spirits with these Seattle-area favorites—whether it’s meandering through a dazzling light show, watching the “snow” fall at Bellevue’s Snowflake Lane, or taking a holiday-themed cruise. Here’s the skinny on dates, times, food, […]

Real Estate How’s the Market? Q3 2022 Real Estate Review While still considered a seller’s market, our July-September home sale activity signaled the return of some much-needed balance. Seattle and Eastside home prices still posted year-over-year gains in Q3, but rising interest rates markedly slowed the pace of both listings and sales. Houses also stayed on the market longer than we saw during the frenzy […]

Community Favorite Local Pumpkin Patches Grab your boots, pack a thermos…it’s time to choose those perfect Halloween pumpkins! This year, why not explore a new town and make your pumpkin patch experience a true adventure? All of these farms are open every weekend in October, and most are open on weekdays too. Some even welcome your furry family members on […]

Living Your Fall Home Maintenance Checklist A clever person solves a problem; a wise person avoids it. As the days shorten, you can mitigate many mid-winter headaches with some preemptive prep. Proper weatherizing can help protect your home from preventable damage, save money on energy costs, and, most importantly, keep you and your loved ones safe and warm throughout the winter […]

Community 2022 Football Schedules, Recipes & Tips… Are you ready for some football? Fall is just around the corner and tickets are on sale now for 12s ready to cheer on a new era of promising rookies, as well as UW & WSU fans ready to show their college spirit. Scroll down for printable schedules, tailgating hacks (including how to pack the […]

Community Kicks for Kids Shoe Drive August 8-19 Help us give kids the confidence they need to start the school year right! Windermere Mercer Island invites you to participate in our Kicks for Kids back-to-school sneaker drive. It connects low-income youth in our local communities with new shoes for the upcoming school year. Between August 8th and 19th, we’ll be accepting donations 3 […]

Real Estate How’s the Market? Q2 Real Estate Review While Seattle and the Eastside are still considered a seller’s market, buyers experienced some much-needed relief in the second quarter with new listings outpacing the number of homes sold. Rising interest rates have initiated a shift toward a more balanced market. Opportunities abound for both sellers (who are still seeing higher sales prices than this […]

Living 10 Tips for Sustainable Gardening Sunny days are finally here, the flowers are in bloom, and the timing is perfect to give your garden some love. Having a healthy garden is one of the best ways to create a sustainable home and reduce your household’s carbon footprint. Below are some eco-friendly tips that will help to make your garden even […]

Real Estate How to Avoid Overpaying for a Home in a Transitioning Market Look Carefully at the Home Itself Here are four home attributes beyond the number of bedrooms and baths that you should have your eye on… Home (building) quality: Very well-built homes are a rare find and typically worth every penny of their price. Don’t confuse them with so-so homes that just measure up to […]

Community Seattle & Eastside Farmers Markets: Locations, Times & More Summer is just around the corner, and so are these farmers markets! Spend an evening or weekend finding your new favorites among the tents. Think it’s all about kale? Think again. Most offer live entertainment along with a mouth-watering variety of local brews, cheese, bread, meat/seafood, honey, hand roasted coffee, and other hidden gems (in […]