Why SKREAM?

Thanks to your generous support, Kirkland Kiwanis delivered a total of 15 truck loads of donations to Eastside Baby Corner during the two month long donation drive!

Just think of the difference EBC will be able to make in the lives of children and families in need with 15 truck loads of donations! 

On Sunday, May 30th, 2010 Kiwanis Club of Kirkland will be supporting KITH and 7 Hills of Kirkland Bicycle Ride by hosting a pancake breakfast at the Peter Kirk Community Center.  Please come join us and help end the cycle of homelessness in Kirkland!

Ever read the marketing remarks on a home listing and wonder just what the agent or home owner are really trying to convey? Here is a quick little summary of 20 of the most commonly used terms along with the ‘practical’ translations.


Old charmer – an old and ugly house

Stunning house – the house is not ugly

Low maintenance lot – no yard; the kids will have to play in the street

Sunny corner lot – noisy intersection of two busy streets

The Bellevue Rotary Auction is an annual black tie event that is attended by approximately 600 Eastside business and community leaders.


This year’s event, “Their future is in our hands,” is scheduled for Saturday, May 8, 2010, 5:30 pm, at the Meydenbauer Center, in Bellevue.

Each year, a different beneficiary is selected to be the primary recipient of the funds raised at the auction. This year’s beneficiary is Eastside Baby Corner.

For more info you can check the Bellevue Rotary Club's website

Present of of Bellevue Rotary announces support for EBC

An article on USA Today's site tracks 5 trends in the housing market to show the rise and fall of the housing industry's boom and bust and forecast it's rebound.  In a refreshing change compared to many articles being posted these days, this one does not tell you how to interpret the data, it merely presents it and, other than the 'possible forecast' part of it, lets you interpret the info for yourself.

The Kirkland Reporter did an article on the donation drive that WhySkream is co-sponsering for Eastside Baby Corner.

Part Two:  The Boss Button

While researching part one of this blog, the effect of March Madness on work production, references to the 'boss button' came up frequently. Anyone who is a March Madness fan knows that this is a button you can hit if you are watching the NCAA games online at your work and see your boss coming. The button makes a spreadsheet popup on your computer screen and mutes the streaming video in hopes of fooling your boss into thinking you are working. (Warning: The 'mute' aspect has not worked on my computer – so some testing may be needed if you really plan on using this feature.)

Part one: My March Madness…

Disclaimer… I am a huge NCAA March Madness fan and love filling out my brackets and watching as many games as I can. I think CBS putting the games on demand is the best thing they could have done. But I do have to work…

Since I am not a sports writer I knew it would be hard to make watching the games part of my job description. Then I had the great idea to look into the claim that the work production in the US drops noticeably during the weeks of March Madness and blog about it (that still doesn't give me an excuse to watch the games… but it's one step closer!).

Then Google ™ happened. Ok, I can't blame it on Google™ – I am the one that must find every bit of research and come at things from all angles before moving forward – Google Search™ is just my vehicle.

Well, I eventually discovered there was a much bigger controversy – the 'BOSS BUTTON' (insert scary music here).

Rising home prices and an improving economy will spark a modest rebound this year in home-equity lending, the driver of about 2 percent of consumer spending in the first half of the decade.

“This time around, lenders and homeowners will be more cautious about converting their equity to cash, muting any boost to the economy”, said Greg McBride, senior financial analyst with Bankrate.com.

"Home-equity borrowing won't be the economic crutch it was a few years ago," said McBride. "This is not an economy in which consumers are going to be able to go nuts."

The truth in no online database will replace your daily newspaper, no CD-ROM can take the place of a competent teacher and no computer network will change the way government works...

This is a quote from an article written by Clifford Stoll for Newsweek Magazine, dated Feb 27, 1995 - how ironic is it that you can now read this article on Newsweek's very own website?


The full article....

Downtown Kirkland's Ben & Jerry’s, located at 176 Lake Street S, will reopen March 15 after several months of remodeling.

Deciding whether it's best to buy or rent a home isn't an easy decision. There are financial pros and cons to each. Plus, whether or not you want to become a homeowner may depend on your lifestyle, so it's very much a personal choice. Take a close look below at the pluses and minuses before making your move.

The video below was on KOMO News a year ago... and things have not gotten any better!

Donations for babies in need drying up - KOMO News - Seattle, Washington

If you are in or near Kirkland there is an easy way to help - a 'Donation Station' has been set up at Fox Cleaner. You can drop donations off anytime between 7am and 6:30pm Monday through Friday and 9am to 5pm on Saturday.

1. A real estate transaction is complicated.
In most cases, buying or selling a home requires disclosure forms, inspection reports, mortgage documents, insurance policies, deeds and multi-page government mandated settlement statements. A knowledgeable guide through this complexity can help you avoid delays or costly mistakes.

2. Selling or buying a home is time consuming.
Even in a strong market, homes in our area stay on the market for an average of 190 days. And it usually takes another 60 days or so for the transaction to close after on offer is accepted.

You'd better not. The Senate failed to push back the Feb. 28 deadline to apply for this safety net.

Starting Monday, the jobless will no longer be able to apply for federal unemployment benefits or the COBRA health insurance subsidy.

Federal unemployment benefits kick in after the basic state-funded 26 weeks of coverage expire. During the downturn, Congress has approved up to an additional 73 weeks, which it funds.

These federal benefit weeks are divided into tiers, and the jobless must apply each time they move into a new tier.

Because the Senate did not act, the jobless will now stop getting checks once they run out of their state benefits or current tier of federal benefits.

Nearly one-quarter of US mortgagors owed more on their loans than the value of their homes for the quarter ending December 31, 2009. Nevada, Arizona, Florida, Michigan and California were the states with the highest percentage of negative equity borrowers.

“Negative equity is a significant drag on both the housing market and on economic growth. It is driving foreclosures and decreasing mobility for millions of homeowners,” said Mark Fleming, chief economist with First American CoreLogic. “Since we expect home prices to slightly increase during 2010, negative equity will remain the dominant issue in the housing and mortgage markets for some time to come.”

The City of Kirkland Public Works Department and Marilyn Dillard, owner of the downtown property that housed the Antique Mall for more than 20 years, have agreed on a plan that adds more than 90 public parking spaces to downtown Kirkland.

A record 2.8 million households were threatened with foreclosure last year, and that number is expected to rise this year as more unemployed and cash-strapped homeowners fall behind on their mortgages.

The number of households that received a foreclosure-related notice rose 21 percent from 2008.

The increase in King County was even more dramatic with the number of filings up nearly 60 percent. In Washington state, filings were up 35 percent.

But despite those increases, fewer homeowners faced foreclosure in the greater Seattle area than in the country as a whole.

Since 1996, KITH has held the 7 Hills of Kirkland bicycling fundraiser. It has grown from an initial 200 riders in 1996 to almost 1,500 last year, with cyclists attending from as far away as France and the UK. And, with thanks to all of our 2009 participants, they raised over $90,000, all of which went directly to low-income housing and services.

Please click here for more information on how you can become a part of this very important cause.

Eastside Baby Corner's mission is to make a positive difference in the lives of children and families in need by collecting and purchasing children’s items and distributing them, free of charge, through local service care providers.

That is the question many of us in the Real Estate and Mortgage industries are paying close attention to. While Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke said he doesn’t expect the central bank to sell its stock pile of mortgage securities anytime soon, Kansas City Federal President Thomas Hoeing, voted against the Fed’s latest statement, saying he thought economic conditions had improved enough so that the Fed should not be promising low rates for an “extended period”. He was the first dissenting vote among Fed policymakers since Jan 2009.

With unemployment expected to remain high, and a record number of foreclosures anticipated in 2010, some analysts are expecting a prolonged recovery for the US economy and the housing market. As foreclosures rise, it is believed that another plunge in the banking sector is around the corner, and that the bottom of the housing market may be further off than initially thought.

Rates on 30-year mortgages remained almost flat this week as the Federal Reserve said it would keep rates near record lows to help the economy recover.

Come enjoy riding one of the Northwest's premier cycling events.
Whether you choose the traditional 7 Hill Route (approximately 40 miles), the popular Metric Century Route, or the challenging Century Route, you'll enjoy the scenery and support KITH...

Integra Real Estate and Mortgage is located in Kirkland WA and feels a sense of community is important for any town or neighborhood. For this reason we've decided to create a 'hub' for all things Kirkland. You will find events going on in Kirkland, businesses of Kirkland, charities in Kirkland, Real Estate and Financial news that effect Kirkland, and special stories of the people in Kirkland. We welcome our neighbor's suggestions, comments and stories.