Spoken Gently's Blog: Tri-Cities Washington

The Washington State Realtors® have put together a video about the First Time Home Buyer $8000. Tax Credit that is worthy on anyone's website or blog, regardless of the state you practice real estate in. I've included the video on my blog, but thought I would recommend the video to other real estate bloggers as well. The video is simple to the point and well done. Here it is:

The Parade of Homes is a yearly event whereby the region's builders, subcontractors, and construction vendors showcase their work. This year's Parade of Homes showcases 22 homes throughout the Tri Cities Washington area during September. Tri-Cities residents can view these spectacular homes for a fee of $7.00 The viewing dates are September 12, 13, 16, 19 & 20. For more information, please read our blog entry about the Tri Cities Wa Parade of Homes.

In terms of real estate, the Parade of Homes is a great opportunity for real estate agents to show their listings. Many Parade of Homes viewers come from out of town to view the best that Tri Cities has to offer, often times the catalyst for relocation to the Tri City Washington area. As REALTORS® providing…

As soon as I walked into this West Richland, Washington home I immediately noticed the spacious, clean, and well maintained qualities of the home. I loved the natural sunshine coming thru the house as well as the kitchen opening up to the dining and family rooms. The best part of this home is the large bonus room above the garage which can be finished however the new buyer would prefer. Take a look for yourself, as I've put together a virtual tour...

Property Specifics: 5700 Kilawea Drive, West Richland Wa

• 2,450 sq feet
• 3 Bedroom 2.5 Bath
• 3 car garage
• 2 story
• Fireplace
• Garden area
• Large corner lot
• Close to schools, Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Target
• Neighborhood parks
• Beautiful view of… Read Full Post
  Posted: 9 months ago, Comments: 0, Average Rating: Views: 700

Whether a young couple starting out, a retiring couple looking for a place to settle down, a starving college student looking to survive, or just anyone looking to save some money, Tri-Cities Washington is the place to live! The Tri-Cities has recently been ranked number 1 out of 350 communities in the Pacific Northwest by the ACCRA Cost of Living Index as the least expensive place to live. The Tri-Cities was given an index rating of 88.9 during the third quarter; down from 89.9 in the second quarter. The low cost of groceries and housing is partly to thank for the low cost of living in the Tri-Cities. Communities ranking the closest to the Tri-Cities are Spokane with an index rating of 93.5; Portland at 95.1; and Boise with a rating of 96.0

Tri Cities…

I'm excited for Colleen (and us) as she passed the Washington State Broker's Exam last week. This opens up all sorts of doors for us, one of which going out on our own. Kinda scary, but we've always been self-employed so we've traveled this road before. After being married to Colleen for 23 years, I still continue to be impressed by her (and love her all the more). Given the responsibilities of 5 children (er, the 6th being me, but we won't go there!), all at home, she finds the time to have a successful real estate career and make time for the many, many hours required to study for the brokers exam. Congratulations Colleen!

We're just starting on the social marketing thing. Yeah, kinda late to the party, however, you can read/follow more about… Read Full Post

Well, we've decided to put our West Pasco water front home up for sale.  We are spending way too much time commuting back and forth from North Richland getting our 5 children to school and other activities.  North Richland here we come and we're leaving behind a Columbia river home with many upgrades.   Our 3500 sq ft home's starting price is $659,000.  Pictures of our home and river views can be seen here, and when clicked, a larger image opens in a new window:

Tri Cities Washington is ranking again! This time, the Tri Cities of Kennewick, Richland, and Pasco, Washington are 29th on the top 124 list of America's Best Small Cities list, up 40 spots from last year's position. The rankings are based on the metro area's ability to sustain employment and economic growth.  

Related: Milkin Institute's 2008 Best Performing Small Cities | Tri Cities Job Market Expected To Stay Strong

Colleen received her award today for earning River Realty's second quarter top producer. River Realty is a Pasco Washington office of about 18 agents brokered by Carrie Chambers. Amidst a team of great agents, Colleen, relatively new to the office, out-paced them all for the second quarter Top Producer award.

Colleen Lane Is All About Customer Service

Search engine optimization is bantered about often online, however, Colleen's clients are coming to her from referral. Colleen defies the typical sales person stereotype. Never a "closer," Colleen's #1 goal is to provide a great service to the client, hence, a customer base very loyal and often times purchasing several properties from Colleen. In fact, one of Colleen's recent clients had this to say when…