Surrounded by the incredible, thickly wooded acreage of the Sammamish Valley and Willows Run Golf Club, this gorgeous 5 bedroom home for sale in Kirkland, WA has been somebody’s private sanctuary since 1976, the last time it was on the Kirkland real estate market. The storybook neighborhood alone is worth a look, quite apart from the spacious 5 bedroom home for sale in Kirkland, WA at its outskirts. Along with the value and beauty of this property, this magnificent 5 bedroom home for sale offers an amazing opportunity for some savvy real estate investor. Current zoning allows its emerald five-plus acres to be easily subdivided into some twenty good-sized lots, creating a more than viable return on your money. World icon Microsoft is only four miles or ten minutes away from this 5 bedr... 06/05/2012

4 bedroom 3 bath home for sale soon Kirkland WA With the market being what it is this listing is coming soon.  If you are ready, willing and able call today to see this beautiful Buchan resale in Bridle Trails area of Kirkland.   It has 4 bedrooms, 2 full and one half baths, over 2800 square feet with attached garage (two cars), two fireplaces.  Ready for you and yours to move in!  For more details call Phil at your convenience.  It is a lot of house for the money, definitely. This 4 bedroom home for sale in Kirkland is well worth inquiring about.  So don’t delay- call Phil today! 05/31/2012

Statistics are fun... but they often don't always tell the whole story. Still - they can be a good indication of the market and what it's doing right now. Basically, unless you're really not that interested in real estate and haven't been paying attention - you know the market in Kirkland right now is HOT! What's interesting is the difference between our two zip codes.  If you'd like a breakdown of another city or you have questions about your specific neighborhood (even if you're not in the market and you're just interested) I am happy to pull them for you.   Here are stats in Kirkland for the past 30 days:  Market Stats for the last 30 days: 98034 Residential:   There are currently 101 active residential listings, with an average market time of 106 days  There are 65 pending propertie... 05/23/2012

Buyer’s RemorseBuyer’s RemorseIt’s 2:00 am and I am in a full sweat!I MUST call Bob (our realtor) and get out of this. I MUST!!What were we thinking? Thirty THOUSAND Dollars!! We could not pay that off in a lifetime! The most expensive thing we had ever bought was our car for $2000, but we paid for that in cash. We were married just over a year, and had made an offer on this 2 bedroom bath and a half townhouse in San Jose, California.By 8:00 am I could wait no longer.“Bob! We HAVE to get out of that deal. We HAVE to. I don’t know what got into us, but we have to get out of the deal - Right now!!”Bob starts laughing! “It’s NOT funny! I don’t know what it will cost, or how hard it will be, but we MUST get out of that deal. It was a terrible mistake!”Bob explains to me that I have “buyer’s... 05/20/2012

Fun in the Sun in Puerto Vallarta MexicoFun in the Sun in Puerto Vallarta MexicoThis is an entry for the Positive Attitude for the Weary Soul Group Contest! | Fun in the Sun While the Business Still Runs!  Join in on the Challenge!It was time for a break, and it was time for some sun, and it was time to get both my wife and I away from the computer and looking at each other instead of the little screen all day.We decided that hopping on a plane and going straight south to Puerto Vallarta was a great thing to do. We just got back from a week away, and it was indeed delightful!One of our goals was to walk everywhere. We turned taxis down left and right. We ended up walking 2 hours every day.Another goal was to immerse ourselves in the beautiful Latin American culture once again. The resor... 05/18/2012

Keller Williams Team Meeting May 17, 2012Keller Williams Team Meeting May 17, 2012Today was the Keller Williams Team Meeting. In reviewing the new listings, listings sold, and sales, we discovered that our office is on fire!One person took 10 listings, most of which are sold.The Phil Leng Team had 3 new listings, 4 listings sold and 4 sales closed.One agent got a call from a seller. Listed the property and got three offers on it in the first week. The big deal is that the price was almost 5 million dollars!A new team is prospecting three hours a day, and getting results commensurate with that activity.All in all, it was enjoyable and inspirational to attend our team meeting for mid May, 2012  View Larger Map 05/17/2012

The Book That Made Me Mad, Ashamed, Outraged and ScaredThe Book That Made Me Mad, Ashamed, Outraged and ScaredIt started with a friend at church. She gave the book to my wife. After she read it, she gave it to our daughter, who is a social worker.The other day we were over there, to be with the grandkids. I heard the discussion of the book as it was given back to my wife.“I might as well read it, before it goes to someone else” I thought to myself.What a mistake! I couldn’t put it down all weekend. Before I had finished reading it, I had ordered 200 copies. I will give it to people in my circle of friends.I plan to give the book with the following admonition, “First, you must agree to read it. Second, you must pass it on. Thirdly, if you have the means, or know someone who DOES have the... 05/17/2012

The Beautiful Young GirlThe Beautiful Young GirlAs we were moving my wife’s mom to a yet smaller room the other day, we found this photograph.It shows a beautiful young girl. All her hopes and dreams intact.It was her high school graduation picture.She later married a very handsome young man and they had 5 kids. However, her life was not easy. Her husband turned out to be demanding and demeaning. They raised 5 kids who were only 7 years apart from oldest to youngest.She has now been a widow for many years.Today was Mother’s Day, and three of her kids and one grandson were present to celebrate.Happy Mother’s Day, Mom! You are still that beautiful young girl in the picture!! 05/13/2012

King County RE Market Report 1st Q 2012 Year-over-year   The Housing Market had become like deep-sea diving:  How far underwater were you? Now we are seeing consistent statistics and substantive trends that are contra-indicative to previous data.  Many homeowners are now seeing “lost equity” reappear unexpectedly. Conversely, others need wait another decade if they want “Bubble Pricing”. Better to get bubble shrink-wrap, it’s more fun to pop.  And quicker.Available inventory has declined while demand has accelerated in King County.  As has been typical, our area suffers less and rebounds quicker than the nation as a whole during periods of diminished economic growth.  As there are no "oil future" type options involved, performance is organically market driven. One circumlocution:  Biddi... 05/07/2012

The Phil Leng Team Brings Another First Time Buyer to ClosingThe Phil Leng Team Brings Another First Time Buyer to ClosingWe are working with a number of buyers right now, in addition to the listings we always carry.Nick and Krissa bought a short sale condo. Because they were the last buyers of the condo, not the first, it was only 45 days from start to finish. The first couple on this condo had it under contract for over 10 months!Here is the video of the closing process. The excitement of signing closing papers for your first home never fails to inspire me, even though I have been doing this for 31 years now.It was even better because it was a beautiful sunny day in Kirkland, and the attorney’s office where the signing occurred has a terrific view of Lake Washington!Enjoy the signing ... 05/04/2012

116th NE in Kirkland by Bridle Trails Park is finally Open116th NE in Kirkland by Bridle Trails Park is finally OpenIt seemed like a long 3 weeks. Anyone who lives by Bridle Trails on the freeway side had to go south to Northup way to get in or out during business hours Monday to Friday.But now that is all over. The road may be bumpier, but construction is done, the crews are gone and the road is open. The lines hooking up sewer to the individual houses are easy to see, as well as the path of the main sewer trunk right down the middle of the road.But some more houses in Kirkland are now hooked up to sewer.And 116th NE in Kirkland by Bridle Trails Park is finally Open again! View Larger Map 05/02/2012

4/3 NEW CONSTR KIRKLAND WA UNDER 700K Four bedroom three + bathrooms in the Finn Hill area of Kirkland.  Top quality craftsmanship from top to bottom.   Our Team of professionals can represent your side to the utmost, having worked in real estate 31 years. Finding an affordable 4 bedroom new construction home for sale in Kirkland is a tough job, but having worked hundreds of transactions we are up to the task.  In conjunction with the top pick, we will provide you all the information you need to make an informed decision.  We are your advocates. Finding your dream home ready to move in is a miracle sometimes, but this new construction in Kirkland is good to go! Then there's the pierce de resistance - the master suite! Let's make time to see the whole thing soon... Sooo??? 05/02/2012

The Real Estate Market, Selling Real Estate and Pricing Your Home                                  Pricing "In the Market" and Pricing "Out of the Market"I refer to the term, “The Market” for pricing real estate in a timeless way. Not “what is happening right this very second, in this very place”, Kirkland, but more widespread and over a longer period of time. I am also concentrating on the wide open, competitive market for selling real estate in North America.The market dictates what your property will sell for.Here is Wikipedia’s definition of Market - “A market is one of many varieties of systems, institutions, procedures, social relations and infrastructures whereby parties engage in exchange. It can be said that a market is the process by which the prices of goods and services are ... 05/01/2012

Keller Williams Kirkland Vendor Fair GiveawaysKeller Williams Kirkland Vendor Fair GiveawaysWho does not LOVE something for free?At our last vendor fair after our Team Meeting, there was a raffle of sorts. We were to deposit a ticket or business card with each of the vendors. At a certain time, each of the vendors picked our a ticket and called the name or the number.Witness some of the (somewhat muted) excitement that ensued!Enjoy the video!! View Larger Map 04/29/2012

Keller Williams Kirkland Vendor Fair April 19, 2012Keller Williams Kirkland Vendor Fair April 19, 2012After our last biweekly monthly Team Meeting, we hosted a Vendor Fair. Many local businesses participated. There was great attendance by the agents. There was hardly room to move around in the ground level of our office building.In the video you get to see the variety of vendors, and hear from some of them as to what service or product they are offering.It was a fun time. After the fair there was a raffle, then a BBQ.Quite an event!Keller Williams Kirkland Vendor Fair April 19, 2012 View Larger Map 04/29/2012

A Walk In the Park - Bridle Trails State Park, Kirkland WAA Walk In the Park - Bridle Trails State Park, Kirkland WAWe live next to a park with 482 acres of trees and trails for walkers, runners or horses only. Thus the name - Bridle Trails State Park.The other day it was a beautiful day and I asked my wife to let me out at the far corner. I did a video of bits of the walk through the park. It is amazing how quickly you get absorbed by the forest and feel distant from the din and rush of daily modern life.So here - for a minute or two - you too can escape the noise and the pressure, and enjoy:A Walk in the Park. Bridle Trails Park that is... View Larger Map 04/29/2012

A Robin Just Hatched in Our Back YardA Robin Just Hatched in Our Back YardI came out to my usual place in our back yard to read this morning. I noticed a small robin egg on the patio. It was broken, and the little bird inside was gone.A robin just hatched in our back yard.In fact, a robin was busy picking up more straw for another nest somewhere in the trees. Not hard to do, since my yard is overdue for mowing!I went back inside and grabbed my little video camera.Enjoy the video of the egg, the robin and the nest.A Robin Just Hatched in Our Back Yard 04/28/2012

BrandingBrandingDriving down the freeway, I was minding my own business.The truck in front of me caught my attention.“About Grout”. I instantly knew he had something to do with tile. Maybe he sold it, maybe he installed it. Maybe both.I don’t know his name. Would not remember it if it was on his truck.But About Grout has a ring to it. Simple. Catchy. Easy to remember.He must have thought I was stalking him, because I took pictures of three sides of his truck.My simple lessons about branding?1. Simple2. Relevant3. Catchy4. Memorable5. Well doneNotice he has real tiles on the outside of his truck.Good job! When I need something to do with tile, I will Google “About Grout” 04/27/2012

my blog post 04/27/2012

You Don’t See This Every Day!You Don’t See This Every Day!This is the longest truck load I have ever seen!We live in Boeing Country. Our town - Kirkland - is right between the Renton Boeing plant - where they make the new Dreamliner - and the Everett Boeing plant - where they make the 747 airplane.The other day I say this truck going down the freeway. It was the longest truck I can ever remember seeing.But the thing that amazed me, was that it took two drivers to get this thing down the road! As I passed the truck, I noticed the back wheels had its own driver with his own steering wheel and brakes.My lively imagination kicked in. What if the driver of the back wanted to switch lanes but the guy in front did not? What if the driver in the back saw that he needed to apply the brakes but t... 04/26/2012