Vancouver Wa Real Estate - Elite Realty NW

Just a quick reminder that this month's Green Drinks event in Vancouver Washington is almost here!

September 30th Hula Boy-downtown Vancouver Washington 

Introductions will begin @ 6PM-feel free to gather earlier  

Anyone who is interested in Green building, Green Living, or a more Eco-Friendly lifestyle is invited. This month our 5-minute spiel speaker is by Alyssa Kail, account representative with The ReDirect Guide (www.ReDirectGuide.com).  Alyssa will provide us with a brief walk-through of the ReDirect Guide, a sustainable living directory for the Vancouver/Portland metro region and talk about how businesses and organizations are qualified as sustainable in order to be included as members of ReDirect.  We'll attempt to define what 'sustainable' truly means.      

When you choose us to handle your Vancouver Washington real estate needs, you choose a team of realtors® who care about you and your family. Buying or selling a home is always more enjoyable when you work with professionals who will listen to your needs and who will work together with you to achieve your objective. We are very familiar with all types a real estate in Clark Countyand we specialize in Vancouver, Ridgefield and Battle Ground. We are also very experienced with new home and custom home construction having assisted several local builders in selling new neighborhoods in the Vancouver Washington area.  Additionally, we have helped numerous families build their own dream homes. We are dedicated to helping you make intelligent, informed decisions and to providing you with exceptional service. Go to www.ernw.org for more information. See our video here.

My buddy Todd told me about a 12 year old boy in Oregon who invented a new kind of solar panel and he suggested that I write a post about him. This is pretty incredible.

Seventh Grader, William Yuan's bright idea to create a new, more efficient 3 dimensional solar cell earned him top honors as Oregon's only 2008 Davidson Fellow.

His name is William Yuan and he is a seventh-grader in Meadow Park Middle School's Summa options program. He is an active member of the school's Math Engineering Science Achievement (MESA) Club, First Lego League team and participant in the Science Bowl and MathCounts programs. He is also a two-time, second-place chess champion for the state. Seems pretty normal for a 12 year old boy, doesn't it?

Recognizing his interest in science, math, Yuan's science teacher encouraged him to tackle a challenging engineering project for the Northwest Science Expo and introducing him to nanotechnology and renewable energy research. The young boy researched energy and environmental issues and decided to undertake a project that would help solve some of the problems of the world. Yuan decided to focus his project on finding the most efficient way to generate energy from the sun.

While other 12 year olds were playing Guitar Hero and Mario video games, the young Mr. Yuan was thinking, "We need to make solar energy more cost effective and efficient."

Those are some very big thoughts for seventh grade boy. With that thought driving him Yuan worked on his project for the past two years with the encouragement of his science teacher Susan Duncan; support of his parents Gang Yuan and Zhiming Mei; and counsel of professional mentors Professor Chunfei Li of Portland State University's Center for Nanofabrication and Electron Microscopy, Fred Li of Applied Materials Inc. and Professor Shaofan Li of the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of California - Berkeley.

So exactly what did he do?  In his own words, Yuan says, "Current solar cells are flat and can only absorb visible light," he said. "I came up with an innovative solar cell that absorbs both visible and UV light. My project focused on finding the optimum solar cell to further increase the light absorption and efficiency and design a nanotube for light-electricity conversion efficiency." He is planning on talking to manufacturers to see if they will help him make a working prototype. If his prototype works, we may have a new higher efficiency and affordable solar panel on the market soon.

As part of the honor, the 12-year-old Bethany boy was flown to Washington, D.C., for a reception Sept. 24 at the Library of Congress where he received his award and a $25,000 scholarship from the Davidson Institute for Talent Development.

He plans to use the money to "attend one of the best universities in the country" and study nanotechnology, biotechnology or medicine.

It looks like William Yuan has a bright future ahead of him!

When you choose us to handle your Vancouver Washington real estate needs, you choose a team of realtors® who care about you and your family. Buying or selling a home is always more enjoyable when you work with professionals who will listen to your needs and who will work together with you to achieve your objective. We are very familiar with all types a real estate in Clark Countyand we specialize in Vancouver, Ridgefield and Battle Ground. We are also very experienced with new home and custom home construction having assisted several local builders in selling new neighborhoods in the Vancouver Washington area.  Additionally, we have helped numerous families build their own dream homes. We are dedicated to helping you make intelligent, informed decisions and to providing you with exceptional service. Go to www.ernw.org for more information.

Janice and I signed up for a pretty cool service a few months back and it is getting ready to launch in the next few weeks. There is a video production company which has contracted with various cities across the U.S. to provide video content for their city websites. The city website for Vancouver Washington gets over 100,000 hits a month! The production company produces video segments on the local city sights and attractions. As part of the contract, they are allowed to sell video advertising space to local merchants.

My interest was primarily due to 2 facts.

1-     Google has recently made changes that move city sites to the number one position of any search that uses only their name. For example, The Vancouver, Washington site is the first listed for a search of "Vancouver WA."  

2-     Merchants pages are just one click off of the main city site and my listings will be just 2 clicks off of the city site.

2 ½ - Only 12 real estate agents are allowed to participate at a time.

Another feature of the program is that they produce a video for your business that is attached to the city site and also available for your personal use. It is really just a photo montage but I think it turned out pretty neat. We just got our proof and I thought that I would share it with you.

Go here to see Mark & Janice on Video!

When you choose us to handle your Vancouver Washington real estate needs, you choose a team of realtors® who care about you and your family. Buying or selling a home is always more enjoyable when you work with professionals who will listen to your needs and who will work together with you to achieve your objective. We are very familiar with all types a real estate in Clark Countyand we specialize in Vancouver, Ridgefield and Battle Ground. We are also very experienced with new home and custom home construction having assisted several local builders in selling new neighborhoods in the Vancouver Washington area.  Additionally, we have helped numerous families build their own dream homes. We are dedicated to helping you make intelligent, informed decisions and to providing you with exceptional service. Go to www.ernw.org for more information.

Looking for something to do in Clark County this September? Here is a short list of upcoming events. I hope to see you around town!

K-Rod Memorial Scholarship Walk - Run
October 4^th (register 9am walk starts 10am)
Clark College Christensen Soccer Field
www.clarkcollegefoundation.org/links/krod_reg.pdf

Pumpkin Festival
October 4^th & 5^th
Pomeroy Living History Farm
20902 NE Lucia Falls Road, Yacolt, WA
www.pomeroyfarm.org

Harvest Festival & Pumpkin Patch
October 4^th - 25^th
BiZi Farms, 9504 NE 119^th Street
http://www.bizifarms.com/

Chestnut Festival
October 11^th (12pm - 5pm)
Allen Creek Farms
29112 NE 41^st Avenue, Ridgefield
www.chestnutsonline.com

Birdfest & Bluegrass
October 11^th - 12^th
Various locations in Ridgefield
www.ridgefieldfriends.org

CROP Hunger Walk (5k)
October 14^th (register 12:30 walk starts at 1pm)
Clark College, 1800 E McGloughlin Blvd.
www.vancouvercropwalk.blogspot.com

Vancouver Symphony Orchestra
October 18^th (3pm - 5:30pm)
Skyview High School
1300 NW 139th Street Vancouver, Washington
www.vancouversymphony.org

Apple Cider Pressing
October 25^th (9am - 4pm)
Cedar Creek Grist Mill
43907 NE Grist Mill Road, Woodland
www.cedargristmill.com

Can U Dig It? Make a Difference Day!
October 25^th (9am - 1pm)
Volunteer to help plant approximately 5,000 trees
along Burnt Bridge Creek in Leverich Park. Just
off of 39^th Street near I-5
www.ci.vancouver.wa.us/parks-recreation/how_to_help

When you choose us to handle your Vancouver Washington real estate needs, you choose a team of realtors® who care about you and your family. Buying or selling a home is always more enjoyable when you work with professionals who will listen to your needs and who will work together with you to achieve your objective. We are very familiar with all types a real estate in Clark Countyand we specialize in Vancouver, Ridgefield and Battle Ground. We are also very experienced with new home and custom home construction having assisted several local builders in selling new neighborhoods in the Vancouver Washington area.  Additionally, we have helped numerous families build their own dream homes. We are dedicated to helping you make intelligent, informed decisions and to providing you with exceptional service. Go to www.ernw.org for more information.

photos by Alfredo-9

As real estate agents, our lives are severely affected by rising gas prices. We spend a large percentage of our working day in our cars. Driving clients on home tours, driving out to remote area for listing appointments, and commuting back and forth to the office. Even the most fuel efficient vehicles on the market today can put a huge dent in your wallet when you are driving so many miles every day. What choice do we have?

There is a fringe group out there who refer to themselves "Hypermilers."

Hypermiling

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hypermiling is a term used in North America that refers to a set of techniques used to maximize fuel economy. Those who practice the techniques are referred to as "hypermilers." The term was originally coined by Wayne Gerdes, who is considered by the media to be one of the top hypermilers in the World, and is known to hold the record for gas mileage in some common vehicles, including 30 miles per gallon in an Acura MDX and 59 MPG in a Honda Accord.

Hypermiling, which can be practiced in any vehicle regardless of its fuel economy, has gained in popularity as a result of the rise in gasoline prices during the 2000s. While common techniques can be carried out by average motorists making minor changes in their driving habits, some expert hypermilers use more advanced techniques some of which may be illegal in some jurisdictions.

What does this mean to the average Realtor like you and me? There are a few secrets that we can learn from these folks that can help us keep those hard earned dollars in our pockets. Here are a 5 simple and safe methods of increasing your mileage by just making a few changes and adjusting your driving habits.

1. Remove the junk from the trunk of your car. That stuff doesn't ride for free! Some studies show that it cost you 1 MPG for every 50 lbs. that you carry around with you. That adds up. I just went out and pulled about 100lbs of crap out of my car. I have been carrying my snow chains around all summer. Go figure!

2. Make sure that your tire pressures are, at minimum, set to manufacturer specifications. The higher the pressure, the less rolling resistance. Some sources recommend over inflating by a PSI or two but do so at your own risk! Also. remember that pressure is affected by ambient temperature. As temperature drops, so does your tire pressure, so keep track as the seasons change.

3. Remove roof racks when you aren't using them. This makes your car more aerodynamic and increases those MPG's. Guess I should store the ski racks with the chains! I'm learning.

4. Use low viscosity synthetic oil. (Recommended for pro Hypermilers only!) putting the lowest weight oil in your car helps it work more efficiently. This allows it to pump through the engine more easily and therefore the engine moves with less energy.

Tips 5 thru.... Mostly involve driving habits. Don't let your car idle when you don't need to, avoid fast food (more idling), stay within the speed limit, avoid hills, etc. Check out these guys to learn more than you ever wanted to know about fuel efficiency!
Want the ultimate gas saving measure? Buy A BIKE!

When you choose us to handle your Vancouver Washington real estate needs, you choose a team of realtors® who care about you and your family. Buying or selling a home is always more enjoyable when you work with professionals who will listen to your needs and who will work together with you to achieve your objective. We are very familiar with all types a real estate in Clark Countyand we specialize in Vancouver, Ridgefield and Battle Ground. We are also very experienced with new home and custom home construction having assisted several local builders in selling new neighborhoods in the Vancouver Washington area.  Additionally, we have helped numerous families build their own dream homes. We are dedicated to helping you make intelligent, informed decisions and to providing you with exceptional service. Go to www.ernw.org for more information.

So many of the products that we buy to clean our homes contain toxic ingredients that can be harmful to people and the environment. What can you do? You can choose less toxic products to clean your home. Doing that can protect your family and the environment. Additionally, you will save money by using simple and safe ingredients to make your own cleaners.

Here is a brief list of safe ingredients to make your own eco-friendly cleaners:

Baking soda - Absorbs odors and is a mild abrasive. It is easy to find in the baking section of your grocery store.

Glycerin - Usually found in pharmacies or health food stores, this water loving liquid has antiseptic properties and is good to moisturize the skin.

Hydrogen Peroxide - Use this for a great disinfectant. Buy the household concentration (3%) which is typically found in your local pharmacy.

Liquid soap - Vegetable oil based soap sometimes referred to as castile soap. Found in most health food stores.

Liquid detergent - most dishwashing liquids are detergents. Try purchasing vegetable oil based soaps, which are more environmentally friendly than petroleum based products. Vegetable oil based soaps can be found in health food and many grocery stores. Petroleum is a limited resource (unlike vegetable oils) and its extraction and refining causes pollution.

Vinegar - Removes soap scum, grease and mineral deposits and acts as a deodorizer. Use only white distilled vinegar for most of these recipes. You can try apple cider vinegar for windows, since it has a more pleasant scent.

Washing soda (sodium carbonate) - It is slightly caustic and a great grease cutter. Don't use it on waxed floors unless you want to remove the wax. It may also damage fiberglass and aluminum. Found in the laundry section, it is made by Arm & Hammer.

Essential oils - These are generally used for deodorizing or scenting cleaners. Essential oils, such as mint, eucalyptus, lavender, lemon and tea tree, can be found in health food stores or herbal supply shops. Tea tree oil is currently in the process of being registered as a disinfectant in this country. PLEASE NOTE that oils are non-toxic in small quantities BUT may be toxic in concentrated forms. Keep away from children.

When you choose us to handle your Vancouver Washington real estate needs, you choose a team of realtors® who care about you and your family. Buying or selling a home is always more enjoyable when you work with professionals who will listen to your needs and who will work together with you to achieve your objective. We are very familiar with all types a real estate in Clark Countyand we specialize in Vancouver, Ridgefield and Battle Ground. We are also very experienced with new home and custom home construction having assisted several local builders in selling new neighborhoods in the Vancouver Washington area.  Additionally, we have helped numerous families build their own dream homes. We are dedicated to helping you make intelligent, informed decisions and to providing you with exceptional service. Go to www.ernw.org for more information.

This doesn't fit into my usual blogging material which is generally related to real estate in Vancouver WA or green living tips or green building in Vancouver WA. I found this on the web this morning and I am totally captivated by the idea and with the way that Yahoo! is developing it.

Today started like most every Monday morning. I sat at my computer, checked all of the backlinks to my web page, checked my page ranking, checked my page placement on Yahoo for our keywords (1st page!), and checked placement for Google (6th page today but getting better.) Also like most days, I was distracted by something on the front page of Yahoo! This is so cool that I have to share it with you.


Yahoo! has created a campaign that is designed to celebrate having fun. It is called "Start Wearing Purple!" The thing that caught my eye is their "Purple Pedals" project. The guys and gals at Yahoo! have fabricated a bicycle with the help of Electra bicyclesand a small group of computer geniuses throughout the U.S. that has a built in camera, a geotracking GPS unit, and a satellite communication module built into it. The entire thing is run by a small battery that is charged by a nifty little solar panel. Why For? you might ask.

When a person rides one of these purple cruisers the system automatically takes pictures and uploads them to the internet via satellite creating a photo journal of sorts. The pictures are overlaid onto a map of the area where it is being made and you can track the progress of the bike in real time! Of course this technology can be adapted for all kinds of practical things in the future but right now it is just for FUN! How cool is that?

Log on, check it out, and tell me what you think.

When you choose us to handle your Vancouver Washington real estate needs, you choose a team of realtors® who care about you and your family. Buying or selling a home is always more enjoyable when you work with professionals who will listen to your needs and who will work together with you to achieve your objective. We are very familiar with all types a real estate in Clark Countyand we specialize in Vancouver, Ridgefield and Battle Ground. We are also very experienced with new home and custom home construction having assisted several local builders in selling new neighborhoods in the Vancouver Washington area.  Additionally, we have helped numerous families build their own dream homes. We are dedicated to helping you make intelligent, informed decisions and to providing you with exceptional service. Go to www.ernw.org for more information.

For those of us who aren't willing to take the time to mix up our own cleaners (or don't care for the smell of vinegar!), there are also ready-made cleaning products that are less hazardous than many traditional household cleaners. Just because you aren't going to make your own, doesn't mean that you have to put your family's health at risk. Look in the health or natural food sections of your grocery store or visit a store that specializes in eco-friendly types of products. Some brand names of "earth-friendly" products are:

Bi-O-Kleen, Citra-Solv, Earth Friendly Products, ECOS, Planet, Seventh Generation, SoapWorks, and Shaklee has just introduced their Get Clean brand.

Some less toxic products can also be found in the regular cleaners isle: FantastiK Herbal Mist All Purpose Cleaner, Bon Ami Cleanser, Murphy's Oil Wood Soap, and Pure Citrus natural citrus cleaner.

The best way to tell if a commercial product is non-hazardous is to read the label!

Firstly, check for warning words like "danger" and "warning." Be sure to select products with no warning words or the word "caution" - products without these words are most likely less-toxic or non-toxic.

Be sure that all of the ingredients are listed. Be aware of products that only list "active" ingredients. There may be ingredients which you don't know their potential effects.

Know your ingredients! Many products listed above have easy to understand ingredients: soap (vegetable based surfactants), orange oils (d-limonene), vinegar, water, alcohol, etc.

Detergents are synthesized chemicals that are petroleum based and work the same way that soap does, BUT they are not as eco-friendly.

Lastly, avoid chlorinated compounds, petroleum distillates, phenols and formaldehyde. Products that contain these ingredients are potentially harmful to you and your family.

When you choose us to handle your Vancouver Washington real estate needs, you choose a team of realtors® who care about you and your family. Buying or selling a home is always more enjoyable when you work with professionals who will listen to your needs and who will work together with you to achieve your objective. We are very familiar with all types a real estate in Clark Countyand we specialize in Vancouver, Ridgefield and Battle Ground. We are also very experienced with new home and custom home construction having assisted several local builders in selling new neighborhoods in the Vancouver Washington area.  Additionally, we have helped numerous families build their own dream homes. We are dedicated to helping you make intelligent, informed decisions and to providing you with exceptional service. Go to www.ernw.org for more information.

There is a dangerous trend happening in the real estate industry right now. Inexperienced real estate agents (or unscrupulous agents) are out preying on unsuspecting home owners as we speak. They will tell the owner anything just to get a contract to list your home. Rather than telling you the truth about the value of your home, they will give you an inflated value in an effort to secure your business. "Price Seduction" has been practiced since the first real estate agent was licensed but it is especially dangerous right now in our buyer's market.

A buyer's market causes both buyers and sellers to be hypersensitive to price.

Sellers are sensitive because they remember the recent past when their home was worth much more. They may also be sensitive because their move will be expensive and they could have already made plans based on what their price seducing agent told them.

Buyers are sensitive to pricing because the media has convinced them that owners are having to "give" their homes away in order to sell them. There are a lot of deals on the market so the buyers are very worried about overpaying for anything in this market.

Along comes Mr. "Snake in the Grass" real estate agent and tells a family that, with extensive marketing and a lot of hard work, he can get them $30,000 more than the market value (and $32,000 more than the honest agent told them.) Of course any seller wants to get the most he can. Right?

This can be devastating for sellers who absolutely need to move and this can (and usually does) net much less than if the home were priced right from the start. Why is that?

In a declining market, such as we are in now, home values slowly drop over a period of time. Homes that are priced right at the market value will slowly become overpriced as the market slips out from under them. Homes that start out way over the market value are doomed before they even get listed. The gap between the homes that are selling and the overpriced home grows larger by the day. The only solution will be a price reduction. But those owners usually don't reduce enough and they just start the slippery slope all over again. Generally, by the time they correctly price the home for a sale they are much lower than if they had priced it right at the beginning. AND they have paid a few extra months of mortgage and insurance payments!

Avoid Price Seduction by interviewing agents and selecting one based on his performance in the area. Make your agent demonstrate how they determined the recommended listing price for your home. Will it be the most expensive home in the neighborhood? If so, then you may want to find another agent because this one is probably trying the Old "Lie and Reduce" method of getting listings. They will lie to you to get the listing and then call you every week trying to convince you to reduce the price! A buyer's market is a real estate market that is comprised of price wars. As a seller , your primary objective should be to sell your home first! Second place will get less money, third will get less than that, fourth... Hire the honest real estate agent and get it sold quickly and for more money.

When you choose us to handle your Vancouver Washington real estate needs, you choose a team of realtors® who care about you and your family. Buying or selling a home is always more enjoyable when you work with professionals who will listen to your needs and who will work together with you to achieve your objective. We are very familiar with all types a real estate in Clark Countyand we specialize in Vancouver, Ridgefield and Battle Ground. We are also very experienced with new home and custom home construction having assisted several local builders in selling new neighborhoods in the Vancouver Washington area.  Additionally, we have helped numerous families build their own dream homes. We are dedicated to helping you make intelligent, informed decisions and to providing you with exceptional service. Go to www.ernw.org for more information.

Have you been wondering where all of the buyers have been hiding? Are you sitting on listings that aren't getting any showings? Hmmmm... Where could the buyers be?

In a nutshell, the buyers are disguised as sellers across America. The buyers for my $500,000 custom home in Vancouver Washington are currently sitting in their home for sale over in Camas Washington. The buyers for the Camas house are trying to sell their little craftsman bungalow in Downtown Vancouver. Where is the key to the complicated real estate lock?

The key is quite simple, all of the homes are overpriced. (Yes, even my listing.) When sellers realize that we are in a buyer's market and we can no longer demand the inflated prices of 2 years ago, then this locked up market will start to release it tight grip. Our real estate circle of life will start to recover and be healthy again.

What can we do to help? Be honest with our clients! Convince them that the best way to prosper in this type of real estate market is to be realistic when pricing their old home and to find a killer deal when buying their new one. It's not easy but it is the only solution.

When you choose us to handle your Vancouver Washington real estate needs, you choose a team of realtors® who care about you and your family. Buying or selling a home is always more enjoyable when you work with professionals who will listen to your needs and who will work together with you to achieve your objective. We are very familiar with all types a real estate in Clark Countyand we specialize in Vancouver, Ridgefield and Battle Ground. We are also very experienced with new home and custom home construction having assisted several local builders in selling new neighborhoods in the Vancouver Washington area.  Additionally, we have helped numerous families build their own dream homes. We are dedicated to helping you make intelligent, informed decisions and to providing you with exceptional service.