The challenge began after the appraisal.  We learned we had hurdles and hoops to jump through, we being the seller.  These hurdles being anything from permits on the home to hand rails on the deck.  Just when one hurdle was checked off or accomplished, there was another.  At a certain point we did begin to wonder if this would close.  But when I as a Realtor heard the frustration and hopelessness in my clients’ voice and words, I realized the importance of my job .  Realized I had to be there to guide him even when he couldn’t see, to keep the faith when he had none, to cheer him on and even roll up my sleeves and dig in to perform some of the tasks that the VA was requiring of him, the seller.  I was willing to do what it took to get this through underwriting and closed for my clients.  You see, you realize at a certain point that these hurdles are just that.  They aren’t insurmountable, but rather resolvable tasks.   Some people refer to this part of the transaction as ” handholding”.  That term is so trite.  My client is a very astute and savvy guy, and did not need any “handholding” but really just needed the support and confidence from his Realtor at this time.  He needed me to stay grounded and sure, and that’s what I did.

So today I had the pleasure of handing over the keys to the new homeowner, a 55+ U. S. Veteran.  This is the first home he has ever owned.  He never thought this would be possible.

Hurdles and Hoops, yeah, it’s all in a days work and I eat them for breakfast!

For more information about Bellingham Homes for Sale, home selling or home buying feel free to contact me, Roberta Soares, at 360-303-3898 or drop me a line at roberta.soares@exprealty.com

Blaine High

Sehome High

In the event you are  considering a move to Bellingham or know that this will be your next destination and are wondering about the quality of education offered in our public schools,  you can put your worries to rest, Newsweek named three Whatcom County high schools amongst some of the top in the nation.

Bellingham High

Blaine High is the highest ranking school in the county and made it on the list for its fourth year in a row.  Go Borderites!!

Sehome High made it to the list for the first time.   Way to go Mariners! and Bellingham High made it to the list a  second consecutive year.   Woohoo Red Raiders!!!

All three have an average class size of apprx. 22 students and have programs that gear the student for post-secondary education and long term success not only as a student but also in their lives.

I think we can all agree that with every  career there are good and bad aspects  that come with the territory of each job  we do.  For me, one of the “bad” aspects of being a Realtor is the rejection.   I did not realize until I entered this field of work how much rejection there is and how much I would be influenced by it. These days with 87% of consumers shopping online and advertising changing dramatically from door to door, cold-calling and paper to online (Internet),  a lot of my work is done through email and Internet advertising and Social Media such as Facebook and Localism

.   So when I send an email to a new client or am keeping in touch with old clients or my list of contacts, the normal thought process(expectation!) is that I will get a response back. Many times though, I do not get a reply or response. Rejection. Nothing, not even my email being returned.  I guess it’s no different from door to door or cold calls, say if no one answers the door or no answer on the phone and you leave message after message.  Some kind of reply, even a negative reply is attention and communication and one can then formulate the next step or plan of action or not.  Getting a reply let’s me know that my emails are 1) getting to their destination, 2) being opened, 3) even being read.  I can wish can’t I ?

One of the best vehicles for prospects that do not respond and for that matter, all of one’s database is the theory and practice of drip campaigns.  Drip campaigns , also known as email marketing, are equivalent to the monthly newsletter.  It is the best vehicle for staying in front of your clients or your sphere of influence when they do not respond.  The key is Staying on their radar.

Think back many moons ago (?) say 10-15 years wow, even 5 years ago, when paper advertising was the best form of advertising, before Social Media and Internet and ecorrespondence.  The monthly newsletter that came in the mail, the monthly door hangers, calendar magnets, whatever it was, it was continuous and consistent.  Methodical.  So if and when we needed an insurance agent, oil change, Realtor, we went to our faithful pile of resources that we had been compiling  ( throwing in the junk drawer) or had stuck to the refrigerator.  Times have changed as we all know it and advertising has changed, and whatever avenue of advertising we choose, the end result has remained the same,  to get those calls from prospective clients/leads.

I send out a weekly blog on my website, SellingBellingham.net, to all of my clients/leads/past clients/sphere of influence.  I send out a Monthly market report to this same list of contacts.  I have them set up on autosearches with our local MLS so that it sends listings to various clients that have communicated their wants and needs.  I send out as much information as I can regarding the market  and lending changes.  I continue this march even when I don’t get a reply because I’m confident that someone is reading my information and tracking it or at best, keeping my information on hand.   They will contact me when they are ready and in need.  And they will contact who first comes to mind.  That Realtor who kept sending emails, that realtor who sent all the blogs, that realtor who sent us listings, that realtor who left all the phone messages. That Realtor who remained on their radar.      

And so it is this past week that I received communication from two clients.  One I’ve been working with for 8 months and hadn’t heard from in awhile.  She replied to one of my monthly emails last week, and yes she is still in the market. The other client came to me as an online consumer apprx. four months ago and up to this point we had not made contact with each other. Zero. Zilch. Nada.  No replies to my initial emails.  No replies to my reports and no reply to my phone calls.  But, he did reply today, and thus my advertising routine is reinforced.
So I will continue this campaign of ecorrespondence with blogs, photos, reports, listings, keeping in touch emails because I do get a reply……eventually.

If you are considering relocating to Bellingham or looking to sell or buy locally, feel free to contact me @ 360-303-3898 or http://sellingbellingham.net.

Or if you are interested in learning more about our company and how it can improve your business and income, feel free to contact me @ 360-303-3898

Tony's Coffee in Bellingham, WA

If you were to ask a certified coffee aficionado (like me) about where to find the very best coffee in the known Universe, you would very likely hear “Tony’s!!!!” blurted back at you before you’d even finished the question. There is simply no comparison to be made between Tony’s and any other coffee. It’s sort of like saying there is Earth…and then there are all the other planets.  Now you know…

Located in Bellingham’s historic Fairhaven district, Tony’s Coffee has been, quite literally, a cornerstone of the Bellingham cultural scene since 1971. I say “literally” because Tony’s occupies a corner of Fairhaven’s Terminal Building, built in 1888. While I realize that a semantic argument can be made against the use of the word literally, I will thank all of you grammar-snobs for allowing me a little wiggle room here…

Based in Bellingham, Tony’s has been a leader in green, organic technologies and specialization in good old-fashioned craftsmanship. Though their products are available in numerous restaurants, cafe’s and retail outlets throughout the West Coast, Tony’s has chosen to remain a boutique operation, emphasizing quality over quantity, and it shows. (order online here)

Their location in Fairhaven is always warm and inviting, offering a perfect place to start the day or spend an afternoon with great friends or great books. I love to sit at the rail up against the front windows and watch the people walk past the bustling intersection outside.  Tony’s always seems to have a certain buzz about it… You can just feel it when you walk in, almost as if the pulse of the community- it’s whole energy and being- can be felt radiating directly from within its old walls… If you want to really get to know the essential character of Bellingham, spend a late morning or afternoon sipping from one of Tony’s myriad delicious brews and you’ll know what I mean.

…and make sure you try one of the chocolate chip cookies.

This post is part of the Facebook series â€œ365 Things to do in Bellingham“, produced by myself and Michael Eisenberg.

Thanks for reading! Please leave comments or suggestions below, e-mail me at rob.leroy@exprealty.com, or call me at 206.883.6668 …and yes, you CAN hire me as your real estate agent!

Rob LeRoy is a Seattle real estate agent and social media marketing coach with eXp Realty.

Walk through the gates of the Garden Spot and you are immediately transformed into another world, one of peace, great smells, color and creativity.

The Garden Spot, a nursery plus so much more, is located in the Sunnyland neighborhood of Bellingham.  This location on the corner of Alabama and King st. has worn many hats in its history .  It was originally dairyland, then at one time a meat market and fish market, the site of the old Alabama Lockers, but none more fitting or inviting or invigorating than this garden sanctuary. Filled with a slew of flowers, shrubs, trees, statuary, pottery and so much more as well as friendly and knowledgeable horticulturists, and the fragrance of daphene, lavender, and many other scents, your stresses are immediately relieved.  It is easy to meander here, sipping a cup of tea or joe,  relax and let go or let the creative juices flow.  Whether it is in the middle of the planting season or middle of winter, ” it’s always beautiful in The Garden Spot”.

As the sign reads, “  There’s No Place Like Home”.

Welcome home and welcome in to the Garden Spot………..

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Here’s a quick idea for an afternoon hike in Bellingham.  The arboretum atop Sehome Hill comprises 180 acres and features over5 miles of walking trails that wind around the hill behind the campus of Western Washington University, culminating in an 80-foot observation tower at the top.  The picture above is of the view of downtown Bellingham and Bellingham Bay and, despite my sweet camera skills, fails to do the view justice. There is no place like this in town…the view is simply staggering.

The best part is that you can get here from just about anywhere. We walked from our house to the top of the hill, then back down to get some food downtown. It feels great to be able to go for a hike without ever having to get in the car.  There are access points at the top of Jersey Street, and along the eastern and southern edges of Western’s campus.  The hike is roughly 15-20 minutes between access points and the observation tower.

This post is part of the Facebook series ”365 Things to do in Bellingham”, produced by myself and Michael Eisenberg.

Thanks for reading! Please leave comments or suggestions below, e-mail me at rob.leroy@exprealty.com, or call me at 206.883.6668 …and yes, you CAN hire me as your real estate agent!

If you’re on Facebook, you can join my fan page for daily updates by clicking the banner below.

Originally published at www.TheRealEstateNovelist.com

Rob LeRoy is a Seattle real estate agent and social media marketing coach with eXp Realty.

Thanks to happy reader Sonia for submitting the following question, which made it really easy to come up with today’s post!

“We’re looking at moving there in the next two years and are curious about  things to do during the REAL rainy season. We live in Florida and have visited the area around Bellingham in the Summer, Winter and Fall.”

I’m glad you asked, Sonia. It is no secret that it rains in Washington. Sometimes it rains a lot…for days and days. That is just the way it is.  And while to some that may seem like a downside to living here, it is, in my opinion, a perfectly reasonable trade-off when you consider the lack of poisonous bugs, snakes, hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes,  locust swarms and dragons, etc. so prevalent elsewhere in the country.  The reward is reaped in the Spring, Summer and Fall, when the mild temperatures and unparalleled beauty of the natural landscape make life in the Northwest feel like a well-earned privilege. Still, it is important to know how to cope with those dreary, cloudy days, and so I give you….

Top 10 Ways to Beat the Rain…

(and how they’ve become the roots of our economy)

#1 Drink Coffee: It should go without saying that Washington State is known as a place where people appreciate coffee. Given the potential for rain-induced lethargy, it is no wonder that large coffee companies like Starbucks, Tully’s, Seattle’s Best Coffee (now a Starbucks subsidiary) Woods Coffee and Tony’s (my personal favorites) are based here.

#2 Drink Beer: When coffee just won’t do it, bring on the cavalry. Washington is home to hundreds of breweries, ranging from small, regional brewpubs like Bellingham’s Chuckanut and Boundary Bay breweries, medium-sized operations like Elysian and Lazy Boy, to full-scale production heavies like Pyramid and Redhook. Those are just the tip of the iceberg- there are at least 71 functioning micro-breweries in Washington State. In fact, the nation’s very first micro was based in Washington… We love our beer here.

#3 Go Shopping: When the clouds and rain weigh heavy and dark….why not go hide inside a giant, well-lit building and spend some money! Along with numerous malls, Washington State is home-base to retail titans like Costco, Nordstrom and REI.

#4 Work on your computer: Washington is one of the most tech-centric places in the world. In addition to Microsoft’s colossal home campus in Redmond ( it has its own MLS area code), the region features headquarters of tech giants like Zillow, Amazon, RealNetworks, and Expedia.

#5 Go shopping on your computer: For efficiency’s sake, why not combine a #3 and #4…or all of the above, for that matter.

#6 Go to a game: With Seattle being the home of professional* sports teams like the Mariners, Seahawks and the Sounders, hardcore fans have learned to suck it up and cheer on their teams regardless of the weather. In the case of the Mariners, Safeco Field’s retractable roof prevents the rain from harming the dainty threads and manicured coifs of visiting Yankees fans… while Seahawks and Sounders loyalists at Quest Field are tougher than Postal workers, having learned to drink their way through any kind of weather, be it rain, sleet, or snow.

* I use that term loosely

#7 Make a record: Garages and basements are great for hiding from the weather. Just ask Jimi Hendrix…and whoever is left alive from local bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Mudhoney, Soundgarden, Modest Mouse, Death Cab For Cutie…etc.  The list goes on and on…Though Seattle’s music scene hasn’t been on the front page as much since the mid 90′s, there is still a strong and vibrant community of musicians throughout the region, boosted by local record companies like Sub-Pop and the World’s Greatest Radio Station, Seattle’s KEXP.

#8 Go diving: This gives a whole new meaning to the phrase, “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em!”  If you’re gonna get wet, you might as well get REALLY wet. The Puget Sound area is known among the clinically insane as one of the best places to scuba dive in the world. There are dive shops everywhere…which is pretty much the extent of my knowledge…because I’m not a crazy person.

#9 Go to the gym: I find the rainy days to be great for getting a good work-out.  I don’t have a joke for this one…  It’s just a good, solid idea.

#10 Go somewhere else: When all else fails, it’s time to bail. The really rainy period (generally between February and January [sic]) is the time to consider an escape to some place warmer and drier. A little break is all it takes to clear your head and remember how much you love it here during the Spring and Summer. Is it any coincidence then that one of the World’s largest airplane manufacturers is based here?  I can just imagine the founders of Boeing sitting around drinking beer and coffee one fateful day saying,” You know what would be great? A vacation! But how are we gonna get there…?”

Special bonus answer: Write a blog! It happens to be raining today. So I am wrting this article at Woods Coffee in downtown Bellingham…So, obviously, I am doing numbers 1 and 4, and I have every intention of transitioning into  #2, possibly after #9. Let it never be said that I fail to practice what I preach!

Thanks for reading! Please leave comments or suggestions below, e-mail me at rob.leroy@exprealty.com, or call me at 206.883.6668 …and yes, you CAN hire me as your real estate agent!

If you’re on Facebook, you can join my fan page for daily updates by clicking the banner below.

Originally published at www.TheRealEstateNovelist.com

Rob LeRoy is a Seattle real estate agent and social media marketing coach with eXp Realty.

The place looked very cool from the outside, obviously a custom design intended for its hillside perch overlooking  the dark blue waters of Chuckanut Bay.  At the very least, I figured, I could get some great pics of the bay from the deck, which looked to be a good 60 feet higher than the road, offering unobstructed views of the water and the islands beyond.

Once inside, I was so impressed with the creative custom design and the impressive flood of natural light, and of course the view, that I thought I’d better write about it.  The design does an impeccable job of maximizing the West-facing view by integrating several large windows with a large, entertainment-sized deck. The layout is open, with the kitchen and main living area flowing together nicely with the deck space wrapping around the North and Western sides of the house.

Click the thumbnails below for full-sized pictures. Click here to see the full collection.

View Map

This home sits just off of Chuckanut Drive about 5 minutes south of Bellingham’s Fairhaven neighborhood and features 2 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms, with a total of 2200 square feet. The 2006 design is eco-friendly, featuring abundant natural light and radiant heat under the polished concrete and bamboo flooring. Just behind the home is the Bellingham inter-urban bike and walking trail that extends connects Fairhaven to Larrabee State Park. The current list price is $779,000.

For more information on this home, or other Chuckanut or Fairaven real estate e-mail me at rob.leroy@exprealty.com, or call me at 206.883.6668 …and yes, you CAN hire me as your real estate agent!

If you’re on Facebook, you can join my fan page for daily updates by clicking the banner below.

Originally published at www.TheRealEstateNovelist.com

Rob LeRoy is a Seattle real estate agent and social media marketing coach with eXp Realty.