Jayme Curley:  Clay Sculpture with watercolor. Jayme’s creations of watercolors on clay begin on a canvas, sculpting and working the clay into its destined design.  The canvas adds texture, the teeth imprinted on the clay. Her sculptures speak about our environment and the impact of human behavior on our environment.  An example of this is her Whatcom Creek sculpture created after the 1999 pipeline explosion which is on display at Western Washington University.  In addition to her sculpture’s Jayme also creates collage, and the occasional painted door!

Andra Millage: Sugar Sculpture/Cake Creations/Edible Art
Andra Millage has been creating cake and sugar sculpture for the last 26 years.  Working out of the commercial kitchen of her Eldridge home, she creates chocolates, cookies, and sculptures of sugar and flour.  Her cake creations very from traditional and elegant wedding cakes to fun and fantastical.  She states that her geologist training helps in fulfilling her logical side and building the right support for her cakes while the designing of the cakes fulfills her creative side.    And by the way, they taste as good as they look!   Let them eat cake!

Don’t miss this opportunity to meet some of Bellingham’s talented artists as well as private showings of their work.  The tour continues Saturday 10/8 and Sunday 10/9, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m..  Map/Brochure/Artist Locations

For more information about Bellingham cultural activities, Bellingham Homes for Sale or Bellingham real estate, contact Roberta Soares at 360-303-3898.

Anacortes, the often overlooked little brother to Bellingham, is one of the best kept secrets in the Northwest.  Seated at the Northern tip of Fidalgo Island, Anacortes offers a quaint, but lively, small-town feel with amazing views from almost every direction.  What it also offers is a sizable collection of new housing developments that blend those views with great design and craftsmanship. The best part, from the buyer’s perspective, is that the real estate slow-down has hit the new-construction market harder than other areas, largely due to over-development.  The problem for new-construction developments is that they often take years to scout,  permit, and build, and in this case they just took too long to come to the market.  So now, after several months with little or no action, many of the developers are getting creative (sometimes downright desperate) about their pricing and packaging.

Here’s a great example:

I recently visited the Portalis community on the North side of the island, between downtown Anacortes and the San Juan ferry terminal.  Though made up mostly of single-family homes, the community itself is condominiumized, meaning that there is an association and common grounds maintained.  Though originally priced in the $500′s and high $400′s, most of  the prices are now down in the low-to-mid $400′s, and the inside word is that the developers are taking offers at 10% below that!  These homes are between 1800-2000 square feet with very high-end finishes and great, open floor plans.  Seriously, they are nice! I look at homes all the time, so I’m not easily impressed, but these are definitely worth a look.

On top of the price breaks, the developers and their lender partners have come up with all sorts of ways to sweeten the deal.  They’re offering things like lease-options and the paying of HOA dues for up to 5 years.  They’re even offering to cover mortgage payments for up to 6 months (!), which is great for buyers trying to sell their current home before relocating. For qualified buyers, Wells Fargo is offering loans on new construction with a downpayment of 3.5% with no mortgage insurance , meaning a savings of at least a couple hundred dollars per month.

Portalis is just one example. There are other new developments in the area with similar deals to be found.  For that matter, with a little bit of digging, you could find opportunities like this all over these days, even in Bellingham and Seattle. It’s just a matter of knowing where to look…and having the right real estate agent to help you, of course!

For more information on Anacortes, Portalis or similar opportunities, or real estate in general, feel free to email me at rob@buyertours.com or call my cell at 360.510.2230.

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

Northshore Drive turns to Northshore Road in a phase out that can only be compared to when they switched moms on Fresh Prince of Bel Aire, though you’d hardly notice with the homes that line up to greet as you drive south along the lake side. Passing the southern side of Silver Beach neighborhoods, and the other half of the bisected Academy Street, the road takes you past a smattering of the more elusive mistresses of the real estate market, the lake front home.

And there’s been a dry spell in sales here, which will be great inventory to bring into the summer, where this section of Bellingham really begins to shine.  About 37 homes are currently on the market on this stretch of lake road. mostly 3 and 4 bedroom (around 32 of the listings) and averaging a little under 2900 square feet.  Where some of my clients have really found hurdles has been in the age of the homes.  Some off them have needed updating, and some have reached the level of maturity where preventative maintenance has done all it can, and things need replacing, which is a great segue into the new 203(k) loan you can ask your REALTOR about.

Future residents should be prepared to learn about septic systems, their upkeep, their half-lives, and the incredible array of them that now exist, including ultra-violet filtration systems.   Look for well agreements, shared road provisions, and for the 23 homes on the market that have docks?Walk out on them, and see what sort of shape their in.  The days of replacing your decking with 2 X 4′s from the tree fort the county condemned because your boy needs a few more hours watching Bob the Builder? They’re over, and there are new conditions for material.

Homes on the Eastern side of Northshore Road show more acreage than a prospective owner are used to, as 21 of the listings have at least 1 acre.

And knowing that if you’re commuting to the highway, you have a few options for getting out to it, rather than winding back through town to hit Britton, or Lakeway.

I can only pray to the Gods that the restaurant that is on the corner of Y road, and Northshore, opens back again, and continues to serve some of the best Eggs Benedict since that turncoat sold us out, and wrecked the deliciousness of Hollandaise with the bitter taste of treachery. Grammy’s, you will be missed.

It’s country living on the lake, and a stones throw from Mount Baker Highway and the Northshore Trail.