Celebrating our 24th Year

 with my Beautiful Wife.

24 years ago today (4.30.89), I married my best friend. 

Today we start our 25^th year on this journey together.

Marriage is like any commitment. You will get out of a marriage exactly what you put into it.
My belief has always been, “If you want a good wife? Be a good husband”.

24 years later, I think every vow taken on our wedding day has been exercised and put to the test, with a few additional strains, some tests of endurance and a lot of patience thrown in, to keep us on our toes, to test our love and commitment to each other.

We got to the altar so young, so naïve, yet so in love.  For most of us when we’re young we are filling a void, that hole that needs to be filled. So this new bride or groom seems like the perfect answer to live happily ever after and feel more complete.

But then the honeymoon begins to fade, the kids come; the career or careers kick in. Then enters the elephant into the room, that period where personal growth, personal changes, aging, or the mid life crisis are not easily avoided and can be very tough to work through. That same person you fell in love with, now might not be growing at your pace or you convince yourself, your spouse just may be from another planet. And if they would only just …………..

As I’ve addressed and owned up to my own defects through the years and tried to become the person inside I felt I wanted to become, I can honestly say that everything that required a huge effort on my part to grow and become a better person, my wife does with ease, from the heart and with little or no effort.

She is a natural beauty.

We plan to celebrate this weekend with a special evening in Seattle. She will put on her finest because she is as classy and sexy a woman as I have ever met.  I will be present and attentive as she tells me about her day or her dreams on our intimate evening together.

But for me after 24 years of being a happily married man, it's still the little things I just enjoy, like seeing my wife wearing my boxer shorts and her beat up ugg’s while she is out in the yard tending to her roses. That’s when I’ll look across the yard at her and fall more in love.

Thanks Mrs.

It’s a Great Life!

The Estate Sale ~ who's the seller ?

Ah yes ~ the Estate Sale!

I have sold the American dream for years.

It’s such a thrill to help a young couple into their first home, the successful "move up" buyer with equity from the purchase of their first home, to the grandparents relocating to be closer to their grand kids, and everything in between.

I am currently representing a seller with the sale of his parent’s home.

The Estate Sale

The estate sale is quite common in real estate not unlike the sale of a home from a divorce.

A home going to market becomes nothing more than a home on the market. The value is the value and an estate sale certainly doesn’t change anything.

What does change is the seller for an estate sale.

I have worked with attorneys who might be handling the sale for the estate, but more often than not, I will usually work with the children (adult typically) of the estate.

Sometimes the children might have lived in the home at some point in their life. Maybe growing up in the home with fond memories, or just a special place they may have enjoyed family gathering’s or holidays.  It can sometimes get emotional, but that is not the point of this story.

The young man and the estate I am currently representing is in a lose / lose situation with trying to make any decisions about the sale of his mother’s home.

Why?  ~ His siblings.

I have had this challenge before and I’ve witnessed some of the most childish, foolish, greedy, mean and most unloving acts I could have ever imagined.

How do brothers and sisters get to this point?  And what would the parents think of this behavior?

This young man has done everything I’ve suggested in preparing his mother’s home for sale only to be shot down, and halted by his sister’s attorney. Yep, they come lawyer’d up sometimes. 
In this case, there are also two other brother’s who are just making the youngest siblings (my client) life a living hell right now.

We sold our family home that I grew up in back in 2011. There were 11 of us.

The other 10 turned to me and said “Kevin you sell real estate, get it done.”
I became the seller.

the home I grew up in

I communicated to the family with group emails every step of the way and a few family members were greedy in a subtle kind of way, but for the most part the sale went smooth and actually brought a lot of us who had been out of touch closer together.

More importantly was that my parents would have been very proud watching their children working together.

This young man I'm currently representing actually called me from the emergency room of a hospital because of chest pains.

I have never gotten emotional regarding helping buyers and sellers with their real estate needs and I don’t plan to start now. What has changed in me is, realizing I have had too many estate sales where this is the case, families feuding, sales ending up in lawsuits, families ripping away at the very fabric of their heritage.

Just stop it! ~ Stop it right now!

Maybe you and your siblings have grown apart, went different directions or whatever your story is. You don’t even have to be friends. I’m just the realtor here.

But for your parents sake,

Hire a competent real estate professional, do what they suggest and make your parents proud.

It's a Great Life !

see you over at http://www.thurstonliving.com/

               

Thurston County Home Sales Snapshot ~ Q1 / YTD 2013

Kevin Lynch’s Home Sales Report

Thurston Co, WA

 Thurston County ~ NW, SW, NE, SE area 441-455
(including Yelm, Tenino and Rochester)

 the numbers for  Q1 / YTD 2013:

• Homes for sale ~ 1,042 homes are currently listed

                  Low $44,0500 ~ High $5,788,800

                  Median $259,000

                   Avg. days on ~116

• Pending  ~ 337 homes are in escrow

                  Low $40,000 ~ High $1,375,000

                  Median $237,990

                  Avg. days on ~ 82

• Q1 / YTD Sales ~ 620 homes sold in Thurston County in Q1 / YTD 2013

                 Low $20,000 ~ High $870,000

                 Median $220,000

                 Avg. days on ~ 96

• Q1 / YTD 2012 ~520 homes Sold in Q1 / YTD 2012 in Thurston County

                 Low $29,900 ~ High $1,380,000

                 Median $211,750

                 Avg. days on 99

• A + 3.9 % increase to the median price of homes selling in Thurston County in the 1st quarter of 2013 compared to the 1st quarter of 2012. 
• The average market time in all categories is as balanced as I have seen in the last 5 years.
• 100 more homes have sold in the 1st quarter of 2013.
• Not quite a seller's market, but a good time to be a seller and a good time to be a buyer.

"Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it."Mark Twain

late afternoon in the desert ~ 93 degrees

see you over at http://www.thurstonliving.com/

                                 Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

Thurston County Home Sales Snapshot ~ March 2013

Kevin Lynch’s Home Sales Report

Thurston County, WA

 Thurston County ~ NW, SW, NE, SE area 441-455
(including Yelm, Tenino and Rochester)

 the numbers for  March 2013:

• Homes for sale ~ 1,042 homes are currently listed

                  Low $44,0500 ~ High $5,788,800

                  Median $259,000

                   Avg. days on ~116

• Pending  ~ 258 homes are in escrow

                  Low $44,500 ~ High $1,150,000

                  Median $239,950

                  Avg. days on ~ 80

• March Sales ~ 259 homes sold in Thurston County March 2013

                 Low $20,000 ~ High $650,000

                 Median $217,500

                 Avg. days on ~ 87

•  March 2012 ~226 homes Sold in Thurston County March 2012 

                 Low $35,000 ~ High $800,000

                 Median $209,995

                 Avg. days on 122

A +3.5% increase to the median price in Thurston County for March 2013.

"A mistake is always forgivable, rarely excusable and always unacceptable."Robert Fripp

see you over at http://www.thurstonliving.com/

                                 Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

Olympia Home Sales Snapshot ~ March 2013

Kevin Lynch’s Home Sales Snapshot

Olympia  ~ area  445,447 & 448

 the numbers for  March 2013 :

• Homes for sale ~ 115 homes are currently listed

                  Low $99,000 ~ High $2,499,900

                  Median $269,000

                  Avg. days on ~123

• Pending ~ 37 homes are in escrow

                  Low $179,900 ~ High $6999,900

                  Median $266,950

                  Avg. days on ~ 131

•  March Sales ~39 homes sold in Olympia in March 2013

                 Low $105,000 ~ High $534,500

                 Median $ 247,500

                 Avg. days on ~ 110

•  March 2012 ~27 homes Sold in Olympia in March 2012

                 Low $110,000 ~ High $480,000

                 Median $213,000

                 Avg. days on 88

An impressive + 16.2% increase to the median price in Olympia for March of 2013 compared to March of 2012.

"You will know that forgiveness has begun when you recall those who hurt you and feel the power to wish them well."Lewis B. Smedes 

a weekend in LA with our daughter. Deep fried
avocadoes and Buffalo wing cauliflower.

see you over at http://www.thurstonliving.com/

                                 Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

Lacey Home Sales Snapshot ~ March 2013

Kevin Lynch’s Home Sales report

Lacey  ~ SE area 450

 the numbers for the March 2013:

• Homes for sale ~ 80 homes are currently listed

                  Low $69,900 ~ High $760,000

                  Median $212,500

                  Avg. days on ~ 74

• Pending  ~ 26 homes are in escrow

                  Low $110,000 ~ High $256,500

                  Median $194,900

                  Avg. days on ~ 61

• March Sales 2013 ~ 38 homes sold in Lacey in March 2013

                 Low $89,000 ~ High $470,000

                 Median $190,000

                 Avg. days on ~ 75

• March  2012 ~ 42 homes sold in Lacey in March 2012

                 Low $76,800 ~ High $395,000

                 Median $199,000

                 Avg. days on 100

A  - 4.5% decrease to the median sales price in March for Lacey compared to March 2012. Inventory is way down which is making average market times shrink.

"Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names."John F. Kennedy

that time of year again

see you over at http://www.thurstonliving.com/

                                 Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

Tumwater Home Sales Snapshot ~ March 2013

Kevin Lynch’s Home Sales report

Tumwater  ~ SW, SE area 443

 the numbers for  March 2013 :

• Homes for sale ~ 96 homes are currently listed

                  Low $119,900 ~ High $595,900

                  Median $262,493

                  Avg. days on ~165

• Pending  ~ 30 Homes are in escrow

                  Low $44,500 ~ High $579,900

                  Median $228,998

                  Avg. days on ~ 75

• March 2013 Sales ~ 30 Homes sold in Tumwater  March 2013

                 Low $111,500 ~ High $485,000

                 Median $230,000

                 Avg. days on ~123

•   March 2012 ~30 Homes Sold in Tumwater in March 2012

                 Low $71,000 ~ High $372,000

                 Median $225,750

                Avg. days  on 150

A +1.8% increase to the median price in Tumwater in March 2013 compared to March 2012.

Note the average market time of the pendings. Homes are flying off the shelves, if priced properly.

"Never forget the three powerful resources you always have available to you: love, prayer, and forgiveness."H. Jackson Brown, Jr. 

Los Angeles

see you over at http://www.thurstonliving.com/

                                 Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

Delphi Hills Home Sales Snapshot ~ March 2013

Kevin Lynch’s Home Sales Report

SW Thurston County

Delphi Hills  ~ SW area 442

 the numbers for March 2013 :

• Homes for sale ~ 26 homes are currently listed

                  Low $155,000 ~ High $2,000,000

                  Median $342,500

                  Avg. days on ~ 155

• Pending  ~ 7 homes are in escrow

                 Low $168,950 ~ High $449,900

                 Median $283,600

                 Avg. Days on 145

• March  2013 Sales ~ 5 homes sold in Delphi Hills in March 2013

                 Low $117,000 ~ High $650,000

                 Median $185,000

                 Avg. days on ~ 134

• March 2012 ~ 0  homes Sold in Delphi Hills March 2012

                Low $ ~ High $

                Median $

                Avg. days on

I could not find a sale from March 2012. The Delphi area is starting to pick up.

"Forgotten is forgiven."F. Scott Fitzgerald

see you over at http://www.thurstonliving.com/

                                 Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

West Olympia Home Sales Snapshot ~ March 2013

Kevin Lynch’s Home Sales report

NW ~ West Olympia

West  Olympia  ~ NW area 444

 the numbers for March 2013 :

• Homes for sale ~ 112 Homes are currently listed

                  Low $92,500 ~ High $2,399,000

                  Median $ 282,612

                  Avg. days on ~ 143

• Pending  ~ 28 Homes are in escrow

                  Low $115,000 ~ High $350,000

                  Median $232,495

                  Avg. days on ~ 76

• West Olympia March Sales ~ 26 Homes sold in March 2013

                  Low $134,800 ~ High $650,000

                  Median $231,742

                  Avg. days on ~ 176

•  March Sales 2012 ~20 Homes Sold in West Olympia in March 2012

                  Low $69,000 ~ High $800,000

                  Median $234,975

                  Avg. days on 125

A slight -1.4% decrease to the median sales price in West Olympia for March 2013 compared to March 2012.


"Forgiveness means letting go of the past."Gerald Jampolsky

Griffith Park

see you over at http://www.thurstonliving.com/

                                 Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

Hawks Prairie Home Sales Snapshot ~ March 2013

Kevin Lynch’s Home Sales report

NE

Hawks Prairie  ~  NE area 446

 the numbers for the  March 2013:

• Homes for sale ~ 124 Homes are currently listed

                  Low $138,800 ~ High $5,788,800

                  Median $324,950

                  Avg. days on ~126

• Pending ~39 Homes are in escrow

                  Low $175,000 ~ High $444,900

                  Median $313,510

                  Avg. days on ~89

•  March Sales ~35 Homes sold in Hawks Prairie in March 2013

                 Low $69,900 ~ High $455,000

                 Median $278,475

                 Avg. days on ~ 89

• March  Sales 2012 ~25 Homes Sold in Hawks Prairie In March 2012

                 Low $162,000 ~ High $561,635

                 Median $231,995

                 Avg. days on 112

A +20% spike to the median price in Hawks Prairie for March of 2013 compared to March of 2012. 10 more homes sold this March. The sold and pending average market times are shorter than they have been in years.

"To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you."Lewis B. Smedes

that's what a hamburger is all about

see you over at http://www.thurstonliving.com/ 

                                 Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed.