Today I’ll break from my normal “Getaway Sunday” schedule to do a little pre-Veteran’s Day tribute.

Yes, Veteran’s Day will be celebrated this Wednesday, November 11th by the entire country but maybe you could take 6 minutes out of your day today to remember all those who served and sacrificed on this particular day in 1965 in the jungles of Vietnam? Please watch this video and reflect on the words of the song.

Veteran’s Day

A celebration to honor America’s veterans for their patriotism, love of country, and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good.

To the 48 who sacrificed their lives on November 8th, 1965 I thank you with all of my being. To those who lived through this horrific battle and have sacrificed every day since, I thank you more than you can possibly know…

Today’s Monday market statistics are brought to you by the numbers 9-8-6-4-2.

It is Monday and that means we get to look at some more of our Clark County area real estate market statistics. Last week we looked at what is happening in the Salmon Creek, NW Vancouver areas of 98665, 98685 and 98686. This week we’ll head north along I-5 to the Ridgefield area. As always, I’ll post the statistics with a link to go see them much larger and easier. They’ll give you the October snapshot showing things like number of new listings, number of sales, average days on the market, rate of appreciation, average sales prices, etc.

Let’s look at Ridgefield now

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As always, take a look at all the numbers. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to shoot me an email, make a call or send me a text. If you want more detail of a more specific set of market data, let me know!

Today is Sunday and that is a day to get away from it all. A day to enjoy and be somewhere else. It’s not always possible to actually get away from home, but you can always imagine. That’s where this regular Sunday post comes in handy. I love to share places I’ve been and love or share places I’d love to go someday.

Today I’ve been thinking about the Fountains of Bellagio. Yes, I’ve written about Vegas on a Getaway Sunday post before. But today I want to focus on the Fountains of Bellagio. I have seen countless shows in front of the Bellagio while on many different trips to the “other” Clark County. I’ve seen it during the day and during the night. No matter when you see this show it’s magical but in the dark of the night it has a certain something special about it.

According to their own website:

the Fountains of Bellagio were destined to romance your senses

and romance they do. Here is the video I shot from the last time I was there. It is difficult to capture the magnitude of the emotion and intensity of the show. I hope you enjoy this.

Pretty special huh? I’d highly recommend you stop in several different times next time you’re in Vegas. They are always playing different songs with the show and each one is special in its own way. I’ll now leave you with a few photo’s from the Fountains of Bellagio…

A question that is regularly asked is “should I keep renting or should I buy a home”? This is a very valid question that deserves an answer. Here is a great little video that gives a very simple and understandable answer to the question. I hope you enjoy (and learn a thing or two).

If you’d like to discuss this topic further with me I’d love to chat with you. Feel free to ask any questions you may have.

Orange?

Sure, why not? Actually, I have a specific photo I wanted to post for today’s Foto Friday and it happens to be orange so I thought I’d dig through some other photos I’ve tagged “orange” as well. I hope you enjoy these as much as I have enjoyed taking each one.

Can you guess which one started the “orange” theme idea? Share your guesses.

Buying a house? Thinking about buying a house? Getting ready to close on a home? Are you completely confused about what Closing Costs are? Does the whole thing give you a headache and you wish someone could give you a super simple explanation about them. Well, today is your lucky day. Here is a great little 3 minute video that is Closing Costs 101.

Give it a watch and I bet it will help.

If you have any questions about this or anything else real estate related please feel free to shoot me a call or an email and I’ll do my best to get you an answer.

Today my wife, Bridget is hosting a Blog Carnival over on her One Word At A Time… blog. I’m very excited for her and happy she’s gotten as involved as she has in blogging and social networking. She’s having a wonderful time meeting some great new friends and I just know that one of these days she’s going to get that call she so badly desires… “Bridget, we’d like to have a conversation about getting your writing published and distributed.”

As I mentioned, her blog is “Hoping To Make A Difference… One Word At A Time…” and for each post she takes a single word and expands upon it through her experiences and perspective. Since she is hosting this Blog Carnival the idea was to keep with her “One Word” theme. To read all the Blog Carnival entries you need to head over to this post.

The word for today’s carnival is…

Trust

As a Realtor this word resonates within me. Am I trustworthy? Do people trust me? On a daily basis I am responsible for the largest investment most people will ever make. Do I handle that responsibility with care? Do I earn each clients trust?

What is trust?

Whether online or offline, I desire to act in a manner that earns everyone’s trust through being genuine and honest. Chris Brogan and Julien Smith have just released their newest book Trust Agents that discusses the concept of online trustworthiness. From the inside cover you see:

Trust agents aren’t necessarily marketers or salespeople; they’re the digitally savvy people who use the Web to humanize businesses using transparency, honesty, and genuine relationships.

Real estate is a human business! Even with all the automation of home searching and valuations, ultimately it is a human business. I believe that anyone who originally met me online would say that I’m the same guy IRL (In Real Life). I’m generally the same goofy guy who loves to take pics of food and anything else that crosses my path, engage in great conversation, listen when an ear is needed. Maybe point someone in the direction of help if I know someone who can help. I don’t do these things because I have to, I do them because it’s who I am. I think Jeff Turner summed it up wonderfully:

“You can always tell when someone is sincerely interested in helping others and when they merely want you to think they’re interested. Dale proves over and over again, that he is truly interested in helping others. For a real estate professional, that’s a gift. I’m honored to know Dale and pleased I can count him as a client and a friend.”

These are words that humble me and make me smile. (Thank you again Jeff, I’m honored to call you friend as well!) Everyone wants to think they are trustworthy but unfortunately all are not.

Realtors are one step above Multi-Level Marketers

Wow! Those are words that hurt. Tonight I was out with a few friends and we were talking about online and offline reputations and the above statement came out of one of their mouths. They did not direct it at me but it was directed at the industry I am a part of. I’ve also heard from more than one individual that real estate professionals are not much (or any) better than used car salesmen.

Why do people continue to work with people they don’t trust? This escapes me. If you have that feeling about someone, why not move along and find someone you do trust? Especially when dealing with such a large investment. Trust is critical! Why place such an enormous responsibility in the hands of a “MLM or used car salesman”? I don’t know the answer, but it is an interesting question.

So, do you trust your real estate professional? Have they earned your trust? I certainly hope so. Are you a real estate professional? Are you trustworthy? Are you going above and beyond to earn the trust of those who need you and your service? I certainly hope so.

Trust Agents photo by Chris Brogan, used under Creative Commons licensing
We Con photo by boeke, used under Creative Commons licensing

Today’s Monday market statistics are brought to you by the numbers 9-8-6-6-5 ,9-8-6-8-5 and 9-8-6-8-6.

It is Monday and that means we get to look at some more of our Vancouver area market statistics. Last Monday Market Tracker we looked at 98660 and 98663. This week we’ll head north along I-5 into Hazel Dell, Felida, Salmon Creek and Pleasant Valley area of Clark County. This covers all of NW Vancouver, WA. As always, I’ll post the statistics with a link to go see them much larger and easier. They’ll give you the September snapshot showing things like number of new listings, number of sales, average days on the market, rate of appreciation, average sales prices, etc.

Let’s start out with 98665

(Please click on image for larger view)

Now for 98685

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Today we’ll finish with 98686

(Please click on image for larger view)

As always, take a look at all the numbers. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to shoot me an email, make a call or send me a text. If you want more detail of a more specific set of market data, let me know!

Since today is Sunday, it’s a day to get away. I thought, what better way to getaway than by taking a quick little drive down Officers Row in the Fort Vancouver Historic Reserve. Even though I’ve lived here in Vancouver, WA my entire life, I’ve never tired of this drive. These homes were all built in the 1800’s and are so beautiful. The leaves are just starting to turn which makes it even more magical.

If you are new to the Vancouver, WA area, you need to head down to the Historic Reserve and spend some time. If you have lived here a long time, maybe it’s time to take another drive down Officers Row and maybe grab some dinner at The Restaurant at the Historic Reserve? Perhaps you haven’t lived in Vancouver for a long time and you desire a little bit of your past, this is for you.

Today we added a great new listing to our homes for sale. This beautiful home is over 5,000 square feet and sits on almost 6 acres in close in Battle Ground, WA. It is a well laid out ranch with a huge daylight basement that features its own kitchen and living space. Check it out for yourself…

If you have any questions please contact your Realtor. If you don’t have a Realtor, feel free to contact me and I’ll be happy to help you out.