Book em danno

Our team is always looking for tools and resources that will help our clients make informed decisions in home buying. Now you can see what crime is like in that area you’re thinking about living in with Trulia’s Crime Map.

Drawing from three data sources, Crime Map starts with a national view for cities with available data, and then zooms into specific areas. Darker red areas and larger circles on the maps indicate more incidents, whereas green areas and smaller circles represent the opposite.

Click on regions or the scaled circles to see details on individual crimes during the past year.

This is good stuff and very useful for both home buyers and sellers.  For example, if you are thinking of selling your home, check out the crime stats in your area.  You’ll see what buyers are seeing when it comes to crime.

And then there’s the little things like permalinks for locations, filtering by crime type, quick zooms to locations with the most crime, and discussion pages. It’s that little bit of awesome sauce that makes for an extra informative application.

Got a Dog?

This area including Seattle is loves dogs!  Someone told me once that there are more dogs living in Seattle than children.  Hmm.. I don‘t know about that but if that were the case, there would probably a number of reasons why.  For one, people who live here are crazy about their dogs.

And have you been to a dog park in spring?  Dog owners in Seattle love to mingle and socialize with other dog owners at various dog parks around the city. The off-leash parks are the most popular.

People here do everything with their dogs.  I was in line at a bank the other day and this gal had a little something (looked like a rat) in her purse.  All you could see it a wet nose.  And don’t mention walking and running with your dog.  If you like to go running with your dog, check out this online community of Seattle Dog Runners called Djog . The slogan is “Creating canine contentment one Djog at a time.

For a map of “dog parks” click here.  Woof!

Features that make Montlake unique

Montlake Area

Welcome! Whether you’re a new resident or just getting to know the neighborhood, these resources will help you explore the services, restaurants, parks and other features that make Montlake unique.

Parks and Libraries

The boundaries of the Montlake neighborhood are a collection of beautiful parks, lakes and waterways: The Arboretum, Interlaken Park, Lake Union, Lake Washington and the Ship Canal make up the borders of the area. The Montlake Playfield, a project the Community Club began in 1929, faces Lake Union on the neighborhood’s northwest side.

In 1944 the Montlake Community Club established the Montlake Public Library, which now serves the neighborhood from its new building on 24th Avenue East.

Schools and Museums

• Montlake Elementary School
• Museum of History and Industry

Local Businesses

• Mont’s Market
• Montlake Blvd Market formerly Hop-In Grocery
• Montlake Bike Shop
• Salon Blast
• Jay’s Cleaners
• Edward Jones Financial
• MR Johnson’s Antiques

Restaurants in Montlake

• Cafe      Lago
• Fuel Coffee
• Montlake Ale House

Restaurants that deliver to Montlake

• Mad Pizza
• Pagliacci Pizza

Montlake on the Web

• Montlake on Wikipedia
• Montlake photo gallery on Flickr
• Montlake photo gallery on Wikimedia Commons
• Montlake / SR520 article in The New York Times

Health and Safety

Resource	Link	Address	Phone
Nearest   Police Station	Seattle   Police Department	1519   12th Ave.	206-684-4300
Nearest   Fire Station(s)	Seattle Fire   Department	901   E. Roanoke St. 633 32nd Ave. E.	206-386-1400
Nearest   Hospital	University of Washington Medical Center	1959   N.E. Pacific St.	206-598-3300
Nearest   Pet Hospital	Madison Park   Veterinary Hospital	4016   E. Madison St.	206-324-4050

Public Utilities

Utility	Link	New Service	Pay Bill Online	Phone
Water   and sanitation	Seattle Public   Utilities	New Utility Customers	Electronic   Billing	206-684-3000
Electricity	Seattle City   Light	Residential   Electric Service	Electronic   Billing	206-684-3000
Natural   Gas	Puget Sound Energy	Residential Start Service	My PSE   Account	888-225-5773

 

This weekend in Green Lake: Neighbor Appreciation Day, Valentine’s Day Dash, Station 16 open house and more

This weekend in Green Lake: Neighbor Appreciation Day, Valentine’s Day Dash, Station 16 open house and more

Here is what’s happening this weekend in our part of the city:

Friday, Feb. 10, 2012

Free wine tasting and snack bar at Cafe Bonjour to celebrate debut of new pasta menu and beer and wine license. [info]

7:30 p.m. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead at the Seattle Public Theater. [info]

Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012

Neighbor Appreciation Day. [info]

8 a.m. 3,000 participants expected at the Love ‘em or Leave ‘em Valentine’s Day Dash at Green Lake Park. [info]

Hey Who Do You Know?

Most of you know I love to give out referrals to my friends.  I really stick to my mantra “do business with those you know and trust” when choosing whom to do business with. When I don’t know someone providing a service I need who I know and trust, I ask you, my friends and clients.

But even with a referral, you need to do your homework. In terms of a mortgage, you have always had the Better Business Bureau and local regulators (like state banking departments) that you could contact. Over the past few years, the internet has become a easy way of finding information about company or a loan officer. Two other places I recommend you visit online (one for the company and one for loan officers) are:

https://entp.hud.gov/sfnw/public

This is the website for HUD’s Neighborhood Watch. Neighborhood Watch is where HUD publishes a lender’s loan performance on FHA loans and how it compares to the national and local averages.

A compare ratio of 100% means “average” performance. Numbers greater than 100% are below average. And a ratio under 100% is above average. Understand that the Neighborhood Watch numbers measure the quality performance of FHA loans only. Further, be aware that HUD recently stated that lenders with compare ratios over 200% were subject to suspension from being able to participate in the FHA Program, and lenders between 150-199% were going to be scrutinized very closely and subject to audit. Be wary of “riskier” lenders.

When you go to the website, click on the “Early Warnings” tab and either research an individual lender or look for a list of lenders in an area, and then just follow the instructions. Remember, many lenders nationally have similar names, so make sure you have the right lender.

www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org

Here you can search for loan officer and company licensing status. Loan officers are individually licensed now and that includes Washington State. Those who have taken the required courses, passed the required tests and been approved by their respective state licensing authority have all that information verified on this website, along with their employment history.

Loan officers who work for federally chartered institutions (like banks) have not yet been required to take the classes and pass exams and are listed on the site with their license number and their employment history. I think this will change but for now, that’s the case.

Make sure you are dealing with a loan officer who is licensed! Ask questions if they have a lot of job changes.

Like in real estate, there has been a cleansing in the mortgage industry over the past few years, but there are always lousy people in any service area. I beleive nothing beats a word of mouth referral from someone you know.  And while not the end-all, these websites may help you avoid poor performers when choosing who you ultimately do business with.