The All New Cascade Team Apps Are Here


Looking for an easy way to conduct a mobile GPS home search right from your smartphone? NW Real Estate's new GPS mobile iPhone & Android Mobile apps take home searching on the go to a whole new level. Locate homes right near you in an instant. Bring your home desktop or laptop search with you and access it on the go!

 

 

The Cascade Team Real Estate's highly-rated real estate app for iPhone, iPad and Android phones allows you to search all available MLS listings of current homes for sale, so you know you're getting the best and most accurate information. The GPS enabled apps allow you to access home right in your proximity in an instant. Take your in-home 

searches on the go with the mobile…

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House hunting is fraught with frustration and challenges. Keep these quotes in mind to keep you sane.  

Crazy seller, bad plumbing, wildly competitive open houses, misleading listings, sky-high prices, and ever-escalating offers: there is a terrible lot to contend with when finding a new place to live.

But there’s also no other process that deserves your time and attention like discovering a new place to call your own. Here are seven quotes that will help keep you sane during the emotional marathon that is the home search.

“Home is the nicest word there is.” — Laura Ingalls Wilder Looking for a new home is a lot of work, but it’s important to remember that, ultimately, this needs to be a place that makes you happy.

“It is not the…

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earnest-money-mistakes ericsphotography/iStock

Once home buyers find a home they love, they declare their commitment to the seller with a sizable chunk of change known as an earnest-money deposit. Yes, it sounds so sincere and serious because it is—and if you get it wrong, you could lose thousands of dollars. To scare you straight, here are eight mistakes with earnest-money deposits that home buyers often make. To ensure you don’t end up as one of them, read on to avoid these snafus.

Mistake No. 1: Not understanding what an earnest-money deposit is

First, make sure you fully grasp what an earnest-money deposit (EMD) is—namely, proof that a buyer is committed to completing a sale by having skin in the game. The earnest-money deposit is a negotiable amount between…

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House keys over the hundred dollar banknotes against wooden background

Cash-strapped middle class families may be richer than they think. Or at least, that could be true if they have owned a house for a while. Equity in a home – that is, the value of a property in excess of any mortgage balance – can be a powerful financial tool if used correctly.

Home equity loans allow you to use your home equity to finance other expenses. The thing I like about home equity is that it can let a person live out their dreams. However, tapping into equity can also be a recipe for disaster if not done properly. It's very important to have a committed, disciplined approach to what you're going to do with that capital. Blowing it on a vacation, for example, can leave you in debt and without anything to show for it.

For those who are…

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Welcome To The Cascade Team Raina Zhang!

Raina Zhang

  • Office:  1-800-509-6905 ext. 1168
  • Cell: 425-943-1210                                                                                                    
  • Fax: 425-996-9517
  • raina@thecascadeteam.com

We are very happy to welcome Raina Zhang to The Cascade Team Real Estate. Raina will be joining our East Lake Sammamish Branch working with Stan and Marisa. Raina is transferring to us from John L Scott, and she has had some good experience working with international transactions. She speaks both English and Mandarin Chinese, and excels in marketing and negotiation strategies. 


Raina will be a wonderful addition to our Team and we look forward to her success!

OUR LOCAL REAL…

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Home listings are most often likely to debut on Thursdays and Fridays. Fridays are the most common listing day by a slight margin, according to research by the National Association of REALTORS®.

What are the most popular dates to list? Half of all new listings in 2016 were first listed between March and July, which supports that the spring season is indeed real estate’s busiest time.

The most popular month for new listings is April, followed by March, May, June, and July, according to NAR.

“While home closings exhibit a strong tendency to get done at the end of the month, listings are much steadier throughout the course of the month with a slight tendency to be posted earlier rather than later,” NAR researchers note at the Economists’…

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cupid, hearts and houses  

So much of our lives are online nowadays. Our social lives happen in online communities as much or more than in friends’ basements or bars. We meet people with similar interests by joining Facebook groups or following someone’s story on Snapchat. YouTube is where we learn to do almost everything, from simple home maintenance tasks to cooking dinner for the family.

Home shopping, like dating in the 21st century, almost always starts online as well. They’re both about finding the right one – and just like a matchmaker, house hunters turn to you to help them wade through the pool of eligible homes and find the one of their dreams. Here are eight ways online dating and home shopping are exactly the same and what your role is as the…

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Are your home shoppers desperately trying to find “the one?” Finding the perfect housing match can be like finding the perfect mate. For some Americans, this year’s Valentine may come in the form of a home, filled with shiny new fixtures and a great first impression. But that search isn’t always easy.

In a recent article, realtor.com® highlights how home-shopping can feel a lot like dating.

1. You need to have trust.

Americans seem to think they have a better chance at finding love than finding the perfect home. Fifty-two percent of home buyers believe they will find their dream home compared to 73 percent of Americans who believe they will find true love. While competition in the housing market is intense right now, home buyers shouldn’t get…

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Welcome To The Cascade Team Steve Otto!

Steve Otto

  • Office:  1-800-509-6905 ext. 1167
  • Cell: 425-941-9491
  • Fax: 425-996-9517
  • steve.otto@thecascadeteam.com

We are very happy to welcome Steve Otto to The Cascade Team Real Estate. Steve will be joining our East Lake Sammamish Branch working with Stan and Marisa. Along with being a certified clock-hour instructor for real estate, Steve has a long 30-year history in real estate, real estate management and luxury homes.


Steve will be a wonderful addition to our Team and we look forward to his success!

OUR LOCAL REAL ESTATE TEAM

Cascade Team Real Estate agents are proactive in serving their customers, studying the market and touring homes, so they can provide the most accurate…

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by Karen Briscoe  

Key Takeaways

  • There are benefits to avoiding peak real estate seasons for home sellers, like less competition. The buyers in the market are often more motivated.
  • The benefits for buyers in the offseason can go the same way, because sellers are also more motivated.
  • Ancillary services, like home appraisers or lenders, are more available during the offseason.

Traditionally, the spring real estate market is March through May, but in many markets it can start as early as February, around Ground Hog Day. Sometimes sales continue to be robust, and the peak selling season will stretch into June.

Lessons from rush hour

Rush hour for traffic in many metropolitan areas is from 7 to 9 a.m. and 5 to 7 p.m. Commuters…

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