Kenmore Undressed

Kenmore and King County Recycling Event: Getting Rid of the Tough Stuff on Oct. 4th!

We all accumulate those “difficult” things that seem to be impossible to get rid of: old electronic gear, computers, toilets, paint….you know, the UGLY TOXIC STUFF. As a realtor, I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve visited a client’s home that was strewn (inside and out) with some really ugly stuff. I do understand that a lot of these things are downright difficult to throw away. Well, there is hope. Periodically, King County offers us an opportunity to dispose of these things at special Recycling Events. This Saturday there will be a recycling event at the Kenmore Park & Ride at 7346 NE Bothell Way. For more details, just click on the flyer below:

Here’s a map of the location:

Built to Last: A House in Sardenia

Yesterday I asked the question: How Long Should a House Last? Most of my colleagues and friends thought houses generally last about 50-100 years. I thought you might find it interesting to see how homes are constructed in Italy. I was fortunate to meet friends of my family on the island of Sardegna who are currently building a new home. They were quite gracious in allowing me to take some pictures of the work-in-progress. I’m not familiar with the way homes are built throughtout the US, but I have seen enough construction over the years to know that most homes are not built like this:

All the homes are built with these terra cotta-like blocks. They have a honeycomb structure in the inside. You can see this in the picture below:

One of the things I wondered about was how plumbing and electrical systems were placed in the walls and floors. In a stick-built home the electrical & plumbing is added before the walls are completed. Well, the Italians put the wall up and then chistle grooves right into the block, then cover the wiring or pipes with a cement grout.

The hot and cold lines run on the floor. Ultimately, these pipes will be covered with a cement product and over that, the tile floor will be installed. I was amazed by the quality of this work.

Homes in Sardegna have beautiful facades. Here in the northwest many of the ornamental rockwork is a resin product.

As you can tell, this is going to be a beautiful home. I suspect this home will last for several generations.

How Long Should a House Last?

Europe is a continent of homes and buildings that are (or seem to be) ancient by American standards. It’s what makes visiting countries such as Italy and Spain so fascinating. Not many homes in the US are more than a century old. In the Seattle area, the oldest structures date back to the 1880’s and, frankly, many older homes in this area don’t hold up that well. Let me be bold and suggest that most homes in the Seattle area are destined to look like this beauty in Kenmore:

Of course, the longevity of a structure is a function of the materials used to build it and the care and maintenance it receives. An engineer once told me that homes are constructed with the materials available in a give area. In some places, they’re built with brick, some places use rock and here in the Northwest we use a lot of wood. Nevertheless, I can’t help but think that the 300 year-old Rustico below was destined to last a lot longer than the average new construction house in Seattle.

By the way, this home is called Il Mulino di Torrigiani and is currently a rental villa in the hills above Lucca, Italy. My wife and I know the owners who recently did some remodeling to the interior. I was amazed by the fact that many of the key beams and other infrastructural features  of the rustico are original. This home was built to last.

There are a couple of other homes in my neighborhood that raise the question of how long a house should last. Take for example this house which was clobbered by a tree last year in a wind storm. The owners have chosen to keep part of the original home which is brick, and add on using modern building products: 

This house will probably look really nice when the renovation is completed. Then there’s this house which is will have eight new neighbors in the next year. A builder is reconfiguring the land around the house and the poor little thing looks as if it’s going to plummet into an abyss:

So consider this: will this home (built in the 1960’s) last longer than the new homes that will soon surround it? I did some poking around on the internet and spoke with a couple of builders who point out that an average home should last around 70 years. If one breaks the home down into its component parts, some will naturally wear out more quickly than others. One of the best sites I found that addresses this topic is This Old House.  The article is entitled: “How long things last.” It’s a great reference guide for any homeowner who ever wondered when the hot water tank should be replaced or how long the furnace should last.

Grocery Shopping in Italy

I love to go grocery shopping. I also like to look at other people’s shopping carts to see what they are buying. Call it a strange personality disorder if you want. Nevertheless, I know some of you aren’t well-travelled and might be curious about the way Italians live their regular lives (when they’re not dealing with tourists). So here are a few pictures (taken discreetly) at a local Supermercato:

In these pictures you’re going to see a lot of things that look familiar. The Italian stores have the same basic set up as those in the US.

One surprise is that Italian grocery stores don’t offer fresh fish on Mondays. If you were looking for a fish fillet or clams today……….

Americans love yogurt, but Italians REALLY love yogurt. This whole section is a shrine to every kind of yogurt imaginable.

SCONTO is sale in Italian. By the way, my cousin cooked up these chickens and they were absolutely wonderful.

Oh, Italians hate standing in line, just like us.

But the clerks are very nice. Probably because they get to sit down on thejob.

You’re Going to Be Jealous

Everything you’ve ever heard about Italian food is correct! The very word Italy invokes visions of pasta, fresh fish, pizza, salumi, cheeses, fresh fruits and vegetables….not to mention the wines. I’m truly fortunate to have family who cook some of the most wonderful food. Torino is located in the Piedmont region of Northwest Italy. It was here that the Slow Food Movement was created. Slow Food, in a phrase, is dedicated to the idea that one should eat locally produced foods and maintain traditional preparation and cooking methods. In the Piedmont, you won’t find the rich tomato sauces found in Southern Italy. Piedmont flavors are characterized by richer butter/cream sauces, light tomato sauces with meat and a huge variety of meat preparations. Well, here are some pictures of some home cooked meals:

Above are pictures of my cousin, Anna, preparing lightly breaded sage leaves. Oh, my these were wonderful. These sage leaves are huge and delicious!

Fried zucchini and sauteed beans, yummy

Here is a version of Italian mac and cheese. It’s tagliatelle with a combination of fontina, parmigiano and other cheeses.

This savory torta was absolutely wonderful. It has a thin light bread crust, pancetta, zucchini, onions and various greens. I sincerely hope you all have an opportunity to visit Italy and enjoy the food here.

The Beautiful Homes of Grandparadiso

My ethnic heritage is Italian and I’ve had the wonderful fortune to have an extended family in both Northern and Central Italy. In recent years my wife and I have travelled back to the home of my ancestors and found a second home with some wonderful people. For the next several weeks, I want to share some of my experiences with you and, in a fun way, show you how life, food, culture and real estate lives on the other side of the pond. I’d like to start in Torino which lies in the Northwest region of Italy (the Piedmont). Turin is the home of over 1 million people and is one of the least visited by tourists. My mother’s family lives in Torino in a typical neighborhood

As in many Italian homes, my cousins live in an extended family. The younger family lives upstairs and grandma and grandpa live downstairs. I shall write more about Torino in future posts. For now I wanted to contrast the home above with the unique and stunning architecture of the homes that lie in the mountains northwest of Torino near the French border in the area of Ceresole. My great grandmother, grandmother and grandfather are from two small villages named Locana and Fey. The area is spectacular. The homes are rustic and reflect a hearty people. What is most interesting to me is the alpine feel of the homes and the rock roofs:

The next picture illustrates how beautiful the newer roofs can look:

Every culture utilizes the natural materials close-by when building it’s homes. I once had a client who is originally from Ireland. He was shocked that we build houses out of wood in the Northwest. Of course, in Ireland they have no wood and lots of big rocks……………I think the Italians have done a beautiful job of weaving their natural world into the architecture.

Kenmore WA Open Houses - July 26th & 27th

Just click on the picture above to see the open houses this weekend. You’ll note that the majority of homes open are in the Shadow Creek subdivision off of 80th Ave NE. There are 17 homes available in this community. I have provided the names of the listing agents; however, if you have any questions regarding these or any other listings in Kenmore, please don’t hesitate to contact me at 206.713.2102 or jlupori@comcast.net

July 4th Celebrations: Northshore Freedom Fest and the Kenmore Concert Series

Celebrate this 4th of July Season in Kenmore, Bothell and Woodinville. Just click on the poster above to see the events posters for the Kenmore Summer Concert Series and The Northshore Freedom Fest. Let’s home the thunderstorms and rain pass by today for all those barbeques and family get-togethers!

The ROCS Alliance: Reinventing Real Estate

Those of you who have been reading my blog know that I’m a Realtor with Keller Williams North Seattle. I’m also a partner in a real estate marketing company called the ROCS Alliance. We have been creating a comprehensive program that real estate agents, from any company can utilize. These include computer/IT solutions; premium marketing materials for their clients; and ultimately provide systems that help agents develop successful businesses no matter what challenges the marketplace throws our way. The very blog you’re reading is just one of the most important tools the ROCS Alliance offers.  ROCS agents want to be positioned as wealth determiners for our clients and drive them to the resources that make them successful.

Kenmore Statistics: Understanding the Numbers Can Help You Buy a House!

Let me show you how looking a little more deeply into statistics can help you understand how a local market works. Below are the current numbers for Kenmore. Not much has changed since my last statistical post on June 13:

The good news here is that six homes have sold in the last 10 days. In the last three months the 51 homes sold are from most price categories. A surprising number of homes over $500K have sold. Now I’d like to take this analysis one step further. One of the most important ratios to consider in the market is the sale price vs. listing price ratio. This number is important as it can reveal if home prices are holding up or softening. So let’s turn our attention to the six most recent home sales:

Realtors utilize this sort of summary report to analyze a great many facts about various markets. Let me tell you what I see in this report: 1) Most of the sold homes are fairly pricey at over $500k, 2) Most of the homes have nice-sized yards at around 10,000 sqft, 3) These are all relatively large homes at an average of 2742 square feet. It’s interesting that the two older homes are under 2000 sqft, 4) Homes are taking quite a while to sell with an average days-on-market of 195; however, the most critical statistic in this report and one that should make a potential buyer take notice: THE AVERAGE SALE PRICE/LIST PRICE RATIO IS NOT 94.71% AS SUGGESTED IN THE REPORT. If you take a careful look at the ORIGINAL PRICE vs. the Sale Price, you’ll note quite a difference. The percentages are respectively:  95.7%, 91.8%, 87%, 86%, 85.5% and 93.7% meaning the Sale Price/List Price ratio is more like 90% for homes in Kenmore.

Buyers in the current market are in an excellent position to negotiate a good deal for a home.