October 14th, 2008
Posted by karlhartquist
I just wanted to say thank you to a couple of people who have spent time and energy working with Bothell Undressed. Most of the site content can be credited to James Lupori, Realtor who now spends most of his online time blogging at Kenmore Undressed. Thanks James for all your past efforts and for your help on training a rookie blogger. Also I would like to Thank Larry Cragun, Realtor, and Head Blogger for the neighborhoods undressed network.
April 18th, 2008
Posted by James Lupori
Snow in Seattle April 18, 2008
Originally uploaded by bothellundressed
The weather this Spring has been crazy! It hasn’t been too rainy but it has been unseasonably chilly. And then add insult to injury, it has been snowing today…..SNOWING. Until today the latest recorded snowfall in the Seattle are was April 17, 1972. Now, I have to be perfectly honest with you: I grew up in Utah and I have a love/hate relationship with the stuff: I love it in the mountains and I hate it in the city. Anyone who has endured winter snow in Seattle knows that the roads are treacherous and, worse yet, every crazy driver in the world ends up on the road. Simply put: it’s truly ugly. So, I’d like you to know that you’re safe for today because I’m not going anywhere.
April 18th, 2008
Posted by James Lupori
Snow in Seattle April 18, 2008
Originally uploaded by bothellundressed
Hi, I’m James’ car. I’m not going out in the snow. I’m going to hide in my garage tonight.
April 16th, 2008
Posted by James Lupori
Who cares about houses? Got mice?
Originally uploaded by Jaedde & Sis
Sales of single family homes in Bothell are looking up. The statistics from March show that:
Bothell (Snohomish Co.) had a 21% increase in house sales over last March: 70 this year vs. 58 last year. I believe this is due, in part, to more aggressive pricing by the sellers and relatively lower prices comparted with……..
Bothell (King Co.) which did not fair as well. Sales were down 25% (9 this year vs. 12 last year).
Just remember, we are experiencing a buyer’s market and there are a lot of good homes to choose from!
April 14th, 2008
Posted by James Lupori
Let’s begin our discovery of Bothell, WA by looking at the neighborhood of Canyon Park. If you read the descriptions given by www.wikipedia.com and www.livebothell.com Canyon Park is: “a commercial and business district at the junction of Bothell-Everett Highway and Interstate 405 with several restaurants, shops, grocery stores and several major employers.” Wow, not exactly the most exciting or inspiring description. I live very close to Canyon Park and over the last several years, the number of stores, houses and businesses have literally exploded. I’ll talk more about them in future posts. Today, I’d like to put my realtor’s hat on and give you a sense of the current market via some basic statistics:
1) Today there are 133 single family homes for sale in Canyon Park. This is 20% of the total 727 active listings in the City of Bothell today.
2) 56% of the homes for sale are “new construction” (e.g. built after 2006). A new home looks something like this: it averages 2574 square feet, has 4 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms and costs around $530,000. It has been on the market roughly 123 days.
3) The resale homes are averaging 2584 square feet, have 4 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms and have a huge price variance. Fully one half of the homes are selling between $400,000 and $600,000. Resale homes are averaging around 120 days on the market.
4) Here’s some good news: 30% of the inventory is in pending status right now. That means that there is a 4-month supply of homes in Canyon Park. In much of Snohomish County the supply is closer to 9-12 months.
I realize that statistics aren’t exciting to most folks; however, as I take a closer look at Canyon Park from the “street level” a more interesting picture will emerge.
April 14th, 2008
Posted by James Lupori
Limoncello Instead of Statistics
Originally uploaded by bothellundressed
Look at all this lemony goodness! This weekend I had planned to sit down, “crunch the numbers” and post Bothell Real Estate statistics on this blog. Then Saturday happened. Anyone who had a pulse was out enjoying the sublime weather on Saturday. My wife and I rode our tandem from Kenmore out to Redmond for a coffee (about a 27 mile round trip). When we got back home, I was inspired to finish up a project I began almost six weeks ago: I made my first batch of homemade Limoncello. For those of you who enjoy a nice after dinner liquor, this wonderful Italian elixir wasn’t too difficult to make. Here’s how I did it:
The recipe includes the following:
10-15 lemons, rinsed
5 cups of 100 proof Vodka
3 cups sugar
4 cups water
1. Peel the lemons using a knife or potato peeler. Just make sure you don’t peel too deeply. The white pith beneath the yellow skin is bitter. Place the peels into a large glass bottle or jar. Pour in vodka. Cover loosely and let infuse for four to six weeks at room temperature.
2. After the limoncello infuses for four to six weeks, Combine sugar and water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. DO NOT STIR. Boil for 15 minutes. Allow syrup to cool to room temperature.
3. Strain the lemon skins out of the infusion into a large container for mixing. Add the simple syrup to taste. I used 2/3 of the total syrup as I didn’t want the limoncello to be overly sweet (as many of the commercial brands are). Place the finished limoncello into glass containers and seal. You can let the mixture age for 2 weeks at room temperature but, fortunately, you can enjoy your limoncello right away!
April 7th, 2008
Posted by James Lupori
Bothell Neighborhoods
Originally uploaded by James Lupori, Realtor
I have lived in the Seattle Area since 1987. A lot has changed in 21 years. One of the most profound transformations for me has been the creation of neighborhoods where there were only farms, open fields, horse properties, etc. My wife and I have witnessed the new landscape (or house-scape) very intimately as we are avid bicyclists. We have been tandem bicycle riders since 1990 and we love to check out the area on two (often slow) wheels. Years ago we would ride through Bothell and it felt as if we were in the country. Today, there are houses most everywhere and the city has become more than just a sleepy northern suburb of Seattle. In the days and months to come, I intend to visit each of the 13 neighborhoods that comprise the City of Bothell. I’m going to do it by walking, driving and, of course by bicycle. I want to revisit Bothell and find out more about how the town works. Stay tuned!
April 5th, 2008
Posted by James Lupori
My wife and my mother-in-law are the real Baseball fans at our house. It’s amazing to see my m-i-l Julie (84 years old!) scream at umpires and belt out “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” at SAFECO Field. My wife really enjoys watching Alex Rodriguez and Richie Sexon (I wonder why?). Over the years they have gently turned me into a happy observer of the game so-much-so that I was inspired to read two books based on baseball:
Frank Deford’s “The Entitled” is a masterfully told story about a devoted manager’s struggle to protect his star player against rape charges while at the same time attempting to discover the truth: the truth about the game, the truth about his team and, ultimately, the truth about himself. A good read. On a personal note: this is one of only two fiction novels I’ve read in years.
On a completeley different level, Jeff Angus’ “Management by Baseball” is one of those “sports as a business” works. The funny thing is, it’s excellent. The author takes decades of baseball wisdom and converts it into practical techniques one can use to improve the performance of any organization. This is a must read for all of you management junkies.
April 2nd, 2008
Posted by James Lupori
Country Village
Originally uploaded by bothellundressed
Country Village is one of those iconic spots that locals take for granted. To us, it’s a place to take our out-of-town relatives and friends.
April 2nd, 2008
Posted by James Lupori
Country Village Chicken
Originally uploaded by bothellundressed
No discussion of Country Village would be complete without including a picture of the famous Village Chicken!
