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FOR ALL THINGS REAL ESTATE AND LIFESTYLE ON THE SAN JUAN ISLANDS

Aug 18, 2022

Waterfront Parcels in San Juan County

If you own a waterfront parcel in the County, or hope to purchase one, I have detailed below some items to take into consideration. Historically, waterfront parcels were the most coveted investment in the islands but, due to ever changing regulations, they are now the most confusing parcels to develop. For REALTORs they can be a challenge to sell due to our inability to give buyers concrete answers to their questions while on site. Important Considerations Timing Once you

Jan 6, 2021

Update to Our Internet Connection

Rock Island has been busy for the last 5 years installing the base structure for our fiber and other internet connection options throughout the County. As a REALTOR, I can state that internet reliability is discussed as part of every real estate transaction. Now more than ever, Islanders, as well as newcomers need to be connected and they desire their families to visit and, of course, the children and grand-kids must have their devices. As I understand, there are several

Jan 1, 2021

Home Inspections and Their Role in the Real Estate Transaction

If you are a buyer or seller, I bet you thought just getting under contract was stressful for all parties but in reality, the home inspection and/or feasibility response and associated negotiations are often the more stressful event. Allowing a buyer to have a home inspection and hopefully a concurrent feasibility study is a very necessary part of the transaction. Seller’s Disclosure form 17 As required by statue, the seller must provide a disclosure about the property. Thi

Dec 22, 2020

Buying Property in the San Juans - Procedures to Purchase

1. Select an Agent to Represent You As you may be aware, all of the brokerage firms on San Juan Island are members of the Northwest Multiple Listing Service; therefore, any of the agents can assist you with any of the properties listed with Coldwell Banker San Juan Islands or other brokerage firms. One of the first steps in purchasing real estate on San Juan is to select an agent to represent you. Ideally you should select ONE agent that you feel will provide you with the lev

Sep 14, 2020

San Juan "No Name" Fishing Derby Video

This video shares how the locals create a derby just to get out of doing chores at the home. It also shows off my fish cleaning skills!! #fridayharborrealestate #MerriAnnSimonson #FishingintheSanJuans #ColdwellBankerSanJuanIslandsInc #fishingderby #rocheharborrealestate #SanJuanIslandLifestyle #SanJuanRealestateforsale

Sep 16, 2019

Excise Tax Increase, Decrease and Shift

There will be a major change in real estate excise tax taking effect January 1, 2020 for the State of Washington. I have provided a link below to the Senate Bill which created this change to a graduated tax rate. The Excise Tax adjustment will affect what the seller pays. In January 2019 the tax went up for the buyers in our County with the addition of the Affordable Housing Tax (Buyer pays 99% of the .5% tax). This new tax revision will equate to a decrease in the Excis

Apr 17, 2019

San Juan Island Real Estate Video

This Lifestyle video is a spoof on my favorite professional; San Juan Real Estate. I thought you might enjoy it. #sanjuanrealestate #RealEsateMarketupdateforSanJuanIslandWA #ColdwellBankerSanJuanIslandsInc #PropertyBuyersinSanJuanCounty #SanJuanIslandLifestyle

Oct 18, 2018

REAL ESTATE MARKET AND YOUR TAX ASSESSMENT - Past Version

All of us Island property owners received our tax assessment notices from the County recently. As real estate agents we have been fielding many questions about the statements and new assessments. As you may recall, the State has mandated that our Assessor’s office convert to an annual assessment update cycle versus the cyclical system we were on for years. The current values are for a one year period only and will be adjusted the next year. The current process is mu

Jul 16, 2018

San Juan Real Estate Market Update Q2-2018

The second quarter results which complete the first half of the year for San Juan Island were similar to the first quarter. Per the NWMLS, the dollar volume on San Juan Island was $56,399,689 with a total of 108 transactions. The numbers reflects a 18% decrease in transaction number and a 22% decrease in dollar volume as compared to the same period in 2017. For San Juan County, the total dollar volume was $143,972,044 with a total of 245 transactions. The County’s gain wa

Jul 16, 2018

Friday Harbor Fourth of July Video

This San Juan island lifestyle video shares with you the Friday Harbor Fourth of July parade. #fridayharborrealestate #MerriAnnSimonson #ColdwellBankerSanJuanIslandsInc #PropertyBuyersinSanJuanCounty #SanJuanIslandLifestyleVideos #SanJuanIslandLifestyle

Jun 13, 2018

Crabbing, Shrimping and fishing in the San Juans Video

This video shares our great lifestyle of crabbing, shrimping and fishing. #shrimpinginthesanjuans #CrabbingintheSanJuans #fridayharborrealestate #MerriAnnSimonson #FishingintheSanJuans #ColdwellBankerSanJuanIslandsInc #PropertyBuyersinSanJuanCounty #SanJuanIslandLifestyleVideos #SanJuanIslandLifestyle

May 30, 2018

San Juan Island Yacht Club Video

This video shares a trip to Ganges with the San Juan Islands Yacht Club. A good time was had by all; eating, shopping, fishing and having beverages. #fridayharborrealestate #SanJuanIslandLifestyle #SanJuanIslandLifestyleVideos

May 9, 2018

Boating in the San Juan Islands Video

#fridayharborrealestate #MerriAnnSimonson #ColdwellBankerSanJuanIslandsInc #SanJuanIslandLifestyleVideos #SanJuanIslandLifestyle #SanJuanRealestateforsale

Mar 20, 2018

San Juan Island Yacht Club Fishing Derby Video

This video shares how much fun we had the the San Juan Island Yacht Club sponsored St. Patrick’s Day fishing Derby. The video offers tips on fishing superstitions and lucky charms. #fridayharborrealestate #MerriAnnSimonson #ColdwellBankerSanJuanIslandsInc #SanJuanIslandLifestyleVideos #SanJuanIslandLifestyle #SanJuanRealestateforsale

Jan 22, 2018

2018 Roche Harbor Blackmouth Derby Video

This video offers tips on fishing, dancing, and drinking champagne. Due to “boat talk” content it is not rated PG. #MerriAnnSimonson #ColdwellBankerSanJuanIslandsInc #PropertyBuyersinSanJuanCounty #SanJuanIslandLifestyleVideos #VacationRentalHomes #SanJuanIslandLifestyle

Jan 11, 2018

SAN JUAN ISLAND REAL ESTATE MARKET SUMMARY

In reviewing the year-end results for 2017, the sales dollar volume for the real estate market in San Juan County per the Northwest Multiple Listing Service was $299,943,083 which reflects an increase in volume of 19.5% over 2016 when the volume was $251,020,953. The percentage of growth this year was very similar to the increase we enjoyed for the last several years; very stable controlled growth is much more sustainable. The County closed an average of 49.3 transactions p

Jan 9, 2018

Holiday Month; The San Juan Island Lifestyle Way Video

Holiday month includes chardonnay shopping, too many parties to count and a polar bear plunge with friends and family. Thank goodness it is January!!! #fridayharborrealestate #MerriAnnSimonson #ColdwellBankerSanJuanIslandsInc #PropertyBuyersinSanJuanCounty #SanJuanIslandLifestyleVideos #SanJuanIslandLifestyle

Jan 3, 2018

SHORELINE MASTER PROGRAM – DOES IT REMOVE UNCERTAINTY OR INCREASE IT?

As you may or may not be aware, the County Council has recently adopted updates to the Shoreline Master Program (SMP), with the new regulations effective on October 30, 2017. Although the new regulations apply to all shoreline development, the focus of this article will be on regulations related to residential development in the County. I recently had the pleasure of processing a waterfront transaction where my clients had numerous questions about what they could change on t

Oct 9, 2017

SAN JUAN ISLAND REAL ESTATE MARKET SUMMARY

The Third Quarter results for San Juan Island and the County were consistent with the market recovery we have enjoyed over the last few years. Per the NWMLS, the dollar volume on San Juan Island was $102,639,659 with a total of 198 transactions. This reflects a 21% increase in the dollar volume and an 18% increase in the number of transactions. For San Juan County, the total dollar volume was $202,326,283 with a total of 399 transactions. The County’s gain was 18.3% in d

Aug 16, 2017

San Juan Island Lifestyle Video with Tips on Crabbing

This lifestyle video offers tips on crabbing; catching cleaning, cooking and eating. Yum!!! #fridayharborrealestate #sanjuanrealestate #MerriAnnSimonson #ColdwellBankerSanJuanIslandsInc #PropertyBuyersinSanJuanCounty #SanJuanIslandLifestyleVideos #SanJuanIslandLifestyle