Bellingham Real Estate Blog

With miles of waterfront along the western end of Lake Whatcom, the Silver Beach Neighborhood has great recreational opportunities and beautiful views. There are lots of incredible lake-front homes along the shore as well as a wide variety in the styles and ages of well cared for and beautifully landscaped homes in the rest of the neighborhood.

Bloedel Donavan Park, one of Bellingham most popular is here along the shores of Lake Whatcom. The park has boat access, swimming area, basketball and volley ball courts, playground, and the pavilion which is a multi-purpose building with gymnasium and meeting rooms, a smaller building for meetings and classes, and a pre-school. Big Rock Garden is also one of the neighborhood gems, with its sculpture gardens, in a forested setting with loads of Rhododendrons and Azaleas.

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It feels  like summer is here today. I'll bet that the lakefront at Bloedel Donavan Park will see lots of people, maybe not as many as the hot days of August when maybe the water will be a tad bit warmer. If you want to play in the water this is a great place, along with Lake Padden and a bit farther away Lake Samish. 

Bloedel Donavan is a great spot for the family, with barbaque pits, some floating docks, basketball, soccer and volleyball courts, gett sweaty and then go for a dip in the western most end of Lake Whatccom,  and it is even dog friendly.  The pavillon is used by many organizations for their community events

The Big day was Sunday in Bellingham,Ski to Sea the 85 mile relay race took place and the winner is a team called Clippercanoes.com they finished the race in 5 hour 43 minutes  08 seconds. All through overcast ski's wind, a bear sighting caution for the runners. For more info and race results check out The Bellingham Hearald

As for the party, It All Ends in Fairhaven, a good t ime was had by all, 3 stages with live music, food , fun, vendors with all sorts of wares. Here are a few photos of the festival.

If you missed it this year, be there next year, it happens every memorial day weekend.

Martha Stewart, Move over! 4BR, 3BA daylight rambler. Sellers have spent $60K to stylishly customize this 1884 s.f. home with Swedish engineered-wood floors in main living areas, argon gas-filled sliders leading to view decks, remodeled kitchen gleaming with white tile & custom cabinets, top-of-the-line appliances. New paint. Master with ensuite bath, walk-in closet on main floor plus office & extra BR, full BA. Lower level family room, 2BRs, BA, huge storage & laundry rooms. Professionally landscaped. Mountain and sunset view. $429,900

Full screen virtual tours are available at Distinctive Home Tours  @ http://distinctivehometours.com/

I see lots of folks here at AR are using Real Estate Shows, which has a better price structure but the tours at Distinctive Home Tours are really pretty awesome as they are full screen tours with music and all the other things available elsewhere. It seems like this is what you are going to want for your high priced listings.

Anybody out there been using this service, what do you think?

I psoted this last week as a members only post for the real estate community. I have been thinking it would be a good post for the consumer as well.  Do you know how long it takes your realtor to get pictres up on the MLS?

One of my pet peaves when looking at the MLS is agents who don't input photos. Sometimes they will input them a day late, or maybe 3. Don't they realize they are doing a dis-service to their sellers. Haven't they heard the old adage a picture is worth a thousand words.  I had a client last year looking for a $500,000 home who didn't want to look at any  listings that did't have pictures. I was always amazed at how many listings they didn't get to see, or didn't get to see when they first hit the market. I would rather wait a day to get the listing on the MLS then put it out for the world to see without any pictures. At least give us one of the front of the house. In this age of digital cameras you think it would be a given to take your camera to the listing appointment and if it after dark, get back there first thing in the morning.

So lets see those pictures.........Please

That's right, I have been sending listings to a client who found be on the web for 2 years now. I got a call from him today about a house he is interested in, Interested enought to put in an offer, site unseen, he will come check it out if he can get it under contract.

I called the listing agent to get some info on the property and would you believe she told me they just got an offer signed around one hour ago.

How frustrating !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Central Business District Neighborhood is Bellingham's downtown core neighborhood and central waterfront. It is the cultural, civic, financial and service center of the Whatcom County.
It is is a collection of smaller "neighborhoods," each having its own distinct flavor. Old Town was was the old center of Bellingham, while the Commercial Core Area has a long-standing tradition of general retail. Railroad Avenue has its own unique identity as well, coming from the very wide street that is the remnants of a rail line earlier in the City's history.
The Civic Center is on the northern edge of downtown and adjoins Whatcom Creek. City and County offices as well as a variety of other governmental services. The Post Office and Public Library are also a part of this area. The cultural district include historic buildings containing the Whatcom Museum of History and Art and the Mt. Baker Theater. The Hillclimb, a ceremonial stairway leading from Holly Street to the Civic Center and Cultural District also serves as an outdoor amphitheater in Maritime Heritage Park on Whatcom Creek. Whatcom Creek Trail and Greenway runs along the northern border of the neighborhood and provides a pedestrian connector from the waterfront to adjacent neighborhoods. New condos have sprung up in the neighborhood as well as Depot market Square new home of Bellingham's farmers market.
The central waterfront includes Squalicum Harbor Marina, Zuanich Point Park and commercial/industrial areas primarily managed by the Port of Bellingham. The City and the Port have recently joined forces to create a redevelopment plan for 137 industrial waterfront acres acquired by the Port. New condos, shops, offices and light industry, as well as parks and promenades, a healthy shoreline habitat along Bellingham Bay, and a new marina will be coming to this area soon. This new downtown waterfront has the potential to radically change the city of Bellingham, let's hope they get it right.

Cornwall Park neighborhood takes its name from the large 70 acre wooded park in its midst. There are many types of recreational opportunities in Cornwall Park. There are many large older homes in the neighborhood including one of Bellingham most famous and beautiful, the Roeder home. This old mansion is managed by the Parks Department and the site of crafts fairs, musical events, recitals and weddings, the house is built in 1903 by Henry Roeder who was a part of one of Bellingham's founding families. The neighborhood also contains a St. Joseph Hospital and many of the medical facilities surrounding it, including a cancer center and health education facility.
Parkview Elementary School is another neighborhood asset, along with the Bay to Baker Trail and Greenway that will extend through the northern part of the neighborhood.

I  love Fairhaven so I will be keeping you updated to events here as I can.

Aftere Ski ti Sea and it all ends in Fairhaven, that would be June,  organized walks will begin and end in the Historic Fairhaven District. The walks areopen to all, they are meant to be a fun, and a social way to get in some great exercise while exploring the south side of our town. Prizes will be given away that encourage walkers to visit the local merchants throughout Fairhaven, at the end of each walk,  Bellingham Tennis Club & Fairhaven Fitness will provide leaders for each walk.

Themes for the walks:
Wednesday "Poker" Walks 5:30pm
Walkers will receive a playing card at 5 points throughout the walk.  At the end of the walk, the walker with the best hand will win the prize.
Thursday "Spin the Wheel" Walks 11:00 am
Finish your walk with a chance at spinning the wheel for prizes.

For more information:
Bellingham Tennis Club & Fairhaven Fitness
800 McKenzie Ave.
Bellingham, WA  98225
Phone: 360-733-5050
http://www.bellinghamtennis.com/