Close to Home

This week in our ongoing effort to highlight small Seattle Businesses Brennen was lucky enough to sit down with Kari Kalway of Puddles Barkery, a local Seattle purveyor of palette pleasing home-made dog treats. 

 First off a quick apology, this episode starts with a little bit of weird background noise. One of the mics was acting up and we couldn't remove it entirely, it goes away after about 2 minutes but we are sorry about it. That being said we were really lucky to talk to Kari Kalway for this episode about her passion project start up Puddles Barkery. Lately in these Close to Home episodes we've been trying to focus more on how businesses and people develop and grow and less on purely house related things. Kari has an amazing story about seeing a need in the market place and stepping up to fill it in a really unique way. Plus, lots of adorable mentions of cute puppers. If you've got a special dog in your life head over to her website and pick them up a treat they are sure to love!

As always if you have any questions or comments reach out to us, we love to hear from you!

Facebook

Twitter

Also online at: TheClouseGroup.com

Thanks for listening!

Our Opening theme:

“Inspired”

By Kevin Mcleod (incomptech.com)

Other music (in order used):

“Low Life High Life”

By Dan Henig

“Ruination 2”

By Vibe Mountain

“We Don’t Know How it Ends”

By Lee Rosevere (leerosevere.bandcamp.com)

Music obtained and Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

This week Brennen is breaking down how long it takes to get a home in tip top shape and ready for the market. 

We all know the difference between just getting something done and getting it done right. For instance: if you're writing a paper and you bang the whole thing out in one frantic night versus taking your time over a number of weeks, any professor is going to be able to tell the difference. Obviously this is a purely hypothetical example with absolutely no close real world parallels to actual life events, or some persons affiliated with this show... Anyway, the point is when something is important it's always worth putting in extra time and preparation to make sure it's done  up to the highest standard; this is true in academia, and in real estate. 

But how much time is exactly is that? Well, that is exactly the question we are going to answer on this weeks Clouse Corner and honestly the answer may surprise you!

As always if you have additional questions, ideas for topics, or need help with an actual real estate transaction, we are always happy to do what we can:

Facebook

Twitter

Also online at: TheClouseGroup.com

Thanks for listening!

Our Opening theme:

“Inspired”

By Kevin Mcleod (incomptech.com)

Other music (in order used):

“Low Life High Life”

By Dan Henig

“Ruination 2”

By Vibe Mountain

“We Don’t Know How it Ends”

By Lee Rosevere (leerosevere.bandcamp.com)

Music obtained and Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

How big of a difference can a coat of paint make? Brennen investigates on this weeks Clouse Corner!

Lets talk a tale of two houses:

Now obviously this is a leading question. But it's pretty likely that if you followed this thought experiment you found a strong preference for the lighter more neutral house. There are a lot of reasons for this, but the main take away you should have is that paint is actually really important. In fact it might be the single most important change you can make before putting a house on the market.

Instagram

Facebook

Twitter

Also online at: TheClouseGroup.com

Thanks for listening!

Our Opening theme:

“Inspired”

By Kevin Mcleod (incomptech.com)

Other music (in order used):

“Low Life High Life”

By Dan Henig

“Ruination 2”

By Vibe Mountain

“We Don’t Know How it Ends”

By Lee Rosevere (leerosevere.bandcamp.com)

Music obtained and Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Recently Brennen got asked an interesting question, “how much money will I make buying a Seattle Condo, historically speaking, versus continuing to rent?” It’s a good question, and doesn’t just apply to Seattle, so we are breaking it down on this week's Clouse Corner.

Hello listeners! We talk a fair bit about renting versus buying on this show. Check out our past episode on that subject if you want to know more. But basically we tend to favor buying, surprising literally no one. But it’s not just because we are in the real estate game. The fact is: If you live in an area (like Seattle) where equity is steadily growing, if you can afford to buy and are instead renting you’re leaving money on the table. How much money? That’s what we are going to answer this week. We are breaking down how much money a condo owner would have hypothetically made if they had sold a condo in Seattle after owning it for 3,4, and 5 years. That’s right, they all would have made money. So, if you’re asking yourself, “can I make money owning a condo?”, the answer is a resounding, “Yes!” But if you want to know just how much you’ll have to listen to the episode.

Instagram

Facebook

Twitter

Also online at: TheClouseGroup.com

Thanks for listening!

Our Opening theme:

“Inspired”

By Kevin Mcleod (incomptech.com)

Other music (in order used):

“Low Life High Life”

By Dan Henig

“Ruination 2”

By Vibe Mountain

“We Don’t Know How it Ends”

By Lee Rosevere (leerosevere.bandcamp.com)

Music obtained and Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

If you're in the market to sell your home but not sure how to proceed never fear! In this weeks Clouse Corner Brennen is giving the run down of the top 5 mistakes he sees sellers making in the market right now and how to avoid them. 

To say a lot of things are changing right now would be a pretty huge understatement. Covid has had rippling effects on almost every industry and that includes real estate. With that in mind how do these changes affect what someone looking to sell their home should prioritize? It's a good question and one we are going to get into on this weeks Clouse Corner, so take out a notepad and get ready to look at your home through new fresh eyes. Let's see what we can improve!

As always if you have additional questions feel free to reach out to us, we love to hear from you!

Instagram

Facebook

Twitter

Also online at: TheClouseGroup.com

Thanks for listening!

Our Opening theme:

“Inspired”

By Kevin Mcleod (incomptech.com)

Other music (in order used):

“Low Life High Life”

By Dan Henig

“Ruination 2”

By Vibe Mountain

“We Don’t Know How it Ends”

By Lee Rosevere (leerosevere.bandcamp.com)

Music obtained and Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

This week Brennen is diving into some more mistakes first time home buyers make, and how best to avoid them. 

Hello again listeners! If you've been with us for any amount of time you'll know that we do these kind of lists semi-regularly on the Clouse Corner, that's because there are always new people entering the market and we believe and informing people on both sides leads to the best interactions in the industry. That being said if you are old hat at buying properties at this point feel free to go and check out an episode from our archive, or make your own list top 7 lists and share how well you matched up in the comments. We would love to see how close you can got, and hey, maybe you'll inadvertently give us material for a future episode. 

All that being said for all your first time buyers out there looking for some peace of mind, rest easy, you've come to the right place. So kick back relax and get the information you need. 

As always if you have questions or suggestions for future episodes feel free to reach out to us, we love to hear from you!

Instagram

Facebook

Twitter

Also online at: TheClouseGroup.com

Thanks for listening!

Our Opening theme:

“Inspired”

By Kevin Mcleod (incomptech.com)

Other music (in order used):

“Low Life High Life”

By Dan Henig

“Ruination 2”

By Vibe Mountain

“We Don’t Know How it Ends”

By Lee Rosevere (leerosevere.bandcamp.com)

Music obtained and Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

This week we Brennen talks about what in his opinion are the 5 key questions people should be asking their real estate agents. 

Welcome back to the Clouse Corner listeners! Real estate is a competitive market, this is pretty well known fact, and as such there is a lot of competition helping you sell your property. This should be a good thing for you, as greater competition should give you the best chance at being able to negotiate terms in your own favor, but that's much harder in practice than in theory. The truth is all of that competition means there is a lot of mediocre mixed in with the good, and if you're new to this you might find yourself in over your head, with an inexperienced or inept agent while you're still trying to get your bearings. You don't want that. And we here at The Close to Home Podcast certainly don't want that. With that in mind Brennen is sharing what he thinks are the top 5 questions everyone should ask a potential real estate agent this week If you've struggled finding a agent who worked well with you in the past, or you just want to start the selling process off right, there should be a little something for everyone this episode. 

As always if you have questions or ideas for future episodes feel free to reach out to us, we love to hear from you!

Instagram

Facebook

Twitter

Also online at: TheClouseGroup.com

Thanks for listening!

Our Opening theme:

“Inspired”

By Kevin Mcleod (incomptech.com)

Other music (in order used):

“Low Life High Life”

By Dan Henig

“Ruination 2”

By Vibe Mountain

“We Don’t Know How it Ends”

By Lee Rosevere (leerosevere.bandcamp.com)

Music obtained and Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

This week Brennen tries to demystify the world of condominiums and how potential buyers of them can avoid the most common pitfalls that come with the purchase. 

Hello listeners, we hope everyone is staying safe out there. We talk a lot about houses on this show, obviously, it is a real estate podcast after all. However this week we are mixing it up and focusing in on serious home-ownerships fun loving BFF aka buying a condo. There are a lot of reasons to own a condo, they make a great entry property into a certain areas and neighborhoods, they can pull double duty as a vacation property and Air B&B the rest of the year, or they are just a good solid option if live a smaller lifestyle and don't want the trouble of a house.

As always if we missed anything, or you have more questions or comments feel free to reach out to us:

Instagram

Facebook

Twitter

Also online at: TheClouseGroup.com

Thanks for listening!

Our Opening theme:

“Inspired”

By Kevin Mcleod (incomptech.com)

Other music (in order used):

“Low Life High Life”

By Dan Henig

“Ruination 2”

By Vibe Mountain

“We Don’t Know How it Ends”

By Lee Rosevere (leerosevere.bandcamp.com)

Music obtained and Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 

This week on the Clouse Corner Brennen is talking photography, what to avoid and how to get the perfect snapshot.

There really is nothing like a first impression, and the first impression your property listing often makes is through photos, and so it makes sense that you should be willing to put a little extra elbow grease into getting them just right. It's important that people be able to see themselves in your space without it seeming like someone else already lives there, and that can be a hard line to tread. Personally Brennen has seen photos ranging from amazing to outright bad, it just comes with the territory. But the suffering of his eyes is our gain! This week he's dropping the bare-bones basics of taking photos of your home that will get people up off their butts and into your open house. It may be art, but there is definitely a science to it. 

As always if you have additional questions please reach out to us, we love to hear from you!

Instagram

Facebook

Twitter

Also online at: TheClouseGroup.com

Thanks for listening!

Our Opening theme:

“Inspired”

By Kevin Mcleod (incomptech.com)

Other music (in order used):

“Low Life High Life”

By Dan Henig

“Ruination 2”

By Vibe Mountain

“We Don’t Know How it Ends”

By Lee Rosevere (leerosevere.bandcamp.com)

Music obtained and Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Sometimes purchasing a home or condo can entail more than a few hidden costs you have not budgeted for; we are breaking some of them down this week on the Close Corner. 

Often in our heads we make home buying more simple than it is. You hand over the money or a down payment, often in a large bag with a dollar sign on the outside, they hand over a big fancy piece of paper that says, "Deed" in big bold gothic letters and boom, you own a house. Sadly there is a lot more involved and often it can get pretty nit picky pretty quickly. If you've been listening for a while then you've heard us cover some of the hidden fees and whatnot that you are likely to encounter when buying  a home. Luckily for us and unfortunately for you we have not covered them all so this week we are covering some more! That's it, hopefully you find it helpful. 

If you have any questions, or suggestions for future episodes please feel free to reach out to us. We love to hear from you!

Instagram

Facebook

Twitter

Also online at: TheClouseGroup.com

Thanks for listening!

Our Opening theme:

“Inspired”

By Kevin Mcleod (incomptech.com)

Other music (in order used):

“Low Life High Life”

By Dan Henig

“Ruination 2”

By Vibe Mountain

“We Don’t Know How it Ends”

By Lee Rosevere (leerosevere.bandcamp.com)

Music obtained and Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/