We are pleased to announce the first of two new series coming to social media and the monthly newsletters, Home Maintenance Minute. As active listing and selling brokers and having attended 100's of home inspections, we have a vast knowledge of what home inspectors and appraisers look for and "call out" and we want to share that knowledge with you.

In Episode 1, we cover a residential home furnace filter, reasons to change it, and how the filter can influence home inspections. If you remember, this year Snohomish County experienced the worst smoke from west coast's and Canadian wildfires.

Tune into this short video and see for yourself and thanks for watching!!

When buying a home in Snohomish County its common to encounter homes on a private or shared septic system. For those that may not know, a septic system in an on-site- sewer system for residential homes.

Why would home builder choose to use a septic system over city sewer? In most cases there isn't city sewer available when a home is built in the more rural areas.

What cities will I encounter a septic system in?

• Arlington
• Gold Bar
• Granite Falls
• Lake Stevens
• Snohomish
• Stanwood
• Sultan

In other county cities may have septic systems but they're not nearly as common place. Here is a 13 minute video on septic systems, how the basics work, and the residential septic addendum used in a property purchase or sale in Snohomish County.

Have you been looking for a Lake Stevens home that has acreage, 4 bedrooms, an oversized 3 car garage, and loads of privacy? Then look no further.

Located in the Getchell area of Lake Stevens, this rambler boasts it all and you'll enjoy the peaceful living, the spacious living areas and master suite, and so much more!

Watch the two videos and contact Mickie Barnett at (425) 750-9090 for a private showing or additional questions.

Drone Tour

Mickie just listed a wonderful opportunity on Camano Island that is worth a good look. Featuring 2 homes, 5 acres, 2 addresses and a familiar warmth that just becomes people home. Here is our drone video and pictures and if you're interested in seeing this Camano Island home just contact us for a private showing.

Property Webpage: http://www.barnettassociates.net/property/1356427/

Snohomish County housing inventory has increased 15.75% in July and is on pace with 2016 levels. Which means more homes for sale, more competition to sell a home, and ever higher important to price accordingly if selling a property.

My latest home for sale is located in the Meadow Park neighborhood in north Marysville, just off 132nd. For its size and price it has a lot to offer: featuring a 3 bed floorplan with the master on the opposite end of the home, 2 full baths and a garage which is uncommon for this neighborhood, and one of the larger lots. Don't miss an opportunity to be near schools, shopping, and arterials for easy commuting.

Learn more by visiting the Exclusive Listings page.

Drone Video Tour

Snohomish County's residential housing market has been hot of late but is a slowing looming? In the article Is it a Good Time to Sell a Home in Snohomish County? 4 years of housing inventory was compiled to determine low and high points in order to know when the optimal time for selling a home is.

Now, we'll continue the conversation and examine individual city data to identify if local housing inventory is consistent with previous years, trending downward, or showing an increase.

The below data was generated on 7/19/2018 and focuses on residential homes and a few key categories and a chart showing the Active residential housing levels by month.

*The property types were excluded: manufactured homes, condos, vacant land.

Active Arlington Residential Homes

Arlington's housing inventory isn't up to last years levels yet if the upward trend continues then July and August will be close to the previous year.

• 88 Total Active Homes
• 66 View Homes
• 5 New Construction
• 16 Waterfront Homes
• 0 Short Sales
• 0 Foreclosures

Search all Arlington homes at http://www.barnettassociates.net/arlington/ and let us know if you'd like a private showing.

In a past blog post, we've discussed solar home values and now we're are selling a solar home. This particular property is located in Marysville's Sunnyside neighborhood and has so many benefits for its new owners. So, what are the benefits of solar and this home in particular?

• Transferable Solar Incentives
• Virtually NO PUD Bills
• Sound & Mountain Views
• 3 Bed & 2 Bath Rambler Floor Plan
• Open Kitchen Design w/ Granite
• Insulated Garage w/ 2nd Furnace & Epoxy Flooring
• Private Backyard with Sprinkler System and 12 X 7 Garden Shed

But don't take my word for, watch the two videos, see the pictures, and request a tour today. Enjoy!

When selling a home how important is professional photography? In one word. VERY.

Real estate advertising has changed so much in the last 20 years. From monthly property books with single photos and weekly print ads to low resolution photos that were limited to just a handful of pictures. Now, there are thousands of real estate websites with property data at your fingertips and high definition photos and videos for nearly every home.

I've spent hours in classes, conducting online research, and asking questions to the Department of Ecology to make this well and water basin post as informative and easy to read as possible. So let's begin.

Not to dive into much back story; the gist is, the Hirst Decision changed the way county building departments decide to approve or deny building permits that use wells as a primary water source. As property owners and potential buyers, if needing to know what watershed serves an address it can be challenging.

This post will aim to answer the following question and deliver information on how to research watersheds and water basins.

• How do I find a watershed for a particular property?

Let's start with the basics.

There are 5 watersheds in Snohomish County and they are the Lower Skagit-Samish WRIA 3, Upper Skagit-Samish WRIA 4, Stillaguamish WRIA 5, Snohomish WRIA 7, and Cedar-Sammamish WRIA 8.  Yet, it is very unlikely that a property will need to research the Cedar-Sammamish WRIA 8 since the SW area of Snohomish County relies on city water - view watershed map.