Welcome to SoundBiteBlog.com. This website focuses mainly on providing Real Estate, Mortgage, and Local Area information for consumers and residents in Western Puget Sound, we also share our passions, expertise, and practical insights on Internet marketing and technology, including social media/networking, SEO, website design, and custom web applications. SoundBiteBlog is an award-winning joint venture between Mark Flanders of Pastik Design and Rich Jacobson of Keller William West Sound.

Within the pages of SoundBite is an eclectic collection of articles covering a wide variety of topics we hope you'll find interesting, engaging, and helpful. Rich is committed to relentlessly representing his client's best interests and empowering them to make informed decisions. Mark finally decided what he wanted to do when he grew up and gets excited when the code he's written solves a customer's problem with blinding efficiency!

9009 Martin Avenue – Nearly 4000 sq.ft. home in peaceful Silverdale Highlands

January 12th, 2012 by Rich Jacobson

Welcome to 9009 Martin Avenue in Silverdale Washington

NWMLS #310096  ~  $429,950

This nearly 4000 square foot 4BR 4BTH home is situated on a near 1/2 acre lot in peaceful Silverdale Highlands and backs up to seasonal creek. The Main Level Open Great Room boasts a gourmet island kitchen with over 700 sq. ft. of granite counters, deep sink, breakfast bar, all stainless appliances including double convection oven, extensive custom cabinetry with pull-outs and built-ins; Formal Dining area with French Doors to BBQ deck; and a sunken Living Room with River Rock Wood Burning Fireplace.

A Large Upper Level BR could easily become a 2nd Master. The Lower Level Master Suite has French Doors leading out to your private deck. 3 of the 4 bathrooms have been recently remodeled with quality materials and workmanship. And if you need extra storage space, this is the home for you!

For the mechanically inclined, there is an 860 sq.ft. heated insulated shop space with full length workbench and saw that conveys.  Separate entries to both the shop and lower level. The home is heated by efficient Radiant heat. Cedar siding (painted in 2010), concrete tile roof, and Anderson windows and doors throughout are just some of the many features of this incredibly well-built custom home.

Silverdale Highlands is one of the older, more established neighborhoods in Silverdale WA. The home’s location offers quick and convenient access to award-winning Central Kitsap schools, area shopping, and local Navy bases.

For more information, go to my Keller Williams West Sound Contact Page Kitsap County WA Homes

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Keller-Williams-West-Sound-Realty

Rich Jacobson is a licensed real estate professional with Keller Williams West Sound, providing knowledgeable empowerment and relentless representation for his clients of residential properties and vacant land throughout all of Kitsap County WA and portions of Pierce, Mason, and Jefferson Counties. You can also find him at KitsapLife.comActiveRain, and Crabbing in the Hood, or e-mail: kitsapagent@gmail.com

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Kitsap County Real Estate Zestimates Can Be Way Off

June 14th, 2008 by Mark Flanders

Zillow logoIf you own or are looking to purchase waterfront property in Kitsap County, better not count on Zillow to get the value right. If the property has a daylight basement, you’ll likely have the same problem with a Zestimate. That’s because Zillow has trouble with these types of property values in Kitsap. The disturbing thing is we have thousands of properties in one or the other of these categories!

Here are the problems. Kitsap County has so much waterfront the Zillow valuation engine gets seriously confused. For example, if you want to see a Zestimate for a property in Manchester, Zillow is likely to include as comparables, property on the South end of Bainbridge Island. As anyone who lives in Kitsap County knows, there is a significant difference in the values of waterfront property between these two communities. Although the two properties may be geographically close (if you happen to be a crow), they are tremendously different in almost all other aspects, and widely separated by road. Zillow hasn’t corrected this yet.

Properties with daylight basements also produce mixed results. If the daylight basement has not been finished for use as living area, Zillow ignores it. If it has been upgraded, Zillow still ignores it! You can tell by comparing the square footage listed on the County Assessor’s website with the square footage Zillow displays. (You can look up any property in the County, by address, here).

Think about how many hills we have here in Kitsap. Properties with finished daylight basements are very common. Bremerton has them, Silverdale has them, as well as Port Orchard, Poulsbo, Seabeck and every other corner of our County.

Kitsap County LogoIn a recent conversation with Jim Avery of the Kitsap County Assessor’s Office, I learned that his department has tried to rectify these problems with Zillow. The Assessors Office contacted Zillow’s data provider to point out the discrepancy. Nothing has changed. The Zestimates continue to be innaccurate.

In addition to that, even if the property is not waterfront or does not include a finished daylight basement, the data available at the Assessors Office is data collated in 2007. Our real estate market is moving too fast to rely on data that could be up to 12 months old.

This raises many questions. Kitsap County is a great place to live. We have mountains and plenty of waterfront. But, so do many other states in the US. Do all the states with waterfront properties and daylight basements share the same problem we do?

So, be wary of using free online tools to make large financial decisions. Hire a reputable local Appraiser if you want an accurate idea of local property values. If you are not quite ready to invest several hundred dollars on a full appraisal, check with an experienced local real estate agent. They have access to information that is much more up-to-data than the information Zillow is relying on.

Sellers who rely on a valuation tool like Zillow can also make a costly mistake. Overpricing a property in Kitsap County’s already listing-saturated environment, could cost a seller months of wasted time, while prospective buyers ignore it.

Related Articles

A Zillow thread

Another Zillow thread (our Assessor pointed out the problem to Zillow almost a year ago)

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