Blog - Joyce Shipley

Gig Harbor

How I found my dream home!

I have been a Realtor for almost 10 years and this is the first home I have purchased since becoming a Realtor… my 8th purchase. Up until I became a Realtor, I totally relied on the agent I hired and I realize how important the choice of an agent is and how important it […]
Tacoma

UPS Gardens

How an unsightly neighborhood patch of brush and weeds with junk cars turned into a wonderful Tacoma North End Neighborhood garden and park: Barbara and Peter Temple Thurston have lived in this neighborhood for 24 years. About twelve years ago Barbara began working with the City of Tacoma to gain access to an […]
Gig Harbor

Uptown – Gig Harbor

In Gig Harbor we have a great shopping area called UPTOWN!. It has a wide variety of stores including Marshall's, Chico's, JJill, and our newest addition is Home Goods…opening soon to name a few! There is a 12 screen Century Theatre complex and a wide variety […]
Gig Harbor

Sea Hags in Gig Harbor

My friend Denese and I were out strolling in Gig Harbor down on Harborview St. and saw this adorable shop called Sea Hags! When we went in…guess who I ran into? Melissa Moller is the owner and operator and Melissa used to own a store in Alaska and wanted to open one here. It has […]

Gig Harbor How I found my dream home! I have been a Realtor for almost 10 years and this is the first home I have purchased since becoming a Realtor… my 8th purchase. Up until I became a Realtor, I totally relied on the agent I hired and I realize how important the choice of an agent is and how important it […]

Tacoma UPS Gardens How an unsightly neighborhood patch of brush and weeds with junk cars turned into a wonderful Tacoma North End Neighborhood garden and park: Barbara and Peter Temple Thurston have lived in this neighborhood for 24 years. About twelve years ago Barbara began working with the City of Tacoma to gain access to an […]

Gig Harbor Uptown – Gig Harbor In Gig Harbor we have a great shopping area called UPTOWN!. It has a wide variety of stores including Marshall's, Chico's, JJill, and our newest addition is Home Goods…opening soon to name a few! There is a 12 screen Century Theatre complex and a wide variety […]

Gig Harbor Sea Hags in Gig Harbor My friend Denese and I were out strolling in Gig Harbor down on Harborview St. and saw this adorable shop called Sea Hags! When we went in…guess who I ran into? Melissa Moller is the owner and operator and Melissa used to own a store in Alaska and wanted to open one here. It has […]

Gig Harbor Happy Hour At The Tides Tavern in Gig Harbor! Yesterday was a gorgeous day and on days like that in Gig Harbor, we want to be on the water. And what better place to go than The Tides! When it is warm you can sit on the deck and enjoy the sunshine. For now, it is great to be inside and surrounded by friends […]

Gig Harbor Getting Prequalified…before you look at homes! It always seems that something drives to me write about issues that come up! And here is another one that happened to two of my clients. We looked at 10 – 12 homes, choose one that they fell in love with and all the while, thought they were prequalified…and they weren’t. Lender rules have […]

Gig Harbor Teatro Zinzanni I wanted to share with you a wonderful experience I had with my friends(Kathy, Debbie, and PJ) in Costa Mesa, CA. While visiting down south over the holidays this year, we got tickets to this production. It said dress up in your boas and tiaras…so we did. They offered a 5 course meal which was catered […]

Gig Harbor Quick Claim Deeds and Cashiers Checks On Closing Day! Blogs happen when something prompts me to write them and today is one of those days. Let me preface this by saying, I love my clients! And I keep in mind that I have to impart to them the details so their life is easier and therefore mine is too. But sometimes, things come […]

Gig Harbor Answering your question…what happens at closing? What happens at closing? It is confusing and makes everyone anxious. Once the escrow gets loan documents, several things have to happen. a. The escrow company completes a HUD statement of all the charges for both buyer and seller which is then sent to the lender to be approved. This includes seller payoffs. It also […]

Gig Harbor Autumn in Gig Harbor! The trees are turning and it is absolutely beautiful everywhere we look.

Real Estate America’s Most Hated Industries…bottomlinenbcnews.com I received an article on Facebook from a friend yesterday and I decided to blog my response. I think I shared with you my moving adventure earlier this month. Now I will share with you that I bought 2 properties in WA in 2004 and 2 properties in 2005. All from the proceeds of the […]

Tips I know what you are going through! At the end of May, 2005, my mom who was 88 and I drove to WA to visit my sister and one of my closest friends in Gig Harbor. On the spur of the moment, I decided to sell my condo in Channel Islands and move to Gig Harbor. I made an offer on a house after […]

Gig Harbor Happy Father’s Day In working yesterday for our Windermere Community Service Day assemblying furniture, I was reminded of my dad and some of the things he taught me about teamwork. You see, I started going to work with my dad when I was really small. He was a general contractor and built homes and churches in So. California. […]

Tips Keeping your raspberries and blackberries from molding! Berries are delicious, but they’re also kind of delicate. Raspberries in particular seem like they can mold before you even get them home from the market. There’s nothing more tragic than paying $4 for a pint of local raspberries, only to look in the fridge the next day and find that fuzzy mold growing on […]

Gig Harbor Gig Harbor and Ventura I was thinking about what I love about Gig Harbor and what I miss about Ventura, Ca where I was raised. We are surrounded by the Sound and everywhere I go I get views of the water that are breathtaking morning and night. Now that it has warmed a bit, we can go without a […]

Gig Harbor First time homebuyers! Before you make the decision to purchase a home, you should determine how much you can afford to pay for one. In order to buy a home, most individuals have to obtain a mortgage, which is a loan for purchasing real estate. A mortgage requires you to pay back the amount of the loan and […]

Real Estate Getting refinanced! I have a friend who bought their home in 2006 from a relative. So they paid top price. They have tried 10 times to refinance and their interest rate is almost 7 percent. They have always made their payments and their jobs wages have increased but were always told by their lender and other lenders […]

Gig Harbor Foreclosure frustrations! The banks are now asking for the buyer to pay the excise tax which is normally the seller’s responsibility! They are also demanding that the buyer pay both the seller’s as well as the buyer’s title and escrow fees which can dramatically increase the downpayment needed to close a transaction. In some cases this is […]

Gig Harbor Loving Gig Harbor When I first drove thru Gig Harbor in the early 2000’s to visit a friend who had recently moved here, I fell in love with this quaint, beautiful town. It became my dream to live here. I bought my first properties in 2004. I came up on vacation with my mom in May 2005 to […]