REDFIN + ronnie lee rainwater

Jordan Mac + Halli Madison l the twins

What a year!

Wow! I can't believe it's seriously been a year since I have updated my Blog with a new post. My year was filled with lots of changes and best of all, my new addition! It's now a new year, and I will be much better at updating my blog, and letting everyone know what's going on in the market, and in my life personally. Honestly, I probably wouldn't keep this blog, because I haven't kept it up, but I have received dozens of emails from friends, family and clients asking me why I haven't updated my blog, so I just feel an obligation, not to mention it's a form of therapy for me! I love expressing myself...

Let's start from where I left off....my pregnancy went fantastic! I was thrilled to find out, IT'S A GIRL! Jim cried, as I rushed to the mall, spending way too much money on my baby girl!! She has more shoes than I do! I even had her nursery professionally decorated & designed...I couldn't resist!!! While pregnant, I figured, why not stay off my feet and get my Broker's license clock hours and requirements done? So, that's just what I did! I sat through many classes online, and in person at The Rockwell Institute...fun times! For those of you who don't know, I gave birth to my son, prematurely, at 34 weeks gestation....although, there was NOTHING premature about my huge 7lb 5 1/2oz "preemie". Miss Hana Ashton decided she wanted to follow in her brother's footsteps exactly...my water broke at 10:30am on September 11, 2009, at 34 weeks gestation, immediately contractions hit, and I ran around my house like a crazy woman screaming at my husband to grab his things and get me to the hospital ASAP, I knew something was different...something was wrong....make no mistake, I was still a working woman! In between my first few contractions, I quickly called my clients, cancelling my showing with them that evening, and setting it up with another agent so that they didn't miss out on seeing the home. My husband thought I was nuts! It seemed like FOREVER, finally we arrived at Swedish First Hill at 11:12am....upon arrival I felt the urge to push, and sure enough, there came miss Hana Ashton! I delivered her naturally, no pain medication, no doctor present, just me, the admitting nurse, and my husband! Miss Hana Ashton Rainwater was born at 11:32am, weighing 6lbs 8oz. She was my little angel!!! I truly know, how babies are delivered on the freeway now! This was almost us! It's pretty funny having your baby attend your baby shower :)

Having a daughter was the most amazing thing that has ever happened to me! She is my world, and I can't believe her birth story, it still shocks me to this day! Jimi is a proud big brother, and of course Jim is even prouder for being the one to deliver her :)

I don't know how I did it with the pregnancy, Broker courses, and taking over ownership of Md Real Estate, but I was able to finish up 2009 with my most productive year to date! I closed more transactions than I ever have. I met so many great people this year, it was amazing! I also moved into a new office space in Wallingford, which I LOVE! It's a great location, and just steps away from one of my favorite walks, GREEN LAKE!

I am now the owner/President of Modern dwelling Real Estate, as well as Designated Broker, so I have my plate fuller than ever! I LOVE IT!

The Seattle real estate market is so great! I have helped several clients sell their homes this year, although several were short sales, I made sure that process was easy for my Sellers, allowing them to walk away from the mortgage they were feeling a huge pressure from monthly. I also helped lots of Buyers purchase their first homes, move up home, or rental/investment properties. DEALS are everywhere! If you are thinking about buying something, DO IT! Now is the time. I am confident values are staying steady, and will continue to slowly rise. I am so glad to be a part of the fall, and now rise! This will make me stronger as a real estate professional!

My goals for 2010 are to build Md, creating systems and organization, and to get the Md name & logo spread around Seattle! I brought on two new agents this year, Jenn Deboer (Windermere) and Ben Allison (The Cascade Team). I am happy to have them, and know they will do GREAT!!!! They are both excellent agents! Welcome!

I have two new services to offer clients as well: Staging & Property Management! Let me know if you or anyone else you know is in need of these services.

Here's to TWENTY TEN & staying on top of my blog posts! :) I'd love to hear from everyone! Call, email or text me anytime!!!

"If you can imagine it, you can achieve it; if you can dream it, you can become it." -William Arthur Ward

I am so busy these days; I can hardly find the time to keep my blog up to date, with all that's going on in my life. I have to keep it updated, because I have an average of 48 daily readers! So...here goes it!

As you can see from my brief posting below, our little Raindrop is officially on the way! We are very excited to announce our pregnancy to our family and friends. When I had my first son, I had the feeling of "I can't wait for my baby to get here!!!" well; this time around I CAN WAIT! First of all, I now know realistically, how much work a new baby is, and what a challenge this will be! In addition, I have SO much to do at the office, so much to line up so that I can have this baby, and not be working from the deliver bed like I did with Jimi. Thank god this pregnancy stuff lasts 9 months. So far, I am feeling pretty good physically...just really tired, and a little nausea here and there, nothing too extreme! I have been walking 3 miles daily, to try and keep my energy level up since I cut out coffee and energy drinks :(

Business is amazing! I am working on my Broker's license, meaning I will run our small, boutique real estate firm as the head real estate agent, and Broker. It's something I have always wanted to do, and actually had as a goal to have done by 2010, so it's working out perfectly for me. It is hard to find the time to do my required 120 continuing education/classroom hours....but, I am half way done, so, it's getting there....I have also been promoted to the Vice President of Modern Dwelling! This is a HUGE accomplishment for me, and I am honored to be working so closely with the owner and President of Modern Dwelling. I am so proud of our little boutique firm, and am so proud as I watch it slowly get more and more name recognition out there in the real estate community. I literally got a listing, because someone "loved my modern sign". We have an amazing marketing diva who makes our flyers, Craigslist ads, and we just in general, have unique marketing material. The biggest struggle for me thus far, has been making sure everyone knows that I am STILL a full service real estate agent, offering help in many areas (consulting, purchasing or selling property in WA State, mover, cleaner, landscaper, contractor referrals, just to name a few) I am your full service, real estate consultant, I don’t only sell Modern, I just happen to have a huge Modern builder/designer client (Pb Elemental). My business consists of anything from the Buyer I am working with now who is looking at condos up to $150K, to the $3.2 million dollar Alki home I am listing next week. I do it ALL. Some more exciting news…and I will keep everyone posted, but I was nominated for the Puget Sound Business Journal's famous, "40 under 40" article, which will feature me, as one of the top, and youngest entrepreneurs in Seattle. Again, keeping everyone posted!! At the age of 26, I have 10 years of experience under my belt now, and yet, am still one of the youngest agents out there. I love it! It’s a challenge sometimes with the older clients when they first meet me, but once they give me a chance, they are usually very impressed with me, my customer service and my work ethics, and SHCOKED when they find out my age. It makes me feel really good. I can be me, and do something I really love doing. I have always dreamed this, and knew that someday, I would be in this position, and my dreams have come true!

I currently have 18 listings (homes for sale where I represent the Seller) in the Seattle area. I am also working with 60+ potential Sellers, doing helping them in the preliminary stages by helping them determine the value of their current home, de-clutter, or use my contractor referral to have some updates done prior to listing and selling. I also have 26 Buyer's on my plate, and about 8 of them are SERIOUSLY looking and ready to make offers. The rest are still in the research stages, getting a feel for the market, areas, etc. I really enjoy taking Buyer's out to show homes, it's one of the highlights of my day. It's fun to chat, and get to know people, and I have truly had some of the most interesting conversations with some of my clients in my car as my navigation system (who my most recent clients named Maxine) guides us around town. Seeing homes for sale is just sooo much fun, I learn something new every single time I take Buyer's out on a home tour, whether it be a new product (flooring, roofing, appliances) or something random my client may teach me, like Dr. Jason, who taught me that Tabby cats, can only be female? Random!

Work is not “work”. I enjoy it so much that every day, is just a day. I enjoy showing homes, just as much as I do having dinner with my family. It's all just the same, and all very enjoyable to me. Truly. I am so blessed and grateful to have the wonderful career I have, not many people can really say they love their job like I do. Nothing has been handed to me, I have worked very hard to be where I am today, and will continue to work hard to get even farther, and exceed my dreams. The market is already turning around since January, from what I have seen personally. When I take clients out on tour, we actually have to really be on it now. Homes that are priced well, sell fast! I was in a multiple offer situation last week, which I ended up winning ;), but it was just CRAZY! The house actually went OVER the listing price, in just 8 days on the market. I predict my next post will be about how some of my listings have sold. It’s hard when all I hear on the news is how terrible the market is, and how prices have dropped, etc. It’s very conflicting with what I have been exposed to. I see homes sitting on the market longer, which obviously makes sales go down, BUT….when they do sell, they are selling within 98% of the listing price, which is not bad at all!!! I think the media has a way of scaring Buyers. Every time I meet new Buyers, I completely educate them on all of this, and it’s crazy how shocked they are that they CAN buy a home with very little money down, and they have an amazing interest rate, and, with the great amount of inventory out there, they have a ton of homes to pick from. It’s truly a GREAT time to buy!!!

My family is great! The holidays were a nice break, as well as the snow days. It really forced me to have good quality at home family time with my husband and son. We took walks, cooked, and lounged around. Jimi continues to excel in school, and is moving up to the pre-school room next week. He loves to play basketball, and to watch his dad play basketball. He requires so much energy, and really keeps me going, and on my toes, but he is more than worth it! Jimi starts gymnastics next week, and I can’t wait, he is going to absolutely love it!!! Hubby is doing well too. He is getting to a comfortable place at his job now, and starting to feel confident with all of his clients. He is already a huge success, yet continues to excel, I knew he would! He loves his job, and in addition is working on his PhD. This man, truly amazes me!
That’s a brief update in the life of Ronnie Lee, more to come soon…..also, thank you to everyone who continues to read my blog, and send me feedback, or call me with feedback. You truly don’t know how much it means to me! Thank you, and READ ON!

Our Baby....Due October 11, 2009.....

We are very excited to announce we are pregnant! Our little bundle of joy is due October 11, 2009. We are very blessed! I just wanted to share with everyone....as always, business is great!!!! New post coming soon.....

happy fall!

as you can see, it's been two months since my last post. (thank you tyson, for breaking that down for me, it's not a new blog, it's a new post!!) i learn new things daily :) i have been keeping very busy, to say the least with my new company, and new duties.

let's talk real estate first.....i have been very fortunate, in these hard economic times, to continue to stay very busy with clients! being a part of the seattle real estate market is huge, considering it's one of the strongest in the country. congratulations to india, on the sale of her green lake home! it was a long process, and we had a few bumps in the road, but we were able to get through, and i think all parties were very happy with the end result! i was hired to sell this home, after another agent couldn't get the job done! i was anxious to sell this home for india, in this market, for top dollar, and i did just that!!! i was honored to be of assistance to her. she sent me the sweetest tear jerker of a card too, thank you india for giving me the opportunity to sell your home, and again, i am SO glad i was able to help!

we finally got our new website up and running, so you can now view that at http://www.dwellingre.com/. You can also view projects coming up, and more about Pb Elemental at http://www.pbelemental.com/.

i love keeping busy, but as always, i am never too busy for your referrals! i love working with referrals (friends, family, co-workers) anyone you may know who might be looking to purchase or sell a home in the greater puget sound area, send them my way! i look forward to working with them.

also, thank you to robert & jessica davidson for nominating me for "best real estate agent" & "best customer service" in the seattle area as seen in seattle weekly!!! keep an eye out for when to vote, i would be more than honored to win!

i will be holding my georgetown listings open this sunday, from 2-4pm, so please stop by and check out the amazing modern architecture by pb elemental! call or email me for more information. or, open my link above, and the homes i am holding open, are the homes on orcas street, in georgetown.

as for the "home front" things have never been better! my husband has finally finished up his master's degree in clinical psychology, and has already been hired and begun working at a firm for the past two weeks as a mental health professional. he is counseling youth at a non profit organization, and loving it! he travels around to all of the central & south seattle area public schools, offering counseling on a need basis. he is so passionate about his new career, and begins his quest for his PhD this winter. i am so proud of him!!!

jimi ray turned 2 on october 18, we didn't end up having the big basketball themed party as originally planned, but instead had a nice dinner party for him, and all of his little toddler friends (and baby friends) at a local restaurant. he had such a great time, and we are just so grateful for all of the friends and family who were able to make it, and be a part of his special day. we are truly blessed!

los angeles & maui were both amazing, and it was nice to get away from the real world for a while! even though, i worked at least an hour a day (which i am sure drove my husband nuts!). hey, what can i say, i love what i do, and i am a control freak too, so i just can't "not work!" it doesn't work that way with me!

i hope everyone has a wonderful thanksgiving, christmas, and new year! thank you so much for helping me achieve another successful year in real estate! because of my amazing family, friends & clients, i am where i am today! THANK YOU!!!!

jim & jimi in the pool in l.a., jimi is losing his shorts! too funny!

happy 2nd birthday jimi! hates getting dirty, just like his mama!

me & my husband, kapalua beach (maui)

our future view from our rooftop deck....remodel coming soon!!!

a new chapter begins...

i am very excited to announce my move to modern dwelling. i have made a huge move to a different real estate company. i will still be working with buyers, and sellers just like i do now, nothing will change, except a higher level of marketing and customer service to offer to my clients. modern dwelling is a boutique real estate firm, started by owner, james ellison. i have been hired on to list and sell all of their modern homes, built and designed by Pb Elemental, and Lead Constrtuction. i am honored to have this new position, and it's a huge step forward in the direction i have been trying to go for years. i think that i am a lot different than the typical real estate agent, i am laid back, and don't mind answering my phone 24 hours a day, or responding to emails while in the dentist chair! i work smart, and get the job done, and in the end, have very happy clients!

my website is currently being forwarded here, to my blog so everyone knows what's going on with ronnie! the modern dwelling website should be completely finished soon, including my contact information on it. i will be sure to keep everyone posted on that website once it's finished! in the meantime, feel free to check out the company website at:

http://www.pbelemental.com/

and, this very exciting article about them (voted as one of the BEST small companies to work for in Seattle): http://www.elementalarchitecture.com/publications/PbSBM060108.pdf

Okay, last LINK I promise!!! Here are all of my active listings. All of these listings are GREAT! They are priced very well, clean, move in ready! Please let me know if you have anyone interested in any of these homes, I can arrange a personal tour anytime!

http://locator.nwmls.com/scripts/mgrqispi.dll?APPNAME=Locator&PRGNAME=MLSLogin&ARGUMENT=I9xUF6hi%2BAmcF%2B8gU%2BqONibNcjXgVHENGdCySBLkTPY%3D&KeyRid=1&Include_Search_Criteria=

and lastly, please SAVE THE DATE! For my official welcome/announcement party, and a chance for you to come and see one of these amazing homes on queen anne DECEMBER 5, 2008! we will be serving wine and apps for your enjoyment as well!

i would love to hear everyone's feedback, so please don't be shy!

im on my way to lebam, wa today to be a bridesmaid in my good friend leslie's wedding, should be a fun weekend out in the country! then sunday, i am excited to check out brad & lindsay's new house in burien during their housewarming party. very anxious to see what those two have been up to, i am sure they have it looking SUPER cute already!!! i can't wait (and of course, the football game will be on, so my husband will be occupied as well!)

here is my new office contact information, feel free to pop in and say hi!

ronnie lee rainwater
1916 23rd ave south
seattle wa 98144
e: ronnie@ronnielee.com
cell/text: 206.769.3229
fax: 206.225.2003
web: http://www.ronnielee.com/