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Productivity • Uncategorized • WREN graphics • November 5, 2014

Need Assistance with Your 2015 Calendar Mailings?

by Renee Roberts

Need Assistance with Your 2015 Calendar Mailings?

The clock has fallen back, the election is over and holiday gift catalogues are arriving in the mail each day… that means the new year is nearly upon us and it's time to mail your calendars!

2015 Windermere Foundation Calendars

If you need assistance in preparing your calendars for bulk mail, I'm here to help. From creating decorative labels that match your holiday stationary, to stuffing, sealing and then bundling & hauling them away to the bulk mail acceptance unit at the post office, WREN graphics is available to assist with your calendar mailings again this year.

Calendar Mailing Services & Pricing

If you are planning to prepare all – or just part of your mailings, following are just a few tips that will ease the process:

All mail pieces must be identical in weight & content. No personal notes or cards are allowed, however, a computer generated holiday greeting letter is fine.
Zip code sort your list before printing your labels. The post office requires FLAT mailings (anything over 3.3 oz.) be zip code sorted & bundled. Having your list printed in zip code order saves a lot of time in this process!
Your Return Address is required.
Move Update/Address Service is required. In a previous blog post, I have outlined the methods available to use.
When labeling your envelopes – place the address label in the lower right hand quadrant of the envelope (see image above).
If WREN graphics will be mailing your calendars for you, place your envelopes in zip code order from lowest to highest. No sticky notes or dividers are necessary. Then contact Renee 206-395-9736 or email: wrengraphics@gmail.com to let me know they're ready to be picked up or drop them off at the Windermere Greenwood office!
I prepare a calendar mailing at least once per week. If you have less than 50 lbs./200 pcs. I will need to merge your calendars with another mailing of identical size and weight, so this matching may take a few additional days.

If you have any questions, please call or email. I look forward to assisting you!

Renee 206-395-9736 wrengraphics@gmail.com

Uncategorized • WREN graphics • October 31, 2014

2nd Half of 2014 Property Taxes Due on Oct 31st – Halloween

by Renee Roberts

King County residents who pay their property taxes themselves, rather than through their mortgage lender, should circle Halloween (Friday, October 31) on their calendar. The second half of 2014 property taxes are due on that date.

After October 31, interest charges and penalties will be added to the tax bill. To make the process easier, King County provides several ways for property owners to pay their taxes quickly and conveniently.

Tax payments can be made:

By mail if postmarked no later than Oct. 31, 2014. Taxpayers should include their tax statement and write the property tax account number on their check or money order. Cash should not be sent through the mail.
Online using King County’s convenient, secure online eTax application. Taxpayers may pay accounts with a credit card or an electronic debit from a checking account called an “eCheck.”
In person at the King County Administration Building, Suite 600 – Treasury Operations, located at 500 Fourth Ave. in Seattle. Treasury Operations is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. On Oct. 31, Treasury Operations will be open until 5 p.m.
At King County Community Service Centers if paid by check for the exact amount due. Taxpayers can find the address, phone number, and operating hours of the center in their area by visiting www.kingcounty.gov/CSC.

The online option provides immediate payment confirmation for current year or delinquent year(s) property tax bills. To pay online or view property tax information, taxpayers can visit www.kingcounty.gov/propertytax.

For questions about missing tax statements or other tax payment information, contact King County Treasury Operations online or by calling (206) 296-0923.

Information on senior citizen exemption and deferral programs can be obtained from the King County Assessor’s Office by calling (206) 296-3920.

Productivity • Uncategorized • WREN graphics • September 8, 2014

Stay In Touch Marketing Plan

by Renee Roberts

I have a few brokers that are already planning their 2015 Marketing Calendar. We have several office sponsored events planned like our annual Shredding & Electronics Recycling event, Flower & Garden Show ticket give-away, and reminders about our local Greenwood Car Show, and Art Up Chow Down Art Walks. So the calendar fills up fast with opportunities to touch base with our clients. Here's one method of marketing that many of the agents I work with swear by:

Stay in Touch Follow-Up System is powerful, proven and simple.

Did you know that 93% of homebuyers are satisfied with their agent, however only 11% use them again. Make them remember your name!

Full Color Postcards
Jumbo Size: 8.5" x 5.5"
Pre-printed Message
Several Series & Holiday Cards to Choose From
Team or Single Agent message layout
Real Estate, Mortgage & Insurance Professional

For more information on ordering this postcard system, please click the image above or contact Renee at 206-395-9736 or visit Stay In Touch System

Each month, I coordinate mailing these cards to your clients with space for additional remarks, statistical info or invitations to a coffee date! Let me know if I can help you implement this efficient & easy marketing system to your 2015 Marketing Plan!

Apps • Productivity • Tech • Uncategorized • WREN graphics • August 7, 2014

Re-Inspired

by Renee Roberts

Uhhgg. My birthday is coming up and I have less than a month to whittle away clock hours to renew my real estate license in addition to renewing my driver's license, passport and car tabs.

Every other year, real estate brokers are required by the State Department of Licensing to fulfill 30 hours of required continuing education – otherwise known as clock hours. We are required to refresh our knowledge on the ethics of real estate and core curriculum covering updates and changes in contracts and real estate law so we can represent our buyers and sellers ethically, correctly and professionally.

The rest of the clock hours are elective. And it can be oh, so hard to find interesting courses to take. You know me, I'm a creative. Math, statistics, and financial statements make my eyes gloss over after 15 mintues, No way can I deal with 15 hours of spreadsheets & formulas! And I've taken several financial, short sales/foreclosure, credit and contract courses before. So I look for new courses that pertain to what I actually do in the real estate industry – Marketing. And this part of real estate is constantly evolving as new technology is just at the fingertips of our smartphones and iPads!

I do have to say that Windermere has grasped that technology is what brokers need to know to do our jobs better and more effieciently. I am pleased to see the availability of more classes built around the iPad and Paperless Transactions. The online tools and apps we use are more adaptive, updates and changes happen quickly and it is so refreshing to learn new tips or finding out that something that we've had to create a work-around for is now available within the programs we use.

By targeting my elective education courses, I not only fulfill my license renewal requirements, but also find inspiration by how other brokers have taken these tools to create custom content to connect with their clients on a personal level to build success into their business.

I know I am benefitting by the annual boost of putting some thought into how I can best educate and prepare myself for today’s real estate market. I feel refreshed and re-inspired to give a needed energy to my business success while supporting my realtor clients with their buyers and sellers!

Uncategorized • WREN graphics • January 27, 2014

I Was Surprised Today At the Post Office

by Renee Roberts

Stamp prices increased on Saturday, jumping from 46 cents to 49 cents.

Postage Rate Increase

The 3-cent hike is the largest increase in consumer postage prices in more than a decade for the U.S. Postal Service. The cost of mailing a post card also went up. It now costs 34 cents, a 1-cent increase. And standard mail (bulk mail) also increased.

One way around the increases is buying Forever Stamps now and using them any time for first-class mail, the kind used by most consumers. Launched in 2007, Forever Stamps are always valid, no matter what people paid for them and even if prices go up in the future. A year ago, the price of a first class stamp went up by 1 cent in January.

Click here to see all USPS mailing and shipping prices

WREN Graphics is available to assist you with your mailings. Contact Renee by email or phone at 206-395-9736

Greenwood • Greenwood • Seattle Events • Uncategorized • June 19, 2013

Windermere Community Service Day

by Renee Roberts

Each year, Windermere Real Estate agents, managers, owners and staff from more than 300 offices across the Western United States gather together and devote their workday to making a positive change in the neighborhoods they serve through local service projects and volunteerism.

For this year's Community Service Day, the brokers and staff of Windermere's Greenwood office will be sprucing up & painting the teen center at the North Seattle Boys & Girls Club, located in our own Greenwood Neighborhood!

Stay tuned to Windermere Real Estate's facebook page for photos of all of our offices projects! www.facebook.com/WindermereRealEstate

Windermere’s Community Service Day was established in 1984 to offer agents and staff a chance to volunteer an entire workday to give back to the neighborhoods in which they live and work. Windermere’s Community Service Day has been recognized nationally as a model hands-on volunteer program and has been adopted by other real estate companies and businesses around the country. For more information, please visit www.windermere.com.

Greenwood • Greenwood • Phinney Ridge • Seattle Events • Seattle Neighborhoods • Uncategorized • May 10, 2013

PhinneyWood Art Walk May 10th & 11th 2013

by Renee Roberts

Windermere Greenwood is excited to announce we are hosting our 1st PhinneyWood Art Walk Event!

We welcome artists D.Lisa West and Doug Keith

"Fab 4" by Doug Keith

Please stop by our Windermere Greenwood office located at 311 N 85th St. Seattle, WA

Friday, May 10th from 6-9 pm and Saturday, May 11th from Noon – 5pm

For more information and map of participating businesses and restaurants, visit: PhinneyCenter.org

D.Lisa West

Doug Keith

Uncategorized • WREN graphics • January 24, 2013

Postage Rate Increase Effective 1-27-2013

by Renee Roberts

RUN, don't walk to the post office to stock up on "Forever" stamps by this Sunday! Postage rates for mail classes along with many special services will increase on January 27, 2013.

The new rates:

Letters (1 oz.): 1-cent increase from 45 to 46 cents

Letters additional ounces: unchanged at 20 cents. A new uniform price for Residual Single Piece Letters will be 48 cents.

Postcards: 1-cent increase to .33 cents

EDDM (Every Door Direct Mail) will increase from .142 to .16 cents.

First-Class Mail International® Global Forever stamps will be $1.10.

Prices also will change for other mailing services, including Standard Mail, Periodicals, Package Services and Extra Services.
More information on the new pricing is available at USPS.com

If you have any questions regarding how this may affect your future mailings, please contact Renee.

Consistency. Commitment. Connection. Collaboration.

Uncategorized • WREN graphics • November 13, 2012

Need Assistance with Your 2014 Calendar Mailings?

by Renee Roberts

The clock has fallen back, the election is over and holiday gift catalogues are arriving in the mail each day… that means the new year is nearly upon us and it's time to mail your calendars!

2012 Windermere Foundation Calendars

If you need help preparing your calendars for bulk mail, I'm here to help. From creating decorative labels that match your holiday stationary, to stuffing & sealing and then bundling & hauling them away to the bulk mail acceptance unit at the post office, WREN graphics is available to assist with your calendar mailings again this year.

Calendar Mailing Services & Pricing

If you are planning to prepare all – or just part of your mailings, following are just a few tips that will ease the process:

All mail pieces must be identical in weight & content. No personal notes or cards are allowed, however, a computer generated holiday greeting letter is fine.
Zip code sort your list. The post office requires FLAT mailings (anything over 3.3 oz.) be zip code sorted & bundled. Having your list printed in zip code order saves a lot of time in this process!
Your Return Address is required.
Move Update/Address Service is required. In a previous blog post, I have outlined the methods available to use.
When labeling your envelopes – place the label in the lower right hand quadrant of the envelope.
If WREN graphics will be mailing your calendars for you, place your envelopes in zip code order from lowest to highest. No sticky notes or dividers are necessary. Then contact Renee 206-395-9736 or email: wrengraphics@gmail.com to let me know they're ready to be picked up!
I prepare a calendar mailing at least once per week. If you have less than 50 lbs./200 pcs. I will need to merge your calendars with another mailing of identical size and weight, so this matching may take a few additional days.

If you have any questions, please call or email. I look forward to assisting you!

Renee 206-395-9736 wrengraphics@gmail.com

Greenwood • Seattle Neighborhoods • Uncategorized • June 15, 2012

Windermere Community Service Day Volunteer

by Renee Roberts

Community Service Day Friday, June 15th, 2012

What is Community Service Day?

Creating vibrant communities is one of the things that inspire our Windermere network to be involved in service projects that make things a little brighter for all our neighbors. Supporting the communities Windermere serves is at the core of our company’s formation and growth.

Every year since 1984, Windermere associates dedicate a day of work to complete neighborhood improvement projects as part of Windermere’s Community Service Day.

Community Service Day gives us an opportunity to give back to the communities where we live and work. We clean, landscape and repair parks, playgrounds, schools, shelters and community buildings.

After all, real estate is rooted in our communities. And an investment in our neighborhoods gives us all a better place to call home.

Each Windermere office selects a project that best serves its community needs.

For this year’s Community Service Day, Windermere’s Oak Tree staff and associates will be assisting the Greenwood Elementary School with moving & cleaning up a few classrooms, sprucing up the grounds: removing trash, weeding flower beds, and trimming overgrowth.

Community Service Day Friday, June 15, 2012

“On behalf of my staff, parents, and students, I want to thank you for sending the Windermere members to our school today. They did a fabulous job of helping us move furniture, clean rooms and weed the front landscape. It was so helpful to our school community.

Please give them a big thank you from all of us. Thanks again.”

Dr. Walter M. Trotter
Principal, Greenwood Elementary