Resources
These are the best Seattle area resources and service providers I’ve found after nine years in real estate. That being said, please keep in mind that the people on this list are human. 
I don’t assume any liability so please use your best judgment. I’d love to hear your feedback if you use someone on this list.
Home Inspection
Ron West, R.W. West Consultants
(425) 885-0722
Ron was in construction for years, and since then has been a home inspector working all over Seattle and the Eastside for something like 15 or 20 years – he knows his stuff.
Dean Hammond, Western Washington Home Inspections
(206) 799-3509
Dean is a great guy, very competent, has been doing inspections for my clients for about five years. He’s more likely than Ron to be available on a Friday or weekend day.
Home Loans (including Refinances)
Liz Fudacz, Front Street Mortgage
(425) 392-5566
liz@frontstreetmortgage.com
After years of being disappointed by various lenders who it turned out were not doing the greatest job for my clients, I found and interviewed Liz and have been referring people to her ever since. Many of my clients go back to her multiple times for other mortgages and refinances – she’s very honest, reliable and offers a wide range of loan options.
Denise Espeland, Windermere Mortgage
(206) 459-0559
despeland@windermere.com
Denise works out of my Windermere office, which actually caused me to not look into her services for a while (I had had a bad experience with a different Windermere loan officer.) However I finally did and it turns out she has great rates and fees, and she is also extremely reliable.
Sewer Scoping Inspection
Rick Delamar, Hyrdro-Physics Pipeline Inspection
(425) 775-8445 or (866) 775-8445
Note on sewer scoping: Yes, you should have one, even if you’re buying new construction! It costs around $200 with Rick, while sewer line problems can cost into the tens of thousands and often are not covered by home insurance.
Septic Inspection and Installation
Not all septic inspections are alike! You should have one that includes a draw-down test (if applicable to that system) or that at least tests the system’s ability to handle flow, as well as electrical systems if there are any. Ideally it’s good to check the drainfield as well – Earthwise Excavations is a company that will do these things.
Roof Repair and Replacement
B and J Roofing
(425) 868-1818
www.bandjroofing.com
Super helpful staff, cover Seattle and Eastside, have done a good job for my clients in the past.
Redmond Roofing
(425) 836-0123
www.redmondroofing.com
Eastside only – I haven’t used them but they come highly recommended.
Remodeling
Daniel Bosancu, Classic Built Homes
(206) 406-1324
Daniel has done a lot of work for me and my clients over the past 3 years, including remodeling my entire kitchen. He does great work and is also a very good painter.
Electrician
Roger Hill, Hill Electric
(425) 485-4321
I haven’t used Hill Electric but he was recommended by Dean Hammond, the inspector, and when I called him for information about an issue with a house he took the time to give me what I thought was really good advice, so he’s on my list to call in the future.
Brian McManis, Eagle Electric
(206) 271-3678
I haven’t used this company but he was recommended by Dean Hammond, the inspector.
Carpet Cleaning
Zenon Slusarski, White Eagle Carpet and Upholstery Care Systems
(425) 883-7632
Zen has done work for a few clients of mine and has done a really good job, he’s pretty widely recommended in my office as well.
Plumbing
New Concept Plumbing
Office: (425) 418-3304
John Morelli: (206) 948-1617
Hold onto your hat, I’m going to tell you something amazing: John actually answers his cell phone a lot of the time! (I’m sure he won’t thank me for mentioning that. These are good plumbers who don’t overcharge and work both Seattle and Eastside, however they can get pretty busy so call ahead if you can.
Window Cleaning
Jeff Fravel, The Clean Doctor
(206) 227-1542
Also does roof and gutter cleaning.
Jeff worked on my house and did a good and thorough job for a very reasonable price. It can also be very handy to have someone who does all three, like he does – roof, windows and gutter all at the same time.
Gutter Cleaning
Jeff Fravel, The Clean Doctor
(206) 227-1542
Also does roof and window cleaning.
Roof Cleaning
Jeff Fravel, The Clean Doctor
(206) 227-1542
Also does window and gutter cleaning.
Dryer Vent Cleaning
Philip Krogh, Dryer Vent Solutions
(425) 398-5001
www.dryerventcleaning.com
Don’t let the fluff in your dryer vent become a fire hazard! Philip came recommended by another agent and did a good job at my home.
Real Estate Law
Davidson, Czeisler & Kilpatric, P.S.
(425) 822-2228
www.kirklandlaw.com
I haven’t used them for real estate law, however they’ve been recommended by others. They also do escrow, in which case I would recommend Brenda Klos as the escrow officer, she always did a great job on my transactions.
Movers
Express Movers and Storage
(206) 476-4599
http://www.expressmoversinc.com/
Read Express Movers reviews on CitySearch
U-Save Moving
(206) 789-4900 or (425) 614-4900
http://www.u-savemoving.com/
Read U-Save reviews on CitySearch
Note on the movers: I haven’t used these and a different one who was recommended to me turned out to have bad reviews online so I’m not listing him. These two appear to have the best overall ratings from the largest number of reviews on CitySearch, so I encourage you to click the CitySearch links and decide for yourself.
Unpacking Services
Laurie Lamoureux, Out of the Box
(425) 746-1334 or 1-888-699-8970
http://www.unpacking.us/
I have not used this company but they were recommended by an agent who used them for herself.
Miscellaneous Links: Irene’s Top Ten List
These are miscellaneous links that have made my life significantly easier.
1. Vacation Rental by Owner: www.VRBO.com
This is an amazing site where you can find a vacation rental nearly anywhere in the world. A few years ago I found a cute mother-in-law unit for my 82 year old mother just half a block from beautiful Kailua beach on Oahu and booked it for her sight unseen. She stayed for four months and had a blast. I use this site whenever I go to Hawaii, and in places like Kailua where there are no hotels it’s really the only place besides Craigslist to find a rental. But if Turkey’s your next destination I think you can find a place there too.
2. Contractors.com Project Cost Estimator
This website gives you instant automated estimates for home improvement projects, and is surprisingly accurate. It takes into account what area of the country you live in as well.
3. Get Human
The next time you find yourself grinding your teeth because you’re stuck in automated phone system neverland with some large corporation, check GetHuman.com to see if they’ve listed the workaround sequence of phone keypad numbers that will put you in touch with a human being. I’ve used this several times successfully.
Trying to find a good auto mechanic can be an expensive experience, but I’ve found several great ones by reading reviews on Car Talk’s mechanics-finder page.
5. FreeRice.com
Free Rice is an extremely cool website that asks you to play a word definition game, and for every answer you get correct they donate 10 grains of rice to the UN World Food Program to help end world hunger. You learn, someone eats – everybody wins. (Over 21 million grains donated just yesterday!)
6. Nolo.com
Need to create a living will, or file a patent application? Nolo is a well-regarded website that provides helpful legal information and sells downloadable law books, legal forms and software.
7. Hancock Wildlife Foundation Bald Eagle Webcams
I’ve posted about these before, but I can still hardly believe that you can tune in anytime to see live footage of a bald eagle feeding chicks, or gazing around with the wind blowing in its feathers and birds singing in the background.
8. SeatGuru.com
Never settle into your airplane seat again only to find that it doesn’t recline! Seat Guru lets you look up any model plane of virtually any airline, and rates each seat with details about its pros and cons.
The Weather Underground website is just a really quick, easy way to get weather information for anywhere in the world.
10. Seattle Area Traffic Conditions
This site shows live traffic conditions over the Greater Seattle area, and also has links to mountain pass and road construction reports.
