Melissa Schapiro

I was honored to help the seller of this Bellingham home in a 55+ community. We closed on it last week -- we were on the market 7 days, and accepted a full-price cash offer. I had counseled the seller (when the home was first purchased 8 years ago) that usually,...

Here is Part 2, explaining the broker client relationship, the change in the state law, and what brought it about. Part 2: Changes to state agency law about broker-client relationship The concept of a buyer’s broker is fairly new. Up until the 1990s, all brokers...

The real estate market continues to be very active, with more people looking for homes, than there are homes for sale. In addition to this continued seller's market atmosphere, the industry is undergoing changes designed to help consumers better understand the home...

Most folks interested in real estate know that the market has definitely shifted since last year, with mortgage rates rising and fewer buyers rushing to outbid one another. But we have some good news -- interest rates eased up a bit this week. This from a...

The year 2022 was a good one for Bellingham real estate! I enjoyed working with home buyers and sellers, across the real estate spectrum: from vacant land, starter homes and historic character homes to new construction and luxury homes. I love meeting new people,...

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Realtors, locally and elsewhere, have been noting a "shift" in the market the last couple of months. As listing brokers, we had gotten used to putting a house on the market, setting a review date, and having...

One of my favorite Whatcom County parks is Hovander Homestead, in Ferndale. It’s a beautiful home finished in 1903, and includes an enormous barn, next to the Nooksack River. I’ve taken the tour of this home so many times and have a fantasy of someday building a place...

After listening to a speaker about rainwater catchment systems, I started thinking about the movie, The Big Short. There is a connection here, I promise. The film, an inside look at how the financial crisis created the Great Recession, had at its center a hedge-fund...

I love my job – helping people find their next home, sell their home to meet their personal goals, and learn about this community that I’ve called home since 1996. Being a Realtor is much more than taking a client to see a house and writing up a contract. It’s a...