|
My family is from British Columbia, Canada.
My father received a job transfer and relocated my Mom, brother and myself to
the Pierce County, Tacoma area in 1970. Shortly thereafter, we bought our
family home in Puyallup, South Hill. We lived on a mini-farm; we had cows (my
favorite was "Spot" the family pet and her set of twins). I think that all of
the neighbor kids liked our place a lot too! We also had chickens that we
raised for those "Farm-fresh" eggs, a couple of rabbits, "Sam" our faithful and
loyal dog and of course my brother's cat, "Rascal". I spent my childhood being
raised on those 2.5 acres…favorite memories include: neighborhood baseball
games in our field (while dodging the piles of cow manure), playing with the
Tonka Dump trucks in the dirt, when my brother would let me! Racing as fast as
we could either by foot or bicycle up and down our very long driveway.
 Summer vacations in Ryder Lake, British
Columbia, spent at Grandma Barber's is probably among my most favorite times!
Grandma, a widow when I was 9 years old, lives on a farm with almost all of my
aunties, uncles, and cousins within walking distance to her home. Grandma was
always "strong like an oak", the perfect person to share a secret with (because
she would never tell), and continues to reside in her home--by herself at age
88.
Least favorite memories--this one is easy;
it would have to be rock collecting…picking rocks out of our field and
garden--every year. (I still believe those rocks multiplied during the summer
months, because it seemed like there were always more than the time that we
collected them from before!) I enjoyed those summers with the family when we
would go buy hay bales for our animals, to store in the winter in our little
red barn. Driving out into farmers' fields and "picking" those bales was a lot
of fun. Of course, I don't actually think that I "picked" any bales because I
was too small! But I sure enjoyed the times shared with family.
I believe my childhood memories; along with
my husband, Steve, is what inspired us to relocate our family to the more rural
setting of Skagit County. We wanted to leave the "city" in order to raise our
three daughters in a setting that we believed in. We live on nine acres in our
family home that we finished building, mostly ourselves in 2001. My Mom and Dad
live in a beautiful triple-wide manufactured home on our family property as
well, and both of them are retired. Dad has a young Belgium mare named Bonnie
who is more of a pet than an actual "work horse". Currently we have a few pet
rabbits and one cat named "Summer". It seems that in addition to our permanent
pets, we share with Mother Nature a wild elk herd that visits us in a
neighboring field, many species of fowl, bats, and Big Mouth Bass that reside
in our pond. We truly feel that we have found what has always been calling for
us. We really do feel like we have found "God's Country".
 We strive to be active in our community
because we feel that this is crucial in our children's lives. We want to raise
them to become pro-active citizens of their own communities someday. My
husband, Steve, is a Volunteer Firefighter for the City of Lyman while I serve
as a Planning Commissioner and Chairperson for the Town. We participate in our
children's schools as well on a weekly basis. Our youngest daughter is
attending her last year of Co-op preschool and I am serving as the Treasurer
for the Board at the Preschool. Often my husband takes the girls and their
little red wagons down the road to collect litter down by the river or along
the country roads…our girls take immense pride in making their
neighborhood a cleaner place to live!
 I had many careers at an early
age…picking berries, babysitting, and having my own paper route helped to
buy "name brand" school clothing during the early years. In High School, I took
advanced and college preparatory classes, played varsity softball and
volleyball, while working part-time at Godfather's Pizza, Mega Foods Grocery
Store in the Deli or Living Well Lady Fitness Gym as a Trainer and Salesperson.
After High School I took classes at Green River Community College located in
Auburn Washington and worked at a bank as a "Drive-up" Teller in Maple Valley
and Kent. During the late 1980's one of my banking customers asked me if I
would be interested in coming to work for him. Soon after, I started my career
with Roland Mason at Packer's Plus and Export Packaging Company in Kent and
then moved to Renton. I became the Operations Manager and through Roland's
guidance went back to College, got my Associates of Applied Arts in Business
Management Degree while also studying for my real estate license. Roland
suggested that real estate investing and learning to golf (to do business) were
both very important. I took up both! After graduating in 1992 I decided to
start my career in Real Estate. I loved the challenges then and I continue to
thrive on them now! Every day is different and each transaction is different. I
have enjoyed meeting so many different types of people, many of whom have
become close family friends. Family and Friends, what a wonderful
combination!
 
Kathleen Hinson is the Closing Coordinator for the Jodi Brown Team. She is an essential part of the closing transaction, and is here to make sure the closing process goes smoothly and is handled in a timely fashion.
An essential component of our team that you’re unlikely to meet is RealSupport Inc., our virtual team members located just outside Chicago, IL. RealSupport Inc. specializes in real estate marketing. This virtual team undertakes marketing projects—from ad/postcard campaign creation and website design to listing coordination—and fuses innovation with experience to help our team succeed in a competitive market. Carrie Gable, Erica Parpan and Trish Villa blend creativity with technology giving our listings the advantage they deserve!
Please Sign Up For The
Latest Listings and the Latest Real Estate News
 |
About Appraisals >The Language of Real Estate Agents
Technical terms can be confusing to people who do not work in a profession, and real estate agents use language that may be confusing to many home buyers and sellers.
If you find your eyes glazing over when your real estate agent starts talking about escrow, clear title, easements, encroachments, contingencies, financing, appraisals and the closing process, don't hesitate to ask for a translation. Buying or selling a home is a major step, and professional real estate agents are totally committed to helping you understand the process thoroughly so that you can make informed decisions.
The simple transaction of trading the sellers' house for the buyers' money has become complicated by several hundred years of custom, common law, and state and local government requirements. Consumer demands have resulted in up-to-date rules that communication be as clear and understandable as possible. Real estate agents work to create an atmosphere in which you feel comfortable to ask questions.
|
|
| Q |
Which home is #1 on the Top 10 list for most-visited Historic Home in the United States?
|
| A |
Graceland, the palatial home of Elvis Presley in Memphis, TN, attracts 600,000 visitors a year. |
 See More Real Estate Trivia > |
|
|
|
Real Estate Internet
Warning:
Despite advertising claims to the contrary, the Internet is not
an experienced Real Estate Professional. It cannot consult, counsel, advise,
and have knowledge of local laws and market conditions, make judgments, "own"
the result, or most importantly, understand your individual goals and needs and
care about you as a Client. To obtain an accurate interpretation of any
information you're receiving online.
Please contact me at
360-770-4454 |
|
Why choose an agent that is an
e-PRO?
|
|
- NUMBER1EXPERT™ 
