I had a blast yesterday joining our friends John Cook & Todd Bishop on the GeekWire podcast. We talked online real estate and home technology. You can either catch it on KIRO 97.3 or 770AM this weekend, or listen to their show below or directly via this MP3 file. You can get every episode of the [...]
About Kevin Lisota
Kevin Lisota is the CEO and Designated Broker of findwell. Before creating findwell, Kevin spent 8 years at Microsoft in various product management roles leading marketing for products like Small Business Server, Windows Mobile and Visio. Kevin's career in real estate began in his days as a university student when he bought and managed a rental home with his father. Since that time, he has become an active real estate investor owning multiple apartment buildings in the Seattle area. He has also been an active real estate developer, building and selling condominiums and townhomes and also remodeling single-family residences. Kevin holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering and East Asian Studies from the University of Wisconsin.
Nest Learning Thermostat – futuristic home heating
I’m a bit of a technology geek and had to be one of the first to get my hands on the Nest Learning Thermostat. The folks over at GeekWire asked me write up a review of the first few days with Nest, which was published today. It is a neat device that will help you [...]
Evaluating a home before a foreclosure auction
With many homes currently in foreclosure, buyers may turn to a foreclosure auction as a potential place to find a deal on a house. In Washington state, foreclosed homes are sold through a trustee auction, which is a process that happens outside of the court system. If you plan to buy a home at a [...]
A condo video intercom system from the future!
Most large condo complexes have some sort of secure entry system. Modern ones tend to have a voice intercom where you can buzz in your visitors via a code on your phone. Sometimes there is also a video camera at the entry gate, but almost none are as groovy as the one I stumbled upon [...]
A Middle Earth neighborhood for Lord of the Rings fans
When developers create a new subdivision, the name of the neighborhood and streets are usually pretty boring. When I was back in Wisconsin over the holidays, I came across a creative one that appeals to Lord of the Rings fans like myself called The Shire in Brookfield.
Timing your offer on a bank-owned (REO) home
If you are in the market to buy a home, chances are that you are going to come across bank-owned (REO) homes. (In King County, 11% of the listings on the market right now are bank-owned.) Bank-owned homes can come on the market at very attractive prices designed to sell them quickly. Attractive prices means [...]
11 years of housing supply & demand in King County
The health of the real estate market is on everyone’s mind these days. We went from an unbelievable boom in housing prices in Seattle to a crash that is still being felt. I wanted to take a look at the supply and demand that has driven the last decade of housing activity here to get [...]
When do sellers list their homes in King County?
It is no secret that real estate is a seasonal business. There is heightened listing and sales activity in the spring/summer months that declines as we reach the holiday season each year. I decided to take a look at the last 11 years in King County to see exactly when sellers list their homes for [...]
Banks trying to make buyers pay excise tax on bank-owned (REO) properties
If you’ve ever sold a property in Washington state, you will remember the seller-paid excise tax. In King County, it is 1.78% of the sale price and is the responsibility of the seller. The tax is heftier than transfer taxes in other states, as Washington doesn’t collect income tax, so they make up for it [...]
Beware the dreaded Craigslist rental scam when selling your home
Most folks don’t sell a home very often, so may not be aware of a Craigslist scam that has become very prevalent by using your marketing photos and descriptions to try to fool potential renters into making a deposit. The scam goes like this: The scammer finds your home for sale online on any one [...]
