MISF Breakfast of Champions, Tuesday April 27th

Posted on April 23, 2010 by Lisa Lewis

Enjoy having breakfast with local business and community leaders, and support a good cause, on Tuesday, April 27th. Mercer Island Schools Foundation is hosting Breakfast of Champions , from 7:00 am to 8:30 am, at Mercer Island High School.

Funds raised at Breakfast of Champions will go toward helping bridge the gap between the state’s classroom funding and what the real time funding need is to maintain manageable classroom sizes. Help from the community is needed to keep classroom sizes smaller, due to the state’s limited funding and the elimination of 1-728, which helped reduce class sizes.

MISF is fortunate to feature Dr. Fred Mednick as keynote speaker of the breakfast. Dr. Mednick is the founder of Teachers Without Borders, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing professional training to teachers around the globe. The training helps teachers gain skills which empowers them to take on more fundamental roles within communties.

Numerous Windermere R.E./Mercer Island agents will be attending the Breakfast of Champions on April 27th. Several are committed to sitting at other tables, and four are sitting at the Windermere table. If you are looking for a table to sit at for the breakfast, please considering joining us at the Windermere table. Phone the office at (206) 232-0446 so a spot can be reserved for you.

*Photo Courtesy of Carlos Porto and FreeDigitalPhotos.net

10 Tips for Earth-Friendly Home Improvements

Posted on April 22, 2010 by Jennifer

With the rising costs of heating and cooling, plus growing concern about the environment, “green” is the new direction in home building and renovation. An added benefit of earth-friendly remodeling is that it helps protect the health of your family by reducing pollutants within the home. Here are some tips for making your next home remodeling project one that’s kind to the planet…

1. Maximize natural light. Use skylights and well-placed mirrors to reflect natural light and help reduce lighting costs.

2. Use reclaimed or sustainably-harvested materials (such as bamboo or cork) whenever possible, and avoid wood composites that contain glue or formaldehyde.

3. Try to buy materials produced within a 500-mile radius of your home to minimize the use of fuel for transportation.

4. Choose paints low in volatile organic compounds (VOCs) instead of latex-based enamel.

5. Use more efficient insulation made from less toxic materials. Some options today are formaldehyde-free and consist mostly of recycled newsprint, cotton or glass.

6. Install energy-efficient furnaces, air conditioners and appliances. Statistics show that if one household in 10 bought Energy Star-rated heating and cooling equipment, we could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by the same amount as taking 1.5 million cars off the road.

7. Opt for hardwood floors over carpets, which can emit harmful chemicals and harbor mold. If using carpets, tack them down instead of gluing them to reduce toxic emissions.

8. Use pro-green roofing alternatives such as rubber and plastic or vinyl and cellulose fiber.

9. Replacing old light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) can trim 5 percent from your monthly electrical bill. If every American home swapped just five incandescent bulbs for Energy Star CFLs, it would keep 1 trillion pounds of greenhouse gasses out of the air and save $6.5 billion in energy costs.

10. To conserve water, install low flow toilets. If you’re redoing landscaping, consider reducing the size of your lawn, or install environmentally friendly turf grasses that use less water and require less mowing and fertilizer.

Is the grass really greener on the other side? Take a virtual tour and find out at windermeremercerisland.com

3rd Annual Leap for Green, Saturday April 24th

Posted on April 20, 2010 by Lisa Lewis

On April 24th, bring the whole family on over to the Community Center at Mercer View for the 3rd Annual Leap for Green. It’s a FREE event to celebrate Earth Day. The fun starts at 10 am on Saturday, and runs until 2pm at the community center. A nature walk at Luther Burbank Park begins at 2pm, if you’re up for it.

The 3rd Annual Leap for Green offers many activities for kids of all ages. The Reptileman (12pm) will be there, along with Alleyoop (11am), recycle arts and crafts with Marita Dingus, and folk music courtesy of Patrick and Friends. Yummy food will be available for purchase and a mini farmer’s market will be on site.

Attendees are encouraged to travel to Leap for Green using “YouPowered” transportation, like a bicycle or simply walking. If you get there via “YouPower,” stop by the Green Ribbon Commission’s “YouPowered” booth for a prize. Also, non-perishable food donations will be accepted at Leap for Green for the Mercer Island Food Pantry, so don’t forget to save room in your back pack for a canned item, or two.

Leap for Green is unique to Mercer Island, and one more reason the community here on the island is so special.

How long should I keep financial records?

Posted on April 19, 2010 by Jennifer

Ahhhh…the end of tax time. Now that you’ve filed another year’s return, it’s time to sort through that stack of old paperwork and shred what you can. Here are some quick tips on what you should keep and for how long…

Tax Returns: 7 years. This includes but is not limited to W-2 and 1099 forms, mortgage interest statements, property tax records, brokerage statements, and canceled checks or receipts for all deductions.

Home or Condo Sales: 6 years. Keep your HUD statement and other records documenting the sale.

Paycheck Stubs: 1 Year until you receive your annual W-2 from your employer. After confirming that the information on the stubs matches the W-2, shred the stubs. (If it doesn’t match, alert your employer immediately and get a corrected W-2, known as a W-2c).

IRA Contributions: Indefinitely. Make sure you keep the records if you make a nondeductible contribution to an IRA. When the time comes to withdraw funds, you will have proof that you’ve already paid taxes on this money.

Retirement/Savings/Investment Statements: Until you retire or close the account. Keep monthly or quarterly statements until you receive the annual summary, confirm that the statement amounts match up, then shred the monthlies or quarterlies.

Spotlight on the Community Center at Mercer View

Posted on April 15, 2010 by Jenna Stafford

The Community Center at Mercer View is located on the north end of Mercer Island on a hill overlooking Luther Burbank Park. The 42,000 sq. ft. center is open seven days a week and was designed to provide a variety of activities and gathering spaces to meet the needs of Mercer Island’s diverse community.

For athletes or anyone looking to get in shape, the community center offers a variety of opportunities to work out. There is a fitness room with tread mills, elliptical trainers, circuit training equipment, and free weights along with a locker room and showers. Island residents enjoy a discount, but anyone over 15 can make use of this equipment by purchasing a day pass or an inexpensive monthly pass. The community center also has a 10,000 sq. ft. gym featuring a full basketball court, state-of-the art sound system and electronic score board. The center regularly hosts community games of badminton, pickleball and volleyball in the gym, as well as a weekly exercise class in the fitness room.

Families with young children will find an assortment of activities to enjoy at the community center. A children’s play area features plenty of legos and trains to go around, and four days a week the gym is transformed into an indoor playground with bouncy houses, scooters and toys. The center also offers many pre-school programs, both parent participation classes and drop-off classes that allow parents a chance to work out in the fitness room or enjoy a quiet break in the library while their child is in class.

Older children, teens and adults can also find many interesting classes to take at the community center. Programs for children include gymnastics, ballet, martial arts, writing and guitar lessons. For teens, both babysitting instruction and camp counselor training are available, including certification in first aid and CPR. Among the adult class offerings are opportunities to learn bridge, photography, foreign languages or gardening skills, while senior activities range from yoga to volleyball, with occasional special events such as a spring pancake breakfast.

In addition to the many structured activities offered, there are plenty of opportunities for quiet relaxation or casual get-togethers with friends. The lobby features a rotating gallery of local artwork available for sale. There is Wi-Fi available throughout the building as well as two free public computers on-site. A pool table, foosball table and card games can be found in the game room. The library contains a variety of books, magazines and newspapers, and on pleasant summer days the outside covered patio provides a fabulous place to curl up with a book or enjoy a conversation with friends.

The community center was also designed to host events ranging from business meetings to special celebrations. Meeting rooms are available for rent and come with LCD projectors, sound equipment and Wi-Fi. Children’s birthday parties hosted at the center allow parents to enjoy the day while the staff provides the set-up, clean-up, decorations and plates, along with gym time or an arts and crafts activity. A large formal space offering stunning views of Lake Washington and the Cascade Mountains is perfect for everything from company parties to weddings. The center can accommodate up to 225 guests in this space, and also has a large catering kitchen available with all the equipment necessary to cook a delicious meal.

The Community Center at Mercer View is truly a community gathering point for Mercer Island. It is a place where residents of all ages and backgrounds can come together and share in common interests, make new friends, and celebrate special occasions together.

Pending Sales Double in March!

Posted on April 9, 2010 by Julie

The recently released March real estate statistics are sure to put a bounce in everyone’s step. The numbers show a nice trend towards stable recovery. They are exactly what we need to see in the real estate sector. April activity should show continued market strength as buyers rush to the finish line to receive first-time and move-up buyer tax credits before they expire and interest rates continue to rise following government withdrawal from the bond market.