Gerhard Ade covers Real Estate around Seattle and more.

I was inspired to write this story because I wanted to know how my client’s experience fit into the bigger picture. I chose the years 2003, 2008, 2009, 2016, and 2020 because those are the years when the six transactions took place.

Five years, six transactions

I started in real estate in 2002, so this story is also a look back at my 18 years in this business. In 2003, this client – The Family – moved to Seattle from Chicago. A Swiss friend from church had recommended me to them.

Little did I know back then that the purchase of a bungalow-like home near Seward Park would be the first of six transactions. Since then, my business has grown mainly due to repeat business and recommendations.

From boom to bust to best

Having arrived in Seattle in 1999 for a job in my former career, I had very few local contacts. That was painfully obvious during the boom years of Seattle real estate. Oddly enough, the year 2008, after the bubble burst, was until then my best year in real estate. That was also the year when I helped The Family with the purchase of their second home.

I provide quality real estate services no matter the price of the property. These four projects exemplify this, three of them were listings, one was a purchase. The four properties were not only different in price but unlike each other in many other ways. Each had its own challenges, some of them I anticipated, others were unexpected.

The hard part

When it comes to land, the real estate mantra “location, location, location” has a whole new meaning. The most difficult aspect of this transaction was determining the exact location. Surveyors were booked for several months out.

My client, already living on the peninsula, was determined to find out on her own. Walking the property it became clear that some features of the landscape restricted its usefulness. Since it still served the intended purpose, I negotiated a substantial price reduction.

The easy part

My client was formerly a real estate agent and able to assess the risk. We understood the process. Still, some people wonder why I would do business as far away as the Olympic Peninsula.

It’s because I love the beauty of the pacific northwest, and if I can combine a day’s outing with business why not? This wasn’t my first client for whom I found a piece of land around the Quilcene area. The first one was a German buyer eight years ago. His five acres has proven to be a good investment.