Sue Pauley

Broker
Windermere Stellar
360-608-2902
www.SuePauley.withWRE.com
www.SuePauley.com
VancouverWashington-Realestatelistings.com

How long have you worked in Real Estate?
Over 20 Years. In the same office for over 18 years.

What is your specialty?
Residential. About 2/3 sellers and 1/3 buyers. Primarily, the move up or move out clients, often by referral from other REALTORS® or past clients and family.

What is one tip you have for someone looking to buy or sell a home?
Patience and getting educated about what the market might be or do in the near future. Price rules! Proper pricing is critical and low ball buyer offers don’t help anyone.

What is the most unique property you’ve listed or sold?
My listing on half acre for a half built concrete home, a Sylvan EcoHouse. The rendering of the proposed home was awesome and the photos of what was there were unusual. I learned a lot and talked to and met a lot of interesting folks and then a storm blew the top off of the large Redwood tree on the south side and landed on the attached garage. Between the insurance money and the sales price, the seller was made whole. It was definitely one of these “real estate” stories.

What is the most unusual thing you’ve encountered while working in real estate?
I had the house behind mine listed for my neighbor. There were ants, so we had the “Ant Man” come out to rid the property of the infestation with a biologically safe product. As the Fall rains came on a pine tree fell right across the driveway. We found that the tree was completely hollow and had been held together by the ant mound. That’s a new one on me.

What is the most challenging/gratifying aspect of what you do?
I love being able to make such a difference in the lives of the people I serve. I get to work with all personalities and discover how I might make the task of selling or buying a home a positive experience for them. I meet folks that need lots of “hand holding” or who have complicated situations. It is often like solving a puzzle with lots of moving parts. It is all about relationships and listening.

What do you see in the future for real estate sales/prices?
I think we are already seeing a slight cooling off period or it may just be the “dog days” of August. We cannot sustain the continuation of double digit price increases. Our new construction has had to take the place of the pre-owned market as the prospective sellers were reluctant to list their homes until late this year, like July. We have seen multiple offers on the most popular prices and styles of homes. Buyers have to be decisive and realistic when looking for a new place to live. Many still like to make low offers much like a fishing expedition and then be disappointed when they lose out on the right house in the right location and school district for their tastes. I do see a more stable market, at least for the near future.

What do you enjoy doing when you are not working? Hobbies, volunteering, family, fun?
I am heavily reliant on my friends as I have no family of my own here. I have two miniature poodles, Jazz and Gracie, and they are wonderful companions. In addition, I have four rescue cats: Ruff and Reddy are brothers found at age 4 weeks. Lily the white cat with 26 toes came from the Humane Society, and Ranger is the tomcat my husband sneaked cat food to for two years. I support most of the animal welfare programs and love to watch “My Cat From Hell” with Jackson Galaxy. I have flowers in pots on my lovely patio and love to sit in my own space and enjoy the beauty. I am active in the Windermere Foundation Committee and love the projects that we have to give back to our community. We are especially involved in raising funds for the Children’s justice Center and the Fruit Valley Foundation Food Bank. I am also politically active and have been on our Government Affairs committee for more than a dozen years.

What do you like about living in this area?
I am a native of Dallas Texas and of course one never truly loses all of the accent. And though that is a wonderful place to be “from,” I love living here and have been in the Pacific Northwest since 1967. We have such diverse climates, topographies, big mountains and rolling surf: what is not to like? As far as I am concerned, this is a Heavenly place to live and I likely won’t ever leave.

Anything else you would like our readers to know about you and your company?
I have always believed in giving back to the industry that has supported me and my family. I have held many positions at the local and state and national associations. I love mentoring new agents and sharing some interesting experiences with them. Home ownership is the cornerstone of our society and one’s home is a monument to the confidence we have in our town, our state and our nation because where you live shapes who you are or can become. I care, I listen and I can guide you down the path. Let’s have some fun, else it is not worth doing. From first home to last, I am “Your Point of Contact in Clark County WA.”