How many times have you needed to contact a company (and not necessarily one on the Fortune 500 list, maybe just your local service provider) only to be abused by the automated system.  I’ll admit, the first one you usually get, and the one that annoys me the most, is “press 1 to continue in English”.  But, I’m going to let that one slide.  Having been required to call banks for my sellers during short sales, even when I have all the right information, has sometimes left me close to weeping.  I do try hard to be cheerful and polite when dealing with people but after 10 minutes of button pushing, transfers and possibly a disconnect or two, I can’t help but take it out on the poor soul who finally answers (assuming I don’t get voicemail – that’s another story).

If you’ve found yourself in the same situation, trying to change your phone plan, update an account, ask a question, this website might be of help to you!  Try CONTACT HELP and find out some neat tricks to get around the phone system.

And speaking of help, if you’re looking for property for sale in Pacific County, Washington there’s only one site you need: DISCOVERY COAST REAL ESTATE!  Check the Newest Listings each day, set up your own searches, browse by areas, and contact a knowledgeable broker/agent. 

Remember, if you’re thinking of purchasing an REO (real estate owned) property, Fannie Mae is offering an incentive! They will cover 3.5% of  a buyer’s closing costs if your sale closes by June 30.  Time’s a-wasting so contact Discovery Coast Real Estate by email or phone 877-637-1412 and get started.

And on a final note, DON’T RINSE THAT CHICKEN!  Find out why: 

Automated phone systems – oh, the stress…. is a post from: discoverycoastrealestate.com

Recently implemented, this was received from Pacific County Assessor, Bruce Walker:

“We have a new more user friendly (that wasn’t difficult to accomplish) online mapping service.

 From this page, click on the “MapSifter Taxlots – 2011” link….

It’s more like Taxsifter…after clicking on a parcel a dialogue balloon will appear and when you click on the parcel number it will take you to Taxsifter.”  He adds: “The initial setup was funded by a grant from the WA State Dept of Revenue annual revaluation grant program so didn’t cost us anything this year.”

Discovery Coast Real Estate loves it!  Try it out and see how cool it is and then thank the Pacific County Assessor’s Office.

New Mapping Service for Pacific County! is a post from: discoverycoastrealestate.com

Cute photo of the week! Frank (on top), Porsche the Boxer and Julie the American Shorthair.

Fish on!  Buoy 10 opens August 1 through August 31.

Like Covered Bridges?  Mark your calendars for the Grays River Celebration.

Remember, you can keep up on the latest listings from my website, Discovery Coast Real Estate.  Just visit NEWEST LISTINGS and contact us for more information.

Here’s something to plan for:  The SW Washington YMCA is planning a big weekend at the beach and it sounds like lots of fun for everyone:

August 22^nd 1pm Hilltop Bowl in Ilwaco $20 entry fee gets you 2 games and lunch. We are looking for a total of 8 teams of 6. We will have raffle prizes and a 50/50 raffle for cash money too. As well as a grand prize for the team with the combined highest score. And special prizes for the team with the best Hawaiian shirts or team shirts. Contact Craig at Lost Weekend Clothing Company for your team shirts at 360-642-LOST or www.lostweekendclothing.com

August 23^rd 10am at Peninsula Golf Course $40 entry fee gets you 9 holes and a BBQ lunch afterward. We are also still looking for hole sponsors ($50), a hole in one challenge sponsor for hole #4 and raffle items. We will be selling Mulligans, Putting String and a 50/50 raffle for cash money.

For more info, contact Trish Potter.

THIS WEEK’S PICK OF THE LISTINGS:

PORT OF ILWACO TURN KEY RESTAURANT WATERVIEW DINING $240,000 CLICK PHOTO FOR MORE INFO.

Just a reminder: Starting in August, I will no longer be sending out regular emails. Instead, I’m encouraging all of you to sign up for my website’s RSS feed. This new technology is great! Here’s how it works: click the link below and type in your email address. The next time I post a new listing on my blog, you’ll get an email with all the information! This way, you’ll hear about my hot new listings right away, instead of having to wait until my next newsletter. If the signup link here doesn’t work for you, you can also sign up on my website – look for the big blue box at the top of the sidebar. And, of course, please call or email me if you have any questions or problems with signing up!

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR RSS FEEDS!

Monday Musings… is a post from: discoverycoastrealestate.com

We would like to thank all the people and businesses that helped to make our first “Home Buyer Fair” a success: Raymond Federal Bank, Colvin’s Home Inspections, Strand Insurance, Pacific County Title and Metropolitan Mortgage.  And thank you to the businesses who supplied door prizes: Full Circle Cafe & Tapestry Rose Yarn Shop, Lost Weekend Clothing, Imperial Schooner and Great Escape Espresso.

If you missed it, too bad!  But we still have a lot of info for you so feel free to stop by.

Report on Home Buyer Fair is a post from: discoverycoastrealestate.com

	CROWN JEWEL OF J PLACE! PRICE JUST REDUCED TO $599,000 3 bedrooms and 2-1/2 baths with stunning views of both the ocean and the Willapa Hills MORE INFO
	NEW LISTING!  30006 H Pl, Surfside Canal Frontage 61′ x 130′ $45,000

This month has certainly flown by! We’ve had some wonderful sunshine, wind & rain and now they say we may get snow! Well, why not? That’s what makes living at the beach so interesting.

Watch for more news on what’s happening here on the Discovery Coast!

BBB recommends not trusting text messages that discuss finances. Lake Oswego, OR — Feb. 18, 2009 — Your Better Business Bureau has received recent inquiries showing that con artists are using text messages to attempt to scam financial-institution customers. Scam examples: – Washington and Oregon consumers called your BBB saying they received the following scam text message: “Application Center / This is an automated message from Cullman Savings Bank. Your ATM card has been suspended. To reactivate call urgent at 1-888-873-9356.” Cullman Savings Bank Web site says they “do not use e-mail, text messaging or telephone calls to verify personal or account information.” – Alaska consumers called your BBB and Alaska State Troopers sent out a press release warning that text messages were being sent that falsely informed consumers their Credit Union One account had been suspended. It directed mobile phone owners to call the bank at 870-345-4202, or visit 8705874360@cu1.org to resolve the problem. Credit Union One will never send consumers a text message or e-mail to verify account information. Smishing: Such scams – where consumers are contacted through a text message in hopes of swiping their personal information – are known as smishing. Your BBB advises the following to avoid smishing scams: – Assume unsolicited text messages are fraudulent. – Know your financial institutions’ communication policies. These can be found on the Web site or by calling the customer service line. Financial institutions will never contact you for personal or account information via text message or e-mail. – If you receive an unsolicited message supposedly from a financial institution, contact the business at the number you know is valid – not the number in the unsolicited message. Check the legitimacy of the message in this way. Never reply back, click on links or visit Web sites from unsolicited messages. – Consumers can also report unsolicited text messages to their phone service provider. – If you discover you have provided financial account information to a scam artist, contact the financial institution immediately. If you had money stolen from the account, file a police report and place a fraud alert with the three major credit reporting agencies: Equifax, 800-525-6285; Experian, 888-397-3742; and TransUnion, 800-680-7289. Visit www.bbb.org to stay up-to-date on scams affecting your area.

Featured Listings! is a post from: discoverycoastrealestate.com