Our Mission Statement:
Savvy Seattle Women (SSW) is a network of local professional women who offer their time and expertise to help other women become self-sufficient homeowners. We strive to be a reliable source of easily accessible and trustworthy information concerning home ownership, providing no-cost events, online support and professional referrals.
With the exception of the Board, membership in the network is informal. Resources are offered free of charge as a way of introducing our professional services while supporting the goal of home ownership for women.
Our Genesis:
In January of 2010, I came across the website www.WomenHomeowners.com (now defunct). The site’s founder, Ginny Meese, proposed an innovative idea for encouraging home ownership for women. She suggested creating teams of professional women, lead by real estate brokers, in services industries related to home ownership such as lenders, landscapers, contractors, attorneys, etc. Each team would be registered with their particular zip code in cities across the country. Women who visited Ginny’s website looking for assistance would then be matched up with the team in their home town. The service professionals gained an opportunity to win business by providing low or no-cost resources to women who needed the benefit of their advice.
Our History:
Ginny’s website didn’t survive, but the team I recruited in February of 2010, did.
The original group, shown below, consisted of: Sharon E. Best, Attorney at Law; Laurie Aull, Paint Contractor; Lori Richmond, Investment Broker; Diane Moorman, Stager; Kelli Strand, of Chicago Title and Insurance; and Alice Kuder (me), Realtor.
Diane, Kelly and Lori decided to devote their energies elsewhere after the first year. At that time, Loan Officer Deanne Sposari, General Contractor Anne’ Burke, and Handy(wo)man Amy Eckland joined Sharon, Laurie and me to take us into our second year. Sharon recently decided to attempt semi-retirement and Amy’s business is taking off like a shot, so both women decided they needed to step back from their Board positions.
The primary services we currently provide are:
Monthly “Wine and Wisdom” Session
This is a new offering, beginning in March of 2012. We invite you to join us for a “monthly mingle” session. Local home service professionals, as well as our Board members will be on hand to answer your questions about various aspects of home ownership. Gatherings take place on the third Wednesday of every month from 6-7PM (come for the whole hour or just a few minutes) at the Prudential Offices in West Seattle’s Jefferson Square Shopping Center, 4700 42nd Ave SW, Suite 600. Free refreshments, too (that’s where the wine comes in)!
Here are examples of some of the questions you could get answered:
~ What home maintenance tasks should I do on a regular basis to upkeep my home?
~ I currently rent, but I’d like to own. What steps should I take to achieve this goal?
~ What are my options for refinancing my home?
~ What are my options for financing remodeling projects?
~ What remodeling projects will net me the highest return in re-sale value?
~ What are some low-cost DIY projects I can do for my home?
~ I’m thinking of selling my home. How can I find a good real estate agent?
~ How do Community Property laws affect my rights as a home owner?
~ How can I find a good electrician? plumber? contractor? painter? etc.
Service Provider Referrals:
The Board members of SSW are all experienced, licensed professionals within our fields of expertise. SSW also maintains a list of other professionals who meet our stringent standards, for those whose needs cannot be met by our core members.
Contact us to request a free copy of our booklet, How to Choose a Home Service Professional, which contains tips and guidelines for hiring various service professionals such as plumbers, electricians, contractors, etc.
Networking Opportunities:
Our free monthly gatherings provide an opportunity for attendees to promote their professional services. We encourage participants to bring business cards to display on our resource table and exchange with other local business owners, professionals and potential clients.
Online support/advice:
We host an online discussion forum via Google.com, found at the following URL: http://groups.google.com/group/ savvyseattlewomen Use the discussion forum to ask questions &/or offer answers to others in our network. Send e-mail to: SavvySeattleWomen@GoogleGroups.com
Why we devote our time and energy to Savvy Seattle Women
There was a time – not so long ago – when it was unusual for a woman to purchase a home on her own. Today, women comprise an estimated 21% of new home buyers in this country. That makes us the fastest growing segment of the market, giving us the ability to positively impact our national economy and our own fiscal health.
Savvy Seattle Women creates a vehicle for encouraging this trend while growing our own businesses. We are local, professional women who want to enable and inspire other women to become and remain homeowners.
Consider joining the SSW Board
If you are a women working in a profession related to home ownership, you may want to consider joining the Savvy Board as a means of growing your business while helping other women achieve their goals. Contact us for more information about what this commitment entails.
e-mail: SavvySeattleWomen@comcast.net; phone: 206-708-9800.
This is so exciting! I am very interested in learning more about your program. I greatly desire to be a homeowner and have been circumstantially stuck for quite some time. What is the first step?
Kind Regards,
Karlene Colletti
Hi Karlene,
I’m glad you found us. It’s late, so I’m not going to fully answer you tonight, but I will get back to you with more info tomorrow.
Alice – Savvy Seattle Woman