Chris Byler Real Estate

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Chris Byler Real Estate Established in 2001, Byler Real Estate is your trusted partner in navigating the complexities of the Washington real estate market. That’s peace of mind.

Changing Lives for the Better! Chris relishes the opportunity to give back to this great area and change people’s lives for the better through his work as one of the North End’s premier real estate professionals. Chris uses his knowledge to help others when it comes to real estate in north King and south Snohomish Counties. He is a seasoned veteran who has seen virtually every type of local market cycle, and he brings unique insight into the areas of finance, insurance, construction, property management and technology. Expert Advisor Working For You! In addition, Chris is a member of the National Association of Expert Advisors, including his designation as a Certified Home Selling Advisor, as well as a Home Buying Advisor. These certifications represent hundreds of hours of training and expertise he applies to his clients’ transactions. This knowledge is your assurance that you are working with a highly qualified expert! Clients appreciate his knowledge and other advantages he brings to the table such as his 145 Point Marketing Plan, but what they really respond to is his undeniable integrity. In fact, he would rather steer a client away from buying a home if he feels it’s not the right investment or advise a seller not to sell if he feels they’d be better off waiting. Life Changing Service

If you’re planning to move to, from or within the North End, give Chris Byler a call. Through his career, he’s Changing Lives for the Better! Let him help you make a real difference in your next move. I moved to the Pacific NW in 1989, the year I was discharged from the Navy. I started college that fall and received my 4 year business degree in 1993 from Central Washington University. I started my Real Estate career in 1997 as a full-time Real Estate Agent at Prudential Signature Properties and have been with Windermere Real Estate since 1999. My success has come through long hours of hard work, dedicated to helping my clients achieve their real estate needs. For the last eight years, more than 75% of my business has come from referrals and repeat business. My clients make sound financial decisions, assisted with the market research and knowledge I provide them.

A retaining wall does not have to be perfectly straight or crack-free to be doing its job.What matters is whether someth...
23/10/2026

A retaining wall does not have to be perfectly straight or crack-free to be doing its job.

What matters is whether something is changing.

Warning signs worth watching:

• The wall is leaning farther outward
• Sections are bowing or separating
• Cracks are widening or surfaces have shifted
• Soil is washing out from behind or below it
• Water regularly collects behind the wall
• The ground above it is settling
• A driveway, fence, patio, or stairs nearby are moving too
• Timber walls are soft, rotten, splitting, or pulling apart

Around Seattle, drainage is especially important. Saturated soil gets heavier, and water trapped behind a wall can increase pressure substantially.

If you are not sure whether a condition is old and stable, take photos from the same location and track it over time. If movement is obvious, water is causing erosion, or the wall supports a house, driveway, or neighboring property, that is the point to get a professional evaluation.

Selling a rental property does not automatically make the tenant’s lease disappear.Before listing a tenant-occupied Wash...
22/10/2026

Selling a rental property does not automatically make the tenant’s lease disappear.

Before listing a tenant-occupied Washington home, landlords should sort out a few things first:

• Is the tenancy fixed-term or month-to-month?
• Will the property be sold with the tenant in place or delivered vacant?
• What notice is actually available for this property and tenancy?
• How will showings be coordinated?
• How much security deposit is being held?
• Are the rent ledger, lease amendments, maintenance records, and notices organized?
• Are there unresolved repairs or tenant disputes a buyer needs to understand?

For showings, Washington law generally requires at least one day’s notice when exhibiting the home to prospective purchasers or tenants, and landlords cannot abuse access by excessively showing the property.

Washington also has a specific 90-day just-cause path when an owner genuinely elects to sell a single-family residence. That is not a blanket rule for every rental property, so the lease structure and local rules still matter.

The cleaner the tenancy records and timeline are before listing, the easier it is for a buyer to understand exactly what they are purchasing.

The old Houghton Park-and-Ride is officially becoming something very different.The five-acre Kirkland site is now under ...
21/10/2026

The old Houghton Park-and-Ride is officially becoming something very different.
The five-acre Kirkland site is now under construction for a new Seattle Kraken Iceplex and Kirkland Community Center, with a current opening target of fall 2027.

The project is planned to include:
• Two NHL-regulation ice rinks
• Kirkland’s largest community center
• A full-service public restaurant
• A Kraken team store
• Fitness and flexible program space
• Youth, community, and seasonal programs

Kirkland residents are expected to receive up to two hours of free open skating each month, and the City says the project could generate about $7 million annually in Eastside economic activity.
The temporary Houghton Park and Play closed in May, but several of its features are being relocated. The gardens moved to Rose Hill Meadows, pickleball moved toward Peter Kirk Park, and elements of the skate park are being incorporated into an upgraded facility there.

The Iceplex is also part of a bigger Kirkland story. The City sees it as a possible catalyst for investment around the nearby NE 85th Street Station Area as that corridor changes around I-405 and future transit.
This is no longer just a proposal — construction began in June 2026.

Seattle-area home energy rebates look different in 2026.The big federal home-energy tax credits ended after 2025, but ho...
20/10/2026

Seattle-area home energy rebates look different in 2026.

The big federal home-energy tax credits ended after 2025, but homeowners still have plenty of local incentives worth checking before paying full price for an upgrade.

A few examples currently available:
• Seattle City Light: $300–$600 on qualifying heat pumps
• Seattle City Light: $750 on qualifying heat pump water heaters
• Seattle Clean Heat: $2,000 for oil-to-heat-pump conversions, plus a $4,000 moderate-income bonus
• Energize Shoreline: $2,500 standard or up to $6,000 for qualifying moderate-income households
• Energy Smart Eastside: $1,000 standard + $5,000 moderate-income bonus on qualifying heat pumps
• PSE: rebates for heating, water heating, insulation, windows, appliances, thermostats, and more

One of the biggest surprises: “income-qualified” programs can extend well above what many homeowners think of as low income.
Before choosing equipment or signing with a contractor, check the programs tied to your address, utility, heating fuel, and income. Some require approved contractors or pre-approval, and waiting until after installation can mean losing the rebate.

Those TEST and RESET buttons are doing more than making an outlet look different.A GFCI — ground-fault circuit interrupt...
16/10/2026

Those TEST and RESET buttons are doing more than making an outlet look different.

A GFCI — ground-fault circuit interrupter — constantly compares the electricity leaving a circuit with what comes back. If a small amount starts leaking somewhere it should not, the GFCI can shut off power extremely quickly to reduce the risk of serious electric shock.

That is why you commonly see GFCI protection around:

• Bathrooms
• Kitchens and sinks
• Garages
• Exterior outlets
• Basements and crawl spaces
• Laundry areas
• Other damp or wet locations

Older homes may have fewer because these requirements were added gradually over decades.

And one important detail: an outlet does NOT need TEST and RESET buttons on its face to be GFCI-protected. It may be protected by another GFCI upstream or by a GFCI breaker in the electrical panel.

CPSC recommends testing GFCI receptacles monthly. If TEST does not shut off the power, RESET will not work, the device repeatedly trips, or an outlet feels hot or gives you a shock, it deserves a closer look.

Selling a home with solar? The first question is not just whether the panels are “owned.”A homeowner can own the panels ...
15/10/2026

Selling a home with solar? The first question is not just whether the panels are “owned.”

A homeowner can own the panels and still have a solar loan. And that is very different from a lease or power purchase agreement where a third party owns the equipment.

Before listing, find out:

• Are the panels fully paid off?
• Is there a solar loan balance?
• Can that loan transfer, or must it be paid off?
• Is the system leased or under a PPA?
• Are there UCC filings connected to the equipment?
• What does the utility require when ownership changes?
• Do you have permits, warranties, production history, and recent power bills?
• How old is the roof beneath the panels?

Buyers will also want to know how much electricity the system actually produces and what monthly obligation, if any, they would inherit.

A solar-equipped home can be straightforward to sell. The trouble usually comes when nobody can explain the financing or find the paperwork after the home is already under contract.

Bellevue’s September market had an unusual combination: more homes for sale, fewer buyers committing — and a higher medi...
15/10/2026

Bellevue’s September market had an unusual combination: more homes for sale, fewer buyers committing — and a higher median price.

For residential homes in Bellevue:

• Median sale price: about $1.89M
• Active homes: 385 — up 53% year over year
• Pending sales: 84 — down 26%
• Closed sales: 80 — down 26%
• Months of supply: about 5.0
• Median market time: 21 days
• Sellers received about 95.3% of original asking price

The headline price is only part of the story. Bellevue’s median price per square foot was actually down from a year ago, while the amount of inventory available to buyers increased dramatically.

That points to a more balanced Eastside market: buyers have more choices and more room to negotiate, while sellers still can achieve strong prices when a home is positioned well.

Bellevue is also far too varied for one median to describe every property. A Lake Hills rambler, downtown condo, Somerset view home, and West Bellevue luxury property can all be moving in very different markets at the same time.

Mountlake Terrace light rail has been open for more than two years. Now the development around it is starting to take sh...
14/10/2026

Mountlake Terrace light rail has been open for more than two years. Now the development around it is starting to take shape.

Several major projects are in the pipeline around Town Center:

• Candela Apartments — about 425 homes + 5,000 sq. ft. of commercial space beside the station
• Mountlake Village — about 323 homes + nearly 6,000 sq. ft. of retail at the former Roger’s Market site
• Terrace Station 4 — about 223 apartments
• Terrace Station 5 — another 65 proposed homes

The City’s larger Town Center plan allows for roughly 3,000 new multifamily homes and 625,000 square feet of commercial space over time, with buildings as tall as 12 stories closest to light rail.

The streets are changing too. The next phase of Mountlake Terrace’s Main Street project will rebuild much of 56th Avenue with better sidewalks, bike lanes, trees, lighting, utilities, and traffic improvements. As of October 13, that project is out for contractor bids rather than under construction yet.

The result will not appear overnight, but Mountlake Terrace is gradually shifting from a small auto-oriented downtown toward a denser neighborhood built around light rail, housing, and walkability.

That fence may look like the property line. It may even have been there for 40 years.That does not necessarily mean it i...
13/10/2026

That fence may look like the property line. It may even have been there for 40 years.

That does not necessarily mean it is the property line.

County parcel maps are great for getting oriented, but they are not surveys. If the exact boundary matters, a licensed land surveyor is the person who can establish it.

A survey is especially worth considering when:

• You're replacing an expensive fence near the line
• You're planning an addition, garage, deck, or ADU
• A driveway or easement is hard to understand
• A shed, retaining wall, or garage may cross the boundary
• You and a neighbor disagree about where the line is
• You're selling and an obvious boundary question could come up

You do not need a new survey every time a home is sold or a fence is repaired. The question is whether a few inches or feet could change what you own, what you can build, or what you need to explain to a future buyer.

And one important reminder: an old fence is evidence of where somebody put a fence — not automatically proof of ownership.

See a crack in a wall or foundation? It doesn't automatically mean something is seriously wrong.Homes move a little over...
10/10/2026

See a crack in a wall or foundation? It doesn't automatically mean something is seriously wrong.

Homes move a little over time. Drywall seams crack, plaster ages, and concrete foundations can develop shrinkage cracks that remain unchanged for decades.

What deserves more attention is the pattern:

• A crack that is noticeably getting larger
• One side shifting out of alignment with the other
• Horizontal cracking or a visibly bowing foundation wall
• Several new cracks appearing in the same area
• Doors or windows suddenly sticking
• Floors that seem to be changing
• Water entering through the foundation

Age matters too. A crack that has been stable in a 70-year-old home for decades tells a different story than one that appeared recently and keeps changing.

If you're unsure, photograph it, date the photo, and monitor it. When cracking is progressing or appears alongside other signs of movement, that's when a professional evaluation makes sense.

The goal isn't to panic over every imperfect wall — it's to recognize when the house is telling you something has changed.

Address

17711 Ballinger Way NE

98155

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