Originally Appeared in 425 Magazine 

Lisa Patterson | Sept. 21. 2017 

Blocks away from an evolving downtown Bellevue and its ever-changing skyline, and steps from Meydenbauer Bay, is a stunning home perched on a hill overlooking Whaler’s Cove. This year’s 425 Northwest Idea House built by JayMarc Homes of Mercer Island and designed by Medici Architects of Bellevue is a 5,690-square-foot masterpiece — every detail is meticulously thought out and executed to perfection.

“It turned out beautiful,” said Marc Rousso, president of JayMarc Homes. “It has really nice views, especially at night. But my favorite part about this project was allowing people to showcase their talents — that is the coolest part, that the team could come together and really show what they can do.”

Rousso and his best childhood friend, Jay Mezistrano, have been business partners since college. JayMarc Homes has been building homes on Mercer Island and in Bellevue for seven years and has grown to 33 team members who collectively have about “450 years of experience” in the industry.

Recognized as the best in the Phoenix/Scottsdale metro for Smart Home Automation, Home Security and Home Theater. 

The LIST is here...the winners of the thirteenth annual Best of Our Valley contest are here! Each year AZ Foothills asks readers to vote on their favorite Valley people, places, and more. The contest is answered with thousands of votes and hundreds of winners.

Source: The Seattle Times 

Fast-growing Bellevue firm Wipliance believes in first taking care of its own

Lyn McKay for 425 Business 
May 22, 2019

With Internet of Things technology powering a growing number of devices in buildings, real-time updates from cloud-stored data becoming the daily norm, and remote management now at consumer fingertips, the idea of personalized building automation has taken on a life of its own.

“We used to spend the majority of our time installing high-end audio/visual systems, but now we install everything from climate control to lighting, window treatments, security, and more, into living and work spaces,” said Lee Travis, owner of Wipliance LLC.

Travis launched Wipliance in 2006 and operates the Bellevue headquarters location; a second location in Scottsdale, Arizona; and an electrical-contracting company. In total, his combined workforce is now 30 strong.

Today, the company supports residential installs, as well as notable commercial building projects such as the new SPIRE luxury condominium tower in downtown Seattle. Other commercial customers include restaurants and bars, tenant improvement contractors, and companies looking to automate board rooms or other conference spaces.

The Seattle Times | Oct. 24, 2019 at 2:45 pm

Unparalleled amenities and resident services to be revealed for Downtown Seattle’s 41-story luxury tower

BY YASAMIN BEITOLLAHI on October 24, 2018 at 1:51 pm
Originally in Geekwire 

Individual presales have begun at SPIRE, a 347-unit, 41-story condominium high-rise under construction at 600 Wall St. in the Belltown neighborhood. A new, 5000-sq. ft. sales center has opened at 2218 5^th Avenue. Sales representatives will host public tours beginning at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, October 27 for this much-anticipated presale opportunity. Prospective buyers will experience a full-scale model home, a design center, a 9-foot scale model of the tower, a context model of the neighborhood and immersive virtual-reality tours on a life-sized display screen to help convey the final product offering.

Leading into the weekend, the SPIRE sales team accepted more than 100 first-position reservations along with several second- and third-position commitments on popular floor plans. Reservation activity recorded more than $125 million in potential presales ahead of SPIRE’s official launch this weekend. These reservations are now being converted into sales along with new transactions for prospective homebuyers that visit the sales center.

“We are pleased to witness such vigorous interest in SPIRE ahead of our formal sales debut,” says Paul Menzies, CEO of Laconia Development and representative of Seattle Realty One, LLC, the developer of SPIRE. “Clearly, SPIRE is Seattle’s next landmark in the making,” he adds.

In a tribute to its famous neighbor, the Space Needle, SPIRE is a landmark in the making. Tall, slender and extraordinary on every level, the 41-story condominium will boast dramatic views and standout architecture befitting of its front and center perch in the downtown Seattle skyline. With progressive design and technology, SPIRE welcomes prospective homebuyers to secure their new residence today – nearly two years before it’s slated for move-ins.

How modern home design is taking the fiction out of sci-fi.

BY: CAMERON ALAVI, WIPLIANCE  | Updated: November 27, 2018

The concept of the smart home is no longer reserved for sci-fi flicks and Jetson-esque cartoons, which just a few short years ago may have seemed lifetimes away. Increasingly more homes are becoming connected, intelligent, and changing the way we live our daily lives, moving us closer to the once fictionalized idea of a technologically advanced home. As demand for smarter homes increases, these ten trends are quickly weaving their way into home design across the Puget Sound and beyond:

1. Advanced Home Networking

It seems difficult to imagine living our lives without access to the internet. Much in the same way that people depend on the internet, so do smart homes and the devices in them. Many experts refer to this as the “Internet of Things”, or the network of devices, appliances, and features that we operate with wireless, mobile and voice controls to create a smart home. The most basic prerequisite for a smart home is a solid internet connection and very good in-home Wi-Fi. Sticking a router in your laundry room and hoping for the best simply doesn’t cut it anymore because every device, from surveillance cameras to thermostats, needs to live on the network if it is going to be integrated into the home. The network structure in today’s smart homes typically consists of enterprise class networking equipment including several strategically placed Wireless Access Points (WAPs) to ensure that the whole home is blanketed in solid Wi-Fi coverage.

Image courtesy of Wipliance

By RSIR Staff | December 5, 2015

On December 1^st, 2015 more than 150 real estate brokers and employees from Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty (RSIR) gathered for the first annual Momentum Real Estate Forum. In addition to passionate addresses by members of the RSIR executive team, the dynamic symposium welcomed third party guest companies including Apple, Rezora, Wipliance, The Puget Sound Business Journal, Travels Through Images, O’Conner Consulting Group, Caliber Home Loans, AdSage, Tiger Oak Publication and a special keynote presentation by Steve Games, Chairman of the Board for San Diego-based Pacific Sotheby’s International Realty.

The event highlights included:

• Opening Address by Dean Jones, RSIR President & CEO – Dean described RSIR as a positive disruption in the status-quo of real estate citing examples of industry leading innovations, many of which are exclusive to RSIR. Challenging brokers to “be comfortable with being uncomfortable,” he urged the audience to move beyond the typical approaches in order to differentiate and resist commoditization. RSIR is contributing to a paradigm shift in the landscape no differently than how UBER, Airbnb, Alibaba, Facebook and Apple changed theirs. The presentation concluded with a video by Apple entitled “See Things Differently.”

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJ1SDXbij8Y]

• Brand in Motion by Andrea Savage, RSIR Vice President of Marketing – Marketing highlights from 2015 were presented in addition to the significant growth experienced with the website traffic (far greater than the competitive set), blog exposure and numerous accomplishments not limited to campaigns including #NoPlaceLikeOwn and RSIRWaterfront.com. Additionally, Savage presented key strategies for 2016, which again included highly effective and exclusive platforms that only RSIR brokers are able to leverage.

• RSIR Agent Panel – Success Stories – Stacy Jones, RSIR Owner and Vice President led a discussion with top agents Becky Gray, Christina Roberts, Carrie DeBuys, Enrico Pozzo and Scott Wasner. Brokers discussed their strategies for building a successful business, from following-through and providing a “one-stop-shop” to communication and implementing RSIR’s unique marketing materials. A consistent theme was the importance of differentiation and exclusivity as RSIR brokers continue to set themselves away from the pack.

• Technology: The Next Generation – A collection of innovative companies presented to RSIR brokers including special guests Josh Hartnett and Cory Hutton from Apple, who presented exciting updates and showcased tips and tricks for using their products. Scott Gustlin, VP of Operations for Rezora, highlighted how successful RSIR newsletters and campaigns have been performing and The Puget Sound Business Journal announced the renewal of RSIR’s exclusive Home of the Day platform, which is driving nearly 6% of the web traffic to this multi-media juggernaut. Also, Lee Travis, Owner of Wipliance, the preferred audio/visual provider to RSIR, presented a collection of ways to add value to listings and announced a new broker rewards program.

• Operations: 2015 Productivity & Growth – The RSIR Operations team led by Michael X. Ford, Designated Broker and Chris Loeliger, Managing Broker Eastside presented on new updates and plans for the coming year. Highlights included dramatic increases in broker count, sales volumes and market share year-over-year as well as numerous significant sales and referral activity. The growing team consists of Lori Burge, CFO; Lisa Villareal, Transaction Coordinator; Karen Vang, Controller; and Brian Leddo, Commissions Coordinator.
• Social Media – RSIR Social Media Director Ashley Breunich discussed best practices before engaging a panel of agents with the help of Ian Rosenberg, RSIR’s Online Marketing Strategist. The panel consisted of the following agents who have established a strong social media presence: Brian Hopper, Cassie Daughtrey, Sue Eller, Vicki Jackson and Aaron Gazes. Each of these brokers offered advice for posting, shared insights on their favorite social media platforms, provided success stories and attended to questions from the audience.

• Evoker Films: Video is the New Black — Dean Jones and Andrea Savage took the stage once more for a sneak preview of the Evoker Films and to announce the official release of the campaign. A separate screen room was set up, complete with popcorn and libations for the RSIR team to experience the broker profile series. The firm will have a total of 39 films when complete, presenting a new way for potential clients to get to know agents. Meet our brokers >>

BY ANDREA SAVAGE on April 19, 2019 at 3:36 PM 

On April 11^th, a series of events atop the Peak Lounge in the Kinects Apartment tower transformed this sky-high venue into an informative neighborhood showcase and a celebration for hundreds of current and prospective homeowners at NEXUS.  Presented by Seattle Magazine, the exhibition included The Downtown Seattle Association, LID I-5, NHL Seattle, Waterfront Seattle, the Washington State Convention Center expansion and NEXUS, which stands front and center in the fastest-growing neighborhood on the West Coast.

“Burrard Group hosted an extraordinary event that illuminated how the northern migration of downtown Seattle positions our homebuyers at the nexus of all,” said Matt VanDamm, Vice President of Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty (RSIR). “We certainly share in the excitement for this pivotal development.”

The events kicked off with a broker luncheon and open house followed by a GeekWire podcast presented by the FutureCast Forum on “High-Tech, High-Rise Living”. Moderator Brian Westbrook hosted panelists including urban living specialist Julie McAvoy of RSIR, development strategist Billy Mainguy of Burrard Group, home automation expert, Lee Travis of Wipliance and real estate economist Brian O’Connor of O’Connor Consulting Group. Among the key findings, downtown Seattle is entering a housing cycle of increased homeownership following a record number of apartments being built, largely fueled by a tech-driven economy. Consumers desire a progressive, in-city lifestyle that is optimized by home automation and a sense of community that is activated by exclusive to building apps and thoughtful amenities that encourage owners and friends to converge and connect. Meanwhile, NEXUS was notably referenced as the archetype of such next generation development and remarkably, it is the only residential opportunity offered for individual homeownership in the burgeoning neighborhood.

“We forecast strong job growth and housing demand to continue well into the next decade as Seattle’s tech hub resists any slowdown that may be experienced in the national economic cycle,” said O’Connor. “The challenge however, will be affordability. New developments like NEXUS are experiencing construction hard cost increases of 6-8% per year, which increases the price of supply ahead.”

The next generation of interior design will move you.

BY: MARC ROUSSO, CEO, JAYMARC HOMES, FUTURECAST FORUM MEMBER | Updated: November 27, 2018
Originally Appeared in Seattle Mag