While the housing market in the Snoqualmie Valley has changed drastically in the last 20 years, the quality of service offered at David Cook’s full-service discount real estate company has remained constant.

Cook Real Estate promises its clients a wide range of real estate services, including a free home warranty with coverage, professional listing services, virtual tours, high-quality photography and superior marketing efforts at a discounted price.

Cook grants his agents complete and total flexibility when it comes to their commissions, saving Cook Real Estate clients money and allowing agents to compete with larger real estate companies in the area.

Cook became interested in property management and real estate while owning and operating Seattle-based Norris Cleaning Corporation in the late 1990s.

“I worked for property managers that gave me buildings to clean,” Cook said. “And I’m like, well heck, I could do that. I leapt into real estate and property management through a commercial real estate company called Harper Bond in Bellevue.”

A few months after he was hired, Harper Bond was sold to Coldwell Banker, a residential real estate company. Cook was hired as the director of property management and began leasing commercial space in North Bend.

“Poof, I was in real estate,” Cook said. “I dabbled in leasing in town, and before long, I had my sign all over the place and was building relationships with building owners in town.”

Cook struck out on his own, creating Cook Real Estate LLC in 2003.

“From day one, we did very well,” Cook said. “After a period of time, I had 12 agents. Then, you know, the recession kicked in in 2006.”

Several agents in the area were forced to look for other work, but Cook’s experience in commercial real estate and his ability to adapt kept him afloat.

“I ended up helping people get into leasing or selling their office buildings,” Cook said. “We got into foreclosure assistance and did a lot of counseling at the time. Ultimately, things turned around in 2012.”

Since then, Cook and his agents have sold thousands of homes and hit a yearly sales average of $20 million to $50 million.

When asked about his most significant accomplishment over the last 20 years, Cook reflected on the two years he spent renovating 102 W. North Bend Way, which now serves as the Cook Real Estate office.

The project reflected his pledge to revitalize downtown North Bend upon his 2003 election to the North Bend City Council.

“It was a Chinese restaurant that had this alpine facade,” Cook said. “We spent two long, hard years remodeling the building to match the original building. We did such a good job, to my wife’s credit, that we got an award for historical preservation from King County.”

Looking forward, Cook hopes to add younger agents to his team but maintains that real estate is about much more than selling homes.

“Maybe it’s a new couple that’s coming in, and they’re going to get married and buy their first home; perhaps it’s a couple that is ending their marriage, and they’ve got to sell their house,” Cook said. “That’s what I do; I help people transition to the next chapter of their life.”

The original Sylvester’s Bank building. Photo courtesy of David Cook