Tim Ray, Owner and Team Leader of The Specialist Group, Inc. at John L. Scott Citywide, has been recognized as one of the top Realtors in the greater Spokane area since 1988.  He has earned numerous awards and recognitions in his 21+ years of real estate experience, including 4 SAR Top Ten Sales Volume Awards, The Spokane MLS Platinum Award, The John L. Scott President's Gold Award, and more. To date, he has helped nearly 800 families with their real estate needs and has amassed over $75,000,000 in gross sales volume. Tim has experience in mortgage lending as well, and works hard to make sure his clients receive the best loan for their financial and credit situation.  He uses specific lenders who limit "junk" loan fees and high back-end rebates that can cost his clients thousands of dollars in extra interest charges.  From start to finish, Tim has the experience and determination to make sure his clients interests are always promoted and protected.

Personally, Tim has many interests and hobbies.  He is married to his fabulous wife and "partner in crime", Lara, and together they have 6 combined kids!  He has two children of his own, Alex and Collin, with whom he enjoys fishing, playing baseball, basketball, and football, and riding their bikes (ask Tim about that broken rib......).  Tim and Lara are both "foodies" and wine geeks (or freaks??)  and love to cook, engage in new culinary adventures, and pair wines with different foods. Tim and Lara also love traveling.  Together, they have visited numerous places, and especially love their trips to  Maui and wine country in the Sonoma/Napa, Santa Barbara/Santa Ynez/Solvang area, and Washington State areas.  With 6 kids, life tends to be a zoo.  Private music lessons and school concerts seem to take up an increasing amount of time.   Recent family trips include two excursions to Denver and all points inbetween (Mt. Rushmore, Pikes Peak, Sturgis, Deadwood, the Crazy Horse Memorial, etc), a fabulous week spent ocean front on Orcas Island, numerous salmon fishing and crabbing trips, and who could forget the beach wedding at Mama's Fish House and Inn near Pa'ia, Maui, Hawaii, where Tim, Lara, and all 6 kids "eloped" for their wedding! 

A little known fact is that Tim is a musician by nature and plays all sorts of drums and percussion. He studied privately with Ed Brown, one of the top instructors in the nation, and also studied mallet percussion, piano, and Latin percussion.  He was playing professionally in clubs and at private events at the age of 15 and still accepts the occasional "gig" - but only if it is fun!  Tim currently plays with the Worship Team at Life Center North Church, and in a "previous life", he taught drums and percussion at The Professional Drum Center and taught percussion at several area schools, including Mead High School, Shadle Park High School, Deer Park High School, Riverside High School, Central Valley High School, East Valley High School, and Moses Lake High School.  Tim is also a huge DCI (Drum Corps International) fan and always cheers for his favorite corps, The Santa Clara Vanguard and The Phantom Regiment.  Recently, Tim and Lara attended the 2007 DCI World Championships at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, and they and the kids attended "Drums Along The Rockies" (2007 and 2009) at Invesco Field in Denver.

So, there you go!  Real Estate has been a love of Tim's for over 21 years and he works very hard for his clients, but he always remembers that there is more to life than real estate.

"Never get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life."

Cheers!