“Bumping along the bottom” is the latest catch-phrase I’ve heard to describe our current market conditions, but I’m feeling a bit more (cautiously) optimistic for summer ‘09. In the last month I’ve had a number of buyers enter the market and write offers after being on the fence for a couple of years. [...]

 You may already be wondering where I’m going with this.  Not to worry, I’m not writing the standard “Ten Reasons Why You Need to Sell/Buy RIGHT NOW!”.  Besides, it’s usually life (or life-style) changing events that are the catalyst for a home sale or purchase.  And babies, true love, or job transfers don’t really give [...]

A special “Thank You!” to Julie Sandlin of First American Title for sending this along this morning.
 
Frequently Asked Questions:
First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit of $8,000
 
1. Who is eligible to claim the tax credit?
First-time home buyers purchasing any kind of home-new or resale-are eligible for the tax credit. To qualify for the tax credit, a [...]

This article was authored by Michelle Berry, real estate broker, and Sara Blanchard, loan officer. All information contained herein should be considered accurate as of the date of this writing, but should be not be considered a guarantee of financing. Any opinions expressed in the below article are the opinions of the writers and not their [...]

For anyone who has used a 12 Step program to overcome anything, this will sound familiar.  Being in the throes of an economic crisis, recovery should be on our collective mind.  It seems the media is flailing around, trying to point a finger at one single cause or source of our current crisis, but honestly, [...]

Fannie Tries Short Sales Over Foreclosures
Fannie Mae has launched pilot projects in Phoenix and Orlando intended to reduce foreclosures by pre-approving short sales, agreeing on a price and the loss it will take prior to a deal even being made. It is hoped the program will improve the popularity of short sales among real estate [...]

Nearly a year ago I got a call from a potential client.  He was beside himself with excitement as he talked about the REDC auction of Buena Vista Homes.  I was immediately struck by his circus-like fascination.  It’s new.  It’s exciting.  They have jazzy, high-intensity commercials and newspaper ads.  But I asked him to let [...]

And maybe it still is.
NAR released numbers today that state exsisting home sales in September were the highest increase, month over month, since 2003.  Woohoo!, right?  Maybe not.  Nationally, home prices are still falling.  Even the eternally optimistic NAR econ-front man, Lawrence Yun, is cautious.  MSNBC reported Mr. Yun as offering the following: “housing may [...]

I knew there were more than, say, a million reasons why I <3 Portland.  And why you should leave California to live in Portland. Now we have just one more…. Yesterday Forbes ranked Portland as the 4th best place to ride out the recession.  You can read the full article here. 
Reasons being:
Underwater homes: 11%    (foreclosures, homes without equity)
Median home [...]

Thank you to Wendi Eiland for sending in this great information.  Wendi is an insurance agent in Beaverton, you can find out more about Wendi at www.wendieiland.com .

COVER YOURSELF!
Your homeowner’s insurance may be inadequate.
 
We all pay those premiums month after month and rarely actually need our insurance.  And when we do have a claim, many [...]