Fall is here and many home sellers are wondering if they should wait for spring to put their home on the market. There are three reasons why fall is actually the perfect time to sell your home:

1. You will face less competition from other homes on the market. Right now, there are only 1.9 months of inventory available on the market. That means if no new homes were listed on the market, we would be sold out in less than two months. That is way less inventory than we saw in the spring or summer but there are still a lot of buyers out there. Now more than ever, our market really needs inventory.

2. There are more motivated buyers in the fall. Right now, most buyers in the market want to get into their new homes before the holidays. There will still be a lot of people looking for homes in January or December, but fall buyers tend to want to close before the holidays.

3. Values continue to skyrocket. Home values have gone up 11% from $350,000 in 2015 to $390,000 in 2016, which is incredible for our marketplace.

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Our market needs new inventory now more than ever.

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If you have any questions about the fall market or about real estate in general, give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!

If you’ve been looking to purchase your next home and are worried that you missed out on the summer season, I have great news for you: the fall is actually a great time to buy a home. Why is this? Here are my top three reasons:

1. There is less competition in the fall. Though many people are under the impression that the selling season ends around Thanksgiving and doesn’t start back up again until the following spring, in the last three or four years, we’ve found that the market is less affected by seasonality every single year. This means that there are fewer buyers on the market to compete against, so it's less likely that you will end up in multiple offer situations.

2. Quicker and smoother closing transactions. Because of the reduced inventory, inspectors and appraisers are more available. During the spring or summer, it can take between 45 and 60 days to get a property closed in escrow; during the fall, it’s possible to close in 45 days or less.

3. Interest rates are still low. Conventional and FHA financing rates are running between high 3% to low 4% right now, which is outstanding. Remember, just a 1% bump in interest rates can make a big difference in terms of your buying power.

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You can close on a property in less than 45 days during the fall.

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These three factors together make fall a great time to purchase your next house, so be sure to speak with your local real estate agent soon. If you have any other questions about buying or selling real estate in the Portland area, give me a call or send me an email. I’d be happy to help you!

Today I wanted to shine a light on the Platform District and Orenco Station in Hillsborough.

Both have become wildly popular destinations for home buyers looking to find a connection point where high-tech meets rapid transit, home-grown shops, restaurants, and neighborhood pubs. It’s a truly walkable village with tons of retail gems, including markets, wine, restaurants, bars, and a bakery, just to name a few.

The Urban Plaza is a half-acre area modeled off of traditional town squares, and they host outdoor movie nights in the summer and a skating rink in the winter. The Platform District and Orenco Station were designed to bring a Central Park-like quality to the city, and there are multiple parks with areas for outdoor ping pong tables, bocce ball courts, and pet parks.

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It’s a truly a walkable village with shops, restaurants, markets, and pubs.

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Real estate appreciation has seen a rise of 15% to 20% over the last couple of years; condos and townhouses start just below $200,000 and can get up above $500,000 for some of the brownstones. Single-family homes are relatively new at about 10 to 12 years old, and start in the mid $300,000 range and can get up to about the $500,000 mark.

With lots of sustainable job growth anchored by great companies, the neighborhood looks to be a hot location for years to come in Portland. If you have any more questions about these wonderful neighborhoods or you’re interested in a free real estate consultation, give me a call or send me an email today. I’d love to speak with you!

Today, Todd Gydesen of Guild Mortgage joins us to share a few tips for those who are looking to purchase their first investment property.

The minimum down payment required by Fannie Mae on an investment property is 15%. The problem with that is the difficulty of obtaining the mortgage insurance needed to make that happen. The standard down payment, then, is 20% down. If you put 25% down, that extra 5% down will improve your interest rate by almost half a point due to the Fannie Mae adjustments for risk level. In the long run, that lower interest rate will make a huge difference with what you’re trying to do!

Once you have the down payment ready, you need to prepare your reserves. Essentially, your reserve is the amount of money you have left in your possession after the transaction is closed. Fannie Mae simply wants you to have a certain number of monthly payments for all the properties you have financed. 

In most cases, you can use rental income to qualify for this sale. When you’re buying an investment property that already has a tenant in it, that’s the easiest way to go. You can use 75% of what the monthly rent is to count against the new monthly payment. If the home is empty, all you need to get is a lease agreement and a deposit check that’s cleared your account. This is a great way to buy an investment property without having to qualify for all of the payments!

If you would like to reach Todd directly to discuss your options, give him a call at (503) 312-4686 or visit him at www.GuildMortgage.com! If you would like assistance finding a great investment property, or if you have real estate questions of any kind, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at any time! We would love to hear from you!

Real estate transactions can turn dicey quickly when you’re trying to buy and sell a home simultaneously. However, you do have some options and this is something that we do for clients fairly often.

Your first strategy is making a contingent offer on a home that you want and then selling your home. The only thing wrong with this is that sellers will probably not take a contingent offer. Our market is simply too hot for this strategy right now, but it could work on homes that have gone stale.

Your second option is to get your home market-ready and then hopefully get it sold in a week or two. At this point you can go in and make an offer on a home you like, and you don’t have to put in a contingency. You do run the risk of having to find temporary housing, but it will be a better option right now with our current market climate. 

A lot of people don’t understand that they can go out and make an offer on a home and then begin to sell their own home. This takes some planning, but it’s entirely possible. You can take the time to find the property you want, and it will not be contingent. This may take more time to get your finances in order, but this is probably your best option if you can afford it.

If you need help buying or selling in Portland, please don’t hesitate to contact me!

Today, we want to share some strategies to help you get your home looking its best when you go to sell this spring.

One of the easiest things you can do is take a look at all the major systems in your home to see how long ago they were installed. The National Association of Home Builders has a measurement that tells homeowners how long these systems should be good for in your house. Here's a list of a few of the biggest items and how long they typically last:

- Wood shingle and shake roofs: 20-30 years.
- Central heating and air: 15 years.
- Water heaters: 12-15 years.
- Gutters: 30 years (checked periodically!). 

After taking a look at these items, take a walkthrough of your home as if you were a buyer. Look for discoloration in your hardwoods and bumps in your floor. Walk around, look at the floors, walls, and ceilings, and try to identify water damage. Often, you can see these things with the naked eye, which will allow you to get them fixed before a buyer spots them.

Lastly, if you want to be 100% sure your home is ready for the market, bring in a professional home inspector before listing. They offer a pre-listing home inspection, which costs about half as much as a regular inspection. They'll look over all the major systems and give you a great report!

If you would like more insights into how to get your home ready for the spring market, please don't hesitate to reach out to us. We would love to help you get your home ready to sell quickly and for top dollar! We look forward to talking soon!

Let’s cover the basics of credit scores. There are three credit bureaus: Experian, Equifax, and Transunion. All of these institutions put together credit reports, which can vary.

These unions put together a credit report known as a FICO score. The big things to remember are payments and amounts owed. Those individually weigh a third of the total weight. Your FICO score is also based on new credit, credit history, and a mix of credit. Ultimately, they focus on purchase and payment history. You really need to pay attention to your spending over time to get to the bottom of this one. Bankruptcy and civil judgements are also kept on record. Liens on your property also come into effect. A lien is a public record saying you owe a creditor money, which makes your title unclear.

FICO scores range between 301 and 850. In the United States, the average is 723. Anything in the mid 700s to 800s is considered excellent credit.

However, sometimes there are errors that are not your fault. They come up! There are a lot of clerical errors. To catch errors, monitor your credit report at least yearly. We even recommend quarterly! You can pull your free yearly credit report at AnnualCreditReport.com. Sites like this one can alert you when there are changes within your report. Be sure to talk to credit bureaus and let them know what’s going on if you come across these errors as you monitor. Be proactive!

  

How can I keep my credit score as high as possible? First, when you have open accounts, think twice before closing an account, even if they are not very active. I’m talking about that Macy’s credit line you have. One-third of your credit score is the amount you owe versus the available credit. Now, the rule of thumb in the industry is to use 30% of available credit. Additionally, small balances on multiple cards are better than one large balance on one card.

If you’re thinking about buying a home, or changing jobs, try to stay within the same industry. Even switching industries can create obstacles. You can discuss this with your trusted lender.

When you’re browsing listings, try not to build up credit once you start seriously considering a new home purchase. Credit has the potential to negatively affect your chances of getting the loan you want and need. Give me a call or email if you’re thinking about buying or selling a home in the Portland area. We can talk about your real estate needs and how I can best serve you during a free consultation!

Today we are going to discuss the current market conditions in the Portland Metro. Your opinion of the market depends on your perspective. Buyers, sellers, and investors each see the market differently. Today we are going to talk about how the current Portland market looks for buyers and sellers.

For buyers, the Portland market is very competitive. We’ve got very low inventory, so you’ll need to be prepared to buy with a pre-approval from a reputable lender. You need a pre-approval to be able to make an offer right away on a home, which is something you’ll have to do to get a good deal in this market. One positive for buyers in Portland right now is interest rates. They are still near historic lows, but are predicted to rise soon. Even a .5% increase in rates will greatly affect your buying power and add about $100 a month to your mortgage payments.

For sellers, right now is a fantastic time to enter the market. The low inventory works in your favor, and home values are continuing to increase. Even though the market is set up for sellers to succeed, they still need to remember a few things. Overpricing your home as a seller is a bad idea, and it will hinder you from receiving multiple offers, if any, on your home. If you’re priced right from the get-go, you have a much better chance of selling for top dollar, and more people will see your home.

If you’re thinking about buying or selling here in Portland, feel free to give us a call or send us an email. We would love to hear from you!