As a kid, I used to watch Name That Tune with my family when Tom Kennedy was the host. Contestants were given a clue and then had to say how few notes it would take to come up with the song title. Did you know that buyers give homes nicknames to help them remember? When…
Oregon vets are fortunate to have a great home loan program here. The Oregon Department of Veteran’s Affairs…okay, say that 10 times fast…has a wonderful program: the ORVEThome loan program. I can say this from personal experience, since I had several veteran buyers here in the Salem Oregon area last year who used…
Tucked in down south in Salem Oregon is a 42 home neighborhood called Silver Hills. It is one loop and the street is called Silver Hills Circle. View Larger Map Lush landscaping and well maintained homes adorn the street. The neighborhood does have CC&R’s , but no HOA fee. Located in Sumpter, Judson, and Sprague…
It was announced yesterday that Silver Falls Bank failed. The FDIC closed the bank and Citizens Bank out of Corvallis is purchasing the bank. Those branches will reopen on Monday as usual except they will be Citizens Banks. We here in Oregon had spent 2007 and 2008 somewhat insulated from the disasters befalling some other…
Home warranties… AHS or American Home Shield is a large provider of home warranties here in the US. Home warranties have long been popular with real estate agents to reduce the risk of claims against we agents for misrepresentation…A home warranty will take care of it, many agents assure themselves. I have never been a…
I was recently on a forum talking with other people about real estate. One poster wanted to know about selling her home as a short sale and then purchasing a new home where she was relocating. It brought home to me that with all this discussion about short sales, people are still confused about who…
Just a couple of days ago I wrote about the new home buyer tax credit that was passed as part of the American Recovery Act. I saw this great little chart on the National Association of Realtors site that quickly summarized the differences for you. The common misperception I am hearing from buyers is that…
With the recent jump in short sales here in the Salem Oregon metro real estate market, it seems like a good time to talk about what they are and aren’t. There are several homes listed on the WVMLS now as short sale attempts, but what is the process for a successful short sale? Sellers need…
$7500…$15,000…$8,000… I didn’t write about the tax credit before because it seemed to change by the hour as to what it would finally look like. Here is what is written in the full summary provided by the House Ways and Means Committee… The 10% tax loan with a maximum of $7500, from last year, will…
RealtyTrac comes out with national foreclosure data every month, and according to their latest report, Oregon ranked #5 for foreclosure rate with a 1 in every 357 homes being served with a foreclosure notice. What does this mean for Salem Oregon home buyers and sellers? Foreclosures are definitely running hotter in general. Foreclosure notices in…
