One of the great things about living in the Salem Oregon area is that we are kind of centrally located. Portland is just an hour north, the coast is about 1.5 hours west, and central Oregon is about two hours away. Depending on what kind of lifestyle you want to have, Salem is in…
One of the great things about living in the Willamette Valley is our local produce. The Willamette Valley used to be a lake (Lake Allison) a bazillion years ago and as such we have some nice soil here. As I was plucking some tomatoes off my vines the other day, I decided to share with…
Oftentimes folks that are looking to relocate to the Salem Oregon area ask about schools. One of the many choices facing families that relocate across the country is what to do about their child’s education. Salem Oregon metro area has many private school options for families. Here is a brief guide to what resources we…
If you read any local real estate blogs all of them have been talking about and linking to the Forbes article that named Salem Oregon one of the top 10 real estate markets best primed for a recovery. Salem Oregon was named #4. The criteria used for their top 10 list was an uptick in…
Each business has it’s acronyms. Real estate, I think, has more than any other business. I think we like speaking in code to sound important and impressive or something. I can just see an agent with a Salem Oregon home buyer. “Hey that’s an REO over there. It has HDW, FR, LR, DR, and DLB.”…
I’m the anti-pack rat. Every year I go through my stuff and take inventory, if I haven’t used it in two years (with some exceptions) it needs to be sold or go to goodwill. You’d think my house would be amazingly clean and clutter free, but it’s amazing how much junk kids can collect…I’ve got…
For those of you looking at short sales and foreclosed properties in Salem Oregon here is a little short and sweet update for you on where things are at in this market sector. 10% of homes listed this year in Salem Oregon have been a short sale or foreclosed property. 24% of homes listed as…
I am a first generation American: my mother was from Finland and my father from Greece. I was fortunate to be able to go to Finland several times as a child and spend time with my grandparents and cousins. One of my memories was walking downtown with my grandmother to the local farmer’s market. Despite…
I have been in many foreclosed homes here in Salem Oregon lately. Some are in great condition and some…well aren’t. Forget taking the cabinets, stripping the carpet out of the house, and grabbing the kitchen sink…this incident adds a whole new level of crazy to the foreclosure market. The Atlanta Journal Constitution reported that in…
The IRS Tax Credit The $8,000 home buyer tax credit has been a source of confusion for Salem Oregon home buyers for a good chunk of the year. There have been many false articles written about who can and can’t use the tax credit. Tax Credit Fraud The IRS just prosecuted it’s first case of…