Tucked quietly in Salem, Oregon, there’s a 1970s contemporary home that was thinking about solar energy long before it became trendy. Somewhere between avocado-colored appliances and shag carpets, this house had already embraced the sun—not for tanning, but for heating. Mounted like a command center from an old sci-fi film, a wall panel labeled “SOLAR…
There are moments in real estate that stick with you. Walking into a historic home, appreciating the original hardwoods, the ornate trim, the craftsmanship, and then locking eyes (sort of) with Michelangelo’s David, right there on the light switch. Let’s just say the placement of the switch was… strategic. And every time you reached to…
If you’ve ever texted your kid from the other room, you’re not alone. Today’s homes are filled with smartphones, smart speakers, and digital everything. But back in the 1960s? “Smart home” meant something entirely different—and had a lot more brass and knobs. I walked into a 1960s ranch-style home the other day, showing it to…
Salem: The City of Almost Love! Big news, Salemites! According to WalletHub’s latest singles scene ranking, our charming city has landed a respectable 67th place out of 182 cities. That’s right—we’re not exactly Portland or Seattle, but hey, we’re far from the bottom of the barrel (looking at you, Brownsville, TX, at #182 👀). So,…
A Rare Mid-Century Modern Marvel: The 1950s Relay System If walls could talk, this one would probably whisper, “Hey, you’ve never seen anything like this before.” And you’d believe it, wouldn’t you? Nestled in this mid-century modern home is a true relic: a fully functional 1950s relay-based electrical system. Now, before you grab your…
When we hear about tariffs in the news, it’s easy to think they only affect international trade and big corporations. But if you’re in the market for a new home, you might wonder: how do these policies impact home prices? Let’s break it down, starting with some key facts from the National Association of Home…
You say you are okay with a fixer? Ah, the allure of acreage property in the mid-valley: wide-open spaces, fresh air, and a dreamy spot to call your own. But let’s be real—it’s not all sunshine and scenic views. When our client (we’ll call her Sarah) fell in love with a “charming” fixer-upper, we knew…
Getting to walk through all sorts of homes spanning a lot of eras means seeing pieces of history on a daily basis. The brokerage has a home coming up for sale that has a built-in hand mixer in the wall. Here is a bit of history for all of you who are like me and…
Navigating buyer agency agreements as a buyer Big changes are on the horizon for buyers. The settlement has happened and for the first time, you’ll need to evaluate the value your buyer agent brings to the table and decide how much you’re willing to pay for their services. This means you’ll be guaranteeing your…
The class action settlement: It’s impact on buyers and sellers In our 2023 year-end summary, we discussed the class action lawsuit and its potential impact on consumers. Since then, the real estate industry has seen significant developments, with the trade organization the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) agreeing to a large settlement and implementing…
A Stove with Stories: The 1920s Treasure That Can Warm the Future One of the great things about walking through homes every week is seeing a blast from the past. The old items in historic homes have their own charm. You can imagine a family arguing about whose turn it is to go stoke the…
The home buying process step by step Step 1 Pull your free credit reports from Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. You can’t buy a home if you have credit problems. You also can’t buy a home with a loan if you have no credit. This is common with people who were raised by their parents to…
Buyer Closing Costs You are ready. You have been watching house hunter on HGTV and stalking Redfin and Zillow in your spare time “for fun.” You’ve been browsing refrigerators. You’ve been looking at dining room sets. You even have a new espresso machine picked out that would go perfectly in the corner of your new-to-be…
What would you pay for a buyer agent? All industries have systems that have evolved over time for a certain workflow. Sometimes these flows make sense to consumers and sometimes they don’t. Most consumers don’t spend a lot of time following real estate events and more specifically lawsuits. Right now, there are several lawsuits, one…
3D Printed Homes in Oregon? The first 3D printed homes were completed, put up for sale, and sold. 34 Millbrook Ln in Riverhead, NY was the first 3D printed home that was made to sell. The house was made with concrete walls and the exterior was printed in about 48 hours. Now, ICON and Lennar…
Ways to sell without being homeless The real estate market in the Salem metro area is hot. With about a half of month of inventory (how long it takes to sell every home on the market), sellers are often leery of placing their homes on the market. Selling a home in a hot market often…
Buying in a strong seller’s market I get it. You are feeling gouged. The market so strongly favors sellers that you can’t help but feel it is grossly unfair. Buying in a strong seller’s market might feel like your hard-earned money being thrown away due to bidding wars. I am not without empathy for those…
I previously discussed the real estate markets for Salem and Keizer, but the smaller towns outside of Salem had good years in 2020 as well. The Stayton market was the slowest of the group, and it was still selling well. Aumsville had an incredibly hot market and was the only city in the…
Mid-Century Moderns in Salem Generally, the conversation goes something like this… “I don’t want a cookie-cutter house.” Period, end of story. As the conversation flows, inevitably a potential client sends me a link to a mid-century modern home; that is what they are looking for in the area. Homebuyers looking for mid-century moderns in Salem…
DOJ VS. NAR impacts on Salem Oregon real estate agents Recently the DOJ announced an anti-trust lawsuit against the National Association of REALTORS for anti-competitive policies. At issue were the lack of transparency around buyer agent commissions, telling buyers their buyer agents are “free,” non-MLS agents not having lockbox access to show homes, and…
The National Reigster Our office is on the National Register of Historic Places from 1895 and we love old homes. Picture rail, leaded and stained glass, detailed trim work, and built-ins are just some of the charm that comes along with these old beauties. They aren’t for everyone as they won’t ever be as energy…
Find The Best Coffee in Salem Forget the franchises…local coffee houses are in abundance in Salem. Salem is fortunate to have some really good local coffee houses, all with a slightly different vibe so that you can find the place that feels most comfortable to you. Let’s face it, you can’t say you live in…
Horse-drawn carriages clip-clopped, streetcars clanged, long skirts rustled. Like many people, I find the history of people and places interesting. As much as humanity grows and changes, we also stay the same. While we have gone from horse-drawn carts to rockets, humanity still experiences joy and sorrow that defines us as human. As you walk…
Good Soup in Salem Oregon Anyone of my generation knows about the Soup Nazi from Seinfeld with his infamous soup and not so great customer service. While Salem doesn’t have a soup nazi, there are some great restaurants that consistently have good soup. It is that time of the year when a nice warm bowl…
I’d like to introduce our newest real estate agent, Davit Andghuladze. He was with another brokerage previously and is from Georgia (the country). He speaks Georgian, Russian, and English so if you know someone that needs quality representation who needs an agent that speaks Russian, Davit is that agent. He studied law at the university…
Dessert places in Salem Oregon-Where to get your sugar on No city would be complete without some love for your sweet tooth. Salem is no exception. Now, our local coffee shops all have some sweets and such there, but I’m talking about places to go that sweets are the focus and coffee is second fiddle.…
Guest post by Pam Choc Limbs from the cherry tree droop, laden with abundant fruit. Children giggle as they run between trees, trying to find just the right cherry to sneak into their mouths. The “plink, plink, plink” of cherries landing in large buckets. Families easily chatting amongst themselves and with each other, all grateful…
Within the ever swirling controversy that is the real estate industry, new seismic activity is happening. A real estate earthquake is approaching. Agent Match. What is Agent Match? Just like it sounds. A way to match an agent with a consumer. This isn’t a new concept. Realtor.com is one of the top four consumer visited websites…
Relocation Guide to Salem Oregon: Super Bounce This is a guest article by Pam Choc As a resident parent of the rainy Pacific Northwest, I am always on the lookout for indoor activities for my kids to burn off some energy. You may remember an earlier post I wrote Surviving Rainy Days with Kids. I…
Imagine an opportunity to immerse yourself in cultures from around the world without ever purchasing a plane ticket or even leaving Salem. The Salem World Beat Festival is your chance to experience a vast array of multicultural traditions, and the admission is only a suggested $5 donation. Sample Ethiopian garlic-lemon chicken and injera bread or…
Shoes. They get worn soles, sometimes get hole infested, and sometimes turned into stink bombs beyond recovery (yeah teens, I’m talking to you). They still need a place to call home. Maybe your shoes are looking for a big deck with plenty of room for tables and a barbecue. For when…
Any of you that read local blogs know that we have a very active blogger that is a bike lover. The Breakfast on Bikes blog has great local information about everything related to the city and alternative transportation, especially bike use. Personally, I am excited that we have such local advocates for bike friendliness,…
I have been asked numerous times if Oregon, in particular Salem, is a place that atheists can live without being judged. Salem is considered to be more moderate to our more liberal leaning neighbors of Portland and Eugene. One of the nice things about Oregon is that is has a “to each his own” kind…
The cutting edge. Back in the days of chisel and stone, yeah some of you remember those days, there was paper. Lots of paper. These were before my days in real estate, but a long time ago, in a land nearby, real estate agents didn’t have the internet. There was no way for a consumer…
Guest post by Pam Choc I can’t help being in awe of the bounty the Willamette Valley offers as I buy fresh organic produce from Minto Island Growers nearly all year long. They offer many varieties of high-quality, fresh fruits and vegetables, and a native plant nursery as well. Nobody knows vegetables better than the…
This is a guest post written by Pam Choc. Although Salem’s winter weather is tame compared to my former stomping ground of Montana, there are still many days when I feel the need to hibernate in the warm and dry indoors. Unfortunately, my toddler doesn’t seem to share my vision of peaceful relaxation–his energy level…
Take that! No, I’m not talking about the British boy band. In a complete in-your-face move, Bend agent Kip Lohr, came out with his “3 Beats 6” business model. What is that? He is no longer offering buyer agent compensation to buyer’s agents. He strictly charges his sellers a listing fee, and buyer’s need…
One of the things I have been working hard on this year is redoing my videos on my website. I decided to go a totally different direction and my first one is done. Jeff and Ashley with Silverman Studios did my first video and I’m excited to share it with you all. So, here…
I talked before about the MERS issue and MERS rulings causing problems for real estate in Oregon not too long ago. Recently, the appellate court dealt a blow to banks by indicating that the non-judicial foreclosure laws have not been followed for MERS involved properties. This issue will move on to the Supreme court to set the tone…
Dear RE Net, Sometimes you just have to say your peace and move on. So that’s what I’m here to do. There is no point in expending mental energy on something that isn’t going to get resolved as that is time away from friends, family, and whatever gives you passion in your life. Like many…
A bazillion years ago in the land of make believe real estate, there wasn’t a thing called buyer agency. All real estate agents either represented the seller directly or were a “sub-agent” of the seller. I personally call this submarine agency since these were agents lurking beneath the waters torpedoing buyers with “representation.” What…
It has been called the “bridge to nowhere” by local Salem residents, but make no mistake that distinction won’t last much longer. Local real estate developer, FantaMagic Properties, has purchased the land on Minto Brown Island and plans were recently approved by the city. “We are really excited to see what happens with the development,”…
Before there were calculators, there were fingers. If you needed more than 10, well you had toes for that. Need more than that? Move onto sticks, marbles, or those highly florescent humongous jaw-breakers, because let’s face it, everyone looks stupid with one of those things in their mouth so you might as well use them…
“Aren’t you looking to increase your internet presence?” questioned the voice on the other end of the line. Ah…the tie-down question. A tie-down question is a pressure technique used to make people answer a question with a yes that would make them sound stupid if they said no. What business would say no to wanting…
All industries have an internal culture and politics that define systems and ways to conduct business. Most of us don’t care about the internal politics unless it affects us directly. When I go to the doctor, I want the doctor paying attention to me and providing service to me. I’m selfish that way if I’m paying…
Useless data. I live for it. What can I say? When running the normal foreclosure numbers for you all, I decided since I have all these numbers just sitting there, I needed to do something with it. So here you go, Melina’s fun facts about foreclosures in Salem Oregon. Okay, I know what you are…
You all think real estate is Beemers and golf outings during the day. I know you do, but really real estate is more glamorous than that. Seriously…so much more glam. In fact, I am wearing my Vera Wang and Jimmy Choos as I type this. I will share an only slightly embellished true story…
I wrote before Thanksgiving that I think sometimes we forget that we should be thankful the other 364 days a year. With this economy, the needs of our local citizens isn’t changing because the holiday season is over. Our charities are still hurting and all of us are stretching our dollars in our…
For my two regular readers of my blog, you’ll notice that I had a writing lapse here. The rest of you didn’t even notice I was gone. Sometimes life just happens that pulls you in other directions and something has to give. Alas…this time it was writing. One of the things that threw me off…
I was supposed to write a thankful post. That’s what every blogger does this time of year, right? I’m supposed to write some thought provoking post about how I am thankful for the multitude of things in my life. Gathering dust on a shelf are those “thankful” cards I’m supposed to send out to my…
Oregon has long been a state that uses Trust Deeds for real estate transactions. With the ease and low cost of foreclosure for banks, it was the instrument of choice for many years here in Oregon…well as long as you follow the state laws. You’ve heard the terms, judicial foreclosure, non-judicial foreclosure, deficiency state, non-deficiency…
Floating around the real estate blogosphere is a discussion created by Chris Smith over at Inman. He wrote a post stating that real estate is no longer a relationship business. Essentially he was saying he doesn’t want to be friends with his real estate agent after the transaction. As of today there were 153 comments…
A glowing recommendation. It’s what everyone wants in their business. Who doesn’t want to be acknowledged as being good at what they do? Gallup released their latest poll about feelings about different industries. What’s up with this touchy-feely stuff anyway? Feelings, schmeelings… I’m incredulous that in this current time of real estate turmoil, that the…
Back in the boom, MERS was a cornerstone of the real estate market offering a way to offload mortgages to investors allowing banks to continue to originate loans and make bundles o’ money. Apparently, my strategy of waiting at the end of the rainbow for my pot of gold wasn’t a good one: should have…
I am often gallivanting around on real estate forums giving out sage advice to consumers. My mantra for about the past, I don’t know, five years or so to consumers has been…look at the photos taken by an agent online. When a seller is going to get a home ready for sale, they should take…
Basketball hoops in the road for the local pickup game. Skateboarders weaving all over. Kids screaming and splashing in pools. For some of you, living in a neighborhood where these things happen on a daily basis sounds undesirable. I get that. Sometimes I don’t want to be around my kids either. The thought of altering…
I’m off on my NAR/news media rant early this year. A client emailed me a link to a recent news article about the 5 worst real estate markets in the country for Q1 of 2011. Salem, Oregon was listed as number 3. They based this article on the NAR data that was released. Any of…
I always thought Chablis was something that came in a box. Well, that is until I had dinner at the Crooked House Bistro. Many years ago my husband and I were down in Bandon, Oregon with my in-laws. We dined at this small restaurant with 12 tables, ordered our dinner, and a bottle…
Not too long ago, I was in a condo here in Salem Oregon and was thinking about whether or not I was an urban dweller. When I lived in Portland, the Pearl District was a mess of abandoned and broken down warehouses. You could hear a rat scurry across the street as no cars were…
Foreclosures. We have a love hate relationship with them. We generally love the rock bottom prices that they command, but that often comes along with a 15 page bank addendum offering the bank the right to harvest your organs for use by the CEO’s of the banks. You’ve all heard of MERS, the Mortgage Electronic…
You can’t ask for better news than this! The Statesman Journal announced today that Salem kicked the yellow and green behind of Eugene and stole the Emeralds to our city. With a brand spanking new downtown stadium, even! Complaints have already come in to the city regarding our city noise ordinance that requires that the…
Sex Sells. Say good-bye to the standard “Location! Location! Location!” Leave it up to the Aussies to take real estate marketing to an entirely different level. You won’t see any pans across the room showing the architectural features of the home. You can’t call this video boring or “just like every other agent out there.”…
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From: Jim <Jim@IDon’tNeedNoStinkinRealators.com> To: Melina Tomson <melina@tomsonburnham.com> Date: Feb 13, 2011 3:05 AM Subject: MLS Dear Melinda, I found you on Swillow and clicked through to your website. I like your website and for an agent that’s saying something because most of them suck. I like the house at 777 Lucky to Know Me Street…
For those of you that have read this blog for any length of time, you know that I have an occasional series I write called Ugly Ducking to Swan. It talks about the projects or new businesses in Salem that have improved the visual appeal or the culture of the city. Sometimes, unfortunately, Salem goes…
> You asked. We gave you what you wanted, but the power of the dark side was just too great for the wanna be Darth-Vader-Home-Seller. It isn’t a big secret that real estate agents have really low entry standards into a profession that helps people spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on a purchase. I…
“My eyes…aaggh, my eyes,” shrieked the woman. “Mommy, what is that? Will I melt?” whimpered the small child as she clung to her mother’s leg. “Something weird is happening…this isn’t supposed to happen…not now.” Off the dark, wet pavement the sheen bounced everywhere creating retinal mayhem for the residents of the mid-valley city. Totally unprepared,…
Foreclosures going up. Foreclosures going down. What to believe? My advice? Don’t read the national media stuff regarding foreclosures. What matters is what is happening here locally in Salem Oregon. So, what’s happening? Salem Oregon Foreclosures In 2010, the amount of notice of defaults filed with the county clerk’s office dropped by 8.7% over 2009. …
The new year has begun, and real estate agents have started blogging about their unfettered optimism for the coming new year. I was, in fact, brainstorming ideas for a new and improved motto for 2011 on my Facebook business page. was only partially crummy. I know, I know…it needs work. Pollyanna wasn’t my BFF growing…
If you are relocating to Salem Oregon just know that June 1 means one thing…strawberry season. Typically Oregon strawberries start to ripen and are just waiting to be plucked and eaten. Every year we take the kids to a local u-pick and pick strawberries. We eat a lot of them over the winter so we…
I read a recent post about the 10 most dangerous cities. I, of course, scrolled for our familiar Oregon cities and was nicely surprised because Salem had a lower crime rate than Eugene in 2009. QR Press created a list based on the FBI’s 2009 crime data. I went to the raw data just to…
“Oh, this house has a broom rack!” she screeched with excitement. “Please, like you need more brooms-” joked her husband before being interrupted by her seething voice. “Beelzebub! Stop smooshing your sister’s horns into their couch.” With a deep sigh, she turned to her husband. Lucifer, dear, can you light a fire under Satanay and…
I don’t think people like to talk about it. It’s easier that way. We’ve made progress, but clearly not enough. Some of you may have seen the mapping project. It’s fascinating, to say the least. Based on census data they are plotting the racial makeup of cities. Right now, if you went up to a…
“Well if you are going to complicate things…” What!!!! (yes with all those exclamation points and all) is what I really wanted to scream on the other end of the phone, but I was already huffy. What is wrong with you. I don’t have the right skin tone to pull off bright orange,” I countered. …
Boring.Ugly. Crime Ridden…on and on and on, people drone about their opinions of Salem Oregon. I participate on an online forum and someone was asking about Portland, Salem and Corvallis. He was really interested in Salem and wanted to know how walkable it was. I felt like the lone ranger in talking about the core…
Are you relocating to Salem Oregon for one of the state jobs? One of the advantages of being the state capital is the mall. In the spring when the cherry trees are in full bloom, photographers flock down to the Capitol Mall to take their photos before the blossoms go away. While the Capitol itself…
There are old home buyers and there are new home buyers. New home buyers cringe at the thought of the old wooden windows rattling in the house, hold their shirts over their noses at the thought of lead paint in the house, and think “money pit” when they see an old house. Old home buyers…
I’m starting to see why Odysseus tied himself to the mast. Temptation is just too great. Sitting at home in the comfort of your electric blue Snuggie, homemade hot cocoa brimming with mini-marshmallows by your side, you decide you need some help. You don’t need no stinking expensive lawyers or real estate agents people that…
Parents always asks me “What are the best schools in Salem?” Best is a subjective concept and the fact is that you can have an exceptional school that has a difficult class one year that may pull test scores down. When you are considering schools as part of your home buying experience, you generally…
“I think Oregonians were subterranean dwellers in another life.” The confused look on my face must have given it away, as she continued on… “Well, you all live in that gray, rainy and gloomy state all year. I mean I hear that you guys are so used to the rain you don’t even carry umbrellas! …
Sometimes I think I should just write “same ol’ same ol’” hit publish and be done with my blog for that day. There’s only so many ways you can say “market is still out of whack and it will be for a while.” I’ve been distracted with other things lately which will make blog fodder,…
Carob. Whole Wheat. Carrot Juice. No McDonald’s. Staples in my diet as a child. I wasn’t allowed to eat at McDonald’s as a kid. I was convinced it was some bastion of great tasting food because all my friends ate there often and thought their food was great. I’d whine and cry about not being…
I have to say I debated about publishing this list. What list? The best schools in Salem-Keizer defined strictly by the test data of the recent report card that came out. One of the most difficult things about being a real estate agent is everyone wants to know what is THE BEST school, as if…
Warm soup, fresh bread, apples, pears and pumpkins. The leaves have started to turn and it is autumn. I love fall because I think of warm potato soup with homemade french bread, apple muffins, and pear bread. Fall is that perfect time when you get some cool weather, have a steaming cup of hot cider,…
“I always find it helpful to ask what their favorite piece of clothing is,” she said. “Aagggghhhhh she picked all hot pink clothes for school this year. I mean ALL hot pink.” I replied. Considering it took us four coats to cover the hot pink that had been there previously, I wasn’t too excited about…
Sundance. The cream of the crop of Independent Film Festivals here in the US. Many films get debuted, critiqued, and start their journey into the mainstream from there. Obviously Salem isn’t Park City, UT (where Sundance is held) BUT, that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy our own Film Festival. Salem Oregon has an independent film…
I think it is a good time to buy a home that is a fixer. Before you start thinking that I’ve been wandering around in our national forests and maybe partaking of some of the “natural flora” that we have out there, let me explain. It’s a good time to buy a fixer in our…
“Well this sure is a crap-hole,” I said. “Gee hon, what do you really think? It’s not that bad,” chided my husband jokingly, as he opened the door to go inside. “Hmmpf,” was all the retort I could muster that day. It was early in the morning and I really needed some coffee before my…
About a gazillion years ago a general was being defeated in battle and so like all good generals he buried his treasure in his tent. Now, apparently this was the Biltmore Estate of tents because his treasure could not be found. Personally, I think they must have been man-looking in the tent, but I digress…
No, not that kind… It isn’t my wedding anniversary. It seems like ages ago that I launched my own real estate brokerage here in Salem Oregon. When I got my real estate license, it was always the plan for me to have my own brokerage because I want to do things my way. Hey, even…
One of the most common frustrations I hear from Salem Oregon home buyers is that they are using GIFT funds for their down payment and they don’t understand why we have to pick apart the documentation…or even document it at all. This seems like a great place to shed some light on the whole gift…
Okay guys…you all have to put up with a little bit of real estate advertising every so often so this is fair warning! I organized an open house tour of some south Salem acreage properties. You can see what is on the tour on the google map. I have this seriously cool old home, that…
Art Museums in Salem One of the hard parts about moving to a new city is finding out what activities there are to do. If you are into the art scene and are moving to a smaller city like Salem, Oregon that can be a bit harder sometimes. One of the local options for people…
Are you one of those? You know, those people who want to live off-grid, have a cob house here in Salem Oregon, or build your own strawbale instead. If those words are green music to your ears, I just stumbled on this cool map. If you want to see who is doing what in serious…
Like many Salem Oregon real estate agents, my transactions all seem to be from hell. Not because I don’t have amazing clients; not because I don’t have a great loan officer involved; and not because I don’t have a great escrow officer around me. It is hard to find a post that says anything positive…
A couple of days ago charges were announced related to real estate fraud. According to the press release by the FBI in Oregon, Among the 39 defendants named today are two real estate agents, 11 mortgage brokers, one bank loan officer, and one certified public accountant (CPA). There are some ongoing investigations and they are…
Recently the Statesman Journal and Salem-News.com spread the word that foreclosures in Salem Oregon had increased. They used CoreLogic as their source of data and they are reporting an increase for Salem. I disagree with their presentation of the data and here is why… Interpreting the foreclosure data First of all CoreLogic and I look…
Upscale Neighborhoods in Salem, Oregon Where comfort meets craftsmanship. If words like Sub-Zero fridge, box-beam ceilings, or Andersen windows make your heart beat faster, you’re in the right place. Upscale homes aren’t just about square footage or price tags—they’re about details. Salem’s high-end neighborhoods offer refined design, quality materials, and a sense of arrival that’s…
In 1864, this photo was taken of the Cook Hotel located on the corner of High and State Streets…the SE corner of it, in fact. The hotel changed owners a couple of times and was the Monroe Hotel before the Bligh’s purchased the building and land, razed it, and built Bligh’s Capital Theater. Bligh’s Capital…
Anyone following me on twitter or facebook knows that I just picked 40 pounds of strawberries with my family. Oregon strawberries are amazingly sweet and we freeze them for smoothies and top french toast with them, which are great for kids for breakfast. I make a fresh strawberry pie as part of the deal for…
To some Oregonians, all of Oregon’s woes are caused by Californians making Oregon, well, like California. Big houses, plastic surgery, flashy wealth, and a general disregard for the slow-paced style of Oregon life are often quoted as what it means to be “Californian.” The huge bump in Salem Oregon real estate prices was squarely placed…
8. A.C. Gilbert Discovery Village. We locals call this the Gilbert House. They changed the name to Discovery Village a few years ago, but old names die hard. With the infamous “bubble room” this is a great place for kids. Trying to find something to keep 3 year olds occupied during our rainy months can…
You can go to any town in the US and find a Starbucks, but if you are moving to Salem Oregon, you’ll want to know about our local coffee houses. Each has their own ambiance. French Press. A newcomer to the Salem Oregon scene, this coffee house just happens to have some awesome crepes to…
In 1864, this photo was taken of the Cook Hotel located on the corner of High and State Streets…the SE corner of it, in fact. The hotel changed owners a couple of times and was the Monroe Hotel before the Bligh’s purchased the building and land, razed it, and built Bligh’s Capital Theater. Bligh’s Capital…
I’m always chatting with real estate agents around the country to see, who is doing what in terms of new marketing. I’m always looking for new ideas to market my real estate listings here in the Salem area. I was chatting with a really great Colts Neck, NJ real estate agent, Andrew Lenza about the…
If you are considering relocating to the Salem Oregon area, the Salem Art Fair is a really great festival that occurs in July every year. It’s held at Bush Park and artists from all over are invited. Artists have to submit their work and be accepted into the fair, so the quality is always stellar,…
Riverfront Park is one of the main larger parks in Salem Oregon. It houses the outdoor amphitheater for summer concerts, a covered area for concerts, movies and family gatherings, a large splash pad, play structures, walking paths, the Willamette Queen, and the Riverfront Carousel. A nice flat sidewalk is perfect for kids who want to…
In June of 2009, in Oklahoma, a lawsuit of a buyer against a seller and the listing agent was allowed to go to the Oklahoma supreme court. At issue, the ability of the buyer to sue the seller and the agent for misrepresentation of square footage. Here in Salem, Oregon, I have been appalled by…
This is a guest post by Carmen Babb. Most of us would like to make a difference and many of us can honestly say we get to in some way. But….it seems like I hear a lot of people say, “I’d love to get involved with community projects, but I just never hear about anything…
Most people have heard of HOA’s: Home Owner’s Associations. Salem Oregon has some HOA communities but generally speaking they are not a large part of our real estate market like in some parts of the country. HOA’s are always formed for condo developments and sometimes for single family developments as well. The local golf club…
Located in the Willamette River, Minto Brown Island Park is a great local park for walking, bike riding, jogging, and feeding some geese. The geese are well aware that people are the bearers of food.
If you are considering moving to Salem Oregon and you are a parent, I know one of your questions is about school choices in the area. Salem has some private school choices, both religious and non-religious. Private schools Abiqua (k-8) Abiqua is currently in the process of expanding their school. They will be relocating to…
Negative numbers often conjure up negative images for me. -40 degrees…means you are freezing your hiney off in some insanely cold part of the country. -$50 means you just bounced a check at the local grocery store. You know sometimes a negative number is a good thing…. -10 pounds…there aren’t too many people in the…
As you drive down high street here in Salem Oregon, the mustard yellow building kind of jumps out at you. The first time I saw this finished building I wasn’t sure what to make of it. Was it seriously ugly or seriously cool? Salmon Run was built in 2004 by Curry Brandaw. It is…
Is that the correct term? As someone who is new to blogging, I’m sure I’m going to have to learn a bunch of new terms. I think of it as a topic or opinion that comes to my attention that I have an almost visceral reaction to. After Melina asked me to start thinking about…
I’ve been wanting to have some Salem Oregon mortgage brokers do some guest posts for me because lending is so asinine these days, I thought it best if they could help explain the new and crazy process to you all. True to form, an underwriter is nit picking a transaction about the “paper trail.” The…
Selling a home in Salem Oregon Some time ago, I was chatting with another agent about one of my homes for sale in Salem Oregon. Her client had made an offer and things were not going well for a bunch of reasons…reasons that I couldn’t tell her about. The agent was frustrated with me and…
It seems that every time I go somewhere and someone finds out I’m a Salem Oregon real estate agent they always ask me about how the downtown condos are doing. “Have any of them sold?” is often the question I get. Both The Meridian and The Church Street Condos have sold units, but we all…
I can’t believe I am writing this post because I know some real estate agent will get upset with me for talking about this, but there is a fascinating discussion happening behind closed doors at ActiveRain. ActiveRain is a real estate blogging network that I belong to. I can’t link to the post and the…
I wrote on Facebook the other day that I think time changes stink. I am not a morning person to begin with so taking an hour of my sleep away from me leaves me thinking a quintuple espresso is sounding good. Between the time change and a significant problem in a real estate transaction for…
I love it when people do funky surveys. Just in case you were sitting and home and wondering who the cheaters of the world are out there, rest assured that someone with way too much time on their hands had the exact same thought. I know I sit up at 3:00 in the morning just…
“I’d like a house on a 1/2 an acre,” says the buyer on the phone. I have had this conversation with several people that want to relocate out to this area. I often find myself explaining that in Oregon, all cities are required to have an urban growth boundary per state law. I seem…
This post has nothing to do with real estate…well only indirectly. A local colleague (ie a real estate agent with another company), Charles Price has a really wonderful food blog called Taste of Oregon. In fact it is so good it was selected as one of the blogs in Saveur for best regional food blog. …
Okay…some of you know that I have been in the process of bringing a real estate agent into my firm. Today I was down at the Real Estate Agency with John Kirk, making it official. John is a Principal Broker like myself so that my company can still serve buyers and sellers without dealing with…
I like it when people that read my blog send me things. I was alerted to this study by one of my current clients and thought I would share it with you. What study you ask? Well the folks at Gallup-Healthways created a Well-Being Index. They interviewed a bazillion, okay not really a bazillion but…
Whew…I’ve been so busy in the past couple of weeks that my blog has been neglected. With the tax credit ending soon, buyers are out earlier than usual this year searching for deals… and so are the scammers. I reported before about the Craiglist scam that hit Salem Oregon regarding rental properties. True to form…
Coffee in Salem Oregon Move on over Starbucks…local coffee houses is where it’s at. Salem is fortunate to have some really good local coffee houses, all with a slightly different atmosphere. I think it is important to have different places to go depending on what you are looking for. My favorite top local coffee houses,…
A few years ago I went to a house owned by a single man here in Salem Oregon. He was contemplating putting his home on the market. “What do I need to do to get the house ready?” he asked. “Bulldoze it?” was what I really wanted to say, but with all my mental might…
As you head out of downtown on high street you will see some carpet warehouse buildings off to the left. Head just a bit further and you will hit the Broadway revitalization area. My swan feature this month is the Salem Cinema. I’m a fan of movies and one of those people that likes…
We’ll have to see how the rest of the small towns faire, but Dallas only experienced a 50% jump in foreclosures notices from 2008-2009. It’s pretty sad when a 50% increase is good…Now I think part of that is that some of the builders out there were much smaller builders and went into default in…
With the kind of ugly nature of the Silverton Oregon real estate market for 2008 and 2009, its not surprising that foreclosures are up a lot here. Silverton Oregon Foreclosure Rates This chart shows notice of defaults that were served in Silverton Oregon in 2009, according to Fidelity National Title Co. In Silverton Oregon, there…
I was kinda hoping that some of the smaller towns surrounding Salem Oregon would come out a bit more…well…unscathed, but that is not going to be the case. Unfortunately foreclosure notices are equal opportunity. Keizer Oregon Foreclosure Rates This chart shows notice of defaults that were served in Keizer Oregon in 2009, according to Fidelity…
We don’t get snow very often here in the Salem Oregon area because the clouds keep it warmer in the winter. What people relocating from snow climates need to know about Salem Oregon and snow… 1. I think the city of Salem owns about 2 snow plows…Don’t expect to see one of these mythical machines…
I would love to stop talking about foreclosures, personally. It would mean that Salemites are no longer under financial duress, but unfortunately with our current employment problems this will probably be an issue for a while. Salem Oregon Foreclosure Rates I don’t think you need to be a Salem Oregon real estate agent to know…
I have to say one of the things I love the most about Oregon is that I can get good, local produce constantly. Recently I was introduced to this insanely cool website and map that shows local organic farmers/ranchers that sell meat. All grass fed with no antibiotics and steroids. I thought it was the…
If you are crafty…and you crafty people know who you are…Salem Oregon has activities to keep you occupied depending on what you want to do. 7. Quilted Forest. When I found out I was pregnant with my son, I “decided” I wanted to make him his baby quilt…well that is until I realized that I…
On Thursday Dec 30, 2010 at 09:17:46 AM (PDT) Oregon was hit was an earthquake. Now before you get all stressed about it…it was only a 3.6 magnitude and by Mt. Hood. Oregon has volcanoes; 5 of which are considered active. The USGS keeps track of large historic earthquakes. Oregon has had 5. •· 1910…
Anyone involved with the world of real estate including little ol’ Salem Oregon knows that lending is a pain in the behind for many folks. Working with good mortgage brokers is essential these days or buyers risk spending a lot of money on home inspections and appraisals only to have deals fall through. I know…
Unless you have lived under a rock in Salem Oregon, you know something big happened in the Northgate Neighborhood of Salem Oregon: the Kroc Center. Salem is one of 8 cities across the nation that was awarded a Kroc center by the Kroc family…you know the founders of McDonald’s. Upon her death in 2003, Joan…
Moving to Salem Oregon? Due to the amount of rain we get, we do get landslides. It’s pretty much basic physics: it rains, the soil becomes saturated and heavy by the rains, and gravity pulls it down. Voila…a landslide. Most of our landslides seem to occur along the coast in the Oregon Coast Range, but…
Okay I had my contest for a new blog name and you all were gracious to spare some brain power and help me out. While no one came up with a name that would work for me, Thesa Chambers, a wonderful agent in Central Oregon, by the way…got me thinking on a different vein than…
Everyone needs a top 10 list for their blog. I think it’s a blogging rule or something. I’ve never been one to follow the crowd so I’m doing a top 8 list instead. I have to set myself apart somehow you know. This is my first top list and just like my other Ugly Duckling…
Now I know that some of you think a buyer’s agent is there to help you assess whether or not a home is the right one for you, but really…you need to watch this video to see what top notch buyer agents do for their clients. Forget permits, flood plains, and zoning issues…nothing beats this…
Okay all of my much more creative than me readers… Here’s the deal… Earlier in the year I participated in a “Blog Idol” for this real estate training I went to. The name of my blog “The Real Estate Jumble” wasn’t winning any awards with any of the judges. In fact they thought the name…
Everyone has their holiday traditions. My family and I celebrate Christmas and so our traditions revolve around that holiday. Our family tradition for this holiday actually starts in the summer. I know, kind of weird folks that we are, but here’s why. The Christmas Cottage. In Lincoln City on the south end of town, is…
Last month I talked about the recent renovation to the Union Street bridge that was converted into a pedestrian bridge in the first part of my series, but I have to say this this project was a real change for downtown Salem Oregon…the convention center and Phoenix Grand Hotel. Taking a city block the Phoenix…
Okay I’ve been asked a lot of questions about the home buyer tax credit lately by some of my Salem Oregon clients. I saw this really great summary video and wanted to share it with you. This explains the basics of the tax credit. Now some of you have unique situations that I just don’t…
Last night a young teen knocked on our door around 11:00 asking for food. My husband and I were up, the lights were on, and we live in a nice neighborhood. The obviously well loved teen had some parents who were just struggling to make ends meet. Anyone with a teenage boy know how much…
A recently wrote a post about someone that listed with another agent because I told her that her home needed to be staged. Envisioning all of her furniture in storage somewhere and one black chair in her living room, she passed on my advice. Most often, when I recommend staging, I recommend that we use…
Earlier this year I “lost” a listing. That’s what we agents say when a home seller chooses to go with another company. I am a call it as I see it type of person, and with this seller, I said the words “your home needs to be staged to sell. It won’t photograph well.” I…
For those of you that have read my blog in the past, you know that I had an iPhone app that I was trying out for local Salem Oregon home searches. I wasn’t pleased with it so I discontinued using it. No more is this true. This new app is cool for iPhone users, and…
It was well known in the real estate world that banks didn’t like to take deed-in-lieu of foreclosure from sellers in trouble. Any seller that has tried to negotiate one of these in the past two years has gone up against a brick wall. It is well known in the real estate world that there…
Ten years ago or so now, we decided to leave our beloved West Hills of Portland and head down to Salem for a great opportunity for my husband. I was not thrilled, which is an under statement, about leaving Portland because everyone knew that Salem was ugly and that it sucked. Never mind that I…
I’m a fall person. I love cool weather and the change of the leaves. I can’t help but think of our fresh local apple cider. I constantly get asked by people considering relocating to the Salem Oregon area about the weather. Now I have talked about our snow…and the city’s one snow plow, but people…
I was pointed to this blog today and as a real estate agent, I appreciate architecture. I strongly suggest when you have a few minutes you head over and look at these photos. The title of the post… 50 Strange Buildings of the World, oh…and there is a Part II and Part III. Here is…
There is no argument that real estate is changing. The question is what will it look like. What it will look like depends solely on what consumers want. G.D. Gearino wrote in a NC business magazine If ever there’s a field ripe to be made obsolete by technology, it’s real-estate brokerage. There is no objective…
As the third quarter has come to an end, we can get a better look at a lot of our local real estate data. I’ll write some posts about our small cities in the next two weeks, but wanted to focus this post on Salem Oregon again, specifically looking at the foreclosure data. The rise…
One of the most difficult things about having a blog is that it is an easy target. I spend a lot of time running data, going to neighborhoods to take photos, and writing content for you all…my readers. The fact is that my goal is purely selfish: my hope is that you read what I…
I think one of the most difficult things about moving to a different area is trying to figure out what your income will get you there. Can you afford to buy a house in Salem Oregon? Clearly real estate in Manhattan is just a tad bit more expensive than real estate in Salem Oregon. I…
With unemployment still high many Salem Oregon area homeowners are in a dire predicament these days. The letter that comes in the mail stating their home is headed for foreclosure is not happy news. In the 2009 Oregon Legislature, a bill was passed…Senate Bill 628 for the curious. This bill requires lenders to meet with…
Home buyers and sellers forget about real estate for a minute and less talk about warm apple cider.
For the past four years, we have taken the kids to Bauman Farms. I got the official count down from my kids…only 6 more days ’till it opens! It typically opens Oct 1, but they are open starting this weekend (unbeknown to my kids)… Every community has its special events and hidden gems. Pumpkin patches…
Anyone who has watched the Lion King has listened to the song Circle of Life as they talked about the food chain. Grass is eaten by antelopes who in turn get eaten by lions. When the lions die they decompose and fertilize the grass that the antelopes eat. Each plays their part in the food…
It was recently reported that the unemployment rate drop we had in July bumped back up in August to 12.2%. I think most people realize that our economy has many woes and it won’t be an easy or fast recovery. It has been talked about ad nauseum in pretty much any real estate forum that…
I’m home sick today here in Salem Oregon and have been wandering around on different forums since my kids have hijacked the television. As I was reading a thread, my jaw hit the floor. The topic of the thread was from a seller frustrated that her children’s toys were being played with during showings. Buyers…
Broker Bryant a real estate agent in Poinciana Florida was recently talking about the upswing in consumer walkaways. Now the term jingle mail has been around for a couple of years now and refers to when home owners just mails their keys back to the lender and walks away from their house. As consumers are…
“Buyers are liars and sellers are worse.” Every industry has it’s “catch phrases” which don’t always exude professionalism. That above phrase is the real estate’s nasty catch phrase. There is a discussion occurring on the ActiveRain real estate network about this phrase. First of all, you all need to know I think it sucks. I…
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…
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.”…
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…
Whether you are a long time resident or considering relocating to Salem Oregon, the Bite of Salem is our annual event to let some restaurants share their food. This year one of my favorites, French Press was there. The event is held towards the end of July every year and the South Salem Rotary Club…
I recently read an article in the Portland Business Journal about the spike in foreclosures in Oregon. As I read it, I was dumbfounded by the statistics they quoted. Most of you know that I track and have written about our Salem Oregon area foreclosures on several occasions. In the article it stated: Salem ranked…
One of the reasons many people choose to move to Oregon is because of our many natural areas. There is no lack of trees in Oregon and the Salem Oregon area has its fair share of great local parks. North Fork Park is just one great area. Located close to Mill City, this park is…
The Asher Anderson Waterpark opened on July 4, 2009 at Riverfront Park here in Salem Oregon. We hadn’t been to it yet, and it was hot yesterday so we headed out to go check it out. It is located toward the north end of the park nearby the Willamette Queen and the amphitheatre. The splash…
I need some clients who have money to burn on really expensive houses in Salem Oregon so I can make some more money…know anyone? See my problem is that I went to the Salem Art Fair, like I have every year since we moved to Salem ten years ago. This is a problem because it…
I wrote a post about our rise in foreclosure notices here in Salem Oregon. I know many of the recent folks getting notice of defaults now were folks with good credit that have been laid off due to the recession. Finding a job in the Salem Oregon area is very difficult right now and many…
I ran the real estate market reports for our local Salem metro area, Marion county cities, and will run Polk counties as well. With the recent news that Oregon held at 12.2% unemployment, I wanted to go ahead and write a new foreclosure post. You don’t have to be a statistician to see the trending. …
SmartMoney wrote a brief article the other day called “10 things your real estate broker won’t tell you.” I just wanted to give my .005 cents worth about that article. 1) “Your open house is really just a networking party for me.” Is the number one thing that agents won’t tell you about selling your…
Apparently, Aumsville Oregon missed the real estate memo letting them know that the market stinks everywhere. Really it is supposed to be horrible everywhere per the media. This small town seems confused because their current inventory is a mere 3.8 months. Apparently, no one sent, or those Aumsvillians? Aumsvillites? didn’t read it because 3.85 months…
I had posted last month about Silverton Oregon’s real estate market stubbornness and sellers unwilling to concede that home prices needed to drop. I’d take credit for the correction that occurred there, but I know I really don’t have that much control over the market… Home prices seem to have finally started correcting this quarter. …
One of the things I have learned to like about living in the Salem Oregon area is all of the smaller town festivals. Obviously, yesterday was the 4th of July, and rather than deal with the lack of parking in downtown Salem, we decided to head out to Western Days in Monmouth and Independence Oregon.…
One of our local bloggers, the Kid Friendly Salem Blog, was asked by a reader about local areas with clean water for kids to play and splash on a hot summer day. One of my favorite places to take my kids on a hot day, besides Silver Falls State Park, is the Santiam River. It…
There are old home buyers and new home buyers. For old home buyers, the Court-Chemeketa Historic District here in Salem Oregon has some gorgeous homes. Located just off the downtown area, Court-Chemeketa is conviently located to coffee shops, grocery store, bistros, and has that “walkability factor” which many people desire. View Court-Chemeketa Historic District in…
Old McSalem had a farm E-I-E-I-O and on that farm he had some hens E-I-E-I-O with a cluck, cluck here and a cluck, cluck there here a cluck, there a cluck, everywhere a cluck, cluck. Old McSalem had a farm E-I-E-I-O I wrote a post not too long ago about the chicken ban that Salem…
I blogged about something sweet the other day, so it only makes sense to talk about something not so sweet today. Okay, not really, but I needed some kind of tie in there… Anyone that wants to look at living outside city limits or on acreage property in the Salem Oregon area is going to…
If you are looking to relocate to Salem Oregon from another state you need to know there is never a lack of things to do here. Unless of course, you don’t like being outdoors.. When I relocated here about 20 years ago now, one of the first places we visited was Silver Falls State Park. …
About a year ago I was showing a Salem Oregon buyer a home. As I was showing this house to a client, I flipped open the panel box to see what kind of it was. This is my standard MO in older homes. Federal Pacific…right there on the tag. The seller happened to be…
I’m sensing some frustration on the part of Salem Oregon buyers as they try and seek out all of those short sales and foreclosures that are supposed to be all over the market. The reason that local buyers are struggling to find these well-publicized bargains is because there aren’t a lot of them out there. …
I always relish June 1 every year. Typically Oregon strawberries start to ripen and are just waiting to be plucked and eaten. Every year we take the kids to a local u-pick and pick strawberries. We eat a lot of them over the winter so we pick a bunch and freeze them. There is nothing…
You are trying to relocate from another state and you are trying to figure out…where are the good schools? Probably the most common request I get from buyers looking to relocate to Salem Oregon area is: I want to be in a good school district. With summer coming up, I know many parents are looking…
Thesa Chambers, a central Oregon real estate agent , posted this great link about “Which states will be early risers?” on her Central Oregon Buzz blog. I thought it was a neat little projection about the state economies recovery from the recession. Moody’s Economy did a projection for when each state is expected to see…
Wow…all I can say is wow… There are some folks in the real estate industry that have been trying to change the way real estate is done, bought and sold. These companies are often called “discounters” because they don’t want to charge people that elusive 5-7% real estate commission. I have an alternative business model…
Brian Brady wrote an interesting post on Bloodhound Blog yesterday about the real estate industry. I think it is worth bringing to your attention AND I would like to hear what you all think of it. Brian wrote: Prominently display the terms and dates of the rejected offers, verified by participating market professionals, in the…
Sometimes you get presented with an opportunity just too good to pass up. Me…I get presented with those “great opportunities” pretty much daily. Take today, for example… First, I, formally known as Melina Tomson but now known as “email bearer,” won a cool $2.5M in a lotto I never entered. I was always taught that…
You may remember I wrote a post about how you could use the $8,000 tax credit as a down payment for a Salem Oregon home with a “new plan” that was announced, only to retract it 24 hours later. So…in order to make things “easy”…cough, cough… for first-time homebuyers the government had an announcement about…
Did you know in real estate that there is a term that floats around…deal killers. This is what some Salem Oregon real estate agents call home inspectors that are “nit picky.” Some home inspectors were renamed deal killers by “wrong thinking” agents because they were actually good at what they do. They “killed deals” because…
Last weekend was the first fabulous weekend here in Salem Oregon. Like many other Salemites, my family headed to Minto-Brown to ride around the great bike/walking paths they have there. Armed with my camera, I took several shots of some geese and ducks that were playing in the pond at the park. A passerby said…
Okay, I made a few changes on my sidebar that I wanted all my readers, all 3 of you, to know about. First is my iPhone app. Yes, I love my iPhone and I am doing a little trial run with a Salem Oregon metro area home search iPhone application. You can search my IDX…
The other day, I wrote a post about how HUD was going to allow first time home buyers with FHA loans to get a “bridge type” loan on their tax credit so they can use it as a down payment. That has since been retracted. Personally, I am not surprised. It would take a while…
Down payment assistance programs, lovingly called DAP’s by we in the real estate industry, were nixed as of Oct 2008. Between asking sellers to pay for closing costs and then having the seller’s “gift” them down payment monies, many home buyers were getting into FHA home loans for nothing out of their pocket. The backlash…
Dear Mother Nature, I just wanted to clarify something for you because it seems that you are a tad bit confused. See I live here in Salem Oregon and we are of course known for having a wee bit of rain here in the Pacific Northwest. Now as I have been out with home buyers…
Bank foreclosures are nothing new, but in California things are so bad in some areas that the banks are starting to destroy some homes. We clearly don’t have this problem in Salem Oregon. Our real estate market, while it has its issues, is far from destroying property. Here is a YouTube video that shows the…
“Buyer gets 50% off short sale listing!”…”Homes in Detroit selling for $1.” I know some buyers are thinking this will happen here in Salem Oregon as well. Smack! That’s the sound of those buyers hitting their heads up against the wall because those stellar deals they read about on Google, aren’t coming to fruition here. …
I used to do drama in high school and one of the school plays was Arsenic and Old Lace. In 1944 it was made into a movie starring Cary Grant and the premise behind it was that a man finds out that his beloved aunts are homicidal maniacs that poison people with arsenic. It’s a…
Non-recourse. If you are spending any time talking about real estate and loans, then you have probably heard the word recourse and non-recourse. Here in Salem area, most home loans are non-recourse loans. What this means is that if the bank forecloses on your home, the home itself is the sole means they have for…
Why is it that when you go to a conference you return home totally exhausted when you just sat there all day? I recently went to RE BarCamp in Portland. It’s a real estate techie kind of deal. Anyway…they pulled my blog up on the screen and I got some feedback and will have some…
Foreclosures, short sales and bargains on the brain. I get this. Buyers want deals and with the national news out there with some areas hit by tons of foreclosures, it is easy to see why buyers think every home is in foreclosure. So here’s the deal…well at least the deal for the 30 minutes it…
I’m going to deviate from my normal real estate focus to share with you some photos. Originally I came from the Chicago area to Portland to Salem. I wasn’t sure how I would feel about giving up those “big city” things to do. I have to tell you that the local community festivals in Marion…
Amy left this comment on one of my posts about the Salem Oregon real estate market and it seemed like it would be a good post. Amy asked: What’s the state of the financing market? We hear so much bad news in the media, but I see people buying homes, cars, etc. What is the…
Purchasing a home here in Salem Oregon is a huge investment and many people save for a down payment, but forget about closing costs. Recently, the real estate document recording fee was raised from $11 to $26. A $15 increase. These funds would be mostly used for affordable housing projects. With that recent news, as…
Many sellers are struggling to sell their Salem Oregon home, and can’t figure out why. Most of my clients listen to my advice when I tell them what they HAVE to do in order to sell their home. Just because you don’t like what I have to say doesn’t mean that it isn’t true. So…
There are several newer subdivisions of homes out in West Salem Oregon from West Meadows Estates to Woodhaven Estates to Deer Ridge Estates. Deer Ridge Estates was developed in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s as there were several phases to the subdivision. View Deer Ridge Estates in a larger map Deer Ridge Estates is…
ActiveRain is a real estate network that I participate in with other industry professionals. Some interesting discussions occur there about many different industry topics. The most recent one…are Realtors partially responsible for the mess we are in today? The source of the debate was a Fox News broadcast with the CEO of Coldwell Banker. The…
I know this is horrible, but for whatever reason whenever I hear this neighborhood’s name, I always think of toilet paper. There is a brand called White Cloud, and for whatever insane reason I think of it when talking about Cloud 9…I think I need to work on a different association… View Larger Map Now…
Dear Readers… As a tech geek, I’m always looking into new ways to market my Salem Oregon real estate listings…so I’m wanting some feedback from you guys who read my posts. I have done custom blogsites for my listings you can see one here at 970 Heather Lane. I recently got inspired to do an…
Salem Oregon home owners in trouble…Credit markets failing…unemployment increasing…home prices plunging…Salem Oregon real estate drops…foreclosures on the rise…stock market in turmoil screamed the headlines last year and well…so far this year as well. In an attempt to help homeowners, as only they can, the federal government created the HOPE program five months ago which was…
If you are looking for real estate in Salem Oregon and want to live in a stable neighborhood, Woodscape might be a good choice for you. Now Woodscape is actually three separate sections, Woodscape, Woodscape Glen, and the newest part, Woodscape Green. Homes in the original part of Woodscape were built in the 1970’s and…
With the words short sale and foreclosure being batted about and a first time home buyer tax credit, buyers have been emailing me and asking how to purchase real estate here in Salem Oregon. Typically it is a fairly straightforward process. First, you need to talk with a local lender to see what you qualify…
The Wall Street Journal had an article recently about the increase in lending guidelines for purchasing a condo. Now, normally you wouldn’t think that would be such a big deal here in Salem Oregon because we don’t have a lot of condos, but…here is what the article stated. The government-backed mortgage-finance company stopped guaranteeing mortgages…
This is a really good video for buyers considering purchasing a house this year and hoping to use the tax credit. Here are the yes’s and no situations about who qualifies.
With the Madoff Ponzi scheme, mortgage fraud, and it seems pretty much any fraud you can think of running amok in our nation, I guess it comes as no surprise that someone is trying to deal with it. In Cook County Illinois home sellers are going to be required to fingerprint their right thumb as…
In case you didn’t hear…not sure why you would hear all the way here in Salem Oregon…a South Carolina real estate agent was caught on tape trashing a competitor’s real estate signs. A SC real estate agent, Mullen, had been having problems for months with his signs being stolen and vandalized. Setting up a “sting”…
Forget about the golden rule… I mean Oregon unemployment is at 9.9% and that doesn’t include February’s ugly numbers…Homeless shelters, food banks, churches are being pushed to the extremes with many families struggling to make ends meet. So with all of this cheery news out there, what do we see for troubled folks… Scams…yep here…
I’m not sure how to feel about this exactly, to tell you the truth…I mean a lot of people here in Salem Oregon are facing losing their homes due to foreclosure. So you’d think I’d be all happy about a program that can help them get refinanced and stay in their homes… On NYTimes.com, they…
Bawk…Bawk… As many of you may know, there is currently a ban on having chickens on your property if you live within Salem Oregon city limits. There has long been a movement to allow people to have chickens on their property. This movement is picking up some steam due to the recent economic woes. Stressing…
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…
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…
“Is this a short sale?” I can’t tell you how many agents are asking me that question on my regular listings here in Salem Oregon. I really want to scream…NOT ALL HOMES FOR SALE ARE DISTRESSED. In fact here in Salem Oregon only a small percentage are short sale or foreclosure attempts. MOST are regular…
I was reading Eugene Loan Guy, Fred Chamerlain’s blog today, and he was talking about a new loan program called HomePath for Fannie Mae homes. For folks wanting to build remodeling money into their mortgage there has always been the FHA streamline and regular FHA rehab loans, as well as renovation loans available through conventional…
After running all of those heinous inventory numbers, there is really only one option for sellers in Salem Oregon. Get with the program if you want to sell. So what is the program? Keep your house clean and make it look good. I know…top secret information here… Seriously though…I have learned in my life that…
Mostly built in the 1970s and 1980s, the homes in Ironwood Estates are well maintained. One of the nice aspects of the neighborhood is that there is a variety of architecture within its confines. While it is mostly traditional styles, the variety makes it feel more neighborly. Some of the attracting features of the neighborhood…
While the face of foreclosure is changing, what does this really mean for local buyers and sellers hoping for a short sale here in Salem-Keizer? Are people really getting good deals? I did a little “mini-study” of successfully negotiated short sales for the past three months. I pulled data from the WVMLS which was designated…
As a Salem Oregon real estate agent I get solicited all of the time…. buy this super duper neon green pen to give to all of your clients who will love it so much they will refer 100 people to you…just because of this pen! It is squishy you know…people like squishy pens. or buy…
With people reading about the plethora of short sale homes and foreclosures all across the nation, it makes sense to me that you will want to try and snap up one of these “good deals” here in Salem Oregon Interest rates are still low, and you think that a short sale is the way to…
In October 2008, I wrote a post The Mighty Start to Fall about the bankruptcy of Pacific Lifestyle Homes…one of the larger builders in the area. They had a liquidation sale going on back in October as part of their restructuring for bankruptcy. There were several Salem Oregon homes that were part of that original…
Located in Keizer, OR, McNary is a golf course community. As you enter on McNary Estates Drive, you will see the golf course off to the left along with the clubhouse. It is one of the few places in the Salem area to get golf course homes and the only place in Keizer. The McNary…
$45. That’s the HOA dues for Hidden Creek Estates each year. Not too bad. It is governed by an HOA and does have CC&Rs. Located off River Rd in Keizer Oregon, Hidden Lakes is a community with well-maintained homes. There are not typically a lot of homes on the market in this neighborhood. With walking…
I just wrote a post a couple of days about about old Englewood. I thought it best to talk about them separately, since they have very different architecture. East Englewood runs from 23rd to around Park and is made up of homes built in the 1950-1970 range. East Englewood is made up mostly of ranch…
Located in South Salem Oregon, Golf Club Estates at Creekside is composed of 9 phases of home development. The Creekside golf course is an excellent private course located here in Salem. The subdivision is located off of south Sunnyside Rd. It is bounded on the North by Mildred. It is common to see golf carts…
If you are looking for a home in a neighborhood with a lot of mature trees, Sunnyridge might be the place for you. Located in south Salem Oregon, the Sunnyridge neighborhood is part of the larger Sunnyslope Neighborhood Association. It was mostly developed in the 1960-1970 time frame so the ranch style home is very…
If you are looking to purchase real estate in Salem Oregon consider Laurel Springs. In the fall, the colors in this neighborhood are truly stunning. Like old friends, the oaks and the maples reach across the street to touch each other. Started in about 1960, Laurel Springs is characterized by large trees and well-kept landscapes.…
Located on the southern part of Salem Oregon, Illahe Hills Estates is a wonderful option for buyers wanting that country club feel. Located off of River Rd to the south, this neighborhood has some diverse architecture located within the boundaries. If you are looking for a mid-century modern home, there is some of that architecture…
Located in south Salem Oregon, Chinook Estates is a stunning community of custom homes with often gorgeous views of the mountains and valley. Since these homes are custom-built, there is a variety of architecture from French Country, modern, Victorian, and traditional styles. Chinook was first developed in the late 1970s with construction still continuing today. Chinook Estates sits between…
Located on the southern tip of downtown Salem Oregon, the Fairmount neighborhood is a wonderful option for buyer looking for historic homes. Located between Owens and Rural streets to the North and South, and River Rd and Commercial St to the East and West, this neighborhood has some diverse architecture located within the boundaries. It…
Located close to downtown, the Bush Park neighborhood has a portion of the Historic District located within its confines. Located between Rural and Mission, and Liberty and 12th, this neighborhood has some stunning architecture located within. This neighborhood sits just south of the 90 acre Bush Pasture Park. It’s proximity to downtown, location to a…
I love old homes. I love the details and wondering what the owners were like 100 years ago. I like seeing the original water closet as it is reminiscent of our past and where we have come from. Salem has several designated historic districts, including one downtown. We have two residential historic districts Bush Park/Gaity…
I was reading a post by Nelya Calev where she questioned the term “motivated seller” in the MLS. Now I have often seen that term as well and sometimes laugh at the home that has a “motivated seller” with no price drop on the house. What’s that about? Does that mean the seller is motivated…
As the housing market started to heat up in 2004, a new subdivision was underway in West Salem: West Meadows Estates. A huge subdivision of homes located behind the new West Salem High school, this new subdivision has it all…beautiful homes, close to schools, and a nice community feel. Like most new subdivisions, West Meadows…
Foreclosure…short sales…these are common words these days. Buyers specifically ask about these homes as they are perceived to be a good deal. The rate of foreclosure has gone up in Salem Oregon and will continue to rise in 2009. Right now 3.8% of the listings on the WVMLS are designated as short sales. There are…
Okay..I’ve had some request for foreclosure data specifically regarding our local areas. As I was crunching this data today and working on the charts, I was checking the MLS for new homes for buyers. As I pulled 14 listings for a buyer today, 3 were designated as short sale attempts. I can say that is…
Let’s see… Madoff swindled $50 billion from innocent people and charities A financial advisor faked his death in a plane crash CEO’s receiving bailout money were asking for large bonuses for themselves Citicorp is teetering on the edge Mass layoff’s are continuing on and on Sometimes you just can’t open the newspaper or your Google…
Home Inspections Not too long ago Jim Allhiser, a local Salem Oregon home inspector, did an inspection for a client of mine. The house was an older home and had wall heaters in the house. After you go through a few home inspections, you get to see all of the creative ways that homeowners…
View Larger Map Skyway, Heaven, Cloudview, Stratus are all names of streets that make up part of the Cloud 9 neighborhood. …don’t worry cumulonimbus is not one of the streets in this neighborhood. Located in South Salem, Cloud 9 was built mostly in the early 1990’s. As such there has been some time for trees…
Apparently in Lee County Florida, they are starting to investigate Chinese Drywall as causing failure of air conditioning systems and potential health problems. I have no idea if this problem exists out here in Oregon, but for folks with newer construction homes, watch for air conditioning problems and a quick call to the builder may…
In June of 1845, settlers from Missouri arrived in what was to be called Independence. One of the settlers, John Thorp settled north of Ash Creek and that area was called Thorps’ town. In 1861, a large flood occurred that left the town devastated. A new city, south of the old town, was platted on…
Hailing originally from Illinois, I have to say the one thing I sometimes miss about the Midwest is snow. Oregon has mountains so I can get my snow fix every year, but I do have very fond memories of playing in the snow…including the Midwest blizzard of ’79… Now that was snow…but I digress… We…
Thesa Chambers, a Central Oregon real estate agent, wrote on her blog today about a scam that is happening out there. In her post she wrote… Today, I discovered that there is a group of people posing as asset managers and stripping homes in Central Oregon listed as short sales. They are removing everything they…
Just today the Fed met and lowered interest rates to historic lows, and they also announced plans to discuss purchasing bad securitized loans and potentially treasury bonds. As a result there was a rally on the stock market with this news. Why is the fed taking such bold moves? This… That seriously huge green peak…
Sometimes I am surprised that people are surprised. According to a December 8th article by Market Watch, a high number of modifed mortgages are re-defaulting. They were surprised?? Really?? According to the OCC statistics, which looked at loans modified in the first quarter and second quarter of 2008, 36% of borrowers had re-defaulted by being…
It’s been no big secret that many people don’t feel too fondly for their real estate agents. Gallup does a survey every year about professionals, integrity, respect…you get the idea. Essentially, what professions are the most respected and what are the least. They released their annual study at the end of November. Agents are not…
Any real estate agent that has worked with a buyer doing a VA (Veteran’s Administration) loan can tell you that they are not always the smoothest of transactions. I won’t go into details… Oregon is fortunate that we have the ODVA loan program. The Oregon Department of Veteran’s Affairs has an amazing loan program for…
My husband is directionally challenged. In fact he is so bad that whatever his instincts tell him to do, he does the opposite. He says he has a 95% hit rate of heading the right direction that way. Me…I have pretty good directional instincts. He tells me which way to go and I ignore him.…
I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. I had a little break from blogging as I am working on a new blogging platform. I will be converting over to WordPress here soon, but your feed should still work just fine. If for some reason it doesn’t work, just click on www.SalemOregonRealEstateHomes.com and get…
Okay…what the heck is going on here in Oregon? I think we have a little sugar high going on or something. We currently have our Salem folks trying to “sell” their home via one line entry contest…we had the folks in Yachats have you try and win their home…and now… another contest. This one is…
Obviously I am a real estate agent so what happens in the real estate market is important to me. I don’t like making long term predictions about our market since, well…lots of things can happen between now and then. The Boston Herald reported the results of a survey conducted by Campbell Communications indicating that 52%…
I was recently talking with someone about the real estate market. She was telling me that she is chronically hearing from agents about how little business they are doing. As the discussion progressed about how there were too many agents for too little business. She asked me, what I thought. How many transactions should an…
Home owners underwater? I’m not talking about people that have pools in their backyards either… Home owners in trouble is not a big secret, unless you live in the bat cave. Foreclosures, short sales, buy and bail are all consequences of home owners being underwater. CNNMoney.com had an interesting article a couple of weeks ago…
As I generate market data to see what is happening here in my local market, it is easy to get off task. Focus on what is difficult in the world of real estate, and not what is better. NAR came out with an interactive market research tool. Now, the data currently on it is for…
So the essay contest for the home in Yachats, OR was too much for you? You didn’t want to Win this home because you had to write a 250 word essay? Have no fear…there is now a home that you can win here in Salem, OR that just requires you to complete a sentence. Yep…just…
In July of this year, the CCB started to require that builders offer a one year warranty on all new construction homes. The details of the policy change are available at the CCB website. There are still several options for new construction homes for buyers in the Salem area. Just know that now you should…
I was recently reading a good post by Kris Berg. Kris has been a real estate agent for a long time with Prudential in California. She and her husband recently left to start their own brokerage. Large real estate brokerages are powerhouses in the market, including here in Salem Oregon. As training grounds for new…
Many parts of the country have been grappling with difficult times. The Salem market has problems, and in case you didn’t hear, Pacific Lifestyle Homes declared bankruptcy. Salem has one subdivision started with this builder. It is the Chandler Estates subdivision out west. View Larger Map The subdivision is only partially finished, but the press…
My local MLS has lost 8% of it’s membership since the start of the year, and I would expect that number to continue to decline over the next year. Foreclosures…short sales…buy and bail…DAP’s gone…pick something and it is making being a real estate agent harder these days. I am having a good year this year,…
With the financial markets still under stress, two major forces in the world of real estate announced layoffs. Redfin, a Seattle based real estate company, is cutting 20% of its work force, and Zillow announced today that they were cutting 25% of its workforce. Just yesterday, I had looked to see how our local brokerages…
Dear Mr. Contractor, I wanted to thank you for doing the repair work on the home that my buyers are purchasing here in Salem, OR. They are very excited about this house. I just wanted to make sure that you understood that in real estate transactions, the deal is between the buyer and the seller…
On Wednesday in Portland a house slid down a hill about 300 feet, crashing into the house below it. Oregon has landslides every year due to our clay soil and rain. In this case, we haven’t had a lot of rain lately, but they think a broken sprinkler line or sewer pipe may be the…
“I want it.” “No, I want it.” Sounds like a bad day at my house arguing over toys, cookies, or whatever else happens to be in the warpath at that particular moment in time. What this reminds me of is the warpath between buyers and sellers of homes, here in Salem Oregon. Some time ago,…
As an agent I get a list of new NOD’s (Notice of Defaults) every week emailed to me. I have seen some familiar names on those lists. I see many listings on the MLS with “motivated seller”, “short sale” “lender approval required.” Times are tight for many. I have always encouraged my buyers to look…
I haven’t been blogging this past week as I have been trying to stay on top of the bailout in order to help my clients with their current choices. With so much political spin, it is tough to figure out what makes sense for many people. Buyers and sellers are asking…”so exactly how does this…
I don’t know about you all, but my head is spinning. Good bailout, bad bailout, your fault, my fault, their fault… Status of the financial markets is important to real estate. Clearly if there is no credit, then there are no loans, which means no buyers, and sellers can’t sell. As such, I have been…
Remodeling… You start a project and then realize you are in way over your head. Ugh…time to find a contractor to help. Ask a friend… “Yeah, I know so and so, he’ll cut you a deal. He’s cheap.” After spending a ton of money trying to make the project work, cheap sounds good. The problem….illegal…
Earlier this year I got my tablet PC. My goal: paperless transactions. I’ve had a learning curve with it, but have it figured out now. I like it. Today, after having my clients sign on my PC, I emailed the offer right off to the other agent. I have registered email attached to all of…
Well…things are happening fast and furious in the world of finance. Fannie and Freddie is old news. In case you haven’t heard at 1:45 this morning, Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy. In addition Merrill Lynch was bought by Bank of America (in a sell or go bankrupt move), and AIG will fail in about oh…48-72 hours…
Crummy real estate agents. You may have had one, or you know someone that did. US News & World Report wrote an article about how to tell if your agent is a crummy agent. There wasn’t anything particularly new about the information, but I am surprised at how many people hire crummy agents. 1) Communication-if…
The federal takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has been all over the news. Unless you have been on vacation for the past week, I’m sure you at least read some blurb about this. What does that mean for us here in Salem Oregon? We are just one of the many that will be…
You want to know what agents really do at open houses? (c) Copyright, 2008. Melina Tomson, All Rights Reserved (ie…be nice and create your own content. Don’t steal mine…)
Travis Newton, a local Salem area mortgage broker, emailed me this nice little chart with the information about the Tax Credit. It was nice and simple, so I thought I would share it with you. Feature : H.R. 3221 Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 Amount of Credit: 10% of the cost of the…
Home shopping in Salem Oregon. Always Adventurous. We laughed as we walked up the stairs to view a home. The exterior of the home was beautiful, the masonry well done. Just based on the exterior of the home, it was their favorite so far. As I cracked open the front door, I was almost bowled…
One of the best things we can do is laugh. It’s good for the soul. Sometimes that means laughing at ourselves or sterotypes. Someone shared this video on another forum, and I thought it was funny. It is about 5 minutes long. I’m thinking about trying his excellent techniques with my clients… (c) Copyright, 2008.…
I haven’t blogged about foreclosure rates here in Salem Metro so it seemed like it was about time. RealtyTrac is a real estate site dedicated to the foreclosure process, whether it is short sales or just notice of defaults. According to their July stats that were released on the 14th of August, Oregon ranks 21st…
What you can afford will depend on who you talk to. In my opinion, one of the worst things you can do is let your home own you. Being “house poor” doesn’t make a lot of sense for most people. There are a few situations, where I think it is okay to push a home…
I like to read Business Week. The latest issue to hit my mailbox, left my jaw dropping. Just Charge That Mortgage by Jessica Silver-Greenberg caught my eye. Apparently using homes as ATM’s during the boom time was not good enough. ChargeSmart,has a new online payment service where homeowners can continue to spend themselves silly. Yep,…
I have been talking with a lot of people about relocating to Salem Oregon lately. I thought I would do a blog series for all of the relocaters about our area. What type of jobs are available here is a very common question. First thing to know, Salem is the state capital of Oregon so…
A common question I get as a real estate agent is “what are the neighbors like?” Most of the time I don’t know. I haven’t met them or seen them. What the buyer’s of a home are interested in are whether or not their neighbors are jerks or not. Some states have nuisance laws so…
You’ve all read about it. Buy and Bail. Walkways. It’s all over the news. For those considering these ideas here in Salem…have you really thought it through. In the buy and bail scenario, a homeowner with good credit purchases a second home and then lets the first home go into foreclosure. With their good credit…
Commissions are negotiable is a mantra of the real estate world. The reason for this is to dispel the myth that there is a standard “6%” commission. That would be price fixing. Not good… So recently Consumer Reports did a study about negotiating real estate commissions. What did they find? Drum roll…you can negotiate commissions.…
There is a healthy debate happening on a forum with regard to HOA’s. The title of the thread is I hate my HOA. Many posters agreed with the original poster about how awful HOA’s are and there was a lot of HOA bashing. One wrote: “I still do not even understand why and how HOAs…
Someone recently brought this video to my attention. It is just under 10 minutes, but Peter Schiff’s speech’s is dead on as to the dynamic that we are in today. If you are interested in why the market is in the position we are in, he is worth watching.
A few months ago I wrote a blog about the essay contest happening for a home in Yachats. I recently thought about it, and decided to look up to see what happened. The holders of the contest were unable to make their required 3,000 entries in order to have the contest, after pushing out the…
I read a blog today by Frank Llosa who coined the term CRA- Comparative Realtor Analysis. Most people know about CMA’s-those Comparative/Competitive Market Analysis that we do for clients. I liked the term because I have done what he was talking about in his blog before. What Frank talks about is looking at how an…
View Larger Map Mostly built in the 1970’s and 1980’s, the homes in Ironwood Estates are well maintained. One of the nice aspects of the neighborhood is that there is a variety of architecture within it’s confines. While it is mostly traditional styles, the variety makes it feel more neighborly. Some of the attracting features…
Since I have moved to Oregon 18 years ago, it seems we have one week every July that is really hot. 90-100 or so. That is hot for out here. Last weekend was part of that week. With the heat came a request from my kids…can we go to Riverfront Park? When we first moved…
It’s been all over our news. Natural gas prices are going up, and I mean going up. For those of you just starting to think about home purchase and enamored with those large 3,000 sq foot homes, you might want to recalculate your budget. For NW Natural Gas customers, it could be a 35% to…
View Larger Map Prestige. West Hills estates is one of those neighborhoods that has a prestigious reputation within the community. Located in Polk county, West Hills Estates is located off of Orchard Heights Rd. Most of the phases were built in the early 1990’s with some newer construction occurring on vacant lots today. There were…
What the heck is it? A History… Up until the mid-1800’s transferring a title to real estate, such as a home, was conduced by conveyancers. They were responsible for all aspects of the transaction. The conducted a title search to make sure the seller did indeed own the property and what rights, liens, or encumbrances…
These are uncertain times for many people. Projections are that many areas are going to continue to decline with regard to the real estate market. Gas prices are soaring, food prices are going up, home equity lines are being slashed, foreclosures are continuing…need I go on? Buyers are worried about buying a home and having…
As usual, I was reading my blog feeds to get a feel for what’s new in real estate. I have been very busy lately, so my opportunities to blog have been limited. I’ve been catching up. Jeff Brown, a real estate agent in CA, proposed A different model for other agents to consider. I am…
When people think of Oregon they think of forests. Timber is a part of the Oregon economy and is what makes our part of the country truly stunning. So it should come as no surprise to homeowners that we have city codes that require tree preservation. This is really important for people that have bought…
I was reading the Inman News today and was struck by an article. The article talked about a survey that was completed by VHT Inc., which provides marketing services to real estate professionals. I was interested in the results not because of the obvious correlation they found but because of one of the outcomes of…
First of all you need to know that I really dislike puffing. Agents know the term puffing: it’s what some agents do when describing a property. Stunning views! (yes the mountains are great, but what about 50 junky cars that my neighbor has on their property right below that view) or handyman’s dream (ie please…
Real estate is easy…just work 20 hours a week and you’ll make millions! Seriously. Just make sure to hit up your mother’s sister’s cousin’s best friends and you have it made. You see those houses on the lake? You can HAVE one of those, just sell real estate. The road to real estate is easy…
As many of you may be aware, the DOJ and NAR announced a settlement regarding the NAR’s VOW (Virtual Office Website) rules. As news of this moved throughout the internet, people took sides. A poster in a forum had written with the settlement that online house shopping would become easier. I replied that house shopping…
I’m hearing this on a lot of forums lately by consumers. “How do I fire my agent?” “Can I change Realtors?” “Agents suck.” (okay no one really said this one, but that is what the poster really meant) The fact is that you are paying someone a lot of money to provide you a service.…
I was recently having a “conversation” with an investor from Illinois in an online forum about buyer agency agreements. He stated ” But, seriously, do realtors think people are dumb enough to sign these exclusivity contracts? I know I was dumb enough to sign one the first time I bought property, but never again.” Me…I…
Yesterday my son was tripped up when running with our dog. Like superman, he flew forward and ended up with a nice “road rash” along his leg, elbow, and hands. With some TLC, neosporin, and lots of bandaids, he was ready to rock. Later in the evening, I wanted to pull off the bandaids too…
Really you shouldn’t be clueless when buying a house, but I’m talking about C.L.U.E less in this particular instance. You will sometimes see a potential buyer ask a seller for a copy of their CLUE report. CLUE is the Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange. This in an insurance industry database which tracks claims made by homeowners.…
Karen Webster recently wrote about the agent responsibility act that is going to be effective in Michigan starting July 1, 2008. What this law does is require people to check a box indicating they understand what services they are not receiving. This law came about due to the concerns that consumers really did not understand…
You’ve been reading about interviewing real estate agents here in Salem Oregon and what questions to ask. This blog is not another one to give you ideas. This blog is about understanding how an agent should be spending the money that you give them to sell your home. What do you need to know? The…
Ahhh…the open house debate.. Sellers have been extensively trained and groomed over the years to demand open houses from their real estate agents. Like clockwork on Saturdays and Sundays, homeowners scurry around their homes in an effort to get the home show ready for the “hoards” of people that will come through the home. Like…
Recently on a forum , a consumer posted this question: Our realtor broke her end of the contract, so now should we? She went on to talk about the situation. When I picked our realtor back in August, I felt she was the best woman for the job because everywhere you go, you see…
A little bit ago I wrote about all of the new construction subdivisions that were occurring here in Salem Oregon. I was recently asked by a reader about one of the subdivisions so I thought it would make a good blog topic. Walnut Creek Estates is located on the corner of Holder and Liberty Rd…
As I drive down the street these days, I can’t help but notice the increase in “RENT TO OWN” signs screaming at me from their neon pink and fluorescent yellow platforms. With credit getting more difficult to get come by for many borrowers, many sellers are electing to go this route in order to entice…
You love your home. You spent hours picking out that rooster wallpaper border for your kitchen because it reminds you of cooking with your grandmother. You LOVE it. You have spent years making your house, yours. It is colors that you love and decorated your way. It isn’t possible that overpricing a home, your home…
In my post yesterday, I commented on the practice of purchasing a second home with the intention of walking away from the first one. While I do not condone that particular activity, I do understand people’s desperation. With a lot of the media focusing on work out activities, you would think that we are really…
Unless you have been living in the batcave, you know that foreclosures are nothing new. Foreclosure rates are up all over the county for a variety of reasons: true hardships, subprime borrowers, and those trying to Keep up with the Joneses. I was recently in the outside blogosphere and came across this interesting discussion on…
Home buyers looking to relocate to Oregon often ask me this question. What you need to know is that Oregon consistently ranks at the top for unemployment. The reason is pretty basic, in my opinion… Up until the 1980’s logging was a huge industry in Oregon and made up a good chunk of our manufacturing/industrial…
If you had to do one thing over again when buying a house what would it be? I participate on another forum and there is a great thread being written by consumers and agents alike about what they would do differently now that they know about home ownership and the process. I thought the information…
The Wall Street Journal is reporting today that the rumors are confirmed, Washington Mutual (WaMu) is closing all 186 of it’s loan centers and laying of 3,000 employees. They will continue to offer loans, but intend to focus on it’s 2,500 banks and small business lending offices. They sent an email to brokers yesterday letting…
Buyers of homes are constantly comparing what they see: granite vs. tile counters, large yard, fenced yard, close to park, etc. Each home is truly unique, but there are some differences even in planned subdivisions. You can walk into may new subdivisions here in Salem Oregon and pick out homes with stock plans. You would…
“Doesn’t it rain in Oregon, like 365 days a year? Someone told me you guys only get 30 days of sun a year.” I hear this constantly from people looking to relocate to Salem, Oregon. Concerned about the massive downpour of rain that they think we get here, they don’t think they can handle the…
I took my 7 year old son today to open his first savings account at the bank. He had managed to save $23.50 so far from his allowance. As I was going through the process with him, explaining how the bank knows to put the money in his account vs. another one, what he was…
Purchasing a home in West Salem has always been frought with concerns over the bridge. There is only one bridge connecting the two parts of Salem and when there is a traffic accident or a jumper, the bridge can be closed for hours, reeking havoc on the city. As a real estate agent, I have…
100% financing allowed many home buyers to get into homes in the past few years. With the mortgage markets in turmoil and home prices plunging, banks are having to go back to more conservative methods of lending in order to maintain liquidity. After March 31st, no MI company including MGIC, PMI, RMIC, Radian, UG or…
This video was posted about 11 months ago before the dig dip in the real estate market. The maker of the video took the yearly data for real estate and set the data points to a roller coaster. It certainly puts the market into perspective and reminds us that the market has always had its…
As I was getting my son from school today, I noticed that several kids were riding their scooters without helmets. Now in Oregon, if they are under the age of 14, that is against the law. This reminded me of a Parents Magazine article that I recently saw online. Parents Magazine just rated the top…
Normally in Salem, Oregon, we get drizzle, but today it poured in sheets on and off. It reminded me of mid-west rain. I always liked a really good rainstorm…well from inside my house anyway. As I was driving to get my son from his school today, I was seized with panic. My heart throbbing, I…
I was recently on another forum answering questions for people about our area, when someone commented about the overuse of certain descriptors in real estate. In real estate, we have a term calling puffing. This is where a real estate agent promotes their listing with a verbose use of adjectives that makes most consumers head…
Reuters is reporting that Countrywide is being investigated by the FBI. Here is a link to the Reuters article. http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/080309/countrywide_inquiry.html?.v=1 Several states have already launched investigations against some appraisers, and so it is not surprise that lenders are going to be investigated for the housing mess as well. With lenders having lax practices, investors purchased…
Located on the West side of Salem (ie across the river in Polk County), Chatnika Heights is a combination of homes built in the 1960’s to homes built until the past decade. As a result, a wide range of architectural styles fills this neighborhood. Tri-levels, ranches, traditional two story homes, and the occasional contemporary style…
FHA has been revising its loan limits across the country, which is good news for many potential home buyers. The loan limits are different for each county in the United States depending on real estate costs. With 100% financing become very difficult, many people with excellent paying jobs, but not enough for a large down…
A box…that is what comes to my mind when I look at the American Foursquare style home. It is also known as the Prairie Box. This was a very popular style from 1895-1930. It was very economical to build since the lines are so simple and clean. The American Foursquare will have some of the…
You have no doubt heard about short sales. They are all over the media. I’m sure you’ve never heard of a long sale though…A long sale is what real estate agents call short sales. Why you ask? Real estate agents get calls daily from people wanting to purchase a short sale. A short sale is…
Like many honest agents, I lose some business to other agents that make outlandish promises. “I can sell it for $1,000,000 more than any other agent.” “I’ll have multiple offers for you within 24 hours.” “I will hold an open house for you every weekend.” I always wonder why sellers often choose Pinocchio over a…
Sitting in the middle of the vineyard, I reach for my glass of excellent local Oregon Pinot Noir. Far out in the countryside, I relish the quiet solitude of the landscape…Reaching for the Brie cheese, I turn to my husband and ask for the gray poupon…well..not really, but you get the image I am going…
I was recently asked about arsenic streaks in my area. Arsenic is a natural element that occurs in soil and rocks. Most people hear the word arsenic and immediately become concerned. I work with a lot of buyers purchasing small acreage properties here in Salem, Oregon so am familiar with well testing. In Oregon, the…
“You’re going to blog about me aren’t you.” stated my client, Jill. “Yep! I’ve got a years worth of blogs in just working with you two. I’m down to about $1.50 per hour, so I have to get something out of the deal,” I replied. “Are we your worst buyers ever?” she asked. Let me…
Many new construction homes here in Salem Oregon are referred to as Craftsman. Some have elements of the Arts and Crafts movement (AKA Craftsman), but most are not Craftsman homes. When talking about Craftsman homes, most people think of the Craftsman Bungalow, but a Craftsman doesn’t have to be a bungalow and not all bungalows…
As many of you are aware, a buyer in California is suing her real estate agent for failing to help them with their due diligence on a property. She felt that she was hiring a professional and as such expected professional guidance. Whether her case is valid or not is up to courts. I know…
Well the market is down and so sellers are desperate to come up with novel ways to try and sell their homes. This has to be the most interesting way I have seen so far. These sellers are holding an essay contest, and will award the house to the winner. It costs $200 to enter.…
Location, Location, Location… Located in a desirable neighborhood…scream the typical real estate flyers. What exactly is “location” or a “desirable” neighborhood? I like to refer to it as neighborhood health. Agents know it when we see it, but we really don’t like to talk about the dynamics, as the dreaded “steering” word inevitably pops into…
There has been a lot of talk about expanding McNary Field for more flights in and out of Salem. Delta Airlines, just this year, began making twice-daily flights from Salem to Salt Lake City. They city council is working on having direct flights to LA now. My husband travels a lot to California for business,…
One of the most important aspects of our culture is the power of choice. We can choose any religion, express our own thoughts, choose from a multitude of occupations, and essentially how we want to live our lives. There have always been and will always be discussions about ethics. Not just in real estate but…
How much do you charge to sell and buy a house?” asked the gravely voice on the other end of the phone. The caller was a retired woman in her 70’s and her husband in her 80’s. She and her husband purchased a house at the end of 2005 thinking this is where they would…
I recently had a gentleman call me about two lots I have listed for sale for a client here in Salem Oregon. There are some restrictions on the type of home that can be built. As the man was talking about what he wanted to build, I stated “that sounds like a Cape Cod style…
I have some great buyers that have been looking at homes for a couple of months. We looked at a cape cod style home on small acreage, and there were several red flags about the property which I pointed out to the potential buyers. The house was built in the 1930’s and had a very…
I wrote an earlier post about Dutch Colonials in Salem Oregon. The Georgian Colonial is one of my favorite styles of architecture. I think it’s because I have images of images of carriages dropping off couples for a state dinner when I think of Colonial architecture. Women in long dresses with petticoats and men in…
Craigslist…. That is the next suggestion from Kelman on selling your home in this market. If you didn’t get why I am doing this series, you can go to my first post. So here’s the deal, on his web site Kelman compares traditional agents, Redfin, and MLS only companies. On it he states that traditional…
Okay okay my feathers are a little ruffled… Are agents really honest with their clients when it comes to pricing a home? On a recent today show, it was implied that agents aren’t telling their clients the truth. Now here in Salem, OR , I , for the most part, have worked with really great…
I love old homes. I love the details of the architecture and the variety. With the push to build so many homes so far, we really lost that aspect of our history. In Salem, we have a few Dutch colonials, not a lot. The Dutch Colonial home is an American style that came from “Deutsch”…
When you see a lender to take out a loan for a home, the bank either retains the loan in house, or sells in on the secondary mortgage market. . Banks “bundle” loans together and sell them off to investors. The secondary mortgage market only buys loans, they don’t start them. The secondary mortgage market…
Just today I was out with a buyer looking at a home they liked. What they didn’t like was the price. The homeowners purchased the home 12 years ago. I won’t go into details as my buyers like the home, but at the current asking price the sellers would make a 186% profit on the…
I’m being asked a lot lately about whether or not buying a house right now makes sense, or should you wait until Spring as prices continue to drop. That depends… Yes, the projections are and the local Salem market trend is, that seller’s are continuing to lower their prices as inventory climbs. There are 31%…
I have my ABR and in reading the September/October issue of The Real Estate Professional, I found something that I HAD to talk about. Bruce Benham, the CEO of Re/MAX International, writes an article called “Become Their Trusted Expert.” In the article he talks about helping buyers set attainable goals. He writes, “Once your buyers…
Seller’s are finally starting to understand the nature of the current real estate market here in Salem. Oregon has not been as hard hit as other parts of the country, but make sure your expectations are appropriate. What do you need to know? Real estate is about supply and demand. It’s that simple. The more…
I was out the other day with some buyers who are relocating to Salem Oregon. They want a new (2006) or newer built home. After narrowing down their choices to 13, we forged ahead with our day. After walking through several nice homes, we came to a home that we had seen before and to…
“Mortgage turbulence on its way” screams the front page of our local Statesman Journal newspaper. Subprime loans while common in other parts of the country, were much less common here in Oregon. After the first quarter of 2007, Salem had the lowest level of foreclosed properties according to the article. Sounds good… until you read…
This weekend I was out with some West Salem Oregon buyers looking at homes. After looking at the 70 choices that met their criteria, we narrowed it down to 13 that they most wanted to see The last house that we looked at was built by a fairly large local builder, who often has unusual…