A series of blog posts for home buyers.
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…
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…
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’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…
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.…
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…
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…
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…