Find out what your home is worth in today’s market.  For your FREE online market analysis, go to www.PointClickandPack.com.  I’ll email your market value to you within 24 hrs. 

Also, please visit my Fee-For-Service page to find out how you can save money on real estate commissions while listing your house on the Portland MLS. 

I look forward to assisting with all of your real estate needs.

According to last Sunday’s New York Times, foreclosures are starting to really hurt mortgage companies and the local real estate market.  Last year, lenders began offering “no documentation, stated income” loans to buyers with marginal credit or poor job history.  At the end of the year, the loan applications were compared with the borrower’s reported tax income and huge discrepancies were found.  In fact, the lending industry changed the name of this loan to “liar loans” because it was determined that so many borrowers had greatly inflated their incomes on the stated income loan application, some by as much as 50%.  Loans were indiscriminately handed out to borrowers, albeit at higher interest rates, and ultimately many of those borrowers have not been able to make their mortgage payments which has led to high foreclosure rates.

So what does all of the above mean for the real estate market here in Portland, OR?  First, it means that loans in the sub-prime market are going to be tougher to get.  Companies are no longer offering the no doc, stated income package and some borrowers will not be able to qualify for a loan with the more conventional forms of financing and with the need to provide income and employment verification.   

Also, it means that more foreclosure properties will be hitting the Portland market.  Are these good deals for future buyers?  Probably not.  Since the home owner typically has no to little equity in the house, future real estate buyers can only bank on housing appreciation to make the cost of a home affordable (or a good buy).  When you add in real estate commissions, foreclosure costs and repairs (since foreclosure properties aren’t typically in good condition), the cost of the house either needs to support all of these fees or be sold as a “short sale,” which means that the mortgagor agrees to take a loss in order to sell the house. 

The higher rate of foreclosures also will add more inventory to the Portland real estate market.  More houses on the MLS means more competition for all sellers.  Typically, this kind of competition will perpetuate a buyer’s market and could lead to prices coming down.

If you have specific questions about financing or would like to receive lists of foreclosed properties, please email me at phyllis@pointclickandpack.com.

As a real estate professional, relocating buyers often ask me to recommend Portland’s “best schools.” However, there is no such thing as a “best school.” Each school, like each student, is individual and has unique programs and specialties to offer. Having said that, there are a few publications and web sites that can help parents make the important decision as to which school is the best choice for their child’s needs. On my web site, I have included links to as many of the schools that have web sites as possible for your convenience.
Oregon Department of Education
Visit the Oregon Department of Education web site for information and reports about Oregon schools. Most of the reports are in PDF format and require you to have Acrobat Reader© installed on your computer to view them properly. You can download the reader, free of charge, at the Adobe web site.
Oregon School Report Cards
Each January, the Oregon Department of Education produces performance report cards for each school and district. The Oregon state legislature sets the rules and measurement criteria and then publishes the annual results in a report card format. Educational performance and improvement are the focus of the Oregon School Report Card rating system. Schools are rated on several measures including student performance, student behavior, and school characteristics. These measures are combined to yield an Overall School Performance Rating of exceptional, strong, satisfactory, low, or unacceptable. A full explanation of this performance system is available at the Oregon Department of Education web site as well as the report cards for each school.
Molly Huffman’s School Choices Book
Make sure you check out Molly Huffman’s book, School Choices in Greater Portland. This book covers all of the major public school districts in Metro Portland and the surrounding cities plus information about private schools and preschools.

A bumpable buyer is the same thing as a contingent sale.  It means that the buyer owns a house that they must sell in order that they may use the proceeds of that sale to purchase another property.  Because their purchase is contingent upon something that the seller has no control over, (when or if the buyer’s house sells),  the seller wants to keep their house on the market by listing it as bumpable in the MLS (as opposed to sale pending).

Can you make an offer on a house that is listed as bumpable in the MLS?  Absolutely!  However, upon acceptance of your offer, the bumpable buyer is given the first right of refusal.  This buyer will have between 24 - 72 hrs (depending upon what time frame was initially agreed upon by all parties when the seller accepted a bumpable sale) to remove their contingency.  If this buyer is able to purchase the house without selling theirs, (for example, they acquire a different kind of financing), then the status of the house gets changed from bumpable to sale pending in the MLS and all other offers can only be accepted in back-up position.

If the bumpable buyer is not able to proceed without selling their home, their offer is terminated and the seller can proceed with offers from other buyers.  Typically, in the Portland, OR real estate market, we only see sellers accepting bumpable offers on their homes in a buyer’s market.  We are currently in a buyer’s market.

If you have additional questions, please feel free to contact me directly at phyllis@pointclickandpack.com.

OPEN 1:00 - 3:00 pm TODAY!

Rambling Milwaukie Ranch
2 Bedrooms, 2 Full Bathrooms
1973 SF
Gas Fireplace
2 Car Garage w/Shop
Gas Heat
Rambling ranch with more room than you can shake a stick at. All new within last 5 yrs: kitchen appliances, tear-off roof, water heater, double-paned windows, electrical panel, interior and exterior paint. Sunroom was added in 2005 and has been a perfect spot for hot-tub (not included). Shop and tons of storage space in garage. Don’t miss hidden wine closet.

Lot Description: Large level 12,196 sf lot with nice view of Kellogg Creek.  New double-paned windows installed in 2005 keep house extremely quiet.

SEE PICTURES @ www.PointClickandPack.com. Click on the My Listings link.

Most people are aware that we’re now in a buyer’s market. For the past few months, sellers have watched as more and more homes have come on the market allowing buyers greater negotiating power over sales price and repair issues.

My firm belief is that there are only two things that sell a house, price and location. You can’t do much about a house’s location, but you can price it lower than market if your house sits on a busy street or near commercial or industrial property. If the seller is firm about keeping their sales price at a particular price point, there are a couple of other ways they can try to improve their chances of getting a great offer.

1. Offer incentives such as a credit towards the buyer’s closing costs or a decorating allowance if the house is dated or in need of new carpeting.

2. For condominiums or townhouses, offer to pay up to six month’s worth of home owner association dues.

3. Offer a higher buyer’s agent commission (BAC) to make the house more attractive for Realtors to show and sell. The standard BAC is 2.7% of the sales price. A good incentive BAC would be 3% or 3.15%. I’ve even seen commissions offered at 3.5% and would absolutely LOVE to sell one of those!

4. Include in the house sale something unusual of value. This incentive would typically only apply to high end homes where some sellers have included a new car with the house. Lesser expensive value items may include upgrading the kitchen appliances to stainless steel.

5. Think about hiring a professional staging company to give you ideas about how to reposition your furniture and accessory items, remove unnecessary clutter and/or paint accent walls so that your home elicits a WOW factor when buyers enter for showings.

When you sell your home, make sure you know about the other homes in your area that are also on the market. These houses are your direct competition since any buyer looking at your house will probably also see these and will be making comparisons amongst all houses toured.

Also, consider my fee-for-service packages which allow sellers to save real estate commissions on the listing end and may therefore enable sellers to pass on those savings to the buyer in the form of pricing their home at a lower price point initially or offering one of the incentives above. You can see full details about all of my fee-for-service packages on my web site, www.PointClickandPack.com.

Finding the perfect house is tough for most buyers. But just getting an accepted offer is only the beginning of the house buying experience. As soon as you’re sale pending, you’ll need to start scheduling your home inspections. I typically recommend that buyers have three inspections: a general home inspection, an oil tank scan, and a sewer scope.

The general home inspector will perform a broad overview of all aspects of the house from the roof to the crawlspace. The inspector’s job is to test out and identify whether the house’s mechanical parts are functioning (i.e., the furnace, electrical outlets, plumbing system, dishwasher, etc) and to point out any structural or hazardous items, such as missing hand-rails at stairwells and inferior support beams. Most inspectors are also good about offering small tidbits of maintenance and repair advice to buyers. Most inspection companies base their pricing on the square footage of the home.

For most houses in the close-in Metro area, an oil tank scan of the property is advisable. Many of the older homes were originally heated with oil heat and although the house you are buying may have a different heat source now, such as gas or electric, there may still be a buried oil tank on the property. If the seller is unaware of a buried oil tank, then the only way to determine if one exists is to hire a tank company to scan the yard around the house. If a tank is found, further testing of the soil will determine if the tank is leaking oil into the ground.

Think of a sewer scope as a colonoscopy of your house. For this inspection, a long wire with a camera at the end is threaded through the sewer line from the sewer clean-out valve (which is typically located in the basement or garage) to where the line connects to the city main line in the street. The scope will reveal any problems with the sewer pipe including holes, tree root intrusion, breaks at connecting joints and improper grading. This inspection normally costs $100.00 and is well worth the money since a clogged sewer line could back-up into the house.

In addition to the above, other inspections may be recommended, such as radon testing or specialists for the roof, furnace, electrical or plumbing systems. It is good for buyers to know as much about the house they are purchasing as possible. Never waive your right to inspect!

You can find more information about all of these inspections on my website, www.PointClickandPack.com.

The determination of whether a particular room or space is “finished” and/or “usable” is sometimes a subjective matter. For example, one person may think a basement is finished because they have area rugs down over the floor and have painted the concrete walls. They may have even furnished the basement as a family room with sofas and a TV. To that person, the basement is finished and usable. To another person, this same basement is unfinished and may not suit their ability to use the space in a similar fashion without adding drywall, installing a drop ceiling to hide the ductwork and adding wall-to-wall carpeting.

Because of this subjectivity, RMLS changed their rules for listing agents a few years ago. Now, when Realtors get a new listing, we are required to input all square footage, finished and unfinished into the MLS. It is up to the buyer to decide if the square footage is usable and how the space can or will be used. The only exception to this rule is attached garages which are not included in square footage calculations.

Without physically touring the property, buyers can do additional research to determine the house’s finished square footage. This information can be found on the MLS listing in two places and is also sometimes written about in the public comments section by the listing agent.

The first place to look is in the basement/foundation (abbreviated Bsmt/Fnd) category under Residence Information. The designations that the listing agent can specify in this section are if the basement is finished, unfinished, full, partial, slab, dirt, crawlspace or no basement. Listing agents can select a maximum of two of the above descriptions for each home. So if the agent has indicated “Finished, Fullbas,” buyers can infer that the full amount of square footage shown in the Lower SQFT section is accurate. (Whether the basement has been finished in a quality, workmanlike manner must be seen firsthand with a property tour). If the agent has indicated “Full, Unfin,” buyers should look only at the square footage shown in the Upper and Main SQFT sections to evaluate how large the house is. The buyers would then need to tour the home to see if that basement could be finished legally as usable space.

The second place buyers can look on the MLS to determine accurate square footage is in the Approximate Room Sizes and Descriptions section. Buyers should note the following abbreviations next to each room; M which stands for main floor, U which stands for upper level, and L for lower level. If buyers see square footage listed in the lower level but there are no rooms with an L designation, it could reasonably be inferred that the basement is not finished. It should be noted that the only room that is required for listing agents to input the M, L or U abbreviation is the master bedroom.

In addition, I think it’s a service to all parties for listing agents to input room sizes and I do this on all of my listings. The MLS does not allow agents to enter inches, so room sizes are rounded up or down to the nearest foot.

You can see square footage of my listings on my web site, www.PointClickandPack.com.

When looking at listings on the MLS, buyers often ask me why some listings have no pictures and others have eight pictures.

The answer to this question is that the listing agent is responsible for inputting the house’s details and pictures into the MLS.  Believe it or not, some agents don’t own or have access to a digital camera to take the pictures.  RMLS used to offer a service to agents without cameras where they would send a photographer out to take one picture of the front of the house and then put that picture online for the listing agent. However, that service was discontinued about a year or two ago when digital cameras became so widespread, common and affordable. In my opinion, the RMLS service wasn’t that great anyway because the photographer rarely got out of his/her car to take the photo and so most of the time, the picture wasn’t very complimentary or indicative of how the house really looked. In addition, many of the houses had so much landscaping in the front yard that the photos were basically pictures of trees or shrubs. And the pictures got even worse if they were taken in rainy or snowy weather!

I think the listing agent is doing a great disservice to the seller if all eight pictures, which is the maximum number allowed, aren’t submitted with the listing. And I find it even more egregious if pictures are submitted but were taken poorly (i.e., too dark to see the room, weird angles) or the pictures are of irrelevant items. One listing that I came across recently had all eight pictures, but five of those were close-ups of door knobs, wood flooring, staircase finials, etc. What’s the point in seeing the fine details of a house if the buyer can’t see what the rooms actually look like before physically touring the property?

Another reason that some agents don’t submit pictures with their listings, or input less than the eight allowed, is the mind-set that if they show buyers too many details or give too much information, the buyer has no reason to go look at the home. I think this reasoning is faulty because if good pictures are taken, they can encourage buyers to want to tour the home or get more information about it.

Buyers will always find eight pictures of all of my listings on the MLS and also on my web site, www.PointClickandPack.com. Anything less is unacceptable.

If you purchased or sold a home, or refinanced your home this past year, dig out a copy of your final settlement statement and give this document to your accountant or the person who helps with your taxes. Certain items on your closing statement might be tax deductible. Generally if you itemize your taxes, you can usually deduct mortgage interest which is secured by your primary home or second home and mortgages used to build or improve your primary or second home (commonly known as home equity lines of credit). In addition, check with your tax adviser to see if you can deduct:

* Pre-paid interest and points

* Late payment charges on mortgage payments

* Mortgage pre-payment penalties

* Moving expenses - if you moved because of a change in your employer’s location or because you started a new job

* Repairs to rental property

* Capital improvements - major home improvements done in order to prepare your home for sale

* Capital gains - If you sold your primary residence last year, you can exempt the first $250,000 of profit or $500,000 for married taxpayers filing jointly

My best wishes to you and your family in 2007. And, if you’re lucky enough to need another tax write-off, I would be happy to help you find the perfect investment property. Contact me today at phyllis@pointclickandpack.com.