Start 2012 off right by setting new life and financial goals for yourself. If you’ve been renting and are planning to remain in Portland, then it’s definitely time for you to consider buying a house. Here are some benefits you should take into account:

• You’ll build equity. If you take out a loan, you’ll be using someone else’s money to turn your property into a piggy bank and eventually make money as your [city] home appreciates. Plus, when you sell down the road, you won’t have to share the proceeds — what’s not to like about making money with your bank’s money!
• You’ll receive tax breaks. The government supports purchasing homes by giving you significant tax breaks on your federal taxes. And when it comes time to sell, you won’t have to pay capital gains taxes either, until you hit a certain ceiling.
• You’ll be able to count on consistent payments year to year. If you can get a fixed-rate mortgage, you won’t need to worry about an annual increase in your housing payments. When you’re renting, you never know what your payments could be from lease to lease, which makes it hard to determine if your current residence will always be within your budget.

While the appreciation on a house you purchase now might not shoot up as fast as it did a decade ago, buying a home is still a wise long-term investment. Paying rent is no investment at all.

If you’re on the fence about the benefits of purchasing a Portland home in the New Year or you’d like to see what’s available, please call 503-686-5375 today or email me at fnovak@windermere.com for more information.

Links:

Buying a house

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/money101/lesson8/index.htm

Equity

http://www.investorwords.com/5605/home_equity.html

Tax Breaks

http://www.bankrate.com/finance/money-guides/homeowner-tax-breaks-1.aspx

Holidays are full of joy and family fun – and potential hazards all about. To maintain harmony and health in your home this season, keep these safety tips in mind:
• Sparkly, Not Sparking, Electrical Safety: Plugging extension cords into extension cords into extension cords to create a wire farm of electricity can be a fire hazard. Blown circuit breakers are one sign that you’re overloading the capacity of your home. Don’t wait for the sparks. If you are using lights outside, make sure that they are approved for outdoor, all-weather use.
• Season of Light, Not of Fire: Never leave candles burning unattended or where pets or children can knock them over. Period. Flames are lovely only when contained in fireplaces and candlestick holders.
• Balance in All Things: As you decorate your home with wreathes, ornaments, nativity scenes, menorahs or dreidels, consider where and how you are piling them. Too many items perched on tabletops and mantles and dangled from wafer-thin supports may become unstable. If you have to add the word “probably” before “it’s secure,” re-do your approach.
• Poison Control: Poinsettias, for instance, can be lethal for pets. Mistletoe is good for stealing kisses under but poisonous if eaten. Think about who and what has access to and interest in any new plants, foods, toys, or decorations you’re putting out for the season. Spot, Kitty and the kiddies may think new items look appetizing, from tinsel to food-shaped ornaments.
• Respect the Power of Tools: If you only take your chain saw out once a year to cut the bottom off the tree, take a moment to review the manual and find your safety goggles. Additional reminder: the electric knife for the turkey should not be plugged in and left out.
The holiday season can be the harried and hurried season too. Be sure to take the time to make sure everyone survives the holidays in health and happiness.
If you’re thinking of starting the New Year in a new home, call me at 503-686-5375 to start the ball rolling.

Wishing you a Happy and Safe Holiday Season!

Francesca

At this time of year, as thoughts turn to gobbling down turkey dinners and watching football, it’s easy to get caught up in the details and lose the spirit. So today, I want to take a minute to say something important:

Thank you!

Because of you, I have a job I love: being a Portland real estate agent.

Thanksgiving is a holiday of gratitude, and yet too few of us remember that when we’re stuck in traffic going over the river and through the woods to grandma’s house for her famous pumpkin pie.

So today, I’d like to say again, thank you.

Thank you for contributing to this community, online and in the real world, by asking questions, adding your insights, and trusting me with your housing dreams.

If we’ve worked together in the past, please know that I am sincerely grateful for your business. I hope the experience of working together led you to your perfect home and fulfilled your real estate goals.

If you are new to this site and just beginning to investigate the sometimes confusing world of real estate, I’d like to thank you for stopping by. I hope that we will have an opportunity to work together.

One of my favorite things about working as a Portland real estate agent is that I learn so much about the lives of my clients. They let me inside their homes and tell me about their best imaginings for the future. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your life.

Thank you for your trust. I want you to know I am honored by it, and take it seriously. As a real estate agent, I take pride in helping you find the perfect solution for your needs. I love hearing your stories as you embark on new chapters, and addresses, in your life.

During the warmth of this holiday season, I hope you and yours are safe and secure in a community that you love. And I hope your turkey emerges from the oven golden brown and delicious!

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours,

Francesca

There’s nothing like having a riot of color spring from the ground—and that’s what you can expect next spring from bulbs you plant in your yard now. As long as the ground has not frozen, it’s not too late! If you can sink a shovel into the ground, go ahead and plant some bulbs at your Portland home. You’ll be glad you did come spring, and for many years to come.

Here are some options:

• Crocuses: These are the earliest to show up in spring. They can be scattered in the lawn, as they come up well before the grass starts growing. One method is to toss them down in an area and plant them where they land, 4 inches deep. They are not picky about where they live, as long as it’s not a soggy, low-lying area.
• Daffodils: These show up soon after crocuses. They often have a lovely fragrance (depending on variety), in addition to visual beauty. They are very long-lived, come in colors ranging from white to yellow to orange, and are low-maintenance. They are not bothered by insect pests or deer. Plant twice as deep as the bulb is wide.
• Hyacinths: Another early bloomer, these have a wonderful, intense fragrance and an impressively large bloom. They come in a wider range of colors, from deep to pastel to white. The large bulb should be planted 3 times as deep as it is wide. Hyacinths are not as long-lived as daffodils, but can be inter-planted with them, so the daffodils will fill in as the hyacinths fade away. Like all bulbs, they like to be in well-drained soil.
• Tulips: While not fragrant, these come in every color imaginable, except blue. Many people plant tulips around their homes every year, as they diminish each year and are short-lived in any case. They are preyed upon by deer and rodents. Even with all these drawbacks, many people find them irresistible.

You’ll have a feeling of satisfaction after planting bulbs in your yard—and a feeling of wonder when they sprout next spring!

For more tips on improving your home, subscribe to my blog. It’s free, fast and easy to subscribe.
Links:
Crocus

http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=crocus&z=t

Daffodils

Hyacinths

Halloween is a fun and exciting time, especially for children. To ensure that youngsters and your home make it safely through the festivities this year, follow these Halloween safety tips:

1. Eliminate trip hazards. Remove bikes, toys and garden hoses from your home’s front yard and porch. Sweep and rake leaves.
2. Replace burned out lights. Trick-or-treaters have a hard enough time seeing through their masks; don’t increase the danger by keeping them in the dark.
3. Restrain pets. You don’t want your pet to jump on a trick-or-treater, or even worse, bite someone.
4. Use a flashlight or glow stick to illuminate your carved pumpkin. Lit candles are dangerous, especially around small children or crowds of people.
5. Practice candle safety in your home. Keep indoor jack-o-lanterns with lit candles, and any decorations with open flames, away from curtains and other furnishings that can easily ignite.
6. Apply makeup as a mask. A loose-fitting mask might restrict breathing or make it difficult to see. Instead, draw on a mask using makeup. If a mask is used, make sure it fits securely and has large eyeholes so the child can see.
7. Choose flame-resistant costumes. Many homes use lit candles as part of their exterior Halloween decorations. A child’s costume could accidentally brush against the flame. Purchase costumes that are labeled flame resistant. If a costume is homemade, spray it with a non-toxic fire retardant.
8. Add a few strips of reflective tape to costumes and treat bags. This helps drivers see the children. It also helps to have trick-or-treaters carry flashlights – both to see and be seen.
9. Limit where children go. They should only knock on the doors of homes with a porch light on. Instruct them to never enter a home or a car for a treat. Teach them to stick to well-lit streets, stay on sidewalks and to never cut across yards, use alleys or dash between parked cars.

Wishing you and your loved ones a fun and safe Halloween!

Determining Value
• Hire an appraiser – If you and your soon-to-be ex can’t come to an agreement on the value of your home, then you might want to consider employing an appraiser to come to a decision for you.
• Get help from a real estate agent – A more cost-effective, but maybe not the most precise, way to determine the value of your property is to ask a real estate agent (preferably me) to estimate the cost. They’ll usually charge you nothing, and you can use this as a way to interview agents to sell your home.

Evaluating Equity
• Calculate the true value – Computing the equity of your home is essential to figuring out how much it’s worth. Take the home’s value and subtract how much you still owe in mortgages, equity loans and secured lines of credit.
• Figure out non-marital vs. marital equity – In equitable property states, non-marital equity (such as assets acquired before marriage, prenuptial exclusions, gifts, personal injury settlements and inheritance) remains yours and is set aside from the communal marital assets.

Dividing Assets
• Know the difference between the title and mortgage – Many people try to have their name removed from the title thinking it will exempt them from the debt of the mortgage — this is incorrect. The title lists the legal owner and the mortgage lists parties responsible for payment. If one party is awarded the home, then you must refinance for it to be reflected on the mortgage.
• Sell and divide the proceeds – Put your home on the market for an immediate sale, and after all the costs have been deducted, divide what’s left.

When dividing assets during a divorce, an immediate sale isn’t the only option. You can award the house to one party and compensate the other with money or other valuable assets.

If you’re going through a divorce and need help deciding how to proceed with selling your Portland Metro real estate, I’m happy to help. E-mail me at fnovak@windermere.com for more information.

• Keep it clean. Just like your mother said, don’t let dirty dishes pile up, and don’t leave spills and crumbs on kitchen counters. If you do, you’ll be inviting ants and worse into your home.

Use boric acid. You can get this odorless powder at any drug store. It can be hard to find though, so just ask the pharmacist where it is. It’s cheap, safe and effective. Just sprinkle it lightly wherever you’ve seen critters, especially along cracks and crevices.

• Trap them. When it’s fresh fruit and tomato season, it’s fruit fly season. Who knows where they come from, but there they are. Here’s how to make a simple fruit fly trap: Put a dash of beer, wine or sugar water and yeast in a jar. Then cut the very corner off of a plastic bag and poke that corner down into the jar, keeping it above the liquid level. Secure the bag to the jar with a rubber band, and you have a funnel leading fruit flies in, but they can’t find their way back out.

• Live and let live. They may be hairy, they may be scary, but spiders are doing you a favor. They’re every other bug’s worst nightmare. But ok, you don’t want them inside. Here’s the safest, most nonviolent, good-karma way to get them out: Get a clear glass or jar and place it over the spider. Then use a stiff card like a postcard to slide under it. This acts as a lid on the jar to keep the spider in. Simply take it outside and release the spider to live another day. Show the kids how to do this, and you won’t find any more bugs smashed on your walls.

If you want more handy tips like these to use in your home, subscribe to my blog. It’s free!
Links
Boric acid

http://www.ca.uky.edu/entomology/entfacts/ef614.asp

Pesticides

http://www.panna.org/science/myths

Spiders

http://web.extension.illinois.edu/champaign/homeowners/000819.html

1. Study the Lake Oswego (for an example) real estate market and rental situation. Take landlords who are successful in this area to lunch and learn from them. Find out who they use for legal work, paint jobs and pest control.

2. Research. Find out vacancy rates and how much properties are renting for in your area. Rental property owners associations and sites like mrlandlord.com can be great resources.

3. Do thorough expense calculations and analyze your cash flow before putting out your “for rent” sign. Overestimate when in doubt. Make sure you’ve added in big expenses like real estate taxes, rental insurance and property management fees, if you’re going to get help managing your [city] real estate.

4. Have a well-funded savings account labeled “maintenance reserve.” Landlords often fail to budget enough for seasonal tasks like snow removal. And, you never know when Mother Nature will throw a tornado or hail storm your way.

5. Understand local rental and eviction control laws. Keep extremely good records and be proactive; it can save you aggravation and money. For example, if someone isn’t paying you rent, and you let them go too long without paying, it becomes difficult to recover the money or evict them.

6. Thoroughly screen all potential tenants before renting to them. Review the applicant’s credit history, eviction history, criminal history and rental history. Also, personally interview the applicant or have your property management company interview the applicant and send you the information for your final approval.

There is good news! Rents are rising. According to the National Association of REALTORS® the average apartment rent is projected to grow 3.4 percent this year and another 4.2 percent in 2012. Additionally, in today’s economy, more and more people are interested in Lake Oswego real estate for rent.

Keyword/Tag: Lake Oswego real estate
Links:
Rental property owners associations

http://arpola.org/#

mrlandlord.com

http://www.realtor.org/archives/website200107092

Property management fees

http://www.managemyproperty.com/articles/property-management-fees-part-i-10

If you’d like to work with a professional agent who lives in Portland and specializes in Portland Metro real estate, give me a call today at 503-686-5375 or email me at lakeorealtor@gmail.com

Links:
Zoning laws

http://www.business.gov/manage/business-location/zoning-laws.html

Crime rates

http://www.neighborhoodscout.com/neighborhoods/crime-rates/

Home contractors

http://www.fixthehome.com/

Here are four short sale killers you should be aware of before deciding to sell your Portland real estate as a short sale:

1. You have not defaulted on your mortgage. Lenders will almost never accept requests for short sales until you are significantly behind in payments and have received a notice of default.

2. You filed for bankruptcy. If you’ve filed for bankruptcy, a short sale will most likely not happen. Few, if any, lenders will consider a short sale when the seller has filed for bankruptcy. This is because collection activities are not allowed in bankruptcies and a short sale is considered a collection action.

3. More than one lender is involved. If you have a second or third mortgage (or home equity loan or line of credit), all the lenders must agree to the terms of the short sale. Unfortunately, this is often difficult because the second or third lenders are the ones who absorb most of the loss. If you have more than one lender, and you want to try for a short sale, do a title search to verify the first and primary lender. Making a deal with the second or third lender is a waste of time because you’ll still owe the first lender.

4. The lender drags his feet. Many short sales fail because the lender fails to complete the deal before the property goes to auction. Get the lender to move faster by making sure he has everything he needs in one concise package. If the lender doesn’t get everything at one time, he tends to set the file aside and forget about it. You can also speed up the process by working with a real estate agent who is experienced with and knowledgeable about short sales.

If you have additional questions on short sales, foreclosures or any other real estate related topics, please give me a call at 503-686-5375 or email me at lakeorealtor@gmail.com I’m happy to help and a Certified Short Sale professional.

Links:

Bankruptcy

http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/chapter-7-13-bankruptcy-basics-29829.html

Short sale

http://www.realtor.org/library/library/fg335

Foreclosures

http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/topics/avoiding_foreclosure