How Steve helped Bob buy and sell a home in less than a week

“We sold our house in 3 or 4 days, so it worked out pretty well. We’ve worked with him before and [he’s] very knowledgeable and keeps us up to date so we’re happy with the way things worked out. We bought a house after it was on the market for just a couple days and then we sold ours after it was on the market for 3 or 4 days.”

Does Buying and Selling at the Same Time Work?

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Trying to buy a new home while selling your old home isn’t as impossible or difficult as you may have heard. Today we are going to dispel some common myths about accomplishing this feat, so you get an accurate picture of what this process is actually like.

We are in a very high-paced and active market here in Portland, but we also have low inventory. This low inventory is contributing to an uptick in home values, and what we are finding is that many sellers don’t realize they can sell in this market, get that equity out of their current home, and use it to buy that new home they want. Listing a home now will help the market out by bringing in fresh inventory, which is desperately needed.

According to the most recent numbers from the National Association of Realtors, 67% of home sellers are move-up sellers. Out of those move-up sellers, 47% are looking for a more expensive home, and 53% are looking for a brand-new home. Many sellers think they won’t be able to move up because they need more than 20% down to make things happen, but that’s not the case. 

A growing number of borrowers, according to data from Freddie Mac, are only putting 5-10% down on their homes, and some are putting down as little as 3%. Mortgage credit availability has been improving monthly over the last two years; gone are the days where it was impossible to get a mortgage.

The average down payment for home buyers is right around 10%. The average for repeat buyers is a little higher (13%), while the average for first-time buyers is a little lower (4%).

Finally, a lot of people are hesitant to buy because their credit score is not where they’d like it to be. A lot of people think they need a score of 800 or higher, but that’s not the case any more. Required credit scores are actually on the decline, and you can still get a great rate if your score is in the low 700’s.

If you are interested at all in making a move, but aren’t sure if it’s possible for you, please give us a call or send us an email. I would love to have a deeper conversation with you about it. If you have any questions, give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to speaking with you!

Three Reasons to Buy in Portland

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The National Association of Realtors published a national study on what motivates buyers to purchase a home in today’s economy. Their conclusions included three specific reasons.

1. People want the opportunity to build equity. They’re using a home to augment or enhance their net worth, in addition to any other investments they have. Data reveals the average family wealth among homeowners has gradually increased since 2010. Conversely, renters continue to maintain the same amount of wealth with a slight drop. Indefinitely, owning a home has a dramatic impact on your family’s net worth in the economy. 
2. People want a safe and stable environment to live in. This year’s Rent.com market report orients around property managers. The study results show 88% of property managers increased rent over the past twelve months without intention of stopping; 68% predict rents will continue to rise next year by an average of 8%; and 53% were more likely to bring in a new tenant at a higher rate rather than negotiate and renew a lease with a current tenant.
3. People want to choose the environment they live in. We conduct business with clients we admire. Likewise, we want to foster a neighborhood community with people who share similar values. We often run into clients who are focused on school districts, who else lives in the neighborhood, what other kids are living in the area, etc. That’s why it’s important to us.

If you have any questions at all about buying or selling a home, feel free to reach out today. Give me a call or email!

Six Strategies for Buying a Flipped Property

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Today, it's common to see properties on the market that have been flipped. Most of these properties are in good condition, but there are six things you can do to protect yourself when purchasing a flipped property.

• Ensure the flipper used permits. Check with your local jurisdiction to investigate which permits were pulled on the property. Sometimes, permits are still open on the property or permits weren't pulled for repairs that required permits. Knowing what permits were pulled indicates whether or not repairs were up to code.  

• Be aware of updates. The seller and the listing agent should provide a list of updates that have been made to a property. Double check with your Realtor to check previous listings on the MLS. If the property was previously listed, you can confirm which updates were made. 

• Calculate the seller's finances. Determine what the seller paid for the home and any remodeling costs. Sometimes, low margins indicate repairs were not made up to code. For example, we had a property that was bought for $420,000 and listed at $459,000. Do the math on the renovations. If the seller isn't making much money on the property, that's a red flag.

• Pay attention to workmanship. Work quality is extremely important. Don't buy a flipped property only to have things fall apart on you later. 

• Conduct a thorough home inspection. Ensure the inspector understands that the property has been flipped. The inspector may want to pay closer attention to particular things.

• Google the seller's name. From simple searches, we sometimes find complaints, lawsuits, and other red flags that cause us to move on.

With these six strategies, you can make a smart purchase decision!

If you have any questions, give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you.

Enter Our Drawing

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Enter our drawing for two tickets to the Portland Trail Blazers game! We’ll let you choose between the January 4th game with the Memphis Grizzlies or the January 8th game with the Los Angeles Clippers.

To enter, we ask you to forward this email to your entire database, such as a group of coworkers or family members you email frequently. Make sure to copy Steve@PortlandLifestyle.com on that forward email.

Now, let’s talk market statistics in the area. This helps buyers and sellers make smart real estate decisions! We use the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index to compare how the market changes every three months.
 

Similar areas have experienced a 5.1% increase in home appreciation year over year. However, Portland increased nearly twice of that with a whopping 9.8%! It’s the city with the third-highest increase throughout the entire country.

Although our market was negatively impacted from the housing recession, our market is beginning to bounce back to normal -- and ever better than before.

If you have any questions about this information or real estate in general, give us a call or email today!

How Do You Know if Someone Died in a Portland Home?

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Since Halloween has recently passed, let's discuss a question buyers occasionally ask: "Has someone died in the home I want to purchase?"

There are some superstitious people out there who worry about that kind of event in a home. There are other adventurous people who seek out these properties.

Disclosure law in Oregon does not require the seller to disclose a death in the home. Many states in our country have similar laws.

However, if you want to find out, you can visit a website called DiedInHouse.com. This site searches public and private records to provide you a report on any deaths, fires, or drug activity on a property. Homes that are stigmatized can be less popular and sit on the market for a while. Some homes are even torn down, depending on what happened.

If you have any questions about today's video, give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you!

How to Market Yourself as a More Desirable Buyer in Portland

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The Portland real estate market continues to be brisk and fast paced. Because of the competitive climate, it's important to make yourself stand out from the rest of the crowd. Today, you will learn creative ways to make yourself stand out as a buyer, despite the rigorous competition.

Get pre-approved! Instead of only getting pre-qualified, it's useful to get pre-approved by a reputable lender in the area. Allow a well known, reliable lender to help you through the entire process in a timely fashion. They will help you look as strong as possible on paper when it comes time to negotiate.

Have at least a 20% down payment. Even if you can't afford a 20% down payment, look for innovative ways or creative terms to make yourself stand out. For instance, suppose the seller needs a quick close in order to return to their job in another city. You then have the advantage to market your ability to close quickly. Your flexibility to accommodate the seller's needs could be a great selling point.

Have all your paperwork in order. Organization always works in your favor. Avoid any incomplete paperwork to save everyone's time. Check for any missing signatures, unanswered questions, and any other blank fields. Remind your agent to make sure everything is complete.

Forget lowball offers. Lowball offers simply don't work in the current climate. One day, they will work in the future, but not today.

Keep your contingencies reasonable. It's difficult to get a contingent offer accepted today, even on a good house. Get your home in escrow in order to move forward and enter the market. Other contingencies include shrinking your inspection period from the standard seven to ten days. Again, look for ways to make yourself look good. Remove any barriers that may get in a client's way.

 Feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions. We look forward to hearing from you.

How Steve Helped Hiep Find a Perfect House for His Growing Family

“Overall we were very happy with Steve’s services. What really impressed us was his knowledge and experiences about houses and buildings in Portland. As we worked with Steve, he gave us tidbits and tips that we didn’t consider because we weren’t thinking in the mindset of parent’s at the time. He was also very patient with us, whenever we needed to go physically see the house because we called him last minute, he would fit us into his schedule and drop what he was doing to show it to us, whether it was during the weekday or the weekend. I highly recommend him for sure.”

How We Helped Neil Find the Perfect Home by Going the Extra Mile

“I was satisfied with the results, he found the house that I was looking for and I was pleased with how the home-buying process went. When we found the house that I was interested to put an offer on, it was late in the evening. He stayed in order to get the offer over to the agent and I think it was close to 9:30 at night. Once I found something that I was interested in, he made sure that I got the house.”

Owning a Home in Portland Is Easier Than You Think!

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Buying a Portland home? Search all homes for sale

If you can't afford a large down payment, should you wait to buy? We get this question all the time, so we thought we might address it here today, and explain how private mortgage insurance might help you buy sooner than you thought you could.

It seems we run into people every day who think they need to wait to move in order to save a large down payment. They think that without a 20% down payment, they won't be able to qualify for a mortgage in today's market.That is a mistaken belief, as there are many available programs out there that require anywhere from 3.5-10%! There are even some programs that require no money down, but those are a bit harder to qualify for.

Putting 5% down is a whole lot more affordable for many people than putting 20% down, at least in the short term. For instance, if you put 5% down ($10,000) on a $200,000 home, as opposed to 20% ($40,000), your monthly payment would only be $232.75 more expensive. Many people think that saving for a 20% down payment will save them money, but is that really true?

Core Logic recently published a report that tells us to expect a residential appreciation rate of about 4.3% and I think here in Portland that number is going to be even higher (it's currently in the 7% range!). If you were to purchase private mortgage insurance, the difference in payments over the next 12 months would be $2,793, whereas the expected appreciation over the next 12 months is $8,600. When you take those numbers together, it shows that you are missing out on $5,807 a month by not owning.

If you would like to sit down and talk about your options, please don't hesitate to reach out to us. We would love to help in any way we can!

How to Stand Out as a Home Buyer in Portland with One Simple Document

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Buying a Portland home? Search all homes for sale

Today we'll be discussing an important distinction among home buyers in Portland. I'm talking about a pre-approval versus a pre-qualification. It's an important difference that you may not know about, but home sellers will surely be scrutinizing you about it.

A pre-qualification and a pre-approval are two entirely different documents. A pre-qualification is a much more basic certification, and it can be obtained in a few hours. You only need a few pieces of information, none of which is really double-checked, and you can then get your pre-qualification letter once a lender has looked over your numbers. This is a very informal meeting between you and the lender, and it doesn't mean a whole lot in the eyes of the seller.

A pre-approval letter is much more desirable, and I highly recommend it to all of my home buyers. This is more time-consuming, but it will designate you as a serious buyer if you can acquire it. You will submit tax returns, pay stubs, insurance information, and more. Once the lender has an opportunity to review these items, you will then be issued an approval letter.

Both buyers and sellers like to see letters of pre-approval, and this is especially true when the real estate market is as hot as it is in Portland.

If you would like to be put in contact with a great local lender, please don't hesitate to contact me!

What Can You Expect from the Portland Market?

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Buying a Portland home? Search all homes for sale

Portland's market is still going strong as we wrap up the summer season. Today, we take a quick look at what current conditions mean for you and the future of our market.

Right now, it's still very common to see multiple offers on any given properties. In fact, some buyers are even willing to waive appraisals and look for ways to leverage themselves against the buyers they are competing with. It's very competitive these days, and it can be difficult to get into a home unless you get creative.

When multiple offers are as common as they are now, I like to look at the S&P/Case-Schiller Home Price Indices. This is a national report that we get every month and the one we got at the end of July showed that, nationally, single-family homes were at a 4-5% appreciation rate. That's a much better rate than we saw in 2013. Over the next two years, we're expecting home prices to slow a bit, as they've been rising rapidly over the last few years.

 Portland has seen an appreciation level of about 7.4% over the last year or so. Because home prices keep rising, many people in our area have asked if this is a bubble. Frankly, I don't think so; there's a difference between the makeup of the buyer today and the buyer leading up to the crash. Back then, you didn't need much of a down payment or any at all, and generally people weren't as qualified. Today, the buyers are highly qualified and ready to go!

If you have any questions about where our market is heading, don't hesitate to give me a call or shoot me and email. I would love to hear from you!