Displaying blog entries 11-20 of 21
If you are ready to purchase your first home in the Mt. Hood area from Welches, Government Camp, Rhododendron to Brightwood, you should take advantage of this updated First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit. Here is the revised edition!
Live the good life at the Resort at the Mountain! Custom built three bedroom, 2.5 bath home all on ONE LEVEL. If you are looking for a home with two master suites, this is it! Completely repainted and new carpeting on its way, you will love this entertainer's delight.
Huge deck off the kitchen and dining area that runs the entire length of the home. Perfect for summer barbeques or just to sit and watch the territorial views and golfers as they walk by on the par three fairway of Foxglove.
Skylights, windows everywhere, let the light shine in. High vaulted ceilings make a grand entry way with hardwood floors and a toe warmingwood stove. The living room has a nice brick fireplace too.
There's a newer heat pump installed and the roof has just been cleaned and treated. All the hard work is done. It's time to enjoy this great home.
You'll love this gourmet kitchen with granite counter tops, a cooking island and TONS of cabinets. The pantry is handy too.
Each master suite has a spacious bathroom with tubs and showers. The vinal is getting redone too.
Enjoy the common areas at the Resort including nature trails along the Salmon River, a heated swimming pool and tennis courts. World class dining at the Altitude on property. Don't forget the recent purchase of the resort which is undergoing 17 million dollars of renovations.
Welches is only 15 minutes to premium ski areas and boasts year round skiing on the Palmer lift at Timberline. Since this home is only 45 minutes to the airport it has a great location for family to fly in for a visit or as a quick drive up from Portland.
$370,000
February 14th is the day that Oregon became the 33rd state in the US. It was in 1859 specifically. To mark this event the Villages at Mt. Hood is offering a pictorial postal cancellation for the 42 cent commemorative stamp, designed by local historian Gary Randall.
The cancellation will be offered at the Hoodland Fire Station in Welches from 10:00 am through noon. The postmasters from the Welches, Brightwood and Rhododendron post offices will be available to hand cancel envelopes. This event is also a fund raiser for The Villages of Mt. Hood.
Take a look at the chart below provided by Freddie Mac showing the average interest rates over the years. If this isn't the best time to buy a home, I don't know what is!
THINK!
What is a thought? Scientifically speaking, it is nothing more than a random electrical impulse in the brain. If you are relaxing, not focusing on any particular thoughts, your brain continues to fire off those random impulses which, in turn, are triggering random, unfocused thoughts - like the itch on your arm, how hummingbirds fly, or your Aunt Ellen's new car.
What's interesting is that everything in sight of you right now is the result of someone's focused thoughts. The computer screen, the window nearby, and the chair in which you are sitting came into existence as the result of a single focused thought. Henry Ford thought about a V-8 engine for his cars, and then insisted that his engineers create it. Jonas Sauk thought about eliminating polio - and did.
Whether you choose to focus your thoughts or not, your day will be filled with them. They just don't stop. But wait - there's an "Aha!" or a "Voila!" in here for you. Just think of the possibilities when you realize the power of thought - and put it to work for you. The amazing thing about thoughts is that you have complete control over them. You either put these electrical impulses to work for you through focused attention - or they happen anyway, but in a random, impotent manner akin to a static electrical discharge.
Everything tangible in our world today was created by an action, preceded by someone's thought - from a straight pin to a Pentium processor, from a blight-free American chestnut tree to your garage-door opener. So - what thoughts will you be having today?
They don't have to be life-changing or global in scope to make your personal world better. They need only be focused. Just remember, you control your thoughts - and their possibilities are endless.
The Mt. Hood real estate market has always lagged national trends. The Portland metro market survived 2007 fairly well and in 2008 the trend hit the metro area and has since, as the stock market declined and job losses increased, has slowed substantially.
Zillow.com a popular data mongering site tells us prices declined another 11.6% nationally last year. Some parts of California and Florida have seen price declines of 50% or more! The 4th quarter of 2008 equaled the losses of all of 2007! Sources tell us the peak to trough, which have not hit yet but predictions are that it will be in the 4th quarter of 2009, our national values will have declined around 36 to 40%! Peak market hit in 2006 and we are edging towards the bottom we hope.
Did you know that approximately 20% of home sales last year were foreclosures? Markets which had the greatest run ups are of course having the greatest declines- Bend, Or. Stockton, Calif., Las Vegas, Nv. The Stockton market will have a peak to trough decline of around 67%!
Market conditions are local. The majority of our local market is second homes. We could see a longer recovery and bottoming in our market because of the lag time we always experience. We were last to the party and probably the last to leave making me believe we may be pushed into 2010 for stabilization. The stimulus package may help us climb out of this excessive inventory situation sooner than later though! In general the Portland homeowner equities are large and therefore they may have a quicker stabilizing than other large metro areas. Unemployment numbers may keep us behind though.
Wow! Is this really happening? There's a possible $15,000 tax break for home buyers in the new stimulus package and the Senate has oked it at this point. Current law gives a $7500 tax incentive for first time home buyers but this new proposal would allow a tax credit of 10 percent of the value of new or existing residences, with a $15,000 limit.
This pending bill will help get the foreclosure and swelling inventory of homes off the market and will help stabilize home prices. Congress will make their decision in about ten days on this bill so stay tuned.
There's some great news for local users of the Mt. Hood National Forest roads and trails. Funding has been approved for many projects to fix roads and trails that have been heavily damaged from the 2006 flooding and storms over the past couple of years. A total of $961,840 in emergency funding is headed our way according to Forest spokesperson Rick Acosta. Contracts will be awarded in September.
Some of the projects most important to our side of the mountain include:
Road repair to the popular Romona Falls and campgrounds near Ramona Falls.
A horse and hiking bridge on the Pacific Crest Trail.
The bike and horse trails using a stringer bridge at the Dog River crossing and fill will be brought into the historic Barlow Trail that has washed away sections.
The most expensive repair will be a suspension bridge at the Eliot Crossing on the Timberline Trail.
Around 4.5 million people visit the Mt. Hood National Forest each year so it will be great to have our resources back in use in the not too distant future for visitors to enjoy!
Why did interest rates pop up a quarter of a percent the past week? We were floating along at around 5% and now we are around 5.25% for a 30 year fixed.
It's the refis.
Rates went low and everyone rushed in to refi their home to take advantage of the low rates. So many lenders had let their staff go that now the system has clogged up and it may take three weeks to a month to get back to normal. Rates were raised to slow down the process and get rid of the clog.
Once the clog is gone we are hoping rates will drop back down again to the 5% 30 year fixed level. Keep your fingers crossed.
As I mentioned in a prior post, many of the current homeowners trying to get refianced will be disappointed by higher lending standards and lower home values.
I ran into a client recently who told me was in the middle of a refinance. They were charging him $400 for an appraisal and his value came in $50,000 less than his county tax value. He was shocked at the value of the appraisal.
Another client told me their refinance came back several times with additional conditions for the refinance. First a 'patched' roof was required, then a new roof was required before they would lend the money.
Lending has DRASTICALLY changed from just a year ago putting a new twist to all transactions that require lending- which are most of our sales.
I am trying to keep up with all of the changes through classes and continuing education but there are surprises around every bend.
If you have questions about refis or new loans, give me a call. If I can't answer your question I can put you in touch with the right resource who can.
IF I WAS A CARPENTER!
A story, written by an unknown author goes like this:
An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer-contractor of his plans to leave the house building business and live a more leisurely life with his wife and family. He would miss the paycheck, but he needed to retire. They could get by.
The contractor was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he would build just one more house as a personal favor. The carpenter said yes, but in time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end his career.
When the carpenter finished his work and the builder came to inspect the house, the contractor handed the front-door key to the carpenter. "This is YOUR house - my gift to you," he said.
Life is no different. Each of us is given lumber, a hammer, some nails, and a saw - but no instructions or blueprint for our lives. If we ignore a bent nail here, a split board there, and a wall out of plumb, we may find ourselves living in a ramshackle cabin where a beautiful home might have stood. Then we step back for a good look and recognize that we were the carpenter in charge.
Build your home with pride. Use the right tools. Get the education you need. Learn from a master. Take no shortcuts. Finish it with your finest touch. Remember - the plaque on the wall says, "Life is a do-it-yourself project."
Displaying blog entries 11-20 of 21
