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Mt. Hood Secluded Acreage with Contemporary Home!

by Liz Warren

This secluded acreage has it all! Custom built home with tons of bells and whistles. Pride of ownership throughout. Bonus attached apartment for live in parents or returning grown children complete with private bath and kitchen with a separate entry. The home features over 3,000 square feet of living space with four bedrooms (including the apartment) and three and a half baths. There is a wonderful river rock fireplace in the huge family room complete with built in wet bar and a pool table area. A sliding glass door leads out to a private covered patio area and the hot tub.


Knotty pine accents and high vaulted ceilings bring the mountain flavor in. The gourmet kitchen is to die for and it's open to the dining room area. You have tons of cabinets and a gas stove for cooking. You'll love the ambiance of the river rock alcove wood stove to take the chill off cool mountain evenings. The pole barn/shop is a delight too for storage and hobby area. It's 36 X 24 with power of course!

Just down the street a little ways in the Mt. Hood National Forest with thousands of miles of hiking trails and the reknown Salmon River for exceptional fly fishing. Head the other direction to the premium ski slopes only 15 minutes away. And, if you're a golfer, there's a 27 hole golf course at the Resort at the Mountain, only two minutes away.

$549,000 Take a tour here

Sit on your deck and watch the clouds blow by! This incredible Clear Hilld Condo has a million dollar view. It's an upper unit with two bedrooms and two baths, a stone fireplace, cozy dining and kitchen area, spacious bedrooms, a washer and dryer, storage area and its own carport. Enjoy the Resort at the Mountain and golf the 27 hole golf course. New Resort ownership will place this unit in high demand with millions of dollars of renovations in the works. Only one hour from Portland and a 15 minute drive to premium ski slopes.

Tour the condo here

EVEN MORE RULES COMING for INVESTOR LOANS

by Liz Warren

Here is some more credit squeezing news. On August 8th of this year Freddie Mac is clamping down on invertor loans. The limit for multiple owner investment units will be a total of four vs. the ten they currently allow. Cash out refis on rental units will also be eyeballed closely with a high probability of higher interest rates.

An even larger looming problem is the PMI or private mortgage insurance issue. PMI is required when a downpayment is less than 20% of the total purchase price. Investor loans in declining or depressed markets will be completely out of luck, in other words, no PMI, no loan if less than a 20% downpayment. Shades of the 1980's! When I first started selling homes on the mountain we could not sell anything without at least 20% down because the lenders would not provide PMI for buyers in our area.

What does this mean as a buyer or seller in the markets of Government Camp, Rhododendron and Welches? So far we have not been declared a "distressed" or "declining" market for real estate sales so we have dodged that bullet. What it does mean is that there will be a shrinking pool of investment purchasers with credit restrictions and the probability of higher interest rates on those loans.

55 Plus Communitiy!

by Liz Warren

Very Affordable over 55 plus community in Welches Oregon. This home is immaculate and better than the models! Not only is it fully landscaped but includes and upgraded heat efficient heat pump! There's a two car garage and a completely fenced backyard. There's a nice deck for your outdoor barbeques too. Three bedrooms, two baths and a spacious master bedroom with built in vanity and two separate closets. You'll love the soak tub in the master bathroom too.

$194,950.

Take a Tour Here

Zig Zag Riverfront Cabin

by Liz Warren

This is a classic! You'll love the knotty pine throughout and the location can't be beat. Many owners couldn't get to their cabins for months this winter but this one is just off a paved plowed road! Nestled on the banks of the Zig Zag river with a nice sandy beach to place your lawn chairs and watch the fish fly by!

The cabin has a roomy living area with vaulted ceilings, a sleeping nook and a loft over the living room. I love the riverrock stone hearth with a woodstove insert! There's also a free standing propane stove too. Original paned windows througout! A nice privated bedroom with built ins and a remodeled bathroom too. Store your wood or vehicle in the huge garage.

The best part, this is only 15 minutes to skiing and ONE hour from Portland. This cabin sits in the Mt. Hood National Forest on leased land. You can even walk right over to the grocery store in Rhododendron on the walking bridge.

$234,950

Take a tour here

Local Weather Impacts Mt. Hood Sales

by Liz Warren

It's snowing again in Welches and for a late March date, this is a bit unusual. The weather has had a rather substantial impact on real estate this year. Access into the forest service cabins in the Mt. Hood National Forest, mainly from Government Camp to Rhododendron, has been limited since the end of December when the snow has been falling at record levels.

These National Forest roads are not plowed, except for Road 10.   Many cabin owners have not been able to use their cabin this winter unless they have a good  four wheel drive with high wheel based capabilities. Of course some owners have skied or snowshoed in. At last count a local towing company said at least 200 vehicles had been pulled off of forest service roads. The snow has reduced listing activity and sales activity for these cabins over the past three months. This has also delayed many owners completing their compliance requirements for the new permit set to start January 1, 2009!

Government Camp has been buried most of the winter. Snow plows have not been able to keep up with the load.. When trekking up for a showing this winter, not only could we hardly identify the cabin from the road, snow up to it's roof nearly, but there was no way we could scale the 20 foot bank that had been snowplowed toward the front of the chalet. I can only imagine some of the damage many of these properties have suffered this year from collapsing chimneys to crushed decks and other snow related issues. Bottom line, if you don't like to shovel snow, don't even think about purchasing in Government Camp.

The lack of accessibility has also hampered the Government Camp sales except for condos.. Under the strict appraisal requirements coming from lenders these days, I doubt a lender would even consider an appraisal until the snow melts further and they can eyeball the property.

Sales statistics will tell the story soon. Stay tuned for additional updates.

 

Government Camp: Golden Poles Condo Roof Is Giving Way

by Liz Warren

Huge amounts of snow has fallen locally and particularly in Government Camp. They received six and a half feet in six days!  The amount of structural damage is just now showing up as the snow melts. Today the roof started to collapse in the Golden Poles Units near Multorpor Meadows. Beams are cracking and chimney damage is occurring.  Once all the snow is gone there will probably be an even greater amount of damage uncovered. Here is the news story and video:

see story and video here

 

 

Oregon Trail School District Needs A New High School Desperately!

by Liz Warren

The Oregon Trail School District has formed a Task Force who has been working very hard on the high school issues at hand. They are recommending a November 2008 bond election to build a new 1,600 student high school and improve safety, security, and deterioration issues at other district facilities.

To read about the bottom line and outline of what is needed you can download this pdf file of information.    

click here

If you have ever visited Sandy High School, you will understand why this is an urgent need not only for area children but this will help maintain a more stable and desirable community for the entire area from Sandy and Boring to Welches and Government Camp.

 

Cumulative Days On Market

by Liz Warren

Gone are the days when agents would reenter a listing as new to draw attention to a property or to market it as "new" in the eyes of the public. The latest statistic for real estate agents straight from multiple listing is the "cumulative days on market" field.

Cumulative Days on Market  really tells the true story vs "days on market" since the property didn't sell the first time, this is the true marketing time. The true time from start to finish with a sale, with price adjustments, new agents or companies entering the picture: it's the whole enchilada.

Today's statistics show the inventory for Government Camp, Welches, Rhododendron, and Brightwood at around 87 properties for sale. We have a current 17 month supply of homes! Average days on market: 78 but cumulative days on market: 101. That's a 22% difference in perception.

Rather than going through the math at a painful pace through the history section, this simplifies the process.

Clackamas County Town Hall Meeting in Welches this Saturday

by Liz Warren
Here is the Welches Town Hall Meeting Agenda for this Saturday at the Welches Grade School
Clackamas County's
Board of Directors Town Hall Meeting
Saturday, February 16, 2007
Welches Elementary School Multipurpose room
Meeting: 9:30 am - noon
check in starts at 9:00

Agenda

1. Welcome & Board Introductions

2. Review and approve minutes, November 17, 2007

3. Resort at the Mountain: Upgrades and Plans for the Future
     -- Frank Casarez, General Manager

4. Presentation on "911" -- Hoodland Fire District

5. Clackamas County Report -- Christine Roth

6. Audience question and answer period

7. Adjourment



Displaying blog entries 21-30 of 49

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Liz Warren
Merit Properties Group - Keller Williams Realty PDX Central
Box 131
Welches OR 97067
Direct: 503-705-3090