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Attention Oregon Vets!

Tuesday, October 30, 2007
by Liz Warren

Here is a fabulous offer from McCormick & Schmick's Restaurant to Honor VETS on November 11....please read this news release:

McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood Restaurants Honor Active Duty & Veterans


In their annual salute to all veterans McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurants will again provide free meals in honor of Veterans Day. All veterans can receive a free lunch or dinner entrée at McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurants nationwide on Sunday, November 11. Vets should show proper identification (VA card, VFW card, veterans ID,
DD214, discharge papers, etc.) Reservations Are Strongly Encouraged! In a show of thanks to our nation's veterans, Bill McCormick and Doug Schmick offer to serve those who've served at their McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurants. Last year the company served nearly 15,000 vets nationwide. This year's event is taking place on the Sunday before Veterans Day so that families can participate. McCormick & Schmick's annual veterans program began as a small effort in just one
restaurant in 1999. Due to its overwhelming popularity and positive response received from veterans the program has expanded nationwide. A complete list of participating restaurants may be found at
http://www.mccormickandschmicks.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=content.display

&pageID=263.

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BUY vs. RENT? No Brainer for building wealth

Thursday, October 18, 2007
by Liz Warren

Consider this recent information from NAR, National Association of Realtors, with reasearch completed by Lawrence Yun:

Consumers and homeowners who are in it for the long-term are once again coming out well ahead.

Because of the power of leveraging, $10,000 used for a down payment on a typically priced home in the United States at a typical appreciation rate of 5 percent will return $110,000 after 10 years. The same $10,000 invested in the stock market appreciating 10 percent annually will result in $23,600. No wonder the data from the Federal Reserve show consistent results year-after-year of the staggering difference in net worth between homeowners and renters. A typical homeowner had $184,400 in net worth versus only $4,000 for a typical renter.

Historically low interest rates and an increased inventory of homes make this a fantastic time to pick up a primary or second home on the mountain. Opportunity Knocks! With a projected population increase of 1,000,000 in the Portland Metro area, this will create automatic wealth for any property owner in the future!

Liz


 

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Mortgage Industry Update

Tuesday, October 2, 2007
by Liz Warren

The mortgage industry is not in chaos and there is plenty of money available to loan. The industry has changed though. To  summarize some of the changes, and there are a few, here is a bullet list of some items for consideration when searching for a new loan and for understanding what is different since last year.

*161 lenders have closed their doors since 2006

*Underwriting standards are stricter than ever

*Credit scores less than 620 with little money  down are not eligible for subprime loans

*Buyers are turning to FHA and VA loans to get 97%  and 100% loans at reasonable rates

*Non-profit down-payment assistance programs are gone

*It's very tough to do a 1st and 2nd mortgage to finance a 90-95% loan of the sales price

*Jumbo loans (over $417,000) are now quoted at  7.5% or more depending on the borrower and their down-payment

*Jumbo loans often require two appraisals-one by  the lender and one by the investor

*Lenders are very cautious about fraud these days

Lenders are searching for risk reduction. and scrutinizing loans heavily which have low FICO scores (credit scores), stated income borrowers, low down-payments, and high dept to income ratios.

I would highly recommend  you search for an experienced mortgage broker if you're looking for a first mortgage or refinance!

 

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Data Mongers Will Love This Info on the Oregon Real Estate Quarterly Report!

Monday, July 16, 2007
by Liz Warren

Ok folks, if you are an info junkie you will enjoy the University of Portland's quarterly report for real estate. Hit the link below to download the report by pdf file.  It includes quite a bit of info on the Oregon economy,  Not only does this report cover residential and commercial properties, it comments on the apartment market and downtown condos. No, it is not specific to the mountain market but....since many of our sales are second homes the general implications are broader and ripple out to the second home market.

www.mthoodarearealestate.com/agent_files/portland state/portland state university center for real estate.pdf

 

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Displaying blog entries 401-404 of 404

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