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Mt. Hood Real Estate Blog

Liz Warren

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Displaying blog entries 1691-1700 of 1921

Wood Floors Are Popular on Mt. Hood

Thursday, April 2, 2009
by Liz Warren

 Wood Floors!

Hardwood floors remain a very popular choice among many homeowners and vacationers who own homes on Mt Hood, and with all the stains and finishes available, cleaning them is easier than ever. Wood floors are easy to maintain — they usually require little more than sweeping with a soft-bristle broom and periodically cleaning with a reputable wood floor cleaner. The National Wood Flooring Association offers the following tips for protecting and maintaining hardwood floors.

·         Use a cleaner that is specially made for wood floors. Avoid using sheet vinyl and tile floor care products. Self-polishing acrylic waxes can cause the wood to become slippery and appear dull quickly.

·         Use throw rugs both inside and outside of doorways to prevent scratches and keep dirt and grit from being tracked onto the floor.

·         When cleaning, do not use a wet mop. Standing water can dull the finish, damage the wood and leave a discoloring residue.

·         Wipe up spills immediately with a slightly dampened towel.

·         Avoid walking on wood floors with cleats, high heels and sport shoes, which can dent the floors.

·         When moving heavy furniture, pick it up instead of sliding it. Place guides under furniture legs to prevent

scuffing and scratching.

 

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Mt. Hood Landscaping Tips

Thursday, April 2, 2009
by Liz Warren

Low-Cost Landscaping Tips

A beautifully-landscaped property can work wonders when it comes to selling your home. The Free Landscaping Ideas Blog offers these suggestions on how to save money without sacrificing quality or beauty.

·         Make a plan that includes a schedule of tasks and rough sketches of your design to help you determine what items you need. For assistance, consult with an expert at a local gardening store or home improvement retailer.

·         Plan the project in phases and purchase products as money is available. The phased-in plan also helps you avoid the interest and fees associated with home-improvement loans or credit card purchases.

·         Don’t sacrifice quality. Ask the staff at local specialty shops for recommendations about the best products available. If you are inexperienced with landscaping, consider spending a little extra for professional assistance.

·         Carefully inspect plants for diseases and insect problems, especially if you didn’t purchase them from a nursery. Diseases and pests can spread to other plants. Also ask the gardening retailer if they offer warranties on their plants.

·         If you plan ahead, you can take advantage of off-season prices. For example, buy lumber in the winter when it is cheaper and store it until you are ready to use it. Shop for trees, shrubs, perennials, mulch and soil late in the season when prices go down.

·         Purchase products online or from catalogs, or join a gardening club, which may offer discount prices as well as helpful advice.

·         Your municipality may have mulch and compost available. Also, try asking people in charge of construction or demolition sites if they have used stones or bricks they might give away.

·         Ask neighbors if they’ll share some of the costs. By pooling all your resources, you may get some good deals on items bought in bulk, and you can split the cost of renting machinery for landscaping work.


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First Time Home Buyers On Mt Hood Tax Breaks

Thursday, April 2, 2009
by Liz Warren

Catch a [Tax] Break On Mt Hood as a First Time Homebuyer!

There’s good news for first-time homebuyers who plan to purchase a home in 2009. Thanks to some of the provisions in the recently enacted American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, qualifying first-time homebuyers can earn a tax credit of up to $8,000 if they purchase a home before Dec. 1. They can claim the credit on either their 2008 or 2009 tax returns, according to the Internal Revenue Service. The best news is that the credit does not need to be repaid provided the home remains their main residence for 36 months after the purchase date. Buyers can claim 10 percent of the purchase price up to $8,000, or $4,000 for married individuals filing separately. The amount of the credit begins to phase out for taxpayers whose adjusted gross income is more than $75,000, or $150,000 for joint filers.

 

For purposes of this credit, you are considered to be a first-time homebuyer if you (and your spouse if you are married) did not own any other primary residence during the three-year period ending on the date of the purchase.

 

The new law does not affect individuals who purchased a home between April 8, 2008 and Dec. 31, 2008. For these homeowners, the maximum credit remains 10 percent of the purchase price up to $7,500 for individuals, or $3,750 for married individuals filing separately. In addition, the credit for these purchases must be repaid in 15 equal installments over 15 years, beginning in 2010.

 

For more information about the tax credit or to find out how the new legislation affects homeowners, visit www.irs.gov or consult your tax accountant.



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Spectacular Value for this Square Footage

Wednesday, April 1, 2009
by Liz Warren

Tons of room in this home!!!!If you are looking for lots of room at an incredible price, look no more! This spacious home with nearly 2500 sq. ft. has it all. Open floor plan with living room, formal dining area, huge family room with eating area and kitchen. New laminate flooring in the family and living room. There's a slider off to a huge deck on the back for summer barbeques. Four bedrooms upstairs and a very large bonus room with storage areas under the eves. This is a perfect media, pool room, or hobby room for the family. The master bedroom has its own balcony deck and master bath (recently remodeled) plus walk in closet. The entire interior of the home has been painted!

$250,000  Take a tour here!

There's also an attached double car garage and laundry room too. The amenities of the area include a summer swimming pool, tennis courts, lodge and management, picnic areas and trails along the Sandy River too.

Located near the Mt. Hood National Forest and three premium ski areas! Thousands of miles of hiking trails too!

Only one hour from Portland! Perfect for the 100% USDA loan!

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Monday Morning Coffee

Monday, March 30, 2009
by Liz Warren
Monday Morning Coffee

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:

"If your riches are yours, why don't you take them to t'other world?"
~ Benjamin Franklin

LEAVE A LEGACY!

In one of William Bennett's books, he tells a story about Ben Franklin's death. It seems that old Ben made a special gift in his will. In it, he left 1,000 pounds to the cities of Philadelphia and Boston with specific instructions. They were to set up a program of loans to young men under the age of 25, married, and who had successfully completed an apprenticeship, needing startup money for a trade or business. The money was to be loaned at 5% interest. The loan program was to continue for 200 years.

At the end of 100 years, the two cities were to withdraw $100,000 each for public projects, and continue lending the balance as stated above. At the end of 200 years, the fund was to be split between Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Boston, and Massachusetts. In the year 1990 there was $6,500,000 in the fund. For 200 years, Ben Franklin helped young men get started in business by making those funds available, and had $6.5 million left over.

Just think of the many ways you and I could benefit our families, the community, or the lives of total strangers if we just took the initiative exhibited by Ben Franklin. By setting up a similar fund that earns just 5%, it would contain $17,292,581 at the end of 200 years. The purpose could be educational loans for family members.

Set aside $1,000 now and add just $100 per month to it for ten years, earning 5% on loans made from the account, and the fund would have $17,157. After the ten-year period of adding $100 per month, no more money is added and it continues to be loaned at 5% for the next 190 years. At the end of 200 years, the fund would contain $181,141,192. At that point, it could be converted to an outright "grant" program to which family members could apply for education funds.

Instead of focusing on just your immediate family, think about the legacy you could leave by planning much further into the future. Thanks to the "future value of money" concept, you could provide valuable support to many future generations. It's just a thought, but why couldn't we give it a try?

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States Where Prices Are Up Nationally

Saturday, March 28, 2009
by Liz Warren

There are a handful of states where prices are up from 2007 to 2008 according to First American Corelogic, a mortgage data company: 

These states are:

West Virginia-4.2%

Texas - 3.6 %

 

South Dakota – 3.6 %

 

Montana – 2.6 %

 

Mississippi – 1.7 %

 

Utah - 1.5 %

 

New Mexico - 1.3 %

Home prices during the same time frame dropped in 70% of states.

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Mt. Hood Wilderness Bill Passes Congress

Wednesday, March 25, 2009
by Liz Warren

The Mt. Hood Wilderness Bill has passed Congress and is on its way to Obama's desk for signature. Here is a map from the U. S. Forest Service showing the added acreage to be included in the Mt. Hood Wilderness

For addtional details about this bill, hit this link.

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Buying on Mt. Hood? Know your credit score limits

Wednesday, March 25, 2009
by Liz Warren

Every day is an education day in the tightening world of mortgages and credit. Today we were notified that if you do not have a credit score of at least 620 you will not be able to get a loan anywhere. So, homebuyers for Government Camp, Welches, Brightwood, and Rhododendron....know your credit scores!

Also, if you are looking for a cash out refi on a non owner occupied property, in other words a second home or investment property, lenders will probably only give you maximum 65% of the appraised value of the home.

If you have an FHA loan, the maximum cash out refinance amount you will receive is 80% of value.

The box just got smaller for credit.

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New and Existing Home Sale Numbers

Tuesday, March 24, 2009
by Liz Warren

Take a look at this information to see NAR, the National Association of Realtors, info based upon the Bureau of Census, and their predictions for home sales through the end of the year and into 2010

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Monday Morning Coffee

Monday, March 23, 2009
by Liz Warren
Monday Morning Coffee

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:

"If you take too long in deciding what to do with
your life, you'll find you've done it."
-George Bernard Shaw

"Before enlightenment - chopping wood, carrying water.
After enlightenment - chopping wood, carrying water."
- Buddha

FEELING STRESSED?

Oh - the frustration of it all. The first quote for today deals with the importance of having direction - goals - in your life. You know - we've all heard it for years - our life will be happier, more prosperous, more meaningful if we have a plan, know where we're going, and work systematically at getting there.

If you've tried to do that, you've undoubtedly met with a great deal of frustration along the way. It's like the expression "Life is what happens to you while you're planning other things." No matter how hard you work at your plan, there are those constant interruptions that get in the way, and make it seem so difficult. You are not alone.

As important as the first quote is, think about the second one. A modern paraphrase might go like this: "Before setting and achieving your goals, and having control over your life, your days are filled with trivia, interruptions, hassles, disappointments, family responsibilities, etc. After working your plan and achieving all your dreams and goals - your life is filled with trivia, interruptions, hassles, disappointments, family responsibilities, etc."

Taking control of your life can result in great personal satisfaction, provided you understand it does not bring you to perfection. Intertwined in our desire to achieve peace, success, and enlightenment, there is still plenty of wood to chop and water to carry. The day-to-day responsibilities of life do not disappear. We simply gain the strength to bear them more readily - and with a smile.

So - carry on with your plans and your dreams. They are vital to a great life. Yet remember the words of Jules Renard, who said, "There are moments when everything goes well; don't be frightened, it won't last."

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Displaying blog entries 1691-1700 of 1921

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