Yurts, School Buses, Treehouses, Oh My!!

One of my favorite things to do as a Realtor is previewing homes.  I love seeing different ways of living, unique floor plans, fantastic views and all the different types of character that homes can have.  The fun side of real estate is trying to picture life in all of these various types of homes, and boy do I have some fun ways of living to show you!

Yurts on Pinterest

Ever thought of living in a teepee (also spelled tipi or tepee)?  Probably, when you were young, but there are actually people who live in them as adults.  More popular than real life teepee living is living in a yurt!  A yurt is a round structure with a simple post and beam construction that is usually fairly easy to set up and take down.  They tend not to impact the environment much, are relatively inexpensive and can be constructed in places where it wouldn't be feasible to build a more typical home.  Pacific Yurts Inc. sells a 706 square foot yurt for $10,785.  That's about $15 per square foot! 

Skoolies on Pinterest

Probably when reading the title of this blog entry you did a double take on the words "school buses" - but sure enough, there are people that remodel school buses and turn them into living quarters!  They are called "Skoolies" and are becoming quite the conversation topic!  Even the Oregonian has written an article on them.  You can find everything on-line from how-to-plans to already completed Skoolies.  The price range to build a Skoolie runs from $10,000 to $30,000 and up.  I'd say these yellow buses certainly qualify as alternative living! 



Photo from Ladyinterior.com

Finally, if a yurt or a school bus doesn't inspire you, then maybe a tree house will.  Popular on TV are shows about tree house living.  If you've ever had a dream as a kid (or an adult) to live in a fancy tree house, I highly recommend checking your local listings to find Tree House Masters.  The cost to build a residence in a tree is about $65,000-$85,000.  Read more about a real life tree house experience.

Everyone should be able to find the home of their dreams.  For some people, that may be a home with a white picket fence in the suburbs, for others it may be a condo in the big city.  Don't be afraid to look for something a little different, maybe some land in the country where you can put up a yurt!  Find your home, wherever your dreams may take you!  

Rental Prices Going Up, Up, Up!

© Peter Gustafson | Dreamstime Stock Photos

Are you currently renting?  If you are, I'm sure you've noticed rental prices increasing.  If you've tried to find new housing to rent, you've likely had trouble finding places currently taking applications, let alone finding a vacancy in a decent place that you would actually like to live.

As of August 2015, average apartment rent within 10 miles of Portland was $1516.  According to Rentjungle.com, the average apartment rent over the last 6 months in Portland has increased by $198 (15%).  If you're like most people and are on a budget, that 15% increase can really cramp your style.  We've seen evictions coming left and right because landlords are realizing that they can get high rents for the same properties.

When we are talking about high rent prices and a shortage of available rentals, the obvious next step is to think about buying instead of renting.  If you're paying $1500 a month in rent, in one year you will have paid $18,000 towards your landlord's mortgage; in 5 years you will have paid $90,000!  If you've read my previous posts, you know that an average home's value doubles in about 18 years.  Instead of paying off your landlord's mortgage, you could be paying off your own. 

Get it out of your mindset that you need a huge amount of money saved up for a down payment.  There are lots of options out there, even options where you don't have to put anything down.  Now is the time to stop paying your landlord's mortgage and to start paying your own, building equity in your own future!

Want to read more about the rental crisis?
NAR Study
Portland Housing Bureau

Four Ways to Use Pinterest When Buying a Home

If you haven't gotten addicted to Pinterest yet, then I almost hate telling you about it, because you will spend so much time there!  What is it, you say?  It's ideas on home decorating, recipes, cute outfits, pictures of adorable puppies and it's one-stop shopping for ideas to get you focused on what you want in a home!  I'm going with the assumption that you understand how Pinterest works.  So if you don't, stop now and go create a Pinterest account and play around on it, then come back here and get reading!

 The first thing that you may not think of, is that you can search floor plans.  Even if you're not planning on building your own home, it's a great way to start thinking about how you want your house to flow.  Do you want the master on the main floor?  Do you like the living room, kitchen and nook to be an open design?  Floor plans give you ideas of what you do and do not want in your home.

 

 

Besides knowing how you want your home to flow, the next thing to think about are the finishes.  What type of countertops fit your style?  Are you carpet or hard wood floor kind of people?  Thinking off the types of finishes that you like will help you narrow down a house and Pinterest can help you decide (if you don't already know).  Just search flooring or countertops and you'll get tons of idea!  Check out the Brazilian floors in this kitchen.

Just because a house has a certain type of finish, you can always choose to do a little home improvement project and change it to a different style that you like more.  Old, outdated cabinets?  Give them a makeover!  Pinterest has great ideas for how to build the perfect backyard pergola, to how to remove wallpaper and even how to build the perfect built-in bookshelf! Just plug in the type of project you want to tackle and Pinterest will give you the tips and ideas.

Remember with Pinterest, it's a great way to share your ideas with friends and family.  Do you often take a friend with you shopping?  Why? Because we all get tunnel vision when trying on that outfit or picking out a sofa.  We need a trusted friend to tell when we're crazy and not to buy something!  This is no different.  When you pin ideas on Pinterest, your BFF can tell you if you're beyond your limits and really shouldn't try that Do-It-Yourself project.  Tell your friends that you want feedback and have them comment on the cabinets, floors or paint colors that you've pinned.  That way you'll know right away if you're a little too far off base.

Want to see how I use Pinterest?  Check out and follow my boards!
Real Estate
Best Backyards Ever
For the Home
Gardens

 

Wallpaper Making a Comeback

Could wallpaper really be making a comeback?  We've all either owned, visited or toured a home that had hideous wallpaper.  You know the home, the one when you walk into the foyer and the giant, dated, floral wallpaper is coming at you so hard that you want to turn around and run.  Yep, we've all been there.  It's scary.

First thought as a prospective home buyer is "Holy cow, how much blood, sweet and tears is it going to take to get that down?"  The question is, how many layers of wallpaper are underneath the one layer that you can see?  If you're thinking of tackling a wallpaper removal project, check out HGTV. 

Now if you're really adventurous, you might be thinking of actually putting up wallpaper.  Say what??!  I know, I know, it sounds crazy.  But really, could wallpaper look good?  The answer is yes!  If you get to check out the Street of Dreams in Lake Oswego this year, they do wallpaper right!  It had me wanting to run right out and pick out wallpaper for my house!  

If you're thinking of selling your home anytime in the near future, the trick is to find something that you like, but also something that buyers wouldn't run away screaming from.  Neutral colors, blacks, whites, greys, something that can stand the test of time when it comes to style.

Wallpaper really does have the ability to look good.  But this isn't a task to take lightly, because we all know how it can go wrong so quickly.  If you're thinking about adding some style to your bathroom or entryway, do your research and see if your home could end up looking like these multimillion dollar homes in the Street Of Dreams! 


For something a bit crazy:
Check out wallpaper you can color (I just can't get behind this idea).

Is Solar Something That You Could Do?

Solar panels are becoming more and more popular as technology improves and costs continue to go down.  All you have to do is start driving through a few neighborhoods and look up at the roofs to see that solar is popping up just about everywhere.  It's like when you buy a new car and you start seeing that make and model of car every place you go, solar is the same way - once you start noticing solar panels, you see them every where you turn.

photo from dreamstime.com

You know it's good for the environment.  You know it would cut down your energy bill.  But can you really afford it?  That's the big question.  At the end of 2016, some of the big tax credits are going away.  Now is the time to figure out if solar is right for you, so that you can cash in on those big credits before they become a thing of the past.


What would it actually look like if you put in a solar system?  Here are a couple of examples:

Solar Electric - PGE customer - 4,000 Watts system

$16,000     Total installed cost
-$3,200      Energy Trust incentive
$12,800     Amount homeowner pays to contractor

-$3,840      Federal Tax Credit (30% of $12,800)
-$6,000      Oregon Tax Credit ($1.90/watt, up to $6,000)

$2,960       Final cost to homeowner

For Utility Customers not served by PGE or Pacific Power - 4,000 Watts system

$16,000     Total installed cost

-$4,800      Federal Tax Credit (30% of $16,000)
-$6,000      Oregon Tax Credit ($1.90/watt, up to $6,000)

$5,200       Final cost to homeowner
 

In order to do solar, your roof has to have at least 10 years of life left.  The best type of roof is a metal roof, because the solar panels can just be clicked onto the metal roof without any penetration of the roof.  Solar panel last about 20 years, of course they could last longer and there are no moving parts, so very little maintenance is involved.  There is an inverter that only last 12-15 years before it'll need to be replaced. 

If you live in Oregon and have PGE as your electric company, you can have solar for just $2,960 (examples from Solar Oregon)!  I don't know about you, but that is much less than I thought it would be.  The big chunk of change comes out of your pocket first and the tax credits come later, but if you can afford to wait for those tax credits to come in... you can really get solar panels for not a lot in the end.  If you live outside of the Energy Trust of Oregon territory, which is any place not served by PGE or Pacific Power, like Forest Grove or Vernonia, then you won't be able to qualify for that incentive, but you would still get the State and Federal tax credits.

Here's where the problem lies in Oregon, your house has to pass the minimum shade requirements.  We do have enough sun to be able to benefit from solar panels, but 75% of the homes in Oregon don't work for solar due to too much shade.  Contact SolarCity to find out if your house qualifies.

An exciting piece of new technology is the back up battery by Tesla called the Powerwall that works with solar.  It goes on the side of your house and can be used like a generator, providing energy when the sun's not shinning or in the event of an outage.

It really comes down to this, solar is possible.  Solar is economical with all the incentives and tax credits.  If 400,000 homes in Oregon had solar panels, that would create all the energy that Oregon needs!  Three thousand dollars and you could be an energy superstar.  Think about that.

Helpful links:
Tax credit information
SolarCity - Solar provider
Sunrun - Solar provider
Tesla Powerwall battery
Solar Oregon
Solar World - Solar manufacturer

South Hillsboro Project

Click HERE to see the full size map from the City of Hillsboro

Have you heard about the South Hillsboro Project?  If you live anywhere close to 209th to 229th in Hillsboro, you probably have.  I recently went to a meeting on it for Realtors because I was curious about this project that has been in the works since 1998, that we've heard so much about, yet haven't seen any dirt actually move.

It's 1,400 acres between 209th on the East,  229th on the West and between TV Highway on the North and Farmington Road on the South.  It's going to have 8,000 dwellings, some 20,000+ residents (like building a Forest Grove in South Hillsboro), 286 acres of parks and 5 new schools.  This is a whole planned community from shops and restaurants to senior centers, apartments and high-end homes. 

One of the major intersections to get into South Hillsboro will be at Cornelius Pass and TV Highway.  Right now that intersection T's and comes to a stop at a field.  Well that field will one day be gone and instead be new South Hillsboro.  In order to go into new South Hillsboro, Cornelius Pass will go over the railroad tracks into that land.  Just that intersection alone has taken five years to plan!  They've had to close other railroad crossings as part of the agreement to get this one new crossing in place.  Maybe you've seen some work at that intersection?  I drove by it a few months ago (-ish, could be more, could be less, one never knows with my memory) and saw equipment there appearing to start some of the more basic work that has to be done to get that intersection in place.  Apparently getting a new crossing over a railroad track is no easy feat.

They started the concept planning in 1998 and have been working hard on the project for 16 years now.  Residents and people staying on top of it like Realtors keep hearing that it'll start soon.  Apparently the dirt work will start next year.  Now that doesn't mean that homes are going up, that just means that the dirt will start to move for infrastructure.  Course, we've heard it before, "next year", so it could be more like 2017...

Is a USDA Loan Right For You?

If you're thinking of buying your first home, but do not have money for a down payment, you might want to consider a USDA loan.  

With a USDA loan, you don't put anything down, it is 100% financed.  Before you get too excited and think "Wahoo!  I don't need any money!" - you will still need earnest money, money for closing costs & for any inspections.  In a buyer's market you can often get the seller to pay your closing costs.  In our current market, a seller's market, it's still possible that a seller might pay your closing costs, but it's not as likely.

A USDS loan takes longer to get, so the closing timeframe on a house is going to be longer, at least 60 days, often more.  There are certain requirements like all the exposed wood must be painted.  They don't care if the house is polka dotted, it just can't have exposed, unpainted wood siding.  You can't get a USDA loan on a house with any out buildings, like a shop, or things like a pool.

Besides the fact that this type of loan is finicky with the condition of the house (like no plumbing, electrical or roof issues), it also is only available in certain areas. Basically think rural, outlying towns.  You'll want to talk to your lender, but in this area some of the approved towns for USDA loans are Forest Grove, Cornelius and North Plains.

As with any loans, there are requirements.  But don't think that this is a bad option.  The fact of the matter is, it is an option.  When you're thinking about the current low interest rates and thinking that now is the time to buy before home prices go any higher, this may just be the option for you.  You could buy a home and start building your own home equity, instead of continuing to rent and paying off someone else's mortgage.  Talk to a lender today and if you don't have one, give me a call and I can get you connected with a lender that you can trust.

7 Apps and Web Tools That You Never Knew Existed

Here are seven tools that you can use regularly but probably never knew existed. 

1) Autodesk Homestyler is probably the neatest free design tool that I've seen and so user friendly.   You can create house floor plans.  You can input your furniture and then move it around to see how different layouts work.  It gives you so many options that your head will spin and you'll wonder how you ever decided on a layout before this! 

2)  I'm sure you've watched news clips about the latest arrest of a sex offender and thought at least that person didn't live near me.  Which then leads you to wonder if one does live near you or that perfect house that you want to buy.   Find out at Oregon's Sex Offender Inquiry System.

3) Property Tracker is a free web tool that will email you when a new house fits your search criteria.  Maybe you want to sell your house in two years and just want notice of homes that sell near you to get an idea of what prices people are getting.  Maybe you want to buy but don't want to waste time searching.  Set up a search once with Property Tracker and it'll do all the work for you.  You can choose how often you get notice, once a day/once a week, etc.  P.S. don't forget to put my name is as your Realtor connection so that if you want to see the home or get more info, just a simple click and I'm on top of it for you!  Get it for your smart phone too at JLSapp.com/amiek and with a quick download you're all set.

4) Painting is probably one of the surest ways to clean up a room and really make it pop!  But selecting a color and figuring out the amount of paint that you actually need can be problematic.  The Paint Quality Institute is an easy online tool that'll calculate how many gallons of paint you need to buy.  This quick app from Benjamin Moore will let you take a picture of anything and it'll match the paint color that's closest to it! 

5)  Are school districts important to you in your home search?  Check out Oregon Home Town Locator that not only shows you the boundary maps of the school districts but also gives stats on each school.

6)  Ever wondered what the value of a tree would be to your street?  The National Tree Benefit Calculator inputs the location, species and tree size to give users an understanding of the environmental and economic value that trees provide annually.  While you're thinking about trees... try this tree identification app called Leafsnap.  It is only for trees but it lets you take a picture of a leaf and it'll tell you what tree it's from.  Now when you're walking by a really neat tree, you can figure out what it is!

7) Do It Yourself Project Calculator is so very neat!  Want to know what it would cost to fix up your bathroom?  What about a kitchen remodel?  Put in a new deck?  All of those questions can be answered using a very easy estimator and with a couple of selections of the size, type of finish and voilà! You've got a project cost!

Home Demolition vs. Deconstruction

First off, can I start by saying every time I hear the word "demolition" I immediately think of the movie Demolition Man.  I don't know what that says about me, other than I like cheesy movies. 

Now that we got that out off the way, let's talk demo!  Many times, the highest and best use of a piece of land means that the existing home structure needs to be demolished.  It's too small, in need of too much repair or has issues that simply can not be remedied.  In this case, when it comes time to get rid of the home, what can you do?

photo from dreamstime.com

Burn it?  Sometimes the fire department will burn the home down as an exercise for their firefighters.  This often isn't possible though due to the closeness of the home to other structures. Or you simply don't want to pollute the air by setting the home of fire.  Understandable.

There's the classic demolition, meaning someone coming through with big equipment, destroying the house and dumping the remains at a landfill.  Sure, the landfill might recycle a lot of the debris (like Tualatin Valley Waste Recovery, who does a great job of recycling and recovering materials).  But still, it seems so sad to destroy a house and waste all of the materials that could be reused.

That brings us to deconstruction! Deconstructing a house means they take it apart carefully over days to be able to reuse the cabinets, doors, hardware, floors, fixtures, bricks, etc.  One place that you can buy and sell used construction items are at the Bone Yard NW.  The items that can't be reused are recycled.  This is truly a way to honor the past and give way to a bright new future.

Read more about deconstruction here.

Less Homes For Sale, But More Sold

Are you someone who likes good hard stats?  This should be right up your alley then.  According to Trendgraphix, this last month we had only 5,856 homes for sale combined in Multnomah, Clark, Clackamas, Washington and Columbia Counties.  Compare that to the 7,332 homes that were for sale in March of 2014. 

However, even though we had much less homes for sale than one year ago, we SOLD more homes than last March.  We sold 2,929 homes in March 2015, verses 2,385 in March of 2014.  Plus we have a much higher rate of pending sales, 4,114 to be exact in March of 2015.  Verses only 2,985 sales pending in March of 2014.  This means more homes are selling now than a year ago, even though there are less homes on the market.

This just further illustrates what we've been talking about with the limited amount of homes for sale and the huge demand from buyers for homes!  If you're thinking of selling, this should make it easy.  Now is the time!

Home Prices Double

Vintage Real Estate Ads
                                                               

Have you ever thought how much money you would have made if only you'd bought into a particular neighborhood when it was first built?

Homes appreciate on average at 4% per year in the Portland area, some years are more, some years are less.  At that rate, it would take 18 years for a home to double in value.  Imagine if you bought a home and when you went to sell it, it was worth double what you bought it for!  That's what I call a sound investment.

In Hillsboro there is a fantastic neighborhood called Orenco Station.  It's won all sorts of awards for well thought out planning and there are schools who bring field trips of architecture students through to learn from it.  Great neighborhood, high demand, now everyone wants to live there.  What if you had bought a home in Orenco when it was new?

The "MaCarthur Park" style of home in Orenco originally sold for $186,900 new in 1999.  Now, this same style of home is listed for $379,999.  That's an appreciation of 6.5% a year if it appreciated at the same rate over the last 16 years.

Want to check it out yourself?  Visit RMLS and search the ML #15445746. 

Real Estate is a fantastic investment and you can be a part of it!  Give me a call at 503-819-3835 and let's get you started.

The Do's and Don'ts of Real Estate

Have you been thinking about buying a home?  If you're paying attention, you are noticing that interest rates are low right now.  Here are some tips if you think home ownership is in your near future.

First, DO NOT change your job!!  Lenders want to know that you can pay back the loan and that you're a reliable person.  If you change your job, they are not going to see the stability that they need to see.

Don't buy a new car, new furniture, new appliances or other big ticket items!  For one, this spends the $$ money  $$ that you've set aside for buying a new home.  However it also means that your credit score is likely to go down because you've got credit inquiries and opened new loans.  And now you've got a car payment.  Now you look risky.  Plus you should be saving - Be smart and put that money for a new loveseat into your savings account instead.

Next up, pay your bills!  Letting current accounts fall behind is like shooting yourself in the foot when you're trying to buy a home.  Don't lower your credit score, pay your bills. 

Don't change bank accounts or make large deposits.  During the loan process for a home, they'll want documentation of everything.  So don't make it more difficult by waiving red flags and having mysterious money appear or changing banks.

Do not for any reason co-sign a loan.  I know you want to help out your best friend from high school and you know that he'll make his car payments and all he needs is your name on his loan.  Nuh-uh!  Don't do it.  Sure you'll be the nice guy and help a friend out, but you're making it that much worse on yourself, because now your credit tanks.

What can you do to get ready to buy a home?  Get your documentation together.  Get all your financials, like bank statements, pay stubs, tax info., etc.  All the good stuff that you know a lender is going to want to see.  Talk to a Realtor and a lender.  Start the conversation early, so that you're ready to go when you the time comes for you to make a move.

You can buy a home, maybe today, maybe tomorrow. Maybe next year.  Make it happen.

Very Low Inventory of Homes

Have you wondered if now is the time to sell your home?  There are very few homes on the market right now and yet there are lots of buyers wanting to buy home!  That means that homes are moving fast. 

Right now there is a about a 1.5 month supply in Washington and Multnomah Counties.  What does that mean?  That if no more homes came on the market, we'd be sold out of homes in a month and a half!  This translates into a great time to put your house up for sale because buyers are practically begging for more homes to select from.  Interest rates are low right now, so buyers can get great loans, making it easier for them to buy.  All they need is the right house. 

Why a Realtor is a Good Investment

When you're ready to sell, you may wonder if you can do it yourself or if you should hire a Realtor®.  Long story short, get a Realtor®.  Okay, okay, obviously I think you should hire one, but why?
 
Ever hear the phrase that goes something like "He who represents himself has a fool for an attorney?"  Well the same is true in real estate.  By not having a Realtor®, you are missing out on not only the education that the Realtor® has acquired, but also on all the tools that the Realtor® has at his or her disposal.  Not to mention that a Realtor® is a real estate marketing specialist.



Source: National Association of Realtors® 2013

As you may remember from the last post, you want your house to get lots of action and sell in that first 30 days.  A Realtor® will get your house listed on the RMLS (Regional Multiple Listing Service), put a professional sign up in your yard, host open houses, have a Realtor® open tour, take photos and even send out mailings about your house. 

If you sell the house yourself, putting up a sign in the front yard, you're relying on finding a buyer from word of mouth, your sign and maybe Craig's List. 

A Realtor® will use all of the tools available to get you the greatest expose of your home in order to receive the best price and the most favorable terms.  Selling your home is a big decision.  Make sure you've got someone in your corner whose job it is to look out for your best interest. 

Pricing Matters

If you've been thinking about selling your home, I'm sure you've given the price tag lots of consideration.  You want to get the most money possible.  Doesn't everyone?  But coming out swinging with a high price tag, may not be in your best interest.

If you list your home at a higher price than the home is really worth, it is likely to sit on the market for a while.  In fact, the longer your home is on the market, the lower the offers will be.  This is because buyers see that the home has been sitting on the market for a long time and think of this as a weakness and offer a lower price.  They may think "If the home was really worth that price, someone would have already bought it."  So, the plan of listing your home at a price tag that is too high, may backfire on you.

Days on Market	% of Price Received
0-30	98.4
31-60	97.2
61-90	96.5
Over 90	95.5

Your home has the best chance to get the desired price within the first 30 days.  The longer it doesn't sell, the lower the price is likely to go when an offer does come in. 

We all want lots of people to check out our house when it goes up for sale.  That first week your house is on the market is when the most buyer are going to see it!  So price it right so that they don't just skip over your house to the next listing. 

Buyer Backlog	Week 1	Week 2	Week 3	Week 4
50 people in the market	5 new people to the market	5 new people to the market	5 new people to the market	5 new people to the market

In that first week, 55 people see the house (50 already shopping for a house and the 5 people who just started looking).  Each week after that, the only people looking at the house are the 5 new buyers that join the home search. 

So here's the point (which you're all smart people and have already picked up on), you want your home priced right at the beginning so you can take advantage of week 1 and get as many people as possible to look at your home.  We want them to fall in love with it and make an offer.  We don't want them to click the next button and skip right over your gem of a home because it's got too high of a price tag.

The Real Value of Remodeling

Have you pondered a remodel project?  Wondering if it's actually worth it?  Who hasn't looked at their bathroom, kitchen or backyard and thought "this could look better."  Before you start on that project, consider a couple of things.

First, the cost!  Have you saved enough and are you willing to fork over the amount of dough needed to do the project right?  Remodel projects are not cheap and if the bid comes back too cheap, remember "You Get What You Pay For!"  Whenever you're making a big investment, you want to comparison shop. So get multiple bids for heavens sake.  Make sure the contractor is licensed, bonded and insured because if something goes wrong, you want this protection!  And never, ever, ever pay all of the money up front to the contractor.  If you pay 100% of the money before the contractor has done one iota of work, what happens when that contractor skips out on you and doesn't complete the project?  You are in trouble, my friend.

Okay, cost? Check.  Next, what is the value that you're going to get out of it?  If you put $10,000 in a remodel and the value that it adds to your home is $15,000, then that is a great project!  It's worth the cost because you'll recoup that cost when you sell.  However, if that $10K project only adds $5,000 in value to the house, then is it really worth it to you? 

Click here to see the 2015 Cost vs. Value Comparison Report for the Pacific Northwest.

Now, what do you do when you realize that the project is NOT going to add more value to your home than the cost of the project?  You need to look at why you want the remodel in the first place.  If you're doing the remodel just to make your home more valuable for resale... well, then you have your answer.  If you're doing the remodel because you plan on living in your home for another ten years and you want the new and improved space for your own use, well then go ahead and do it! It's your home, make it the space that you want to live in. 

Credit Challenges

Do you have credit problems but really want to buy a house?  Well of course you want to buy a house!  Why pay off your landlord's mortgage when you could be spending your hard earned cash paying off your own mortgage?  If you're paying $1,500 a month in rent, in five years you'll have paid $90,000 to your landlord.  That's a lot of change that could be going to pay off your own house!

Monthly Rent Added Up Over Time
Rent	Year 1	Year 5	Year 15
$1,000	$12,000	$60,000	$180,000
$1,500	$18,000	$90,000	$270,000
$2,000	$24,000	$120,000	$360,000
$2,500	$30,000	$150,000	$450,000

So let's get that credit fixed up and get you on the road to home ownership!  To begin with, stop making the problem worse.  Don't spend what you can't afford.  Don't go to Pottery Barn and put another $400 on the credit card.  You don't need those pillows and another set of holiday dishes anyway!  Better yet, put yourself on an allowance.  Give yourself your spending cash at the beginning of the month and once it's gone, it's gone.  Don't put more on the credit card. 

Next, start working those payments down.  Make paying off your debts a priority!  Take a good hard look at what you owe, how much, to whom and what the interest is on each one.  This is a perfect time to make a budget and figure out how much you can pay to each one and how long it'll take to get it paid off. 

Close those extra credit cards that you don't need.  Having a bunch of credit cards just brings your credit score down!  Having a couple cards with a low balance (that you pay off each month), builds your credit.  Having a bazillion cards, even without much on them, hurts your credit.

Talk to someone!  If you've got a credit problem, talk to the companies that you owe and see if you can work out a better payment plan.  Talk to a loan officer and see what you need to do to get a loan.  Give me a call.  I'd be happy to get you in touch with a lender and get you on the right track.

Make a plan.  Things are always easier if you have a plan.  If you're fumbling around in the dark, not sure what your credit is, not sure how to fix the problem, you're never going to get any closer to getting a house.  Even if the news is bad, it's always better to understand the problem and be working towards a way out.  You've got this!

Are You Mobile Ready?

Floods

If there's one thing we know about the Pacific Northwest, it certainly can rain cats and dogs! 

If you're like a lot of people though, you don't want to even think about flooding!  What's unknown, is best to leave unknown, right?  Or maybe not. 

The topic of flooding doesn't have to be so overwhelming to think about.  Planning for the worst, but hoping for the best is a good way to go.  It always feels better when we have answers, rather than being left in the dark... especially when that "dark" can be a cold and WET basement!

First off, did you know that a "100-year flood zone" doesn't mean that a flood will occur only once every 100 years?  It actually means that the area has a 1% or more chance of a major flood happening in any particular year.  Floods can actually happen anywhere, any time.  Any place that has rain, has the potential for flooding.... wait a minute, it rains here.  We have liquid sunshine here.  Hmmmm, something to think about.

Did you know that homeowners insurance doesn't cover floods?  The only way to be covered for flooding is to have flood insurance!

Here are some resources to check out:

• Learn more about flood risk and getting flood insurance at www.floodsmart.gov
• Homeowners who fail to get flood insurance
• Check out these flood risk scenarios. 
• Ever wonder how much of a hit you would be facing if a flood happened to you?  Check out this interactive model of the cost of a flood.

Welcome!

I’d like to introduce myself to you as a new Realtor serving the Pacific Northwest.  I got my real estate license so that I could help individuals and families find their way home.  With 10 years of experience at the Washington County District Attorney’s Office, I became an expert at solving problems.  Sometimes we can’t control all the variables, but thinking outside the box leads to success.

With any decision, it’s important to recognize what matters the most to you.  What drives me is a belief in hard work, attention to detail, and having a positive attitude.  By joining John L. Scott, I became a part of an established company with 84 years of experience in real estate.  John L. Scott is an innovative company that is built on professionalism, integrity and teamwork; with values that match my own, it is a great fit.

It would be my privilege to earn your trust and become your real estate advisor, as well as the professional you refer to friends and family.  I welcome your calls, texts and emails, whether you have an immediate real estate need or simply want information.

I wish you the best in 2015 and hope to hear from you soon.

Sincerely,

Amie Krieger

Phone Number   Cell: 503-819-3835   Email Address AmieK@johnlscott.com   Web Site www.AmieK.johnlscott.com   Mobile Search AmieK.m.johnlscott.com   Facebook   www.facebook.com/amiekriegerJLS

Mailing Address Beaverton-Sunset Corridor Office 1800 NW 167th Place Suite 100 Beaverton OR 97006