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!