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Beaverton, OR Real Estate News

By Tony and Libby Kelly, CRS, ABR, ePro, SRES, CLHMS, CDPE
(Keller Williams Realty Portland Premiere)
    A credit score is basically a number representing the a amount of risk involved in lending money to you.  Considerations that go into your score:  Payment History (35%); Amounts Owed (30%); Length of Credit History (15%); New Credit (10%); and Types of Credit Used (10%).     Fair Isaac Company, or FICO is the most commonly used credit score.  The numbers range from 350-900 with the higher numbers deeming you more trust worthy.      Reason Codes are given with your credit score to let you know why yours may be lower than you like.   Too few accounts currently "paid as agreed"Current delinquency (late payments)Too many inquires in the last twelve monthsProportion of balances to credit limits too high on revolving accounts    But not all is lost, there are some things you can do to cou...
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By Todd Clark - Retired, Principle Broker Oregon
(eXp Realty LLC)
The first thing you need to know before you start looking for a home, is how much can you afford?You can find this out  in less than 24 hours by calling your mortgage broker. They will sit down with you, run your credit and come back with an amount that they are willing to give you a loan for. A good mortgage broker will advise you if they think you should fix a few things on your credit, so you can get a lower mortgage payment.Other things you need to consider are: Do you have any money for an earnest money deposit? Are you planning to have any money for a down payment. Or are you going to get 100% financing? Do you have enough money for the closing costs or do you need to have the seller help pay for the closing costs? One option is to offer the seller more money than the asking price...
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By Todd Clark - Retired, Principle Broker Oregon
(eXp Realty LLC)
In honor of mothers day I thought this would be a timely post, hope all you moms out there are having a wonderful mother's day.               Moving is a stressful time for you, but imagine how it is for a child who doesn't understand why he has to leave his school and friends behind.Before moving get all of your children's friends addresses, address the envelopes and tell them you they can write to them anytime. Pack up the children's room last and unpack it first. Make sure a routine is set that can be used in both homes.Start reading to the kids weeks before moving, then continue reading to them once you are in the new home. The kids will realize the only thing that changed is where they live. They can still have their friends and talk to them anytime they want and all their toys are...
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By Todd Clark - Retired, Principle Broker Oregon
(eXp Realty LLC)
I am inviting all home owners and landlords who want to learn how to make more money from their property to a FREE home selling seminar.At this seminar we will be discussing the different ways you can sell your property. We will be starting with the traditional way to sell your property, then we will be discussing Owner Financing and Lease-Options.Click here to sign up for my FREE home selling seminar on May 22, 2007.  UPDATE: You missed this one, but feel free to sign up as we do offer them monthly and there is no reason to miss the next one.
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Are you selling your home "For Sale by Owner"  (FSBO) because you don't want to pay a Realtor® a commission? I personally don't have a problem with that! How many agents change their own oil or do their own websites, just to avoid paying someone else to do it?I can show you how hiring me as your agent will make you enough extra to pay for my services, but also give you an additional $50,000 or more! The reason I can say this is because I can show an owner how to sell their home with owner financing. I can find a buyer for you that will be willing to give you a larger down payment and pay you an interest rate that will put extra money in your pocket every month until they either sell or refinance and pay you off.If you would like to know how to make an extra $50,000 on the sale of your h...
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Are you a landlord that has had problems keeping a property rented or have had bad tenants in the past? If you answered yes to either of these questions, then I have a way for you to make hundreds more every month, rarely have a vacancy, and never have to do a repair in the middle of the night again.These two options are available to every landlord if you know the right agent that has a steady stream of buyers for these homes. I do home buying seminars every month and have more buyers than I can handle that are looking to do lease-option or owner financing.The advantages to lease-option are you have a buyer who agrees to buy your home at a pre-determined time at a higher price than you could get today and is willing to pay $300 to $400 more per month than you could get renting the prope...
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 Do you have a rental property that is just making you tired every morning, because you are going to do fixes in the middle ofthe night? Or do have the property that you losing money each month,when the tenant doesn't send you the check on time or at all?I used to have those properties and so have some of my clients then I was taught how to get $400 more per month and have the tenant pay for all repairs and smile every month when they send me the check every month on time if not early.The secret was the lease-option and it has saved me hours of repairs and months of frustration from trying to get rent checks from clients. The reason this works is because the tenant now has something to gain from sending you the rent check on-time. They get to buy the home from you and they get some down...
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By Todd Clark - Retired, Principle Broker Oregon
(eXp Realty LLC)
 As a native Oregonian (awr-i-goh-nee-uhn - for you everyone not from the wonderful Pacific Northwest) I love the pool as much as the next person. But when it comes to the sale of your home it is a real estate loser.Here we can only use the pool one to two months of the year and the rest ofthe year we spend keeping it clean and spending extra on the insurance for it. Most people who have a home with a pool eventually end up filling it in and making an extra large patio.So do what I did and save yourself a lot of money and heartache and buy a Costco above ground pool that can be taken down when summer is done and put back up when it begins again.Oregonian Joke:What do you call six months rain followed by two days of sun followed by another six months of rain?Summer
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I love it when I get this question! I've seen many homes that are for sale and not getting any showings and I've seen homes that were sold in 1 hour. When I go online and see that the agenthas putin the notes," this home is priced $10,000 under appraised value", I just have to laugh.  Does it get showing? YES! But, does it get offers? That really depends if the buyers see the value in the home. If you owna home in a very hot area that people are lining up in, the homes may only last a hour or two, they don't care what the appraised value is. They will be willing to pay any price to live in that neighborhood. When I do a CMA (Comparative Market Analysis) I look at the homes that have sold recently in the market. How does it compare to the home I am trying to sell? How many bedrooms does ...
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By Todd Clark - Retired, Principle Broker Oregon
(eXp Realty LLC)
 When you have a vacant home it is really hard for someone to picture how their stuff would fit into a home. Equally as important is making sure your home isn't cluttered with personal items, but that is for another blog. The key to having your home show ready is to have it staged by a professional stager.This first thing you need to consider is the living room, bedrooms and the kitchen. Having these rooms staged can show how open it can be even with their stuff in the house. A home stager will bring in new furniture and appliances and make even an older home look modern and new.Also if you have newer furniture and would like to try this on your own, I suggest you go to a model home in a new housing development and look what they are doing. These homes are professionally staged and are ...
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By Todd Clark - Retired, Principle Broker Oregon
(eXp Realty LLC)
Tuesday, May 15th, 2007, from 7:00pm-8:30pmI will be teaching how to buy homes at 15-20% below current market value. You will also learn how to buy homes with no credit or bad credit with little or no money down.I'll teach you little secrets that could save you up to $50,000 on any home in any price range. I will also be giving out bonus material on all that you will be learning, including what to look for when purchasing your first home.Click here to sign up for our free no-obligation home buying seminar. Hurry seating is limited. Tickets will be sent to you via your e-mail. UPDATE: If you missed this, one feel free to sign up anyway, it is the same link for all our seminars and we will just get you in on the next one! Have a great day!
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 We all have pictures around our homes of our family and some people have a lot of religious items around the house. These personal items can cost you thousands during the sale of the home. People get distracted by the items, when they walk around the house. The stop and lookat the pictures and look at the religious stuff and when they leave the home,they can't remember a thing about the house.  The key to having your home show ready is to have it staged by a professional stager. When you have ahome that is lived in and has lots of clutter, it just doesn't show well.Focus on the hallway and living room and remove all the pictures of the family and paint the walls a neutral color that make the home seem more open, but lived in. Remove all furniture from a room that is older or makes it h...
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By Todd Clark - Retired, Principle Broker Oregon
(eXp Realty LLC)
 Hard money lenders are a wonderful source of quick money, which is lent on a short term basis for real estate investing,and secured by the real estate. The loans are based on LTV ratio and credit scores don't really matter. These loans are usually in lengths from 6 months to a year maximum.The hard money lenders usually charge a higher amount of interest and most of the time also charge points.What is the advantage of hard money loans? You can have themoney quickly, usually within days. My investor showed the value to the hard money lenders, when he used it on a fixer property, that the banks wouldn't lend on. He got a hard money loan for the after repair value and fixed the property up in 3 months. Then, he put it back on the market and made an $112,000 profit and paid back the lender...
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By Todd Clark - Retired, Principle Broker Oregon
(eXp Realty LLC)
 I would like to first introduce myself to you. My name is Todd Clark and I am a Realtor. Like you I have seen those late night commercials and even made some investing mistakes in the past.  Let me tell you something as an investor myself, why spend thousands learning from a guru what you can learn for free with a little time and effort? Did you know that 97% of people who buy the books and CD's on the internet, just end up placing them on the shelf when they get home to never open them again?What most people lack is motivation! Motivation is what got you to buy the book or CD at the seminar in the first place. What happens is you get in a rut at work and tell yourself you need to make a change. You see the commercial that night and either orders the books or CD's that night or run to ...
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By Todd Clark - Retired, Principle Broker Oregon
(eXp Realty LLC)
Whether you are buying your first home or your fifth, there are many things you should look for when you walk through a home you are considering for purchase.MOLD - When in the bathroom look in the corners for mold and / or fresh paint. If there is fresh paint you may considerhaving a mold test done. DAMP WINDOWSILLS –Go to the windows and look at the woodaround the window. Does it look like it has been wet or is showing signs of cracking? This is a sign that a window either is leaking or not sealed anymore and is letting condensation form and is damaging the surrounding wood.FLASHING - Look for flashing around chimneys and vents. Without this flashing water can get in to cracks and start to leak in to attics and walls, causing mold and dry rot.HEATER and A/C –When you walk into a house...
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By Todd Clark - Retired, Principle Broker Oregon
(eXp Realty LLC)
Yes is that time again!9 teammates taking the field all with one dream in mind. Becoming a big league pitcher or hitter. Slowly becoming friends, learning to work as a team. And thank goodness still learning to win and keep score.  Life isn't fair and the teams that don't think score should be kept don't live in the real world where score really is kept. This yearly event brings families together and creates lifelong friendships.And with that baseball season has begun. (Or in this case     T-BALL) These future big leaguers practice to become the the best they can be and I hope you are doing the same.  
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By Todd Clark - Retired, Principle Broker Oregon
(eXp Realty LLC)
With gas prices as high as they are why anyone would want to do the old fashioned thing and drive around every weekend looking for real estate signs when they could just open an e-mail every morning, is beyond me.I've brought many home buyers and sellers together with my "Home Buyers Scouting Report"This totally FREE service will send every home that fits your criteria right to your inbox everyday without having to drive around pulling flyers, hoping for that perfect home to just show up one Sunday afternoon. It may show up on a Tuesday in your inbox and you could be living in it by the first of the next month.For more information on Washington County Oregon or to sign up for this totally FREE no, obligation, service click on the link below.                                              ...
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By Todd Clark - Retired, Principle Broker Oregon
(eXp Realty LLC)
SOLD 14130 SW Furlong Way, Beaverton, OR Open House Sunday 1-4 2 Bdrm Single Family House offered at $249,900 Year Built 1960 Sq Footage 919 Bedrooms 2 Bathrooms 1 full, 0 partial Floors 1 Parking 2 Car garage Lot Size .24 acres HOA/Maint $0 per month DESCRIPTION This is the one, welcome home! Lives large, great open floor plan. Move in ready, beautiful hardwood floors, custom wood work, tons of natural light, vinyl windows, central air, water filter, a must see! Wonderful fenced yard with covered patio, ready to BBQ?   PROPERTY FEATURES Living room Office/Den Balcony, Deck, or Patio COMMUNITY FEATURES Garage parking        
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By John Bacon
(Keller Williams Realty Portland Premiere)
Located 7 miles west of Portland, Beaverton encompasses 18.6 sqare miles, being the largest incorporated city in Washington County. With a population of 83,097 residents, it is Oregon's fifth largest.Located in the heart of the Tualatin Valley, Beaverton is one of the most accessible cities is the area. It offers activities and opportunities for everyone with only the imagination as a limit. Initially, a hunter-gatherer group of native people inhabited the area that is now Beaverton. They referred to themselves as "Atfalati", which Westerners later mispronounced as Tualatin. These Native Americans occupied a village named "Chakeipi", which meant "Place of the Beaver". Early settlers called it "Beaver Dam", and this was later changed to "Beaverton". The natives mostly used plants as food...
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By Tony and Libby Kelly, CRS, ABR, ePro, SRES, CLHMS, CDPE
(Keller Williams Realty Portland Premiere)
Market Activity in the Portland Metro Area seems to have slowed down when comparing March 2007 with March 2006. New listings increased nearly 24% in the past month, while accepted and closed sales dropped by 9.7% and 23% respectively.The 10,557 active residential listings at the end of March would last approximately 4.9 months at the month’s rate of sales.FIRST QUARTERS/YEAR-TO-DATEWhen comparing market activity through March 2007 to the same time in 2006, the first quarter appears to be off to a slow start. The number of closed sales decreased 6.2%. Pending sales also dropped 4.8%. However, new listings have jumped 20.3%.APPRECIATIONThe average and median sale prices for the twelve months that ended with March 2007 are compared to the prices for the twelve months ending in March 2006....
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