THAT'S THE $64,000 QUESTION.... Most people won't inherit millions of dollars, but according to the AARP, the median amount of today's inheritance is about $64,000. While that's not enough to provide financial security for life, it's still a lot of money and requires careful planning before deciding what to do with it. So therein lays the question — if you receive an inheritance — what should you do? Step One...Do Nothing: Remember, this is an emotional time. You may have lost a loved one, you're receiving a sizable chunk of money, and your judgment may be clouded by emotion. Rather than make a decision you regret later, take some time to step back and think. In the meantime, put the money in a money market or savings account that will keep it safe, and allow you to access when you're r... 12/19/2007

People seem to have the idea that if they put money into their home, they will certainly get it back.  That is the right idea but you can't just make ANY improvement and assume it'll make money.  In fact, some can actually decrease the value of your home.  Money Magazine suggest putting your money in anything but...Swimming Pools.  Obviously states with a hot climate you can't find a house without one.  But if you live someplace where a pool is not needed then buyers will completely avoid houses with a pool.  If you live in Illinois or Oregon people only see the cost of insurance and maintenance for something you can only use 3 maybe 4 months out of the year.  Parents with small kids are particularly wary.  Additions.  This too has exceptions but for the most part home additions end up ... 12/17/2007

The Summerfield neighborhood of Tigard, Oregon goes South from Royality Pkwy/Kable street to to Durham Road, East from Pacific Hwy to 98th Ave, This community is a 55+ community and features a the Summerfieldgolf course.As of 3/7/2008 here are the stats for the Summerfield NeighborhoodTotal number of homes for sale:              23Average List Price:                                   $320,933Average Days on Market:                          77Total Pending home sales:                      3Average List Price:                                   $230,967Average Days on Market:                          90Total sold in the last 30 days:                 1Average list Price:                                    $195,000Average Sold Price:                                  $187,000Average Days on M... 12/16/2007

The Mountainview neighborhood of Tigard, Oregon goes South from McDonald to Durham Road, East from Pacific Hwy to Hall Blvd, with the exception of the summerfield area in the southwest corner which is a 55 plus community. This part of Tigard, Oregon has no parks, but does have a couple schools with great playgrounds in them.As of 3/7/2008 here are the stats for the Mountainview NeighborhoodTotal number of homes for sale:           110Average List Price:                                  $371,082Average Days on Market:                         80Total Pending home sales:                    21Average List Price:                                  $339,386Average Days on Market:                         54Total sold in the last 30 days:                 7Average list Price:                      ... 12/15/2007

While it seems quite rational to assume buyers are clamoring after the "best" house leaving the others to beg for attention, it doesn't necessarily work that way.  That is because not everyone is looking for the same things.  In this survey they asked buyers about specific home features and then divided up these people by demographic categories.  The features include Central Air, Garage (2 or more spaces), Walk-in Closet in Master Bedroom, Cable or Satellite TV Ready, High-speed Internet Access and Energy Efficient.  74% of buyers in general found Central Air to be the import making it the most attractive feature of the 6.  Naturally 91% of the people in the South found it essential while only 41% of buyers in the Northeast.  In the West 66% of home seekers require a garage but in the N... 12/14/2007

The Bull Mountain South neighborhood of Tigard, Oregon goes west, starting at Pacific Hwy to Roy Rodgers Rd, Then south from Bull Mountain Rd to Beef Bend Rd. This part of Tigard, Oregon is in Tigard School district even though Bull Mountain itself hasn't been incorporated in to Tigard. Even though this is a more expensive area, there are presently no parks located in the Bull Mountain South area.     As of 3/7/2008 here are the stats for the Bull Mountain South NeighborhoodTotal number of homes for sale:        117Average List Price:                               $418,073Average Days on Market:                      84Total Pending home sales:                20Average List Price:                              $349,820Average Days on Market:                    68Total sold in the last 30 ... 12/11/2007

The Bull Mountain North neighborhood of Tigard, Oregon goes west, starting at Barrows/Gaarde to Bull Mountain Rd, Then from Pacific Hwy to Beef Bend Rd. This part of Tigard, Oregon is in Tigard School district even though Bull Mountain itself hasn't been incorporated in to Tigard. Even though this is a more expensive area, there are presently no parks located in the Bull Mountain North area.As of 3/7/2008 here are the stats for the Bull Mountain North NeighborhoodTotal number of homes for sale:        71Average List Price:                               $527,913Average Days on Market:                     100Total Pending home sales:                14Average List Price:                              $438,982Average Days on Market:                   124Total sold in the last 30 days:       ... 12/10/2007

The Summer Lake neighborhood of Tigard, Oregon goes west, starting at 121st Ave, to Murray Rd, and south, along Scholls Ferry. On the back side of the boundary it follows Walnut from Barrows Road to 121st. This part of Tigard, Oregon is partially in Tigard School district and partially in the Beaverton School District. Within the boundaries of the neighborhood are Jack Park and Summer Lake Park.As of 3/7/2008 here are the stats for the Greenburg NeighborhoodTotal number of homes for sale:         32Average List Price:                               $342,200Average Days on Market:                     69Total Pending home sales:                8Average List Price:                              $344,044Average Days on Market:                    79Total sold in the last 30 days:           4Av... 12/09/2007

The Greenburg neighborhood of Tigard, Oregon goes east, starting at 121stAve, to Hwy 217, and south, from Scholls Ferry to Pacific Highway (99w). This part of Tigard, Oregon is partially in Tigard School district and partially in the Beaverton School District. The only park in this area of Tigard is Englewood Park near Scholls Ferry road. However, it does connect to a much larger park on the Beaverton side of Scholls Ferry Road, called Greenway Park. View Larger Map As of 3/7/2008 here are the stats for the Greenburg NeighborhoodTotal number of homes for sale:        58Average List Price:                               $354,433Average Days on Market:                     85Total Pending home sales:                 8Average List Price:                              $227,167Average Days on M... 12/08/2007

Let me first say that I hope every one stays safe and no one loses their homes during this major storm event that we are having. But, when 30 + roads in Washington County, Oregon are closed right now, and I-5 in Washington State is closed, and even parts of HWY 217 less than a ½ mile from me is also closed.But, while out and about today, I came back and got the kids, took the jeep back out and had some fun! You see, Fanno Creek goes through Greenway Park and Englewood Parks that I have both written about. Well Fanno creek decided to overtake the road today and this is a video from about a ¼ mile from my property. It is now 8 hours since that video was shot and now the water is a foot deeper and I understand the road is completely closed now!Pray for the families that have a chance of lo... 12/03/2007

Experts are saying that the housing market will recover from it's current down turn, unfortunately it is going to get worse before it gets better.  There is just too much inventory right now so when those homes start to sell off, in 2009, the market will start to perk back up.  Therefore, 2008 is going to be a rough one.Economist Jerry Johnson expects sales will be off 15 to 20 percent and the new housing construction 20 percent.  People keep moving to Portland but job growth is plateauing.  There is still extra inventory which will take quite some time to get rid of.Expect to see a decline in house prices in 2008.  If ever there was a time to consider a career other than real estate, now would be it.  Yet economists still think we'll make it to 2009 without a recession.  Oregonian, Rya... 12/03/2007

Recently, I was in amazement to what I heard an agent telling their client who wanted to sell a multi-family dwelling to do.This agent was telling his client that since all the tenants were on a month-to-month lease that he should evict them before trying to sell it to make it easier to show.WHAT? A person who wants to buy a multi-family property wants a long term tenant and not a vacant property! It would have been better to tell his client to put each of these clients under a one year lease then advertise it as such.FOR SALE4-Plex4 units all rented w/ 11 months lefton leases$XXX,XXXLandlords want money coming in when they buy a property. They don't want to spend months with a vacant investment property while spending money advertising for new tenants.If you are looking to buy or sell ... 12/01/2007

Saturday, December 1st marks our 5th annual breakfast with Santa. You see, every year Washington Square mall in Tigard, Oregon opens it doors early, and for $5 each they open the food court and cook up a great buffet style breakfast.About 30 minutes after breakfast is served, Mrs. Claus shows up and has a little show that includes songs and a magic show that the kids love!Then you hear sleigh bells... and she asks all the kids if they hear that? And she gets on her phone and says, guess who is here? Then the big man himself steps out and the kids go nuts! Then he heads to the front of the food court where everyone sings Christmas carols and each child is given a chance to sit on Santa's lap and make their Christmas wish.This family tradition started with just my parents and my family 5 ... 11/30/2007

Can you believe this call, especially on a day like today when my head hurt, my back hurt (because I sneezed), and I just didn't feel good already. Someone called me out of the blue, and dared to tell me I was old!Why did they do this? They dared asked me if I was coming to my 20 year high school reunion? What? That can't be? I'm not that old! I had to come to the realization that I am getting that old and here was the proof!The 5 year reunion was to put in place to see what everyone chose as a career after college. The 10 year reunion was designed to see who had gotten married, had children and then got divorced. Then they skip 10 years, just because we are in the prime of our lives, I guess they want to wait for the downward spiral. This is where they see how much we have not succeede... 11/29/2007

Recently, here in Oregon, we had a lady that was finding vacant homes that were for sale and posing as the owner. She was advertising that she was doing lease options and meeting potential buyers at the home. She would collect a large upfront option fee and first months rent and let them move in. The problem is, she wasn't the owner, and at the next showing it was found out that she wasn't the owner and the dream of home ownership was gone along with their money. How could this be avoided? First, if the buyers had been working with an agent, that agent would have done a little work, like doing title searches, and gotten a disclosure form from the so called owner. That in itself wouldn't have been complete protection, but since these homes were being represented by an another agent, we w... 11/25/2007

I am kind of in charge of getting a condo conversion project sold in Tigard, Oregon, and in 1 month's time we had about 30 showings and two offers. Not bad, since the only home we had to show them was the model, and if they put an offer in, then we put the finishing touches on the unit they would like to buy and get them moved in.    We hold the model unit open every Saturday and Sunday from 12-5 and usually get 3-4 couples a day through, and on weekdays, we usually get one or two drop bys and I show them the property if I am there. Since last Tuesday, we have had two showings and two offers and they both want the model unit! Why? Because it is exactly what they want! One of them actually wanted to put an offer in that included the furniture staying in the unit.If that doesn't say, "Sta... 11/24/2007

October Residential Highlights October’s statistics show similar patterns to September, as the number of transactions continue to drop and sale prices continue to see appreciation. The number of closed sales fell 25.5% and pending sales declined 22% However, the number of new listings dropped for the first time since February of 2006, decreasing 5.1% this month when comparing October of this year with October 2006. At the month’s rate of sales, the 15,567 active residential properties would last approximately 8.4 months.   Appreciation Using the average sale prices for the twelve months that ended with October 2007 compared to the twelve months ending in October 2006, the average sale price appreciated 6.7% ($339,300 v. $318,100). Using the same formula, the median sale price also appr... 11/19/2007

Are you presently a renter and keep thinking to yourself "Every time I save money for a down payment the prices continue to rise even more?"It is true and I even had the same thought before I bought my first home. In Oregon if you were to save $20,000 for a down payment, more than likely by the time you had it saved, the prices would raise $30,000. It truly is a never ending battle to get out of a rental home.One option for you may be a lease with an option to purchase. The idea behind a lease option is that you are still renting, but your deposit and part of your monthly rent go toward your down payment and closing costs. You can stop the rat race with help!With a lease option, you can get into the home of your dreams while still giving yourself time to fix your credit, earn more of a ... 11/14/2007

So many people have problems with debt after Christmas and the family always seems to suffer. January seems to be a high time for divorce, and February is a time when debt starts to get out of hand when the Christmas credit card bills start to arrive and so many people realize they can't pay!My suggestion to you is set limits, make a list, budget what you have, and never more! Never use a credit card to fund Christmas. Your family's well being just isn't worth losing your home or car for.I'm going to tell you what my wife and I do, and it works and works well. We sit down and make a list of everyone we are going to give a gift to, and so we don't forget anyone we just add to the previous year's list. (New family members like my niece have been added this year.)We take what money we have... 11/09/2007

I'm hearing more and more cases where there are great deals on condo units and a lot are for sale in that complex. But, have you stopped to ask why so many are for sale? You may want to ask for the HOA minutes before you pay full price for the condo.You see, what happens a lot is the HOA meets every month and discusses issues that need to be resolved, then haves and wants. But, if there is a major problem such as a roof that needs to be repaired soon and the HOA doesn't have enough in the reserves, then they either have to have a special assessment or raise the HOA fees. Neither which has to be reported to the buyer in the sales agreement. This is why you need to do your own homework to find out why so many are for sale and some are better priced than others.You don't want to purchase a... 11/08/2007