Have You Experienced Oregon’s Harris State Beach? - 11/24/08 04:50 PM
If you are seeking solace in an incredibly gorgeous surrounding, Harris State Beach just north of Brookings Oregon is the place for you. Harris Beach is just a little over 2 hours from Medford Oregon, yet it is a world away.
 
Do you like to explore Tide Pools?
    
Hike through the forests bordering the ocean?
 
Walk along the beach?
 

 
Watch the sunset over the Pacific Ocean?
 



My family loves this quiet, well groomed campground with beautiful spaces arranged to gain the most privacy for each one - enough to break … (12 comments)

Calling all Rogue Valley Carolers, the Ashland Holiday Carolers Need YOU - 11/21/08 02:49 PM
I attended the Ashland Oregon Greeters meeting this morning, kindly hosted byRick Harris and Krista Bolf, owners of Coldwell Banker ProWest in Ashland Oregon. We were given a treat to open up the holiday spirit by two of the Ashland Holiday Carolers.
This group is recruiting singers who would like to volunteer to sing on the weekends during this holiday season, strolling through downtown Ashland sharing joy with us all. Look for them while doing your holiday shopping at the many wonderful Ashland shops or dining at the fantastic restaurants here. They'll be Singing in the Plaza from 6-9p.m. following the Festival of … (2 comments)

Ray of Hope Shining Through - 11/21/08 02:31 PM
As seems to be the case in just about every situation, in the midst of the trials and tribulations we are experiencing in the housing market and economy in general there are gleams of light. Working to further hone some positive perspective skills, I bravely decided I'd wade through today's newspaper, filters to stop negative input firmly in place.  Skipping over anything that appeared to be unsubstantiated "hype" and "doom", I moseyed on over to the topics that interest me, like the many outstanding community efforts my fellow Southern Oregonians are making.  Community efforts like the Rotary Club of Ashland Oregon's … (2 comments)

Plan B for Rogue Valley Sellers – Do A Lease With Option To Purchase? (Part 5 of 5) - 11/18/08 04:37 PM
Have you come across a potential buyer for your home that for one reason or another isn't able to qualify to purchase your home at this time?  Maybe they have experienced a severe financial crisis, like a bankruptcy/medical devastation/job loss/foreclosure, making them unable to obtain the financing they need to purchase your home, even though they have recovered from the event that led to their credit crises.  You don't need the equity from this home to purchase your next one, and you like the idea of having a tenant in the home committed to purchasing it down the road.
Pros:
You … (2 comments)

Plan B for Rogue Valley Sellers - Rent Out Your Current Residence In Order To Purchase Your New One? (Part 4 of 5) - 11/18/08 04:11 PM
Maybe you don't need the equity from your present home in order to purchase the next one. In this case, I don't think Pros & Cons are needed, just a "congratulations - good for you"! There have been some underwriting guideline changes that you will need to know about if you are going to be financing the new purchase:
Fannie Mae's most recent instruction to lenders on how to handle a borrower's income producing property, including a  principal residence that will be rented out: "Verify the net rental income or loss with the borrower's most recent signed federal income tax return … (3 comments)

Plan B For Rogue Valley Sellers - Take Out A Bridge Loan To Access Your Equity? (Part 3 of 5) - 11/18/08 02:56 PM
Have you heard of a bridge loan? This is a loan feature that is frequently found when homeowners are building a new home while living in their previous home which they will sell once the new home is complete. A homeowner purchasing a new residence plans to make a down payment with the proceeds from the sale of a currently owned home, but the currently owned home will not close escrow until after the close of the new residence. A bridge loan allows the buyer to take equity out of their current home and use it as down payment on the … (0 comments)

Plan B For Rogue Valley Sellers - Take out a Home Equity Line Of Credit Or Refinance Your Existing Loan(s) To Get Cash Out For Down Payment (Part 2 of 5) - 11/18/08 02:49 PM
Did you purchase your home many years ago and you've been financially savvy, maybe you have a fantastic interest rate on the mortgage on your current home, refrained from refinancing to pull cash out, and you have a ton of equity in your home. You don't want to give up this great interest rate while you make your move, and now are weighing the options associated with pulling that equity out to purchase your new home by refinancing or taking out a home equity line of credit, while continuing to market your current home for sale. 
Pros:
You do not need … (2 comments)

May God Bless The Truscott Family - 11/14/08 05:18 PM
A dear friend of ours passed away last night. Dean Truscott, the broker who played such an important role in the changes in my family's lives that led us to Southern Oregon in 2004, succumbed to his valiant battle with the terminal lung cancer he was diagnosed with in April 2008.
      
Dean Truscott moved quickly from professional representative to us to friend.  He and his wife Susie became like family to us, two of the most welcoming, caring people I have ever met. They stepped in and filled a gap myself, my husband and our youngest child all had … (2 comments)

Southern Oregon Realtors - Do Your Buyers Need a Zero Down Home Loan? - 11/14/08 01:11 PM
Southern Oregon Realtors working with residential home buyers, have your clients been considering a great financing tool?  USDA Guaranteed Rural Housing is a program that has been underutilized, partly due to restrictive income guidelines that will likely change on January 20, 2009, barring any major objections received during the comment period that will expire January 5, 2009. The proposed income guidelines would mean up to 4 person households may qualify with gross annual income up to $70,750, and up to 8 person households with up to $93,400 based on the current Jackson County Oregon income limits.
Here are some key features … (2 comments)

Top Five Reasons to Pull Your Credit Annually - 11/14/08 12:30 PM
Have you heard about www.annualcreditreport.com? This is the website you may go to where you may pull your credit report from each of the three main credit bureaus, Experian, Trans Union and Equifax. This is a simple process, and you may pull your credit report from each bureau for free once a year. This will not include your credit scores, but for a small charge for each bureau, you may order that too if you are getting ready to make a major purchase that will involve financing, and you need to see where you are at.
Why should you pull your … (0 comments)

Distressed Homeowners Frequently Asked Questions - 11/11/08 04:14 PM
In conjunction with the Blog Post "Distressed Homeowners, More Help Is On The Way", here are some questions and answers: 
Q. Can I apply even if I'm not 3 months or more behind on my mortgage payments?
A. Not for this program, but there may be other options available to you. Call your lender to see what options are available to you.
Q. Should I stop making my payments so I'll be approved for a Note Modification?
A. If you intentional default on your mortgage, the lenders will not approve your request for assistance.
Q. What is a Note Modification?
A. A Note Modification … (2 comments)

Distressed Homeowners, More Help Is On The Way - 11/11/08 04:07 PM
Do you own a home, one you have been struggling with making the payments on? Have you given up hope of keeping your home, and stopped making your mortgage payments? Is it your wish to be able to stay in your home, if only the payments on it were more affordable?
Homeowners there are rays of sunshine in all the gloom in the housing market. A streamlined approach is being rolled out to help distressed homeowners wanting to stay in their homes. By December 15, 2008, servicers of loans sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac - this is roughly 58% … (4 comments)

To Be Or Not To Be...Higher USDA Incomes for Jackson County Oregon? - 11/07/08 03:40 PM
It looks like the proposed revisions for the USDA Guaranteed Rural Housing  program may go in to effect January 20, 2009 for their programs. If so, Southern Oregon home buyers looking to purchase a qualified property outside of the Medford and Central Point city limits will fall in to only two income categories vs. the many we have been using.
For example, presently the income limits for qualifying USDA Guaranteed Rural Housing Home Buyers in Ashland, Talent, Phoenix, Jacksonville, White City, Eagle Point, Shady Cove, Trail, Gold Hill and the surrounding rural areas would be qualified using the following income chart:
… (0 comments)

Rogue Valley Home Sellers, Are You Looking At Plan B To Sell/Buy Your Southern Oregon Home? (Part 1 of 5) - 11/07/08 12:49 PM
What happens when you've decided to move up, taking advantage of the many buying opportunities you are seeing in today's real estate market? You see the home that is just perfect for you - larger/ smaller, newer/upgraded, your ideal neighborhood, closer to work, more/less property, the pool you've always wanted, decorated as though the interior designer was inside your head, a view to die for?
You put your home on the market, but the buyers just aren't getting off the fence to buy your home.  Your home is always presented in its best light for when its buyer walks through the … (0 comments)

2009 Conforming Loan Limits Are Changing - 11/07/08 12:37 PM
In order to help stimulate sluggishness in the high cost real estate markets, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac had increased their loan limits for the second ½ of 2007 and for 2008 to $729,750. Based on declining values, they are adjusting these limits downward accordingly.
 
The new * Agency High Balance max conforming loan limit for the continental U.S. will be $625,500 for 2009
 
Here in Southern Oregon, this loan limit will cover most of our properties, as our medians are well below this limit. But, our neighbors to the South in the high-cost markets of California may still … (2 comments)

Can Eagle Point Oregon Buyers Still Find 100% Financing? - 11/03/08 01:13 PM
Can a home buyer looking to purchase a home in Eagle Point Oregon still find 100% financing? You bet! The variety of program options we have had available to us in the past are not as prevalent, but there are options available, such as the Federal VA Home Loan program for eligible Veterans and the USDA Guaranteed Rural Housing program. These are not subprime mortgages; rather they are long standing programs that buyers' mortgage consultants just haven't told them much about for the past several years.
Let's take a look at how a buyer looking to purchase a home in Eagle Point … (2 comments)

Do You Believe Lease Options Are A Viable Tool In Today’s Market? - 11/03/08 12:13 PM
With the number of homeowners losing their homes to foreclosure, the tightening of credit underwriting guidelines requiring a longer time frame since a borrower has had a bankruptcy or foreclosure filing, and an expanded inventory of available homes for sale, has this created the ideal environment for using Lease Options to purchase a home?
Fannie Mae Guidelines
 FHA and USDA Guaranteed Rural Housing programs have slightly more lenient criteria.
Should a homeowner who was caught with a loan they could not refinance out of, who has learned their lesson from this experience, be left on the sidelines of the real estate … (15 comments)

Have You Been To Kaleidoscope Pizzeria In Medford Oregon? - 11/02/08 09:58 PM
There is an ecclectic not your typical pizzeria in town here in Medford Oregon. Have you been to Kaleidoscope Pizzeria? What a great choice for lunch or dinner, and conveniently located across from one of our busiest shopping areas on Crater Lake Blvd. Owned by a family transplanted from Alaska, they put a new spin on this pizzeria that just works. Voted as not only the best Pizza in the Medford Mail Tribune Readers' Choice awards, but as having Southern Oregon's favorite wait staff in Seth Haynes, if you haven't been to Kaleidoscope Pizzeria, you are missing a treat. For more information about … (8 comments)

Have You Been To Si Casa Flores Mexican Cuisine In Medford/Phoenix Oregon? - 11/02/08 09:37 PM
A favorite choice of ours for Mexican food is Si Casa Flores. With three locations in Medford, and one at Exit 234 in Phoenix, they are one of the restaurants my family chooses to eat at the most. Consistently great food and service with a variety of menu choices - even choices for our youngest the gringo who finally has graduated from a hamburger to tacos - we stop in for dinner at Si Casa Flores a lot.
A well deserved winner of the Medford Mail Tribune Readers' Choice Award for 6 years in a row, if you haven't been to Si … (0 comments)

Green Springs Inn Cabins Giving A Whole New Meaning to Sustainable - 11/02/08 09:12 PM
Recently, we visited the Green Springs Inn outside of Ashland Oregon. The restaurant here has been a pit stop of ours since our early days of moving to the Rogue Valley in Southern Oregon. Diarmuid McGuire had contacted me here through Active Rain, having seen from my Blog that I have a love of nature and an appreciation of the incredible beauty to be found here in Jackson County Oregon and the surrounding areas.                        
Diarmuid wanted to share the amazing project he and his son Paddy have been working on - building 15 cabins next to the Green Springs Inn just 10 miles … (2 comments)

 
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Karen Pierce

Medford, OR

More about me…

Karen Pierce | Housing Counselor |Oregon

Address: PO Box 4126, NMLS#223305 , Medford, OR, 97501

Office Phone: (541) 779-6691

Email Me

Bringing 29 years of experience providing Southern Oregon and California Home Buyers and Homeowners | Serving all of Jackson County Oregon including Ashland- Talent- Phoenix- Medford-Jacksonville- Ruch- Central Point- White City- Eagle Point- Shady Cove- Gold Hill, as well as Josephine County including Grants Pass- Merlin- Wilderville | Helping Southern Oregonians on the road to fulfilling the American Dream of Homeownership - and staying there!


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