Anyone who has been around me for the past month knows that the water pipes that run above my son’s room just gave out and damaged his room.   I have a 1960’s home that needs a lot of work and so I believe that if you have to open up walls, upgrade at the same time.  So we added better insulation, redid some wiring etc for this unanticipated remodel project.

Then the hard part came…agreeing with my son on a new paint color.  This is his room and I wanted to respect that, but when he said he wanted red walls, I couldn’t help but think that would hype him up more…which is not necessary…you’ll just have to trust me on that one.

I scrounged online looking at room ideas, convinced I could find something to get him off the dreaded red room idea.  I tried to talk him into a red accent wall…no go…

Then, Margaret Oscilia, a local Salem Oregon stager, told me about ColorJive.  ColorJive is a website where you can upload pictures of your house and “paint” the house with different colors.   So at her suggestion I gave it a try.  It was fairly easy to use, and because I was able to paint the room in varying different ways, my son and I were able to compromise on his room.

You can to see here my before “mouse painted” room…and my not so great fine motor skills.  Trying to paint a line with a mouse is hard!

You can change the colors and they have Benjamin Moore and Sherwin Williams colors on there…and maybe one other brand.  You can get the paint color right there.  For those of you, like my husband, that can’t visualize things in your head…this can be a great tool to try some more creative painting ideas for your home.

I know for me, it was a relationship saver between me and my son, who thinks his paint colors are pretty darn cool and my son doesn’t have a totally red room which mom thinks is pretty darn cool…

This post was originally published on the Salem Oregon Real Estate Jumble Blog

I love fall.

I love cool weather and the change of the leaves. I personally find fall energizing.  There is just this incredible beauty in fall trees.  I guess I think it's natures way of giving us one last chance to admire it's beauty before heading into "hibernation" for the winter months. 

Harvest festivals.  Apple cider.  Pear bread. Such wonderful things happen in the fall.   I constantly get asked by people considering relocating to the Salem Oregon area about the weather. Now I have talked about our snow...and the city’s one snow plow, but people considering moving here from the east coast typically want to know “do you have four seasons?”

We do. Granted we get rain in the winter instead of snow, but I think the shift from fall to winter happens here. I was out walking around yesterday morning and just took a few shots of our Salem fall. Personally October in Oregon is one of my favorite times of year.

"I've been trying to talk to the bank about a loan modification for 8 months.  I give up," said the caller on the other end of the line.

With unemployment still high many Salem Oregon area homeowners are in a dire predicament these days. The letter that comes in the mail stating their home is headed for foreclosure is not happy news.   In the 2009 Oregon Legislature, a bill was passed…Senate Bill 628 for the curious. This bill requires lenders to meet with borrowers facing a foreclosure and see whether or not they qualify for a loan modification. It doesn’t guarantee a loan modification because sometimes people just can’t stay in their homes.

When the notice of default comes in the mail, along with it will be information about loan modification.  As of yesterday, if the borrow requests a meeting, either in person or on the phone, the lender MUST meet with the borrower OR show that they evaluated the borrower for a loan modification and the buyer didn’t qualify.  They need to do this process before foreclosing on a home.

According to the State of Oregon:

Oregonians who are seriously behind on their mortgage payments should watch their mail for the new foreclosure notice. Once they receive the notice, they should immediately take the following steps:

1. Call their lender to set up a meeting to discuss a loan modification.
2. Fill out the loan modification request form provided in the notice.
3. Call 1-800-SAFENET and ask to be referred to a nonprofit foreclosure counselor. The coun­selor can help homeowners request a loan modification.

Homeowners should act fast – they have 30 days from the date of the foreclosure notice to request a loan modification.

Read that part in bold.  If you are a homeowner in trouble this is not a means to stall your foreclosure.  You can’t request a loan modification the day before auction.  This law is meant to hold lenders more accountable and be responsive to the many homeowners that have requested help with no response in sight.

So, if you are one of the many weary Salem Oregon area home owners that are facing a short sale or foreclosure… call the Department of Consumer and Business Services at 503-947-7854 or call 1-800-SAFENET to be referred to a foreclosure counselor.

This post was first published on the Salem Oregon Real Estate Jumble.