portland homes for sale: 3212 SE 12th Ave, Portland OR - 03/02/10 01:43 PM
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portland homes for sale: Portland Oregon - 02/26/10 07:15 PM
Here are some sites to visit if you are thinking of visting Portland, Oregon or are wondering why you should...
http://www.travelportland.com/
http://www.portlandonline.com/
http://www.portland.com/
http://www.portland-oregon-magazine.com/
http://www.el.com/to/portland/
http://wikitravel.org/en/Portland_%28Oregon%29

PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE http//:www.TonyandLibby.com & OUR NEW PORTLAND METRO BLOG AT http//:www.TonyandLibby.blogspot.com & pdxrealtynews.com (make sure you leave comments)
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portland homes for sale: 2132 NE Clarendon St, Hillsboro OR - 02/26/10 12:24 PM
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portland homes for sale: 1865 NW 193rd Ave, Hillsboro OR 97006 - 02/24/10 04:57 PM
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portland homes for sale: FRAUD - 02/19/10 02:20 PM
 
There is another type of mortgage fraud out there that is actually being committed by the biggest banks.  People who are thinking of getting involved in a short sale need to be aware.
It seems that many real estate agents are starting to make complaints about dealing with the second lien holders in a short sale transaction.  If someone is trying to get their bank to agree to a short sale but they have a second mortgage on their house, then negotiations must also be made with the holder of the second lien.
Currently this applies to many, many people.  … (2 comments)

portland homes for sale: January Market Report Portland Oregon - 02/17/10 04:01 PM
January Residential Highlights
 
While not quite as dramatic as last month, sales activity in the Portland metro area continued to show improvement in January 2010 compared to the same month a year ago. Closed sales were up 34.7% compared to January 2009 and pending sales rose 24.3%. However, new listings fell 6.2%. Pending sales were also up 34.5% (1,535 v. 1,141) when compared to December 2009. On the other hand, closed sales fell 34.5% (986 v. 1,506) and new listings grew 87.1% (3,937 v. 2,104) driving inventory to double digits for the first time since May of 2009. At the … (1 comments)

portland homes for sale: Foreclosures To Come - 02/16/10 07:16 PM
It sounds like home prices are not heading back up anytime soon.  In fact, they may go down some more.  Studies seem to be indicating the loan modifications are going to delay instead of prevent foreclosure. 
One study is suggesting that 5 million of the 7.7 million mortgages that are currently delinquent will go through foreclosure in the next few years.
Home prices had started to increase slightly, and it is thought that the efforts to prevent foreclosure temporarily kept the inventory down. 
Luckily people are still looking to buy foreclosures, so as long as interest rates don't rise and the … (2 comments)

portland homes for sale: Considering a Short Sale? - 02/04/10 01:18 PM
The majority of people facing foreclosure or short sales go in with the expectation that relief is on the horizon because when it's over, they will be free of that debt.  Not so fast! 
If your home is taken by the bank and sold at auction, the bank could still demand the difference between what you owed and what they made on the auction sale. 
A short sale is when the bank allows you to sell your house for less than what is owed.  People assume that because the bank released the title that they released the debt.  This is not … (0 comments)

portland homes for sale: Easier Foreclosure Prevention - 01/26/10 06:51 PM
Most people have heard that the foreclosure prevention programs have not been as successful as Obama had hoped.  It seems that one of the road blocks has been borrowers with a second mortgage. 
Apparently there has not been an agreement with the second lien holders which causes the first mortgage to be modified even lower to hit the 31% of pre-tax income mark. 
Clearly banks are not eager to modify loan payments at a loss when the second mortgage holder still gets a full payment.  This is also not helping the home owners because how small can a payment get when … (1 comments)

portland homes for sale: Rising Interest Rates - 01/19/10 06:12 PM
If you are in the market for a home with the intention to get a loan under 5%, you'd better move!  The first full week of January Freddie Mac's average 30-year fixed mortgage closed at 5.09%.  And once these go up they are not coming back down any time soon. 
Because of the bad economy the government had some programs going to get interest rates down.  Those programs are coming to an end and interest rates will head back up. 
Rates should also rise as the economy improves.  As people start to borrow money again the rates will increase.  There should … (1 comments)

portland homes for sale: Portland Oregon December Market Report - 01/14/10 06:45 PM
December Residential Highlights
 
Sales activity in the Portland metro area showed marked improvement this December compared to the same month a year ago. Closed sales were up 52.6% compared to December 2008 and pending sales rose 40.9%. New listings also rose 11.9%. On the other hand, compared to November 2009, closed sales fell 16.1% (1,506 v. 1,795). Pending sales dropped 14.1% (1,141 v. 1,328). New listings fell 15.8% (2,104 v. 2,499). At the month’s rate of sales, it would take approximately 7.7 months to sell the 11,597 active residential listings.
 
2009 Summary
 
Comparing activity from 2009 with that … (0 comments)

portland homes for sale: Portland Oregon in the New York Times! - 01/04/10 06:33 PM
Here is a great article from the New York Times about all the great things about visiting or living in Portland, Oregon.  Not only did the author seem to capture the vibe of the city but he visited so many wonderful spots that represent this city so well.  He really hit the perfect variety and did not just stick to one section of the Portland area.  Especially when it comes to our amazing food scene. 

http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/05/10/travel/10Portland.html?pagewanted=1
PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE http//:www.TonyandLibby.com & OUR NEW PORTLAND METRO BLOG AT http//:www.TonyandLibby.blogspot.com & pdxrealtynews.com (make sure you leave comments)
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portland homes for sale: Mortgage Modification - 12/16/09 07:02 PM
It stands to reason that if a bank makes a loan more affordable for a borrower they are less likely to default on that loan.  So why are banks just now deciding to finally get in there and make some modifications?  Even now only 4% of homeowners in need of a loan modification are receiving them. 
Some how they seemed to have finally gotten the message that they should be taking what they can get.  Foreclosures are very costly because of commissions, legal expenses, taxes and the HUGE loss in value of the property that would cause the bank to take … (1 comments)

portland homes for sale: Nesting - 12/10/09 06:04 PM
Those who have the means are fixing up their current homes. There is a lot more "nesting" going on lately as more and more people are inquiring into updating their property.
Many home owners are looking for more space but after looking at the options, decide to remodel instead of buy a new home.  Often they find that they like their home, neighborhood, schools etc...  That is why they bought it!  Many times the numbers come out in favor of remodeling versus moving anyway. 
Those in construction say that they are getting many more inquiring phone calls about remodel jobs but, … (0 comments)

portland homes for sale: 9225 SW Garden Home Rd, Portland OR - 12/07/09 04:27 PM
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portland homes for sale: Loan Servicers Under The Microscope - 12/01/09 07:00 PM
The Obama administration has decided to pressure loan servicers to do what they said they would do, which is help homeowners long term.
Many, many borrowers are stuck in trial adjustments when we really need to get them into permanent modifications. The government will be sending teams to the various institutions to evaluate what is taking so long.  Banks will have to submit progress reports twice a day during December.
$75 billion has been spent to help home owners but so far only 1,711 of those in the trial modifications have been moved to a permanent loan modification. 
The financial institutions … (1 comments)

portland homes for sale: Home Sales Riding High - 11/23/09 06:44 PM
Many first-time home buyers decided to take advantage of the expiring tax credit.  Add in low mortgage rates with falling prices and the home sales in October were their highest level in 2 1/2 years.  As a result, home sales are 37 percent above from their bottom in January.
Now that the tax credit has been extended and expanded to include more than just first-timers, the housing market is expected to be sustained next year.
The economy as a whole will benefit only slightly from higher home sales due to weak home construction, rising foreclosures and slow job creation.
The government … (2 comments)

portland homes for sale: 20880 S Ridge Rd, Oregon City OR - 11/23/09 05:08 PM
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portland homes for sale: 8601 N Drummond Ave, Portland OR - 11/20/09 01:42 PM
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portland homes for sale: Budgeting Issues - 11/12/09 06:45 PM
Oregon has just been named as one of 10 U.S. states at greatest peril of following California over a state budgetary cliff.The national economy has begun to rebound but Oregon is likely to have a harder time.  Unemployment is expected to remain high, which leads to lower tax revenues, which makes coming up with enough money to pay for schools and other public services difficult. On top of high unemployment rates voter mandates that include long sentences for repeat criminal offenders mean some budget cuts are off limits. California drew national attention to the risk that states would go broke when … (3 comments)

 
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Tony and Libby Kelly, CRS, ABR, ePro, SRES, CLHMS, CDPE

Lake Oswego, OR

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Keller Williams Realty Portland Premiere

Office Phone: (503) 924-3520

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In this forum we will offer discussions on a wide variety of subjects, but focus on Portland Metro and real estate. Hopefully our insights and experiences will inform, educate, challenge and entertain our readers week after week.


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