Personal property can help a house sell faster.

The Seller of this home is obviously a well-heeled, astute, serious seller. I am in a quandry on what to do if my buyer wants this egg-carton collection. How do I come up with a value for this collection that does not insult the Seller and have him reject our offer, and still be fair for my client? What is the current market value of this collection? I have not seen anything as unique as this on Antiques Road Show and a Google search of "egg-carton appraisers" turned up nothing. I hope this home does not sell before I get this figured out!

To see other things that really help a house sell faster, read Refrigerator Magnets are Toxic.

Wayne B. Pruner is a Realtor® at Oregon First, who works in the Portland and Tigard, Oregon area. He is ready to help you with all your real estate needs and he is also a licensed contractor. His phone number is 503-891-0795. Here are links to his real estate website and his real estate blog.

Tigard Farmers Market:  Produce to Die For

The Tigard Farmers Market is located at Young's Funeral Home in the parking lot at 11831 SW Pacific Hwy.,  The Market runs through Oct. 26, 2008 and is held every Sunday from 9AM to 2PM. This is a temporary location until the permanent one is built in downtown Tigard.

In addition to fabulous produce, there are beautiful flower arrangements, craft and food booths, and live entertainment. One thing that pictures cannot capture are the fragrant smells that envelope the Market. Support your local small business owners. Small bills and change are always appreciated and remember to bring your reusable grocery bag.

Wayne B. Pruner is a Realtor® at Oregon First, who works in the Portland and Tigard, Oregon area. He is ready to help you with all your real estate needs and he is also a licensed contractor. His phone number is 503-891-0795. Here are links to his real estate website and his real estate blog.

Refrigerator Magnets are Toxic

Refrigerator magnets are a sign of just how serious you are about selling your home. If you are going to sell your home, you have to accept that your daily routine is going to be interrupted for the foreseeable future. It cannot be avoided. You will have to keep the house clean all the time and may have to leave your home when buyers come through. If you cannot even make the effort to clean off your refrigerator, do not whine to your agent about the lack of offers.

If your home is not getting very many showing, it could be because your showing instructions may not be buyer friendly.

Wayne B. Pruner is a Realtor® at Oregon First, who works in the Portland and Tigard, Oregon area. He is ready to help you with all your real estate needs. His phone number is 503-891-0795. Here are links to his real estate website and his real estate blog. Wayne is also a licensed contractor.

Metzger Park: National Night Out

The National Night Out was well attended by Metzger neighborhood families. This national event is designed to improve safety in neighborhoods by introducing firefighters, law enforcement, parametics and neighbors to each other. This was a family freindly event that had free ice creram, cookies, and punch provided by local businesses. The fire truck was a big hit with the kids and "McGruff the Crime Dog" was making friends. A good time was had by all at Metzger Park.

Wayne B. Pruner is a Realtor® at Oregon First, who works in the Portland and Tigard, Oregon area. Wayne is also a licensed Oregon contractor. He is ready to help you with all your real estate needs. His phone number is 503-891-0795. Here are links to his real estate website and his real estate blog

Portland Oregon: 5 Things To Do in September 2008

By Wayne B. Pruner

www.YourHomeInPortlandOregon.com

Wayne's Portland Oregon area Real Estate blog

www.activerain.com/waynepruner

Art in the Pearl 2008 - Art In The Pearl
The twelfth annual Art In The Pearl Fine Arts and Crafts Festival will be held Labor Day weekend in the beautiful and historic North Park Blocks of Portland, Oregon. Considered one of the nation's premier art festivals, Art In The Pearl features the jury-selected work of 125 artists from across the USA and Canada. The creativty is amazing!  8/30/08 and 9/1/08

Oregon State Fair - Oregon State Fair
The Oregon State Fair is a 144-year-old statewide tradition. The State Fair brings together the best of Oregon, including agricultural exhibits, animals, food, wine and beer competitions, cultural events and world class entertainment. 8/22/08 - 9/1/08

2008 Portland Pirate Festival - Portland Pirate Festival
The 2008 Portland Pirate Festival returns for two days of buccaneering music, dance, historical reenactments, and shopping under the St. Johns Bridge in historic Cathedral Park. 9/20/08 and 9/21/08

Portland Juggling Festival 2008: Sweet 16 - Portland Jugglers
The Portland Juggling Festival 2008 is on its way! Join us for a weekend of juggling, unicycling, and prop manipulation in the beautiful Rose City. 9/26/08 - 9/28/08

Portland Saturday Market - Celebrating its 34^th year. Features handmade arts and crafts; food and entertainment too, from over 300 artisans. Portland Saturday Market

Showing Instructions Can Doom a Quick Sale

In order to sell your home for the highest price in the shortest amount of time, there are many factors to consider. Some of the more important items are the price of the home, selecting the right Realtor, and having attractive curb appeal. These are my top three, but almost as equally important is having the property available for showings when buyers want to see it. Not on your schedule, but on theirs'. Restrictive showing instructions can doom a quick sale.

Selling your home is a monumental inconvenience to a families' daily routine. Keeping your home clean and available for daily showings takes hard work and planning. You need to keep in mind that it is important to take advantage of the physiological mindset of Buyers.  When they are hot, you need to get them in your home. If they have to delay gratification, they may fall in love with another house.

Restrictive showing instructions, such as: appointment only, 24 hour notice, listing agent must be present , or owner must be present; tend to damper the buying mood of most people. Requiring the listing agent or owner to be present would inhibit many Buyers and make them uncomfortable.                                                                                                                                                                         While it is certainly possible to sell your home with these kinds of restrictions, they will certainly lower the number of showings of your house and increase it's time on market. When your home is up for sale, it needs to be available for showing with two hours notice. You really need to commit to having your home ready for showings 100% of the time during showing hours. Showing hours should start at 9 AM and go to 7 or 8 PM to allow Buyers to view your home after work. Many people achieve these targets and you can too.

I can understand that having strangers going through your house can make you uncomfortable. You need to stop thinking of your home as being your personal sanctuary. Accept that selling it is just a business transaction and a tool to help you move on to achieve future goals. To help attain additional piece of mind, remove any valuable personal property and put it in a secure storage facility.

There are few legitimate reasons to restrict the showing of your home. Anything less than easy availability is going to increase the time it takes to sell your home and most likely result in a lower sale price. However, if restrictions are needed, talk with your Realtor on ways to minimize their effects. The more motivated and committed you are as a Seller, the easier it will be to sell your home.

Please read a related topic about refrigerator magnets.

Wayne B. Pruner is a Realtor® at Oregon First, who works in the Portland and Tigard, Oregon area. He is ready to help you with all your real estate needs. His phone number is 503-891-0795. Here are links to his real estate website and his real estate blog.

Portland Oregon: 5 Things To Do During July 2008

2008 Safeway Waterfront Blues Festival - Waterfront Blues Festival Celebrate the Blues at the 2008 Safeway Waterfront Blues Festival at Tom McCall Waterfront Park on the banks of the beautiful Willamette River in downtown Portland. Proceeds help the Oregon Food Bank fight hunger. July 3-6

Oregon Brewers Festival 2008 - Oregon Brewers
Oregon is the home to many craft beer makers and is going to celebrate the 21th annual Oregon Brewers Festival. Oregonians love their beer and this festival is regarded as one finest craft beer festivals in the nation. Each summer, the beautiful city of Portland, Oregon welcomes more than 50,000 beer lovers to the four-day event. Aficionados come from all over the country and the world to experience this hop roots festival, which began as a way to expose the public to microbrews at a time when the craft brewing industry was just getting off the ground. July 24-27

Portland Saturday Market - A Portland mainstay that features handmade arts and crafts; food and entertainment too, from over 300 artisans. Portland Saturday Market

Portland Farmer's Market Portland Farmer's Market  bringing the best of the country to the heart of the city since 1992. A vibrant gathering place where friends meet and shop with a direct connection to over 250 vendors having deep roots in Oregon and Washington, including farms, nurseries, bakeries, meat and seafood providers, cheese makers, and specialty foods producers.

OMSI - The largest collection of Chinese fossils is on display, featuring over 20 complete skeletons. After that, enjoy the planetarium, OmniMax Theater, and the science exhibits. All June.

Oregon Zoo - Visit an acient rainforest, see a moving dinosaur, and dig for fossils. This dinosaur exhibit lasts through Labor Day.

Wayne B. Pruner is a Realtor® at Oregon First, who works in the Portland and Tigard, Oregon area. He is ready to help you with all your real estate needs. His phone number is 503-891-0795. Here are links to his real estate website and his real estate blog.

Mortgage Math Made Easy

Many years ago I acquired this table that makes easy work of figuring out your monthly payment on a home purchase without the need of a financial calculator. Professionals in the real estate business need a financial calculator, but the average homeowner or first time home buyer can get by quite nicely with this table. I have randomly compared this table against my financial calculator and they come within less than a dollar of each other. This table can help a person decide if they can afford a house and offers a comparison of the dramatic difference a change in interest rate can have on your monthly payment. I have added the examples below the table to help with clarity.

Bonus real estate math: Real estate usually appreciates in value, but it can also depreciate in value. Here is the math and how it generally affects the value of your property.

Appreciation: Suppose the annual appreciation of property in your area was 5% a year over the last 3 years and your house was purchased for $250,000.00

$250,000. X 1.05 x 1.05 x 1.05 = $289,406.25 is the present value

Depreciation: Home values in your area have depreciated 4% per year for the last 2 years and your house was purchased for $250,000.00

$250,000.00 x .96 x .96 = $230,400.00 is the present value 

These simple comparisons can help you see the dramatic affect interest rates can have on your financial decisions.

Wayne B. Pruner is a Realtor® at Oregon First, who works in the Portland and Tigard, Oregon area. He is ready to help you with all your real estate needs. His phone number is 503-891-0795. Here are links to his real estate website and his real estate blog.

Monthly Mortgage Payments

Principle and Interest

Payment = (multiplier) x (# of thousands) 

Example: payment on a $150,000 loan for 30 years at 7.25% is

(150 x 6.82 = $1023.00 per month)

To breakdown the payment to principle and interest the first month: 

$150,000 x 7.25% = $10,875. ÷ 12 = $905.25 monthly interest

$1023.00 - $905.25 = $117.75 monthly principle 

Wayne B. Pruner, Realtor®, GRI   503-891-0795  

Oregon First 

waynepruner@oregonfirst.com

5 Portland Activities for June

Oregon Zoo - This month a dinosaur exhibit goes up and lasts through Labor Day.

OMSI - The largest collection of Chinese fossils is on display, featuring over 20 complete skeletons. After that, enjoy the planetarium, OmniMax Theater, and the science exhibits. All June.

Portland Saturday Market - Celebrating its 35^th year. Features handmade arts and crafts; food and entertainment too, from over 300 artisans. Portland Saturday Market

Portland Rose Festival - One of Portland's signature events starts May 29 and ends June 8. This event features a parade, amusement park rides, family entertainment, and scores of different food booths. Rose Festival Association

Portland Farmer's Market Portland Farmer's Market  bringing the best of the country to the heart of the city since 1992. A vibrant gathering place where friends meet and shop with a direct connection to over 250 vendors having deep roots in Oregon and Washington, including farms, nurseries, bakeries, meat and seafood providers, cheese makers, and specialty foods producers.

Wayne B. Pruner is a Realtor® at Oregon First, who works in the Portland and Tigard, Oregon area. He is ready to help you with all your real estate needs. His phone number is 503-891-0795. Here are links to his real estate website and his real estate blog.

Please, No More Catalogs!

Our mailbox is stuffed each week with unwanted catalogs. My wife occasionally buys something mail-order, but now she sometimes gets 8 different catalogs a week. Around Christmas, that number can swell to 20. I would estimate that recycling these catalogs generates up to 25% of our paper waste each week.  A tremendous waste when multiplied by millions of addresses. I hate waste! There is a new free website that helps cut down on this waste. You can register at www.catalogchoice.org to be removed from mailings of participating companies. The only drawback is that you have to opt out of each individual company, and there are thousands. A better option would be that you have to opt- in to get catalogs, but that will never happen. I'll do my little part to save some tress and add each catalog as we get them. As of 5/23/08, 871,444 persons have opted out of 11,331,765 catalogs.

Spread the word. Every little bit helps!

Wayne B. Pruner is a Realtor® at Oregon First, who works in the Portland and Tigard, Oregon area. He is ready to help you with all your real estate needs. His phone number is 503-891-0795. Here are links to his real estate website and his real estate blog.