Tigard Oregon real estate blog>>real estate blog

How do home inspectors test for Chinese drywall?

Tigard Oregon Real Estate >> Wayne B. Pruner, GRI (Oregon First) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:41:40 -0600

How do home inspectors test for Chinese drywall?

This question was posed to me yesterday and I did not have a good answer. This drywall has not been an issue around here, yet. I did see something on TV where inspectors in Florida cut out a section of drywall and looked at the label on the backside. This seems awfully invasive and requires a repair. I'm sure that there is a better test, but I don't know what it is. Can anyone tell me how to test for this drywall? Thanks.

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. Wayne knows houses. His phone number is 503-891-0795. Here are links to his real estate website and his real estate blog.

The Active Rain "Big Dogs" are Wrong!

Tigard Oregon Real Estate >> Wayne B. Pruner, GRI (Oregon First) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:54:03 -0600

The Active Rain "Big Dogs" are Wrong

Submitting only one offer in a short sale can get you in trouble. (The small fish in the big pond speaks up). This runs contrary to the advice given by almost all the short sale experts on Active Rain.

A couple days ago I overheard an agent tells their client that they only had to submit one offer to their lender in a short sale situation. Whoa! I have learned, the hard way, that when that little voice in my head says "Now wait a minute!" I better pay attention. So when I have a quandary that needs to be solved, I go to the Active Rain search bar and type in my problem. I usually get an answer I can embrace.

There were several posts on the subject and I decided to go with Debe Maxwell's featured post, Presenting Multiple Offers to the Lender for Short Sale Approval. The vast majority advise to only submit one, for various reasons:

•· The agent works for the Seller, not the Lender

•· Numerous offers only clog the system and slow things down

•· Offers are not contracts

•· Buyers insist that you send only one offer (theirs) to the bank

•· Banks are not equipped to sell real estate

•· Offers can be placed in a back-up position

•· And other reasons were put forward

It appears that according to all the prevailing advice, I was overly concerned. Still, the little voice did not go away.

I could ask my Principle Broker for advice. She is tough and smart and I don't like to use her time unless I have an immediate need. I recalled that the Oregon Association of Realtors had a new Risk Management Toolkit and maybe I could find an answer there.

The Risk Management Toolkit, which I assume was authored by the Association's legal counsel, specifically addressed this question. I will summarize what I found.

•1. There is a two agreement nature with short sales. One between the Buyer and Seller and one between the Seller and Lender. The Seller is negotiating with the Lender for modification of the mortgage or note. As with all real estate dealings, material facts need to be disclosed. It would follow that it is in the Sellers' and Lenders' best interest to get the highest price and that the Seller should accept and forward for consideration better offers if they are made. A better offer can be considered a material fact and failure to disclose this offer could be considered Lender fraud.

•2. Offers with escalation clauses should be returned to the Buyer for their final and best offer.

•3. Communicating with the Lender as to how the Seller is going to handle multiple offers is the key to protecting the Agent and the Seller. A cover letter sent in with the first accepted offer should indicate how you will handle subsequent offers. You can state that you will not continue marketing the property and not accept any more offers, you will accept offers only in a back-up position, you will forward all offers, you will forward all better offers, or you will forward offers only up until a certain date. This gives the Lender notice on how the Seller wants to handle the situation and fulfills the requirement for honesty, good faith and fair dealings. If the Lender is silent on this issue, proceed as you indicated. If the Lender objects to the Sellers' policy, then the Seller and Lender are free to negotiate on how to proceed.

Ah! I finally can implement a policy I am comfortable with on handling multiple offers on short sales.

And the voices in my head are gone!

Now You Have Thousands of Reasons to Buy a House

Tigard Oregon Real Estate >> Wayne B. Pruner, GRI (Oregon First) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:26:12 -0600

Now You Have Thousands of Reasons to Buy a House

The Federal Housing Tax Credit has been extended and expanded. I'll explain it here. If you have further questions, give me a call.

$8000.00 first-time home buyer tax credit

•· First-time home buyers qualify for $8000.00 if they have not owned a principle residence during the 3 years prior to the purchase.

•· The tax credit does not have to be repaid if you live in the house for 3 years.

•· The tax credit equals 10% of the home purchase up to $8000.00.

•· The purchase price of the home cannot exceed $800,000.00.

•· The sale has to be completed by April 30, 2010. A binding sales agreement that is signed by April 30, 2010 and the purchase completed by June 30, 2010 will qualify.

•· To receive the full credit, the income limit for single taxpayers is $125,000 and $225.000 for married couples.

$6500.00 move-up or repeat buyer tax credit

•· To claim the tax credit, you must have owned and lived in the home for 5 consecutive years out of the previous 8 years.

•· The tax credit does not have to be repaid if you live in the house for 3 years.

•· The tax credit equals 10% of the home purchase up to $6500.00.

•· The purchase price of the home cannot exceed $800,000.00.

•· The sale has to be completed by April 30, 2010. A binding sales agreement that is signed by April 30, 2010 and the purchase completed by June 30, 2010 will qualify.

•· To receive the full credit, the income limit for single taxpayers is $125,000 and $225.000 for married couples.

The tax credit will reduce your federal income taxes for the year. If you do not owe that much in taxes, Uncle Sam will send you a check for the difference.

Your Phone System Can Cost Your Company Money

Tigard Oregon Real Estate >> Wayne B. Pruner, GRI (Oregon First) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 11:53:59 -0600

Your Phone System Can Cost Your Company Money

I've had it. My auto insurance company, MetLife, has the phone system from hell. It's one of those voice prompt systems where they ask you questions, supposedly "to serve you better", and you respond with spoken words. There are several prompts, some redundant, and the process takes about three minutes to get to a real person. We have five family vehicles that we insure them for about the last five years and I have always tolerated this system. But no more, I'm done with them.

My son bought a Jeep and I was trying to add it to the policy on Friday. This would have been vehicle number six. Two times I went through the whole process only to have my call inexplicably terminated when I got tantalizing close to a real person. On the final attempt I was yelling at the phone, because we all know that these voice systems work better the louder we speak. I then saw that my poor dog was freaking out! She thought she had done something wrong. I immediately consoled her and gave her a treat.

I called my local agent and he answered the phone. He quoted me a price that was actually lower than what I had been paying. This I would have never discovered if MetLife had a better phone system. Their letterhead has the motto "Outstanding People and Service". I don't think so.

Real estate agents have long know the benefits of answering their phones. A missed call can mean a significant portion of our monthly income. Please, Mr. & Ms. Realtor, don't say you provide outstanding service unless you answer your phone.

Update 11/10/2009:I did get through to a MetLife rep today, after 8 voice prompts by me and 4 commercials by them, and canceled my policy. The rep was polite and efficient. He said that on Friday the phone system was dropping calls. I have never had any problem problem with the employees. Getting to an employee was the problem.

Fixing the Gates of Hell

Tigard Oregon Real Estate >> Wayne B. Pruner, GRI (Oregon First) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:02:07 -0600

Fixing the Gates of Hell

I have many gates in my life. Since I own rental property and my children are boys, I have to do many gate repairs. I have learned over the years how to make a gate as sturdy as possible. One problem that stumped me for awhile was the lack of a sturdy gate latch. Almost all the ones being sold were of the same design; flimsy metal and short screws. The screws that attach the metal piece to the gate work loose over time and strip out the holes and never stay tight.

My solution to that problem was to weld the piece that goes on the gate to a piece of angle iron. I then can use 3" screws to secure it in place. This distributes the holding force over a wider area. I have never had to "readjust" a gate since using this method.

No Personal Guarantee Needed

Tigard Oregon Real Estate >> Wayne B. Pruner, GRI (Oregon First) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 19:35:14 -0500

No Personal Guarantee Needed

In many cases, no personal guarantee is needed when signing a commercial lease in the present economic climate. It's just a matter of firm and sound negotiating techniques. Commercial real estate sales and leasing activity in most areas is just as bad, or worse, as the residential real estate market.

Most commercial Landlords are experiencing high vacancy rates and when they have a prospective Lessee they are willing to make concessions, including waiving the personal guarantee. Lessee's with the financial ability and courage to move forward in the current economic climate are hard to find. Landlords are willing to compromise to get any rent out of vacant properties.

Recently I talk with 2 small business owners, (who were not clients of mine), that had rented office space. Neither one had to sign a personal guarantee. They both told the Landlord that if a personal guarantee was needed, they would go elsewhere. Both Landlords readily tore up them up.

This is a Lessee's market. Push hard for concessions, including no personal guarantee.

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.

Super, Simple Posting to Craigslist

Tigard Oregon Real Estate >> Wayne B. Pruner, GRI (Oregon First) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:13:32 -0500

Super, Simple Posting to Craigslist

I can't believe how easy this is! And Free!

I've always wanted to post my flyers on Craigslist. I know there are websites, such as postlets.com and vflyer.com, which host flyers on the web that you can then upload to Craigslist. I am the first to admit that I am "computer and internet challenged" and these sites may allow me to upload my own flyers, but I could not figure out how to do it. A mortgage broker offered to do this for me, so I have been letting him.

So after the baseball game last night, I set out on figuring how to do it myself. Naturally I started by Googling it. This led me to a helpful video on Utube by deriktutt. (I think there is a Utube video for everything.) In a nut-shell, he said in a Word document write your text, imbed your photos, save in Paint as a jpeg, upload to Photobucket.com, take the HTML that Photobucket.com generates for you and imbed it in the Craigslist ad.

I tried to paste a flyer I had created with Publisher in Paint, but it would not work. Nuts. So after fumbling around for a hour or so, I had that Eureka moment. (I love it when a plan comes together.) I use Publisher 2007 and it allows you to save your flyer as a JPEG File Interchange Format. Bingo! Works like a charm.

So the steps are:

•1. Create your flyer in Publisher and save it as a JPEG File Interchange Format document.

•2. Open a free Photobucket.com account and upload your flyer.

•3. Copy the HTML that is generated.

•4. Create a Craigslist ad and paste the HTML in the body.

So easy even a caveman can do it!

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

Landlords Must Follow New Oregon Laws

Tigard Oregon Real Estate >> Wayne B. Pruner, GRI (Oregon First) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 23:56:23 -0500

Landlords Must Follow New Oregon Laws

I am a Landlord so it is wise for me to keep abreast of laws that can affect my investments. I will offer a summary of these laws, as I understand them. Further investigation is required on your part.

Starting Jan. 1, 2010 Landlords must disclose their smoking policy in writing.

HB 2393 doubles the fees Sheriffs can collect for performing legal duties.

SB 777 creates a 60 day no-clause notice for terminating a tenancy. Ouch!

There are new laws governing abandoned property.

A Landlord may not charge a pet deposit for a service animal or charge a cleaning fee.

I have only touched on the residential laws that affect me directly. There are several more bills that affect other types of real estate.

Oregon laws heavily favor the Tenant. It's essential to know what is new.

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.

Personal property can help a house sell faster.

Tigard Oregon Real Estate >> Wayne B. Pruner, GRI (Oregon First) — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 21:16:28 -0500

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

Tigard Oregon Real Estate >> Wayne B. Pruner, GRI (Oregon First) — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 23:31:36 -0500

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

Tigard Oregon Real Estate >> Wayne B. Pruner, GRI (Oregon First) — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 23:12:48 -0500

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

Tigard Oregon Real Estate >> Wayne B. Pruner, GRI (Oregon First) — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 22:52:53 -0500

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

Tigard Oregon Real Estate >> Wayne B. Pruner, GRI (Oregon First) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 12:40:06 -0500

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

Tigard Oregon Real Estate >> Wayne B. Pruner, GRI (Oregon First) — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 17:27:17 -0500

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.

Portland Oregon: 5 Things to do during July 2008

Tigard Oregon Real Estate >> Wayne B. Pruner, GRI (Oregon First) — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 23:12:59 -0500

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.

Mortgage Math Made Easy

Tigard Oregon Real Estate >> Wayne B. Pruner, GRI (Oregon First) — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 22:55:37 -0500

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.

Monthly Mortgage Payments

Principle and Interest

Interest Rate %	5	10	15	20	25	30
4.00	18.42	10.12	7.40	6.06	5.28	4.77
4.25	18.53	10.24	7.52	6.19	5.42	4.92
4.50	18.64	10.36	7.65	6.33	5.56	5.07
4.75	18.16	10.48	7.78	6.46	5.70	5.22
5.00	18.87	10.61	7.91	6.60	5.85	5.37
5.25	18.99	10.73	8.04	6.74	5.99	5.52
5.50	19.10	10.85	8.17	6.88	6.14	5.68
5.75	19.22	10.98	8.30	7.02	6.29	5.84
6.00	19.33	11.10	8.44	7.16	6.44	6.00
6.25	19.45	11.23	8.57	7.31	6.60	6.16
6.50	19.57	11.35	8.71	7.46	6.75	6.32
6.75	19.68	11.48	8.85	7.60	6.91	6.49
7.00	19.80	11.61	8.99	7.75	7.07	6.65
7.25	19.92	11.74	9.13	7.90	7.23	6.82
7.50	20.04	11.87	9.27	8.06	7.39	6.99
7.75	20.16	12.00	9.41	8.21	7.55	7.16
8.00	20.28	12.12	9.56	8.36	7.72	7.34
8.28	20.40	12.27	9.70	8.52	7.88	7.51
8.50	20.52	12.40	9.85	8.68	8.06	7.69
8.75	20.64	12.54	10.00	8.84	8.23	7.87
9.00	20.76	12.67	10.15	9.00	8.40	8.05
9.25	20.88	12.81	10.30	9.16	8.57	8.23
9.50	21.01	12.94	10.45	9.33	8.74	8.41
9.75	21.13	13.03	10.60	9.49	8.92	8.60
10.00	21.25	13.22	10.75	9.66	9.09	8.78

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 in June

Tigard Oregon Real Estate >> Wayne B. Pruner, GRI (Oregon First) — Thu, 29 May 2008 12:28:39 -0500

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

Please, no more catalogs!

Tigard Oregon Real Estate >> Wayne B. Pruner, GRI (Oregon First) — Fri, 23 May 2008 23:52:30 -0500

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!

Who's looking for you? Stalkers or your graduating class?

Tigard Oregon Real Estate >> Wayne B. Pruner, GRI (Oregon First) — Wed, 21 May 2008 22:00:44 -0500

Who's looking for you? Stalkers or your graduating class?

Google has a new telephone number search feature. Type a phone number in the Google search bar, and the owners' name comes up with the ability to generate a map directly to their house. This is like a national reverse directory. For free.

If your child gives out their phone number, they can be mapped directly to your house. Not all cell phones are immune. My home and cell phone pop up all over the place. I want people to find me, but some may not want to be found. It is a bit disturbing how easy it is to find someone.

There are times that I look up a number for business reasons. I always Google a person's name and phone number if I am, or a client, is going to do some business with them. I like to have whatever advantage I can get. Now I am beginning to wonder if it is getting too easy to get personal information.

Search for your number at http://www.google.com/ . If you want to block your personal information, go to http://www.google.com/help/pbremoval.html. This will probably make it harder to find a number, but not impossible. Unlisted numbers do not come up, but, for a fee, that information is also available.

Professional staging sells home faster.

Tigard Oregon Real Estate >> Wayne B. Pruner, GRI (Oregon First) — Thu, 08 May 2008 01:14:33 -0500

Professional staging sells homes faster.

It's no secret that sellers are taking a beating in the current real estate market. If you do not need to sell, now is not the time to try. If you do need to sell, because of a job transfer or family reasons, you want your house to stand out from the many other listings on the market. According to StagedHomes.com, staged homes sell on average around 31 days. The current average time on market is considerably higher than that. My observations of local sales confirm that staged homes do sell faster, and for close to the asking price.

Professional stagers try to create a pleasing, neutral first impression for buyers. Buyers need to picture themselves enjoying the home. All distractions need to be removed. Staging may be emotionally hard on sellers. They have decorated their home to their tastes and have added all these personal touches, such as family photos and items with sentimental value. Now they have to market their home for sale by removing most of the things that have made it their home.

Stagers have an eye for design and pleasant color combinations. They almost always start with cleaning and de-cluttering and rearranging furniture. Then they may suggest painting some rooms and adding some furnishings, to completely staging a vacant home.

Prices vary, but initial consultations start around $300.00 and go up from there, depending on how much work needs to be done and how much furniture needs to be rented. Staging certainly costs less than future price reductions.

Sellers need an edge in this market and with proper pricing and great staging, you can position your home sell your home faster than any other in your neighborhood.

Commercial Leases: Negotiating the Personal Guarantee

Tigard Oregon Real Estate >> Wayne B. Pruner, GRI (Oregon First) — Sat, 03 May 2008 19:11:45 -0500

Commercial Leases: Negotiating Personal Guarantees

When entering into a commercial lease, the Landlord often requires a personal guarantee from the business owners, even if they have formed a corporation or LLC, and may refuse to rent the space without one. This means that the guarantors will make the lease and other payments if the business fails. Landlords often ask for a personal guarantee from start-ups and other small businesses. This is a risk for small business owners because the company is usually their sole source of income. Bankruptcy becomes a very real option, because if the company cannot meet its expenses, it is unlikely that the owner can continue to pay them. However, if you are a credit rated business with experience, demonstrated growth, and a strong balance sheet, you may be able to convince the Landlord to waive the personal guarantees.

Personal guarantees may be unavoidable, but there are ways to limit their impact. A Landlord may accept a "good guy" guarantee. This makes the guarantor liable until the tenant leaves the premises, even if it is before the lease is up. The Landlord will not enforce the personal guarantee if the company is going out of business and the rent is paid up. The business may still be liable for the rest of the term of the lease.

You may be able to limit your personal guarantee to the amount of the Tenant allowance the Landlord offers. If the Tenant receives $40,000 dollars from the Landlord to make leasehold improvements, offer to guarantee this sum on a sliding scale. The personal guarantee would be for the entire $40,000 the first year and decline by $8,000 each year, assuming it is a 5 year lease. Point out that you are putting additional money of your own into improving his building and you will never be able to remove these improvements.

Since most business fail within the first two years, negotiate to limit the term of the guarantee to the first two years only, provided all rents and other payments are up to date. If the Landlord balks, offer to allow your financials to be examined to determine the strength of the company. The guarantee will be waived if sales are improving and expenses are under control.

Many times the Tenant leases a space because of the reputation of the Landlord for fairness and fiscal responsibility. This Landlord keeps Tenants happy and maintains the building to high standards. Negotiate for your personal guarantee to terminate if the building or your lease is sold.

Keep in mind that if more than one person guarantees a lease, and they leave the business or their share is bought out, their personal guarantee is still valid and enforceable by the Landlord.

This article does not constitute legal or financial advice. Leases and personal guarantees are complicated legal documents. Seek qualified advice from legal and financial professionals before signing any documents.

Portland Oregon: 5 Things to do in May

Tigard Oregon Real Estate >> Wayne B. Pruner, GRI (Oregon First) — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 23:59:32 -0500

Portland Oregon: 5 Things to Do in May

Oregon Zoo - National Bear Awareness Week - Oregon Zoo is celebrating with daily public feedings of our bears, enrichment activities, and animal talks, culminating in the popular Bear Fair. May 10 - 16

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 May.

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

Cinco de Mayo Fiesta - 2008 will be the 24th birthday for the largest Cinco de Mayo Fiesta in North America.

2008 Memorial Weekend in the Wine Country - Willamette Valley Wineries More than 100 wineries are open to the public from 11 AM to 5 PM during two weekends in the Wine Country. Activities include tasting of new releases and older vintages, barrel tastings, specialty foods and sales of limited quantity wines. Some wineries have live music and some charge a tasting fee.

Portland Farmers Market to open

Tigard Oregon Real Estate >> Wayne B. Pruner, GRI (Oregon First) — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 22:26:00 -0500

Portland Farmers Market to open

The Portland Farmers Market opens April 5, 2008. Downtown Portland residents do much of their shopping there, and can't wait to get out after being required to shop at a store all winter. However, do not expect much variety at first, just lots of greens and roots. Also, the full complement of eateries probably will not show up until May. Please bring your reusable shopping bag and lots of small bills. Located in the Park Blocks by Portland State University. Portlandfarmersmarket.org

Portland Oregon: 5 Things to do in April 2008

Tigard Oregon Real Estate >> Wayne B. Pruner, GRI (Oregon First) — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 12:03:28 -0500

Portland Oregon: 5 Things to Do in April 2008

Oregon Zoo - Packy's Birthday - The Oregon Zoo is noted for it's Asian elephant program. Come celebrate Packy's 46^th birthday on April 12^th.

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 April.

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

2008 Portland Auto Swap Meet - http://www.portlandswapmeet.com/ - Presented by six Portland Oregon area antique car clubs, The Portland Swap Meet is the largest auto parts swap meet on the west coast with approximately 4,200 vendor stalls and over 50,000 shoppers this April 4, 5, 6 at the Portland Metropolitan Exposition Center.

Go to a Blazer game. Rose Quarter - Brandon Roy is an All-Star! It's been a long time since we have seen Blazermania! The season is wrapping up and next year looks like it will be a good one.

The IRS will help you get your Economic Stimulus Rebate

Tigard Oregon Real Estate >> Wayne B. Pruner, GRI (Oregon First) — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 11:30:52 -0500

The IRS will help you get your Economic Stimulus Rebate

The IRS is offering free tax help to those who do not normally file a tax return so they can receive an Economic Stimulus Rebate this spring. More than 300 IRS offices and hundreds of free tax preparation locations nationwide will open March 29, 2008. There are two Portland locations for this event: 1220 SW 3^rd Av., at the IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center Walk In Office, and the time is from 9AM to 3PM; and the other location is at 2201 Lloyd Center, #2010, and the time is 10AM to 4PM. For more information, go to this IRS link.