Annette Sievert's Real Estate Blog

All seemed to be fine. Inspection was ok, nothing serious and the little stuff was fixed by the seller without hesitation. Appraisal came in at price. All contingencies but the financing have been removed, all rainbows and unicorns, we are simply waiting for the closing, no red flags. And then th...

When you sell your home most brokers will categorically tell you NOT to be home for any appointments concerning the home, be it a showing, an inspection, an appraisal or anything related.Sellers often do not understand this measure. After all it is them who really know the house inside out, so wh...

The scenario is always the same and usually filled with anxiety, often from both sides. The deal is struck, agreements are reached about price and contingencies, and now it comes - the inspection. Everybody hopes it turns out nothing serious. The seller thinks his home is perfect, they put great ...

    Totals                                   Benton       2009   2010     total sales, incl. Foreclosures, approximately       1004-1010   1109-1200     Total Foreclosures       64   80     Corvallis       27   33     Philomath       9   17     Monroe       5   10     North Albany       15   17 ...

We all have come across homes with alarm systems, in some areas more often than in others, but there are some everywhere. More than once I have set them off. At one home showing instructions did not mention an alarm system at all, I noticed that there was one after opening the door and hearing th...

I wrote about this a while ago, the budget cuts being a total joke, taking us all for a ride. Today S&P lowered the credit rating outlook of the United States to "negative". Combined with the unwillingness in Washington to face the music and pay the piper and the long in the world talks about a b...

Absolutely not, you will say. But actually, every house has that. We all have our unique chemistry at home. Most of us do not notice it anymore (if we ever have) so we live comfortably with our scents, odors, smells, whatever you want to call it. And as long as nobody we invite flees the scene wi...

So you bought a home. Totally happy - with most things. Unless there are some serious repairs the average new home owner spends about 3% of the purchase price in the first year on changes, adaptations, updates etc. Budgeting for maintenance is another issue all together. There will always be some...

Spring is beautiful nearly everywhere and all of us are happy to see those Easter colors in nature after a long winter. The Northwest has a few unique features that we really love in the winter, especially having lived in Upstate NY before. The Oaks are living in a symbiotic relationship with Lic...

Always moving ahead of the crowd we offer QR codes for our listing publications. QR codes are black ad white square code fields that can be scanned and read by smart phones to obtain information about whatever they contain.  Buyers driving by our listings can take a flyer, scan the code and will ...