Karen Burket's "Active" Mortgage Blog

    On a whim, at the end of February I entered a recipe contest.  The Klondike Restaurant and Bar in St. Helens, Oregon accepts recipes from their customers in the month of February, then in March, they select four finalists to prepare their dish with owner/chef Dave Wuollet. Imagine my surprise...

One of our favorite area restaurants is the Bella Union.  It's a cozy little place located just a few miles from us in Historic Jacksonville.  They've got great pizzas and pastas, some great nightly specials and their house salad with their house dressing is wonderful.  During the summer it's won...

Historical Oregon Mortgage Interest Rates Ever wonder how current mortgage interest rates compare to rates from previous years?  Here is a breakdown of monthly averages going back to 1980. Current interest rates are great and with so many great properties on the market, it's the perfect time to b...

A few weeks ago I found myself obsessing with the upstairs linen closet.  I was bound and determined to get it organized as it was looking..well, rather disastrous.  Sheets here, towels there, table linens in a state of disarray.  I really am a very organized person and wasn't sure how my collect...

I'm sure we've all been there.  We are just DREADING giving our clients, or the business partners we're working with, some bad news.  Maybe their loan got denied, or the property needs extensive repairs, making it currently "unlendable". Well, I just had to give the Realtor and my borrowers some ...

With hubby's and my commitment to add more fish to our diet, I've really been trying to get creative with various dishes.  Pulled some salmon out of the freezer the other day and here's what we did. I cut each fillet in half so each serving had two small pieces.  Salt and peppered the fillets.  I...

Now THIS is some great news!  We just received this information on a very positive change with regard to borrowers using gifted funds for their down payment.  In the past, if borrowers were relying on gifted funds for their down payment, they were required to have a minimum of 5% of their OWN fun...

My mom gave me this recipe years ago and it's absolutely the best.  Admittedly, I've tweaked it just a squidgen, but it's wonderful. Here's her original recipe and I'll footnote with what I've done to it in recent years.   5 slices of bacon  (ADD MORE!) 2 cans clams 1/2 medium onion 4 potatoes, u...

I figured I'd repost this blog I wrote earlier. Is Private Mortgage Insurance Tax Deductible  in 2011?   So, you're thinking of purchasing a home but don't have a down payment of at least 20%.  There are many loan programs still available with less than twenty percent down, however typically, you...

Believe it or not, some of the greatest cheeses in the world come here from our own Rogue Valley.  Rogue Creamery has won numerous awards for their cheeses.   Have you ever wondered how cheeses are made and developed?  Well ask no more.   The Oregon State University Extension Program, here at the...