It’s a great feeling to assist clients on the great adventure of discovering and landing their new northwest home. The final part of the real estate sale comes with the closing, where the papers are executed and house keys handed over.

Virtually all of our local real estate sales proceed to closing without significant hitches. That’s not by accident: we’ve helped clear the path by methodically checking off every item on each sale’s unique ‘to do’ list. That checklist has evolved to include the various technical legal and financial items that need to be addressed before a change of ownership can happen. At closing, they’re all addressed.

But—as everyone with many closings to their credit will tell you—even well-laid plans can begin to unravel when the unexpected pops up. Apparently “closing nightmare” stories make for great internet fodder, because you can find scores of them online. Some are tall tales, but others are exactly what’s to be expected if care isn’t taken to head them […]

To rent or buy? question sometimes answers itself—especially when the requisite down payment amount isn’t available. Other Portland Metro area residents have to wrestle with a very important decision that simply doesn’t have a one-size-fits-all solution, any more than does a what car is best? question.

Factors that make it complicated have to do with how predictable many other facets of their future are: how long do they know they will be living in the northwest; how reliable is their income stream; how stable is the size of their family, and—an associated issue—how important will the quality of neighborhood grade, middle, and/or public high school be…and when?

Once you are convinced that there is no simple answer to the rent or buy question, it becomes much easier to dismiss some of the mythology that passes as common sense when it comes to the decision. Chief among the myths is the one that has renting being more economical because of the […]

Midway through the Portland Metro area real estate’s busy selling season also finds us at the beginning of many a homeowner’s personal vacation season. For those whose homes are on the market, one of the benefits of having a close working relationship with their Portland real estate agent means that they can take off for their out-of-town holiday without having to worry about losing prospective buyers. If my clients instruct me to continue showings in their absence, it’s no problem; likewise, if they’d prefer to hold off until their return, the showing schedule is juggled accordingly.

When a house sitter is part of the picture, it’s a low-stress showing situation, as well. Good house sitters keep their client’s property in order on a day-to-day basis anyway, so with the agreed-upon advance scheduling, showings can proceed as usual. It’s especially nice when the local homeowner returns to find good news on the real estate front!

There are two truisms about leaving your most valuable […]

By the end of last week, homeowners who keep an eye on mortgage rates had a remarkably clear view of what the future is likely to bring. “Brexit” had all but sealed the deal.

Part of the reason for the resurgence in the local real estate market has been the phenomenon of the northwest’s historically low mortgage interest rates. Following 2015’s first rate hike in nine years (and the promise that two or three more were in store for 2016), across the nation, financial commentators foresaw the expected gradual rise in mortgage interest rates to act as a moderating influence on home sales activity. In other words, a market that would slowly grow a bit tighter.

As recently as April, that had been the common wisdom. That changed. Those who factor mortgage interest rates into their own decision about buying and selling Portland property were doubtless pleased when, last month, some bad news about employment rates triggered good news about […]

One good way our clients get a head start from the word “go!” is the amount of attention their local listing receives. Since that listing is by far the most prominent display piece their property will be presenting to the world of potential buyers, it has to be first-rate. The details must be presented in clear and unambiguous language, laid out with the information buyers consider important right at the top. Most important of all is how the data is illustrated. If there is ever a place where top-notch photography will pay off, this is it!

That’s why it’s astonishing when you come across listings in the northwest where the shots appear to have been taken with casual abandon. You seldom see those when a property is represented by a licensed agent—or if you do, it’s probably the result of a client’s sudden need to sell quickly—in which case the offending specimens are usually swiftly replaced by professional substitutes.

What are the most common amateur photography slip-ups that can’t help but harm a […]

A mega-proportion of serious Portland house hunters ultimately decide it makes the most sense to team up with a real estate professional to get the job done. Portland buyers may begin the process of finding and buying their next home on their own, checking through the online listings or driving target neighborhoods to check out the “For Sale” signs—but the NAR® reports that 9 out of 10 of U.S. buyers will eventually use a real estate agent in their search process.

The most obvious motivation for that is because the buyer’s agent’s fee is paid from the seller’s proceeds. That alone could explain a 90% level of popularity. When you can benefit from a professional’s services at no cost to yourself, northwest house hunters would have to think long and hard to come up with what the downside could possibly be. To run down the arguments that could explain how 10% might decide to pass up the buyer’s agent service, I looked […]