Homeowners’ Tips

Some of Portland’s senior residents will verify that The Reader’s Digest was once flat-out the most popular magazine in the country. I don’t know how far back that began, but at one point at least, it was the time-saving way Americans kept up with what was being published in the other magazines (there were lots of them). RD boiled lengthy articles down to a couple of pages.

TV is probably what spelled its decline. The internet almost finished the job—but the Digest is still going in various forms. When you come across it online, it never fails to show a whole lineup of almost irresistible Click Me sidebars. A few weeks ago, for instance, local homeowners might have been snared by “20 Secret Hiding Places for Valuables in Your Home” (if your home will host an open house anytime soon, that one would be fortuitous); “Prepare to Be Amazed By the […]

2016-08-05T22:47:44+00:00

How to Make a Memorable Open House

Fresh baked chocolate chip cookies at your open house? It’s been a standard for open houses everywhere and forever, but if the goal is to make your property and its open house a standout, it’s a solution hardly in sync with the goal. Cheese and crackers? C’mon—does anyone really want dubious-looking cheese and cold cuts that have been sitting out for who-knows-how-long…?

Stone fruits and berries are at their absolute peak this time of year—so they make for a simple, elegant solution. It’s also one that’s easy to provide and appealing to look at…

Then again, if you are planning for your own local open house in this summer, you also have the option of upping the ante a bit—while still bringing the fruits of the season inside to the party. To add a delightfully unexpected and memorable surprise to your open house, consider baking a pie or two! Let the mouthwatering aromas fill the air just before show time—and be assured, the effect of that kind of old fashioned hospitality […]

2016-07-19T00:40:39+00:00

July Maintenance Checklist

In addition to our Independence, the Fourth of July also marks a sort of mid-year pause. Families with kids have by now shuffled them into summertime activities. All graduates have graduated; the gardens have all been started (and some parts of it, even harvested!). This used to be the season for television series reruns, resulting in measurably less TV-watching; but cable programmers have obliterated that notion—and this year, the Rio Olympics will draw much attention back indoors.

But for the most part, the beginning of July marks OTY: the undeniably Outdoor Time of Year. It’s the sunny, healthy time of year; time to get out of the kitchen and see how much outdoor cooking can get done. It just feels healthier—even if there are just as many calories in a burger cooked outdoors as in the kitchen.

For northwest homeowners who have been telling themselves they would get around to the annual home maintenance chores pretty soon, it’s also the time of year when […]

2016-07-05T19:17:07+00:00

Capitalize on Energy Savings

It’s been a welcome relief for northwest homeowners as the Bad Old Days of the energy crisis recede from memory. $4+-a-gallon gasoline, huge electric, propane and fuel oil bills that were the subject of national outrage have faded from the headlines. We’re now busy attending to the current challenges of daily living—and OPEC’s machinations aren’t front and center!

But for those Portland Metro area homeowners more attuned to what’s likely to be headed our way sooner or later, now is as good a time as any to prepare for the next spate of energy price surprises. And there are many new products—some in development, some already on the market—that soon could put a serious dent in the damage tomorrow’s energy bills might wreak.

Some of the interesting innovations:

  • Bladeless Fans. These are already out there—the weird-looking magnifying-glass-shaped electric fans that suck hot air in through the base and push a steady stream of air out via an impeller. The no-blades design promises to make them safer, […]
2016-06-21T01:58:02+00:00

One Tactic for House Flipping Success

Most house flipping veterans can look back on their successful projects and place them in either of two columns. Either they were intended to be quick flips—turnarounds where speed was a prime ingredient because of an original tactical decision—or they were not.

The quick flips depend on speedy, focused action in three of the four phases a house flipping project entails. In the opening phase— lining up the capital—speed is not important. Of course, nothing else will materialize unless financing for the property is obtainable when needed—but there is no timer ticking away. Once it is likely that funding will be obtainable, that’s when the clock starts.

Phase Two—finding, negotiating, and closing on a suitable property—is a real foot race. A quick flip only materializes after a suitable property has been identified. “Suitable” in this context means a home that can be made attractive in the Portland Area market without requiring extensive and time-consuming rehabilitation—cosmetically challenged, but not structurally unsound. If it is already on the market, it’s probable […]

2016-06-09T15:55:58+00:00

Accidental Investors

Local real estate investors include a subset that’s more common than you might think: the unplanned ones. The press calls them “accidental investors”—but that’s unfortunate. Let’s face it: when you read “accidental investor,” it conjures up mental images of a car crash. Or falling down stairs. Or failing to smell a gas leak…

The phrase is inappropriate. When you think of accidents waiting to happen, the last thing you think of is west coast real estate. Yet the phrase “accidental real estate investors” continues to pop up to describe individuals made property owners through happenstance—even though that turn of fate does, in fact, turn out to be beneficial. More than anything, that’s a happy accident!

Accidental real estate investors can be created because of any number of common situations. Sometimes, inheritance plays a role. If a family home is willed to children whose careers have taken them far from town, time may need to pass before a clear-headed decision is best made about the disposition of the […]

2016-04-18T23:01:47+00:00

Springtime Inspiring Home Décor

There is something about spring that gets everybody at least thinking about fixing up the house, and it’s that time of year again. Throughout the length and breadth of the area, home décor decisions are being pondered. Ambitious landscaping and fix-up plans are being laid, budgets drawn, and troops assembled (the troops will be armed with paint brushes and rollers, hedge clippers and rakes).

Perhaps it’s the weather; perhaps the angle of the sun—or maybe it’s prompted by the spring cleaning—for whatever the reason, this time of year is when we look around the house and decide changes will be made!!

It’s also the time of year when occasional disagreements between husbands and wives have been known to crop up. The Home Improvement section of the realtor® web site just ran a feature titled “When Couples Disagree About Home Décor,” which promised to tell who the winner is in such arguments. […]

2016-04-16T15:27:01+00:00

Special Report on Spring Cleaning

They’re aimed at the Frustrating Five: spring cleaning tasks that homeowners tend to put off and/or ignore more than the others. Since spring is the most agreeable time of year to tackle household maintenance (even the vexing ones), here’s a list to contemplate—along with some widely accepted strategies for taking them head-on:

  1. Kitchen cabinets gradually build up grease—and getting rid of it is one of those jobs we don’t tend to tackle on a regular basis. The first of the top 5 spring cleaning tips is the easiest: that grease is no challenge if you remember to keep a single-purpose product on hand. Hardware stores and supermarkets stock them: just look for the household cleaning bottles that have “Dirt and Grease” somewhere on the label.
  2. Dirty windows are frustrating because they actually present two entirely different spring cleaning challenges. One window cleaning product that works fine inside is often less effective on the outside. Since there are two different kinds of buildup, it pays […]
2016-04-12T00:14:36+00:00

Home Inspection or Offer? Which Comes First?

A reasonable question posted recently on a real estate website can open an interesting discussion. It’s one that touches on a fundamental component of most northwest real estate sales.

The question was, “Can I request a home inspection before I make an offer on the home?

The answer from the moderator was, “I can’t think of one good reason why you would do this.” The moderator should have thought a little harder! And the truth is, for any would-be buyer who has never been involved in buying or selling a home, it’s a pretty logical question.

Take a fictional example. We have a young couple who have no previous real estate experience. Their parents never walked them through how they had gone about buying the homes they’d been raised in, and although both husband and wife have college degrees, neither has been exposed to the first thing about buying and selling a house (this is a hole […]

2016-04-07T00:08:53+00:00

Do-It-Yourself Real Estate Agent Dowsing

Whenever a buyer or seller is set to enter the market, they find themselves faced with the task of identifying the local real estate agent who will serve them best. There are many of us to choose from—and not a lot guidance on how to proceed.

Maybe there should be something like a Real Estate Agent Dowser. You remember dowsers—the folks who divine where to drill for ground water. Most do it by walking around, holding a dowsing rod (usually Y-shaped). When it shivers or points down, BINGO! That’s where the water is. Pay the fee and call the drilling company. Now, it’s said that there is absolutely no scientific evidence that dowsing works. Yet there are plenty of folks who live out in the country who will tell you that, of course it’s hard to believe, but still… That’s why dowsing is a real occupation. Just ask any one of the American Society of Dowsers’ 3,000 members…

Here on […]

2016-03-30T23:01:49+00:00