There is an interesting theory about why some Portland Metro real estate agents complete so many more home purchases than do others. It isn’t that ‘success breeds success’ (although the thing we call “momentum” is certainly real enough). It has to do with being able to harness two somewhat opposing character traits.

In any business, there seldom seem to be any irrefutable rules that guarantee prosperity. Since that’s the case, it’s odd that there are so many best-sellers proclaiming roadmaps to success. If all those books were simply rip-offs, you would think they’d quickly develop a backlash (which would kill the market for books about succeeding in business).

I’d be willing to bet that the answer lies in the commitment it takes to buy AND read the book in the first place. If you don’t finish it, you feel guilty enough that you won’t blame the author. If you do finish the book, you probably already possess the energy and stick-to-it-ness that means you’re more likely to succeed in the first place.

That self-validating quality applies to Portland real estate agents—and most of us […]

Last week, The Wall Street Journal made it official: they had a slow news day. It was February 11th when they ran the feature story, “A Gender Gap in Real Estate.”

This was something Portland house hunters (not to mention those hoping to attract their attention) could certainly appreciate: an article about what men and women consider “very important” when it comes to features in homes. Author Adam Bonislawski based his story on National Association of Realtors^® survey information; the results pointed to some dissimilarities between what women and men look for.

Now, we’ve had a good deal of experience helping both men and women house hunters in town, so it didn’t come as a complete surprise that their priorities differ. For instance, we were not at all surprised about the contrasting emphases the two put on the importance of having a walk-in closet in the master bedroom. The only surprise was that it was the men who found it much more important (38%-29%)!

What about house hunters’ feelings about the importance of kitchen appliances being new? Same phenomenon: men 38%, women 29% (possibly because appliances […]

Some folks live for our Portland winters. For them, the brisk air is a tonic; longer night times are invitations to enjoy the warmth and cheer of fireside camaraderie; the prospect of winter sports is something they look forward to all year long. For everyone else it may be more of a drag—particularly when a succession of storms seem to conspire to make their lives miserable.

It can also be a tough time to sell a Portland house—but only if you allow it to be! Winter does tend to make most Portland Metro Area houses look drab and barren; and, in general, potential buyers tend to be scarce for a number of reasons. But those who are in the wintertime hunt are apt to be quite serious, so it’s worth remembering that sales can be kindled on even the bleakest February day—especially for owners who keep in mind some simple guidelines:

1.      Create your own warmth

Whether it’s turning up the thermostat, lighting a crackling fire, or arranging for that batch of chocolate chip cookies to have just emerged from the oven, thinking cozy is the […]

Unless you’ve had occasion to buy a corporate jet or office building recently, the sheer size of a home purchase puts it in a class of its own. One indicator is that most people decide to engage the services of a Portland real estate agent to help them out. This is not a trip to the mall…

It follows that first-time home buyers usually approach the whole process with a great deal of caution—an entirely appropriate attitude. Buying a home is one purchase you will be living with for a long time, so getting it right is worth any amount of effort.

Veterans of the home-buying fray start out with the advantages experience brings. They know the how’s, when’s and why’s of the home inspection and loan application processes, and when their real estate agent supplies them with listing printouts, their eyes quickly fall to the details that are most important in their current quest (which could be anything from property tax figures to details about the mechanicals). If they aren’t yet familiar with all of the Portland Metro Area’s neighborhoods, they know to […]

When anyone is in the early stages of finding a Portland house to buy, unless they are planning to pay for it with cash, a large part of what eventually happens will be determined by the home loan they secure. Both the size of the home loan and its interest rate are negotiable, but in almost all cases, the applicant’s part of the “negotiation” consists of comparing offers from various Portland home loan providers.

So unless you are The Donald (or can supply your own wheelbarrow full of cash), Portland Metro Area’s mortgage companies will have a large say about what they think you can afford for your next home. Even though they represent totally different entities, their decisions tend to be awfully similar. The reason for that is that they all work from similar information: your assets, your current ability to generate cash— and your FICO score.

If you have ever suspected there is some kind of mysterious secret formula involved in coming up with that last, your suspicion was valid. But your FICO score isn’t a total mystery—some parts of their formula have been (however grudgingly) […]