ABC’s Nightline recently aired an interesting segment about house flipping, which included a magic number that’s probably never been seen before.  Portland Metro Area house flippers would have been glued to their TVs if they’d stayed up late enough to catch Nightline, because if authentically magical, it’s a good number to know.

The segment was part of a series called “Realty Check.”  This one was about new strategies in the “ever-competitive world of flipping.”  The show started with some background about how expensive house flipping can be if it’s done in a hurry and on the cheap.  Just slapping a coat of paint on the walls can result in an investment that languishes on the market, often until the asking price is reduced to an unprofitable level.  The narrator stated that in the past, house flipping was often approached with the idea that the sooner a renovation could be completed, the better: “Get in, get out, move on.”  We were shown how TV series like Flip It to Win It, Flipping Vegas, Rehab Addict, and Flip or Flop turned rehab projects into races against […]

Finding the absolutely perfect home—then being able to afford—may be every Portland home seeker’s dream accomplishment, but absolute perfection in any realm usually remains exactly that: attainable in a dream, but nowhere else.

In fact, online mortgage site HSH.com surveyed homeowners and found a tiny 20% of the home owning population had zero complaints about their current digs.  Sixteen percent wanted a larger place; 9%, more closet space.  Lower percentages wanted more natural light, lower maintenance costs, another bathroom, or a swimming pool.  Interestingly, about a quarter of respondents wished they had done more research on their new neighborhood…or neighbors.

Although the pollsters didn’t give a clear report on how many considered neighbors the biggest problem, it’s certainly true that issues with neighbors can add unnecessary stress for you or your family.  It’s rare to find people who actually decide to abandon ship because of neighbor problems; much more commonly, Portland metro area homeowners just learn to live with them.  But rather than accept that burden, psychologists prescribe a number of ways to try to address such problems.  At least four approaches can be […]

Portland’s mortgage interest rates have been so low for so long that there is the definite possibility that the real value they represent—for both Portland metro area home buyers and sellers—may now be being taken for granted.

It’s only natural.  If you believe that past history is the best predictor of future performance, last January’s common wisdom that mortgage interest rates in 2014 would head up to at least 5% or more wouldn’t have fazed you a bit.  One quick glance at the squiggly lines on a chart showing either 30-year or 15-year fixed mortgage interest rates reveals a pronounced downward slope.  Ever since mid-year 2007, it looks like a playground slide.  It does level off at the end, starting around three years ago; but if you take in the longer view, back to 1982, you see an even steeper tumble—all the way down from (gulp!) 18%!  Only the bravest child would dare climb the ladder to that playground slide…

For a couple of years now, we assumed the bottoming-out of Portland mortgage interest rates would reverse soon enough.  But, as The L.A. Times pointed […]