According to last month’s National Association of Realtors^® announcement, existing home sales are up across the U.S., at the same time that home inventories are on the rise. In Portland, it may point to a brisk fall market, with more prospective buyers deciding the time is right for buying a house.

It’s true that a few lucky prospects will find the perfect home after just an afternoon or two. But that’s not often the case: for most people, buying a house requires a good deal more shoe leather. Buyers who aren’t really certain of what they want in their future house may have to visit a few…or 40! But if you and/or your Significant Other can’t spend months touring houses, you’ll need to pin down the factors that are most important to you. It’s the most direct way to avoid wasting time on houses that don’t measure up.

So that makes the most important time-saver this—make a list!

• First, narrow down the features you absolutely must have in a new home. You might decide you need a minimum of four bedrooms, a family room, […]
  

If cost weren’t a factor, most everyone would agree with that advice. But is staging really worth the price? Can staging in Portland actually help you sell your home? Of course, without being able to predict the future, a definitive answer isn’t possible. But there are at least three convincing reasons why a Portland home seller should at least consider making the investment:

·         Money

A recent study by a leading national real estate company found that staged homes sold for over 6% more than did unstaged homes. We’re used to seeing this kind of statistic offered by staging professionals themselves, but this time it’s confirmed by a less-interested source. One reason could be that a staged home feels like more than an empty box. A Portland area staged home can help buyers to imagine themselves living in the home. The result is higher perceived value—the key to more motivated offers.

·         Time

The same study showed that staged homes sold twice as quickly as their non-staged counterparts. Well-executed staging can subtly communicate the kind of professionalism that instills trust: these people know what they’re […]

It seems just yesterday that the beach towels were coming out of the closet—alas! With back-to-school specials ending and Labor Day Weekend upon us, it’s time to admit that summer is just about done for. Whether you’ve just purchased a new property, are sprucing up your Portland home with thoughts of putting it on the market this fall, or are just getting ready for the change of seasons, now is time to take a critical look at your abode as you prepare for cooler temperatures.

Fireplace If you are lucky enough to have a fireplace, it’s unlikely to have gotten much use for quite a while. Now is the time to make sure your fireplace and chimney are clean and free of debris or other buildup (think ‘abandoned bird nest’). If it’s been a few years, calling in a pro to do a clean sweep is probably the best idea.

Carpet or Paint Whether or not you are planning to sell your town home, if it’s likely you will be tackling any interior painting, carpet replacement, or major deep-cleaning, handling these projects while […]

A newly-updated NAR survey confirms that 51% of agents with smartphones use iPhones. This fact is hardly startling, since these phones have been such a boon to the real estate business. Today’s agent can use apps to quickly scan and electronically sign documents, instantly get property details for clients, access key boxes—it’s almost hard to remember how we got along before!

But what about the 9% of homeowners who choose to go the FSBO (For Sale by Owner) route? As many a do-it-yourself home seller has learned, just planting a sign in the front yard does not constitute much of a marketing campaign. For those who will be selling a Portland home this fall, creating a virtual tour is an all-but-indispensable way to take advantage of all an iPhone has to offer. For anyone who would like to shoot a virtual tour as a market aid, here’s the lay of the land:

• A Portland virtual tour doesn’t need to be an all-out professional Hollywood production. You can keep matters as simple as possible using nothing more than your iPhone’s camera.
• More ambitious self-producers can […]
  

With summer drawing to a close (say it isn’t so!), it’s time to cast an eye towards the prospects for this year’s fall home sales market. Fall can be a great time to list a home, but it can be especially opportune for luxury home sales in Portland. It’s a season that traditionally brings out serious buyers—those looking to find a home and complete the move before the holidays. If you are selling a property that falls into the luxury home category, before you roll up your sleeves and get to work in earnest, here are some broad-brush pointers real estate writers cite most often:

Make Sure You Work With the Right Agent

Before you even begin other preparations, you can make the most efficient use of your time by first being sure you have recruited the right agent. Aim for a professional who has earned a reputation for successful luxury home sales in Portland. A solid portfolio is the best demonstration that you’ve identified someone with the know-how (and the right contacts) that so often make the difference in luxury home sales.

Details […]

For any Portland resident who has ever been stymied by seemingly arbitrary (or, put another way, nutty) lowering of his or her all-important credit score, next month’s beginning rollout of Fair Isaac’s new credit score model should be welcome news. It will be known as “FICO 9”—and promises to correct a few of the previous model’s inadequacies.

Why now? It’s been six years since San Jose’s Fair Isaac Co. last tinkered with their credit score methodology. Hmmmm…it’s been six years, too since the financial crisis of 2007-08, which Wikipedia correctly describes as “a major global recession characterized by various systemic imbalances…including high levels of household debt…”

You might expect that the accuracy of many a Portland credit score could have been thrown off-kilter during the crisis—if not throughout the painfully slow recovery that’s followed. If, for example, someone is laid off, then suffers a sudden medical emergency, a formerly spotless credit history would be seriously distorted. Add in regulatory pressure on the banks, and many truly responsible individuals could suffer unfairly. As The Wall Street Journal summarized in a recent article: “Since the […]

“At the end of the day…” “The bottom line…” “When all is said and done…”

The final verdict on whether any activity is ultimately deemed a triumph comes down to how successfully it addresses future circumstances. It’s especially relevant when you find yourself at the outset of searching for a new Portland home.

That’s not always as easy as you might think. The pressures of the moment (especially when the change of residence is mandated by outside factors—like a job transfer or quickly approaching school registration deadline)—can loom so large that when you find a house that’s perfect for the family now, second thoughts about the distant future don’t even surface.

Better idea: before you even start, take a breath! The search for your new home in Portland will ultimately be much more successful when you start out with an unhurried appraisal of your family’s requirements, not only as they are in the immediate future, but further downstream as well.

To accomplish that, the first order of business is to make as good an approximation as you can of the likely longevity of your family’s […]

If you are preparing to sell your property in Portland this fall, it’s worth considering what the marketing angle will be: how to characterize it most accurately—and appealingly. It starts with the choice of wording for your home’s property type, which will set up prospective buyers’ expectations before they come upon the more detailed description.

Cottage or Bungalow This property description instantly conjures up images of a small, cozy, picturesque Portland property. Buyers attracted to a cottage are likely to appreciate features that indicate economy and efficiency. The marketing message can emphasize practicality and the charms of a compact, tidy, easily maintained living space.

Penthouse This type of condo or co-op once indicated position on the upper floor of a tall building, usually set back from the outer walls—but today, any top floor unit can be considered a penthouse. Buyers attracted to penthouse living are luxury-minded: in the market for the best of the best. Marketing materials should emphasize luxury additions and upscale neighborhood features: everything that sets the property above the crowd. If your penthouse has a great view, it might be […]

Owning rental homes in Portland may be a profitable venture, but sometimes the image of a landlord could use a little public relations boost. For instance, the cartoon version of a landlord is the opposite of pet-friendly. Lassie or Puff? Fuhgeddaboudit!

That parody landlord attitude might once have been pretty much on target—even in rental homes in Portland—because many landlords have traditionally been automatically against pet ownership in their local rental homes.

The legit reasons to exercise caution are real enough. Possible stains on carpets, scratched hardwood floors or doors, improperly disposed kitty litter clogging plumbing, dogs barking all day while the tenant is at work—all that can happen. Despite the bad press, though, today’s landlord is much more likely to recognize the benefits that argue for opening their rental homes to pet-doting tenants:

1. Reduced Vacancy Rates

The numbers are undeniable. There is the group of potential tenants with pets, and those without. When a rental is open to pets, the applicant pool includes…well, everyone! More prospective interested tenants decreases the likely downtime for the investment—and the difference hits the bottom line.

2. Higher Quality […]