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2021 Market Report
Introduction & Summary Hello, Portland Metro Residents! Welcome to your 2021 Market Report. I am not a fan of bar graphs or pie charts until we start talking money and value. It is up to us to ensure we manage our finances and see that all of our assets achieve maximum benefit in the long run. Here it is in plain English! 2020 in review As if you need a reminder, together, we’ve endured a global pandemic, and to some overwhelming loss. Individuals and families lost loved ones, businesses, jobs, and time together. We’ve experienced high profile and devastating social injustice followed by highly destructive protests. Many have experienced sweeping…
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Christmas Lighting & Decoration Contest
The year 2020 proved to be a tough year for all of us! My concern is for the youth in our community. Kids have been isolated away from their friends and teachers at school. In many cases, they’ve experienced restrictions from interaction with extended family members. This has eliminated the benefits of many mentoring relationships, caused students and families to miss commemorative and milestone experiences, and the loss of opportunities for practical experiences and skill development. There are trade offs. Not every result is negative. There are many positive outcomes to the havoc wreaking pandemic. In retrospect, many will find their silver lining. This season, I’d like to give kids…
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Guide to Garage Sale Success!
Have you ever gone out and bought something you know you have, but couldn’t locate? I help clients declutter their homes and businesses in the Portland Metro Area and the San Francisco Bay Area. It excites me to know I helped someone profit over a weekend by unloading the unused clutter controlling their environment! I like to give my clients better control over their time and energy by eliminating time wasting chachkies and space monopolizers. Also, I’ve pulled in over $1800 in a one day garage sale! In some instances, the proceeds from client’s sales fully compensate me to organize their entire environment AND their life! That’s right, by selling…
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SW WA Market Report
Clark County, Washington Home Values – August 2020 This Clark County Home Values Report provides Southwest Washington sellers, buyers and investors a monthly update on the current real estate market conditions. If this is your first visit, welcome! Educating my clients and visitors is one of the ways I enjoy giving back to our community. It’s valuable if you are planning, thinking about selling, making a purchase, or investing in local real estate to build wealth. As you peruse this blog, there will be resources either on my site, or on sites I trust. I will arm you with as much information as I can provide so you will enjoy…
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Real Estate Infrastructure? Should I Care?
Smart Home Buyer’s Planning Guide – Vol. 2 Infrastructure is not to be confused with amenities. Those home features will be addressed in another volume of the “Smart Home Buyer’s Planning Guide.” Don’t fret! You can find a separate link to each new volume which will be posted in the right hand column. Introduction Infrastructure considerations are often overlooked by most buyers, sellers, and missed entirely by most brokers! Why would a buyer expect to be informed of major concerns outside the parameters of the condition of the home. Well, brokers don’t have a stake in the purchase beyond their commission, and many brokers I have asked say that it…
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2 Must Do Real Estate Seller Pricing Strategies Explained
Smart Home Seller’s Planning Guide – Vol. 2 Automated valuation Models (AVMs) Sellers like to perform their own research. The question is, why would a bank hire a certified appraiser if they could walk over to their computer and get your home’s value by typing in your address? On occasion AVMs can give you a ballpark range, however, don’t put too much stock in what you are seeing. Unfortunately, the algorithms do not take into consideration many of the 99 unseen factors such as noise from the train tracks the next street over, the neighbor with 15 cats across the street, the proximity of main power lines, or your magazine…
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10 Character Traits in a Seller’s Real Estate Broker
Smart Home Seller’s Planning Guide – Vol. 1 Selecting the Right Broker I would like to go on the record here. I want to be clear. I do NOT believe it is in seller’s or buyer’s best interest to do business with brokers that “specialize” strictly in one side of the transaction or the other. Why? Please check back soon, I will address that in an upcoming post and place the link here. Whether you have chosen a broker to work with, or you are just now beginning your interviews for a broker, please continue reading. If you have worked with your broker in a prior transaction the most important…
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10 Character Traits in a Buyer’s Real Estate Broker
Smart Home Buyer’s Planning Guide – Volume 1 Selecting the Right Broker I would like to go on the record here. I want to be clear. I do NOT believe it is in seller’s or buyer’s best interest to do business with brokers who “specialize” strictly in one side of the transaction or the other. Why? Please check back soon, I will address that in an upcoming post and place the link here. Interviewing Buyer’s Brokers Whether you have chosen a broker to work with, or you are just now beginning your interviews for a buyer’s broker, please continue reading. If you have worked with your broker in a prior…
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6 Pros to Consult Before Making Real Estate Decisions
If you are a buyer, seller, or novice investor reading this, it is obvious, you are a planner! You are a firm believer in research. Influence is NOT easy to achieve with you. Understandable! I am definitely NOT easy to convince either. For this reason, I drafted the “Smart Home Buyer’s Planning Guide” and the “Smart Home Seller’s Planning Guide” to help you develop a general awareness of common and noteworthy concerns and pitfalls as you aspire to maximize your return, or make a wise home investment. Both sides will find this information very useful no matter if it’s your first home, maybe you are upgrading to a larger home…