I am soooo excited to announce a new member to our real estate team. With a strong background in sales and a sincere and keen intuitive sense to listen AND hear the client, we are excited to have him on board. He has several forte’s that will benefit our growing group but he is currently specifically assisting with: Read the rest of this entry »
The McDonald Group gets bigger! Welcome LARRY WILLIAMS!
March 2nd, 2010The McDonald Group Realtors named #7 for 2009! YAYYY! & Thank You!
March 2nd, 2010
So… out of over 300 Coldwell Banker Real Estate agents in the Portland / Vancouver area, Scott & I ranked #7 for Gross Commission Earned and earned the status designation of International Diamond Society! (whatever that means). For volume we placed #4 (ish) in the company and hit #1 for volume production in our east side office! We are SO excited to be in this industry and love the challenges & opportunities that our current market has presented us.
Nationwide OPEN HOUSE Event 4/10-11! Oregon participating, especially Estacada!
March 1st, 2010
April 10th & 11th is National Realtors Open House event! If you want to see what’s out there; doors will be open… all over Portland and metro areas!! I’m excited to say that these dates coincide with the Ultimate Open House event taking place April 10th-11th & April 17th & 18th! The timing of both events is perfect for last minute home shoppers looking to benefit from the tax credit (or rebate as I call it).
Check out today’s Bank Owned listings! Happy Valley Deals!
February 25th, 2010Here is today’s line up! There are some great deals on SE Hamilton in Happy Valley if you are okay with stairs. Ask me about the one Hamilton that’s not in this report; it’s priced even better! CLICK HERE for Today’s Bank owned!
Cool Link COMPLETELY Unrelated to Portland Real Estate! Check it out!
February 5th, 2010
Click on the link below to perform a “search by map” of newspapers around the world! VERY Cool!
Condos Becoming even more difficult to finance with FHA… oh GREAT!
February 5th, 2010
“Lender Tu” had this to say about recent lending changes concerning condo purchases:
Typical Short Sale Story- Limbo for Buyer & Seller
February 1st, 2010
Yep, this is a typical story. It’s amazing! I am always explaining these types of stories to buyers but it’s so hard to believe that the process is this awful! There are “some” circumstances that will allow for a smoother process but in most cases your chances of pulling off a short sale are minimal. To make the short sale process worse, I frequently see listing agents that don’t know what they’re doing in a normal transaction let alone a short sale. IF YOU ARE SELLING SHORT, MAKE SURE YOUR LISTING AGENT IS A SEASONED SHORT SALE AGENT! Anyhow, take a read at the Oregonian’s “Short Sale Leaves Homebuyers, Sellers in Limbo” . -Kristie McD. Your Portland, Oregon Realtor!
Check out this Ryan Olsen Home in Persimmon Golf Course- 1 of my FAVORITE homes! Bank owned!!!!
February 1st, 2010
The link below shows the 4 foreclosures that listed today (yes, only 4 to the usual 30), but in that small list is a jewel of a find, a Ryan Olsen home! Listed at about $390k…. take a look! It’s in bumpable status which means there is another offer but that other offer is contingent on their home selling so this lovely is still up for grabs! -Kristie McD.
TAKE ACTION NOW! IF YOU NEED TO USE FHA FINANCING…..
January 29th, 2010
TAKE ACTION NOW if you need to use FHA financing for your purchase or refinance!
FORBES: Portland, OR named 1 of Top Ten Cities to Go From Renting to Buying
January 24th, 2010
Forbes says that although Portland, Ore is not cheap for buyers, it is cheaper than normal. We keep sprawl in check which keeps home prices up and continues to keep home values protected better than other cities that have allowed too much sprawl and over build that brings home prices down. We frequently get out of state (and country) inquiries on real estate here and they are always surprised to see that Portland’s home market has faired very well compared to other markets around the country. Anyhow, read the article; it’s a very informative one! -Kristie McD. McDonald Group Realtors FORBES ARTICLE HERE
A Few Articles Re: interest rates rising & FHA tightening on loan standards
January 21st, 2010
Clients of ours forwarded the linked articles below to us for consideration; I’m passing along to you. I do expect FHA will continue to tighten and I do think interest rates will go up. For those of you thinking you want to wait for home prices to reduce, keep in mind that an increased interest rate may eat up any sale price savings and that if you are borderline qualified you may not be eligible for a loan a month from now. If you are a first time home buyer I do not recommend writing on short sales unless they already have a pre-approved amount acceptable to what you would want to pay. Chances are slim you would close in time for the credit and they waste alot of valuable shopping time. Here’s those articles:
Coldwell Banker CEO on Fox News: Market “what up”
January 21st, 2010Jim talks about the credit for not only the first time home buyers but the credit for the move-up buyer as well. Interest rates are expected to rise but Jim points out that even when they reach 6% they will still be better than the rates we saw in the 80’s! I love your glasses Jim! Very Portlandy! -Kristie McD.
See Foreclosures/ Bank Owned Homes Just Listed Today in the Portland Area~
January 21st, 2010
Interesting list today. Remember I post the REO properties almost daily on my Twitter account. Anyhow, we have a home in Persimmon here (very nice neighborhood in Gresham), a few homes (although overpriced) in Happy Valley, and of course our HUGE variety of broken down homes under $200k. There are certainly plenty of first time home buyers to pick those up out there right now! However the inner Portland Bungalow that everyone REALLY wants is in limited supply.
Wow! 61 Foreclosures Listed Today in the Portland Metro Area~
January 5th, 2010
It must be all those REO agents coming back to work and banks wanting to move inventory because 61 is ALOT; I usually see about 30. Anyhow, great finds in here if you are looking for West Linn, Beaverton, Gresham, Portland… you name it! The majority of these are first time home buyer or rental investment homes but definitely worth a browse. Many of these in this search are only price reductions, I do recognize alot of the properties in here. Let me know if you want to tour anything or have questions~! -Kristie McDonald
Home Warranty – Should I have one for my new home purchase?
January 2nd, 2010
Should I get a home warranty? Depends…. alot of agents would say no, however I am a strong believer under the right circumstances and would frequently say ”yes”. New construction no (if it’s a builder who will be staying in business long enough, the home is warrantied for 1 year already), a home passing it’s home inspection with flying colors maybe not, but a home that has been rented, is over 15 years old and a bit rough, or a house that has been purchased from a bank or as a short sale, yes.