Tu Phan is a lender we work with frequently, he’s the President of 
Premier Mortgage Group here in the Portland area and has offered to write a blog entry for us here and there about whats going on in lending, here is his very first entry!
Archive for the ‘Tips When Buying a Home’ Category
July 2009 RMLS Market Action Report & Commentary
Monday, August 17th, 2009The latest RMLS Market Action Report is out and posted on our site along with our commentary
/ summation of the numbers and comments on what we’re seeing in the market and how that is represented in the numbers. Additionally we blogged a while back about which homes are selling and why, a blurb about that in this month’s commentary as well as a link to an eye opening PDF; head over and take a look!
Have your own lender? A few questions to ask…
Friday, August 7th, 2009I want to first mention that there are a lot of really amazing and good lenders out there, but like any profession 
(Realtors included), there are some that give the bunch a bad name; avoid ending up with a problematic lender by asking them some basic questions. (more…)
June 2009 RMLS Market Action Report & Commentary
Friday, July 24th, 2009Boy have we been busy…The last RMLS market action report came out about a week ago and
I’m just now able to sit down and get my commentary and this blog entry in and the latest June 2009 RMLS Market Action Report shows why; the market is moving folks! We’re seeing lots of activity, lots of buyers, FHA in just about every transaction these days, seller paid closing costs in most as well and of course that first time home buyer tax credit. Things are a rollin’ however we are concerned that come the end of November we could see things come to a screeching halt. Check out the RMLS market action report and our commentary on it to find out why.
Investors & First Time Home Buyers Buying Homes with Converted Garage… BEWARE!
Tuesday, June 30th, 2009
Many of the homes in SE Portland have converted garages…. if you are buying a home with a converted garage request the seller provide or obtain a permit, if you are selling a home with a converted garage be prepared to have to get one.
Appraisal came in low? You’re not alone…
Wednesday, June 24th, 2009Back in the day of skyrocketing home sale prices between 2001 – 2006 the appraisal of a home you’re buying
(or selling) was of very little concern to buyers, Realtors, lenders etc because it almost seemed as though appraisers were asking the lenders “what do you need it to appraise for?” before doing the appraisal…no accusations here, but there was some funny business going on and it was one of many factors that encouraged the housing bubble to burst. Since then appraisers have completely reversed course and potentially to the detriment of the market.
May 2009 RMLS Market Action Report & Commentary
Monday, June 22nd, 2009The May 2009 RMLS Market Action Report was released a few days ago and being the busy season with a lot of transactions in 
escrow I just didn’t have the time to do my write up on it until today, but it’s there now! Indicators are basically what we’ve come to expect in this market, significant depreciation, -13% overall since this time last year, and high inventory though we did manage to shave 4/5′s of a month off that from 11 down to 10.2 months. Read our write up on the Portland Real Estate Market and from that page you can also download the full report.
Pending Home Sales up for 3 Months in a Row. Also a little Real Estate Advice.
Wednesday, June 17th, 2009
(No, that is not me in the picture). Below is a link to a recent article referencing the commonly heard of Lawrence Yun , NAR Chief Economist, stating that the housing market is improving. I can’t speak for other states or cities but I can tell you what we’re seeing in Portland. Homes under $250,000 that are in good condition and located in good areas (especially those in inner NE/SE) are moving. Homes priced under $185,000 are selling even better. In fact it’s become very competitive. Homes above the $300,000 aren’t moving nearly as fast and of course the higher the home price from there the longer to sell. My advice?
Interest rates climbing, doubtful we’ll see a return to sub-5% rates anytime soon
Tuesday, June 9th, 2009Interest rates are well over 5% now, roughly 5.3% last week now at 5.5% and still climbing. Yesterday in fact there were several rate increases 
throughout the day with some lenders stating their base rates are now at 5.75%. Several lenders we work with feel there could be another slight dip in rates later this year however that would jeopardize the tax credit for those of you in the market to take advantage of it, in other words waiting *might* get you a half point lower rate if those lenders are correct however it will cause you to miss the tax credit deadline to be closed on a home purchase.
$8,000 tax credit as a down payment? Sort of…read the fine print
Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009We just wanted to post on this real quick to clarify the recent news of the $8,000 tax credit as a down payment. 
HUD released this pre-maturely a few weeks back before realizing it broke their own rules, they revised / re-worded it and re-released it and now it’s official, you can use the $8,000 tax credit towards a down payment, closing costs or rate buy down. HOWEVER (notice, that’s a big however), whatever down payment is required for your particular loan program must come from your own funds not the $8,000 credit. In other words if you’re using FHA you still need to come up with the 3.5% down on your own, the tax credit cannot be used for that, but you can say put 7% down instead and that extra 3.5% can come from the tax credit.
Still waiting to buy a home? Your ship is sailing…
Thursday, May 28th, 2009
Economic growth on the horizon, housing moving again, recession coming to a close?
Thursday, May 21st, 2009A few weeks (months?) ago we began hearing news about a light at the end of the tunnel, a recovery, and it’s becoming 
louder and louder. Currently MSNBC.com, CNN.com, BBC.com and even front page of BusinessWeek a few weeks back put a spot light on the housing market in some of the hardest hit areas in the country citing “signs of life” as the housing market begins picking up pace again along with economic indicators pointing towards a bottom and a road to recovery.
April 2009 RMLS Market Action Report & Commentary
Friday, May 15th, 2009RMLS released the April 2009 Market Action Report yesterday, a day early – strange. Anywho, it’s out and our commentary 
on the numbers is available in the usual spot on our website under the RMLS Portland Market Action Report link. The numbers as they have been recently are mixed, some good, some not so good. Also, RMLS changed the report files once again, instead of having individual counties plus an all counties version as they recently changed to, they apparently changed it again and decided to discontinue the all counties report so only by county/area reports are available now. As such we will have the Portland & Vancouver market reports available on our site. Give it a read and download the report here.