Do you live in a city that embraces local artists? Portland Oregon is just such a place. This detail of a wall mural in the Alberta Arts District of Portland is just one of many shining examples. The display fosters a sense of community and also helps to curtail graffiti taggers. The Alberta Arts Districthas become very popular over the last several years. In the mid 1990's I worked with several Contractors who bought homes in the area to rehab and resale. Returning those old turn of the century homes to a new state of grandeur has been quite emotionally rewarding. And now that people are poring into the area it is really a joy to see.Don't lose out on your opportunity. Come to My_Real_Estate_MLS_Web_Site_for_Buyer's  and Let Your Next Home Find You. 12/23/2007

As an appraiser, I glean off as many public internet sites that I possibly can while not leaving the comfort of my desk.  I appreciate all the relevant information the cities and counties provide for us, but sometimes I think they may cross the line.  Our city/county site, portlandmaps.com enters everything from mug shots of criminals that live in your neighborhood to what sort of violations or complaints an owner has received about his property (including overgrown shrubs, vermin, cars in the yard, sewage in the basement, etc. ...). Recently portlandmaps started entering owner's name and addresses.   Did they cross the line?  I'm still on the fence as to how I feel about that... I mean, if they post a mug shot of all the sex offenders and where they live, why can't they put my name out... 12/22/2007

Depreciate That Real Estate, Or Else...  By Wayne B. Prunerhttp://www.yourhomeinportlandoregon.com/ Wayne's Portland Oregon Real Estate Blogwww.activerain.com/wayneprunerThis week at our sales meeting the subject of depreciation came up. It was suggested by someone present that you did not have to take depreciation on investment property if you do not want to.  I usually do not say much at these meeting unless I have something that adds to the conversation. Well that statement lit me up. Why would anyone not take advantage of depreciation? It increases your cash-flow. You are not a serious investor if you are not maximizing your cash flow.I have owned rental property for over 20 years, and depreciation is an important aspect of being a Landlord. Without depreciation in the early years t... 12/19/2007

Have Faith in Today's Mortgage LendersBy Wayne B. Prunerhttp://www.yourhomeinportlandoregon.com/ Wayne's Portland Oregon Real Estate Blogwww.activerain.com/wayneprunerMany potential home buyers I talk with are wondering if lenders can be trusted. Lenders have received much bad press and are accused of causing much of our current housing crisis. There have always been reputable, honest, and ethical lenders. Undoubtedly, there were ill-advised lending practices going on. The upshot of this crisis has put the industry under intense scrutiny and these practices and dishonest players have been exposed. The public is much more aware of the distinction between different types of mortgages and the abuses that took place. Lenders have taken painful measures to clean up their industry. The ones t... 12/17/2007

The one thing that remains constant in the field of Real Estate as well as in many other fields of endeavor is our desire and struggle to re-invent the wheel. Year after year we all analyze, scrutinize and tweak, sometimes shaking the very foundations of our core beliefs. Some of the modifications are good some not so much. Yet each and every attempted tweak leaves its impression. Throughout this struggle of change one thing remains fairly constant. That is the cost of doing business. Year after year technology helps us to do things in a more efficient manner. It helps us to grow, to reach out to more people in a shorter amount of time. The costs of these technologies comes with a price and once you begin to climb up  Technologys_Upward_Slippery_Slope there is no going back.Out of all o... 12/17/2007

Real Estate is Easy as PieBy Wayne B. Prunerhttp://www.yourhomeinportlandoregon.com/ Wayne's Portland Oregon area Real Estate blogwww.activerain.com/wayneprunerI was talking to a FSBO the other day and he said he did not need a Realtor because selling his house would be "Easy as Pie!" This is so wrong in so many ways. I took offense because it was an insult and a trivialization of my profession, but I held my tongue and made a quick exit.Not wanting to dwell on the negative aspects of this encounter, I got to wondering how did "Easy as Pie" originate? According to my wife, it's hard work to make a good pie and takes lots of practice and most of the morning. I believe her because she made several not so good attempts before she got it right. (If you are reading this dear, your pies are f... 12/16/2007

We recently staged a vacant home in Portland OR that had been lingering on the market for 7 months without a sale.  After the owners selected Room Solutions Staging to stage this investment property, it SOLD for full price in just 7 days (other photos are shown here on my previous blog post). This sale closed very quickly and when we destaged it this week, I was able to take more photos during daylight hours (don't you hate looking at dark windows in staging photos?) ~ here are a few more Before & After shots of this home. The sellers reported that previous viewers had complained that the master bedroom was too small ... however you can see it is actually quite large.  Staging helps potential buyers imagine the possibilities! 12/15/2007

According to the Oregonian 12/13/2007, Portland is the second bloggiest city in the nation. Austin Texas is number 1. The article lists many reasons why and many popular local blogs. I believe it is because Portlanders are generally very friendly and computer savvy. Unfortunately, my blog did not make the list!By Wayne B. Prunerhttp://www.yourhomeinportlandoregon.com/ Wayne's Portland Oregon area Real Estateblogwww.activerain.com/waynepruner 12/14/2007

These days, I hear a common lament from home sellers in the sluggish Portland, Oregon market:"It's been on the market for nine months with nary a nibble.  I cut the price three times, and it still hasn't sold."   Typically, the first thing sellers think about is reducing the price. That often doesn't work, because the price is not the problem. Consider the case of an income-constrained buyer. The income constraint may be imposed by lenders, who set maximum ratios of income to expenses, or the constraint may be self-imposed, based on what buyers believe they can afford.A better option is to pay points to reduce the rate on the buyer's mortgage, retaining the same sale price and loan amount. If the interest rate on the $200,000, 30-year, fixed-rate loan were reduced from 6.5 percent to 5.... 12/11/2007

Negotiating With Difficult PeopleBy Wayne B. Prunerhttp://www.yourhomeinportlandoregon.com/ Wayne's Portland Oregon area Real Estateblogwww.activerain.com/wayneprunerI had a meeting  with a seller the other day while his agent was present. My clients liked this house, but it was over-priced. The offers and counter-offers going back and forth were getting nowhere, so I requested a face to face meeting without my clients present. The agent was cordial and professional through all this, but I sensed she had an over-bearing seller.This guy was a bully right from the beginning. A real piece of work. He yelled, showed fits of anger, and his verbal abuse was meant to intimidate me. Basically, he was not a happy person. Kind of pitiful actually. Why did he act this way? Because difficult behavi... 12/11/2007

                                                                                                                                    While many of us in the AR class are familiar and fond of our classmate, Ms. Jennifer Bukaty, we never know our popularity outside of this institution.  I wanted to take a moment and let you all know of my friend, as she was recently contacted by Inman News.  That's right...Inman News found Ms. Bukaty through our Active Rain website and waited until they had a question that they would be able to ask her.  She is that good...if you have not yet read her writing, you should!So, when this issue of the "Mortgage Bailout" happened upon us, Jennifer was contacted for her opinion.  Knowing Jennifer as I do, and having spoken with her at length, I know that she is ... 12/07/2007

Beautifully Remodeled Multnomah Village Daylight Ranch.  In addition to its great location, home features lovely black walnut flrs, updated countertops, cabinets & lighting in the kitchen & baths, newly painted inside & out, cen. air, newer furnace & vinyl windows.  Huge lower level is light, bright & just remodeled.  Large private backyard w/ patio & cedar deck with mtn views. $415,000 Address:   9128 SW 40th Ave    City/ST:   Portland, OR   Zip Code:   97219   Location:   9128 SW 40th Ave, Portland OR   Property Type:   Single Family Home   New or Resale:   Resale    Square Footage:   2342   Bedrooms:   4   Bathrooms:   3   MLS#   7117676    For additional photos and details visit http//:www.TonyandLibby.comor call 1-800-395-1151 code 613 for 24 hr recorded information This listing is... 12/07/2007

This December brings, I believe, the 50th year of the Christmas ships to the Willamette River in Portland. 50-60 ships will travel down the Willamette River, starting at different points each night, then sail to a point, and then turn around.Click here to get a complete schedule of the Willamette River Christmas ships. This is fun for the whole family and the kids will talk it about it every night, wanting to go back! 12/02/2007

In a recent article of the  The_Oregonian_newspaper  and on the front page in large headlines " Portland Home prices stable while most cities slide."Of course the news is not all positive and the doom and gloom spin masters cannot help themselves as indicated in their sub Head line of " The Metro area is among five in the nation in which housing values escape decline, but 2008 could be different" Nothing like negative speculation to continue the hope of doom and gloom. Yet this was meant to be a positive article about Portland residential real estate appreciation rates. Below are twenty cities used in their survey from top to bottom:The Top 5 cities :Charlotte                      4.7%Seattle                         4.7%Portland                       2.2%                Atlanta         ... 12/01/2007

This vacant home in Portland OR was actively on the market for 7 months without a sale.  The sellers contacted Room Solutions Staging for a proposal, and we staged the property a week later. The listing agent held a brokers' tour and the house SOLD for full price only 8 days after staging!    This home was very modestly priced at $269,900.  Staging can help every home regardless of price point by adding interest, focal points, & color and allowing potential buyers to imagine how their furnishings might look in the space. In the end, we had a happy seller, relieved broker, satisfied stagers, and excited buyers! 11/30/2007

Portland Oregon: 5 Things To Do in DecemberBy Wayne B. Prunerhttp://www.yourhomeinportlandoregon.com/ Wayne's Portland Oregon Real Estate blogwww.activerain.com/wayneprunerThe Christmas Ship Parade - Christmas Ships Being an old Navy man, these are really boats, not ships. But I will go along with this because the ships represent the true spirit of the holidays. The amount of lights on these ships is staggering and beautiful and is a gift to the people of Portland from people with much good spirit in their hearts.Other Holidays light events:  Queen Anne Victorian Mansion - Queen Anne Victorian MansionThe Grotto's Christmas Festival of Lights - The GrottoWinter Wonderland at PIR - Portland International RacewayZooLights Festival - Oregon ZooPeacock Lane 2007 - Peacock LanePortland Farmer... 11/29/2007

The Portland Real Estate Market is one of the Best in the NationThe Oregonian on 11/28/2007 had a headline that was good news for Portland area homeowners. The article, Portland Home Prices Stable While Most Cities Slide, says that Portland is just one of five cites in the nation that saw a rise in home prices in Sep 2007 as compared to Sep 2006. The rise was 2.2%. Not great, but much better than losing value. Portland ranked #413 out of 427 cities in the rate of delinquencies for subprime loans.Some of the forces contributing to this increase are; people keep moving to this area, Portland has continued job growth, Portland was slow in joining the real estate boom, Portland has relatively few sub-prime loans, and Portland has the Urban Growth Boundary.Read the article. It's nice to see ... 11/29/2007

Coffee Time Common Grounds Coffee House   4321 SE Hawthorne || 503.236.4835 Java Vivace:  2287 NW Pettygrove || 503.228.3667 Grendel's:  729 E Burnside || 503.595.9550 Random Order Coffeehouse:  1800 NE Alberta || 503.331.1420 Parisi's:  4605 NE Fremont || 503.287.7444 Marsee Baking: 1625 SE Bybee Blvd || 503.232.0000 Anna Bananas:  1214 NW 21st Ave || 503.274.2559 Haven:  3551 SE Division || 503.236.6890 Boyd's Coffee:  404 SW 11th Ave || 503.226.2590 Morning Star Espresso:  510 SW 3rd Ave Ste 100 || 503.241.2401 Crema:  2728 SE Ankeny St || 503.234.0206 The Pied Cow:  3244 SE Belmont || 503.230.4866 Stump Town:  3377 SE Division || 503.230.7797 Wholesome Blends:  4615 NE Sandy || 503.281.2579 The Fresh Pot:  4001 N Mississippi || 503.284.8928 Ugly Mug Coffeehouse:  8017 SE 13th Ave ||... 11/29/2007

Local Dessert Spots Parisi's: 4605 NE Fremont #101 || 503.287.7477 Palios: 1996 SE Ladd Ave || 503.232.9412 Staccato Gelato: 232 NE 28th Ave || 503.231.7100 Scooter's: 3312 SE Belmont St || 503.235.0032 PIX Patisserie: 3402 SE Division || 503.232.4407 Voodoo Doughnuts: 22 SW 3rd Ave || 503.241.4704Mio Gelato: 25 NW 11th Ave || 503.226.8002Roux: 1700 N Killingsworth || 503.285.1200St.Cupcake: 407 NW 17th Ave || 503.473.8760 11/29/2007

Some of my favorite local restaurants Portofino: 8075 SE 13th Ave ||  503.234.8259Veritable Quandary: 1220 SW 1st Ave || 503.227.7342The Hedge House: 3412 SE Division || 503.235.2215Geraldi's Renaissance: 344 NE 28th Ave || 503.236.8165The Kennedy School: 5736 NE 33rd Ave || 503.249.3983Lucky Lab: 915 SE Hawthorne Blvd. || 503.236.3555Henry's Cafe: 2508 SE Clinton || 503.236.8707Pambiche: 2811 NE Glisan || 503.233.0511Navarre: 10 NE 28th Ave || 503.232.3555 11/29/2007