This is a Great Market we are in. I love this kind of market. It is the kind of market that Agent's with strong real estate sales backgrounds can excel in. Marketing agent's don't depend on a Buyer's Market or a Seller's Market.Let's face it. When the Market is Hot like it has been for the past several years, you basically only had to be a WBB (warm breathing body) to do the job. Thats right no skills, just a pleasant personality would in many cases get you through the day.Folks! For most of us, Those Days Are Gone ! Hallelujah ! It is time for Marketing Agent's to step to the front. Are you that Agent? NO. Want to be? Everything you need, every skill, every tool, every possible technique you will ever need to become a Top Marketing Agent is right here. That's right! Right here in front... 05/20/2007

How Prepared are You as a Real Estate Agent? Do you carry with you the necessary tools do you your job? We never know in this business when the need may arise and an opportunity may be lost. I will give you an example.On a damp Tuesday Morninga group of us were looking at all the new vacant land properties just outside of the city limits. Most of the parcels were fairly small and easy to get to. As we made our way up the single car road towards the 1/2 acre of ground a property coincidentally listed just the night before by one of the agents in our group, the caravan came to a sudden stop. Being the 5th or so car back it took me a while to make my way up the rain soaked slippery cart path. When I got to where the first car had stopped the group was forming and looking across a small lan... 05/16/2007

This last year for me has seen the replacement of much of the Technology that I use in Real Estate for my own personal office. I detailed the account of one of those purchases in a post Deal_or_no_Deal  about the purchase of a Toshiba  Laptop computer. The Toshiba has really worked out well and I am as pleased as punch that I made the purchase. In fact that the Toshiba Laptop computer has already paid for itself many times over. The first time as related in the post The_New_Laptop_Pays_Off . In the subsequent dialogue of comments that followed that post  Ardell_DellaLoggia   asked "How did you print the offer?"  I followed that post a few days later with I_Am_Truly_Mobile  where I discussed the portable HP printer an HP_460  and a fabulous Neat_Receipts_portable_scanner   from  Staples ... 05/16/2007

OK folks,I'll keep this short and sweet.  I'm looking for several new escrow agents and assistants to bring into our company.  We have several offices in the Portland Metro area (Lake O, Lloyd Center,Washington Square,Tanasbourne).  New offices coming soon too.If you are, or know a good escrow officer that is looking for a better opportunity to grow their business or maybe you're an assistant that is ready to take on building a new desk but being held back at your current position, let me know.  I'd love to chat with you and get you in touch with the people you need to get in touch with.It's hard to find good escrow people these days.  The people that are good, are usually a little reluctant to make the move.  I'll be the first to agree, it is a scary decision.  But, with a culture like... 05/16/2007

  Mothers Day    May 2007 For all the wonderful women who have contributed so much to our community here on Activerain. I wish you all a very Happy Mother's Day. Be sure to treat yourself. Kick Back and Relax. Take that Lesiurely Bath . Do something Special for yourself Like a Massage, or a Steam Bath. But by all means take time to Smell the Roses!  05/13/2007

                                                 Magic Johnson Moves Next-door According to a recent article in the Oregonian written by Ryan Frank on Wednesday May 09,2007 as part of a 14-yer effort to refurbish Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard may be anchored by Magic Johnson and his fitness center. Read more about the Story Here .The City's Portland Development Commission, see PDC_report, is due to vote on a deal to bring a 24 Hour Fitness Magic Johnson Sport Club to MLK at Alberta Street and at the head of the Alberta Arts District. For more news on the PDC  and other business proposals please follow the link. Be sure as well to view the Map.Property values have been on a steady rise in the area for the past 14 years as renovation and rehab projects have introduced gentrif... 05/12/2007

Buyers Remorse in Portland OregonBy Wayne B. Prunerhttp://www.yourhomeinportlandoregon.com/ Wayne's Portland Oregon area Real Estate blogwww.activerain.com/wayneprunerI received a call today from past clients, or more correctly, a couple I counseled who never became clients. I talked to them about three years ago about buying a house and never heard from them again. This call was not about happy news.It's never been easier to qualify for a loan, sometimes too easy.  Just because a mortgage banker will give you money doesn't necessarily mean you should take the money.This couple would qualify for a zero down, sub-prime loan, barely. They were soon to be married, planning to have a family and decided on buying a house. Everything was exciting and rosy for them. Then they met me and my pra... 05/11/2007

Dryer Balcony, Deck, or PatioWasherMicrowave Portland, OR Completely Remodeled 3 Bdrm Single Family House offered at $267,900 Year Built 1951 Sq Footage 1,140 Bedrooms 3 Bathrooms 1 full, 0 partial Floors 1 Parking Unspecified Lot Size 5,600 sqft HOA/Maint $0 per month DESCRIPTION Beautifully remodeled classic mid-century home. Refinished original hdwd floors, new vinyl windows, fresh paint in & out, updated fixtures & lighting, new large deck for summer entertaining. New kitchen has maple cabs, slab granite countertops, gorgeous tile floor. All appliances incl fridge, washer & dryer. Close to shopping, restaurants, entertainment & more. This is a "10!"           Equal Opportunity Housing Posted: May 11, 2007, 11:08am PDT                                                             05/11/2007

This morning while surfing through the posts, I came across a post by Joe_Harris titled Why_Are_Buyer's_Afraid. It is an interesting question Joe Poses about Buyer's and their seeming reluctance to purchase when in Joe's area prices are down.The very heart of Joe's question is to wonder why Buyer's are missing what has always been Real Estate Investors call to action. That of Buy Low and Sell High. But do Buyer's always do what is right for them? Do they always do what Investors would consider to be sound business advice. For that matter do Real Estate Investors always follow their own advice? Or do they like most of us follow a path that is ruled by emotion rather than sound business principles.I have some what of a Historical perspective on this phenomenon. For the rest of the story p... 05/11/2007

Portland Oregon: 5 Things To Do in JuneBy Wayne B. Prunerhttp://www.yourhomeinportlandoregon.com/ Wayne's Portland Oregon area Real Estate blogwww.activerain.com/wayneprunerPortland Rose Festival - One of Portland's signature events, is celebrating its' 100th year starting May 31 and ending June 10. This event features a parade, amusement park rides, family entertainment, and scores of different food booths. Rose Festival AssociationPortland Rose Festival Grand Floral Parade - This is a huge celebration that is uniquely Portland. Awe-inspiring all-floral float entries pay tribute to Rose Festival history, incorporating re-creations of some of the best floats of the last century. Starts June 9 at 10 AM.The annual Rose Cup Race, the oldest amateur road-racing event west of the Mississippi... 05/10/2007

Have you had Enough? Fed Up , sick and tired, back against the wall? If this Internet thing is so great then why can't I find anything. I mean come on.... Sure Google tells me for the search term real estate there are over 260,000,000 pages to choose from. Page one has only 10 results.Well that's not to bad. So if the page I am looking for in # 257,000,000 it will only take me 16,062,500 minutes to find it. So what if I do not have the time to look for the next 31.7 years to look for this page? You probably might need a few more search terms. But even if you were to have the perfect search terms it is still a needle in the haystack search. I don't know about you, but those are just to long of odds.What if though you could find more for what your looking for with out all those long drear... 05/09/2007

It seems like only a day or two ago that I started Blogging. Well I guess it was a day or more cause my first blog post was written on Feb. 03/2007. I had made the decision to begin blogging some 6 months earlier. At that time my web site provider had said that they were in the process of creating a blog for the web site. I waited. And I waited. One day out of the blue I stopped waiting. I googled blogging and Here I am some 3 months later writing my 100th post with a Point total over 40,000 and 14 featured posts. I never would have dreamed that I had so much to say. My Featured PostsFeb_17_Technology_The_Upward_Slippery_Slope Feb_24_The_Underdog_Scores_Big_A_Lesson_In_Life Feb_26_With_Strength_of_Conviction_I_Asked_"When_Are_You_Selling_Your_Home?" Feb_28_Was_That_a_Presentation_or_Was... 05/06/2007

 Late last year I was working with an investor who wanted to get into the fixer properties and fix them up and sell them for a profit. I advised against one purchase and he said "No,I can make it work!" The problem was that he was buying a property for $189,000 and the most expensive home in the area was $212,000. He wanted to buy this property and put $30,000 in to it and then sell it for aprofit at $250,000. What had happened is that the property needed closer to $34,000 for repairs making the property a total cost to him $223,000. Then when he went to sell it nobody wanted to buy it at $250,000 when they could buy ahome next door for $210,000. He had made the home over priced for the neighborhood. He ended up having to sell the property for $229,000 and then had to lower another $2,0... 05/05/2007

If you're considering a move to Portland, Oregon....you will want to call Herb Hamilton at Re/Max Preferred Properties. Herb Hamilton is a great guy with 18+ years of experience in real estate and the Portland Oregon area markets. Herb has an abundance of information to share as evidenced by three websites, one for buyers, one for sellers and yet another for investors. Herb works primarily within the Portland Oregon inner metro areas and has been around long enough to have observed many market changes and conditions. In short, Herb knows Portland. Whether looking to move up, out or for your next investment, trust Herb to find the right deal for you. Buying or selling real estate, Herb also has a blog site offering excellent information for anyone interested in real estate. All agents ar... 05/05/2007

Herb Hamilton is an outstanding real estate agent in Portland, Oregon.  He is a real estate Broker with RE/MAX Preferred Inc. Realtors and is the author of the "Portland Flips Real Estate Blog".His website contains much valuable information on Portland Oregon Real Estate.  On his site you can register and receive Real Estate Searches on House Hunt Portland.He has posted much useful information on Fixers, Flips, and Rehabs.If you are a seller you must read his article on Top Ten Must Ask Questions before listing you home.For mortgage rate information and many other real estate topics click on Herb's Website.Herb is active with a number of associations, among them the ActiveRain Real Estate Network.  You can see Herb's profile on ActiveRain.When you are in need of real estate services in ... 05/04/2007

Ever wonder how The Top Producers stay on Top? We all struggle from time to time but one thing that Keeps Top Producers on Top is a consistent strategy. Although from Agent to Agent techniques very, you will find at the very heart of each and every Top Producer these core group of simple strategies that YOU can apply.                                  Top Producers Ten Techniques to Greatness Attitude: Attitude is key to having a successful day. Routine will help establish a great day. A good breakfast, Positive affirmations, A daily planner filled with scheduled activities and events, A mirror to reflect in while on the telephone. A positive attitude it will help you excel. A negative one will tear you down. Avoid meetings and conversations with negative people. Work only with People yo... 05/03/2007

Portland Oregon sometimes called Bridge Town due to all of the bridges that cross the Willamette River separating East Portland from West Portland. Nestled between Mt._Tabor  and the Willamette River on the East side is Beautiful Laurelhurst Park and Neighborhood.Laurelhurst is one of Portland's premier neighborhoods with elegant homes on beautiful tree lined streets and was once home to many of Portland's Early day Lumber Barron's.  City Neighborhood map provided by     Portland Online.             Above Gateway to Laurelhurst Park.            In Center of Laurelhurst Roundabout is Statue of Joan of Arc.     Homes above are a tribute to the beauty and grace of Laurelhurst Neighborhood in Portland Oregon. Herb Hamilton is a Real Estate Broker with RE/MAX Preferred Inc. Realtors working ... 05/01/2007

So maybe you are or maybe your not Buying into all of the Media Hype about the Real Estate Market. Perhaps the Market where you are at is Out right Flat! Maybe your doing Okay. I would doubt though that there are many of us that could say that they have to much business.So what is The Solution to get out of a slump or to enhance the business your already doing? What I have known for years and you I will bet have heard at least once and more than likely ofen in your career. Go back to Work! Thats right, that dirty 4 letter word WORK! What is Work? In Real Estate it is simply Prospecting. Principally there are 3 levels of prospectingTraditional Prospecting Methods.Geographic Farm. If you have a farm of say 300 People and you Knock on their door or send them something in the mail or in som... 05/01/2007

 This is a story of a mom and dad that needed to figure out housing for their son,who was about to go to college. While they were doing their taxes with their accountant, he made a suggestion to them that over the next four years made them over $120,000.Their accountant suggested they have their son buy a fixer on campus and they co-sign on the loan. Then have the son fix it up and sell it in two years without capital gains, because he had lived there two of the past 5 years. The son and dad found a fixer on property for $104,000 and over the next two years while at college, the son fixed up the property. With appreciation in the area, he made the property worth $164,000.Then the son sold the property and he and his dad found another fixer property for $119,000. For the next two years h... 04/30/2007

What's your credit score? By Wayne B. Prunerhttp://www.yourhomeinportlandoregon.com/ Wayne's Portland Oregon area Real Estate blogwww.activerain.com/wayneprunerA FICO score is based on your credit history and indicates whether you are a good credit risk or not. This score is very important when buying real estate and is increasingly being used in other areas, such as; employee hiring, insurance quotes, and rental applications. It is important to understand your score and how to properly manage your spending and payment patterns to keep this score as high as you can.Most often, FICO scores, which range from a low of 300 to a perfect 850, help lenders determine if you qualify for a mortgage and how high of an interest rate you will be paying. FICO scores are produced by software developed... 04/29/2007