Renting vs. Buying (Hint: buy!)

Posted on May 1, 2012 by The Get Moving Team 503 546 9955

Had enough with security deposits, roommates, and paying someone else’s mortgage? Making the decision to say adios to renting can be a scary one, but it doesn’t need to be! A colleague turned us on to this great chart and calculator detailing the savings a homeowner is able to make once they own. To check out the graph highlighting the savings made when buying- Click Here.

 

Once that has your wheels turning, use this calculator to see just what you’re paying in rent now, and what sort of savings YOU can look forward to if you buy- Click Here.

We would love to spend some time with you going over what these numbers mean for you in today’s market. With low home prices, and low interest rates, now is a great time for you or someone you love to take the plunge! We look forward to hearing from YOU. -Melody, Natalie & Stephanie

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Totally Awesome Total Market Overview

Posted on April 12, 2012 by The Get Moving Team 503 546 9955

Whether you are in the market to buy or sell- we think that this tidy little Total Market Overview is a GREAT way to see what the market is doing in your area. Below is the overview for Northeast Portland (one quick peek, and you will see that this area is on fire!). One huge thing to point out before you dive in to the numbers- INVENTORY! Low low low. Six months of inventory is considered a “balanced market”. Northeast Portland has an average inventory of 3.7 months! Low inventory and low interest rates mean increased demand and decreased supply.

click to enlarge

What does this mean for you? A great time to sell! And a great time to get a smoking deal purchasing a home, before inventory gets any lower.

For a full Total Market Overview, email Stephanie at Stephanie@getmoving.com. We would be happy to meet with you to discuss just what these numbers mean for you!

-Melody, Natalie & Stephanie

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Need more sun?

Posted on March 19, 2012 by The Get Moving Team 503 546 9955

Need more sun? Natural Light Skylights installed these solar tubes at my house. We are LOVING them! To brighten up your owndark spots, Call Mark Slick at Natural Light Skylights 503.245.7069. Priced at about $800 each. -Melody

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Record low interest rates, yes please!

Posted on December 7, 2011 by The Get Moving Team 503 546 9955

For weeks, interest rates for 30 year fixed rate mortgages have been hovering around 4%. Ask Melody if this is reason to celebrate, after entering the industry in the 80′s when rates were at (gulp!) 11%, and she may just slap you silly. Well, not really. But maybe. For those who may not know the significance of adding a percentage or two to your interest rate, consider this..

At the peak of the market in 2007, when folks were buying for top dollar, flipping, selling, buying, and sleeping real estate, rates for a 30 year fixed mortgage were as low as 6.27 in March, and as high as 6.96 in August. The numbers for 2011 are 4.34 and 5.26 respectively. So, what happens to your payment on a purchase of $200,000, $300,000, $400,000 with this change in rates, you ask? Quite a bit-

You buy a home for $200,000, put 10% down and finance $180,000. At the 2007 low of 6.27% (Source: HSHAssociates.com), your payment would be about $1,318.95. With this years low rate of 4.34% (Source: HSHAssociates.com. Some sources show even closer to 4.0%, but we will use this to be conservative), the payment would be $1,103.33. That is a difference of $215.62 a month ($2,587.44 a year!). Using the same considerations on a purchase of $400,000, with 10% down, and financing $360,000, at the low of 2007 the payments would have been about $2,637.93. With today’s rates, financing $360,000 would make the payment about $2,206.67. That is a difference of $431.26 a month ($5, 175.12 a year!). That is huge when you consider that difference is not money going to your principle!

We are interested in helping you not only find the home of your dreams, but also to make sure that you make a sound investment. We pride ourselves on developing long lasting relationships with our clients, and feel that it shows in the level of loyalty our clients show us. If you think you’re ready to take the plunge, or just want some more information on the market, give us a jingle! :)

-Melody, Natalie & Stephanie

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U.S. Moves Toward Home ‘Rentership Society,’ Morgan Stanley Says

Posted on December 2, 2011 by The Get Moving Team 503 546 9955

Since 2004, the U.S. has seen a significant decilne in homeownership rates. At a time when loans are tough than to secure and foreclosures continue to be a reality for many Americans, desire for rental options is on the rise. The face of the average American renter is changing, from young adults in apartments, to families looking for nice comfortable places in the suburbs to call home. Many people are seeing this as an opportunity to purchase long terms rentals.  To read more Morgan Stanley’s position on the shift towards a “rentorship society”, click here.

With an ornery stock market, low interest rates, an abundance of low priced short sale and bank owned homes, and rentals in high demand, we are finding that many of our clients are interested in purchasing rental properties. Interested in this venture? With years of experience managing our own rental properties, established relationships with property management companies, and a thorough understanding of the housing and rental markets, look no further than your Get Moving team to get you there.  

-Melody, Natalie & Stephanie

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Back to Basics

Posted on November 2, 2011 by The Get Moving Team 503 546 9955

With all of the gadgets and gizmos popping up daily, it is kind of nice to hear that some things are getting simpler. I’ll admit, my fancy phone has helped many a night finding places to dine and movies to see. However, I still long for my first Nokia cell phone that didn’t even have a camera (or -gasp- texting!).

So what does this (mini) shift towards a simpler life mean for American homes? According to the Wall Street Journal, people aren’t finding their money best spent on massive foyers and formal living rooms anymore. Insert large family rooms and more usuable space, and voila- money well spent on the areas of your home you spend the most time in. I like it!

For more on what is so “then” and what is the “now” head on over to the Wall Street Journal article here.

Stephanie

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Get The Most Money For Your Home

Posted on October 17, 2011 by The Get Moving Team 503 546 9955
Of course you are hoping to get top dollar for your home, and we hope so too. Fortunately, there are simple steps you can take to make your home appeal to the highest numer of buyers. We know it can be hard to hide your favorite sports memoribilia, or your ten favorite photos of the grandkids, but just remember that it is only temporary. Your efforts to create a blank slate will help buyers in imagining their lives taking place in your home. The sooner your homes sells, the sooner you will be in the new place you are aiming to get in to- and you can load it full of all of your favorite things :) Wondering what to do next? Read on for realtown.com’s  7 simple ways to get the most money for your home. Cheers! – Stephanie, Melody & Natalie  

7 Selling Tips to Get The Most Money For Your Home

 

 1. Photos Of Your Home Must Be The Very Best

Buyers and agents decide if they are going to look at a home based on the photos that they see online. Nine out of ten home buyers search for homes on the Internet. When the photos are not good the buyers don’t show up.   

The Get Moving Team is passionate about your home looking its absolute best the second it goes on the market!

The more good photos they see online the better.  On average, a minimum of 21 photos of your home will generate 4 times more leads than 6-10 photos. 

The best photos are those taken with a Digital SLR Camera, Ultra Wide-angle lens, and enhanced with special photographic software by someone who really knows how to photograph a home. 

2. Remove Your Personal Photos

I know your kids or grand kids are cute, but buyers need to see themselves living in the home and that does not happen when they see photos of “your” family throughout the home. 

3. Best to Keep Your Favorite Sports Teams and Religious Affiliations To Yourself.

We know you are a true fan of your favorite sports team, but don’t display their memorabilia in your home. Fans of an opposing team may reject your home immediately if they see reminders of the team they like to hate. Likewise, displaying religious art and objects will brand your home as being fit only for someone with those same beliefs. You do not want to limit your market. 

4. Remove The Clutter

When buyers see clutter, it may lead them to think that your home does not have enough storage for their needs.

Clutter detracts from a home, cheapens it, and is a turnoff to buyers. You are going to need to pack up or throw away all that “stuff” anyway when you move, so do it now. You would “detail” your car to get a better price if you wanted to sell it, why not “detail” you home? 

Tricks 5-7..

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(Not so) Short Sales

Posted on October 12, 2011 by The Get Moving Team 503 546 9955

The term “Short Sale” could not be more misleading. To those new to this term, you might think to yourself, “Here is a home in not so great condition. The price is lower than other properties I have seen. Sure, it needs a little work. I could offer full price, still have some money to clean it up, and I bet it would be a done deal!” We wish.

Short sale sold by Natalie September 2011

Yes, short sales are a way for you to find a great deal. Yes, you may have to put in a little work to get the home back in tip top shape. Yes, short sales are a real option for you as a buyer. But, you will have to be patient.

Short sale sold by Melody September 2011

So, the short and sweet explaination. Short sales are transactions that result in the bank taking less than the seller owes on the home. This makes the transaction extremely complicated as you now have the seller’s lender to try and satisfy, not just the seller (and your lender!). As you can imagine, the bank is not interested in losing money. The bank has a bottom line that they flat out will not except less than. Unless there has been a previous offer on the home that was accepted by the bank, there is no real way to know what that number is. After making an offer, you will often hear back from the seller promptly. Waiting for the bank’s consent, however, may prove to be one of your great life lessons in patience ;) In an effort to keep things short and sweet as promised, I will recommend you visit  here for a more detailed explaination of the short sale process.

Short sale sold by Natalie July 2011

Complicated stuff. But not at all impossible. We have closed short sales in a matter of weeks, and others have taken months. Understanding the process, and trusting that your agent is doing all that they can to help the process along (insert Get Moving gals here), is what will make the process enjoyable. Because after all, you are making one of the biggest and most important purchases of your life! Your home! And that is what keeps us all jazzed up :)

Happy Wednesday! – Stephanie, Melody & Natalie

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Appreciating Portland’s Population

Posted on October 6, 2011 by The Get Moving Team 503 546 9955

I once sat on a plane on my way home from New York. A quick stop to transfer planes in Atlanta, and I found myself sitting a few rows back from the one and only Little Richard.

I quickly learned that the man who had muscles spilling over on to my seat was Little Richard’s body guard. After chatting about Portland, Mr. Bodyguard asked what the Population of the Portland Metropolitan area was. After five years, and many nights questioning my right to claim I am a Portland native, I finally forgive myself for the awful answer I gave. “Oh, its pretty small. I think somewhere around 200,000.” Gawh! I am still mortified when I think about Mr. Bodyguard running around Portland and realizing how little that nice girl sitting next to him on the plane knew about her home town.

So now, I will attepmt to redeem myself.

There is no denying that Portland is growing. Who wouldn’t want to move to such a beautiful and affordable city? With a median home price of $249,002, home ownership is still within reach for everyone who desires to do so. And with Portland ranking in the top ten places to relocate, we better start to embrace the ever growing number of transplants. Its flattering, right? A little over an hour to the beach and the mountain, endless supply of cozy coffee shops and yummy food carts.. I’m sold!

So, just how big is Portland? Well, as of 2010 the city itself has a healthy 583,776 individuals, and a whopping  2,260,000 in the Portland Metropolitan area. Quite a bit higher than my original guess ;)

Happy Thursday!

Stephanie

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Creative ways to make your dreams of home ownership come true.

Posted on September 28, 2011 by The Get Moving Team 503 546 9955

Free money? Yes please! Check out some of the programs available for first time home buyers, and the like (haven’t owned real estate in the last three years? You are considered a first time buyer in the eyes of the free money gods!). Below you will find an outline of some of the programs out there that can assist you in making home ownership a possibility. From low interest rates, to cash grants that can be used as a down payment or closing costs, these are great things to look in to if you are thinking about embarking on the home buyin’ journey.

The Oregon Bond cash advantage program. If you make under a certain amount, you can qualify for a 3% “cash” advantage- 3% of purchase price as a cash down payment, or towards closing costs. Or you can opt for a lower rate and no cash. Read more.. 

You may be eligible for a Federal tax credit that can help you to recoup some of the interest you are paying on your mortgage. Less money spent on taxes, means more to spend on mortgage :) Read more.. 

There are other tax reducing programs, and you can find more information here.

Oregon Bankers Association has a program that can get first time buyers up to $2,000 towards closing or a down payment. Lender has to be a member of the Oregon Bankers Association. There are income requirements too- most of the programs require that you make 80% of the area median income, so for two people it is about $70-$85,000 a year. Read more.. 

Don’t see a program that fits your needs? Let us know!

Happy Wednesday!

Your Get Moving gals

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