When’s the last time you heard of someone losing their home because an unsatisfied heir of a previous owner laid claim to it? You probably haven’t because of title insurance, an often-overlooked component of real estate transactions. In Oregon, title insurance represents a lion’s share of the average home seller’s closing costs, but home buyers have to buy a policy, too. But let’s start with the most frequently asked question our real estate agents are asked about title insurance: What exactly is it? What is Title Insurance? A “title” refers to the legal right to ownership; it’s an abstract concept and different from a “deed”. With a deed, you just have a piece of paper stating ownership, which is pretty...
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Who Pays for Title Insurance? Oregon Closing Costs
September 21, 2020
When’s the last time you heard of someone losing their home because an unsatisfied heir of a previous owner laid claim to it? You probably haven’t because of title insurance, an often-overlooked component of real estate transactions. In Oregon, title insurance represents a lion’s share of the average home seller’s closing costs, but home buyers have to buy a policy, too. But let’s start with the most frequently asked question our real estate agents are asked about title insurance: What exactly is it? What is Title Insurance? A “title” refers to the legal right to ownership; it’s an abstract concept and different from a “deed”. With a deed, you just have a piece of paper stating ownership, which is pretty...
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The Portland real estate rental market was pretty eventful for rental owners in Portland in 2020. For long-term rental/investment property owners, the contentious FAIR ordinance went into effect city-wide in March, but was soon overshadowed by COVID and the subsequent ban on evictions. Short-term property owners saw a dip in bookings as well, but the situation resolved itself more quickly. Let’s review what the changes were for rental owners in the Portland real estate market this year, and what you need to do to be a successful rental owner in Portland in 2021 and beyond. Before we get started, we should say that we are not lawyers and that this blog post is not intended to be a complete guide...
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Portland Rental Law: What Landlords should Know in 2021
September 18, 2020
The Portland real estate rental market was pretty eventful for rental owners in Portland in 2020. For long-term rental/investment property owners, the contentious FAIR ordinance went into effect city-wide in March, but was soon overshadowed by COVID and the subsequent ban on evictions. Short-term property owners saw a dip in bookings as well, but the situation resolved itself more quickly. Let’s review what the changes were for rental owners in the Portland real estate market this year, and what you need to do to be a successful rental owner in Portland in 2021 and beyond. Before we get started, we should say that we are not lawyers and that this blog post is not intended to be a complete guide...
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As a real estate agent, it’s hard for me to name just one thing that sellers MUST do before they list their home for sale. But getting professional photographs of the home is pretty high up on the list. There’s just no arguing with the facts: A well photographed home is a home that sells more quickly, and often for more money. Professional vs. Non-professional Photos Let’s make a distinction between standard, camera-phone photos and professional photography. The pictures that most real estate agents take are simply inadequate for accurately displaying a home online. Even though high-megapixel smartphone cameras are pretty nice these days, they’re not good enough to replicate professional photography. Professional photography isn’t just about the high-end camera,...
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Professional Real Estate Photography Sells Homes
September 14, 2020
As a real estate agent, it’s hard for me to name just one thing that sellers MUST do before they list their home for sale. But getting professional photographs of the home is pretty high up on the list. There’s just no arguing with the facts: A well photographed home is a home that sells more quickly, and often for more money. Professional vs. Non-professional Photos Let’s make a distinction between standard, camera-phone photos and professional photography. The pictures that most real estate agents take are simply inadequate for accurately displaying a home online. Even though high-megapixel smartphone cameras are pretty nice these days, they’re not good enough to replicate professional photography. Professional photography isn’t just about the high-end camera,...
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The seller pays for the title insurance closing cost. A home seller has to pay for the title insurance cost, title insurance being that policy purchased to protect the buyer from a false or hidden seller. Title insurance covers the passing of ownership to the buyer and by Oregon state law, is paid for by the seller. Title insurance rates change, but a rough estimate for today is about $1350 for a $500,000 home. The price goes down if the home sales price is less and up if it is more. It is my understanding based on industry experience that this title insurance cost cannot be passed on to the buyer. The seller pays for half of the escrow closing...
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How much are Sellers’ Closing Costs to Sell a Home in Oregon?
September 11, 2020
The seller pays for the title insurance closing cost. A home seller has to pay for the title insurance cost, title insurance being that policy purchased to protect the buyer from a false or hidden seller. Title insurance covers the passing of ownership to the buyer and by Oregon state law, is paid for by the seller. Title insurance rates change, but a rough estimate for today is about $1350 for a $500,000 home. The price goes down if the home sales price is less and up if it is more. It is my understanding based on industry experience that this title insurance cost cannot be passed on to the buyer. The seller pays for half of the escrow closing...
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The past decade has seen a move away from carpeting and toward easy-to-clean, hard-surface flooring. In particular, hardwood flooring is huge in 2020, and products that mimic the look (and sometimes the feel) of hardwood floors are a close second. New advances in graphic tiles, vinyl and engineered lumber have embraced the wood-look trend, but are these products the safe and green options that buyers are looking for? Let’s take a look at this year’s Top 5 flooring materials, and how they stack up for your home value. Genuine Wood Portland, like many places in the Pacific Northwest, has a long-term love affair with wood building materials. Hardwood floors are the basic definition of a classic Portland home, no matter...
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Top 5 Flooring Choices – Portland 2020
September 7, 2020
The past decade has seen a move away from carpeting and toward easy-to-clean, hard-surface flooring. In particular, hardwood flooring is huge in 2020, and products that mimic the look (and sometimes the feel) of hardwood floors are a close second. New advances in graphic tiles, vinyl and engineered lumber have embraced the wood-look trend, but are these products the safe and green options that buyers are looking for? Let’s take a look at this year’s Top 5 flooring materials, and how they stack up for your home value. Genuine Wood Portland, like many places in the Pacific Northwest, has a long-term love affair with wood building materials. Hardwood floors are the basic definition of a classic Portland home, no matter...
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Going through the escrow process can be a bit like an obstacle course: You pay to get in, and then there are a lot of hoops to jump through before you end up closing on your home! A good real estate agent can help you avoid the pitfalls. In this article we’ll attempt to give you a preview of the escrow process and associated costs. So what is escrow? According to Investopedia, “Escrow is a legal concept describing a financial instrument whereby an asset or escrow money is held by a third party on behalf of two other parties that are in the process of completing a transaction.” That’s about as clear as mud so let’s break it down! Basically, escrow is the...
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What is Real Estate Escrow and How Much is It?
September 4, 2020
Going through the escrow process can be a bit like an obstacle course: You pay to get in, and then there are a lot of hoops to jump through before you end up closing on your home! A good real estate agent can help you avoid the pitfalls. In this article we’ll attempt to give you a preview of the escrow process and associated costs. So what is escrow? According to Investopedia, “Escrow is a legal concept describing a financial instrument whereby an asset or escrow money is held by a third party on behalf of two other parties that are in the process of completing a transaction.” That’s about as clear as mud so let’s break it down! Basically, escrow is the...
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2020 Real Estate Market Update. You’re getting ready to sell your home and you wonder, should I move out and vacate the property for the real estate market, or should I stay and not worry about it? Or let’s say you’re getting ready to sell your investment property with tenant inside. Should you wait until they leave to put it on the real estate market, or is it better to sell with a tenant inside? A lot of articles we write might have a 10% – 15% impact on selling a home, such as picking the right time of year to buy or sell. Even a 10% difference in being able to sell a home is huge. But occupancy, who...
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What Sells a Home: Vacant, Seller, or Tenant Occupied?
September 1, 2020
2020 Real Estate Market Update. You’re getting ready to sell your home and you wonder, should I move out and vacate the property for the real estate market, or should I stay and not worry about it? Or let’s say you’re getting ready to sell your investment property with tenant inside. Should you wait until they leave to put it on the real estate market, or is it better to sell with a tenant inside? A lot of articles we write might have a 10% – 15% impact on selling a home, such as picking the right time of year to buy or sell. Even a 10% difference in being able to sell a home is huge. But occupancy, who...
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A good roof is something we take for granted until a big storm comes through or it’s time for a replacement. That’s why we’re bringing you our unbiased, real-estate-agent-approved list of the Top 5 roofing materials in Portland, and the pros and cons of each. Except where noted, pricing information comes from Home Advisor, per “square” of roofing which covers 100 square feet. This doesn’t include the cost of installation. Wood (Cedar) Shake Roofing in Portland Cedar is the most common type of wood used for roofing in North America. Cedar shakes (the term for cedar shingles cut for roof application) look beautiful and natural, but come with some drawbacks. Cedar shake roofing Pros: It’s a natural look with great curb...
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Pros and Cons of Top 5 Portland Roof Types
August 31, 2020
A good roof is something we take for granted until a big storm comes through or it’s time for a replacement. That’s why we’re bringing you our unbiased, real-estate-agent-approved list of the Top 5 roofing materials in Portland, and the pros and cons of each. Except where noted, pricing information comes from Home Advisor, per “square” of roofing which covers 100 square feet. This doesn’t include the cost of installation. Wood (Cedar) Shake Roofing in Portland Cedar is the most common type of wood used for roofing in North America. Cedar shakes (the term for cedar shingles cut for roof application) look beautiful and natural, but come with some drawbacks. Cedar shake roofing Pros: It’s a natural look with great curb...
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The MAX (short for Metropolitan Area Express) is the only light rail system in Oregon and the fourth-busiest in the country, after systems in LA, Boston and San Fransisco. The service, run by TriMet, hopes to gain funding to expand MAX service into Tigard and Tualatin in 2020. This year also brings fresh challenges in maintaining ridership and safety. We’ll look at some 2020 updates for the MAX, but first, a little background on the trains that are ubiquitous across Portland. MAX Quick Facts 60 miles of rails run the MAX light rail from Hillsboro to Gresham; Portland Airport to Milwaukie and just about everywhere in between. It has five color-coded lines (blue, green, orange, red, yellow) and 94 stations...
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Portland’s MAX Light Rail: Where’s it going in 2020?
August 28, 2020
The MAX (short for Metropolitan Area Express) is the only light rail system in Oregon and the fourth-busiest in the country, after systems in LA, Boston and San Fransisco. The service, run by TriMet, hopes to gain funding to expand MAX service into Tigard and Tualatin in 2020. This year also brings fresh challenges in maintaining ridership and safety. We’ll look at some 2020 updates for the MAX, but first, a little background on the trains that are ubiquitous across Portland. MAX Quick Facts 60 miles of rails run the MAX light rail from Hillsboro to Gresham; Portland Airport to Milwaukie and just about everywhere in between. It has five color-coded lines (blue, green, orange, red, yellow) and 94 stations...
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The 2021 Portland real estate market is full of uncertainty, but we’ve experienced enough of the post COVID19 housing market to have some confidence in creating a solid forecast. We will follow up with a second housing market projection in Jan. 2021, but this should be a good guide to any home buyer or seller in the Portland real estate market today. First we will start with a collection of real estate industry predictions: 2021 National Real Estate Market Predictions -1.5% Housing Price Drop, Zillow -6.6% Housing Price Drop, CoreLogic 2021 Portland Real Estate Market Forecasts -2% Housing Price Drop, Zillow +1% Housing Price Increase – My Prediction Will my Home Increase or Decrease in Value in 2021? Honestly that...
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2021 Portland Real Estate Market Forecast
August 25, 2020
The 2021 Portland real estate market is full of uncertainty, but we’ve experienced enough of the post COVID19 housing market to have some confidence in creating a solid forecast. We will follow up with a second housing market projection in Jan. 2021, but this should be a good guide to any home buyer or seller in the Portland real estate market today. First we will start with a collection of real estate industry predictions: 2021 National Real Estate Market Predictions -1.5% Housing Price Drop, Zillow -6.6% Housing Price Drop, CoreLogic 2021 Portland Real Estate Market Forecasts -2% Housing Price Drop, Zillow +1% Housing Price Increase – My Prediction Will my Home Increase or Decrease in Value in 2021? Honestly that...
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