Living Beaverton - Your guide to everything Beaverton

What is Oregon doing about that? Well thanks to a local talk show host Lars Larson, we have the Hometown Heroes program. This program helps families that are left behind by war, and sometimes can't afford the simple things.

This program was set up so people could volunteer their services to help family members of those who are at war protecting our country. You see, if you have a service or want to donate something to a service member's family, you just send in a Hometown Heroes Request Form  and you can give back.

Let's say that a family member of a service member needs their house painted and you own a house painting service, you could offer to paint their house for free as a way to give back. Let's say you own a glass company and a window of a service person's spouse has been damaged, you could offer to replace it for free.

What ever you have to offer, more than likely a service member's family may need it at some time, especially during the holiday season when money is usually tight anyway. You see, most service people don't get paid by their employers while serving over seas, and military pay usually is ¼ to ½ of what they make in the civilian world. Can you imagine what would happen to your household if your spouse's income was cut to ¼ of what you are used to them getting paid?

So if you live in Oregon and have a service that you could do for a service member's family, please take the time and fill out the Hometown Heroes Request Form.

The second reason is, even if it isn't written into the deed that they buyer can't sell it back to you, the contract they have with you is they buy the property from the bank for usually $20,000-$30,000 less than you own and then lease option it back to you for ONE YEAR and one year only. Then you agree to buy it back from them at the end of the year for $10,000 more than you owed before, and pay for your closing costs as well as theirs. This can total another $12,000 and so you are buying your property back for up to $22,000 more than you owed one year ago. You are also paying them a rent check every month, usually more than the market rent for an area, taking even more money out of your pocket.

So, why are they so willing to "HELP" you? Simple, they need your help to buy the property at a discounted price from the bank, and need your signatures on a lot of documents in order to even talk to the bank about your situation. The second reason is it is for a one year lease and not for any longer, is because they know that 98% of home owners can't get their credit back in order in less than one year. So these investors now get to keep the house and will sell it for whatever it is really worth.... even if that amount is $200,000 more than you owed on it when you sold it to them.

How could this be avoided? First, if the buyers had been working with an agent, that agent would have done a little work, like doing title searches, and gotten a disclosure form from the so called owner. That in itself wouldn't have been complete protection, but since these homes were being represented by an another agent, we would have found out by talking to the other agent, that this person claiming to be the owner was, in fact, not the owner.

Now had this been a "For Sale by Owner", the buyer, being represented by an agent, would have had the protection in that the buyer would not have written a check to the seller directly, and the money would have gone through a title company that would have required proper identification to close. During that time, in most cases, the truth would have come out. If they had an agent that set this up properly, they agent would have required the option money to be paid in to an escrow fund that would only be allowed to be dispersed at the end of the option, so the con-artist wouldn't have gotten that money. Then the escrow service would be paying the mortgage, taxes and insurance for the owner and after that had all been paid, only the remaining amount would have been given to the seller. So the most the con-artist would have gotten of the money would be a couple hundred dollars instead of $5000-$6,000 from the buyer.

As you can see, if any of these buyers would have used the representation of a qualified real estate professional, who understands lease options, they would have been protected all the way down the line, making sure that even it had been the real owner, it would have been set up to so that the first thing that is paid is the mortgage and taxes before the seller!

So protect yourself and use a qualified real estate professional and you won't lose your money and your dream of home ownership. Lease options are a great way to build equity and credit while realizing your dream of home ownership.

  

We hold the model unit open every Saturday and Sunday from 12-5 and usually get 3-4 couples a day through, and on weekdays, we usually get one or two drop bys and I show them the property if I am there. Since last Tuesday, we have had two showings and two offers and they both want the model unit! Why? Because it is exactly what they want! One of them actually wanted to put an offer in that included the furniture staying in the unit.

If that doesn't say, "Stage your home today," then nothing will! You see, for less than $1,000 we have received two offers, in quicker time, and both are full price offers! So call me if you are thinking about selling your home, and I will market it to get it sold quickly and get you in contact with a great home stager, so you can sell it even faster and for more money!

I was talking to a client today and she said, "When I think of you, this is what comes to mind." I had to laugh. She said, "So many people are never willing to think out of the box and when they die, you have to wonder if they regret it. With you I'm never worried about that, you are always thinking outside the box."

This thought has now been stuck in my head, and that brings up the question, am I truly thinking outside the box enough? I always have new ideas, but am I willing to implement them? When I started for my present brokerage, my principle broker said "you have more original ideas that I have every seen!"

She then gave me an empty book to put all my ideas in and told me, "When this book is full of you ideas, and I am expecting that to be within 2-3 years, I want you to publish this book."

So are you going with the flow, or are you thinking outside the box before they put you in one?

I'm thankful for the most wonderful family I can ask for. Smart, wonderful, healthy children, and a wife who is willing to stand behind me in any decision I make good or bad!

I'm thankful for the science that brought us such technology as the liver transplant. Because of this technology, I've been able to spend 17 extra years with my best friend, my dad. (Please be an organ donor, it really does mean something to someone.) As most of you know, reading my blogs, I talk to my dad everyday, knowing how precious time really is.

I'm thankful for my mom and dad who raised me to be an independent thinker and a person who is willing to take risks, at the risk of losing everything. This is also the same trait that made me never try drugs or start drinking. I was always the leader and never a follower, and if I didn't like what others were doing, I didn't feel I had to follow just to be accepted.

I'm thankful for my friends who support me and give encouragement, even when I'm not sure if I'm doing the right thing. For the record, even though I have not met a lot of you, I still consider a lot of you Active Rainer's my friends and you are in my heart this holiday season.

I'm thankful for my clients that have given me their trust to fulfill their dream of home ownership, and I know a lot of these clients have become friends now also.

I'm thankful for the great country I live in, that has given me the opportunity to have the freedom to speak my mind and do anything I choose to do. Our freedom is something that is very precious and I am afraid we slowly losing it. I really hope we wake up soon to this threat.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!