Living Beaverton - Your guide to everything Beaverton

The number one reason people don’t get into investing is they don’t think they have the money
to do so. If you are thinking you would like to invest and are under the assumption that you don’t
have enough money to invest, I can show you many ways to get your first investment
property for as little as $500 down.

One of the problems is finding someone to loan to you when you either don’t have good enough
for the purpose of investing. One way to get around this is either purchase the home from a
seller willing to do owner-financing, or to buy a fixer property through government programs
where they lend you money to fix up properties in certain areas of town.


Don’t let your fear of needing a lot of money keep you from investing. Give me a call and I will
help you find your first of many investment properties and show you how to make more from it.

Todd Clark - broker
Kastings & Associates
(503)524-9494
Todd@IFoundYourNewHome.com
www.IFoundYourNewHome.com

 

Most of the buyers I work with are looking to buy a home for the first time. They have had credit troubles and are now ready to find out what they need to do to buy a home. When they call me, and I start to answer their questions and give them advice they tell me "You are the first agent that hasn't hung up on me," I hear this from so many people everyday and it irritates me to no end!

                                                     

You are a buyer and you are just asking questions about the home buying process and if an agent doesn't want to talk to you because you have bad credit or are not ready to move today, then they are not the agent for you. I have 5-10 people call me a day that are either not ready to buy today because of a lease with their apartment or don't have good enough credit and just want advice. They tell me their experience is that agents don't want to help them because they are not ready to buy today.

                                                   

I want to help everyone that needs and asks for my help, this is my career and I am here to serve you the buyer, even if you are not ready to buy today.

Todd Clark - broker
Kastings & Associates
(503)524-9494
Todd@IFoundYourNewHome.com
www.IFoundYourNewHome.com

 

When selling you home first impressions are last impressions. You will never get a second chance to show a potential buyer your home. So don't put it on the market before it is truly ready for showing.

If you are truly ready to sell your home, walk outside to the curb and turn around. Now you are a buyer! Just as you are going to look at new homes, do the same with your present home. Do you like what it has to offer for curb appeal? Or would you immediately start criticizing the home? A potential buyer will do that exact thing.

Now, walk up to the front door. Don't just walk in, really look at the front door and everything around the front door from about 3 feet away. This is what every buyer is doing while they wait for their Realtor to unlock the front door. Is the door painted? Is the trim in good shape?

Once you have entered the home, how does it smell? Can you smell anything? Try this, for $1.75 you can buy Toll House Cookie Dough and make fresh cookies daily. This will make your home have a very pleasant smell and seem like a place people will want to come home to.

Walk into the bathroom, is it dingy? Paint it up for $10 and buy some new towels for $20. All this makes the buyer want to live in a home. They want to see a place that has been taken care of. Not a home that the people selling obviously only want to sell because it is run down and they want to start over in a new home.

If you don't feel you can't be objective in the image of your home, feel free to call me anytime and I will gladly take you through your home and help you look at as a buyer would.

Todd Clark - broker
Kastings & Associates
(503)524-9494
Todd@IFoundYourNewHome.com
www.IFoundYourNewHome.com

These photos were sent around and are photos you probably will never see in the main stream media.
It is important to understand, despite what the media is telling us, we are not hated by all in Iraq. Please support our troops and everything they stand for!

Iraqi Child Bites GI In Self Defense After Obvious Torture!

 

GI Falls Asleep On Duty While Using
Iraqi Child As Body Armor!

GI Overheard to say "Talk or I'll tickle you till you pee!"
More Evidence Of Failed <?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = ST1 />US Intelligence Policy.

Soldier Attempts to Eat Iraqi Child !

Clear Evidence of Forced Labor by Troops!
 

Iraqis Are Grateful That American Forces Did Not Open Fire During Soccer Game!

Soldier Caught At "Tickle-Torture" To Extract Intelligence!

GI Forces Iraqi Child To Hang By Fingertips!

No comment here. There's nothing funny about this one.

Please help support our troops! There are there to help!

 

2007 rings in the 101^st annual Multnomah County fair and it is fun for all. As I wandered around, I met
people of all ages and everyone was having fun.

                                      

 

The Multnomah Country fair started in 1907 in Gresham, Oregon and this year was at Oaks Amusement Park
in Sellwood. Oaks Amusement park opened in 1905 and it really brought the history of the fair and the park together.
Oaks Park features the 2^nd largest indoor skating rink in the United States and is one of the oldest continuously
operated amusement parks in America.

     
      The Oaks Park Train                        The Big Kids Roller Coaster             The Tiny Tots Roller Coaster

I was amazed how many things they had to do and how it has changed in the last 30 years that I have been going to it.

      
          The Pony Rides                            The Petting Zoo Goat                        The Petting Zoo Donkey

This year they had face painters, petting zoos, rides, magicians and the traditional fairway. With all the stuff they had
combining Oaks Park traditions, and the fairs added attractions it really made it fun for everyone.

      
        The Hourly Concert                                 The Midway                                 Even a Toddler Zone

The fair takes place May 26-28, 2007 from 12pm-7pm and parking and admission are free. You won't want to miss it!

Todd Clark - broker
Kastings & Associates
(503)524-9494
Todd@IFoundYourNewHome.com
www.IFoundYourNewHome.com

            There are many different values to a home. First, what can your home be rebuilt for? Second is what it appraises for, and last, what can your sell your home for. All these values are very different and can differ by thousands.

            Let us look at all three values separately. The value your home can rebuilt for can be a lot less than appraisal value and sales value. The reason for this is when you go to rebuild a home you won't need to replace the land. I suggest when you talk to your insurance agent that they base your insurance on the value of the home minus the value of the land.

            The second value that you want to consider is the appraisal value. This value is very important. This value is based on a non-exact science of determining value of a home for banks and insurance companies. If you are looking to sell your property this value is the value that a bank will not lend more than.

            The last value is the price you can sell your home for. The price you can sell your home for is not based on appraisal or the homes value by itself. It is based on what the market is willing to pay. Sometimes a home can sell for far less than an appraised value because buyers don't think it is really worth that. But in other circumstances it can sell for far more than the appraised value. A bank will not loan on a home that does not appraise. But if two buyers who both have cash the appraisal value may not be important to a buyer who really wants a certain style home.

            The best way to get the value a home can sell for is to talk to a professional Realtor who can help show you the comparables in your neighborhood and give you a true estimate of what a home can and should sell for.

Todd Clark - broker
Kastings & Associates
(503)524-9494
Todd@IFoundYourNewHome.com
www.IFoundYourNewHome.com

As a landlord you can get a lot of advantages by doing a lease-option. It can be win-win for a landlord and a tenant.

The advantages to a tenant of a lease-option is that they get the chance to buy a property that they normally couldn't afford and set the price for anywhere from 2-5 years. Their cleaning deposit, if they should exercise the option to buy, becomes part of their down payment along with a portion of each months rent.

What the landlord gets in return is more money every month that is on time. If the tenant is late more than two times during the contract period, they lose the right to buy the property and the seller gets to keep the original deposit along with any money that was the portion of each months rent check that was set aside.

The advantages for you the seller are you no longer have to do 2am toilet fixes! This now becomes the tenant's problem, since they are now considered owners and all repairs and maintenance is done by the buyer. The best part of doing a lease-option is, if the tenant ends up choosing not to buy, you get the property back and still get to keep the additional rent money. You can then start the whole process over again and make even more.

For more information on selling your property through lease-option, please feel free to contact me any time or come to my upcoming FREE seminar.

Todd Clark - broker
Kastings & Associates
(503)524-9494
Todd@IFoundYourNewHome.com
www.IFoundYourNewHome.com

 

            Why do I call Real Estate a friend? Well, because through thick and thin economic times, Real Estate has been an investment you can count on. Even when homes are not selling, with time, the market comes back and prices go up. Stick with a friend, and with time it will show you why you can count on it.

            Do you think every Real Estate investor was born rich? If you answered yes to that you are dead wrong. Most start out using the equity in their present home to buy their first investment property. Unlike your primary residence, you have someone else paying your mortgage. It is like a 401K at work where your employer contributes. Only the person contributing to your future here is your renters and the appreciation that goes up year to year. Does your employer give you $20,000 a year for your 401K? The appreciation in your investment property can.

            OK, time to take real life numbers and put them to the test of how good a friend Real Estate can really be! You put $50,000 or 20% for a down payment from your home equity line on a duplex that costs $250,000 your payments would be approximately $1663.00 per month. Now if you had renters in both units at $900 per unit you would be making $37.00 per month on paper. That is if there were no maintenance costs. Although you would get those as a tax write off. The important thing to consider is the average of 10% in appreciation over the past few years. If appreciations continue that would put $50,000 back in your pocket in less than two years time. I haven't seen a 401k pay that yet.

                                                 

                                                                          Thanks Friend!

 

Todd Clark - broker
Kastings & Associates
(503)524-9494
Todd@IFoundYourNewHome.com
www.IFoundYourNewHome.com

            You've heard it before, sell your home in the summer you can get more money for it. This can be true, depending on your home.

            If you own a family home, summer is the best time to sell your home. The reason for this is most families don't want to pull kids out of school early to move. They wait until summer to buy that family home. What this means for you the seller is that more buyers are competing for the same homes. More competition means a higher price for you.

                                                    

            Some agents like to test the market at the beginning of summer to see if they can get a really high price for a home. This can be a huge and costly mistake at the home sellers expense.

            If the house is overpriced, buyers will just move to the next a correctly priced house. By the time your price is brought down to where it should have been in the first place, it may be too late. The buyers that are buying right at the

beginning of the summer, have already purchased and that leaves only the tire kickers and the bargain hunters.  If this group finds your home they can keep it off the market for weeks and end up

offering you thousands less than your home is worth, knowing that you are getting nervous that no one will buy your home.

            The best thing you can do is find the right agent that will show you the comparables and give a detailed reason why they feel your house should be priced at what they suggest. If they fumble and don't have a GREAT answer then your agent is more likely trying to help price you right out of the market. Remember the right family can come along only if you have the right price.

Todd Clark - broker
Kastings & Associates
(503)524-9494
Todd@IFoundYourNewHome.com
www.IFoundYourNewHome.com

You are the seller that wants to sell your home for the most amount of money and in the least amount of time, correct? Well, then there are a few things you need to do to ensure that this happens.

Make the home move-in ready! When you go to look for a home are going to look for a home that is move-in ready or do want one that needs paint, carpet and tile to be put in prior to you moving in? Neither does the buyer of your home.

I've heard sellers tell me that they don't want to paint their home. "We live here and this is the paint we like!" I usually have to tell them that they need to have a disconnect from their home. They need to treat it like an investment instead of the place they live. I've had one owner come down in price over $30,000 over a $1500 exterior paint job and the same thing has happened with interior paint. Was it worth it to keep the paint color that they loved in that living room for another 5 months? NO!

The buyers said the main reason that they didn't offer earlier was do to the paint. They could have possible got a full price offer had they used a neutral color instead of Forest Green for the outside of their home or in the case of the interior paint Salmon pink.

Not only did the price decrease by $30,000 they paid another $7760.00 in mortgage payments. So talk to your real estate agent about suggestions to get your home sold fast and for top dollar.

 

Todd Clark - broker
Kastings & Associates
Phone: (503)524-9494
Fax: (503)622-8739

© 2009 Todd Clark - Selling your home in Beaverton Oregon: Don't Paint Yourself Into A Corner