Living Beaverton - Your guide to everything Beaverton

It was 106 degrees out today and I really didn't feel like leaving the creek after spending an hour and a half in an enclosed hot space teaching a class. This is Silver Creek in Silverton Oregon behind the Museum and Library.



Todd Clark - Broker / Sales Coach
Palazzo Realty Group
Phone: (503)524-9494
Fax: (503)622-8739

Beaverton Oregon Real Estate and more: Don’t let an agent lie to you, just so they can get your business
by Todd Clark

 

Just as in any business, people lie (even in Beaverton), but I would like to think for the most part, real estate agents are good hearted, honest, hard working and do a great job to earn the business they get. But, just like any other business, there are those that give agents a bad name. If you should run into one like I’m about to tell you about, walk away and don’t reward them for their bad ethics.

I had a buyer, who I had been working with for about 2 months to get their credit up so they could qualify, call me and tell me that they went to an open house. The only reason they stopped was because there was a sign out front that said they could get 100% financing. (Don’t worry, they were loyal and told the other agent that they were working with me and would never even think about switching.)

This other Beaverton Oregon real estate agent started out so good and then went so bad real quickly! The first thing she asked was if they were working with any other Realtors and of course my clients said “YES” and handed the agent my card. They proceeded to look around the house and then decided to ask the agent about the 100% financing. (This is where things went from good to WHAT?)

The agent told them that in order to get the 100% financing they had to be working with her exclusively and then asked if they wanted to drop me as their agent and she could then show them how to get 100% financing. (You are joking right? What a big lie!)

They still told her no, but at that time, another person walked in who was more than willing to sign a buyer’s agency agreement with her to find out how to get 100% financing. My clients overheard her say, “Well, this house doesn’t actually have 100% financing, but I do have two that do under the USDA 100% financing program and I’ll show you those at 3:30 today.” The problem was the USDA loans only qualifies in certain parts of Washington County, about 20 miles from where she was holding the open house and she certainly didn’t bother telling these people that before she was going to pick them up and drive them around.

I will report this person on tomorrow for ethics violations on trying to take my client by lying and also by lying to other people to get them to sign buyer’s agency agreements with her. You should never have to sign with anyone to get information about a loan product or a house. If someone tells you different they are lying to get you to sign on the dotted line… you should just walk away because that isn’t the type of person you should be doing business with. If you are interested in 100% financing, and don’t mind living a little bit farther out, then I would love to talk to about the USDA loan as it really is a great product.

Todd Clark - Broker / Sales Coach
Palazzo Realty Group
Phone: (503)524-9494
Fax: (503)622-8739

©2009 Todd Clark - Beaverton Oregon Real Estate and more: Don’t let an agent lie to you, just so they can get your business

What could the Portland Beavers do for the Beaverton, Oregon, real estate market and the economy if they become the Beaverton Beavers? There are a lot of factors that we as citizens of the City of Beaverton need to take in to consideration before we say yes or no to the Beavers moving to Beaverton, but in the end, in my humble opinion, I think this could be a great thing for the City of Beaverton and I’m not just saying that because I love baseball.

The first thing we need to consider is the impact on the area when it comes to traffic. Below you can see where they are planning to build the stadium. (The old Westgate Theater location) Now, as we know, the traffic in that area at rush hour can already be a headache, especially at Hall and Farmington and Canyon crossings. So that is one thing that would need to be fixed.

We do have MAX that goes right by the proposed location so the fans in Portland that already take MAX to the games or the fans from Hillsboro that took MAX won’t have to change how they get to the game. Plus, for those of us who drive, there now will be a heck of a lot more parking. All that baseball money coming in is directly impacting our local economy and real estate market here in Beaverton, Oregon

How will this parking help the City of Beaverton and its failed real estate deals? Remember “The Round” the failed condo project right in the middle of Beaverton that was built on the MAX tracks and was built to be a work / live condo community but has been owned, with the city, by a few people now and each time has had to file for bankruptcy? Well, this could be a huge boost to that project! They could use their now empty parking lot as an income stream on game nights. (Hopefully for concerts also.)

What will this do for the local economy? The local restaurants, many within walking distance of the stadium, would get a huge boost to their business and that would mean more jobs for the City of Beaverton residents. (That doesn’t include the construction jobs brought on by building the stadium or the people working for the stadium when it does open.)

Could this mean lower taxes for the residents of Beaverton? Possibly. The city could charge a luxury income tax like the City of Portland did and get a little bit of each players income when they play in Beaverton. The tax income that would be created from the stadium’s income could offset our local property taxes and income tax. (MAYBE) Also there will be more jobs and with more jobs, comes more income tax coming in from each of the jobs that the stadium created. With this there could possibly be more home ownership and with more ownership comes higher property values and more income for the city from property taxes.

I think this is a great thing for the City of Beaverton and I applaud Mayor Doyle and his staff for out of the box thinking over the past year that really is making the City of Beaverton a great place to live.

 

Todd Clark - Broker / Sales Coach
Palazzo Realty Group
Phone: (503)524-9494
Fax: (503)622-8739

©2009 Todd Clark - Beaverton Oregon Real Estate and More: Could Beavers Baseball really be coming to Beaverton and what could it do for our economy?

This chart below breaks down Beaverton Oregon Real Estate sales by neighborhood, for the week ending 07/24/2008. Sales have been off since last year with the pending sales in Beaverton, Oregon were down 7% from 2008 for the month of June when the last stats came out. The good news is that the average sales price was down only 8.6% from the same time last year, but this was a 1% drop since March We are starting to see a few more foreclosures hit the market, but things still seem to be picking up just a little.

Here is a breakdown of homes sales for the week by neighborhood. Just click on the link to your neighborhood for the complete breakdown of what the average of homes that are on the market, how long they have been on the market, how many have sold, what their average price was, and how long they were on the market.

Neighborhood                                                    # of Active Listings

Aloha Neighborhood, Beaverton, Oregon :	150
Cooper Mountain Neighborhood, Beaverton, Oregon :	106
Greenway Neighborhood, Beaverton, Oregon :	38
Hart Neighborhood, Beaverton, Oregon :	79
Highland Hills Neighborhood, Beaverton, Oregon :	45
Lexington Neighborhood, Aloha, Oregon :	58
Murrayhill Neighborhood, Beaverton, Oregon :	87
Sexton Mountain Neighborhood, Beaverton, Oregon :	85
Sorrento Ridge Neighborhood, Beaverton, Oregon :	61

Todd Clark - Broker / Sales Coach
Palazzo Realty Group
Phone: (503)524-9494
Fax: (503)622-8739

©2009 Todd Clark - Originally posted at Beaverton Oregon Real Estate Sales by Neighborhood (07/24/2009)

Beaverton Oregon Real Estate and More: Who is doing the predatory lending? Big banks of course and here we go again! - By Todd Clark

A couple weeks ago I wrote an article titled, “Predatory lending is now even easier and banks are taking full advantage” and as if that wasn’t enough, “Big Banks” are at it again. Once again the government just sits back, hears the sob stories, and passes new laws to help protect consumers because the “Big Banks” said it would help!

The latest in a series of “We are the Government, and we are here to help” laws that have made it even worse for the consumers they are trying to protect is the new soon to be enacted “Truth in Lending” guidelines. They say that if you transfer the loan to get a lower rate for the consumer, you have to wait 7 days to close.

This makes it very hard for the consumer, who has deadlines to close, and the seller may not be able to, or willing to, extend! So, basically, the buyer will be stuck with a higher interest rate on their loan because they can’t wait the time set forth in the new guidelines or they may lose the house they are trying to close on.

Please, Please, Congressman, Senators, please stop passing laws before talking to the people who have to deal with these laws and guidelines you are passing. You may find that despite not having a law degree, we have real world experience and can tell you the train wreck you are about to pass when you vote on something you either didn’t read or didn’t understand because you have never sold real estate.

I understand your need to want to help protect the consumer, but every time you have passed something lately, it has had the exact opposite affect on the consumer. Maybe try letting the market place fix the problem and see what happens then! 

Todd Clark - Broker / Sales Coach
Palazzo Realty Group
Phone: (503)524-9494
Fax: (503)622-8739

©2009 Todd Clark - Beaverton Oregon Real Estate and More: Who is doing the predatory lending? Big banks of course and here we go again!

The Oregon coast is so much cooler than it is in Portland right now! Amazing what 20 degrees can do for the body!



Todd Clark - Broker / Sales Coach
Palazzo Realty Group
Phone: (503)524-9494
Fax: (503)622-8739

When you are thinking of buying real estate in Beaverton, Oregon, one of the first things you should do is get in contact with a mortgage broker to see how much home you can afford and if there is any credit repair needed. With that being said, credit repair and monitoring is one of the toughest things to do during the process of buying a home if you don’t know what you are doing.

This is where I may be able to help. You see, I run into a lot of people that might be ready to purchase a home. They have the down payment, have the closing costs, but their credit score doesn’t fall within the range that is required by today’s more restrictive guidelines. But, what if there was a way to monitor your credit score, and even boost it by up to 100 points in 45 days, all for free?

Well, I, along with one of my mortgage brokers, have been able to do exactly this. In some cases we have been even able to raise a score or two by even more that 100 points, just by showing them a few quick and simple credit repair secrets that don’t involve cheating the system by writing letters to every creditor and getting your score temporarily increased. These are ways to improve your score through legitimate ways of just paying your cards down through scoring models.

One person we worked with was able to raise their score by 103 points by paying $13 on one of her cards! The reason was because she had a $100 store credit card that had $45 dollars on it and that took her over the 33% of used credit and the credit card companies were punishing her for that. She paid the $12, got it under the 33% and her score skyrocketed!

So, if you are interested in buying a home in the Beaverton, Oregon, real estate market and need help with credit repair to get to the point where you can reach that dream of home ownership, Click on the picture of the book or here and you will be taken to a page where you can download your own copy of the book.

Todd Clark - Broker / Sales Coach
Palazzo Realty Group
Phone: (503)524-9494
Fax: (503)622-8739

©2009 Todd Clark - Beaverton Oregon Real Estate and more: Want to buy a home, but you need to repair your credit first? I maybe able to help (FOR FREE)

Tomorrow morning I'm taking the day off from real estate and my son and I are getting up early and meeting at the local grocery store and heading up to Boy Scout camp. It is a special time in a young man’s life, it means he is growing up, starting to become independent and ready to become a man.

Well, tomorrow, is my sons first day at Boy Scout camp and as a Cub Scout. You see my son’s Cub Scout troops first meeting is going to be a week of day trips up to a local Boy Scout camp, where they will learn the normal Scout stuff, how to tie a few knots, sing songs and just have fun being part of something.

I’m going to be posting pictures tomorrow night from the day long event, but watch Twitter for update pictures and video directly from the camp.

If you are interested in getting your son in to Boy Scout or Cub Scouts, contact the local Boy Scout office on 1^st street in Portland and they will get you in contact with your local troop and then let the fun begin!

Todd Clark - Broker / Sales Coach
Palazzo Realty Group
Phone: (503)524-9494
Fax: (503)622-8739

©2009 Todd Clark - Beaverton Oregon Real Estate and more: My sons first day at Boy Scout camp

Yep, you read that correctly I’m selling real estate and I'm funner than you, and if you do have something to say about it, then feel free speak right up, I’m not listening to you anyway! You see, in the past 15-20 years, I’ve seen pop culture change the way we live our lives, the way we talk and even change some people’s views of the world.

So, I’m using my blog to change the opinion and mindset that funner isn’t a word! If “Smackdown” can become a word or half-*** ed can become a word, then why not funner?.

Heck, you may think I’m Mr. Fancy-pants for trying to get my word added to the dictionary, but, I’m telling you that word is used more by society than, I would say, all the words added to the dictionary in the past 10 years except maybe with the exception of the word blog.

I’m needing everyone who agrees with me to help get funner added to the dictionary, because I am funner than you and the only way to prove it is to tell Webster we are right about this word we use everyday!

All the highlighted words you have read above were added to the dictionary within the last 10 years.




Todd Clark - Broker / Sales Coach
Palazzo Realty Group
Phone: (503)524-9494
Fax: (503)622-8739

©2009 Todd Clark - Beaverton Oregon Real Estate and more: I’m funner than you, got something to say about it?