Agent Info
Marisa Swenson
Earth Advantage Broker
971-285-7955
Agency Info
MRealty Inc
2211 NW Front Ave Ste. 101
Portland, OR 97209
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First Time Home Buyer $8,000 Tax Credit Update
UPDATE: CURRENTLY NOT AVAILABLE FOR OREGON TO USE TAX CREDIT UP FRONT, STAY TUNED….
FHA-approved lenders received the go-ahead to develop bridge-loan products that enable first-time home buyers to use the benefits of the federal tax credit up front, according to eagerly awaited guidance from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on so-called home buyer tax credit loans that was released today.
“Under the guidance, FHA-approved lenders can develop bridge loans that home buyers can use to cover their closing costs, buy down their interest rate, or put more than the minimum 3.5%.
The loans can’t be used to cover the minimum 3.5%, senior HUD officials told reporters on a conference call Friday morning”
Nice that eligible buyers can use it for closing costs but it would have been nice to use it towards down payment like originally announced.
Full article here.
info from Realtor magazine
Sold Listings – SE Portland Oregon Real Estate Update
Weekly update tracking Sold Listings for the week of May 18th – 24th in the Montavilla, Mt. Tabor, North Tabor, South Tabor, Laurelhurst, Hawthorne, and Richmond neighborhoods. There were 3 homes that sold last week in this area, prices range from$240k – $545k.
Here is the map with details:
sold listings in SE Portland Oregon
New Listings – SE Portland Oregon Real Estate Update
Weekly update tracking New Listings that wnt on market May18th – 24th in the Montavilla, Mt. Tabor, North Tabor, South Tabor, Hawthorne, Laurelhurst, and Richmond neighborhoods. There were 22 new listings, prices range from $199k – $675k. One of the listings, 4014 SE Lincoln St, went pending in the same week that it went on market.
Here is the map with details:
new listings in SE Portland OR
Portland Nursery – SE Portland Oregon
Portland Nursery Division Street
This year I am trying out growing my own vegetables in raised beds in my backyard. This, of course, means that I have made numerous trips to the Portland Nursery. The nursery has a huge selection of seeds in packets (both regular and organic), tons of vegetable starts, and all of the necessary supplies like tomato cages and indoor seed starter trays. There is also a good selection of organic fertilizers, trees, decorative plants and yard decor. Making trips to the Portland nursery has become almost a daily occurrence. The outdoor “sales floor” is more like a huge peaceful garden (some exception to the weekends when it gets a little crazy).
Located in the Hawthorne and Cherry Park neighborhoods:
Hawthorne – 5050 SE Stark
Cherry Park – 9000 SE Division
Sold Listings – SE Portland Oregon Real Estate Update
Weekly update tracking Sold Listings for the week of May 11th – 17th in the Montavilla, Mt. Tabor, North Tabor, South Tabor, Laurelhurst, Hawthorne, and Richmond neighborhoods. There were 6 homes that sold last week in this area, prices range from $95k – $361k.
Here is the map with price details:
sold homes in SE Portland Oregon
New Listings – SE Portland Oregon Real Estate Update
Weekly update tracking New Listings that went on market May 11th – 17th in the Montavilla, Mt. Tabor, N. Tabor, S. Tabor, Richmond, Hawthorne, and Laurelhurst neighborhoods. There were 23 new listings, prices range from $119k – $958k. One of the listings, 3009 SE Kelly, went pending in the same week that it went on market.
Here is the map with details:
new listings in SE Portland Oregon
Weekend Events in Portland Oregon – May 15th – 17th
Frank Black Playing at Berbati
There are a couple of things going on this weekend in Portland and the surrounding areas that look interesting. We all know there is awesome weather coming for us in the next couple of days because that’s all people can talk about! So that means we need to get outside and get some vitamin D into our systems.
Friday
- Everyone Who Looks Like You at Milepost 5 – 8pm, $15 Hand2mouth theater production.(also playing Sat and Sun).
- Youth Group at the East End - 9pm, $8, good band from Australia. 203 SE Grand
Saturday
- Alberta Art Hop – Alberta will be closed, 11am – 6pm, there is a parade at 3pm, local artists, dancers, crafts, food. Perfect weather to be outdoors this weekend!
- Mt. Tabor Art Walk – 11am-5pm, here is the map.
- 10th Annual UFO Festival at Hotel Oregon McMenamins - all things UFO plus the keynote has had encounters, should be interesting. 310 NE Evans St. McMinnville, OR
- Twilight Rummage Sale at the Eagles Lodge – 5pm – 9pm, cool, vintage things for sale, 50th & Hawthorne
Sunday
- Frank Black and The School of Rock at Berbatis – $12, there is a show at 1pm and one at 5pm, very talented kids back Frank Black as he sings Pixie’s songs, awesome! 213 SW Ankeny
Design Feature: The Atomic Ranch – Mid Century Modern
mid century modern design
I fall in and out of love with a lot of different styles of homes, my heart in this area is fickle indeed. My most recent architectural crush is the ranch style home….not just any ranch, the Atomic Ranch. Mid century modern/atomic design is a type of architectural design and furniture design that began in the 1940’s and continued into the 1960’s. The style is marked by simplicity, clean lines, organic lines and materials such as wood. The mid century/ atomic era design is gaining popularity and has quite a cult following. There are multiple Flickr photography groups dedicated to documenting the designs features and many blogs of people that are enthusiasts that renovate this type of home. There are mid century ranch homes sprinkled all over the Portland Oregon Metro area. However, there is a good concentration in Argay Terrace, Russell, Cherry Park, Glendoveer and Wilkes neighborhoods and many amazing options in the West Hills. For the past 4 years, there has been a Street of Eames tour celebrating modern style homes in Portland (tickets sell out very quickly). If you own a mid century modern and want to take it back to it’s original glam, consider furnishing it with wares from local retailers that specialize in this type of mod design such as: Janus Home, Noun, Lounge Lizard, and Shag.
P.S. the one I buy will have a daylight basement, 2 fireplaces….
First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit Update – FHA Approves Use as a Down Payment
Shaun Donovan, secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced Tuesday May 12th, that the FHA is going to permit its lenders to allow home buyers to use the $8,000 first time home buyers tax credit as a down payment. I know a lot of states had already figured out a loan system to allow this “advance” but for those that hadn’t this seems like an even greater opportunity for first time home buyers using an FHA loan. The issues that I had heard from some people was that you have to have 3.5% down for the FHA loans, so this will definitely loosen that restriction. Shaun Donovan stated that the FHA approved lenders will be allowed to “monetize” the tax credit through short-term bridge loans. The eligible first time home buyers will be able to access the funds immediately at the closing table. If you are an eligible first time home buyer working with an FHA loan, there is great incentive to buy sooner rather than later. Remember, the $8,000 first time home buyer tax credit is good now until before December1, 2009.
Related Posts:
First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit
Energy Efficiency Tax Credits 2009 – 2010
Start your search here.
Sold Listings – SE Portland Oregon Real Estate Update
Weekly update tracking Sold Listings for the week of May 3rd – May 11th in the Montavilla, Mt. Tabor, N. Tabor, S. Tabor, Laurelhurst, Hawthorne, and Richmond neighborhoods. There were 6 sold homes in this area last week, prices range from $95k – $361k.
Here is the map with price list and areas:
sold listings SE Portland Oregon
