PORTLAND OREGON 
REAL ESTATE

Celia Lyon
Principal Broker

503-260-6231

CeliaLyon@aol.com

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Portland Real Estate News / Buyer – Seller Tips

5 Steps To Sell Your Portland Home


Selling your Portland home is a process that involves five basic steps. These steps are Preparing the Home for Sale, Finding a Buyer, Qualifying the Buyer, Negotiating the Terms, Handling all the Details needed to finalize the sale. If you list your home your real estate agent takes responsibility for each step. If you sell on your own, it is your responsibility to complete each step.

Portland Housing Patterns


Portland Housing patterns tend to be homogenous, meaning homes worth $100,00 are located in $100,000 neighborhoods. It is important for properties to be within the general pricing patterns of their neighborhoods because over-valued homes, even if they are exceptional, are sometimes difficult to sell at full market price. Remember, lenders want to compare your home to nearby homes. If your Portland real estate is located in a neighborhood of $100,000 homes but you have added another $100,000 in improvements, you may have over- improved your property in that lenders will be reluctant to lend the higher amount.

Many sellers think that the price of their home is determined solely by what they are willing to accept and what the buyer is willing to pay. However, the lender’s appraisal in Portland is one more variable and it can complicate the sale of your home. In these cases, it helps to have a knowledgeable REALTOR working on your side.


Portland Real Estate Contract Options


Less common types of agreements include what is known as a “One Time Show,” and “Exclusive Agency,” and an “Open Listing” agreement. The One -Time Show and the Open Listing are similar and are often used by homeowners who wish to sell their Portland real estate on their own but will agree to pay a commission to an agent who brings a qualified buyer for the home. A Portland homeowner may agree to an Open Listing with several agents and also agree to a One-Time Show to any agent who has an interested buyer.

Guidelines for Buying Portland


Let’s say everything is a GO! You have found the perfect Portland home. You know you can afford it and it is actually priced below what you expected to pay. What a bargain! Yes there are bargains to be found in Portland. At this point it is fine to put in an offer on the property but only with a well-planned contingency. Of course, it the home is going to be financed, the lender will want a Home Inspection before agreeing to lend money on the property. However, you need to protect yourself by making an offer SUBJECT TO a clean bill of health from the Home Inspector of your choice. This kind of a contingency gives you an out if the inspector finds a problem with the roof, or foundation or other structural problem that was not apparent to the seller or to your agent. This does not mean you will not buy the house but you will have a good reason to renegotiate the price with the seller.


Portland Real Estate Title Insurance


Buying a new home is the single largest financial investment for most families but there are risks. What if the seller doesn’t really own the home? What if there are mortgages, judgements or liens against the property? What if the property taxes have not been paid for several years? Portland real estate Title insurance protects you against these types of risks and against the risks of human error. It is your basic home ownership protection.

Portland Title insurance protects you against future losses arising out of events that have happened in the past. Unlike other types of insurance, title insurance is paid when the policy is issued and is good for the life of the policy. The premium required is based on the amount of the sale or the mortgage.


When Portland Does Not Sell


Let’s say a home is in excellent condition but simply messy. The cat box needs changing, the dog dish is a mess, the dishes haven’t been put into the dishwasher and the beds are not made. Should these conditions affect the price of the Portland? No, but they do. Take two identical houses next door to each other and priced the same. The sparkling clean house will sell much faster than the messy house and the messy house will more than likely sell for a lower figure. This is true of Portland as well as real estate nationwide.

When a home does not sell, the owners tend to think that the REALTOR didn’t do a good enough job of promoting the property. There is a difference among agents and brokers and some will promote a property more than others. However, the main and most important method of promoting Portland for sale is listing it in the local MLS.