PORTLAND OREGON 
REAL ESTATE

Celia Lyon
Principal Broker

503-260-6231

CeliaLyon@aol.com

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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 Homeownsers Insurance


Portland Home Safety Measures. You can usually obtain insurance discounts for having a smoke detector, burglar alarm or dead-bolt locks. However, take note that some fire systems can be costly and not every system may qualify for an insurance discount, so check with your insurance company first.

Don’t Over-Insure. Homeowner’s insurance is designed to protect you against loss should your Portland home and furnishing be damaged or lost through theft, windstorm, fire, etc. The land under your home is not insured, as it is not at risk. If, in considering value, you include the cost of the land under your house, you may end up paying a higher insurance premium than you should.


Before You Buy Your Portland Home


Whether you are a first time buyer or someone who is moving up to a more expensive home it’s a good idea to start by cleaning up your credit report. Let’s say you apply for a loan to purchase an Portland condo, town home, single-family home or any type of Portland. The lender will check out your monthly income and outgo to determine if you can afford to repay the loan. Therefore, it is to your advantage to pay off as many high-interest consumer loans as possible. If you are planning on buying a car, a boat or other major purchase, put it off until after you have bought your selected Portland real estate. Lenders look for certain patterns they consider red flags. These are: late payments, overextension, liens, garnishments and, of course, bankruptcy. Remember, debts reduce the amount of cash you can spend on the Portland you want to buy, so clear the decks as much as possible before applying for a loan


Does Your Portland Have Curb Appeal?


From cottages to castles some Portland have so much curb appeal that passersby can’t help but stop and admire them. When visiting property with great curb appeal, prospective buyers often experience 'Love at First Sight' and this disposes them to love the entire home before they even walk through the front door.

Portland curb appeal is the result of a perfect blend of architectural style, landscaping, up-keep and color choices. Money alone does not guarantee outstanding curb appeal. I’ve seen very expensive Area homes with costly landscaping that fail to appeal and I’ve seen very modest priced Area homes with outstanding curb appeal. In part, the landscaping aspect of curb appeal is a matter of personal taste.

Tips for Buying or Selling Portland


Most experienced real estate agents and brokers already have Websites that showcase their local MLS data so your Portland can show up online as soon as it is listed. On the other hand, if you are selling on your own it will take time or a considerable advertising budget to get your individual Portland property to show up on the major search engines where prospective buyers will find it. You could tap into one of the several For Sale by Owner Websites but that would limit your market of buyers.

Buying real estate in Portland is also much easier when you work with a real estate agent who knows the area and the market. While there is a great deal of information online about real estate asking prices, it is not always so easy to find out what a property actually sold for. And even then, specific terms of a sale often make a difference in how to interpret the sales price.


When Portland Does Not Sell


The number one, main reason why a home remains on the market is PRICE. There can be other problems as well such as the home’s condition or location and even overall market conditions but the major reason for the NO SALE sign is the Portland is over priced. In fact, proper pricing will often overcome most all obstacles.

Some people prefer to buy Portland that needs some work if the price is right. Investors look at the property, evaluate the cost of brining it up to speed and make an offer if they feel they can make a quick profit. These kinds of investors are looking to fix and flip. Others with limited budgets may see the fixer-upper as a way to get started with Portland ownership. They may spend years working on improving the home, making improvements as they can afford it. So, a home’s poor condition will not prevent a sale if the price reflects the situation.