OPEN HOUSE 8/22/10, 1–4PM

Top Quality and Location! Forest Heights Condo
at the Village Shops!

$325,000
2138 NW Village Circle
Portland, OR 97229

Steps from the beautiful park and walking trails. Open living, dining w/gourmet kitchen, island w/5-burner cook top, stainless, granite, knotty alder cabinets & hardwood floors. 2 bedrooms each w/full bath. Master has fireplace, dual sinks, soak tub, walk-in. Central A/C, Fenced Patio, garage and low HOA's.

For more information or to view more properties: www.realtysolutionspdx.com

July 2010 Marketing Stats

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Fixer in SE Portland

$110,000
3905 SE 174th Ave.
Portland, OR 97236

Fixer in SE Portland on .26 acre corner lot. 2bd/2ba, 1-car detached garage.

For more information & photos: www.realtysolutionspdx.com

6 Tips for Choosing the Best Offer for Your Home

Article From Houselogic.com
By: G. M. Filisko
Published: February 10, 2010

Have a plan for reviewing purchase offers so you don't let the best slip through your fingers.

You've worked hard to get your home ready for sale and to price it properly. With any luck, offers will come quickly. You'll need to review each carefully to determine its strengths and drawbacks and pick one to accept. Here's a plan for evaluating offers.

1. Understand the Process
All offers are negotiable, as your agent will tell you. When you receive an offer, you can accept it, reject it, or respond by asking that terms be modified, which is called making a counteroffer.

2. Set Baselines
Decide in advance what terms are most important to you. For instance, if price is most important, you may need to be flexible on your closing date. Or if you want certainty that the transaction won't fall apart because the buyer can't get a mortgage, require a pre-qualified or cash buyer.

3. Create an Offer Review Process
If you think your home will receive multiple offers, work with your agent to establish a time frame during which buyers must submit offers. That gives your agent time to market your home to as many potential buyers as possible, and you time to review all the offers you receive.

4. Don't Take Offers Personally
Selling your home can be emotional. But it's simply a business transaction, and you should treat it that way. If your agent tells you a buyer complained that your kitchen is horribly outdated, justifying a low-ball offer, don't be offended. Consider it a sign the buyer is interested and understand that those comments are a negotiating tactic. Negotiate in kind.

5. REVIEW EVERY TERM
Carefully evaluate all the terms of each offer. Price is important, but so are other terms. Is the buyer asking for property or fixtures-such as appliances, furniture, or window treatments-to be included in the sale that you plan to take with you?

Is the amount of earnest money the buyer proposes to deposit toward the down payment sufficient? The lower the earnest money, the less painful it will be for the buyer to forfeit those funds by walking away from the purchase if problems arise.

Have the buyers attached a pre-qualification or pre-approval letter, which means they've already been approved for financing? Or does the offer include a financing or other contingency? If so, the buyers can walk away from the deal if they can't get a mortgage, and they'll take their earnest money back, too. Are you comfortable with that uncertainty?

Is the buyer asking you to make concessions, like covering some closing costs? Are you willing, and can you afford to do that? Does the buyer's proposed closing date mesh with your timeline?

With each factor, ask yourself: Is this a deal breaker, or can I compromise to achieve my ultimate goal of closing the sale?

6. BE CREATIVE
If you've received an unacceptable offer through your agent, ask questions to determine what's most important to the buyer and see if you can meet that need. You may learn the buyer has to move quickly. That may allow you to stand firm on price but offer to close quickly. The key to successfully negotiating the sale is to remain flexible.

G.M. Filisko is an attorney and award-winning writer who has survived several closings. A frequent contributor to many national publications including Bankrate.com, REALTOR® Magazine, and the American Bar Association Journal, she specializes in real estate, business, personal finance, and legal topics.

Reprinted from HouseLogic (houselogic.com) with permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS (R). Copyright 2010. All rights reserved.

North Portland on large 7500sf Lot

$185,000
8822 N. Drummond Ave.
Portland, OR 97217

North Portland on large 7500sf lot. 2bd/1ba with 2-car detached garage. Good condition.
Check with city to determine if lot is dividable.

Go to www.realtysolutionspdx.com for more information, photos or to view more listings.

New Columbia-2006 legend built earth advantage home

$199,000
4917 N. Cecelia Street
Portland, OR 97203

New Columbia-2006 legend built earth advantage home. 3bd/2ba, 1440 sf,large kitchen,formal dining. Fenced yard,front porch. Walking paths,4 neighborhood parks, HOA maintains front yard.

Go to www.realtysolutionspdx.com for more information, photos or to view more listings.

Beaverton Bungalo only $154,900!

$154,900
13525 SW Hazel Street
Beaverton, OR 97005

Beaverton Bungalo only $154,900! 2bd/1ba, Hardwood floors, 1-car garage, huge .21 acre lot, newer siding, windows, roof, furnace and updated kitchen.
Owner will carry a contract w/25% down.

Go to www.realtysolutionspdx.com for more information, photos and more listings.

Lower unit Rock Creek Condo/Seller Contribution

$74,900
5190 NW Neakahnie Ave.
Portland, OR 97229

Rock Creek Country Club Condo-Lower unit, 2bd/1ba, 1-car detached car garage. Pergo-style flooring, fireplace, covered patio. View from Patio is greenbelt w/trees & walking paths next to Bethany Pond. The seller agrees to PAY $8,000 towards HOA dues.

Go to www.realtysolutionspdx.com for more information, photos & more listings!

Fielding a Low-ball Purchase Offer on Your Home

Article From Houselogic.com
By: Marcie Geffner
Published: June 10, 2010

Consider before you ignore or outright refuse a very low purchase offer for your home. A counter-offer and negotiation could turn that low purchase offer into a sale.

You just received a purchase offer from someone who wants to buy your home. You're excited and relieved, until you realize the purchase offer is much lower than your asking price. How should you respond? Set aside your emotions, focus on the facts, and prepare a counteroffer that keeps the buyers involved in the deal.


Check your Emotions
A purchase offer, even a very low one, means someone wants to purchase your home. Unless the offer is laughably low, it deserves a cordial response, whether that's a counteroffer or an outright rejection. Remain calm and discuss with your real estate agent the many ways you can respond to a low-ball purchase offer.


Counter the Purchase Offer
Unless you've received multiple purchase offers, the best response is to counter the low offer with a price and terms you're willing to accept. Some buyers make a low offer because they think that's customary, they're afraid they'll overpay, or they want to test your limits.

A counteroffer signals that you're willing to negotiate. One strategy for your counteroffer is to lower your price, but remove any concessions such as seller assistance with closing costs, or features such as kitchen appliances that you'd like to take with you.

Consider the Terms
Price is paramount for most buyers and sellers, but it's not the only deal point. A low purchase offer might make sense if the contingencies are reasonable, the closing date meets your needs, and the buyer is pre-approved for a mortgage. Consider what terms you might change in a counteroffer to make the deal work.

Review your Comps
Ask your REALTOR® whether any homes that are comparable to yours (known as "comps") have been sold or put on the market since your home was listed for sale. If those new comps are at lower prices, you might have to lower your price to match them if you want to sell.

Consider the Buyer's Comps
Buyers sometimes attach comps to a low offer to try to convince the seller to accept a lower purchase offer. Take a look at those comps. Are the homes similar to yours? If so, your asking price might be unrealistic. If not, you might want to include in your counteroffer information about those homes and your own comps that justify your asking price.

If the buyers don't include comps to justify their low purchase offer, have your real estate agent ask the buyers' agent for those comps.

Get the Agents Together
If the purchase offer is too low to counter, but you don't have a better option, ask your real estate agent to call the buyer's agent and try to narrow the price gap so that a counteroffer would make sense. Also, ask your real estate agent whether the buyer (or buyer's agent) has a reputation for low-ball purchase offers. If that's the case, you might feel freer to reject the offer.

Don't Signal Desperation
Buyers are sensitive to signs that a seller may be receptive to a low purchase offer. If your home is vacant or your home's listing describes you as a "motivated" seller, you're signaling you're open to a low offer.

If you can remedy the situation, maybe by renting furniture or asking your agent not to mention in your home listing that you're motivated, the next purchase offer you get might be more to your liking.

Marcie Geffner is a freelance reporter who has been writing about real estate, homeownership and mortgages for 20 years. She owns a ranch-style house built in 1941 and updated in the 1990s, in Los Angeles.

Reprinted from HouseLogic (houselogic.com) with permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS (R).
Copyright 2010. All rights reserved.