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We are now looking back on a wonderful but hot summer. If you have been using that time to look for your new home and are a first time buyer, I want to put some urgency into that search for you. Move quickly and move now on your decision to buy. Why? I don’t know what it has been like in other parts of the country but in Douglas County, OR. closing times have gotten a little hinky. Thirty days used to be a normal time for escrow to close. Now it seems that the “new normal” is about sixt... Read Full Post

There are many things that I love about being a Realtor in Douglas County, Oregon. Discovering new friends is one of the many plusses of the career. This recent batch of friends I happened to stumble upon during my many trips to and from my listings. Along the road of one of my rural sites, I came upon a den of red fox. This litter seems large to me--six kits in all. They crawl up an 8 inch drain pipe under the road and play on the road in the sunshine. Trouble is, they are so small they have... Read Full Post

In the past twenty-four hours, I have met three potential sellers who all told me the same thing. They are in love with their house and don’t want to sell it yet. One person’s spouse was transferring to a new job here in Roseburg, Oregon. They NEEDED to move…NOW! This couple still hadn’t talked to a Realtor in their county about listing their house! Yet here they were looking for their new home with desperation in their voices; they needed to find something quick. This sounds a little... Read Full Post

Sometimes people think that country living is a little boring, sort of the same thing in every state. You know, the main street, lots of farms, the feed store, cows and barns. In Douglas County, Oregon we do have all of that, but we have so much more. Add to that list, waterfalls, the best fly fishing in the world, mountains, caves, the ocean, water and snow skiing, horse ranches, rodeos, concerts in the parks and last but not least, Bigfoot sightings. The list goes on even further. Here is s... Read Full Post

George Washington is starting to look as gaunt as Don Knotts. Some of you younger folk may not even know who that was. (Knotts played Deputy Barney Fife on the “Andy Griffith Show.”) Yes, the one dollar bill is pretty pathetic and puny these days. It looks like George will finally get some help from Dr. Ben Bernanke---perhaps the sooner the better. Maybe that sounds rather oxymoronic for a realtor to say, but look at our economy, four dollars for a dozen eggs, two dollars a pound for appl... Read Full Post

About six months ago my brother called me from his car. He was testing out his new Bluetooth earpiece. It was awful. I could hear traffic and lots of fuzz. He thought it was wonderful. I thought it was horrible. For years I have been using a wired Jabra earpiece that worked fine. Thing is, I was on my third one. (I cut my wire once with garden shears right in the middle of a conversation.) I didn’t wear it in my real estate office—too “old school”. It also was getting to be a royal pa... Read Full Post

Rest in peace, o’ traditional twenty per cent down payment. Your days of relevance are over in this new millennium. Most people today would think you were loopy and run for the door if you said they needed 20% down to finance a home. There are so many buyer’s assistance programs out there that the need to have a sizable down payment to impress a financier are over. As one small example, FHA/VA loans have been the better loan of choice these past few months because their rates have been ru... Read Full Post

Just one more year. That’s what I said last year about buying a new car. My car is up there in age, but it still looks great inside and out and runs well. Right now with the gas prices escalating, I think everybody is starting to FINALLY pay attention to the need to transform cars. When I research cars however, it seems there really isn’t the perfect car out there for me. I need: · Four wheel drive or AWD, I am a rural broker in Douglas County, Oregon and climb up and down lots of intere... Read Full Post

Just Throw Away Your Money Forever or Buy a House Parade Magazine had an article that caught my attention on May 4th. Written by Mike Hammer (Isn’t he that old Mickey Spillane detective hero?) it was titled, Great Reasons to Rent. Huh? He has to be kidding, rent in a buyer’s market? I read it with eager eyes. Since I am in an Oregon broker, I suppose I dove into this read with some cynicism, looking for holes I could punch in it. Of course I found them. But for some people, he is right. S... Read Full Post

While on vacation years ago in another country, a local resident’s car drove by where we were sitting on the balcony. It was hand painted-- a bright lime green no less. One of my party very drolly made this comment, “Painted with a broom.” I never forgot that moment. It was too funny, even though I felt sympathy for the driver. Now, years later as a Realtor, I have seen the same phenomenon occur with houses. Last year, I had to visit a medical specialist’s office a few times. This med... Read Full Post