mybrokerdiana's Blog: All Categories

            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 loopy, but I do understand. It’s your home after all, that loving place where kids and pets gleefully run amok.  That place where you put in lots of sweat equity to make it reflect who you are and what your style is. Oh, that bastion of memories!  OK, now snap…

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 some of the free fun stuff that you can take visitors to, especially in the summer:

            1. The Fish Ladder at Winchester: Don’t laugh, it’s free and when the huge 30 inch plus salmon are in there people get excited. Just this week, I was driving a… 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 apples, etc. Not to mention gas prices…..

            For the past two months I was amazed at the elastic interest rates and how they sprang back and forth between the five percent and low six percent range on a daily basis. The wise buyer needed to make an… 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 pain when I was in the car to open my purse, grab the phone, flip it up and answer it while driving. Sometimes, I got lazy and just threw my phone in my very large purse instead of snapping it in its special pocket. More than once, I found myself… 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 running lower than Conventional rates.  FHA/VA loans can still offer loans with minimum downs of 3% or 100% financing!             Some of that will change this summer when FHA will start adjusting their mortgage insurance premiums depending on credit score and loan to… 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 interesting steep hills and gravel roads with clients. It comes in handy for snow days too. ·        I need a people mover that is comfortable for all sizes. ·        Something that looks professional with lots of room for people and the sales stuff I have to… 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. Some people are not candidates to buy a home.              His first point, Renting can save money is a little too simplistic in its reasoning. Hammer states that “You’re paying for closing fees, mortgage interest, property taxes,… 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 medical group acquired a really cool craftsman style home and made offices out of it. You could tell they didn’t use an interior decorator. But the furniture and decorations were simple, warm and cozy for patients. However, the paint job was… Read Full Post