Spoken Gently's Blog: Investors

The Washington Post recently reported that the emotional and financial strain of the housing market has become so rough, it’s on par with divorce, and even death. TODAY’s Barbara Corcoran and psychologist Jeff Gardere explains how to lessen the burden and turn your house into a source of revenue:

Well, we've decided to put our West Pasco water front home up for sale.  We are spending way too much time commuting back and forth from North Richland getting our 5 children to school and other activities.  North Richland here we come and we're leaving behind a Columbia river home with many upgrades.   Our 3500 sq ft home's starting price is $659,000.  Pictures of our home and river views can be seen here, and when clicked, a larger image opens in a new window:

CNN reports today that "An outraged sheriff in Illinois who refuses to evict "innocent" renters from foreclosed homes criticized mortgage companies Thursday and said the law should protect victims of the mortgage meltdown. Cook County, Illinois, Sheriff Thomas J. Dart says too many renters are being evicted for landlords' problems, and he is suspending foreclosure evictions in Cook County, which includes the city of Chicago. The county had been on track to reach a record number of evictions, many because of mortgage foreclosures."

This is truly sad.  Until now, I thought of the mortgage debacle as a shared responsibility between folks buying homes they should not have been buying, and lenders lending money they should not have been lending.  At first…

Tri City Washington news reports, "Volatility may describe the nation's current economic situation, but a different adjective is more accurate for the Tri-City housing market...The Tri-City housing market continued to hold steady in 2007-08, with home prices increasing and sales tracking with 2006, according to information from the Tri-City Association of Realtors."

Colleen and I are prepared to meet the ever increasing demand for Kennewick, Richland, and Pasco properties. Consider using our property search when searching for Tri Cities real estate, and consider The Lane Real Estate Team to provide a competent, professional, real estate service for you.

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Yup, I went to the end of my backyard this morning, threw a spinner in the Columbia River, and caught a small Salmon. Brought it in, cleaned it, and ate er for breakfast. Salmon doesn't get any fresher than freshly caught in the back yard! We live on the Columbia River and Salmon run throughout most of the year, however, there are a few periods in the year where the "salmon are running." Right now is one of those times. I wake up in the morning and see them coming to the surface for their morning chow, so down to the river I go. Today was no exception, except the Salmon served as an appetizer for the area's famous Spudnuts. Richland's Spudnuts are to-die-for doughnuts. Certainly a reason to buy a home in the Tri-Cities!

The Salmon fishing, and all sorts…

My wife's birthday is today! Colleen turns the big 4-0 today. Proverbs 31:31 writes:

"Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate."

In times past, business and communication of important information was done at the gate to the city. Today, I'm here to stand at the gate and tell folks what a great REALTOR® and all around great person my wife is. A birthday tribute, if I may. What I've done is created a Squidoo lens about Colleen titled:

"Greatest Real Estate Agent In The World" Check it out!

Oh, Happy Birthday Colleen! You're pretty darn perfect in my books!

If you’re a wine connoisseur and considering real estate opportunities in the state of Washington, then Richland, located in the Tri-Cities area near the confluence of the Columbia, Yakima, and Snake Rivers, may just be the perfect place for you. Richland is the central home to a growing and thriving viticulture (wine-producing) area, which is responsible for grape cultivation, generating the production of international brands of world-class fine wine within four major appellations, or certified AVAs (American Viticultural Areas), in Washington State.

These four major appellations surrounding Richland are comprised of the Columbia Valley (7,000 hectares for planting and cultivating wine grapes), the Yakima Valley (5,000 hectares), the Walla Walla Valley…

The Washington Association of REALTORS® released a press release stating Washington home prices are rising. Here is an excerpt from the press release (bold added for emphasis):

“All real estate markets are unique. We shouldn’t be surprised that Washington State is bucking national trends,” said Dennis Rose, 2007 president of the Washington Realtors. “In order to make smart home-buying decisions, now more than ever it’s important to work with a professional REALTOR® who is familiar with the local market.”

As of mid-June, sub-prime, adjustable-rate loans represented 20 percent of loans nationally, but just 6 percent of home loans in Washington. Of those mortgages, 5 percent in Washington were delinquent, compared with 8.9 percent nationwide. The largest…