Archive for the Real Estate Agents Category

This is Not the Life I Thought I Would Have but It IS the Life I’ve Made!

November8
Fast Ball "This is Not My Life" Sometimes I feel like I mark the passages of my life by the homes I sell. As a drive neighborhoods, I pass old listings or see homes that I've helped buyers purchase and I think "oh, that was when my daughter was in grade school" or "that's when my son got his first guitar", etc! After 25+ years in the biz, I've seen a lot of homes!!! I fell into my profession totally by accident (if you believe in accidents). It's an industry cliche', but true nonetheless, that I was sadly facing the demise of my marriage and with two little mouths to feed (and not a l… Read More

Who Represents You in a Real Estate Transaction? Why Should You Care?

July7
Phil Collins - Do You Know, Do you Care? It's 2011 and in almost every state in the United States, buyers have the option of being represented by their real estate agent.  This relationship creates responsibilities that require the agent put their client's interests above their own.  This could lead to a discussion regarding whether that is possible for humans, but we'll leave that for "Philosophy 101"!  Prior to 1996, the fiduciary responsibility of a real estate agent, whether they were listing and marketing a home for a seller OR driving buyers around to identify their next home or … Read More

How Your Real Estate Broker Gets Paid in Portland Oregon!

October19
"Money for Nothing" (???) Dire Straits If you are a Seller, it should seem fairly clear-cut how your Realtor gets paid, you sign a listing contract with an agreed upon amount of compensation (based on the ultimate sales price), which is then split between the Brokerages (not the agents) of  both the listing agent and the selling agent (they will each have their own deal with said Brokerage on how that commission is split).  But, how does your agent get paid if you are the Buyer? There are exceptions to what I'm about to share with you, such as developers who offer their agents base … Read More

Why a Buyer Should Get Pre-Approved in the Portland Oregon Real Estate Marketplace?

October11
"approval" by jun suh from "The Legend" Two important steps in the home buying process is finding trusted advisors:  a Realtor and a Mortgage Broker. The process is a partnership and it's important to take it step-by-step.  One of the steps is getting a pre-approval from a lender.  First, let's define a "mortgage pre-approval".  A mortgage pre-approval is a letter from a lender that says the borrower’s credit, bank references and employment have been verified. The letter is not binding on the lender because it is subject to other conditions such as an appraisal of the proper… Read More
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