Open Houses Jan. 8, 2012

There are 10 houses scheduled to be held open in Lake Oswego this Sunday. Enjoy!

Address Price Bedrooms Baths Type Open
16212 Lake Forest Blvd $239,000 3 2 Detached 1 to 3
1127 Cedar St $239,000 2 1 Detached 12:30 to 4
6263 Childs Rd $259,900 3 2 Detached 2 to 4
765 Maple St $349,900 3 2 Detached 12 to 2
1590 Larch St $365,000 6 2.5 Detached 1 to 3
19061 Indian Springs Rd $368,000 4 3 Detached 1:30 to 4
4625 Firwood Rd $599,900 3 3 Detached 12 to 3
15633 Fieldstone Dr $618,950 4 2.5 Detached 12 to 2
5533 Fieldstone Ct $628,950 4 2.5 Detached 12 to 2
850 Schukart Ln $750,000 4 3 Detached 3 to 5

The Other Blotter

Thank you to the Lake Oswego Review for being the namesake of The Property Blotter.  Here, for your reading enjoyment, is a reproduction of the best of the Police Blotter from 2011, as appeared in the December 29, 2011 Lake Oswego Review:

Best of the blotter

Look back at 2011’s reports from the Lake Oswego Police Department

The Lake Oswego Review, Dec 29, 2011

(news photo)

What do UFOs, Saran Wrap and chickens have in common? All were the subject of 9-1-1 police calls in Lake Oswego this year.

Information for the public safety column comes from the public records of the Lake Oswego Police Department.

Authorities filed reports on the following incidents in 2011. This is a look back at some of the more interesting reports:

January

1/16/11 1:15 p.m. A Chihuahua wearing a pink collar was picked up for running in traffic.

1/16/11 8:34 p.m. A drunken female, sitting on a downtown park bench, yelled for a man to come over because “I want to show you my knife.”

1/19/11 10:32 a.m. A woman believes she is being stalked by members of a stalking organization.

1/19/11 7:45 p.m. After leaving her phone inside a gift shop, a woman requested that a police officer break in and get it for her.

1/26/11 2:46 p.m. A car buyer found he had been defrauded when an oil change at Oil Can Henry’s revealed that his car had 116,750 miles on it. This was 80,000 more miles than shown on the odometer when the man first purchased the car.

1/27/11 9:02 p.m. When a couple finally answered a late-night doorbell, they looked outside and found that their car had been Saran Wrapped.

February

2/1/11 5:12 p.m. A woman called to say she was being held against her will in the X-ray department at Providence Milwaukie.

2/1/11 5:40 p.m. A man who allows his spaniel puppy to run off leash yelled at a woman to control her dog. She did not appreciate this blatant hypocrisy.

2/1/11 9:33 p.m. A possible UFO was sighted over 62nd Avenue and Southwest Southwood Drive. The strange flying object had a bright light and crisscrossed lights on its bottom, and it was spotted several times tonight.

2/4/11 12:13 p.m. A teenage son traded the family car for one he saw on Craigslist.

2/8/11 4:48 p.m. A 100-year-old woman, who is hunched over and has a white beard, is being dropped off every Saturday morning at a super market. She is very filthy and smells of urine, and it is doubtful she is being taken care of.

2/10/11 7:23 p.m. Road rage arose on 10th Street and A Avenue when a man driving an Outback yelled at another vehicle to pull over so he could beat him up. But when the driver pulled over, the road rager quickly drove away.

2/11/11 1:27 p.m. A church is praying that a belligerent transient will take his presence to another denomination.

2/17/11 5:13 p.m. A litter bug is putting Kleenex and Kleenex boxes all over a complex on North Shore Road and State Street.

2/22/11 1:04 p.m. A confused-looking man began changing his clothes inside of a fast-food restaurant. However, it turned out to be a mixed martial arts competitor.

March

3/14/11 6:51 p.m. A husband has started video taping his wife when they have arguments.

3/21/11 7:33 p.m. A woman expressed the wish that she was dead. She then changed her mind and went to Albertsons.

3/22/11 7:59 p.m. The continual gathering of young guys (ages 18 to 25) hanging out on the sidewalk on Parrish Street is making some neighbors paranoid.

3/24/11 1:37 p.m. An 11-year-old son threw a bottle of urine on his father, who became quite upset.

3/29/11 7:45 p.m. A red-headed woman whose age was estimated at 40 to 60 and who was wearing a white hat, coat and boots, came walking down another woman’s front steps on Village Park Lane and put her newspapers by her door. “We like to keep our neighborhood tidy,” the redhead said.

April

4/8/11 11:18 a.m. A man with a “spinning head” was acting suspiciously at a store on Pilkington Road.

4/10/11 8:10 a.m. A disgusting scene on Yorkshire Court included a teddy bear hanging from a tree and sanitary napkins hanging all over a garage door. The suspect is a 16-year-old boy who had been trespassed from the location and told not to call the residence or the daughter who lives there.

4/10/11 12:37 p.m. A woman’s special rocks were spray painted yellow by a city crew on Hampton Court.

4/12/11 3:38 p.m. A man wearing no pants disturbed a woman on Parkview Drive.

4/17/11 12:02 p.m. A voice emerged from a speaker phone in a hedge on Palisades Crest Drive and threatened a man that the Russian mob was coming to get him. In the background, a female was heard laughing.

4/19/11 2:50 p.m. Strange voicemails are being sent to a woman by a person claiming their brain injury and prison sentence were her fault.

4/23/11 12:44 p.m. A duck and ducklings were reported wandering on Kingsgate Road, but they were shooed to safety in a yard.

4/27/11 7:43 a.m. Seven rogue chickens are roaming around on Carman Drive and destroying yards. The chickens’ owner was warned about their feathered terrorism.

4/27/11 8:23 a.m. A middle school-aged girl was waiting at a bus stop when a man wearing a beanie stopped and asked her if she was a prostitute and what her fee was. He broke off the inquiry when another student arrived at the bus stop.

4/28/11 10:33 a.m. An alert mother performed double duty on a stroll down Kruse Way, pushing a baby in a stroller and throwing rocks at a coyote.

4/29/11 12:45 a.m. A sleeper is concerned about his future after having a dream in which the devil told him he was going to die in his sleep. Upon awakening, the man immediately made a trip to the doctor.

4/29/11 7:13 p.m. Some oddball juveniles on Bangy Road are lying on manhole covers and talking into them.

 

May

5/2/11 11:16 p.m. A driver thought to be drunk was actually delivering newspapers.

5/4/11 12:57 p.m. A presumptuous neighbor threw away two trees on a porch because she thought they were dead. She thought wrong and may be hearing from the neighbor’s lawyer.

5/9/11 11:26 p.m. Two desperately drunk people were walking down the middle of State Street, stopping only to vomit.

5/11/11 4:55 p.m. While leaving a bank, a woman was honked at by a man, who told her he could fix the dent in her car for $300. When he finished the car looked even worse, so she wants to make the police aware of this phony fix-it man.

5/15/11 11:52 a.m. A woman keeps finding notes on her car that say, “I really like your car, call me if you ever want to sell it.”

5/15/11 10:05 p.m. A coyote confronts a man every day when he takes his dog outside on Wheatherstone Court. The man wants to know what his rights are if the coyote becomes confrontational.

5/17/11 10:02 a.m. A woman became infuriated when she found that her hair had been turned purple at a salon. When she went back to complain, she was kicked out.

5/19/11 8:35 a.m. A woman told an officer she becomes upset every time she walks by her neighbor’s house because her dog was attacked by the neighbor’s dog several years ago. The officer suggested that she not go by the house.

5/24/11 2:18 a.m. Now that Oswego Lake is again full, parties are taking place. One became worrisome because of the sound of people being thrown into the lake.

June

6/4/11 9:04 p.m. A man thought to be bleeding had actually spilled ravioli all over himself.

6/18/11 12:35 a.m. A very bad and loud musician is playing his bass in an apartment on Jefferson Parkway.

6/20/11 4:05 p.m. Nothing but a hound dog was howling and standing in the road on Ninth Street.

6/20/11 10:23 p.m. A resident of Delenka Lane had his garbage returned to him after he left it in the middle of the street. As a bonus, he received a warning.

6/22/11 1:49 p.m. Twelve goats went AWOL from their pen on the campus of Marylhurst University. However, the horned rascals were rounded up and returned to their corral.

6/22/11 6:23 p.m. A strong chemical smell was coming from inside a convenience store where the employee was acting silly. It turned out that the chemical smell is nothing unusual and that the employee is always silly.

6/22/11 9:21 p.m. A bag tagged “dead raccoon” was found in an alley on Second Street. Sure enough, a dead raccoon was found inside the bag.

July

7/3/11 5:03 p.m. A swarm of bees got inside the church at Our Lady of the Lake.

7/5/11 10:37 p.m. Four juveniles were getting out of a vehicle on Kilchurn Avenue and slamming their bodies against houses.

7/10/11 7:38 a.m. After exposing himself on Woodland Terrace, a screaming man was taken to Meridian Park Hospital.

7/11/11 11:32 a.m. A father and son got into a shoving match over whether the boy would go to summer camp.

7/12/11 5:02 p.m. A dog suspected of unwarranted urination on Pioneer Court is being threatened with stoning by one of its victims.

7/15/11 9:28 p.m. Wild behavior broke out at a sleepover when some youngsters started screaming and yelling as they bounced up and down on a trampoline.

7/20/11 10:09 a.m. Mysterious eyes peered out at a woman from a bush on Hallinan Circle.

August

8/3/11 9:04 a.m. A customer entered Flying Elephant Deli and became so enraged by a painting on display that she started yelling at employees and customers. Her hostility kept mounting until she threatened to come back and destroy the painting. However, she was trespassed before she could trash the work of art.

8/5/11 3:21 p.m. An indecent exposure occurred at the Griffith Office Building near the Lake Corporation. The exhibitionist was a man of average size.

8/7/11 7:58 p.m. The apparent case of a reckless driver doing cookies in a church parking lot turned out to be a mother teaching her daughter how to drive a car with a clutch.

8/8/11 9:31 p.m. A husband and wife got into a spat over the wife’s efforts to disconnect the television. She also wants an annulment of their marriage.

8/9/11 5:07 p.m. Overly aggressive juvenile lemonade sellers are upsetting drivers on Melrose Street and Westlake Drive by sticking their heads into car windows and yelling.

8/11/11 4:54 p.m. A woman calling 9-1-1 for spiritual support is upset because she cannot get through.

8/17/11 3:29 p.m. A sinister raccoon has been entering a woman’s house, stalking her cat, opening her refrigerator and drinking milk.

8/23/11 12:27 p.m. A loud and lecherous 70-year-old man has been harassing his neighbor on First Street for a year by peeping into her windows and yelling at her all times of the day.

8/23/11 7:36 p.m. A groper came to Safeway and rubbed himself against an unfortunate woman twice.

8/26/11 12:52 p.m. After responding to a woman’s report about smelling meth on Carman Drive, police determined that the smell was actually that of a skunk.

8/30/11 6:06 p.m. A married couple sharing a smoke outside of its home on Foothills Drive were shocked when its upstairs neighbors came down and sprayed them with cleaning fluid.

8/31/11 8:22 p.m. A group of fugitive youth were seen running toward Westlake Park. However, it was later determined they were members of a cross country team.

September

9/1/11 5:52 p.m. A dead squirrel was preventing a woman from getting out of her driveway on Kingsgate Road.

9/7/11 11:32 a.m. A man painted up like a clown aroused suspicion on State Street when he dropped to the ground after he spotted a woman staring at him.

9/8/11 9:28 a.m. While spying on her neighbor through a fence, a woman spotted two marijuana plants. It turned out the neighbor had a medical marijuana card.

9/12/11 3:16 p.m. A man is feeling guilt ridden about firing his pellet gun in 1995 and wants to come clean about it.

9/22/11 8:58 a.m. Strange sounds like flying saucers taking off and landing were heard on Hallinan and Laurel streets.

9/24/11 4:02 p.m. A dog keeps running in and out of Safeway and grabbing food. The pilfering pooch was returned to its home and the owner was warned about allowing his dog to run at large and steal.

9/24/11 6:10 p.m. A rabid squirrel is chasing people at Waluga Junior High.

9/24/11 6:22 p.m. An ex-husband testified that he saw his ex-wife giving marijuana to their son. However, the substance turned out to be catnip.

October

10/1/11 8:50 p.m. Flying bologna struck a car going down Boones Ferry Road. It is suspected the source of the airborne lunchmeat was a wild party on Carman Drive.

10/12/11 12:29 p.m. A female roommate may be having mental issues. She has been preaching to nobody for hours about the devil, and now her roommate is seeking advice on how to get her out of the house.

10/24/11 10:30 p.m. A man with a reputation for violence was heard yelling and screaming inside of his residence. It turned out that he was playing video games.

10/27/11 9:40 p.m. A missing woman was found in a tanning facility in Portland.

November

11/3/11 10:47 a.m. An unconscious woman woke up to find that her head had been shaved by her landlord, with whom she shares the house. The woman claims the landlord is a Wiccan and is trying to destroy her because she is a Christian.

11/4/11 6:08 p.m. A man came home to his residence on West Sunset Drive and found that his bed had been stolen.

11/6/11 10:06 a.m. A woman says her house was robbed by aliens who got away in a space ship.

11/25/11 1:29 p.m. After getting slapped, a neighbor picked up a pickaxe in a dispute over a pathway on Crest Drive.

December

12/3/11 11:20 a.m. A golden retriever on Edenberry Court is being routinely allowed to illegally romp on a protected wetlands area. However, the dog was found to be clean and dry when an officer came by to investigate.

12/4/11 10:45 a.m. A guest is refusing to leave after staying for three weeks at a residence on Lakeview Boulevard. The unwelcome guest is associated with Occupy Portland.

12/6/11 4:56 p.m. A woman grossed out customers at a restaurant by walking in, wiping her nose on a napkin and setting it on a table. When questioned about this questionable action, she flew into an obscenity-filled rage.

12/7/11 11:12 a.m. There was concern when a friend did not show up for an appointment on Dec. 7. However, it turned out he was safe inside the Multnomah County Jail.

12/14/11 12:02 p.m. Two teenage mooners exposed their nether regions to a class of junior high students walking on the trail from the tennis center. The identities of the moon men remain unknown.

As always, thank for reading.

Dianne

Market Activity Dec 19-25, 2011

In the week that included Christmas Day, there were 5 New Listings, 11 Pending Sales, and 9 Closed Sales. I consider that to be a very strong performance for the holiday week. Also of note was very strong sales among condos.
See below for further details:

NEWLY LISTED (Dec 19-25, 2011)

Address Type Price Sq FT BR Baths
12459 Boones Ferry Rd Mfg $149,900 2305 3 2.5
51 Oriole Ln Detached $199,900 1216 3 2
58 Greenridge Ct Condo $256,900 1996 3 2.5+.5
19201 Maree Ct Detached $424,900 3739 3 3
183 Furnace St Condo $495,000 2126 2 2.5


PENDING SALES (Dec 19-25,
, 2011)

Address Type Price Sq Ft BR Baths CDOM
200 Burnham Rd Condo $89,900 959 1 1 64
4640 Lower Dr Condo $99,900 1225 2 1.5 257
226 Ridgeway Rd Condo $99,900 756 1 1 366
4 Touchstone #150 Condo $114,900 984 2 2 164
3984 Carman Dr Condo $167,500 1344 3 2.5 33
5720 SW Kenny St Detached $189,900 1416 3 2 6
15085 Glen Eagles Pl Detached $404,900 2996 3 3 715
18116 Pioneer Ct Detached $549,000 3500 5 3 3
23 Hillshire Dr Detached $589,000 3916 4 4 194
4011 Westbay Rd Detached $825,000 4518 5 3.5 561
1288 Northshore Rd Detached $2,350,000 3059 4 3 0


SOLD (Dec 19-25,
2011)

Address Orig. Price Sold Price Type Sq Ft CDOM
12 Crestfield Ct $54,900 $44,900 Condo 552 74
91 Galen St $65,000 $46,000 Condo 680 187
1050 Sunningdale Rd $375,000 $350,000 Detached 1616 62
589 Ridgeway Rd $450,000 $375,000 Detached 1736 41
5008 Hampton Ct $448,000 $380,000 Detached 2446 249
149 Del Prado St $550,725 $439,000 Detached 3266 148
18006 Gimley Ct $479,900 $440,000 Detached 3329 496
16925 Depot St $499,950 $470,000 Detached 2631 157
307 Northshore Rd $1,500,000 $1,165,000 Detached 2673 719

Criteria: Homes in the 97034 and 97035 zip code, listed, pending or sold between the dates listed above as reported by the Regional Multiple Listing Service (RMLS). DETACHD refers to Single Family Detached Residence, MFG refers to manufactured housing, and ATTACHD refers to single-family residences with some portion of the structure attached to another property, but not constituting CONDO ownership. DOM stands for days on market, or the number of days from when the listing became active and when it received an acceptable offer, with CDOM standing for “cumulative days on market” accounting for “refreshed” listings

Happy Holidays!

Whether you are celebrating Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa, or any of a number of faith celebrations, Linda and I want to extend our good wishes to you this season.

Faith is a very personal consideration. I have had a client moving in from out of the area ask me if there is a prevalent church in Lake Oswego, and I honestly told her that there is not. I consider LO to be extremely diverse. While we do have 19 Christian Churches (including the Mormon Temple, a Korean United Methodist and a Chinese Faith Baptist) there are also 2 Buddhist Centers, a Synagogue, and the New Thought Center for Spiritual Living. Close by in Tigard is the Baps Hindu Temple, and not much further away in SW Portland is a Mosque. And if you find no need for formal worship, that’s OK too. Really, we are a very open community.

With Christmas Day falling on Sunday this year, there will not be an Open House report. Even Realtors need a Day off once in awhile.

May your holidays be blessed with happiness, may the New Year bring you prosperity, and may you find contentment and satisfaction in each and every day of your life.

Best wishes to you and yours,
Dianne and Linda

Market Activity Dec. 5-11, 2011

Our Market Activity has been strong, considering that we are in the full throws of the Holidays. Last week there were 14 New Listings, 11 Pending Sales, and 11 Closed Sales. Also of note, of the 11 Closed Sales 5 were either condos or attached townhouses, and 3 were sold for over $1,000,000. Of the over $1,000,000, 1 sold in zero days (Listing Realtor brought together buyer and seller without RMLS assistance) and 1 sold in 39 days. That is very strong market activity in areas that have otherwise been slow.
See below for further details:

NEWLY LISTED (Dec. 5-11, 2011)

Address Type Price Sq FT BR Baths
234 Ridgeway Rd 16D Condo $154,950 914 2 1
3652 Spring Lane 4F Condo $159,900 1117 2 2
1531 Cedar St Detached $249,950 832 2 1
18630 Kristi Way Detached $314,900 1609 3 2
17860 Pilkington Rd Detached $319,000 2550 4 2
12511 SW Boones Ferry Rd Detached $349,000 1890 3 2
769 2nd St Detached $350,000 1200 3 1
6126 Frost Ln Detached $429,500 2400 5 3
545 Evergreen Rd Detached $549,900 2182 3 2.5
1255 Bayberry Rd Detached $734,900 2240 3 2
4180 Casey Ct Detached $739,950 3730 4 3.5
17878 Hillside Dr Detached $762,500 3594 5 3
752 8th St Detached $1,049,000 4215 4 3.5
4375 Southshore Blvd Detached $2,595,000 3716 4 3.5


PENDING SALES (Dec. 5-11
, 2011)

Address Type Price Sq Ft BR Baths CDOM
450 S State St Condo $119,000 800 2 1 86
18411 Longfellow Ave Detached $155,000 1150 3 1 139
5054 Foothills Dr H Condo $187,000 1252 3 2 93
13120 Thoma Rd Detached $345,000 3116 3 2 32
13828 Regency Ct Detached $349,000 2165 3 2.5 4
312 4th St Attached $395,000 1731 2 2.5 206
1877 Woodland Terrace Detached $399,000 2776 4 2 4
19333 Dogwood Ct Detached $479,900 3234 5 3 220
5515 Dunmire Dr Detached $536,900 3287 4 3 226
16491 Chapin Way Detached $799,000 3648 4 3 248
307 Northshore Rd Detached $1,295,000 2673 3 2 719


SOLD (Dec. 5-11,
2011)

Address Orig. Price Sold Price Type Sq Ft CDOM
668 McVey Ave #56 $150,800 $135,000 Condo 636 22
159 Oswego Summit $175,000 $150,000 Condo 1506 385
3300 Wembly Park Rd $229,000 $200,000 Detached 2094 15
2125 Wembly Place $349,000 $307,500 Detached 2193 114
755 5th St $349,000 $312,500 Detached 927 163
4405 Oakridge Rd Lot20 $410,160 $411,330 Attached 2004 0
40 Condolea Ct $485,000 $440,000 Condo 2958 227
193 Furnace St $769,950 $510,000 Condo 2169 394
667 Iron Mountain Blvd $1,399,000 $1,200,000 Detached 4679 319
13392 Fielding Rd $1,400,000 $1,400,000 Detached 2246 0
13701 Goodall Rd $1,899,000 $1,750,000 Detached 6028 39

Criteria: Homes in the 97034 and 97035 zip code, listed, pending or sold between the dates listed above as reported by the Regional Multiple Listing Service (RMLS). DETACHD refers to Single Family Detached Residence, MFG refers to manufactured housing, and ATTACHD refers to single-family residences with some portion of the structure attached to another property, but not constituting CONDO ownership. DOM stands for days on market, or the number of days from when the listing became active and when it received an acceptable offer, with CDOM standing for “cumulative days on market” accounting for “refreshed” listings

Open Houses for 12/11/11

Amongst the hussle and bussle of Holiday preparations, perhaps you’ll find the time to visit one of these ten open houses:

Address Price Bedrooms Baths Type Open
5055 Foothills Dr $187,000 2 2 Attached 1 to 3
5054 Foothills Dr H $187,000 3 2 Attached 1 to 3
5220 Firwood Rd $234,900 3 3 Detached 1 to 4
6380 Washington Ct $239,500 3 2 Detached 12:30 to 2:30
4251 Woodside Circle $304,900 3 2 Attached 1 to 3
21 Britten Ct $310,000 3 2.5 Attached 1 to 3
765 Maple St $349,900 3 2 Detached 1 to 3
15633 Fieldstone Dr $618,950 4 2.5 Detached  12 to 2
5533 Fieldstone Ct $628,950 4 2.5 Detached  12 to 2
17601 Woodhurst Pl $649,000 3 2.5+.5 Detached  2 to 4

The Repair Addendum

There are two major points of negotiations when you are buying or selling a house. The first happens when the offer is made. At this point things like price, closing date, disclosure of financing, and other items are worked out. The second happens about a week later when the buyer has completed any home inspections they wanted and are asking for repairs.

The preferred method by most buyers and sellers is to agree upon a monetary credit at closing from the seller to the buyer for the buyer to do the repairs themselves after closing. This is preferred because it’s super easy for the seller, and for the buyer they then have control over the quality of the work. However, banks don’t like to see money credited to do repairs after closing. What if the buyer never does the repair? So the method to create the credit is to have the credit be applied to the buyer’s closing costs. This allows the repair issue to stay out of the transaction and accomplishes the exact same thing as it leaves money in the buyer’s possession that they otherwise would have spent in the purchase. The buyer can then do whatever they want to with that money after closing. This then creates the limitation that the amount of the credit can not exceed the buyer’s closing costs. So what if the seller has already agreed to pay the buyer’s closing costs? If this is the case, or if the buyer just simply won’t take a credit for the repairs, then the seller is left with the responsibility to do the repairs before closing.

Now comes the part that most buyers and sellers are not aware of. Any repair done in the sale of a home must be done by a licensed and bonded contractor. The seller can not do the repairs themselves. This law went into effect several years ago and applies to all real estate transactions throughout the state of Oregon. The reason makes sense when you think about it. Work done by a properly licensed contractor comes with an automatic 1-year warranty. And the bond that contractors are required to carry guarantees money is available to repair shoddy work if a problem develops and the contractor does not correct it. So buyers, sellers, and Realtors are all protected by using licensed contractors. I can, however, see that this law can become impractical if the work is super minor like replacing a cracked light switch cover, or re-nailing a fence board. I think it makes sense, in light of this law, that these sorts of minor repairs really must be done as normal maintenance on a home long before it is listed for sale. Taking good care of your home while owning it will also get you a higher price when the time comes to sell it.

This law also applies to rental properties. So if you are a landlord, you are not supposed to do the work on your rentals unless you have a contractor’s license.

The home inspection contingency is written in our standardized forms to be an easy out for the buyer. A buyer does not even have to give a reason for disapproving of the property as a result of the home inspection. They can “unconditionally” disapprove. And that’s it. The deal is dead and the buyer gets their earnest money back. So for sellers it’s a pretty anxious time. They know the buyer can back out of the purchase and they also know that they can be asked to do repairs or pay for closing costs. It’s important that this part of the sale be handled properly so that buyers buy a solid home and also so that repairs are done correctly.

Not a very seasonal topic, I know. But important. And probably another good reason to use a Realtor when you buy or sell a house.

Cheers!
Dianne

Market Activity for Nov. 21-27, 2011

With the Thanksgiving holiday last week, activity was mixed. Just 4 new listings came onto the market, but 14 homes went pending, and 8 sales closed.
See below for further details:

NEWLY LISTED (Nov 21-27, 2011

Address Type Price Sq FT BR Baths
45 Eagle Crest Dr Condo $144,900 1046 2 2
5063 Foothills Dr C Condo $159,900 991 2 2
3433 McNary Parkway #703 Condo $159,900 1008 2 2
13795 Cameo Ct Detached $1,760,000 7190 4 5.5+.5

PENDING SALES (Nov 21-27, 2011)

Address Type Price Sq Ft BR Baths CDOM
34 Oswego Summit #34 Condo $55,900 764 1 1 35
86 Kingsgate Rd F103 Condo $79,900 849 2 2 101
6929 Montauk Circle Condo $134,900 968 2 1 60
6 Condolea Dr Condo $195,000 1312 2 2 299
480 S State St Condo $199,900 1659 3 2 46
6218 Nokomis Ct Detached $199,900 1512 3 2 159
828 Maple St Detached $230,000 1287 3 2.5 119
18150 Bryant Rd Detached $289,000 1468 3 2 138
655 7th St Detached $340,000 1558 3 1.5 109
13120 Thoma Rd Detached $345,000 3116 3 2 14
227 4th St Detached $347,500 2352 4 2 8
919 Lake Shore Rd Detached $539,000 1817 3 2 145
13020 Knaus Rd Detached $599,000 2545 3 2.5 179
1020 Skyland Dr Detached $1,399,500 6653 5 4.5+.5 4

SOLD (Nov 21-27, 2011)

Address Orig. Price Sold Price Type Sq Ft CDOM
4000 Carman Dr #100 $125,000 $110,000 Condo 935 144
45 Eagle Crest Dr #508 $189,000 $154,000 Condo 1046 206
5225 Jean Rd #308 $179,900 $175,000 Condo 1400 5
4752 Rembrandt Ln $288,900 $272,000 Detached 1516 26
647 Sunny Hill Dr $299,500 $303,000 Detached 2298 4
4 Nansen Summit $545,000 $412,000 Detached 3255 218
4725 Firwood Rd $479,500 $455,000 Detached 2557 133
17896 Kelok Rd $729,000 $600,000 Detached 4323 1211

Criteria: Homes in the 97034 and 97035 zip code, listed, pending or sold between the dates listed above as reported by the Regional Multiple Listing Service (RMLS). DETACHD refers to Single Family Detached Residence, MFG refers to manufactured housing, and ATTACHD refers to single-family residences with some portion of the structure attached to another property, but not constituting CONDO ownership. DOM stands for days on market, or the number of days from when the listing became active and when it received an acceptable offer, with CDOM standing for “cumulative days on market” accounting for “refreshed” listings

Open Houses 11/26/11

There are just two scheduled open houses this Sunday, November 26, 2011.

4050 Virginia Way will be open from 1:30 to 5:00pm. A 1984 built house, it has 3 bedrooms and 2 full baths. It’s a one-level home with beautifully updated kitchen that includes slab granite and stainless steel appliances. The asking price is $325,000

4102 Chad Dr will be open from 1:00 to 4:00. Priced at $739,000, it has 4 bedrooms and 2 and 1 half baths. The house was built in 2004. With brazilian cherry hardwood floors and a fireplace in the master, this house is worth the look.

Counting Our Blessings

Thanksgiving is far and above my favorite holiday of the year. I think I love it so because it hasn’t been commercially hijacked (although the lines at Costco this morning does put some holes in this thought), and it revolves around giving thanks, being with our loved ones, and pausing to reflect on our own personal bounty.

Call me sentimental, but I guess I feel abundantly thankful. In that spirit I thought I would share with you the story of my favorite Thanksgiving memory.

I spent August of 1979 to February of 1980 living as a college student in Besancon, France. It’s about 3 hours by train East of Paris and only about 45 minutes from the Swiss boarder. I was on a study abroad program organized by The State University of New York, New Paltz. Rather than living with families, those of us in the program lived in college dorms and in-town apartments. We Americans gravitated to one another and became fast friends.

As Thanksgiving approached we realized that our host country would be oblivious. That was not, however, going to dampen our efforts to celebrate our uniquely American holiday. My cohort was Kathy. She and I declared the Wednesday and Thursday of Thanksgiving week our own personal holiday and cut classes for two full days. We had access to a friend’s apartment with its unbelievably undersized range (I recall 2 burners and an oven about 24 inches wide). We had no recipes whatsoever.

The first task was grocery shopping. We had no vocabulary for turkey, cranberries, or stuffing. And did you know that when you try to describe jello to a cashier in France in 1979, that they would have no idea whatsoever what you are talking about? The high point of the purchasing was going into a butcher shop and finding a small turkey, probably 12 or 15 pounds, with a bow tied onto it! That butcher had either been to the U.S. or watched a lot of TV.

Cooking was a total adventure. Remember that I mentioned we had no recipes? It was “my Mom does it this way” and “I think I remember my Mom doing this”. Some how we pulled it off.

I recall about 10 of us, all American students, sitting down to a very memorable meal. The part I recall most fondly, aside from laughter and amazement that we had somehow pulled off Thanksgiving, was realizing we had no electric mixer to make whipped cream. We poured the heavy cream into a bowl, added a fork, and passed that bowl around the table with each of us taking turns hand mixing until we had traditional whipped cream. It was just so memorable.

I really do love Thanksgiving. This year I am thankful for my health, that my recent college graduate daughter has a job, that my son has healed from his injury and will soon be discharged from the Marines, that the remainder of my family and friends are in good health and a part of my life. I am also thankful, as a Realtor, to have business in this economy. So I am thankful to my clients who put their trust in me and allow me to be their Realtor.

I think a really wonderful reflection on Thanksgiving was in this morning’s Oregonian. Shoshana Winebury of Seattle reflects on the meaning of Thanksgiving as seen through her experience teaching refugees English as a second language. For the full story, click here.

I want to wish you a lovely Thanksgiving. No matter your place in life, no matter your circumstances, Thanksgiving is a day to reflect and feel gratitude.
Dianne