June 30, 2008
By now, you probably know that I am kind of addicted to soccer. So, this month has been heaven on earth with the Euro Cup 2008. I have watched new, quality and highly entertaining games almost everyday this month! Between playing 4 times a week and seeing some of the best matches in years, I think June just became my favorite month.
You have probably heard recently that the Federal Reserve is hinting at raising the Federal Funds rate in the coming months. Since the Prime Rate is tied to the Federal Funds rate, and most Home Equity Lines are tied to Prime, we are very likely to see interest rates on Home Equity Lines start moving up in the near future. If you have a home equity line, I recommend that you contact your lender to evaluate their guidelines for locking the rate on funds you have already drawn. Many will lock at 1% to 2% above your floating rate, which is likely a favorable rate for the long term. If you have any questions about this, please give me a call.
There is an exciting piece of news that will be coming out soon regarding conforming loan limits. Exciting might not be the word you would use, so feel free to replace it with something more befitting your feelings; like trivial. That being said, currently you can borrow up to $417k at the best rates in the marketplace. That cap is going to be moving up in the coming months to between $550k and $730k. This is a very substantial increase and will provide an opportunity for anyone with loans up to this new, higher cap to refinance with much better interest rates. If you know anyone in this category, have them give me a call. ;-)
This month’s mailer is about disaster preparedness. Luckily, there is little threat from Hurricane, Flood, or Tornado here in Portland. However, I think having an emergency plan in place and an emergency food supply, water supply, and emergency preparedness kit is an excellent idea. I have been working on mine ever since I lived in New Orleans and had to evacuate thanks to hurricane Ivan. I have loads of food, cards, books, batteries, candles, matches, a wind up radio, flashlight, everything but water. I know, isn’t that the most important part? Yes, it is. So, I guess this little reminder is going to get me off my duff to go buy water. In the words of my Dad, “It is better to say here it is, than where is it?”
On that note…I hope you are having a great summer so far.
Kelly
June 1, 2008
I found a very interesting article on CNNMONEY about the current real estate market. This article points out many of the things I have been talking about with clients for the past several months. I have made copies and included it this month. As always, please feel free to call with any questions or pass this along to other people who might be interested.
Instead of a teaser week, this year we had a teaser weekend. I put my air conditioner in the window, pulled out my fan and was prepared for summer. In the infamous words of Homer Simpson, “DOH!” Since that wonderful 90 degree weekend, we have barely seen the sun. What is that old joke? “How do you tell it is spring in Portland? The rain is warm!” Well 75 degrees is lovely, but I am over the mist that was falling while running last night. Come on, school gets out in two weeks!
Speaking of school getting out, remember that there are going to be kids all around and at all hours. Make sure you are on the look out for them as the days get longer. My sister and I were driving home from a soccer game the other night and luckily we hit a little bump in the road. Her headlights showed two high school aged girls, walking the wrong way down the middle of the street. When we pulled over to speak with the girls, they had no idea that they were invisible. Just a quick reminder that people, especially kids, think you can see them at dusk or at night because they can see you.
This month’s mailer is about resurfacing room and finishes within your house. My sister and her husband are building a new house and the finish work has just been completed. I was expecting just a little molding here and there, the work was awesome! It is amazing how much difference a little change here and there can make in the overall look and feel of your home. If you are looking to make some changes, we are happy to refer you to some outstanding contractors.
Now that everything is getting more “green”, I wanted to share with you a government sponsored program called an “Energy Efficient Mortgage”. This is a loan that is tacked on the top of your loan to finance the improvements. There are many different variations of this loan program, but they can only be added on during a purchase or a refinance. If you know someone looking to buy a “cool, old, Portland home” let them know about this option. Their utilities will be cut in half, saving money, energy and improving the environment. Just had to add my green plug for the month. :)
Congratulations San Francisco, my old stomping ground, for being ranked as the country’s Fittest City! San Francisco barely edged out Seattle for the win. Ironically, LA is towards the bottom of the list. Now that is something to think about. :)
Don’t forget, PetAid is June 13th at Edgefield!
All my best,
May 3, 2008
I think this global warming thing is starting to affect the weather! 80 degrees one weekend and snowing the next. We were in shorts and T-shirts at my nephew’s baseball game one Saturday, and literally got “snowed out” the next Saturday. I have been snowed on during three soccer games in April! Hopefully, global warming will lend us warm and sunny weather for our trip to Black Butte next weekend!
This is the time of the year to help all of the pet related charities. Doggie Dash is May 10th, Pug Crawl is May 18th and just announced PetAid is June 13th. Now in case you haven’t heard, PetAid is being held at Edgefield and Presidents of the United States, Spoon and Nada Surf will all be playing. I saw “The Presidents” or “POTUS” in November and they were a blast live.
I am not normally highly political, but I’ve got two things to share that I truly enjoyed. A friend, Beth, got us tickets to see Hillary Clinton speak when she was in town earlier this month. My brother, his wife, my nephew and I were all able to go. We got VIP seats right next to the stage and Drake and I even got to shake hands with Hillary. It was very exciting to see the first female candidate for president and it was a great experience for all of us.
An advertising agency here in Portland did an ad/short film for Sam Adams that is really unique and provides a different sort of view of a political candidate. You can view it at: www.samforpdx.com. The video is at the bottom of the page. Whatever your political views, it is a pleasure to see something political with such a personal influence woven into the piece. I also reviewed a number of the 30 second spots for Obama through MoveOn.org. They were inspiring, thoughtful and positive. What a concept! J
This month’s mailer is about road trips and travel. This may be a good summer to travel by car, despite the high cost of fuel. With so many airlines closing down or limiting schedules, it makes sense to consider hopping in the car for some localized fun. Oregon is filled with unique places and fun destinations. www.go-oregon.net is a great website with lots of fun ideas for vacations and day trips throughout the state. Our family is vacationing in Sunriver this summer. It is close and warm!
For my real estate investment seminar, I’ve been doing some research recently on compounding interest over time. Something very interesting is that by simply saving $5 per day beginning when you graduate from high school, you will have $800,000 when you reach retirement age! Also, if a teen saved $2000/year for the first six years after high school, they would retire with $1,000,000 without ever saving again! Both these examples suggest that we start our kids on the path to long term wealth by teaching them the benefits of saving while they are still young.
April 1, 2008
Spring is here, yeah, right, as long as you ignore the snow, rain and hail we have been having. Still it is almost time for Doggie Dash and Pug Crawl, two of the most fun fundraisers in Portland. I wanted to give you plenty of time to make plans to be there. May 10th is Doggie Dash, the fun run with your pup. It is the only race I know of where your dog gets a chance to win too. Pug Crawl is the country’s largest get-together for pug owners. This year is “Pugstock” celebrating Peace, Pugs and Happiness! It is a great fun seeing all of the pugs in costume parading down NW 31st to MacTarnahan’s Taproom. Check out the website at www.oregonhumane.org for more info.
I have the pleasure of recommending an outstanding photographer, John Pederson. He has been doing our family photos for about 6 years. His sittings are free and take place on local school grounds. He has an uncanny knack for capturing special moments and bringing kid’s personalities to life on film. I have included some of his pictures of my niece and nephew. I also have a new picture on my outgoing emails, thanks to John! If you are interested in booking a time at one of his sittings visit his website at www.pedersonphotography.net or give John a call at 503-351-7407. I guarantee you will be pleased with his results!
This month’s mailer is about negotiating and bargain hunting. Some of these techniques are things I rarely think about but make sense, such as buying last year’s models or out of season merchandise. The travel info was eye-opening. Obviously, booking package deals does not always make a lot of sense.
Since this is tax season, I thought this might be interesting to include. If you are interested in seeing where your taxes are being spent, you can go to the following links to see where the federal government’s discretional spending is being allocated.
http://www.nationalpriorities.org/costofwar_home
http://www.nationalpriorities.org/Proposed+Discretionary+Budget+Request
I am going to be hosting two seminars in April, one for First Time Home Buyers and one for people interested in finding out more about Investment Real Estate. If you or someone you know are interested in either one, please let me know. The seminars are best with about 8-10 people, so we are limiting the size so everyone will get their questions answered.
All my best!
March 4, 2008
Was this actually February or did we skip the winter and jump directly into the summer? I know, we always get that “teaser” week sometime in early spring, but wow we have had some beautiful weather! The idea of spring, summer and not being bundled inside of sweaters leads me to thoughts of getting back into shape for the spring…and my soccer playing summers. This year I am limiting myself…to four teams. Five teams was simply too many. I can’t wait!
The Berkeley Center for Law and Technology analyzed corporate America to see which companies have the highest incidence of identity theft. The No. 1 company is the nation's second largest bank, Bank of America. AT&T occupies the second slot, followed by Sprint (No. 3), JPMorgan Chase (No. 4) and Capital One (No. 5). Think about it: 3 of the first 5 are banks, which is understandable. But why are two phone companies so high on this list? The reason is because they do a credit check when you apply for phone service, and open yourself up as a potential target. In the No. 6 spot, we have Citibank. As the nation's largest bank, Citibank has one-third less incidences of ID theft than the smaller BofA! Interestingly, ING has the lowest incidence of ID theft of any bank.
Random identity theft trivia; Napa, California is the city with the highest incidence of identity theft in the country. Ironically, Arizona edges out California as the state with this highest incidence of ID theft. Albany, Oregon tops the list for general fraud. Nice! Finally, from the "No they didn't!" category, the New York City Department of Finance mailed thousands of tax forms that showed people's Social Security numbers through the envelope. What were they thinking?
This month’s mailer is about energy efficiency and some of the small things you can do around your home to dramatically increase your home’s energy efficiency. In the short term, better insulation and compact fluorescent bulbs are relatively easy solutions that are very cost effective. Longer term, be sure to purchase high efficiency appliances. PGE also has some very good information on their website at www.portlandgeneral.com. The Energy Trust of Oregon will perform a free in home Energy Review. Call them at 1-866-ENTRUST, or fill out the form on their website at www.energytrust.org.
And now for my new favorite bumper sticker: Wag More, Bark Less!
Kelly's Blog
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