GREAT LOCAL FOOD SOURCES

GREAT FOOD SOURCES RIGHT IN OUR OWN BACK YARD!

A while back we mentioned TABOR BREAD as a great place to get flour (and it comes with a free sourdough starter). Here are a couple more great sources based here in Portland, Oregon for healthy, fresh, local food both prepared and grocery:

 

Happy cooking!


About Us:
Over the course of their professional partnership, Aryne + Dulcinea have helped over 200 clients prosper in their new lives. During this time, they have prided themselves in their top-notch selling abilities, with homes outperforming market standards, consistently exceeding list price while most of their listings sell in under 7 days. Whether you’re looking to buy or sell, Aryne & Dulcinea will work in collaboration to guide you in investing in your future and reaching your real estate goals.

Covid-19 and New Mortgage Financing

Covid-19 and New Mortgage Financing • Aaron Nawrocki • Capital M Lending •  Portland, Oregon

Covid-19 is having widespread and unpredictable effects across multiple business sectors. Bars and restaurants are among the hardest hit industries and suppliers such as craft breweries and food purveyors are starting to suffer too. Many industries that are not shut down completely are working shortened hours or laying off a portion of their staff. The mortgage industry is feeling the effect as well. Some of these folks had real estate purchases in process and their layoff stopped them from buying a home. Mortgage lenders are also worried that some new homebuyers will lose their jobs over the coming months and that they may be unable to pay their new mortgages. There’s an additional concern that some of these mortgages may go straight into forbearance. It’s beginning to have an effect on how mortgage loans are approved and closed.

Mortgage lenders make revenue by closing mortgage loans and selling them. They are creating a product for sale, much as Honda makes cars. If they can’t sell the finished product, they don’t want to make it, as holding inventory would put them out of business. To help ensure they don’t get stuck with loans they can’t sell, banks are changing lending criteria and not making certain types of loans. In essence, banks are only building silver Honda Accords – no purple or brown ones – they’re only making the types of loans that are most readily saleable. I like the above analogy because most folks want a silver Honda Accord anyways – so the changes below will only affect a small percentage of potential homebuyers. Nonetheless, it’s important to be aware of how the mortgage world is moving.

Here are some of the changes:

  • Higher risk Government loans (FHA and VA loans) are subject to additional scrutiny. Traditionally, Government loans have had higher rates of default as they are designed to lend to more “at-risk” borrowers. Banks that service these loans are required to pay the investors that hold them, even if the borrowers are not paying. This has led to some banks requiring minimum 680 credit scores and/or lower debt to income ratios.
  • “Jumbo” loans are very difficult to find or much more expensive. In the Portland market, these are loans larger than $510,400 (the “Conforming” limit). Because these loans are sold in the open market or held by the bank that opens them, there are no guaranteed buyers. Additionally, these larger loans tend to create more losses in a downturn as higher cost properties typically suffer disproportionately when home values fall. 
  • Because the mortgage market is so volatile right now, some lenders are not allowing interest rate lock extensions or making them extremely expensive. If you’re buying a home in this environment, it’s important to have extra time on your interest rate lock as all aspects of the home buying process are taking longer.
  • More “overlays” in general – mortgage loan underwriting rules are written to address “most” situations. We are in a unique time and lenders are adding additional approval criteria. This could include:
    • Using two years of tax returns for self-employed income calculation instead of the most recent year
    • Requiring additional funds in reserve – three to six months’ mortgage payments left over after bringing in the money to close
    • Looking at the type of industries the borrowers work in (hospitality, entertainment, etc) to see if they are at higher risk of closing.
    • Reverifying employment multiple times throughout the loan process, including the day of closing and asking very specific questions about how Covid-19 is affecting the employee’s number of hours worked and overall pay.

These changes are having some effect on new mortgage applications. We’re seeing a general slowdown in preapprovals. First time homebuyer applications are still strong, but buyers with a home to sell or who might be purchasing homes at the higher end of the spectrum are applying in smaller numbers. For those who elect to proceed, good financing is still available at low interest rates. The above changes will not affect most homebuyers. The Fed has been stepping in and buying mortgage loans under $510,400 (“Conforming” mortgages underwritten to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac guidelines). These types of loans make up the majority of mortgages issued and having a back-up buyer makes banks more willing to fund these types of loans. For buyers looking to borrow more than $510,400, lenders are using a Conforming first mortgage and a second mortgage in conjunction, in lieu of one “Jumbo” loan. The mortgage business is adapting and evolving in this environment, just like other industries. More changes are likely to come as the economy gyrates and it’s never been more important to have an experienced REALTOR® and loan originator to help get you to closing smoothly. 

Contact Aaron Nawrocki HERE if you have any questions, or mortgage needs.

 

About Us:
Over the course of their professional partnership, Aryne + Dulcinea have helped over 200 clients prosper in their new lives. During this time, they have prided themselves in their top-notch selling abilities, with homes outperforming market standards, consistently exceeding list price while most of their listings sell in under 7 days. Whether you’re looking to buy or sell, Aryne & Dulcinea will work in collaboration to guide you in investing in your future and reaching your real estate goals.

How’s The Market? March 2020 Update

This is always our most asked “realtor at a party” question, but boy is there a lot of heat around this question right now. Our high energy spring selling season seems to have started a month early and the buyer audience is clamoring for new listings! Our HouseLovePDX 2020 listings thus far have all had multiple offers resulting in “over asking” sales prices. Colleagues are telling stories of 18, 20 and even 30 offers at a time for that perfect pad. Here’s why:

  • Inventory continues to be low at 2.2% (that means it would take 2.2 months to sell everything that is currently on the market in the greater Portland area, if no new listings were added to the market). In many “close in” Portland area neighborhoods, that number is more like 1.6%.
  • Interest rates are hovering under the 3.5%* mark which means that money is incredibly cheap. (*3-4-2020)
  • Oregon is in a never-before-experienced year 11 of economic growth. We’re going to say that again: 11 straight years of economic growth. Traditionally Oregon has a recession every nine years or so. We are in some seriously uncharted waters, people!

So, what do we think? Well, we think that if you are considering selling in the next few years, you’ll want to seriously consider selling ASAP, or plan to hold for a few years to get through a down turn. Data just can’t help us out here so this is our gut feeling. Heck, data can’t even help us out with appraisals right now because the market data for our sluggish and low energy fourth quarter 2019 in no way reflects the buyer demand (resulting in a large increase in sales prices) for property we are seeing right now.

Our guess is that by late summer the strong seller position that we are experiencing right now will have run out of steam just in time for the election to be taking center stage. Come September 2020, the Portland buyer audience will likely be even more distracted than normal with the election frenzy. Additionally, we think that it’s highly likely that late 2020/early 2021 will bring on some kind of recession or market softening (along with all the economic forecast folks we’ve been following).

The good news? Fourth quarter 2020 could be an awesome time to be a first-time home buyer! The wild card? Interest rates. It’s really hard to pass on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage with interest rates UNDER 3.5% (as of 3-4-2020)! That’s a lot of money saved if interest rates go up, even if prices go down in many cases. (Here’s a good article on buying power and the relationship of interest rates vs sales price.) Unfortunately our gut feeling has opted out of trying to predict 2020 changes in interest rates given the whole never before 11-year economic growth cycle coinciding with the highest ever national debt amount of $23.3 trillion.

If you are a seller and want to explore the idea of selling sooner rather than later, give us a call and we’ll schedule a walk through of your property and develop a custom listing plan that makes the most sense for you and for your property.

If you are a buyer and want to take advantage of the incredible low interest rates, we’re here for you too. We’ve had success for our buyer clients in all kinds of markets and while it can just take some time and a few offer attempts, we have some tricks up our sleeves to strengthen your chances of getting an accepted offer in a multiple-offer situation.

And having said all of the above, real estate sales happen all the time regardless of what the market is or is not doing. If you need or want to make a change, we can help you make informed decisions in all kinds of markets. We’d be happy to review your situation and help you evaluate your options.

SUPERCHARGE YOUR HOME VIBE! IT’S A PARTY AT ECOVIBE HOME JUST FOR YOU!

Come get everything you need for your home during our “Celebrating Alberta Street” store event at ECOVIBE Home on Thursday, February 27th from 6:00 – 8:00 PM.

~ 1906 NE ALBERTA STREET, PORTLAND OR 97211 ~

Join us for this 2-hour event and receive 15% off the entire store. Spend $150 or more and get 20% off! ECOVIBE Home has amazing plants (a plant expert is on staff daily)  rugs, throws, throw pillows, candles, and so much more!

Stop in, shop, and enjoy Thai salad rolls and sparkly sodas!

 

 

About Us:
Over the course of their professional partnership, Aryne + Dulcinea have helped over 200 clients prosper in their new lives. During this time, they have prided themselves in their top-notch selling abilities, with homes outperforming market standards, consistently exceeding list price while most of their listings sell in under 7 days. Whether you’re looking to buy or sell, Aryne & Dulcinea will work in collaboration to guide you in investing in your future and reaching your real estate goals.

New Price: Live-Work Pearl Loft

Rare Loft-Style Live-Work Condo in the Heart of Portland!

1022 NW Marshall Street, #360 Portland, OR 97209

Large and light-filled loft in the chic Metropolitan building offers hard to find flexibility for your office/commercial space or your personal residence. Open layout with hardwood floors, floor to ceiling windows, modern kitchen and bathroom, laundry hook-ups, deeded secure parking, and storage unit. No rental cap. Fully accessible.

Sleek front lobby with 24-hour concierge & modern elevators, provide ADA accessibility & make a great first impression with your clients. Deluxe building amenities include:

  • spacious conference room
  • adjacent lounge space with wet bar and gas fireplace
  • guest suites
  • walk-in wine storage
  • outdoor patio with fireplace, and rooftop patio – perfect for client events and business entertaining

While the space is currently being used as an office, the loft can easily be utilized as a personal residence or a combo of the two!

Located in Portland’s iconic Pearl District, this property is centrally located in close proximity to the Portland Street Car line, restaurants, shops, main post office and parks.  A WalkScore of 96 makes this a Walker’s Paradise neighborhood.


OFFERED AT $700,000

1 bath | 1,288 SF

MLS# 19533084 | Taxes: $8,241 | HOA dues: $763


Deluxe building amenities:

Front lobby:

Loft space set up as personal residence:

Located in the iconic Pearl District:

Portland Monthly Names Kari McGee a Five Star REALTOR®

Portland Monthly has named Kari McGee, principal broker of the HouseLovePDX Team, a Five Star REALTOR®! Kari has received this award annually for seven years, making her a seven-time winner. Less than five percent of Portland REALTORS® receive this award.

Portland Monthly compiles a list of top REALTORS® each year to help consumers find the best local professionals. Criteria includes client feedback, and surveys of industry peers and professionals. This process helps ensure only the best REALTORS® make the list.

Kari has helped clients successfully navigate the evolving Portland real estate market since 2005. Kari originally hails from Salem, Oregon. After a globetrotting career focused on music and acting, she returned to Oregon in 2004. Her personal experience with relocating galvanized her belief that wherever you go, it’s crucial to connect in meaningful ways to a new home and new community. In 2005 she started her own business as a realtor, with the goal of helping people transition successfully to new neighborhoods and start their next chapter on solid ground.

In 2011 Kari joined the brokerage Living Room Realty and further developed her role as a relocation specialist who helps families get connected to Portland’s community and culture. As Kari’s business grew, she looked to her cousin and attorney, Erika George, to help meet the needs of her clients. Together, Kari and Erika formed HouseLovePDX, a REALTOR® team that draws on Erika’s 20 years of experience as a lawyer and Kari’s expertise in real estate.

To learn more about how Kari and Erika can help your goals become a reality, reach them for a free consultation and market analysis at karianderika@livingroomre.com or 971-322-6612.