Buyers, Get an Edge on everyone Else

The spring and summer months are traditionally the busiest times of year for the residential real estate market. Weather is more cooperative and many families like to move while the kids are on their summer vacation.

If you’re going to be looking for a new home this spring, its time to get started.

If you’re going to work with a Realtor or Real Estate Professional, get started early. Let them know exactly what you are looking for.

• Get your loan pre-approved. This will give an advantage on several fronts.
• Figure out how much you have for a down payment.
• Be ready at a moment’s notice. If you’re in an especially tight market, your Realtor will be reviewing new listings daily. If he or she finds something that matches your criteria, you’ll want to look at the house and be ready to make an offer, fast.
• When looking at houses, look at the potential. There are major factors you won’t be able to change — the neighborhood, proximity to work and schools, the basic floor plan of the house, and size of the back yard, among other things.
• If you’re buying in a seller’s market, listen carefully to your Realtor or agent about how much you should offer.

Begin thinking about homeowners’ insurance now. Begin by making sure your credit report is accurate — credit histories are sometimes used to determine whether a company will insure you, and, if so, at what rate.

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Time To Buy Real Estate

Fed is ending its 16month program of buying Mortgage-Backed-Securities (MBS). They have been buying these MBS’s for a while now thus causing the lower rates that we have come to love and expect.

Rates will have to go up to make the investment more attractive to the fewer major buyers that remain in the market.  Before the Fed stepped in, rates averaged 5.75% to 6.25% for much of 2008. So it is likely that we should see rates rise to that level again.  More than likely, we’ll see the market move back towards those levels.  My best professional opinion says by the end of this year for sure and probably by the summer.   I can’t stress enough … the historic lows are over … if you need to refi or do a purchase … now is your best time.

If you paid attention last week, you would know that MBS pricing collapsed on Wednesday & Thursday, which has already led to rate increases on many programs.  Investors are nervous about the Fed backing off, and the cost of the new health care bill signed into law today.   Remember, rates always rise like a rocket (fast) and fall like a feather (slow).  Won’t take too much to push them upwards – very fragile market.

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Clark County Public Utilities

Did you know that in 2008, Clark Public Utilities received the highest customer satisfaction rating in the Western mid size Utility Division. Our county has a higher rating than  Colorado Springs Utilities, Tacoma Power, Idaho Power, Seattle City Light Public Service Co New Mexico, Avista and Sierra Pacific Power, which are  in the same category.

J.D. Power and Associates examines the top electric utility providers in the areas of billing, cost/value, power quality, customer service and image throughout US. Additionally, the 2007 SRP Western US Utility Survey ranked Clark Public Utilities 1st for quality and reliability.

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Lease Commercial in Clark County

The Columbia River Economics Development council published a report that shows the lease rates in both Clark County and Portland, Oregon.  The report shows that Clark County, Washington have  all over lower rates than the Portland Oregon area.

Check out these Lease Rates:
Portland Central Business District the Office Space is and the Industrial/Flex$8.58.  in the Portland I-5 Corridor, the  Office Space  is $24.35 and the  Industrial/Flex is $6.75. But look how much lower Clark County   is:  The Office Space is $19.72  and the  Industrial/Flex is $6.65.

To top it off, Clark County possesses over 1.7 million square feet of professional Class A office space and nearly 5 million square feet of class B office space. Additionally, Clark County is home to more than 16.4 million square feet of industrial/flex space. Clark County’s average lease rates are among the lowest in the Portland Metropolitan area.

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‘HEADING INTO SPACE’

Our own  Hudson Bay High School Teacher and Coach, Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger, was named to ride the next Shuttle into space on April 5th.  She taught math and science and coached crossed country at Hudson Bay High.  She left Hudson Bay High School and entered astronaut training in 2004.  Many of our Vancouver families have been  influenced directly or indirectly by Dottie.

The next Shuttle, #STS-131, which will be heading to the International Space Station, will be her first orbital trip, and if all goes according to schedule, will launch on April 5, 2010.  She will be in space for about 13 days and her responsibility as a mission specialist is to operate the robotic arm.  She explained that she has gone through much training involving handling various problems thrown at the crew to see how they would handle them, with the crew’s ultimate goal of safety and decision making.  She says she is really looking forward to the trip, and especially being able to experience the incredible speed and seeing the earth and the heavens from orbit.

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