Living on the Columbia River

By visiting your local Vancouver Realtor, you can review the unbelievable for sale listings showing homes with breathtaking views of the Columbia River, the City and Mountains.  Homes ranging all the way to upscale luxurious with amenities not seen in many homes anywhere. These are custom designed and custom built homes with features like private theatres, wine rooms, master suite fireplaces,and many outdoor upper end features like retractable pool covers, steam showers, complete outdoor kitchens and more. A visit to your local Vancouver Realtor and looking at the MLS listings will offer many of these beautiful homes that are available right now.

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What is more improtant? The House or the Vancouver Neighborhood

Sometimes when we decide that we are going to relocate,we look and look at a diverse selection of homes, in many different neighborhoods such as  Edgewood Park and find out that there are many choices, and narrowing down the choices can get complicated by the fact that many nice homes are available today in the Vancouver area.

There are many modern and updated older homes available in older neighborhoods, most of them somewhat smaller than the newer and more recently built homes in the newer neighborhoods or developments. The older homes tend to be larger and have all of the modern amenities, and some are sitting on much larger lots. The newer homes are much smaller in size, modern and sitting on much smaller pieces of land.

Making a decision on which type of property to purchase can be difficult and you must consider several things.

• If you are purchasing a home just for the resale value and the home you are interested in is in an older neighborhood with upper end values and you can get that home at a great price then it may be a great buy.
• Are the other homes in the same neighborhood similar and updated as the one you are interested in?
• Overall, is the neighborhood on the upswing or on the decline?
• Have you spent time in the neighborhood?
• Walked the sidewalks at evening and during the night hours to see what it like?
• Are there traffic problems and a lot of noise or party noise? What about crime rates?
• Are there children in the neighborhood?
• How are the lawns and yards maintained?
• Does the city maintain the streets well and keep it clean?
• Spend some time in the neighborhood and even talk to the people living there and ask questions and you will soon find out if you want to live there or not.

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Shopping Around for a Mortgage Loan

When purchasing a new home in Vancouver or the Portland area, be sure you shop around to find the best deal in mortgage loans. Compare all of the costs involved and specifically the origination costs. Those costs can be as little as zero dollars and go all the way up to thousands.

Call Terrie, she  is an experienced Vancouver Real Estate professional for many years and has built relationships with numerous lender in our area. So talk with Terrie and she can guide you to the best Mortgage Bankers in the Vancouver or Portland Area.

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The Pros & Cons of Having a Home on a Corner Lot

Most people look at corner lots as a plus, however even though you might get a bigger sized lot for the same price, it might not be what you want in the long run. Corner lots in Evergreen Highlands have many beautiful corner lots as do many of our other Vancouver neighborhoods. One just needs to make sure you are not on a heavy traffic area.

Pros:

• You could have more parking on a corner lot.
• The lot is much larger.
• You would only have one neighbor on the front side instead of two.
• You would usually have more unobstructed views out your windows.
• Corner lots allow more light to come into the home.

Cons:

• There is more upkeep and maintenance as the total front yard area is usually much bigger.
• There is the problem of people using the sidewalks on either side and then cutting across the yard.
• Traffic noise could be much higher due to having a home basically on two different streets, however if there is stop signs then it might be less.
• Corner lots are not preferred by people who have young children as they usually would rather have larger backyards for the kids to play in.

It really comes down to your own preference and the corner lot and home itself. There are pros and cons and each situation has to be looked at individually. Price of course will play a big part in  the consideration.

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“Green” Home Insulation Products

Nowhere is it as important to have good insulation as in cold winter ares such as in the Vancouver Neighborhoods. There are many factors to consider when purchasing insulation products for your home. Anything that saves energy gets high marks for environmental friendliness, right? To be sure, in an industry whose products have been both praised and litigated, the earth-friendliness of house insulation depends to some degree on whether you’re assessing what it’s made of or simply how it performs.

Some insulation products contain a high percentage of recycled material; others come in new formulations that remove or replace ingredients known to be environmentally harmful. There are natural products, like cotton, that get major points because they pose no risk to people with allergies or chemical sensitivities. The good news is there’s likely to be a product that meets your needs and budget.

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