July 27th, 2011 | 
Author: courtesy of The NW Examiner
The Slabtown neighborhood gets its name from the enormous quantities of slab wood—the rounded, exterior parts of a log cut away to square off lumber–that were produced as a popular form of heating fuel in the early 1900s by lumber mills of the neighborhood. Slabtown has been a cohesive residential community, distinguished by a mixed ethnic component, since the 1850s. It encompasses the area roughly from NW 16th Avenue to Montgomery Park and from the Willamette River to NW Pettygrove. Landmarks of old Slabtown include the site of the 1905 World’s Fair, St. Patrick’s Church, the ESCO steel foundry, Chapman School, and the Vaughn Street Baseball Park, home of Portland’s Pacific Coast League club, the Beavers until 1955.
By Jeanine March, In-House Lender for Lee Davies Real Estate
This is something new we are running into occasionally and I wanted to pass it along. When a borrower has a “disputed” account on their credit report, the credit bureaus exclude that account from the credit scoring model. In order to make sure that a consumer’s entire credit history is being calculated into the credit scoring mechanism, Fannie Mae is now requiring in most cases that the disputed account be resolved and the dispute be lifted/removed. A new credit report is needed to confirm that the account dispute has been resolved and the new credit scores are then used for the automated underwriting decision. This process can take as little as 24-48 hours to as long as 30-days, depending on the credit bureaus response time. I am carefully analyzing each borrower’s credit report up front to spot any disputed accounts to give the client adequate time to resolve the disputes. If is it not possible to resolve the credit dispute, the loan may not be eligible for automated underwriting and would then require a manual/traditional approval. Guidelines are more strict in these cases. This is good reason to encourage prospective buyers to begin the pre-approval process right away, before they begin looking for a home to purchase. Please contact me with any questions or concerns.
To contact Jeanine with any questions or to get pre-approved:
Office: 503-439-9191
Cell: 503-701-3464
Email: jmarch@nwmortgagegroup.com
As of June 30th, every 2011 seller of a closed residential transaction over $1,000,000 in NW Washington County was represented by Lee Davies Real Estate. In addition, Lee Davies Real Estate also represented the buyers of one of these transactions. “Decades of experience in this market along with our unique business model have attributed to this success”, explains Lee Davies, Principal Broker and owner. Lee Davies Real Estate builds custom broker teams of three uniquely specialized brokers to work on a seller’s behalf. Proven systems and protocols along with an in-house marketing department maximize their ability to complete the sale.
From American Home Shield…
1. Brush better. Make sure the faucet is turned off while you’re brushing your teeth. It may seem like a no-brainer, but this one action can waste a lot of water.
2. Shave smart. Fill up your sink with a little hot water and turn the faucet off while shaving. Use the water in the sink to rinse the razor.
3. Repair right away. Fix toilet and faucet leaks immediately. The longer they wait, the more money you’re throwing down the drain.
4. Cut by two. Cut your shower by two minutes and you could save 12 gallons of water or more per shower.
5. Don’t use your toilet as a trash can. If you do, you’ll increase unnecessary flushing — not to mention the possibility of expensive plumbing problems.
6. Install a low-flow showerhead. These inexpensive devices (they start at around $15) can cut water usage to up to 20,000 gallons per year.
7. Add aerators. Another cheap addition (less than $10), aerators mix air bubbles into the water stream. Use one and you’ll get the same amount of pressure with a lot less water.
8. Install low-flow toilets. They use about one third of what traditional toilets use. (They’re required for most new construction, so it’s possible the home already has them.)
9. Try a cheap alternative to low-flow toilets. Fill a half-gallon plastic container with stones (or another heavy item) and place it in your toilet tank. It will displace water, saving you about a half gallon on each flush.
10. Save your almost-warm water. As you wait for your bath or shower water to warm up, save it in a bucket and use it to irrigate your lawn or flower beds later.
By Peggy McMullen, from The Oregonian
Take a day this weekend and spruce up your front porch. It’s a project that will pay off with a smile every time you come home.
First, clear everything off.
What’s malingering on your front entry area? Boots, pots of dead plants from last year, seasonal decor? Put away the gear. Dump out and set the pots aside.
Set aside any decorative items. Now’s the time to assess the look of this area and decide on a color scheme.
Give everything a good scrubbing.
Sweep the ceiling, walls and floor.
Clean off the door hardware, house numbers, mailbox.
Clean the light fixture, including the bulb.
If you have a window in the door, clean it.
For the rest of Peggy’s tips visit oregonlive…
If you’re looking for something to do this weekend, why not pop down to the Cedar Mill Shortcake Social at the Leedy Grange Hall!
From 12-3, freshly baked Bob’s Red Mill shortcake with just-picked strawberries from Dinihanian’s Farm Market will be available, as well as fresh Alpenrose whipped cream, lemonade and coffee. $5 for a large shortcake or $3 for a small shortcake, all proceeds go to repairing the hall.
There will also be Cedar Mill history photos and music, a great afternoon for all!
Shortcake Social, Saturday, June 25, noon-3 pm Leedy Grange Hall
835 NW Saltzman (at the entrance to Bales Thriftway)
As a native Oregonian, Coleen was born and raised in the Portland Metro area. After graduating from Beaverton High School, Coleen studied interior design at Portland State University. Following college, Coleen joined an advertising firm where she worked as an account executive and media buyer for over ten years.
Coleen and her husband, Gary, have three daughters; the oldest at college and the younger two currently attending Sunset High School. As her girls have grown up, Coleen has enjoyed being involved in their schools and community activities including procuring donations to rejuvenate Shaver Elementary in Parkrose, a stint as vice president of her daughter’s PTO, and working as the Party Coordinator at Terra Linda Elementary.
Sports have always played a huge part in Coleen’s life. Growing up, she played basketball and volleyball in school; today, she spends many hours on the sidelines watching her kids play soccer and basketball. Additionally, she and her husband own The Kingston Sports Bar and Grill located in downtown Portland across from Jeld-Wen Field, home of the Timbers.
Her strong sense of community fuels her enthusiasm to help buyers find their ideal property. Coleen welcomes the opportunity to share her knowledge and help you find your perfect home too.
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Scott has a special passion for home ownership that started with remodeling his first home in New Jersey from top to bottom. A corporate relocation brought him to Oregon two decades ago and he put all those first home lessons into contracting to build a new custom home. With a changing family lifestyle, Scott worked with a popular area builder to design a second custom home in the Bethany area. Always very detailed, he paid daily visits to the home to be sure the results were exactly what was expected during all phases of construction.
His long corporate history in marketing, sales, and purchasing give him a unique set of skills and experiences that make him a natural in handling all aspects of real estate transactions. Scott’s business career started shortly after graduation from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater as a High School Marketing Teacher. A long family history of careers in the railroad industry pulled at him, and he was hired by the Union Pacific into their Sales Department servicing Philadelphia, PA companies such as Campbell Soup, DuPont, and Subaru. After marrying his wife Rita, he moved to Philadelphia based Conrail to help preserve a longer tenure in the Philadelphia area and start a family.
Conrail had other plans for him, relocating him to Portland in 1990 to manage western forest products clients. His new customers included familiar local companies such as Weyerhaeuser, Boise Cascade, Potlatch, and Hampton Lumber to name a few. Scott later accepted a transportation management position for a large, Portland based lumber trading company.
Scott has developed strong analytical skills, negotiation strategies, and customer service sensitivity, which have been put to good use since transitioning to Real Estate in 2006. His business skills include both buyer and seller side transaction analysis with both parties satisfied at the negotiation table.
Scott has also spent a considerable amount of time offering community service as a Volunteer Firefighter and EMT in three different cities during his career. He seldom went a day without stepping off a fire engine to help a neighbor or visitor at their worst possible times.
Always competitive, he played four years of college football, enjoys downhill skiing, cycling, and a good workout at the gym or a long run.
He has two college aged children and the house is divided with one at Oregon and one at Washington.
CONGRATULATIONS GRADUATES!
Several of our Lee Davies Real Estate brokers have had children graduate from high school and college over the last few weeks and we want to take a moment to applaud their accomplishments, as well as those of all our Portland-area graduates!
We want to thank the Jesuit High School grads for thinking of Lee Davies Real Estate to assist with their grad night party!
In addition to use by our clients, we love donating our moving truck to schools, charities and community organizations!
by Roxann Mike
The term “Buyer’s Market” is thrown around often in the current Real Estate Market. In theory, buyers currently have the perfect set of circumstances; historically low interest rates, motivated sellers and hungry real estate agents vying for their business. So, why do I have frustrated buyers? It seems in certain micro markets in the Portland Metropolitan area there is a problem with low inventory. I have buyers waiting, with pre-approval letters in hand, for a house to pop up in their coveted neighborhood of choice. When the home does hit the market, in some cases, we are suddenly faced with a multiple offer situation.
Is this an indication of a shift in the market? Only time will tell. What I do know is that a smart consumer knows the market. If you are not currently receiving instant email alerts of complete listings that match your specific home search criteria or the latest market data on your targeted community, you can’t possibly compete in these areas. The educated consumer has knowledge and we all know knowledge is power. For home sellers, this information is just as powerful. You will know if you are in one of these micro markets by watching the activity around you and can position your home accordingly. If you are currently not in the market to buy or sell, you still can keep abreast on current market conditions with a monthly Metro Market Report. Know your market!
If you are currently not receiving any of these reports, but would like to…please let me know! And don’t worry about my frustrated buyers…it’s my job to make sure we find them what they are looking for and I am working tenaciously to that end.
Roxann can be reached at Roxann@leedavies.com or (503) 360-8969
Every Saturday from now through October, the Cedar Mill Farmer’s Market will run from 8am -1pm, just west of Murray on NW Cornell Road across from Sunset High School.
Available at the market are fresh fruits and vegetables, baked and canned goods, flowers, arts, crafts and more. A wonderful way to spend a Saturday morning!
