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Mt. Hood Real Estate Blog

Liz Warren

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Displaying blog entries 1581-1590 of 1919

Monday Morning Coffee on Mt. Hood

Monday, September 28, 2009
by Liz Warren
Monday Morning Coffee

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:

"Thought in the mind hath made us. What we are
By thought was wrought and built. If a man's mind
Hath evil thoughts, pain comes on him as comes
The wheel the ox behind . . .

. . . If one endure
In purity of thought, joy follows him
As his own shadow - sure."
~ James Allen


GO TO THE GARDEN!

The human mind is like a garden. It directly reflects the care and attention given to it. Consider two gardens side-by-side, in the same soil.

The first is bursting with color, gives off the most delicate of fragrances, is free of weeds, and forest green. New buds continually replace each other, and it's a delightful place to spend a sunny day.

Just a few feet away, you encounter a musty patch of stunted leaves, few blooms, parched soil, and insect infestation. The few plants remaining beg for a kind word and attention of any kind. They look sad from their days of inattention.

Why is there such a disparity between the two gardens? The first has a gardener, while the second has been totally ignored. And just as an untended garden will fail to prosper, so will an untended mind.

Imagine how easy it is for the mind to wither and atrophy when attention is not paid to its simplest needs. The mind can be so creative, unless it is fed passive TV drivel hour after hour. The mind can be so enthusiastic, unless powered by a body nourished by fast food, chips, sugar-filled cereal, and caffeine-packed soft drinks.

Just as a vibrant garden inspires, a well-tended mind can bring forth the best in others. It deserves our attention. It should be watered and fertilized with foods filled with the proper nutrients. It can be expanded greatly through the stimulation of education. It can remain viable only through the practice and application of solid principles.

When the care given is incongruous with the results desired, the garden is a disaster. When the mind's actions do not match its stated objectives, chaos is the result. Our minds have the potential to bloom more abundantly than any garden. They deserve our utmost attention.

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The Barlow Trail Road at Mt. Hood

Wednesday, September 23, 2009
by Liz Warren

Our local area on Mt Hood is filled with history.  I travel on Barlow Trails Road a couple of times a week. As I drive along Barlow Trail,  I'm traveling the road that over 50,000 emigrants used to travel into Oregon. The Barlow Trail Road in the mid 1800's opened up the Willamette Valley for settlement. These early emigrants helped Oregon estabish a population which eventually led to acheiving statehood. Read about the history.

Barlow Trail winds through several of our communities from Government Camp, Rhododendron and Brightwood.

Here is a recent article in the Sandy Post or find out more about the Barlow Trail here.

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New Zig Zag Riverfront Cabin on Market

Monday, September 21, 2009
by Liz Warren

NEW ON MARKET   $187,500

Great sturdy knotty pine cabin on the Zig Zag River only eight minutes to premium ski slopes! Located in the pristine setting of the Mt. Hood National Forest and about an hour from Portland. This cabin was finished in 1935 and built during the depression on weekends by the original owner. The current owner has had the cabin for 35 YEARS! But, it's time to travel and they hate to sell it but the time has come.

There is one bedroom on the main level and it's BIG! Your guests can enjoy their own private bedroom upstairs plus there is a loft area with multiple beds. Original wood floors are in the living room and the kitchen/dining area boasts a big woodstove and a vintage refrigerator! Sit back in front of the fireplace after a day on the slopes or read a great book on the riverside deck.

Take a tour

The Mt. Hood National Forest boasts a pristine setting with tall firs and roaring rivers yet close to all the amenities of a full service community. This cabin is on leased land. Email for details.

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Mt. Hood Morning Coffee for Inspiration

Monday, September 21, 2009
by Liz Warren
Monday Morning Coffee

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:

"Every conquered temptation represents a new fund of moral energy. Every trial endured
and weathered in the right spirit makes a soul nobler and stronger than it was before."
~ James Buckham


YOU'RE NOT DONE YET!

Ever noticed how great leaders often come from humble beginnings? From the devastating depths of silence and inability to speak, Helen Keller inspired the world once she had overcome great adversity.

Diagnosed with amyontrophic lateral sclerosis and standing before a full-house crowd in Yankee Stadium on July 4th 1939, Lou Gehrig proclaimed, "I am the luckiest man on the face of the earth! I might have been given a bad break, but I 've got an awful lot to live for." He spent the last two years of his life as Parole Commissioner for New York City, hoping to make a difference in the lives of young people in trouble.

Today, we use more contemporary quotes to explain the same concept. We say, "No pain - no gain!" or, "When the going gets tough, the tough get going." No matter how we verbalize it, it is true that through adversity comes strength.

Think back to the toughest times you've faced during your life. Chances are you'll have to agree that you grew and became a better person for the experience. As for temptations, they are more easily given in to than conquered. Nevertheless, the value system to which you subscribe today probably evolved from temptations overcome.

As Richard Bach put it in his wonderful book "Illusions," "There is no such thing as a problem without a gift for you in its hands. You seek problems because you need their gifts." Whether it be a physical or moral challenge you face, suffer if you must, but look also for its gift. And remember another Richard Bach quote, "Here is a test to find out whether your mission here on earth is finished: If you're alive, it isn't."

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Strategic Defaults

Monday, September 21, 2009
by Liz Warren

What is a strategic default in today's real estate marketplace? Surprisingly, nearly 600,000  strategic defaults happened in the United States last year according to the LA Times. Most of these defaults happened in Florida, California and Nevada. What is a strategic default? This is when an owner stops making payments on their mortgage thinking that they will walk away from the property since the market has shifted so dramatically that it will not recover for the owner to keep making those payments. This amount is double the number from the prior year.

It is also surprising that the majority of home owners who opted to do this have great credit and good payment histories vs. lower credit scores. They see the writing on the wall and believe walking away, although taking a major hit on their credit ability, is better than being tied to a house without a chance of recovery in these markets.

This trend will probably continue especially in the states mentioned above. Unless there is more stability in the real estate market, it will continue.

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Mt. Hood First Time Home Buyers

Sunday, September 20, 2009
by Liz Warren

Daylight is burning!!!!

Looking for that first home? Time is running out to take advantage of the $8,000 tax credit. Many sales are taking six to eight weeks to close. In order to get the credit by the dead line, you need your home to close by November 31, 2009!

Selection is great and you can't beat today's interest rates!

Here is more information on the first time buyer tax credit.

 

 

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Mt. Hood Sales for August 2009

Sunday, September 20, 2009
by Liz Warren

August Sales were WAY UP compared to any other month this year! A total of 14 sales for the month, seems like the number is almost normal for a typcial August on the mountain. Mt Hood National Forest cabins saw the largest segment of sales with five for the month! Four properties were under $100,000 in price. A couple were taking advantage of the first time home buyer plan with the $8,000 credit. September numbers look pretty good too with seventeen properties pending from Government Camp, Rhododendron, Welches and Brightwood.

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Market Stats for Mt. Hood Real Estate August Numbers Are In

Tuesday, September 15, 2009
by Liz Warren

The numbers are in for the mountain area from Government Camp, Rhododendron, Welches and Brightwood. The multiple listing service just released the numbers today. The chart below shows active, pendings, and solds for the month of August 2009. This is also compared to last year and year to date numbers.

SALES ARE WAY UP! Fourteen total for the months of August. The stimulus package is working and many of these were first time home buyers exersising the $8,000 tax cedit!

Here are the sales:

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Elephant in the Room

Tuesday, September 15, 2009
by Liz Warren

Have you heard about the 134 Billion in US option Arm mortgages getting ready to "recast" in the next couple of years? It's coming and it will have impact. Recasting is when, for example, a 5 year arm comes up for the interest rate to adjust to current levels. Many of these loans create negative amortization. Negative amortization makes your balance higher than it was when you originally took out your loan. If you have a five year ARM, it's possible home prices have declined and you are now under water with your value. Some interest rates will double causing many homeowners in this current economic environment to be unable to make these payments.

California, Florida, Nevada and Arizona, which have experienced declines of as much as 48% in values will be particularly hard hit when the ARMs begin adjusting. These states will see many additional foreclosures in their future.

Locally in the Mt. Hood area from Government Camp, Rhododendron and Welches, we will not see as much of an impact. Sandy, on the other hand, may see some additional foreclosures due to their rapid growth and newer subdivisions that have sprung up over the past five years.

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Monday Morning Coffee

Monday, September 14, 2009
by Liz Warren
Monday Morning Coffee

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:

"Every conquered temptation represents a new fund of moral energy.
Every trial endured and weathered in the right spirit makes a soul nobler
and stronger than it was before."
~ James Buckham


YOU'RE NOT DONE YET!

Ever noticed how great leaders often come from humble beginnings? From the devastating depths of silence and inability to speak, Helen Keller inspired the world once she had overcome great adversity.

Diagnosed with amyontrophic lateral sclerosis and standing before a full-house crowd in Yankee Stadium on July 4th 1939, Lou Gehrig proclaimed, "I am the luckiest man on the face of the earth! I might have been given a bad break, but I 've got an awful lot to live for." He spent the last two years of his life as Parole Commissioner for New York City, hoping to make a difference in the lives of young people in trouble.

Today, we use more contemporary quotes to explain the same concept. We say, "No pain - no gain!" or, "When the going gets tough, the tough get going." No matter how we verbalize it, it is true that through adversity comes strength.

Think back to the toughest times you've faced during your life. Chances are you'll have to agree that you grew and became a better person for the experience. As for temptations, they are more easily given in to than conquered. Nevertheless, the value system to which you subscribe today probably evolved from temptations overcome.

As Richard Bach put it in his wonderful book "Illusions," "There is no such thing as a problem without a gift for you in its hands. You seek problems because you need their gifts." Whether it be a physical or moral challenge you face, suffer if you must, but look also for its gift. And remember another Richard Bach quote, "Here is a test to find out whether your mission here on earth is finished: If you're alive, it isn't."

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Displaying blog entries 1581-1590 of 1919

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