Week Links - October 29, 2006
October 29th, 2006
A collection of recent news and editorial items about the Portland area.
Froth fading from condo boom — The Oregonian
The frenetic pace of sales and price appreciation that catapulted Portland’s urban condo market the past two years has calmed
Risky ‘flipping’ grows with area’s surge of recent projects — The Oregonian
Recent condo openings spur immediate resales, with markups
All grown up with places to go — The Oregonian
Washington County, once a sleepy suburb dependent on Portland, is blossoming into self-sufficient urban areas
In century-old building, architects see future — Portland Tribune
Opsis Architecture already sees payoff from sustainable showroom
Pole Position — Willamette Week
An up-and-down story of power lines under the tram.
Technorati Tags: Portland, Oregon, real, estate, links, news, editorial, homes, houses
Photo by: shoothead. Used under Creative Commons license.
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2 Comments Add your own
1. Larry Morris | November 1st, 2006 at 2:07 am
Ron,
Last Friday’s Oregonian issue on Condo’s was enlightening, but left out a few important trends. These will greatly affect “flipping” and most realtors and investors are not aware of them yet, let alone have a solution.
* Most of my lenders have eliminated the ability to obtain a loan with an Earnest Money Agreement with an “or assignee” clause.
* Many are moving in the direction of requiring a seller be on Title for at least 90 days before they will finance a loan for a buyer.
* I haven’t been able to find a lender who will allow a simultaneous close for quite awhile. This is where a buyer will sign an earnest money agreement with a seller and then go find another buyer for a higher price and enter into a new contract. This used to allow them to walk away with the difference with very little work.
* They are also making it a lot harder on mortgage brokers if the loan closes in less than 180 days.
What was common last year is becoming much harder today.
The secondary market for real estate loans is constantly looking at the characteristics of loans that are unprofitable and making adjustments to their products. Right now, flipping is becoming at least a short term investment.
I believe that there will be a lot of investors who will get stuck with a property they weren’t planning on renting. Some will just walk away from the deal and their earnest money, others could go in to foreclosure.
What most “Investment” gurus don’t explain is what the ramifications will be when the person the “investor” is trying to sell the property to tries to get conventional financing.
We’ve found a few safe ways for investors to work within the system, but the rules have definately changed.
Anyway, that’s my two cents…
http://www.pdx-mortgage.blogspot.com
2. Ron | November 1st, 2006 at 12:33 pm
Interesting comments.
Perhaps a subject worth covering at http://www.pdx-mortgage.blogspot.com ?
The ‘assignee’ clause issue is a new one to me.
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