tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34877209216188088782011-06-07T23:24:04.103-07:00Portland Real Estate Market and other thoughts from Herb McDonnellBryce McDonnellnoreply@blogger.comBlogger131100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3487720921618808878.post-343568475421379522009-01-13T15:26:00.000-08:002009-01-13T15:29:56.300-08:00

This country is about to go through a “changing of the guard” in a week and everyone is clamoring to fix our financial problems; but they each have their own ideas on how to accomplish that. The Obama administration, which includes the newly nominated Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner, is working on ways to revamp the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). While not much has been disclosed at

Diannenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3487720921618808878.post-69838908601771289242008-10-28T15:33:00.000-07:002008-10-28T15:41:09.706-07:00

OMG! Another turbulent week on Wall Street!! And who knows where this week is going…The financial market roller-coaster ride continues. Last week was full of economic data that was responsible for some wild swings. And today, the market took a huge up-swing. We'll see how long that lasts.So I said I’d address commercial paper and here it is: Commercial Paper is the term used for short-term

Diannenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3487720921618808878.post-44448772293979756692008-10-15T10:54:00.000-07:002008-10-15T10:56:46.565-07:00

Unless you were on a deserted island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean last week, I’m sure you’re aware of what transpired in the stock market last week. Just when you might have thought it had hit bottom and it was safe to come out again, another drop occurred. I would daily proclaim that it just couldn’t go any lower, and then it would! It’s estimated that in the past year, $8.4 trillion in

Diannenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3487720921618808878.post-56208108214261715762008-09-19T16:03:00.000-07:002008-09-22T09:47:47.925-07:00

Could you have written a better piece of drama or fiction than what has occurred in the past two weeks?Could you ever, with credibility, have predicted the chaos in the U.S. financial markets which has resulted in the erosion of trillions (yes, trillions) of dollars? Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac being taken over by the Feds? Collapses of banks and big brokerage houses? Even money market accounts

Diannenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3487720921618808878.post-76424668001946138642008-07-24T17:52:00.000-07:002008-07-24T17:58:46.861-07:00

Numerous mortgage banks--gone. Bear Sterns--gone. Some investment banks--gone.Next …..G.M.???? GMAC (General Motors Acceptance Corp.)??? Washington Mutual???? Countrywide???Fannie Mae & Freddy Mac soon to go out???? (Very doubtful. The Feds say they’ll help).We’ve had several calls this week with concerns about their current mortgage. Will I be forced into getting a new loan if my servicer

Diannenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3487720921618808878.post-45865898539278206022008-06-27T11:30:00.000-07:002008-06-27T11:40:07.416-07:00

Well, it’s been a couple of months since I wrote anything. Thankfully, we had a flurry of business during that time. It’s important to remember that despite all the attention the mortgage industry has been getting lately, life does still go on. People are still moving or wanting to refinance their homes. And we’re still here to help. I’ve been getting quite a number of inquiries recently from

Diannenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3487720921618808878.post-14788645032127641502008-04-14T10:04:00.000-07:002008-04-14T10:09:23.707-07:00

I have been doing business in the real estate industry for 30 years as of April 15th! That realization came to me a few days ago and it sort of startled me that it had been so long. I know one thing for sure. I have a lot less hair now when compared to when I started! I was a Real Estate Broker during the first six years dealing in residential and small commercial properties; and since then I

Diannenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3487720921618808878.post-88041779093868771792008-03-18T14:22:00.000-07:002008-03-18T14:31:17.180-07:00

Over the years, many of you have heard me preach (or you’ve seen it here in the Blog) that I’m firmly against the practice of market-timing. I have always counseled buyers to look at their real estate investments as long term, which I define as five years or longer. The real estate market seems to be pretty cyclical. Unfortunately, there aren’t very many of us that can predict when an old cycle

Diannenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3487720921618808878.post-36340969625095911642008-03-05T20:13:00.000-08:002008-03-05T20:17:23.389-08:00

Such a good line deserves to be used more than once. Thanks, President Nixon.I’ve spent the last two or three weeks following the legislation in the Oregon Congress. I’ve also spent the last two or three weeks listening to mortgage brokers get a bad rap. There have been numerous articles in the paper following the progress of three mortgage reform bills, two in the House and one in the Senate.

Diannenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3487720921618808878.post-30657755557268169622008-02-18T15:30:00.000-08:002008-02-18T15:36:19.899-08:00

A year or so ago I read an interesting article in The Oregonian in which a real estate agent and a few other people were interviewed about the new condo project on the south end of the waterfront in downtown Portland. Deposits were being taken on these new hot properties that were to be completed in the next year or so. The reporter asked a question about how many of these deposits were from

Diannenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3487720921618808878.post-6045870215652452102008-02-09T07:40:00.000-08:002008-02-09T07:44:03.550-08:00

Three or four years ago, I had rep from a large respectable sub-prime lender (No, this is not an oxymoron!) telling me I really needed to get into this new market because it was becoming very profitable. I explained that I could see nothing but future problems with these types of loans for the people that had them. And I never could understand how the rates on these loans could be so much

Diannenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3487720921618808878.post-51621577611686044762008-02-04T14:44:00.000-08:002008-02-04T14:56:10.359-08:00

Do we really need a $600 check to turn the economy? Is this the “magic” needed to save the housing industry? I believe otherwise. I find it truly amazing that $600 will accomplish or even make much impact in short order. What about the long range issue of the aggregate value of all these $600 checks and the cost to the economy? Any concerns about the National Debt?According to one expert’s theory

Diannenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3487720921618808878.post-4272636674095420952008-01-26T11:52:00.000-08:002008-01-26T12:05:21.460-08:00

That sound you hear in the background is the cheers from my family over the fact that I’ve finally joined the 21st century! I hope I can write over the noise… At any rate, here are my thoughts on what’s been happening in the mortgage industry lately.SUB-PRIME LOANS HAD BEEN AROUND FOR AWHILE. It’s true; while the reports seem to infer that these loans were something new, they really weren’t. They

Diannenoreply@blogger.com2