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JUNE 17, 1998
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H om e O w nership; N ot Just A D ream
by
C hris G u n n III
t seems it was not too long
ago when the “American
Dream” of owning a home
seemed possible, probable
achievable. Now in the midst of
rising home prices and incomes
not keeping pace, this dream has
all but died to many people. The
fact is although conditions have
changed, home ownership is still
within reach to many individu
als. Most of us will find the hard
part is getting our minds tuned to
the fact that it is possible and
dispelling the horror stories as
sociated with purchasing a home.
With almost no effort, many of
us will find the “ American
dream” is not very far away at
all.
Let’s face it. We are all pay
ing to live somewhere whether
we buy or rent. What’s more in
I
and
B y C hris G uinn ok
M illenium P roperties in
N ortheast P ortland
many cases with all things con
sidered such as square footage
and flexibility, renting may cost
considerably more. Not to men
tion the obvious tax advantages,
equity and leveraging power home
ownership provides. So why do
people rent with all the advan
tages of ownership staring them
in the face? In most cases it boils
down to two words; down pay
ment. Although this is a reality of
buying a home, it is not an insur
mountable obstacle. It is still very
common to purchase a moderately
obstacle. A moderately priced
home with less than $10,000
down, in many cases much less.
There are also many ways to ac
quire money for downs that if will
explain in a future article. For
now lets assume you have a de
cent lump sum saved up but still
aren’t sure Ifyoucan ow n a home.
The first step in financing is
getting pre-qualified. This is a
procedure that will cost you noth
ing but a few minutes of your
time. Pre-qualification is simply
calling or sitting down with a
mortgage banker or broker and
answering a few personal ques
tions about your income, length
of employment and the amount of
debts you owe. Based on this in
formation, a formula exists to
determ ine the maximum loan
amount for which you qualify.
To qualify for a conventional
loan, two ratios are used to deter
mine whether a borrower is likely
to meet the expenses of home
ownership. They are: Housing
Expense Ratio and Total Obliga
tions Ratio. Housing expense
means the monthly payment for
principal, interest, real estate
taxes and insurance (P1T1). No
more than 28% of your total gross
income can be consumed by this.
This is also known as the front
end.
Total obligations means hous
ing expenses, all revolving and
Portland Housing Center
Project Down Payment is a
home ownership program. It as
sists home buyers with the down
payment and closing costs. The
Portland Housing Center, a pri
vate non-profit organization,
adm inisters the program.
P ro je c t Down P aym ent is
for p e o p le w ith m odest in
c o m e s , w h o a re a b le to
q u a lify for a hom e lo an , but
d o n ’t have the cash for the
dow n paym ent and c lo sin g
c o s ts . The program re q u ire s
b o rro w ers to m eet its incom e
g u id e lin e s , liv e in E a stsid e
P o rtla n d n e ig h b o rh o o d s for
six m o n th s, and buy th e ir
firs t hom e in the ta rg e te d
n e ig h b o r h o o d s . T a r g e te d
n e ig h b o rh o o d s are id e n tifie d
by zipcodes:97203, 97217,97211,-
Improve Home
Comfort and
Energy Efficiency
Are you planning a home
improvement project this sum
mer? Whether you're adding
w indow s, rem o d elin g the
bathroom or kitchen, planning
an addition or installing new
lighting, consider energy-sav
ing im provem ents that can
keep you cooler this summer
and warmer next winter.
Dave Brook offers several
remodeling tips for comfort
and savings:
- Replace noisy exhaust
fans. Install quiet exhaust fans
in the kitchen and bathrooms
to bring in fresh air and get
rid o f moisture.
Bathroom fans should be
rated no louder than 1.5 sones
and move at least 80 cubic
feet per minute (cfm) of air.
Kitchen fans should be rated
less than 4 sones and move no
more than 250 cfm - unless
you install a special make-up
air supply to avoid depressur
ization problems.
- Keep the heat in. Add in
sulation in ceilings, walls and
floors. Ifyou’re re-siding your
house, for example, blow-in
insulation from the outside. It
can raise the insulation value
o fyourw alls to R-13. Choose
a c o n tra c to r who uses a
“hlower door” to find and seal
air leaks before insulating.
Any air passing through in
sulation reduces its R-value.
Seal all plumbing and electri
cal holes in walls, floors, and
ceilings before you install new
kitchen or bathroom cabinets.
Seal the attic floor and the
basement or foundation area,
too.
Always seal from the in
side for energy savings.
- Buy premium-efficiency
appliances. The single most
important efficiency improve
ment for your kitchen may be
an energy-efficient refrigera
tor.
“ Premium-efficiency appli
ances usually cost m ore,”
Brook says, “but the purchase
price is only half the cost for
most appliances. Saving a few
dollars at the store is a false
economy if you pay more for
energy
every
m o n th .”
Oregon’s new appliance tax
credit further reduces the cost.
Premium-efficiency refrigera
tors use 25 percent to 30 per
cent less energy than standard
models and qualify for a tax
credit of $95 to nearly $200.
P rem iu m -efficien cy d is h
washers earn a tax credit of
more than $50 and use 20 per
cent to 25 percent less energy
and water and many are qui
eter.
“ T um ble-action” clothes
washers qualify for a tax credit
of $100 to $250. they use 60
percent less energy and up to
40 percent less waterthan stan
dard models - and get clothes
cleaner with less wear and tear.
9 7 2 1 8 ,9 7 2 2 7 ,9 7 2 1 2 ,
97232,97214,97202 ,97206 ,97206
.97216,97220, and 97266.
Q u a lified hom e buyers can
b o rro w up to $ 4 ,0 0 0 fo r
dow n p a y m e n t a s s is ta n c e .
The loan am ount is based on
need. For ex am p le, if a hom e
buyer has o th er sav in g s, they
m a y n o t need a dow n p a y
m ent and c lo sin g co sts loan.
NORTH PORTLAND
NE PORTLAND
SE PORTLAND
WEST PORTLAND
ADVERTISE
To q u a lify fo r a P ro je c t
Down Paym ent lo an , hom e
b u y ers m ust q u a lify fo r a
home loan from a p a rtic ip a t
ing lender. The lenders are
Bank of A m erica. W ells Fargo
B ank, Key B ank, N o rw e st
M ortgage, W ashington M u
tual, and US Home Loans.
For m ore in fo rm a tio n , call
282-7744 or fax at 2 8 2 -0 0 4 9 .
IN
p a rtta n i! (©bseruer
Call us al 288-0033 or fax: 288-0015
Grand Opening of Arbor
Vista Condominiums
Portland City joined area housing and transpor
tation partners and Fannie Mae (FNM/NYSE), the
nation’s largest source of home mortgage funds,
at the grand opening of Arbor Vista Condomini
ums, a 27-unit complex located at SW 21st Street
and Howards Way, near the Jefferson Street/Goose
Hollow light rail station.
“Arbor Vista represents what makes Portland a
city like no other. The partners involved in mak
ing Arbor Vista a reality have successfully mixed
both affordable and market rate housing, private
sector funding, and public transportation in a way
that will benefit all residents,” said U.S. Repre
sentative Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) in a prepared
statement.
“I congratulate them on bringing home owner
ship and transportation together to improve our
environment and quality of life.”
For sales information on Arbor Vista Condo
miniums, call 232-HOME. For more information
on other Fannie Mae affordable mortgage prod
ucts, call 1(8OO)-7FANNIE, Monday through Fri
day, 6 AM to 2 PM.
R e b e c c a
•
S c o tt,
DVM
(Practicing in N. Portland for 10 years)
Announces location of her new clinic:
Overlook Veterinary Hospital
1210 N. Killingsworth 5 t.
Portland OP 97217
5 0 3 -2 0 3 -0 7 5 3
Full Service Veterinary Hospital
l£? Housecalls
|k ; Microchipping
Open Monday - Saturday
Present This Ad For.
• 257» Off Initial Exam
• 50% Off Nail Trim
Free Sample Of Oog/Cat Food
7~ / A S ( 7
//V
P r o v id e :
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chase of a home!
With this “check” in your
hand, it is now time to go home
shopping. Of course we strongly
suggest using a Realtor at this
point to make the experience as
pleasurable and painless as pos
sible. Buying your first home
can
be
an
em otional
sm orgasborg encom passing
fear, anxiety, anticipation and
of course the joy of finding the
perfect home for your family.
So it is important to have some
one working for you who is a
professional and genuinely cares
about your needs. Many will find
with just a little positive think
ing and a few simple steps, the
“American Dream" can become
the "American Reality.”
Chris Guinn is a Realtor with
Millenium Properties. For a con
sultation, call 282-2551.
installment debts that extend be
yond ten months, alimony, child
support and all other continuing
debts. The maximum amount al
lowed for this is 36% of your
gross income. This is called the
back end. For non-conventional
loans such as FH A, these percent
ages are raised slightly to help
more individuals qualify. The next
step is pre-approval. The way this
differs from pre-qualification is
the banker actually verifies all of
the information, such as collect
ing check stubs, W-2s and tax
returns, verifying employment
and running a credit check. This
process may cost you as much as
$75 for the credit report. If the
lending institution likes what they
see, you have achieved pre-ap
proval. This is like a blank check
handed to you indicating the maxi
mum loan amount for the pur
’ < 2
2 B 7
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*0 7 6 0 6 9
■ C 7 e r t
u if d
D /M P T
n a i l 1»
Active
New
Pending
Listinas Listinas
Sales
376
164
106
954
290
439
1.153
318
551
952
365
230
Closed
Sales
74
214
258
173
Average
Price
$111,900
$145.800
$139.200
$254.500
Average I
Market
Time
(Davs) I
68
50
56
63
INTRODUCING.....
CHRISTOPHER GUINN III
REAL ESTATE ASSOCIATE
MILLENNIUM properties
MULTIPLE LISTING MEMBER
SELLERS PAY ONLY
4.9%
FULL SERVICE REALTY
"LET ME MAKE YOUR
HOME BUYING OR
HOME SELLING
DREAMS A REALITY”
CALL 503-282-2551
CHRISTOPHER GUINN III
MILLENNIUM
M
PROPERTIES
FULL SERVICE REALTY
Office (503) 282-2551
Voice Mail I’ager (503) 237-6777
Fax (503) 282-6827
e-mail CGIII65@aol.coni
4929 NE Fremont St.
Portland. OR 97213
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