Blog First time home buyer First Time Home Buyer Appraisal Lessons

First Time Home Buyer Appraisal Lessons

By Erika George & Kari, October 12, 2020

We’ve had the most wonderful good fortune to be able to help get an amazing handful of first time home buyers into home ownership these past few months.  While the market has been incredibly competitive, we have had great luck helping our clients get accepted offers in multiple offer scenarios, or on the rare 2020 sleeper property before it gets noticed!

Our latest success story is first time home buyer Flo.  Flo had a bit of a set back when the lender’s appraisal for her loan approval on a new construction home in Hillsboro, came back at a lower value than what she had agreed to pay for the property.  As a result, Florence had to terminate her sales contract on that property.  While the pull of sexy new construction is strong, we helped Flo understand that there likely would be something else out there for her in great condition, but without the tippy-top of the market sticker price one generally finds in new construction.

Sure enough, Flo found a wonderful 2015-built, townhouse style condo in Happy Valley near restaurants, grocery stores and other services that she can walk to.  The property is bigger than the new construction home she had originally decided to purchase and she now has a sweet patch of actual yard out back, another feature that was lacking in her original property.  Like the new construction community in Hillsboro, this resale home also has access to an outdoor neighborhood pool.  Most importantly, the home is in terrific, like-new condition!

We are so happy for you Florence.  We happen to think that Happy Valley is the perfect place for our energetic, gift-giving, eternally cheerful (except after low appraisals perhaps), eternally HAPPY Flo!

 

 

 

Erika George & Kari McGee

Broker-Esquire | Principal Broker | Senior Real Estate Specialists

She/Her

Meet cousins Erika George and Kari McGee - the highly skilled HouseLovePDX Team at Living Room Realty in Portland, OR. 

Realtor® Erika George brings to the table 20 years of experience as an attorney specializing in construction and contracts and has been a full-service real estate broker since 2013. Principal Broker Kari McGee is an 11-year Portland Monthly 5- Star Realtor® and has helped clients successfully navigate the evolving Portland real estate market for more than 20 years.

What this means for you is that there's not a lot we haven't seen. We will be proactive, where others will miss important opportunities. We like to negotiate and operate with a deep understanding of what it means to be your fiduciary: your strenuous advocate, not merely your transaction coordinator.

Our step-by-step system will be tailored to your specific goals. And, we will provide you with expert resources to help you make informed decisions at each milestone stage of your transaction.

As designated Seniors Real Estate Specialists (SRES®), we specialize in helping Seniors and their families navigate aging in place, downsizing, multigenerational housing, senior community living options, and probate sales.

We strive to help people with a wide variety of needs, prepare for life’s transitions with compassion and expert guidance. We would be honored to help guide you through your changing real estate needs in the greater metropolitan Portland area.

Here are our Top Five Favorite Things to do for you:

1.  Ask you questions (lots of questions!) and actually listen to your answers. 2.  Show out-of-area Buyers all the fun neighborhoods and important spots that make the Portland Metro area special. 3.  Crack you and ourselves up with funny photos and random moments of hilarity that pop up in a day of touring homes or after a long day of listing preparation chores! 4.  Negotiate and advocate strenuously for you and your goals. 5.  Celebrate the many (big and small) milestones in a real estate sale or purchase. 6.  Watch your life grow and change after the sale closes, and be there for you when you need us. ps - oh how we adore your "look at what we did to this house" photos!  And lunch. We also adore lunching with you.  (Yes, we know, that's two in one and we're already at six...). 7.  Make "Top-Five" lists that always have more than 5 top-fives.  Just goes to show you how much we love to exceed your expectations! We would be honored to help guide you through your changing real estate needs in Portland Oregon. CONTACT Erika George and Kari McGee 503.349.5449 | 971.322.6612 Team@HouseLovePDX.com www.houselovepdx.com  
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