I’m not sure why, but this sign actually says “North Clackamas Central Park”, hence the name of the post:

You can’t see this park from the road, but it’s actually conveniently located just off Highway 224 & Rusk Rd; a little more than halfway up the Milwaukie Expressway from Highway 99E, and about 1.5 miles west of I-205:

View Larger Map

The park is under the North Clackamas Parks & Recreations District. I used to bring my dog here for the sizable ”off leash” area, which at about 1.5 acres offers plenty of room for pooches to burn energy:

If it’s a wet day, as is often the case, you may want to bring your galoshes. It gets really muddy, especially as you near the dog park area:

While I was strolling around taking pictures, I noticed some new features that I had not previously taken notice of in the B.C. (Before Chilluns) era. For instance, I hadn’t seen this before:

It turns out that North Clackamas Park has an equine area too. This actually may have always been here, I just hadn’t noticed due to a complete lack of equine creatures on my part.

According to the sign, your horse needs to remain on his leash:

And of course, no park in this neck of the woods would be compete without a serious amount of oak trees (pun intended).

I have said it before, and I’ll say it again – I LOVE OAK TREES. Here’s one, just hanging out by himself:

North Clackamas Park: Chock Full of Parky Goodness

But it’s not all trees and animals here. There is a good sized playground for the kids. I did take a picture of it, but a raindrop smacked my lens and ruined the shot.

The equipment is good-sized, and looks like it is either extremely well-maintained, or under-used.

There are pathways all around the park, and the park shares an entrance with the Milwaukie Center.

But there is a big attraction that I haven’t been able to scope out before. This park is home to four baseball/softball diamonds:

The outfields range from 210 to 280 ft, offering a good range for both softball and baseball. According to the website, the fields are open from March through October. The whole complex stays well-lit at night, thanks to these huge lights:

There’s also a Rose Garden, but by the time I got done walking around the rest of the park, it was raining too hard to be taking pictures outside with a cell phone.

Well, at least any cell phone that I want to continue working.

The park itself is quite large at about 47 acres; with lots of trees, grass, and paths over Camas Creek & Mt. Scott Creek. You could easily spend a couple hours exploring.

Now that my sons are a little older, I plan on taking them to a game here this spring. And if they don’t enjoy that, the big playground will certainly make due.

For more information about the park, visit the North Clackamas Parks & Recreation District’s website. You can also check out this document from February 2008, which outlines ideas for the future of this park.

Central Park…in Clackamas? originally appeared on home loan ninjas on February 22, 2012.

AirDroid – WiFi Sorcery

This app, which is available for free on the Android market, is all about bringing your phone to your computer.

Let’s walk through how it works.

Open the app. An IP address and a password will be displayed on your phone’s screen.

Type the IP address into the address bar on your computer’s browser. You will see this:

Type in the password.

Welcome to your device, on your computer, without wires:

Features

Using AirDroid, you can:

• Edit, copy, paste, move files. Move files back and forth. Delete unneeded files.
• Text message. Yes, you can send, read, and forward text messages from your computer.
• Manage your apps. You can backup, uninstall, and perform batch processes.
• Manage pictures on your device. Preview, export, set your wallpaper.
• Cross-platform clipboard. Copy text from a website, paste into a text message and send.
• Contacts & Call logs. Manage, group, & create contacts. Delete your call log.
• Sound management. Import & export ringtones, notifications, and alarm tones.
• Music management. Play music, refresh your device’s library.

This app does more than that, but I thought we should stick to the basics.

In practice

I use this app frequently while charging my phone. I don’t have a lot of room on my desk.

Thankfully, I don’t need to. I can manage much of my phone from across the room.

After that, it couldn’t be easier.

Want to move all the pics from your phone to your laptop? No problem.

Want to change your phone’s ringtone to something on your laptop? No problem.

Want to virtualize mustard? Okay, it doesn’t do that yet.

But, AirDroid is a nifty little app that I use on a daily basis. It makes me just a tick  more nimble, and I can use all the nimble I can get. Here is the full gallery (click on the pictures to expand)  of AirDroid in action:

Are you using AirDroid? How? Share in the comments below!

favorite apps: AirDroid originally appeared on home loan ninjas on February 17, 2012.

How you or I feel about the issue is irrelevant to this post.

I’m not writing this post discuss the issues surrounding the bill, or the merits of the legislation itself.

However, it does raise an interesting question:

What about VA home loans?

Yes, I realize that probably wasn’t on the minds of many people when they poured their blood, sweat, and tears into supporting or opposing this legislation.

In fact, I’m positive it is the last thing on the mind of anyone who lobbied for, opposed, or otherwise was involved with this.

According to VA guidelines, unmarried co-borrowers must be veterans as well. That naturally brings up the subject of gay relationships in most states; states where gay marriage has yet to be made a matter of state sanction.

But that question is now shifting to what happens when states legalize same-sex marriage.

Straight from the VA

Pun intended.

The VA has indicated that it will not recognize same-sex marriage.

At least for the time being. I have no inside information on if that is set to change.

In fact, I wish I actually had some information to pass on with this post.

But, I don’t.

I have read about some ways around this; however, I can’t speak with any reliability about them. It’s simply not something I’ve had to deal with yet, and it seems to be a fluid situation.

Do you have any insight on how this may shake out? Please share in the comments below!

Thanks.

VA home loans in the age of Gay Marriage originally appeared on home loan ninjas on February 16, 2012.

The Entrance to the Gladstone Nature Trail.

The entrance I took starts on SE Oatfield Rd, just north of where it intersects with SE Webster:

View Larger Map

As the sign says, poison oak is present, so keep that in mind if you’re bringing the kids. However, the “trail” itself is an asphalt path about six feet wide. That makes it pretty easy to avoid contact.

As far as hiking goes, this isn’t the place for rugged enthusiasts. The trail is pretty short; running from Oatfield, up a slight hill, and ending at Webster. The grade is nearly negligible.

So what is there?

Trees. Lots of trees.

I am forever captivated by oak trees, and this short walk features a lot of them. Many are caked with thick, bright green moss.

Once I saw these trees, the camera wouldn’t let me go.

All in all, I probably took 30 pictures of the trees while walking up the hill. Yes, I have a tree fetish ;-)

So after you walk up the slight hill, you come to an open area with some benches and a picnic table. Oh yeah, and more oak trees.

Pardon the panoramas, I have a new phone and am trying to get the hang of several camera apps ;-)

All in all, I would say this area kind of struggles to be what most people would refer to as a “nature trail”. However, if you live in the area, or are just driving by, this certainly is a fine place to stretch your legs and get some fresh air.

It’s also a good place to test drive camera apps on your phone. I will be mangling some of these pictures over on my photoblog, if that sort of thing interests you.

No matter what happens with the library, I sure hope the trail stays there. It’s a nice little shortcut from Oatfield to Webster if you’re on foot.

If you have any inside info to share about the new library, please sound off in the comments below. Thanks!

Gladstone Nature Trail originally appeared on home loan ninjas on February 11, 2012.

My good friend, and Central Oregon Real Estate Broker extraordinaire, Thesa Chambers and I were talking recently about USDA home loans in the area of Bend, OR.

Bend is a good-sized city, with a population of roughly 76,639 according to the 2010 US Census. That makes most of the city ineligible for USDA financing, which by it’s very nature is for “rural” properties.

However, much of the area just outside of Bend proper is eligible. So I had Thesa send me some pictures of one of those areas. She was kind enough to also include some pictures of your neighbors, should you buy a home here:

USDA – Bend, OR Q & A

I also asked her some questions about Bend, and the USDA eligible areas surrounding it.

Tell me a little about the areas surrounding Bend, OR that are eligible for USDA financing.

Deschutes River Woods and some of the outlaying areas of Bend are eligible for USDA – although any home would need to be checked for eligibility, the general rule is homes outside of the city limits of Bend.  Deschutes River Woods (also known as DRW) is only about 5 minutes to shopping on the south end of Bend, and 10 minutes to the Old Mill area off Brookswood avenue.

How is the real estate market/activity in these areas?

Deschutes River Woods is a mixed neighborhood, with lots ranging from about half an acre to a couple acres.  The average lot is between half an acre to an acre in size.  The homes in Deschutes River Woods that are priced well tend to go under contract rather quickly.

Homes under $200,000 can be found frequently in DRW; but keep in mind these do tend to sell very quickly.

What are some of the advantages of living a little outside of Bend rather than in the middle of town?

People tend to enjoy living in DRW because of the country feel and the close proximity of the amenities of Bend. It is a quiet neighborhood, with a lot of great wildlife. In the spring you will see many fawns with spots, and watch them turn into yearlings; only to come back the next year as adults.  Living on the outskirts of Bend you will generally have lower taxes, and are governed by the county and not the city.

Tell me 3 things i don’t know about Bend.

1. Bend is the largest Oregon city east of the Cascades.
2. Bend is surrounded by public land.
3. Bend has one of the best medical campuses without a medical school in the country. St Charles has some of the most cutting edge equipment and top ranked doctors.

Here’s a map of the area we are talking about:

View Larger Map

Thanks to Thesa Chambers for all the great information! Go check out her site if you are looking for more information about the area.

If you would like to learn more about USDA home loans, or any other financing options in Oregon or Washington, feel free to cal me at 503.799.4112, shoot me an email at jason@mypmb.us, or fill out the following no-spam-guaranteed contact form. Thanks!

USDA home loans – Bend, OR – Deschutes River Woods originally appeared on home loan ninjas on February 10, 2012.

It’s the besters!I love WordPress.

Having said that, two things:

1. I sure wish I would’ve known more about it before I started.
2. I apologize for the Cher reference in the title

So with that, I thought I would share some things with I wish I woulda known from the beginning.

If you are just starting out, maybe you can learn something that I only wish someone would’ve told me.

Or maybe you are a seasoned pro, and you can share something with me in the comments.

Number 1

Security. I cannot express to you the sinking feeling in your stomach that happens when your WordPress site gets hacked. The spectre of losing all of your content is truly terrifying. Just ask my friend Cheryl Bledsoe.

Cheryl recently had 8-or-so websites go dark.

Part of the problem is the popularity of WordPress.

It’s a big target, kind of like Windows.

I had this website hacked a little while back. I lost so much good stuff that I’ll never get back.

In fact, if I’m being honest (and I am), I’m still heartbroken about it.

I am now using no less than 3 security plugins: WordPress Firewall, Secure WordPress, and thanks to this post from Gahlord Dewald,  Better WP Security.

Will WordPress ever be 100% secure? Nope.

But I sleep a little bit better now and that’s important.

Number 2

Content organization. WordPress is, at it’s very core, a content management system.

I wish that someone would’ve told me that I need to pick somewhere between 5 and 10 categories before I started writing a single word.

Throw in one more miscellaneous category, to cover things that don’t fit into the others, and you got all you need to start writing.

The use of WordPress’ built in category and tag system should be “WordPress 101″. Unfortunately, I missed that lesson, and I found this out the hard way.

It is a pain in my considerable rear and to have to go through all of my content and reorganize it.

Number 3

Search Engine Optimization. You can never know enough about this.

I’m not talking about reading and studying the intricacies of search algorithms. In fact, if you do, you may need to unlearn everything you’ve read.

People with websites, including myself, worry too much about SEO. They spend too much time on it.

Just learn the basics, write for people instead of Google, and you will be just fine.

So what are the basics?

Pick one topic per blog post. Pick one word that sums that topic up. Make sure that word appears in your post title. Make sure that word appears in one heading in the post. Make sure that word appears in the title and description of the images you use.

Don’t worry too much about how many times it appears in your content. Keyword density should not be the focus of your writing. Don’t force it; make sure your content is informational. That is all you need.

Number 4

Typography. Don’t just learn what words to write, spend some time learning how to make them look good.

I’m not claiming to be a typography expert; in fact, I’m not even a typographical apprentice. But, I do know that if you break up text with some headings, bold text, and quotes, it makes your content easier to digest.

Trust me: it works. Improving your “time on site” metric is difficult when writing about the exciting world of home finance ;-)

Number 5

Analytics don’t mean jack. Do I really mean that? Kind of.

I no longer care if I only get 10 hits a day to my website. If they are the right 10 people, that might be all I need.

Instead of stressing over how many people spend how much time on your website, focus on making it the most informative or entertaining experience that it can be.

Do that for a year. Then start obsessing over analytics.

You will likely make some changes over the course of that year. And besides, it might take a year before you build up enough of a sample size for you to glean any useful data.

Number 6

Don’t do “numbered list” posts.

Yes, I realize this post is a numbered list. But I didn’t start out with a certain number of things. In fact, I thought I was done at number 3, but then I just kept writing.

The point is, there are literally a billion sites out there that will tell you their formula for “successful blogging”.

The problem: a formulaic approach feels…well, formulaic.

I’m sure that you could find any number of people out there that will tell you I did this post wrong.

You know what? I don’t care.

I wrote this post as myself. If peolpe like it, they’ll like me. Maybe they’ll come back.

Maybe they’ll ask me a home loan question.

In fact, you could find a million people who will tell you this post is too long. As of this word, we’re at 833 words.

In fact, even I think that’s too long. Time to wrap this up.

If you have any thoughts, questions, complaints, paranoia, or existential angst in response to this post, feel free to comment below. Thanks!!!

WordPress: If I Could Turn Back Time… originally appeared on home loan ninjas on February 5, 2012.

Much to my chagrin, I did not!

Time to fix that right now…

Rate Buydowns – What It Is Homie

First, there are two types of buydowns when it comes to mortgage rates: temporary and permanent. I know what you’re thinking: why would anyone do a temporary buydown?

Temporary buydowns involve payment of a fee in order to reduce the interest rate for a prescribed period of time.

One popular temporary buydown was referred to as a “2-1 buydown”.

I’m glad you asked!

Say you are buying a home.

No really, say it.

You pay an additional fee so that your interest rate is 2% below the note rate in the first year, 1% below note rate in the second year, and the full note rate for the remainder of the loan.

My “in-house” bank doesn’t allow these anymore.

I work with a lot of banks though, and there are all sorts of financial incentive programs offered through the various levels of government. This may still be going on, I just haven’t seen one in a long time.

Who knows, maybe in time this will become mainstream again.

Cha-ching!

The permanent buydown

Alright, now we’re talkin!

Permanently low interest rates!

Well, just like in the temporary buydown, this one starts with an additional fee. I know; it’s shocking that banks charge fees.

But what does the fee get you?

In this case, you are really paying points. A point is 1% of the loan amount.

One point can get your rate down by a fraction, say .25 per cent. It’s not straight across the board though; a licensed Mortgage Dude (such as myself) can help you determine how a buydown would work for your specific situation.

The difference is that with this option, you are buying that interest rate for the life of the loan. Okay, there are some other technical, inside-baseball differences, but that’s the bottom line.

Well, nobody ever said it was you that has to pay it!

You can use your seller-paid concessions to buy your rate down.

(Okay, so if you want to get technical, that’s still you paying for it since the proceeds of your purchase money pay for it.)

However, the point remains: you MAY be able to buy your interest rate down without bringing any additional money to the table.

What’s that? Another example? Sure!

Let’s now say that you are buying that home with an FHA home loan. Did you know that you can still ask the seller to contribute up to 6 per cent of the purchase price to closing costs and prepaids?

Well, you do now :-)

Let’s further say your closing costs and prepaids only come to 4 per cent of the purchase price, but you were able to negotiate 6 per cent seller concessions.

What to do with that other 2 per cent?

If you said “lower my interest rate”, you’ve won! Thanks for playing.

Different loan programs have different seller paid closing cost guidelines; what works for USDA may not fly for VA.

But, we’re out of time. I’ll have to cover that in a future post, so stay tuned :-]

coming up on Ninjavision...

If you have any questions about all this home loan stuff in Oregon and Washington, feel free to call me at 503.799.4112, shoot me an email at jason@mypmb.us, or fill out the following no-spam-forever-I-promise contact form:

Thanks for reading, and please make sure to share↓↓↓

Buying Down Your Home Loan Interest Rate originally appeared on home loan ninjas on February 2, 2012.

In fact, part of the reason lenders aren’t supposed to advertise “100% financing” is because some borrowers take that to mean there will be no costs associated with the loan.

I’ve heard that phrase a lot. What many people don’t know is that your down-payment has very little to do with closing costs.

They are what you might call “mutually exclusive”.

Putting money down means you have skin in the game. It’s an investment in the transaction. Closing costs are simply the cost of doing business.

So what are the closing costs?

Closing costs are broken down for you on your Good Faith Estimate. They are the fees paid to all of the vendors involved in bringing your transaction to a successful close.

Who am I paying?

I remember the days of the big banks trying to compete with the smaller shops by saying things like “no closing costs” or “we’ll pay the closing costs for you“.

Anytime a prospective client indicated they were pitched like this from a competitor, I would ask them the following question:

I asked it that way because some people may not know just how many hands are in the proverbial cookie jar when it comes to their transaction. Let’s talk about some of those hands.

Title company: They provide a Title insurance policy. This protects you and the bank against any encumbrances against the title to the property in the future. A worthwhile expense.

Escrow company: The escrow company is a neutral third party that handles the fiduciary aspects of the transaction. Earnest money, setting up your taxes and insurance account, and wiring and distribution of the funds from the loan. Again, a worthwhile expense.

Appraisal: This one is actually paid up front many times, but it is part of the cost of doing business. This assures you that the house is worth at least what you are paying for it. It also assures the lender that they don’t start out in the red.

Recording: This is the cost of legally recording the transaction. This makes the transaction public record. It is generally charged by the county the transaction takes place in.

Prepaid Items

When people say “closing costs”, they frequently lump the prepaid items in with that. Though these technically aren’t closing costs, I have yet to see a home loan close without these items being paid for. For that reason, I will choose to lump them in with closing costs as well.

Prepaid items are the interest, insurance, and taxes. See, when you buy a house from someone else, there’s all kinds of things that need to be accounted for.

Prepaid insurance: When you own a home, you pay for the time you have lived in the house (as opposed to rent, where you pay for the time you are going to live there). This means you don’t make a payment until the 1st day of the 2nd month following the purchase. In other words, if you close your purchase on November 15th, then your first mortgage payment isn’t due until January 1st. Pretty cool right? Well, the bank doesn’t just give you that for free. Thus, there is a charge for prepaid interest to cover the time between when you take possession and the next month.

Property Taxes: The government is kind of like the bank. They want to get their money too. So, when you buy a house, one of the prepaid items covers the property taxes from the time you become the home’s owner to the next time the taxes come due. Think of it this way: if you buy the house halfway through the year, the seller is responsible for the taxes for the half of the year they lived there, and you owe for the other half.

Hazard Insurance: Oddly enough, the insurance company won’t insure the home unless you have paid for an insurance policy. Thus, the bank requires you pay for the policy when the loan closes to protect the asset that secures your debt to them. That carries you through to the next time the insurance becomes due.

Sounds expensive!

Anyone who says that buying a home is a cheap affair is either nutty or lying. There are a lot of costs associated with buying a home.

However, that doesn’t really address the question of who is actually paying for them (hint: you can ask the seller to chip in). We’ll cover that in another post.

There may be other closing costs involved with your loan. These are just the “boilerplate” ones for home loans in the Pacific Northwest, where I live and work.

If you have any questions about closing costs, or other home loan questions in Oregon and Washington, hit me up. You can call 503.799.4112, email jason@mypmb.us, or fill out the following spam-free contact form. I am here to inform, not sell :-)

What exactly are closing costs? originally appeared on home loan ninjas on January 25, 2012.

There is also a bit of  “gray area” when it comes to affordability. The definition of that gray area also changes from one program to another; what flies for FHA might not work for USDA.

Rebirth of Responsibility

I have always told my clients the following:

This is the payment I want!

That might not sound like a profound statement, and maybe it’s not. But I can tell you that it has not always been the standard operating procedure in borrowing and lending.

The bank said I could…

If I had a dime for every time I heard a borrower say those words, I could afford to buy a latte. And I’m not talking about the automated coffee machine at the local “Stop & Rob”;  I’m talking the “boutique coffee shop 20 ounce with 2 extra shots of espresso” latte.

FHA home loan guidelines say you should have a debt-to-income ratio (DTI) of 31/43 per cent. It’s 41% for VA, 29/41 for USDA, and 28/36 for Conventional.

Those are the guidelines.

Now let’s talk gray area. Automated Underwriting approves higher DTIs all the time.

That doesn’t mean you should.

Listen to your Heart

Sounds affordable

Okay, I apologize for the Roxette reference ;-)

Just keep in mind that the first person you should listen to when it comes to how much house you can afford is you.

I am pleased to say that many of the clients I have been meeting lately already have this mindset.

If they haven’t really thought about it, I do have advice to share though.

If you are considering buying a home, and are currently renting, then you already have a baseline on what you can afford for housing. What is your current rent payment? How much deviation from that payment would you be comfortable with?

Also, and I am not a tax expert, but how will the tax advantages to home-ownership affect your comfort with a house payment?

Decide on a number you can reasonably afford before you do anything. Give that number to a Licensed Mortgage Professional, and they will be able to estimate how much house that gets you. That way, you begin with a plan. It’s better than the alternative.

If you need help determining how much house you can afford in Oregon or Washington, I am happy to help. Feel free to call 503.799.4112, email jason@mypmb.us, or fill out the following no-spam-guaranteed form:

2 sides to home affordability originally appeared on home loan ninjas on January 17, 2012.

Yeah, most people didn’t know that either.

FHA loans & Bankruptcy

Chapter 13 bankruptcy is different from Chapter 7 in that it is a reorganization, rather than the “clean slate” approach.

In fact, you might think of it as a consolidation of your debts. Rather than seeking complete absolution from debt obligations, the debtor seeks to propose and execute a repayment plan.

FHA home loan underwriting guidelines allow for a borrower to qualify for an FHA-insured loan after a Chapter 13 bankruptcy discharge. The basic requirements are as follows:

• The borrower has been in a repayment plan for 12 months
• All payments have been on time for 12 months
• The borrower has received written authorization from the bankruptcy court allowing them to take on the new mortgage obligation

But why would you do that?

Aside from the whole “dream of homeownership” thing, why would you take on such a huge financial responsibility so soon AFTER being granted relief via discharge in bankruptcy?

Any installment debt helps your credit score & history when you pay it on time. Mortgages are the ultimate installment loan.

Now, it may not make sense for you to get a home loan after coming out of a bankruptcy. To be sure, you need to exercise rigorous financial prudence in the interest of rebuilding your credit.

I was hesitant to write this post at first. Given the recent “mortgage meltdown”, or whatever we’re calling it these days, it isn’t always advisable to do things just because you can.

However, I believe that the more concrete information consumers have, the better chance we have for recovery.

And if you need to consult with someone about your options regarding home loans in Oregon and Washington, I am happy to help. Call me at 503.799.4112, email jason@mypmb.us, or fill out the following form. No spam, guaranteed.

FHA loans & Chapter 13 bankruptcy originally appeared on home loan ninjas on January 13, 2012.