Mention you found me through this blog and receive $500 off of closing costs.

Two Reasons:

1. Rates are nearly 1/2% lower than they were in March – this could equate to a much bigger savings over the life of mortgage than $8000.

2. Prices in Oregon have continued to soften and with less buyers there is potential to save more than $8000 on the price of a home.

Getting pre-pproved for a home loan (mortgage) today involves paying attention to details and making sure you provide your Mortgage Advisor with as much documentationn as you can up-front in your intitial meeting.  In the past the pre-approval process usually just consisted of an application taken at the time of your initial interview, however in today’s mortgage world it is recommended that in order to be accurate an avoid future surprises during the home-buying process you bring in all of the items required at the beginning.

Here is a good starting checklist of items to bring with you:

1. Your last two years Federal Tax Returns, ALL schedules and pages.  If self-employed you should also bring in your last two years business returns.
2. Your last two years W-2’s (for all borrowers on the loan)
3. Your last TWO months Bank Statements ( ALL ACCOUNTS & ALL PAGES)
4. Your las TWO Retirement or Stock Account Statements (ALL PAGES)
5. If you know of any credit situations (ie Bankruptcy, Judgements, etc.)  provide all written documentation pertaining to these items, along with an explanation.
6. If you receive Other Income (ie Pensions, Social Security, Alimony, etc.) provide all written documentation you can to support these payments

The more prepared you are today at the beginning will make the entire process a little less stressful later.

I came across a very informational (if not somewhat depressing) blog with a lot of data including useful charts and graphs illustrating housing prices.

Chec this out: http://www.housingbubblebust.com/

According to a lot of the data shown, Oregon housing prices may continue to decline as they head towards the historical inflation guideline of where housing prices typically hover.

I am a believer that this data, though helpful, does not always display the entire picture.

I know here in Eugene we have seen some appreciation in homes priced uner $350,000 and have been told that inventory in this price range is a very healthy 6 months or less.  The price range above this however seems to have ran into a glutten of inventory – some agents estimating 12-18 months which is an indicator that many of these homes are over-priced still.

What the data does not show is that there are A LOT of good deals out there.  Smart sellers and agents who understand the market and price their homes based on today and not 2006 prices will find buyers for their properties.