Tony and Libby Kelly, CRS, ABR, ePro, SRES, CLHMS, CDPE

When you break down our U.S. cities by weather, parks, family fun and farmer's markets then Portland Oregon ranks #1 in cities to visit this summer!!!

http://travel.yahoo.com/p-interests-34887215

PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE http//:www.TonyandLibby.com & OUR NEW PORTLAND METRO BLOG AT http//:www.TonyandLibby.blogspot.com & pdxrealtynews.com (make sure you leave comments)

There are actually some home buyers out there who are trying to get $8,000 from the government (taxpayers) even though they didn't meet the deadline for an accepted offer.

The requirements clearly state that an offer had to be accepted by April 30th and close before June 30th. Is seems that some buyers out there are demanding they close by June 30 even though they just got the deal together.

Apparently the IRS paperwork requires proof of the close date but not the acceptance date.

The forms specifically ask the buyer if they were under contract before April 30th but does not ask for documentation. The settlement statement they are required to supply has the close date on it.

If the IRS decides to look into it though, it's not hard to find proof of when the offer was actually accepted. Unless, of course, you got everyone involved to falsify the documents. But there would still be faxed and emails and such pointing to another date.

The IRS has decided not to make a statement about this issue except to say that they have ways of checking for false claims and risks include civil or criminal penalties.

http://money.cnn.com/2010/06/25/real_estate/fudging_the_tax_credit/index.htm

PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE http//:www.TonyandLibby.com & OUR NEW PORTLAND METRO BLOG AT http//:www.TonyandLibby.blogspot.com & pdxrealtynews.com (make sure you leave comments)

May Residential Highlights

When comparing sales activity in the Portland metro area in May 2010 to the same time last year, May 2009, closed sales increased 43.7%. Pending sales and new listings both decreased by 24.1% and 10.2%, respectively. On a month-to-month basis, when comparing May 2010 to April 2010, closed sales grew 5.6% (2,050 v. 1,941) while pending sales fell 50.1% (1,493 v. 2,991). New listings also dropped 26.2% (3,482 v. 4,713). At the month’s rate of sales, the 14,372 active residential listings would last approximately 7 months, the lowest inventory has been since August of 2007.

Sale Prices

The average sale price for May 2010 decreased 5.5% compared to May 2009, while the median sale price also went down 4.4%. When comparing May 2010 to the month prior, April 2010, the average sale price fell 2.3% ($275,500 v. $282,100) and the median sale price decreased slightly by 0.4% ($239,000 v. $240,000).

Year-to-Date

Comparing January-May 2010 with the same period in 2009, closed sales increased 42.7%. Pending sales also rose by 28.3% and new listings went up 10.4%.

Here are some Red Flags to help you avoid foreclosure scams.

1) No one should be asking you for a fee in advance. Do not pay anyone up front, you will never hear from them again!

2) They should not guarantee you anything. If someone makes promises, especially without hearing your specifics first, run!

3) If they tell you to start paying them instead of your mortgage. Definitely do not do this!

http://money.cnn.com/2010/06/04/real_estate/avoid_mortgage_modification_scams/index.htm

PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE http//:www.TonyandLibby.com & OUR NEW PORTLAND METRO BLOG AT http//:www.TonyandLibby.blogspot.com & pdxrealtynews.com (make sure you leave comments)

Sherman's Travel via Yahoo Travel have listed Portland, Oregon as one of our nation's most underratted cities.

Reasons cited include our proximity to the coast, mountains and wine country. Not to mention our great art shows, tax-free shopping, and of course Saturday Market. I don't know why they wouldn't mention the microbrews, perhaps because we already showed up on their Cities For Beer Lovers list.

http://www.saturdaymarket.org/

http://www.shermanstravel.com/top_tens/

http://travel.yahoo.com/p-interests-34348516

http://www.shermanstravel.com/top_tens/Cities_For_Beer_Lovers

PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE http//:www.TonyandLibby.com & OUR NEW PORTLAND METRO BLOG AT http//:www.TonyandLibby.blogspot.com & pdxrealtynews.com (make sure you leave comments)