Nan Wimmers

What a variety of homes sold in the last or or so here in the dalles! Starting with a 120k manufactured home right up to an overpriced home that finally found the market price and closed last week!. There are buyers out there if you price your home correctly for this type of real estate market in the dalles.

Real estate that sold last week in The Dalles, Oregon area

920 E 19^th, The Dalles
Original Asking Price:$120,900 $
Closed Price: $119,900
Days on the Real Estate Market 8

907 Liberty St, The Dalles, this property would have closed 1 month ago but the buyers got hooked up with a lame lender and had to start over 3 weeks ago!
Original Asking Price: $169,900
Closed Price: $164,000
Days on the Real Estate Market 87

3540 Royal Crest Dr
Original Asking Price: $249,000
Closed Price: $230,000
Days on the Real Estate Market 42

1900 W 13th
Original Asking Price:1/08 $299,000, reduced 10/08 to $269,900
Closed Price: $273,008 (including buyers closings costs)
Days on the Real Estate Market 272

1316 E 18th
Original Asking Price8/07: $649,000, reduced 10/07 $600,000, reduced 5/5/08 $525,000, reduced 7/08 499,000, reduced 8/08 $475,000, reduced 9/08 $450,000 reduced 10/08 and finally pending for $425,000 and closed 11/25/08

These real estate sales are from The Dalles real estate sales that a REALTOR was involved in but do not include Unrepresented sellers in The Dalles real estate market.The statistics are provided to help you understand how the market is moving in your neighborhood and what locations and prices are seeing success. To learn more about pricing your home and marketing it correctly in The Dalles Oregon, Please give us a call! Nan and Becky @ Columbia Gorge Real Estate

a portion of The Chronicle article

A four-hour hearing on a site plan review for a 150,000 square foot Wal-Mart building on property at the west end of town ended without any decision - in fact without any deliberation by the planning commission.
The hearing, which drew an audience of more than 100 to the circuit courtroom in the Wasco County courthouse, brought forth lots of testimony from both proponents and opponents.
That testimony included at least four requests - all from opponents - that the record be kept open for seven days for additional evidence to be submitted, at which time the applicants will have the chance to ask for another seven days to respond to any of that evidence.
The commission chose to honor those requests - as they usually do - and the site review hearing was continued to the Dec. 18 meeting, and even then as Senior Planner Dick Gassman noted, "We may not be ready to make a decision."
The site plan review application fared a little better than the related - or not related, depending on which side was doing the talking - sub-division application for the same property.
The hearing on that application to divide a single 67-acre lot into five lots, opened on Nov. 20. It was decided at the time to hold the record open for seven days and the applicant was given seven days for rebuttal. Because of the Thanksgiving holiday, there was not enough time to do this in time for Thursday's hearing, so that hearing, although on the agenda, was not held.
In his staff report Gassman noted that some of the specific details of the site plan are not included in his staff report, but will be addressed later when a building permit is filed.
At one point, Gassman said the Wal-Mart development is a commercial project in a commercial zone, something that is usually decided at the staff level. But, he said because of the high level of interest it was moved to the quadi-judicial hearing level.
He said retail shopping centers are allowed as an outright use in commercial-light industrial zones and the issues the commission is looking at are now on details and conditions.
The store proposed is about 150,000 square feet. In comparison, Home Depot is 100,000 square feet and the expanded Fred Meyer store is around 114,000 square feet, Gassman said.
He said Wal-Mart proposes 745 parking spaces at the site, which is the maximum for the square footage of the building proposed.
Other issues he addressed in his staff report included storm water runoff from the parking lot, which would run into an area in the northwest corner of the site.
Gassman said the two applications have to be kept as two separate issues. He said some conditions blend together and some of the subdivision conditions apply to the site review plan, and again noted that the site review could move ahead without the subdivision taking place through lease of the lots involved.
Opponents of the applications said the two issues are forever linked and one even suggested that they be combined into a single hearing.
Three people representing the applicant, PacLand, were among the witnesses in favor of the project.
Jeff Evans, a Portland attorney representing the applicant, said the applicant had gone beyond the minimum expected criteria and said the design of the building will fit in The Dalles. He admitted there are opponents to the project, but their opposition "is the same thing we've heard all over the state" adding that not liking Wal-Mart is not a criteria.
Scott Franklin, a civil engineer for PacLand, also said the application exceeded requirements in many areas, parking and landscaping for example. He said Wal-Mart will be spending between $22 million and $26 million on the development including the building, site and off-site improvement.
Christine Phillips, the project architect, showed slides of what the building might look like, saying it will not be built with one continual wall but broken up to look like separate components. It will also have lots of skylights. On sunny days they provide the interior lighting for the store.
Then came a stream of witnesses from the audience, and although Chairman Dick Lavier cautioned the audience several times to stick to criteria (like or dislike of Wal Mart or other big stores is not a criteria), many of the comments were focused of the perceived advantage to having a Wal-Mart store in The Dalles.
At one point, city attorney Gene Parker said some of these comments might fit in on the plan adding to the diversity of the economy of the community, so the comments were allowed to continue.
One witness said it was one of the best changes to come to The Dalles and may lead to other development in that and other parts of town.
Others said it would bring shoppers into The Dalles from other communities and from off I-84.
One witness had lived Hood River when the Wal Mart store arrived there and felt it did not hurt small businesses in the town.
But most of the proponents said the project would be good for the city and would provided needed jobs and more competition.

Planning commission OKs new CGCC building


An application for a new educational building on the Columbia Gorge Community College campus won quick approval from The Dalles City Planning Commission when it met Thursday night.
The building, which will range from 2,500 to 4,000 square feet, will be used for the college's renewable energy training program (RET) and will house a non-working wind turbine for students in that program to work on.
It was not part of the college's original master plan, which was approved about two years age, Senior Planner Dick Gassman said in his staff report. The addition was a major modification to the plan and needed a conditional use permit.
The proposed site for the new facility is close to where a Quonset hut is now located on the college campus. In his report Gassman said the site is sufficiently distant from any other property that the normal operation of a classroom should have minimal impact on the surrounding area. In the approval of the master plan the commission put a hold on construction projects on the east side of the campus, but the proposed site is west of the dividing line as approved in the mater plan, he said.
The approval came with list of 11 conditions, only a few of which caused any commission discussion.
Since the size of the building is now exact yet, the number of parking spaces required (two spaces for every 1,000 square feet) is not known yet, Gassman said. However, he said there is sufficient space to accommodate a building even at the 4,000 square foot size and the requirements will become part of the building application process.
Two witness from the college, Robb Van Cleave, chief talent and strategy office, and Jim Austin, facilities adviser, appeared to testify in favor of the application at the public hearing.
Van Cleave said the classroom will contain equipment that will be used to train in the colleges RET program, including one piece that weights 97 tons.
Having this this building will allow the college to increase class size in that program from the 24 when it first begum to 68 students. At one point he said the college had more than 100 applications to get into the program.
He said the college has a grant of $395,000 to build the facility, which will serve as the RET classroom for a period of time until a larger building is built in three to five years from now.
He said a number of contractors are looking at the plans and a call for bids will come soon.
One of the things discussed was the requirement for pedestrian access to the site, something the current building does not have other than an existing road. The commission went along with a plan to have that pedestrian right of way be only graveled for now and not paved, seeing that it will have to be torn out and replaced once the permanent building is built.
Van Cleave did most of the testifying, and much of that was devoted to the demand for employees with the kind of training they can get in the RET program and the the lack of place where it is offered. He said the RET program at CGCC is the first on the west coast and one of only six in the US as of this past May.

Yes all of the homes that closed last week were under 200,000 BUT look at the days on the market... these homes sold QUICK! If you need to get the home sold pick an active agent that knows the market and how to price the home. There are buyers out there if you price your home correctly for this type of real estate market in the dalles.

Real estate closing that sold last week in The Dalles, Oregon area

1412 E 10^th Pl
Original Asking Price: $158,000
Closed Price: $150,000
Days on the Real Estate Market 57

950 Pomona St
Original Asking Price: $160,000
Closed Price: $158,500
Days on the Real Estate Market 46

1321 E 11th
Original Asking Price: $164,900
Closed Price: $170,000
Days on the Real Estate Market 23

These real estate sales are from The Dalles real estate sales that a REALTOR was involved in but do not include Unrepresented sellers in The Dalles real estate market.The statistics are provided to help you understand how the market is moving in your neighborhood and what locations and prices are seeing success. To learn more about pricing your home and marketing it correctly in The Dalles Oregon, Please give us a call! Nan and Becky @ Columbia Gorge Real Estate

WASHINGTON, Nov. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- In order to support the streamlined modification program announced on November 11, 2008, Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) today issued a notice to its loan servicing organizations and retained foreclosure attorneys directing them to suspend foreclosure sales on occupied single-family properties as well as the completion of evictions from occupied single-family properties scheduled to occur from November 26, 2008 until January 9, 2009.

The temporary suspension of foreclosures is designed to allow affected borrowers facing foreclosure to retain their homes while Fannie Mae works with mortgage servicers to implement the streamlined modification program scheduled to launch December 15. Foreclosure attorneys and loan servicers will be instructed to use the additional time to reach out to borrowers who have defaulted on their loans and continue to pursue workout options. The initiative applies to loans owned or securitized by Fannie Mae.

The streamlined modification program is aimed at the highest risk borrower who has missed three payments or more, owns and occupies the primary residence, and has not filed for bankruptcy. The program creates a fast-track method for getting troubled borrowers into an affordable monthly payment through a mix of reducing the mortgage interest rate, extending the life of the loan or even deferring payments on part of the principal. Servicers have flexibility in the approach, but the objective is to create a more affordable payment for borrowers at risk of foreclosure.

'The streamlined modification program by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Hope Now and 27 mortgage servicers is an important step forward in addressing the systemic issues driving the increase in foreclosures,' said Fannie Mae President and Chief Executive Officer Herb Allison. 'Until the streamlined modification program is fully implemented, we felt it was in the best interest of both borrowers and Fannie Mae to take this extra step to ensure that homeowners with the desire and ability to prevent a foreclosure have an opportunity to stay in their homes. We encourage other servicers of non-GSE mortgages to participate in the streamlined modification program to bolster our collective efforts to stem the foreclosure crisis.'

Fannie Mae will be working with foreclosure attorneys and servicers to reach out to the more than 10,000 borrowers the company estimates would be affected during this period. Borrowers who have Fannie Mae loans that are scheduled for foreclosure between November 26, 2008 and January 9, 2009, will be contacted directly by the attorney handling the foreclosure. If the home is occupied, Fannie Mae has instructed servicers and attorneys to suspend the foreclosure.

Allison also said Fannie Mae's loan servicers are prepared to work with borrowers during this period, even if previous workout efforts have been unsuccessful. As part of the company's 'Second Look' initiative, Fannie Mae personnel have been reviewing seriously delinquent loans to determine if the borrower has been contacted and all workout options have been exhausted.

The streamlined modification program and temporary suspension of foreclosures are two of a series of steps Fannie Mae has taken to expand its foreclosure prevention efforts, which are designed to give loan servicers and foreclosure attorneys tools to find the best solution for a borrower in financial trouble. Fannie Mae and its many partners in the housing industry urge borrowers in financial difficulty to reach out to their loan servicers, regardless of whether they are facing imminent foreclosure. Solutions may be available that could make an existing mortgage more affordable.

'Fannie Mae is committed to working with FHFA to implement the streamlined modification program as quickly as possible to help prevent unnecessary foreclosures,' Allison said. 'We must and will do more.'

Fannie Mae exists to expand affordable housing and bring global capital to local communities in order to serve the U.S. housing market. Fannie Mae has a federal charter and operates in America's secondary mortgage market to enhance the liquidity of the mortgage market by providing funds to mortgage bankers and other lenders so that they may lend to home buyers. In 2008, we mark our 70th year of service to America's housing market. Our job is to help those who house America.

SOURCE Fannie Mae