About Josephine County, OR

The Friendliest City - Grants Pass, Oregon

 The Friendliest City I know, and the The Friendliest City you'll ever find.  Finally realizing my goal to settle in Grants Pass was the culmination of a forty year journey.

Not having any knowledge of the area other than the climate and the scenery that had drawn us here, my wife and I were in for a very pleasant surprise.

We received a bonus!  The bonus was people!  The people who live here make it the The Friendliest City I've ever seen.

When we first moved to Grants Pass last year, we experienced such friendliness.  Not just the merchants, but the residents.  You can be standing in a store discussing a purchase, then suddenly a total stranger comes over and starts giving you very welcome information based on their experience with the item you're looking at.  It hasn't mattered where we are, people just come up and start a conversation.  At first I was a little taken aback and mentioned to my wife that people sure seem to be nosy here, but she said "no, the people here are just being natural."

Several times on our trips around the area we have pulled to the side of the road to look at a map, only to have someone stop alongside and ask if we needed help. 

Turning into traffic from a parking lot there is always someone gesturing to let you pull in front of them.  People go out of there way to offer help on everything, even the teenagers are very respectful!

I began asking my wife last year if, "I just looked feeble, and my age was catching up with me (she's a lot younger than I am)," but she said "No, these people are like this with everyone."

Having lived in major cities for most all of our lives, we were not used to people even acknowledging one another.  Like a client of mine recently said, "Where I came from, you didn't make any eye contact with anyone at all, because it was considered offensive, even in traffic."

Now I'm finding myself being more courteous and helpful to others in The Friendliest City I know.

When you move here, you may as well take the chip off your shoulder and throw it away.  The Friendliest City grows on you and there's nothing you can do but go along with it.

Again today, we saw example of people just being nice and discussed it again, and decided that maybe it's just because the people living here are just happier.  No one moves here because they have to, but rather because they want to.  Maybe "it's the climate" that makes it the The Friendliest City you could ever hope for.

History Of Veterans Day - November 11th

So have you wondered why Veterans day is always on November 11th with no accounting for what day of the week it falls on? Why not on Monday like most other holidays?

Here is a short History Of Veterans Day. Go back to 1918 when an armistice or cessation of fighting went into effect during World War I. The armistice began at 11:00 in the morning on November 11th, and I remember as a kid hearing the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month was "armistice day."

For years starting in 1938 Armistice day was the holiday until 1954 when it was changed to Veterans day and became a day to honor American Veterans of all wars. They also changed the date to Monday to allow for a longer holiday.

In 1977 President Jerry Ford signed into law that starting in 1978, by the will of the American people, that the date would revert back to the 11th of November.

This is, I believe, more fitting as a special day to honor our Veterans and should not fluctuate.

Remember all our Veterans at 11:00 on 11/11/2009.

Craig Schiller offered some excellent staging advice in his post Picture What You Preach. I thought it was worthy of a re-post Practice What You Preach - With Great Pictures! I think we Realtors could learn a few things too! Thanks Craig!

Because the end result of a staged home can be a great visual impression, home staging is seen as an image industry. Image companies in the fields of advertising, interior design, and landscaping have for long known that to sell and grow their own businesses; they must present a good visual image of themselves. As image businesses they know and rely on their logos, business cards and websites to communicating their knowledge and creative skill to apply basic design principals in their respective fields.

If home stagers are going to sell to home owners the need and importance of investing money to beautify their homes, which is the product they are selling, then the stager needs to invest money in to do the same for what they sell... which is their staging services To be competitive, a home stager needs to invest in their business image. A stager's image, communicated through a business card, brochure, website and portfolio, must demonstrate knowledge of and skill to apply basic design principals. Doing anything less is hypocritical.

Home stagers also need to practice what they preach to Realtors. If stagers are going profess and advise the importance of using good photography to capture and present a home for sale on-line, then again, a stager needs to do the same for photography they show of the their work on-line. A stager's on-line portfolio is a key, yet often overlooked, tool communicate quality, skill and ability.

Stagers can maximize their on-line credibility is by addressing the following 3 points with their portfolio.

• Show Versatility & Proficiency - Every market is different and a stager's work should represent the types of homes being sold in the markets they serve. However the more depth and diversity a stager can show the better. The most compelling portfolios will show staging work that was done in both big and small homes, vacant and occupied homes, low to high end homes, and the ability in to work with a variety of design styles.
• Use the Same View Point - Proof of a stager's skill and ability is often shown in Before & After photographs. But quite often the Before photo is taken from a totally different position in a room, from the After photo. The best sales testament and visually dramatic impact Before & After photography will have is when the Before & After photo is taken from the EXACT same angle.
• Take Quality Photos - While it may not be possible to take perfect and compelling Befores, the After image needs to be well photographed. Over flashed, under flashed, and blurry photos will hurt even the best staged After transformation. Stagers that invest the time and money to take quality photos visually communicate their commitment to their profession.

Practice What You Preach - With Great Pictures!

Stage It Forward...

Here are the latest Grants Pass, Southern Oregon Real Estate Statistics for October 2009.

1021 - Active Residential Listings

87 - Homes Sold

46 - Listings Pending

116 - Average Days on Market

$214,236. - Average Sold Price

Statistics provided courtesy of Real Estate Cafe. Source of information is Southern Oregon MLS - Monthly NAR Statistical Report. Information herein has not been verified and is not guaranteed.

Click Here for more information regarding Grants Pass Southern Oregon Real Estate

Breaking News: President Signs Tax Credit Extension & Expansion

President Obama signed into law legislation that extends and expands the first-time homebuyer tax credit this morning. This enacts the legislation into law making the extension and expansion effective immediately after today. To learn more about the jobless benefit extension and the extension of the homebuyer tax credit visit: Obama signs jobless benefit extension.

Who Qualifies for the Extended Credit?

• First-time homebuyers who purchase after today and before April 30, 2010, are eligible for the extended tax credit.
• Current homeowners purchasing a new principal residence after today and before April 30, 2010, who have used the home being sold or vacated as a principal residence for five consecutive years within the last eight.
• So long as a written binding contract to purchase is in effect on April 30, 2010, the purchaser will have until July 1, 2010 to close.

Thank you for your efforts to make this success a reality! In Oregon, more than 2,500 REALTORS® joined the National Association of REALTORS® in this political endeavor.

National Association of REALTORS® Resources: The Basics: Extended Home Buyer Tax Credit 2009-10