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For Sale by Owner Earnest Money Guidelines

How FSBO Earnest Money Works

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A check handed across a kitchen table. No escrow instructions, no receipt, two people trusting each other completely. Plenty of for-sale-by-owner sales start exactly that way, and it’s how a few of them fall apart. FSBO earnest money is simple enough on its own. Where homeowners get hurt is the handoff, because selling without an … Continued
How to Sell a House As-Is Without an Inspection in Washington

Can You Sell a House As-is Without an Inspection in Washington

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Two identical split-levels, one in Vancouver and one in Seattle, can carry the same failing roof and completely different math. One seller writes the check, fixes it, and earns that money back at closing. The other never will. I’ve spent years buying houses as-is across Washington, whatever shape they’re in, and homeowners ask me the … Continued
Selling a House That Needs Reparing Washington

How to Sell a House That Needs Repairs in Washington

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The furnace quit in February. That blue tarp on the roof has ridden out two winters. Somewhere in your head sits a number for what fixing all of it would cost, and it grows the longer you sit with it. I buy houses in Washington for a living, and close to half the ones I … Continued
Selling Property With Septic Tank Problems in Oregon

Selling a House With Septic Tank Problems in Oregon

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A failing drainfield picks its moment. It waits for the wettest stretch of February, then pushes gray water up through the lawn about ten feet from the back door. If that’s your yard and you were planning to list this spring, you’ve got decisions ahead. Selling a house with septic tank problems in Oregon comes … Continued
How to Find an Out-of-State Realtor In Oregon

How to Find a Realtor in Another State Before You Move

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I buy houses for a living, so I sit across from people in the middle of this all the time. The sellers who come through it well share one habit. They treat the search for a realtor in another state as a hiring decision, with references and follow-up questions, not a ten-minute web search. That’s … Continued
Cheapest Place to Live Oregon

Cheapest Places to Live in Oregon

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Drive south from Bend on Highway 97 for about two and a half hours, and the price of a house falls by more than half. The cheapest places to live in Oregon are mostly out here, east and south of the I-5 corridor. Bend closed at a $733,000 median over the three months ending July … Continued
Can an HOA Repossess Your House

Can an HOA Foreclose on Your House and Take Your Property

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An unpaid HOA balance smaller than one month’s mortgage payment can end with a home sold at auction. So yes, an HOA can take your house, and that isn’t a scare tactic. Associations hold real lien power in most states, and a small number of them use it. The equity riding on one of these … Continued
Foreclosure Sign in Front Yard of Oregon Home Facing Trustee Sale

When Is It Too Late To Stop A Home Foreclosure In Oregon

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Most Oregon homeowners facing foreclosure assume they’ve already missed their window. They sit on the notice of default for weeks while the clock runs down. Your options don’t vanish overnight. They do narrow, and they narrow fast. Knowing where you stand in the process is what separates a sale you control from an auction on … Continued
Can Medical Bills Take Your House in Oregon

Can Medical Bills Take Your House In Oregon

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A medical crisis hits, the bills stack up, and then a letter shows up from a collections attorney. You feel that gut punch the second you open the envelope. Maybe you own a home in Beaverton, Milwaukie, or out in Hillsboro. Now you’re wondering whether somebody can really take your house over a hospital bill. … Continued
Can Another Individual Take Over My Mortgage Washington

Can Someone Take Over My Mortgage in Washington

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A seller called me one Tuesday afternoon from Gig Harbor, worn out. She’d inherited the house from her mother, wanted nothing to do with keeping it, and her first question skipped right past price. She asked, “Can someone just take over my payments and be done?” Put another way: can someone take over my mortgage … Continued
Quitclaim Deed for Selling a Home Oregon

Quitclaim Deed Divorce in Oregon

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Splitting a home during a divorce is one of the most stressful financial decisions a couple can face, and plenty of Oregon homeowners sign documents they only partially understand. A quitclaim deed shows up in nearly every divorce case involving real property. Most people still walk away from closing without knowing what it actually did or what … Continued