A Salem Oregon Real Estate and Homes Blog-The Real Estate Jumble

It’s been my general experience that most folks that choose to sell for sale by owner (FSBO, pronounced fizz-bo) are nice folks.  BUT if you are a real estate agent and spend any time on online forums, you can’t help but feel the anger by some folks against real estate agents.

Some have had a bad experience with an agent and generalize these characteristics to all agents.  Some just think the profession of a real estate agent is filled with uneducated morons.  Either way…I was inspired by a post on a forum by a FSBO, who clearly detests agents, to write a little song for FSBO’s who try to to sell real estate on their own here in Salem Oregon.

To the tune of Home on the Range…

Oh, give me a home where the agents don’t roam
And sellers can give their own showing.
When agents see the white sign and they can’t read the line
they stay in their car and keep going.

Sell, sell on my own
And the buyers and sellers will play
Where seldom is heard that commission-ing word
And the houses sell after 1 day.

How often I love, to give agents a fright
When they leave me their business card.
How I yell and I glare, until they’re all aware
Selling FSBO (Fizz-bo) ain’t all that hard.

Sell, sell on my own
’cause the sellers can sell on the net
Where seldom is heard that commission-ing word
and buyers and have sellers have met.

Where I set my own price, without any advice
and agents don’t get in the way
I would not bemoan to sell my home on my own
with no agents for sellers to pay.

Sell, sell on my own
And the buyers and sellers will play
Where seldom is heard that commission-ing word
And the houses sell after 10 days.

Oh, I love to start talks,  ‘fore that new buyer walks
I know I can work out a deal.
Those agents butt in and sellers can’t win
Cause they only care ’bout their next meal.

Sell, sell on my own
’cause I want to do it my way.
Where seldom is heard that commission-ing word
And the houses sell in ‘hundred days

If you are looking to sell FSBO and want help with the transaction management or want to consult with someone in the process. Consider my real estate consulting model which offers hourly rates for real estate services here in Salem Oregon area.

There are old home buyers and new home buyers.  For old home buyers, the Court-Chemeketa Historic District here in Salem Oregon has some gorgeous homes.

Located just off the downtown area, Court-Chemeketa is conviently located to coffee shops, grocery store, bistros, and has that “walkability factor” which many people desire.

View Court-Chemeketa Historic District in a larger map
A portion of the Historic District feeds into Bush Elementary and the other part Richmond Elementary  both schools feed into Leslie Middle School and South Salem High School.  Remember school boundaries can change so if this is important to you, call the school district for an up to date school boundary list.

The most important thing to remember about living in the Court-Chemeketa Historic District, is that it is a designated Historic District and as such special rules apply.  Some of the historic district sits in a flood plain and so flood insurance is required for some homes in order to obtain a loan.

Home prices vary greatly in this area depending on condition and size so averages are meaningless for this area. Not too mention, that there aren’t too many home sales in the area each year because this is not a high turnover area.  You can search for current Court-Chemeketa historic district listings, or call me for current listings.

Salem is fortunate to have a couple of Salemites working hard to post online local neighborhood history on the Discover Blog. If you want to learn about the history of a home, this is the blog for you.  If you are interested in old homes, they have written some very interesting posts about some of our local homes. Well worth checking out.

Old McSalem had a farm

E-I-E-I-O

and on that farm he had some hens

E-I-E-I-O

with a cluck, cluck here and a cluck, cluck there

here a cluck, there a cluck, everywhere a cluck, cluck.

Old McSalem had a farm

E-I-E-I-O

I wrote a post not too long ago about the chicken ban that Salem Oregon has in place for homes.  There has been a push to allow chickens to exist within the city limits allowing people to have fresh eggs.  After much debate and banter about it, the city councilors passed a motion to start the process to change the city codes.

And, yes, there are restrictions.

• No roosters, so don’t expect to see Foghorn Leghorn in your neighbor’s backyard.  He’s still banned in city limits.
• 3 hens.  No large broods of chickens in city limits.  You should only hear cluck, cluck, cluck from your neighbor’s yard not cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck…well you get the idea.
• The hen house needs to be at least 20 feet from the property line.
• Home owners need to have at least 10,000 sq feet to their lot.  That’s .23 acres.  Not a lot of lots here in city limits that are that large.

Honestly, there will be so few folks that have the lot requirement that I just don’t see that many hens being inside our city limits.  If you are looking to purchase real estate in the city limits of Salem Oregon, don’t get freaked out by this news.  If you really hate hens, there are many subdivisions to choose from where poultry is not allowed regardless.

BUT what I really want to know is who is going to be the first person to end up in small claims court.  See in my neighborhood there are a few lots that would meet that criteria AND there are many “outdoor” cats that roam my area.  I can just see the song now…

Old McSalem had a city

E-I-E-I-O

and in that city they allowed some hens

E-I-E-I-O

with a cluck, cluck here and a meow, meow there

here a cluck, there a meow, everywhere a cluck, meow.

Old McKitty ate a hen

E-I-E-I-O

I blogged about something sweet the other day, so it only makes sense to talk about something not so sweet today.  Okay, not really, but I needed some kind of tie in there…

Anyone that wants to look at living outside city limits or on acreage property in the Salem Oregon area is going to be looking at having a septic system of one kind or another.

If you are wanting to purchase a home and have never had a septic system before there are some basics that you should know during a real estate transaction.

• Get the tank pumped and inspected.  You should never purchase a home without having the tank and the drainfield inspected.  It costs a lot of money to have a new drain field put in so know what you are getting into. You don’t want to buy a house, wonder why your toilet backs up and your ground is squishy, only to find that you have a failed septic system.
• Go down to the county and pull the septic records.  If you are in Marion county, outside city limits, there is just a simple form to fill out and you may have to pay a few dollars.  Sometimes you find out interesting things that make you go hmmm…  you don’t want to go hmmm when you are looking to buy a house.  Permits are required for a reason.
• If you are looking to build a house on your dream lot, and it requires septic get a site evaluation aka “perc test” done to make sure the land can support a septic.  There are different types of septic systems depending on the soil.  If you can’t get a standard septic system installed you need to know that upfront.
• Just because you want to build a 5 bedroom home doesn’t mean that the land can support a 5 bedroom home.  Make sure the septic system can support the size house you want to build.

The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) gets to oversee all septic systems.  They have a nice little blub about signs of a failed septic system as well as some do’s and don’ts  on their site.

Signs of septic system failure

• Pools of water or soggy spots, foul odors, and/or dark gray or black soils in the area of your drainfield.
• Water that surfaces over the drainfield during heavy rain or when doing laundry.
• Sewage backs up into the lowest drains in the house.
• Gurgling of drains, slow drainage (check for clogs first).
• Soggy soil overlying the drain field.

So remember that during a Salem Oregon real estate sale, it is the buyers job to do their own due diligence…you know, to get the scoop on the poop, for the piece of property they want to buy.

If you are looking to relocate to Salem Oregon from another state you need to know there is never a lack of things to do here.  Unless of course, you don’t like being outdoors..

When I relocated here about 20 years ago now, one of the first places we visited was Silver Falls State Park.  Silver Falls is located in Silverton, Oregon.  With 10 waterfalls within the boundaries of the park, this is really one of Oregon’s gems.  There is a small dam in place to create a nice water play area for children.  Just a few feet deep this area is very popular during our summer days.

There are so many amenities within the park.

• Paved paths for walking or biking
• Off leash dog area
• large open spaces for volleyball, football, soccer
• Covered areas for family get togethers, weddings, parties
• Miles of hiking trails
• Play structure
• Picnic tables
• Educational information at the Lodge
• Guided Nature Tours
• Camping for tents, or rent a cabin
• Horse trails
• Conference center

I am a dog lover, and we do have a dog who comes up to Silver Falls with us regularly.  Please note that due to some of the drop offs, and narrow trails, dogs are not allowed on some trails.  Make sure to check that if you plan to bring your dog with you.

I also encourage you to see the falls during the winter and spring.  They are GUSHING with water.  If you don’t mind donning some rain gear, waterproof boots, and a good sweater, it is worth the hike to see the falls in early spring.

If you are planning a day hike into Silver Falls, remember to pack a day pack with a sweatshirt (it can get colder in the canyon), a first aid kit (lots of tree roots and rocks on the trails), and a camera (too many beautiful shots to miss).  Otherwise, my only advice to you is to pack a picnic lunch and enjoy.

So if you are looking for a home here in the Salem Oregon metro area, and are trying to figure out what we locals do for fun…head on up to Silver Falls for a day visit.  You won’t regret it.

About a year ago I was showing a Salem Oregon buyer a  home.  As I was showing this house to a client, I flipped open the panel box to see what kind of it was.  This is my standard MO in older homes.   Federal Pacific…right there on the tag.  The seller happened to be there as I was telling my buyer about the CPSC “non-recall” of Federal Pacific breakers.

“Why didn’t my agent tell me about that?” asked the seller.

I had no answer for that.

One of the things that home buyers rely on local Salem Oregon home inspectors for, is to know these things.  I still think it is a good idea for buyers to get a handle on some of the larger concerns that exist with regard to home defects.  I have created a small little ol’ list of things that I am aware of regarding past or current concerns regarding products used in real estate.  I would love to tell you that this list is inclusive, but I am sure I am missing something.  So, feel free to add in the comments any defects that you are aware of for home products.

Cadet Wall Heaters

Federal Pacific Circuit Breakers

Chinese Drywall (under investigation)

Coleman Furnace for manufactured homes

Knob and Tube Wiring

Class Action Settlements, lawsuits, investigations

Masonite Siding

LP Siding

Dryvit EIFS

ChoiceDeck composite decking (current lawsuit)

I’m sensing some frustration on the part of Salem Oregon buyers as they try and seek out all of those short sales and foreclosures that are supposed to be all over the market.    The reason that local buyers are struggling to find these well publicized bargains is because there aren’t a lot of them out there.  In the past months, distressed properties have made up 10% of our local Salem Oregon market.  The current rate is 8.3% for the Salem Oregon real estate market.  The Keizer market has 8.6% of active listings listed in distress.

I also broke down by general area, where the distressed properties can be found.  Not surprisingly most are in the corridor east of I-5 (East on the chart).  Homes have traditionally been more affordable in these areas and folks that were unable to purchase homes in the past, purchased starter homes here.  The other areas tend to be more of a mix of starter and move up buyers.

So long story short…you are going to have to continue to wait a while if you are looking for one of those bank owned deals you read about in the newspaper.  Just not a lot of them here.

Data is based on information provided on the WVMLS.

I always relish June 1 every year.  Typically Oregon strawberries start to ripen and are just waiting to be plucked and eaten.  Every year we take the kids to a local u-pick and pick strawberries.  We eat a lot of them over the winter so we pick a bunch and freeze them.  There is nothing like waffles with Oregon strawberries and fresh whipped cream on Christmas morning. (Seriously, waffles and hot cocoa rock!)

Finding organic strawberries is hard because slugs love them.  I grow some organic strawberries in my yard here in Salem Oregon every year and it’s a constant battle with the slugs…This year my beer traps prevailed!  A local u-pick Fordyce Farms, is not organic but they spray minimally for the crop.  If you have never been picking there, they are located off of Sunnyview Road to the east side of Salem.  It’s close enough in that it’s easy to head to for a quick trip with the kids.

I suggest bringing some fresh water to clean off the strawberries because they will get eaten in the car on the way home.  We’ve learned to bring some bowls and clean some for the kids who can barely wait to eat the fruits of their labor.

If you are relocating to the Salem Oregon area and want something to do with the kids, or you like to cook  like me…considering heading over to Fordyce for strawberries.  They also have a fruit stand there if you just want to buy them.  When you get home consider making some fresh strawberry pie, or homemade jam.

Here is my jam recipe.

• 2 pounds fresh Oregon strawberries, hulled
• 3 cups white sugar
• 1/4 cup lemon juice

1. In a food processor pulse the strawberries until they are mashed (or you can mash them with a potato masher).  In a saucepan, mix the strawberries sugar, and lemon juice.  Stir over low heat until the sugar is dissolved, then increase the heat.  On high heat bring the mixture to a full rolling boil and it reaches 220 degrees.  You can put it in sterile jars, or just store in the fridge to be eaten right away.  If you eat it right away, it may taste too sweet but the lemon and sugar meld together nicely in 24-48 hours.

Enjoy, what our local farms have to offer Salem Oregon area residents!

You are trying to relocate from another state and you are trying to figure out…where are the good schools?  Probably the most common request I get from buyers looking to relocate to Salem Oregon area is: I want to be in a good school district.  With summer coming up, I know many parents are looking to purchase their new home and get situated before school starts.

Now, the definition of good school is subjective but the Oregon Department of Education puts out school report cards every year (in the fall) that grade each school from Low, Satisfactory, Strong, or Exceptional.  They look at several criteria in making the decision about how to grade a school.  The nice thing about the report cards is that they allow parents to compare schools on a somewhat “apples to apples” platform since the same criteria are used for all schools.

I always recommend to parents to look at the history of grades for a school as well.  Some schools show a long history of strong ratings.  These schools tend to be in neighborhoods that hold their real estate values well and are stable.

Having some concrete data can help you narrow down your choices about where to purchase your next home here in the Salem Oregon area.

On the pull down menu on the ODE site you can go to

• Salem-Keizer (24J) for information about these schools
• Silver Falls SD for Silverton/Mt. Angel schools
• Cascade SD for Aumsville, Stayton, and Turner areas
• Central SD for Monmouth-Independence