Condo Compare Blog | Find Condos for Sale in Washington and Oregon » Oregon Condos http://condocompareblog.com Find, compare and get expert advice on condos in the Northwest, including Washington and Oregon. Call us at 206-838-9611 for more information or help finding a condo in Washington or Oregon. Mon, 28 Apr 2008 23:13:09 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.2.2 en May Day for Some Condo Loans? http://condocompareblog.com/may-day-for-some-condo-loans/ http://condocompareblog.com/may-day-for-some-condo-loans/#comments Tue, 22 Apr 2008 22:42:38 +0000 elise buying condoscondo loansportland condosseattle condos http://condocompareblog.com/may-day-for-some-condo-loans/ moenyloan.jpgThinking of buying a condo?  Things might have just got tougher, according to an article that appeared in the Seattle Times on Saturday.  This is something to keep in mind:

 Starting May 1st, 2008, for example, the lender United Guarantee has chosen to ban loans in hundreds of zip-codes that have been labeled as “declining” markets regardless of an applicant’s resources or credit score.    Also, several large lenders including Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, as well as some privately owned mortgage insurers will be tightening up the requirements to qualify for a loan.  This has been explained as necessary due to such things as weak sales and diminishing property values. 

Some lenders have decided to only agree to cover a fixed percentage of units per condo project, in order to minimize risk of loss.  Thus, if there are already a certain percent of loans in the complex, if the lender is approached for another loan in the same building, the applicant will probably be turned down.

Most loans will now require at least a 10% down payment, whereas buyers willing to put 20% down upfront should not be affected by these new policies.

Read the Seattle Times article: A condo loan or refinancing soon will be tougher 

Share This Post - Instructions Included ]]> http://condocompareblog.com/may-day-for-some-condo-loans/feed/ “Don’t worry, Honey, we’ll just put it in another condo.” http://condocompareblog.com/dont-worry-honey-well-just-put-it-in-another-condo/ http://condocompareblog.com/dont-worry-honey-well-just-put-it-in-another-condo/#comments Tue, 12 Feb 2008 23:55:13 +0000 elise http://condocompareblog.com/dont-worry-honey-well-just-put-it-in-another-condo/ Folks these days are thinking up some ingenious ways to store cars, boats, skis, and other stuff that they just can’t afford to keep in their home.  In an article in the Seattle Times last Sunday, a man from Spokane Valley who used to store his 1961 Chrsyler Newport under a tarp outside his house confessed, that every time a storm blew in he’d  ”have a coronary,” but after buying an $84,000 storage condo, he says, “The security…makes me sleep better.”  Other than just storing his car, he also uses the space to showcase an art collection of Northwest artists that he previously had to protect from his 5-year-old daughter with a passion for drawing.

More and more people are catching onto this trend as they discover that renting or buying a storage condo will allow them to downsize their own house and save a lot of money.  Many find that using the condos as not only storage space, but also rec rooms that allows them to keep the kids’ playroom mess out of the house or workplaces for that project that let’s them take all of the noise and garbage from away from their home. 

So if you’re thinking that you don’t have enough room to store your things where you live right now, and moving to a larger house is not an option, you might want to consider checking out this idea.  It’s a fabulous and sometimes wonderful medium between stark storage space, and a place you can enjoy being in.

Read more of the ST article to see more creative things people are doing with their storage condos.

Check out one of Washington’s storage condo vendors GarageTown.

Share This Post - Instructions Included ]]> http://condocompareblog.com/dont-worry-honey-well-just-put-it-in-another-condo/feed/ Welcome to the Condo Compare Blog! http://condocompareblog.com/welcome-to-the-condo-compare-blog/ http://condocompareblog.com/welcome-to-the-condo-compare-blog/#comments Mon, 08 Oct 2007 23:35:04 +0000 Casey Sullivan http://condocompareblog.com/welcome-to-the-condo-compare-blog/ Welcome to our blog!

We’ve created this site as a resource for those looking for information and advice about buying or selling condos in Washington, Oregon and the Pacific Northwest. Find, compare and get expert advice on condominiums in the Northwest from the community of users we hope to build through this blog.

So how does Condo Compare work?

CondoCompare makes buying and selling condominiums easy and hassle free. Through its team of licensed real estate professionals and knowledgeable customer service representatives, condo buyers can gain access into community residences in as little as 30 minutes. CondoCompare has a proprietary analytical component that allows customers to compare individual units and condominium communities side by side.

Our goal is to create a truly interactive site that allows for a free exchange of information and advice about an industry that can often seem complicated or overwhelming.  We will be offering articles, ideas, tips and info about finding the right condo, getting the right mortage and much more.

-The Condo Compare Team

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