Portland Heights, circa 1915

The image of Portland Heights comes from a nitrate negative, circa 1915. Notice the street car coming around the corner.

Portland Heights, 1915 : A2004-002.688

Buying a House with 3% Down February 23, 2021
My favorite loan for people who need a minimal down payment is called HomePossible or HomeReady. It is a 30-year fixed rate conventional loan. HomePossible is backed by Freddie Mac and HomeReady is backed by Fannie Mae. These loans have the identical requirements and identical interest rate, so either one is awesome. Here’s why I […]
Credit Repair Tip: Is your settled account still showing negative on your credit report? February 20, 2021
This is a tip for people who negotiated a settlement on a collection. If you and the collector agreed on a settlement amount, and then you paid as per your agreement, then you have “paid as agreed.” Simple as that. Best case is that you got in writing from the collector that they would delete […]
“Does Illness Impact My Ability to Get a Mortgage?” February 17, 2021
This is a timely question. A person might be afraid to ask their lender, for fear they might jeopardize their ability to get approved for a home loan. So, I will answer here, publicly, for all. No, a loan officer may NOT inquire about your health. It is illegal to ask if you have an […]

Housing Trends: A Statewide Market Retrospective of Peak, Crash and Climb March 1, 2018
A Closer Look at the CoreLogic Special Report The housing market has gone through historical fluctuations over the past 12 years. The latest Special Report from CoreLogic chronicles the housing price index (HPI), beginning with the pre-crash peak years, through the market correction during the recession, up to December 2017. During this period, the U.S. econ […]
Mortgage Performance: PLRMBS Issuance Resurgence February 21, 2018
A Closer Look at the Private Label Lending Product While issuance volumes are nowhere near pre-crisis levels, the Private Label Residential Mortgage Backed Securities (PLRMBS) market has continued to provide access to funding for mortgage loans that don’t conform to the current tight credit markets. We observe a cycle starting in 2009 where a limited number […]
Housing Trends: U.S. Single-Family Rents Up 2.7 Percent Year Over Year in November February 20, 2018
Houston Rent Growth Remains Strong Due to Hurricane Harvey National rent growth decelerated in November 2017 compared with November 2016 High-end segment growth accelerated in November 2017 compared with November 2016 Of 20 select metros analyzed, only Honolulu and Miami experienced a decrease in single-family rents in November National single-family rent pr […]

Oregon PPP Loan Update: End of Feb. Total Now Up to $9.1B, 91,000+ Loans vs $7B, 66,000 In December 2020. March 5, 2021
Last December I did a post HERE that included an Excel database I constructed of the $7 Billion, 66,000 PPP loans approved for Oregon businesses. SBA has now published an end of February 2021 set of PPP data, from which I have constructed a new Excel file HERE and embedded below. I added several fields highlighted in grey to help navigate the data. SBA, und […]
Who Knew? In 2020 Oregon Unemployment Recipients and Employers Paid Nearly $1.5 Billion in Income and UI Payroll Taxes. March 2, 2021
I recently discovered that IRS has a tax form 1099-G which is sent annually to those who received unemployment insurance compensation during the tax year. On the form there are boxes showing the amount of unemployment insurance compensation paid along with the amount state and federal income taxes withheld.OED quickly responded to my inquiry about statewide […]
2021 Oregon Legislator Contact Info With Elderly Population Data and ID of Health Care Committee Members. February 17, 2021
I have compiled an Excel workbook with three worksheets HERE, and embedded below. The first lists by chamber the member names, districts, party affiliation, senior (65+) population, and contact information. This worksheet also includes a column indicating if the member sits on a health care/COVID related committee of subcommittee in the House or Senate. [Pri […]

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