Do you have an unclaimed kicker check?

I was just on the State of Oregon's Website to find out more about the Oregon Kicker checks and I found this link for unclaimed kicker checks.

Do you have money waiting for YOU?

Go take a look and find out if you are one of the 13,000 people who has an unclaimed check! Here are some Common questions about the 2007 kicker.

Celebrity Homes

I was searching the internet today (for something totally unrelated) when I came across a blog called The Real Estalker. If you are a person who has an interest in celebrity gossip as well as real estate than I have found something that you are going to love! Of course I am talking about Celebrity Real Estate! This blog has tons of info, pictures and news about your favorite celebrities' homes.

Don't forget to take a look at one of my favorites, Le Rêve!, the home of Hubert and Norma Humphrey located in Cumming, GA. This approximately 47,000 square feet , 7 bedrooms, 12 full and 11 half bathrooms is worth $45,000,000!!

Happy Easter!

Looking for some fun local Easter activities? Here are a few thanks to Portland Tribune

Blue Lake Bunny Bonanza

No more need to sneak the kids’ chocolate eggs. At the two-hour Bonanza Egg Hunt, there’s an egg hunt just for parents, in addition to the quests for candy-filled eggs for groups of kids ages 2 to 4 and ages 5 to 10.

Additional activities Ñ for all ages Ñ include face painting and coloring activities, visits with the Blue Lake Bunny, plant giveaways and kite-flying demonstrations.

10 a.m. to noon SATURDAY, April 15, Blue Lake Regional Park, between Marine Drive and Sandy Boulevard off Northeast 223rd Avenue, 503-665-4995 (registration not required), free with annual Metro park pass or $4 per car

Alpenrose Dairy Egg Hunt

The Cadonau family has been hosting its annual egg hunt since 1962, and its members know how to do it right. How can you miss with boatloads of candy and hundreds of prizes, including the grand prizes of 6-foot Easter Bunnies (one for each age group), as well as a pair of diamond earrings in the “Just for Moms”?

The first hunt of the day is for kids ages 3 to 5, followed by the Just for Moms hunt and then one for kids ages 6 to 8.

10:30 a.m. (ages 3 to 5), 11:30 a.m. (moms), 12:30 p.m. (ages 6 to 8) SATURDAY, April 15, Alpenrose Dairy, 6149 S.W. Shattuck Road, 503-244-1133, www.alpenrose.com, free

Rabbit Romp

No matter what time you make it out and about, the Oregon Zoo can accommodate, with a traditional candy “egg” hunt for children ages 3 to 10, as well as special hunts for toddlers 2 and under, beginning early and restarting every 20 minutes.

The festivities continue throughout the day with a petting zoo, games, storytelling and photo opportunities, as well as the opportunity for several lucky kids to win a chance to hide special treats for the elephants to find later.

Sea otters and polar bears also will get into the Easter spirit with egg-themed enrichment programs. At the zoo’s gift shop, kids can purchase and create their own furry, plush animal friends at “AnimaLand” then dress them in Rabbit Romp T-shirts.

9 a.m. to 3 p.m. (first hunt begins at 9:40 a.m., hunts will start again every 20 minutes) SATURDAY, April 15, Oregon Zoo, 4001 S.W. Canyon Road, 503-226-1561, www.oregonzoo.com, $6.50-$9.50, free for children under 2 years old, $1 parking per car; Rabbit Romp free with zoo admission

Bunny on a Bike Ride

Dig out the fuzzy bunny ears and tail, and don’t forget your helmet and your kids, for the third annual Bunny on a Bike Ride. The all-ages ride, sponsored by Red Bat Press, follows a loop rain or shine along the Willamette River, crossing over three bridges with surprise stops and performances along the way.

This year’s route, dubbed Bunnies on Bridges, is mostly flat and appropriate for street-ready kids ages 8 and up (there’s a shorter, car-free loop for younger kids). Costumes are expected.

2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. (ride begins at 3 p.m.) SUNDAY, April 16, Union Station, 800 N.W. Sixth Ave., 503-248-4454, www.redbatpress.com, free

Healthy Kids’ Fair

What could be a better Easter present than happy, healthy and safe kids? Join Legacy Emanuel Hospital & Health Center for its annual fair featuring egg hunts for kids ages 1 to 8, bike helmets for $5, car-seat safety inspections, a mercury thermometer exchange, a teddy-bear clinic, photos with the Easter Bunny, tours of emergency vehicles and fun with fingerprinting.

10 a.m. to 2 p.m. SATURDAY, April 15, Legacy Emanuel Hospital & Health Center atrium, 501 N. Graham St., 503-415-5725, free

The Big, Big Sticker Hunt on Sesame Street

The Portland Children’s Museum offers a variety of springtime fun for kids this weekend.

Kids can hunt for eggs filled with stickers on Sesame Street, paint a flowerpot to keep or give to mom on Mother’s Day (to be picked up in two weeks), enjoy a special springtime story, or make clay bunnies to add to the rabbit warren in the clay collaborative.

Call or check the Web site for a schedule.

11 a.m. to 5 p.m. SUNDAY, April 16 (hunt at 11:30 a.m.), Portland Children’s Museum, 4015 S.W. Canyon Road, 503-223-6500, www.portlandchildrensmuseum.org, $6-$7

ANIMALS

Alpaca Western Extravaganza

You may know that alpacas are native to the Andean region of South America, but did you also know that they adapt to any climate, are easy to care for and offer a natural, renewable resource Ñ their fleece? Learn about all of this and more at the Alpaca Western Extravaganza.

The event will feature 150 farms showing more than

600 alpacas from around the Pacific Northwest, along with vendors offering cashmere-soft alpaca fiber clothing and accessories.

Three seminars concerning “Introduction to Alpacas and Their Care” will take place over the weekend, along with halter and fleece competitions, a fiber-arts display and a handcrafters’ spinoff.

8 a.m. to 5 p.m. SATURDAY, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. SUNDAY, April 15-16, Portland Metropolitan Expo Center, 2060 N. Marine Drive, 503-736-5200, www.awe-alpacas.org, free, parking $7

Looking to Purchase a Vacation Rental Home?

Than look no further! According to www.nuwireinvestor.com, two of the top locations to buy vacation homes are right here in Oregon. Ashland was ranked #1 and our states capital, Salem, was ranked #8. If you would like to learn more about why these great cities were ranked amongst the best places to purchase a vacation rental home read the article below or visit the link to the published article.

Vacation homes are a commodity many Americans desire, but some view the cost as prohibitive in today’s floundering market. But if investors choose their vacation home’s location wisely and opt to rent out their vacation home while they aren’t using it, the property could prove to be a valuable investment. If nothing else, it may at least earn enough supplementary income to make the expense worthwhile.

When buying a vacation home, one of the most important factors to consider is location. Owning a vacation home is inherently different from simply renting a hotel room once a year. Vacation homebuyers are advised to travel to the area they are considering before making a purchase; owning a vacation home means the homeowners will likely spend a lot of vacation time there, so it’s important they enjoy the area. And when the vacation home is also an investment property, the location and surrounding market is even more important. Investors should look for an area that is not only has draw as a tourist destination, but also has a strong market with good appreciation and rent returns.

With this in mind, here is NuWire’s list of the top 10 locations in the U.S.—including U.S. territories—to buy vacation rental property. The cities were selected based on a combination of their appeal as both investment and tourism locations. Factors such as home prices and appreciation rates were taken into consideration alongside issues such as weather and the availability of activities and attractions.

1. Ashland, OR

Population: 20,881

Median Home Price: $497,500

Appreciation Rate: 6.3 percent

Average Number of Rainy Days per Year: 101

Average Temperature: 61°F in July, 28°F in January

Ashland offers a fantastic range of activities coupled with the atmosphere of a small, laid-back college town. Perhaps the town’s greatest claim to fame is the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF), a theatrical celebration that lasts from February through October every year. OSF puts on more than 780 performances yearly. But there are plenty more activities available for those looking for something other than Elizabethan theatrics. The nearby parks, trails and Siskiyou Mountains offer opportunities for visitors to camp, hike and ski to their hearts’ content, and holidaymakers can raft or kayak on one of the four nearby rivers. The Ashland Oregon Chamber of Commerce estimates that Ashland receives approximately 450,000 visitors each year, about 100,000 of whom come solely for OSF.

8. Salem, OR

Population: 152,239

Median Home Price: $238,000

Appreciation Rate: 5.91 percent

Average Number of Rainy Days per Year: 146

Average Temperature: 67°F in July, 40°F in January

Salem, the capital city of Oregon, is located in the Willamette Valley. Wine buffs will enjoy the chance to visit the many local wineries and vineyards in the area. The Oregon Garden, which covers 80 acres, is located in nearby Silverton. In addition to opportunities for boating, cross-country skiing and hiking, Salem hosts the Salem Art Fair & Festival every summer, the largest juried art festival of its kind in Oregon, according to the Salem Art Association. The Salem Art Association estimates the Art Fair’s average attendance to be more than 100,000, and the event is free to the public.

Ignore the Headlines

I was just forwarded an e-mail with an article from Time Magazine. This article, Ignore the Headlines coincides perfectly with the last blog I posted. It's a great educational article that is refreshing to read about the current real estate market. In case you don't have time to read the entire article (which is a short easy read) I have posted a paragraph below that I believe is the most important message in this article.

"Consider a typical home that sells for $218,900.
You put down 20% and get a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at today's rate of 5.5%.
Monthly principal and interest come to $994.31.
Let's say that 12 months from now the same house goes for 10% less, or $197,010.
But by then the recession is history and the Fed is jacking up rates to stem inflation.
If mortgage costs rise a point, to 6.5%, your monthly payment would be $994.94 and you'd have saved nothing. Meanwhile, home prices might steady and sellers might become less willing to negotiate.
And you have spent a year living someplace you'd rather not be."

It's really not that bad!

On a typical day, I am asked several times about the current real estate market. Most of the people asking me about the market read the newspaper or watch the news and have heard all of the negativity surrounding the current housing market. I try my best to ensure these people that the market is not as bad as it is portrayed in the news. National Association of Realtors (NAR) actually reported 2007 as the 5th best home sales in history. Now if you ask me, that isn't so bad!

We are currently in what is known as a buyers market and to many people that means bad. I try and ensure my clients that it in fact is NOT a bad market, it's just not a sellers market. There are sellers and Realtors both who struggle during times like these because they focus on the negative. Did anyone stop to think that what goes around comes around? NAR brings up a great point that most people who are selling homes are also going to be buying a home. In a buyers market, sellers often have a hard time accepting offers on their home for less than what they thought it was worth. Keep in mind that the homes these sellers end up buying will cost be less. In real estate there is one thing that remains constant and that is that real estate sales will go up over time. It is good to keep this in perspective when you start to feel yourself worrying about the market or your home selling for less than you had hoped for. Everything will work out in the end!

Haunted Portland

I was recently visiting a very popular restaurant in Downtown Portland with a small group of friends. It was after hours and we were given the grand tour throughout the entire restaurant with the owner which was part of our group. We ended up in the basement kitchens. As always I had my camera and was capturing pictures of my friends being goofy. As we shot the photos, they gradually started getting foggy eventually leading to photos that were completely hazy. I checked the camera functions to see if the setting got changed and it hadn't. We came to the conclusion that we thought the place might be haunted and the owner eventually confirmed that they had always suspected it was.

This event lead me to do research on Portland's underground Shanghai Tunnels. I have heard of them, but never knew a whole lot about them. Below is a brief description of the history of the tunnels.

Wikepedia's article on The Shanghai Tunnels

The Shanghai Tunnels, less commonly known as the Portland Underground, are a group of passages running underneath Old Town/Chinatown down to the central downtown section of Portland, Oregon, United States. The tunnels connected the basements of many downtown hotels and bars, to the waterfront of the Willamette River. They were built to move goods from the ships docked on the Willamette to the basement storage areas.

According to popular legend, around the end of the 19th Century they were used to kidnap or "shanghai" unsuspecting laborers and sell them as slaves to waiting ships at the waterfront. By the highest estimations, 1500 people per year were shanghaied out of Portland through the tunnels. Victims were drugged or knocked out, taken through one of the trap doors (or deadfalls), and held in a prison cell while they waited to be shipped off. This earned Portland the reputation as the most dangerous port on the West Coast, if not the world, in the early 1900s, as well as the nicknames "Unheavenly City" and "Forbidden City." Later, during Prohibition, the tunnels were inhabited by bars that literally went underground to sell alcohol.

Historians have stated that although the tunnels exist and Shanghaiing was practiced in Portland, there is no evidence that the tunnels were used for Shanghaiing.

Today tours of the tunnels are available through the Cascade Geographic Society and Portland Walking Tours.

I have never been through the Shanghai Tunnels and have never had a strong interest in them until this experience. I am curious to find out who has gone on this tour and what their experience was. Also, has anyone else had a situation similar to mine? My friends and I are going to be organizing a tour through the tunnels an the more the merrier. Let me know if you would like to join in on our excursion to explore Portland's Past!

Top Real Estate Sites

Below is a list compiled by Barbara Corcoran, real estate contributor for NBC’s Today Show and CNBC, of the top real estate websites. I hope you enjoy the video and links and find them helpful!

Today’s Best Websites to Get the Information You Need:

Don't forget that although these sites can help you to become more prepared in the home buying/selling process, they are no substitute for a Realtor.

#1. Most houses to choose from: Realtor.com

#2. Best local information: Terabitz

#3. Best site to price comparable properties before you make an offer: Trulia.com

#4. To find out what your neighbor’s house is worth: Zillow.com

#5. To find the right neighborhood: Neighborhoodscout.com

#6. To buy a house at auction: ebay.com

#7. To find a foreclosure property: Propertyshark.com

#8. To buy a house without a broker: Forsalebyowner.com

#9. To get Zagat-like reviews of a particular street: Streetadvisor.com

#10. To snoop into your neighbors’ backyards: Zillow.com

#11. To get the dish on noisy neighbors: Rottenneighbor.com

#12. To check out the schools: Homefair.com

#13. To check on local crime rates: Areaconnect.com/crime

#14. To find local sex offenders: Familywatchdog.us

#15. To check out the local job market: www.bls.gov/eag/

#16. To talk with your soon-to-be new neighbor before you buy: Meetup.com

#17. Most homes for rent: Craigslist.org

#18. To swap your house with someone else: Homelink.org