When you purchase a Sunriver vacation property often times it will come furnished. Generally this is the norm and it is just assumed to be acceptable. However this can cause issues with your loan or appraisal. All furnishings are considered personal property, a mortgage is on real property not personal property. Many of these furnishings truly have no value and stating so will often times put the lender at ease. There are times though when you have a newer home with a $50,000 furniture package that is included in the purchase price can cause problems.Appraisers are well aware of the way these properties are priced, and will not increase the value of the home to fit the contract. Their job is to appraise the REAL PROPERTY not the PERSONAL PROPERTY. So, how do we solve this problem if it comes up in your sale? There are many choices, the best is to adjust the contract to pay the appraised value and purchase the personal property outside of escrow and receive a bill of sale. Sometimes a simple addendum stating there is no value of the furnishings will work if the home appraises on it’s own. Regardless of how you take possession of the personal property there should always be a written inventory. These are time consuming and often times a REALTOR will not want to take the time to inventory a home. Many buyers are not aware that this is the standard practice of furnished homes. When you purchase your Sunriver real estate, using a local REALTOR can save you a lot of headaches, money and frustration. There are many more issues with purchasing a vacation rental that a local broker will know.I recently wrote a contract on a Sunriver vacation home, where the agent on the seller’s side did not want to take the time to inventory the home. Wanting to provide an accurate list for my buyers and not having the ability to access the home except for a short time, I found that using RES (real estate Shows www.realestateshows.com) saved the day again. Check out the show that gives the buyers a great idea of what is in the home…. be sure to click on additional photos. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Thesa Chambers Broker Sunriver Realty 541-771-7064 Mailing Address PO Bo x 3650, Sunriver, OR 97707 Physical Address 57057 Beaver Drive, Sunriver, OR 97707

Back Up System – I love My Book – a Few Details For You
Backing up your computer, yesterday I wrote a quick post to remind all of you how important it can be and how it saved my bacon with my laptop. Many of you have asked what I use and the cost of my system, so here goes.Many of us remember the old tape driven back ups that we set up to back up at night and with the memory we currently use with larger photos, bigger files and more details these tape drives are pretty much non-existent today.The tapes of yesteryear were expensive and not as reliable or easy to restore as one would think. I remember having to restore a time or two and oh my, what a pain. Then some of us got CD burners oh that was a great system – how many CDs does it take to back up 100GB hard drive that is 80% full – someone else out there can do the math, my answer is…. Way too many and who has the time?Today we have a lot of options, from online services that you pay a small monthly fee to actual external hard drives. Personally I use a system by Western Digital called “My Book” it is the size of a book and resembles a book – it connects to my computers with a USB cord or a firewire cord. They do have a fancier option which if I ever need a larger system I will upgrade to that is wireless and works on your wireless network.I use the My Book; the first one I purchased is a 320 GB system, the cost of this is $99 to $150 depending on where you purchase it. I bought mine at Best Buy – this link will take you to a few of the choices they have. http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=pcmcat77500050000&type=categoryI was not sure I would find the system to work well for me so I started small, if I were to be in the market today I would most likely buy the wireless one only because I have 3 computers to back up. If you are working with one computer or even two you may find that it is not a necessity to spend more than the $99.One of the features I like about the book – is you can use it as an extra hard drive. I can load files on it and when it is connected to the computer you can access the files and save them on the book… In my previous post several people mentioned the online backup services. I have never used one, and would struggle to do so because of the speed of our internet connections in central oregon. I have DSL which runs about the speed of a 56k modem, uploading all the photos I have would take an eternity. If your files are small and you are comfortable with having your data in cyberspace you might want to check out a few of them.So, I hope this helps some of you that asked the question of what I use. Let me know if I can help any further. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Thesa Chambers Broker Sunriver Realty 541-771-7064 Mailing Address PO Bo x 3650, Sunriver, OR 97707 Physical Address 57057 Beaver Drive, Sunriver, OR 97707

Sunriver Resort Shared Owership vs TimeShare
Buyers in a resort area often times are curious about timeshares or shared ownership. Many times they do not understand the difference. Marcus and Connie Schwing of Sunriver Realty recently wrote an article about shared ownership in Sunriver. Shared ownership is a common sale in Sunriver, but there are timeshare units available too. There are two complexes, Stoneridge and The Ridge that are timeshare style ownership. Both of these offer RCI benefits but not all units participate. When purchasing a timeshare it is vitally important that you understand the schedule in which you are entitled to stays, if the unit can be rented, what the reserve accounts are and how upgrades and new furnishings are taken care of. Obviously there is a lot more to be informed about but these are the top my clients have asked for.Timeshares for some people are a great thing, mostly for the person that can use the property within the guidelines set forth. I have found that many people with schoolage children have trouble using their time share. This is why RCI programs and the like are intreging to some buyers, if you can not use your time, you can put it in a bank and estenially trade it for another time and location.Many people will purchase a timeshare in their own area, and never ever use it, but they will trade it, giving the the ability to vacation all over the world. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Thesa Chambers Broker Sunriver Realty 541-771-7064 Mailing Address PO Bo x 3650, Sunriver, OR 97707 Physical Address 57057 Beaver Drive, Sunriver, OR 97707

Office Manager For Busy Dental Office
Experienced Office Manager Needed For Busy Akron Dental Office. Computer Skills A Must. Please email resume to drmike@raex.com … Customer Service Representative We are looking for a Special Individual who likes working the people, is computer savy, is a Team Player and welcomes change. [...]

ActiveRain Meeting – We survived Dallas – Woodlands Next Stop
Thank you ActiveRain.  Because of ActiveRain, I had the opportunity to meet two very special REALTORS® while visiting family in Texas.Marchel Peterson, Chirs Tesch and Myself met up for a night of laughing about life, and getting to know each-other.  We had a blast, it was amazing to find how much we had in common.I can not believe I never took a photo of the three of us…. Chris and I did manage to get this one as she dropped me off at my sisters.Next visit – we are threatening to raid the Woodlands…. so Stephanie and Candy – watch out!Thanks ActiveRain, without you this would not have been possible. 

Caldera Springs Lots and Incentives!
Caldera Springs is one of central oregon’s newest resorts. There are still a few lots under $300,000 with great incentives for the buyer. Including a few lots that have an owner carry for 3 years.Crosswater is located across the street and one of the wonderful incentives is a discounted Crosswater Golf Membership.One particular lot is currently on resale, (Lot 106 on Dancing Rock Loop) is curently listed lower than the phase I pricing it was purchased for. Currently offered at $365,000 originally purchased for $425,000. This lot has a great Mt. Bachelor and golf course view is close to the Lakehouse and Obsidian Lake. Click Here For a Detailed Report of the Property 106-dancing-rock-lp-mls-printout.pdf For a complete list of lots currently for sale please click here caldera-lots.pdfFor a complete list of homes currently for sale please click here homes-caldera-springs.pdfPlease contact me for a complete list of incentives and programs available to buyers in Caldera Springs. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Thesa Chambers Broker Sunriver Realty 541-771-7064 Mailing Address PO Bo x 3650, Sunriver, OR 97707 Physical Address 57057 Beaver Drive, Sunriver, OR 97707

Massage Therapist
In 2006 Massage Envy was the 5th fastest growing franchise in the U.S. and it continues to grow at an unbelievably fast pace. Massage Envy Lake Zurich & Wheeling as well are looking for great professionally licensed Massage Therapists to join THEIR team e…… retail/expo We are looking for outgoing [...]

Home Warranty – Update – Help Appreciated!!!
About a month ago I wrote about a home warranty and how one failed my buyers.  Many people have contacted me asking for an outcome of the situation.  This has been a big lesson and one I hope some of the agents, buyers and sellers can learn from this post rather than having to go through the troubles we have. It is common in central oregon to find a home with a heat pump.  It is also common to find REALTORS® and sellers offering a home warranty as an incentive to purchase one home over another.  One of the most common home warranties is AHS (American Home Shield).  I know a lot of us use this program and many of us have had good service and representation with this company.  Did you know that AHS does not cover geothermal heat sources or any of the components of such a system?  Did you also know that you can not receive a copy of the actual policy until it is paid for, which here is typically a week and sometimes two from the close of escrow?  At that point they mail -  yes snail mail the policy and the option to add additional coverage to the policy – that option is only good for 30 days from closing – so 2 weeks have been eaten up with the company processing paperwork – then a third week in getting the policy to the new owner.  If the new owner does not intend to live at the residence full time – you might want to call the company and confirm the proper mailing address.  AHS assumes that the new home is where the policy should be mailed – can you see a problem with this system?So, I represented a buyer that purchased a beautiful second home on The Deschutes River.  We wrote the offer that included a water test, a septic pump and inspect and a home inspection and verification of zoning for a portion of the land which we though to be wetlands.  The buyer attended the home inspection, and the septic pump and inspection, keep in mind that the buyer lives 4 hours away when the roads are not covered with snow.We received a copy of the property disclosure and saw no issues.  The home inspection showed a few items that the seller quickly agreed to have repaired.  The home inspection also reveled that the heating system was "complex" it is what is called a water furnace.  The inspector inspected the furnace to the best of his ability and explained to the buyer that the furnace was beyond the scope of his inspection and that he was not familiar with this particular type of furnace.  His report indicates it may be a good idea to have a qualified HVAC specialist look at they system if he had questions, but that the furnace was putting out adequate heat at the time of inspection.The transaction is not the smoothest I have ever completed, but we are able to work through several issues, a leaky septic tank, and some electrical issues and so on.  In the end we work our way through them one by one and all is done prior to the closing.  We close escrow on November 1 and the buyer has allowed the seller an additional 20 days rent back to make moving easier.  Thanksgiving weekend comes and the new home owner arrives late that evening to find the home extremely cold, they turn up the thermostat and you guessed it nothing.  The buyer is not worried – he has a home warranty and an agent that has assured him that the relationship does not end with the close of escrow.  The next morning he calls me and we call AHS only to find the warranty which we do not have a copy of does not cover any geothermal heating systems.  GREAT!  I call a trusted local HVAC company that agrees to go out on the holiday weekend for a very reasonable cost to check the system.  They arrive, and presto a few wires have burned through they are replaced and we all think – wow that was easier than we thought it would be. Did you get the date there – November 20 -Today is December 31, and guess what – yep you guessed it the furnace is still not working correctly – HVAC costs are up over $2000 a plumbing bill of $550 and now possibly a well re-drill estimated to be $2,500. Had we known the heater would not be covered on a home warranty or that the seller had had these same issues in the past do you think this would have been the home my buyers chose? If any of you know of a home warranty that covers geothermal systems please let me know – because once this issue is completely resolved, I am fairly certain this home owner will want a warranty.To make this even more frustrating it appears the seller's agent may have known of this issue, because when I contacted him about these issues back in November, his response was, "your buyer may be SOL" makes me want to deal with him again for sure.Any suggestions on a better home warranty for heat pumps are appreciated.additional information added -warranty companies feel that any heat pump is geothermal – in the Pacific Northwest it is common to have a heat pump that provides heat in the cooler months and AC in the warmer.  These units use the heating and cooling of water to create heat – hence they are geothermal

Thank You Kinko’s
I owe Kinko’s a HUGE Thank You!I worked my morning away and thought I was done for a couple hours – loaded my truck up to take my mother home in Dayville. Funny thing about Eastern Oregon – cell service is sketchy at best not to mention wi-fi hot spots being non-existent.As we loaded the last items into the truck, my mother asked – do you need your lap top? I replied that I thought I would be ok, that I had all my paperwork for the day in order and that I would be fine until I could get back in 6 hours – boy was I wrong.I did not get more than 15 miles down the road when a buyer I have been working with called, the home we had been waiting almost 2 years to buy had just come on the market and priced to sell. Time was of the essence beyond what we can even imagine. By the time I got off the phone with the listing agent I was sitting in front of Kinko’s in Bend Oregon. I ran in and simply said I need a computer – they sat me down, I inserted my credit card – the cost did not matter I needed to get this offer written, and written now. We wrote the offer, emailed it to my buyer, they signed it faxed it to my office. My office scanned it to my email, in which I was able to email it to the listing agent. I called the listing agent, presented the offer on the phone as he printed it. I signed off – got my credit card back 15 minutes later my cell phone rang, it is the listing agent. Accepted Offer is being faxed back to me.Total cost at Kinko’s $5.50 – Accepted offer of a $390,000 home – Thank You Kinko’s I have never needed you before today – I am glad you were there for me. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Thesa Chambers Broker Sunriver Realty 541-771-7064 Mailing Address PO Bo x 3650, Sunriver, OR 97707 Physical Address 57057 Beaver Drive, Sunriver, OR 97707

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