Columbia Gorge Real Estate Blog

The Wasco County Home Repair Program through the Columbia Cascade Housing Corporation has a program that may be of interest to certain homeowners in Wasco County.  You may be eligible to repair your home if you meet certain guidelines. Below are the eligibility guidelines:

ELIGIBILITY
A qualified applicant must:
1. Own the home to be repaired
2. Reside in the home to be repaired
3. Have Low or Moderate income with a maximum income as determined by HUD
(effective 3/09) as in the table below:
# In Household Income
1 $29,700
2 $33,900
3 $38,150
4 $42,400
5 $45,800
6 $49,200
7 $52,600
8 $55,950
4. Have and maintain fire insurance on the home
5. Keep property taxes current
6. Have a net worth of less than $50,000 (not including the equity in the home, one
automobile and home furnishings)

HERE ARE EXAMPLES OF ELIGIBLE REPAIRS: 
1. Plumbing
2. Electrical work
3. Roofing
4. Weatherization
5. Foundation
6. Siding or painting
7. Windows
8. Furnace & heating system
9. Dry Rot
10. Septic & drainage
systems
11. Improvements to promote
handicapped accessibility

EXAMPLES OF REPAIRS THAT ARE NOT ELIGIBLE INCLUDE:
1. New construction
2. Additions
3. Furnishings
4. Some appliances (i.e., New furnaces are permitted. Stoves, refrigerators washers, dryers,
etc. are not permitted)
5. Repairs on outbuildings (structures not attached to the home)
6. Landscaping and fencing

HERE IS THE APPLICATION PROCESS:
1. Complete Application and send to: 

Columbia Cascade Housing Corporation
312 Court Street
Suite 419
The Dalles, Oregon 97058

toll-free 800-300-3397

2. The application will be reviewed for applicant and project eligibility.
3. The Program Manager will meet with the homeowner to verify information in the
application and review the improvements to be made.
3. The Construction Specialists will meet with the homeowner to review the improvements
and suggest other improvements (if required), and write up a detailed work order.
4. Homeowner will use the detailed work order solicit bids for home repairs. Homeowner will
discuss the bids with the Construction Specialist and will select the contractor.
5. The applicant will be notified of Loan Approval, Denial, or Approval with Conditions.
LOAN CONDITIONS
1. The loan amount is based upon equity in the property, repair needs and funds available
from the State.
2. The loan is 0% interest and deferred payment (no monthly payments)
3. The loan must be repaid to Wasco County in full (depends on source of loan funds used)
when:
a. The property is sold
b. The title of the property changes by any means
c. The property is no longer the primary residence of the borrower
4. If the homeowner wishes to refinance their home after receiving a Home Repair Loan, your
bank will probably wish to be in first place on the title of your home. At that time, they
may ask you to find out if Columbia Cascade Housing Corporation will “subordinate” the
loan. They can approve or reject it.
5. If someone inherits a home with a Columbia Cascade Housing Corporation loan on it and
they are low-income, they may apply to have that loan “Rolled Over” into their name.

Here are some Columbia River Gorge Blogs that may be of interest. I will add more as I discover them.

White Salmon Blog

 The Golden Art Gallery   

 Lyle Washington Community Blog 

Mt Adams Chamber Blog

The 29th annual Columbia Gorge Bluegrass Festival is coming to Stevenson, Washington July 23-26, 2009.

Here is the music that is scheduled for this event:

Rhonda Vincent and the Rage

The Infamous Stringdusters

David Grier and Mike Compton

The Quebe Sisters Band

Ida Viper

Urban Monroe

Prairie Flyer

The Sleepy-Eyed Johns

The Foghorn String Band

The Too Loose Cajun Band

Misty Mamas

Greg Clark and Misty Sheehan

The Buckles

Weekend event passes are $50.00/person 

Camping is $10/night without electricity and $15/night with electrical hook-up.

The 5th Annual Gorge Days will be held in North Bonneville this July 10-July 12, 2009

The festivities start Friday July 10, 2009 at 5:00 pm with a 50's themed sock hop and bbq dinner in the parking lot at City Hall. There will also be community garage sales Friday and Saturday.

Events Saturday include a pancake breakfast, community garage sales, ice cream social, used book sale, food vendors, arts and crafts, beer garden and a car show with over 400 classic cars expected.

There will be an inflatable obstacle course, slide and bouncy house for the kids. Starting at 5:00 pm you can join in a leisurely guided bicycle tour around some of the sites in North Bonneville. Starting at dusk there will be a free movie in the park "American Graffiti".

On Sunday there will be a basketball tournament and an 18-hole disc golf challenge in the North Bonneville City Park.  

Now is a great time to buy a home in The Dalles, Oregon. There are currently 68 homes listed under $200,000. The Dalles is much more affordable in this price range than Hood River. There are currently 47 homes listed from $200,000-$350,000 in The Dalles.  The Dalles is located 20 miles east of Hood River. The climate is drier, high desert, similar to Bend, OR only hotter in the summer. The Dalles is a historic town, known as the end of the Oregon Trail. The population is about 12,000. It has many stores and services which make it a convenient place to live. With Home Depot, Safeway, Fred Meyers, Kmart, Bi Mart, Petco and Staples right here you don't need to travel to Portland often. If you're a first time home buyer, there's still time to take advantage of the federal first time home buyer credit of up to $8,000. What an excellent opportunity! You must close on your home by Dec. 1, 2009.

Currently there are 137 single family homes for sale in zipcode 97031-Hood River, Oregon. Homes range in price from $198,000 for a 628 sq ft cottage in a PUD on the Heights in Hood River to a 5 bdrm, 4 ba, 3996 sq ft home on the Eastside of Hood River listed for $1,175,000. For a condo or townhome in Hood River prices start at $130,000 for a small condo in town at Timbercrest Condos up to $1,195,000 for a 2435 sq ft luxury unit.

Right across the Hood River Bridge in Washington state, homes for sale in White Salmon, WA zipcode-98672 currently include 73 listings. The homes listed include several located at Northwestern Lake near Husum, WA ranging in price from $39,000-$129,000. The cabins and homes on Northwestern lake are usually on leased land which costs about $5,000-$6,000 per year. Homes in and near White Salmon range from $159,900 for a small 1 bdrm 1 ba 558 sq ft home with Mt Hood views to $3,200,000 for a magnificent 6 bdrm 6 bath mansion with nearly 11,000 sq ft on 4 levels located up Snowden Rd on 20 acres.

Northwestern Lake views, Washington                             Downtown Hood River, Oregon

The summer Movies in the Park season has started at Jackson Park in Hood River. The movies start at dusk on Saturday nights through August 22, 2009. Movies in the Park is free and open to everyone. There will be no movie on July 25th as it is the weekend of the Hood River County Fair.   Here are the dates and movies that will be shown. 

• July 11, 2009- Big
• July 18, 2009- Neverending Story
• July 25, 2009-No Movie- Hood River County Fair
• August 1, 2009- King Kong
• August 8, 2009- Sleepless in Seattle
• August 15, 2009- Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade
• August 22, 2009- Ratatouille

Here are some Hood River blogs (*Something for Everyone*) that may be of interest.  Check these out for very local views of news,  photography,  events and such.

Hood River Buzz      Hood River Hops Fest       Nora's Table Blog        Hood River Weather Blog  

Hood River Lavender Farms        Blaine and Bethany Photography    Wyeast Blog 

Hood River County Blog     Sarah McAllister Photography (yes, this is my daughter)

The Big Winds Weblog        Hood River Saddle Club Blog    The Blaine Franger Photography Blog

Hood River News Entertainment Blog    Mt Hood History Blog     Hood Livin'     Dog River Cycles 

There are currently 62 homes for sale in the Hood River area ranging in price from$350,000 -$600,000. There are 59 homes in Hood River for sale between $175,000-$350,000.  I have been seeing more sale pending signs around town which is a good sign the market is improving. If you want to move to Hood River, White Salmon, Stevenson, The Dalles, or another of the many small towns in the Columbia River Gorge, I would be happy to help you find a home. If you are interested in selling your Hood River home or Columbia Gorge home I would be happy to assist you with listing and marketing as well. I have been a licensed REALTOR in this area since 1993.

Amy McAllister Realty LLC

Here is some interesting data from the RMLS which serves the mid-columbia region. The number of new listings each month dropped significantly in 2008 compared to 2007 and 2006. To see how this year is looking so far here's the total sales in the entire gorge area Jan through June 2009: Jan-18 sales Feb-14 sales March-26 sales April-37 sales May-53 sales June-50 sales for a grand total of 235 homes sold.  The number of closed listings each month also dropped dramatically in 2008 compared to 2007 and 2006 sales. This chart shows the complete picture with new listings, sale pendings, closed sales, average sale price, median sale price and average market time. The first three statistical charts are interesting however somewhat difficult to apply in our unique area as they are compilations of every sale in every area combined. In the gorge the real estate market can be vastly different one small town to the next. This next chart will shed more light on what each specific area has been experiencing. It shows the average sales price in each location, such as "White Salmon" "Stevenson" "Hood River" "The Dalles",  with the change from the previous two years. This should give you a clearer picture on what has been happening to the real estate market here in the Columbia River Gorge.

Disclaimer: I assume no responsibilty for accuracy of information provided within this post and blog. Many entries on this blog are based on the opinions and  ideas of the author and are provided without warranties of any kind, either expressed or implied.