Well that’s not to bad. So if the page I am looking for is # 257,000,000 it will only take me 16,062,500 minutes to find it. So what if I do not have the time to look for the next 31.7 years to look for this page? You probably might need a few more search terms.

But even if you were to have the perfect search terms it is still a needle in the haystack search. I don’t know about you, but those are just to long of odds.

What if……?

Come check this out.  Out of_State_Homes . Here you will be presented with a variety of homes in various Cities and States and Price Ranges. No obligation required just Homes, Homes and more Homes.

If your looking for a Portland Oregon Home be sure to check out all the MLS Listings right here at The_Pickle where you can search for homes on a neighborhood map and see the results as quick as the push of a button.

If you want to be more proactive about your Real Estate Home buying search effort then by all means you should sign up for the free email service to Find_Your_Home in_Portland  Oregon just follow the link to House Hunt Portland. This is like a dream come true for todays home buyer. The service will deliver results to you 24/7 within 20 minutes of the property hitting the market if you choose so. No agent can even come close to providing you srvice as fast as this automated service can.

Home buyer after home buyer who have recently signed up for this service are beating all of the competition to the best listings. What Does IT Cost? Nothing, Zero, Nada. I only ask that if you use the service that you intend to use my broker services as well to help you purchase.

                                                                      So are you ready ?                 I am!      

No high pressure sales techniques. You call we discuss. If we can’t do business we will part friends.

    Herb Hamilton is a Real Estate Broker with RE/MAX Preferred Inc. Realtors working in Portland Oregon

                              ” A Real Estate Transaction with Herb is one YOU will Profit from “

Herb Hamilton is a Real Estate Broker with RE/MAX Preferred Inc. Realtors working in Portland Oregon

In 1988 as I began my Real Estate career in Oregonthe Personal computer was in its infancy . Most of us had small computers. In my small town the Commodore 64 was king. Back then the main function of the home computer was games. Software written for business was around but was pretty crude and any really good program was too large for the average consumer to use on their small memory computer. For these were the days before cell phones.

Innovation was the key for most of us. In those first months I was not able to afford much as I was just learning the ropes. My broker had given me a booklet of amortization tables and I had a hand held calculator which I believe cost a grand total of $5.95.

I remember being somewhat embarrassed about the whole situation each and every time a client would ask ” What would the house payment be on something like that ? “ So I started to make a game out of it. I would hand over the amortization book and the calculator to the couple i was working with and I would then give them the numbers. It was kind of fun and kept everyone occupied as we made our way to the next house.

A few months went by and I sprung for the HP12c. This is the Bankers financial real estate calculator. I still have and use mine today. However because it can do it all and the entry of the numbers and buttons to push are complicated there really is no interaction or participation with your Buyer’s or Sellers.

In the Old days I filled out an offer sheet ( back then it was just One sheet ) with the aid of my Buyer’s. I used to love to use what was known as the Order Blank Close. I would Slide a copy of the listing over in front of the Lady and I would ask verbal questions of the Guy.

Something like this : 

• Q for Guy : Could you write down on this paper you and your wife’s full names.
• Q for Lady: What is the address of the house?
• Q for Guy : What type of Loan did you say you would be getting?
• Q for Lady : What is the listed price of the home?

For each question that I asked of them I would write down there answers. That is in essence the Order Blank Close. The last thing you have to do is ask for signatures. Again much like the Calculator game it keeps all involved and focused on the task.

Today however with my laptop and on-line forms I generally ask questions and fill the forms out in advance sometimes emailing the entire thing to my client without personally sitting down together at the table. Although this technique I usually reserve for my long term professional clients who buy multiple properties from me yearly. Still even when sitting at the same table with first time buyers the amount of interaction is limited by the use of technology.

The pattern as you can see that has emerged is that there is a certain amount of disconnect with the client because of technology. I am not suggesting going back to the old ways. I am just suggesting that we should be aware of the disconnect and learn to replace it. Other wise we may eventually find so much of a disconnect that there would be no reason to connect at all.

Update : Part 2  Face_To_Face_Vs_Technology_Partners_or_Adversary’s 

Interested in How Technology can find you your next Home? Come to House_Hunt_Portland and let your next home find you!

Be sure to stop by www.portlandrealproperty.com for general Portland Oregon information. You will find Portland Public School information as well as area Golf courses. The Site is full of information.

Even somewhat stranger, most of us have received similar training in fact many of us have received the training from the same source. Yet we all seem to develop our own styles.

This last week was an extremely busy week for me. I had a couple of closings and have been busy working with a couple of new Buyer’s moving to Downtown Portland.

But this is not about my busy schedule as a Buyer’s Agent or as a Seller’s Agent. It is about Real Estate Agent’s and their different styles while working with Buyer’s.

It was during this busy showing schedule last week that I and my Client’s witnessed another agent working with her Buyer’s. In fact we bumped into them on more than one occasion. Obviously we were working the same price range and the same area in downtown Portland.

What was strikingly different to my clients and I was our different approach as to how we worked. The other Agent chose to shuffle her people through the home quickly without giving any time for take in the room or for any questions. All the while constantly chattering about her life, past buyer’s experiences and features of the home that she loved but did not seem concerned if they seen them or not.

Now I am kind of OLD SCHOOL when it comes to showing residential real estate. I prefer to let my client’s discover the home on their own as we walk through it together, carefully making sure that they do not miss any features that were on their hot list. I am always quite prepared to answer any questions that come up, as I have previewed most of the homes prior to showing.

It was obvious to all of us that this agent had not previewed any of the homes. It was also obvious that the Buyer’s, specifically the husband was beginning to grow tired of her Sheep Herding style of showing property as well as her stories of past conquests. In fact during a brief absence while the agent was trying to get the garage door open. We heard the two buyer’s having a quick discussion. The husband wanted to call off the showings while his wife was trying to convince him to hang on as they may see something they liked. After all she remarked, they could always call someone else to write an offer. They quickly agreed sharing a quick smile between themselves just as the Sheep Herder reappeared continuing with her constant diatribe.

We did not run into the couple again but they were the subject of many a conversation there after as we speculated about what might transpire with their search for a home compared with our search.

What about you? Do you drive your herd to Market with a Whip? Or do you allow them to Graze.

Buyer’s_Let_Your_Next_Home_Find_You with this handy MLS search covering properties for sale in Portland Oregon.

Looking for that special Home? Don’t know if you want to take the plunge and involve an agent?  The Pickle then is the perfect place for you! Just hit the Search Button at the top of the page and you are on your way.

If you see something exciting then ” Call Herb and Start Packing”

Looking across my yard at me it was obvious she wanted to say something. I am used to people stopping and commenting on my yard etc. so I approached her as she stepped briefly into the driveway at arms length from the stroller and said ” Sommalees”.

” Excuse me ? “, is all I could come up with. She repeated ” Sommalees “. ” There is no Sommalees here “ I said to this woman of an undeterminable race or country of origin.

 ” No, No “, she repeated, ” You want Sommalees ? “ pointing to the stroller. In the bottom of the stroller wrapped in a cloth was a platter full of Tamales.

After the lady left I was left thinking about her entrepreneurship, and how she was out for a walk and stopping briefly at homes where people were outside.

How many of us miss marketing opportunities? Do we pass up great opportunities because they do not seem to fit the mold that we have set for them?

Entrepreneurism is thinking outside the box.

Follow_me_on_Twitter Tweet Tweet!

One of the wonders of life is living through challenging times. In my own life the times of plenty and success have gone by like a blurr. Each and every year of prosperity virtually indistinguishable from one another.

Yet I can remember the years of hardships and adversity as if they were yesterday. Even in family gatherings more often than not those trying times will make for more reminiscence than the trips abroad.

The current troubling times of our country will make you stronger and closer to those who you know and love. The trials and tribulations that you go through yesterday, today, and tomorrow will be fodder for future reminisces at your family gatherings.

As I look back over my own trials of the past, even in those darkest days there was always something that stood out as an achievement. A sort of badge or courage in the dimmest of light.

Like back in 1986 when the unemployment rate in my small town became so severe that people were unable to pay there bills. I owned a metal fabrication shop at the time and a client who could not pay had to much pride to skip out. He paid his bill with a winters worth of firewood, a mini motor bike for my 10 year old son, and small aluminum fishing boat with a 7hp outboard motor that my wife and I enjoyed for many summers at the lake.

In the bleakest of times there are always opportunities. In years to come will you look back and say we bought our home in 2009? Let this be your year of opportunity. Create a memory today.

Yesterday I had just one of many memorable momentsas I passed the keys to a Young Fellow to his new home. Of course this home was built in 1908 but it was new to him and all his. I could see the pride of new ownership and promise in his eyes. I wish for all of you that same feeling.

To check out other Homes_Sold_by_Herb_Hamilton_in_Portland_Oregon  please take a look at this really cool map. Zoom in or change the view . House_hunt_Portland where your next home will find you! 

Have a wonderful and prosperous memory filled 2009.

Yet I can remember the years of hardships and adversity as if they were yesterday. Even in family gatherings more often than not those trying times will make for more reminiscence than the trips abroad.

The current troubling times of our country will make you stronger and closer to those who you know and love. The trials and tribulations that you go through yesterday, today, and tomorrow will be fodder for future reminisces at your family gatherings.

As I look back over my own trials of the past, even in those darkest days there was always something that stood out as an achievement. A sort of badge or courage in the dimmest of light.

Like back in 1986 when the unemployment rate in my small town became so severe that people were unable to pay there bills. I owned a metal fabrication shop at the time and a client who could not pay had to much pride to skip out. He paid his bill with a winters worth of firewood, a mini motor bike for my 10 year old son, and small aluminum fishing boat with a 7hp outboard motor that my wife and I enjoyed for many summers at the lake.

In the bleakest of times there are always opportunities. In years to come will you look back and say we bought our home in 2009? Let this be your year of opportunity. Create a memory today.

Yesterday I had just one of many memorable momentsas I passed the keys to a Young Fellow to his new home. Of course this home was built in 1908 but it was new to him and all his. I could see the pride of new ownership and promise in his eyes. I wish for all of you that same feeling.

To check out other Homes_Sold_by_Herb_Hamilton_in_Portland_Oregon  please take a look at this really cool map. Zoom in or change the view . House_hunt_Portland where your next home will find you! 

Have a wonderful and prosperous memory filled 2009.

Such technologies as Twitter have suffered such ridicule in small towns. Yet in reality Twitter might just be the technology that would be very advantageous to country folk. As an example: Your Wife or loved one is a Realtor(R) and shows small country properties. They are often gone for hours at a time. By following them on Twitter you could provide the both of you with some peace of mind.

I also think that social platforms like Activerain , Facebook , and Myspace  just to mention a few could be used much more to your advantage than you may have ever considered. Posting local attractions, photo’s, community events etc. on these platforms will play to the internet crowd who might be looking for just the type of community that you work and live in for there next home.

In this country their are thousands upon thousands of great communities that do not see the light of day to the outside world. Mostly because they do not have the budget or the savvy to attract people especially on the net. You could become that portal. ActiveRain’s Localism   provides an ideal platform for this.

You could also dominate your market ( if you are not currently doing that already ) by demonstrating to the community your expertise in technology. Often times I found that Buyer’s and Seller’s in my former small town did not themselves use technology but were pre-convinced that the technology advanced sales person stood head and shoulders above those who chose to only follow the old methods especially when times are tough.

So if you live in a small town or a big city and have resisted technology or even been part of the nay-sayer’s perhaps you should take another look. You might just surprise yourself with the beginings of a great 2009 through the world of technology.

Let Technology take you to fabulous_Portland_Oregon  and find out why more people are moving here than ever before. Either to Downtown Portland or one of our many small town suburban areas and towns.

Let technology help you to stay on top of the Portland Real Estate market and Let_your_next_Home_find_you!  Presented by Real Estate Broker Herb Hamilton

Yesterday I was sitting down for a little rest and relaxation at a favorite hang out and heard someone in the background with a rather boisterous voice exclaiming to any and all who would listen to just how poor she thought the economy is.

On and on she went describing one debacle after another about others tales of doom and gloom. Not stopping long enough to give names or credibility to the short stories she weaved. Building into a crescendo as more and more interest grew from the surrounding group she blurted ” and if your thinking about getting a home loan you can forget about that ! “ ” There are no home loans available that is unless you have a credit score in the high 700’s and you have at least 25% down.”

It was right there I had enough and rose up and said ” That is just not true”suddenly the room became quiet and the attention swung to see me standing there confronting this purveyor of negativity. ” What she exclaimed? “

“None of the things you say are true”, I said. There  are abundant home loan products available. ” As a real estate Broker working in this state now for over 20 years I am finding no problem at all finding home loans for virtually anyone who wants one.”

Just at that time a fellow who had been sitting close to me also stood up and said. ” I agree completely!” He went on to say ” I am a car salesman and have to combat this every day.” He told us of a common story that happens in his business day in and day out. That of Buyers out looking and finding incredible deals yet reluctant to buy. When quarried their response is that they heard that there were no loans available. ” It is just not true he said ” ” I have multiple financing options available and the rates have never been better”

All in all this is a great time to buy! If your looking for that next car or Your Next Home now is the time. Or you can always wait for prices to start to climb. Then you can sit back and say ” Gee I should have bought when the market was down “

Let_your_next_Portland_home_find_you  stop by or sign up direct at www.househuntportland.com  you will be amazed.