Avoiding The Snarl

As a real estate agent, I’m stoked that home prices around here keep going up. As a person, it’s not quite as simple. Sure, my own home is worth more. But if I were to sell it, where would I go? Any house I’d buy would be more expensive, too.  Plus, I have lots of friends who don’t own their own homes yet and that has nothing to do with how persuasive I am. Houses around here are expensive. Even a 3% downpayment can be hard to save up when you’re subsidizing your landlord’s mortgage.  But hey, there’s a silver lining to that huge, dark cloud. The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced that starting in 2018, maximum conforming loan limits were increased to $453,100.  What does that mean in English? Up to a certain amount a home loan is what’s called “Conforming.” Above that, it’s “Jumbo.” Conforming loans require you to put less money down than jumbo loans. They also come with better interest rates. And allow your lender to consider a higher percentag...

You probably heard that there’s a new law in Portland requiring that starting in 2018, any home that’s sold has to have an Energy Score. Here’s a quick overview of what that means: You can’t game the score. A house’s Energy Score has nothing to do with how many times you flush the toilet or what temperature the thermostat is set to. It’s a measurement of how efficient the home is: The effectiveness of its insulation, the energy efficiency of its appliances, stuff like that. The idea is to give buyers a sense of what it would cost to live in the home.  The score is relative. A house that scores a 4 is less efficient than a house that scores a 5. Since so many houses in Portland were built in the early 20th century, nobody expects a ton of houses to score super well. The requirement isn’t just for houses. It applies to “...any residential structure containing at least one dwelling unit or house, regardless of size, on its own lot.” This includes attached single dwellin...

From 'Cool Hand Luke'. Which has nothing to do with this post. I went to a workshop for parents of autistic children and did something you’re not supposed to do. I asked the other parents sitting around the circle in that church basement how many of them thought they had characteristics similar to those of their kids.  The workshop leader glared at me. We’re not supposed to presume any sort of genetic disposition toward autism. I wasn’t trying to make trouble. But I do see some stuff in my boy that I see in myself. For instance, I tend to be pretty literal –– when my ex wife texts me, for instance, that she plans to drop off the cool hat I bought my son the next day, I assume that she intends to drop off the hat the next day. This gets me in trouble because apparently, anybody can see that what she really meant was that I could get the hat from her the next time I picked up the kids from her house.  My boy suffers from the same rigid thinking and in him i...

Sure, you know your kid better than anybody. But that doesn't mean other people don't know your kid at all. And guess what. Some of us have gone through what you're about to go through. And what you're about to put your kid through. I'm not saying don't move. That would be stupid. I am, after all, a real estate agent. What I am saying, though, is before you launch yourself into a situation that's going to be stressful on you, take some time to figure out how to mitigate the stress on your kid. Talk to your kid's therapist, paras, and teachers.  Then talk to me. You can reach me at 310-854-2458 or by email at brian (at) belefant (dot) realtor. By the way, if you're looking for online counseling, check out Better Help . 

Danger! Danger! In 1973 the Clean Air Act made asbestos illegal to use for fireproofing and insulating purposes.  Then in 1989 the EPA issued the Asbestos Ban and Phase Out Rule , which was supposed to impose a full ban on the manufacturing, importation, processing and sale of asbestos-containing products. Two years later supporters of the asbestos industry challenged and overturned the ban. It was a landmark lawsuit: Corrosion Proof Fittings v. the Environmental Protection Agency . Bottom line, some small victories for asbestos regulation, but asbestos use is still permitted. As in now. As in still permitted now. I know. You’re freaking out.  I am too. I started to rip up some of the ugly vinyl molding in my bathroom last week so I could put in a real live baseboard and then, because I knew this, I stopped. I took a sample to my local asbestos testing lab and found out that the adhesive that sticks the vinyl molding to the wall contains asbestos.  ...

Yum! Up until my son was three, just about everything went into his mouth. Slugs he found in the garden. His sister's elbow. The bannister.  I didn’t freak out too much, but maybe I should have. We were living in a house built in 1910 and as most real estate agents will tell you –– and ours told us –– if a house was built before 1978 it almost certainly has lead paint. The big concern is lead dust, most of which comes from paint that’s deteriorating. Our paint wasn’t deteriorating. According to the CDC, though, “ even low levels of lead in blood have been shown to affect IQ, ability to pay attention, and academic achievement.”   And here’s a new one: The National Institute of Health sent out a release in June of this year that indicates that there’s a connection between heavy metals –– including lead –– and autism.  Federal law requires that if you’re buying a house built before 1978, the seller must provide you with an EPA-approved information pamph...

I don't believe there's a "cure" for autism and even if there were, I couldn't imagine inflicting it on my son. But I continue to explore the issue and I'm glad to see others do, too. Check out this video, produced by BBC Scotland .  Scottish TV legend Chris Packham reveals how his autism shapes his world, and why he would never want to change it. If you can't spare the time to watch the entire video, here's a summary in his own words: "We need to understand autistic people better, and not try to change who they are." Via BBC Stories You can reach me at 503-715-2852 or by email at brianb (dot) mrealty (at) gmail (dot) com.