Buying Portland Condominiums

By A. Kim

Are you looking for great place to live and call home? You should check out Portland, Oregon, a thriving community with many outdoor activities and many things to do in the Pacific Northwest. If you are seeking for a spacious home, Portland condominiums is an easy option for you to choose.

Great outdoors and moderate weather makes Hillsboro, Tigard, Lake Oswego, West Linn, and greater Portland area ideal place to call home. The pacific northwest is filled with national parks within short driving distance like the Rocky Mountain.

With recent downturn in US economy, the prices have become very affordable to everyone, especially Portland condominiums buyers. There has been huge investments in Pearl District, South Waterfront, and many of the downtown areas, but few of the luxurious condo developments have stalled with larger than normal inventories of unsold condos.

$478 per square feet has been an average listing price of Portland condominiums in the late 2007, but recently these prices have decreased significantly. This is perfect time to purchase one for those who have good credit and enough down payments, the inventories of unsold condos have reached unprecedented levels.

The per square feet sales price have declined to about $250 in middle of 2008, further fueling buying for those who are in it for the long terms, since prices will not come back to its highs anytime soon, it might take years, but this is perfect time to buy for investors or those looking for a home.

Whether your looking for convenience or many moder amenities Portland condominiums will be perfect for those requiring carefree living without headaches of owning a home. All of the repairs and maintenance will be taken care of by the association. Now is the perfect time for one to look into these homes before the US real estate market rebounds in late 2009 and early 2010, these will be perfect investments.

About the Author:

When making Portland condominiums you home, please review Portland Condominiums, and Portland Condominiums

End The Confusion:View The General Debt Consolidation Terms

By Frank Froggatt

When you get in debt there are lots of things that get obscure. First Off you have to figure out a budget, then all the debts you have, your creditors and how much you owe, and even more. It can be a little difficult, so taking that in mind we put together the accompanying list of terms to help you get on the correct route to being debt free.

Debt Consolidation: This is when you combine all of your debts into one monthly payment, thereby making it simpler to realize those payments.This can block late fees and might maybe slim down those late penalties as well.

Unsecured debt- This is all the financial obligations you have that the creditor that has given you credit towards which does not have collateral. This would be your charge cards, because your dwelling and cars will be repoed if you don't pay back those bills.

Home Equity Loan:For homeowners the equity in your dwelling can be borrowed against to redeem all of your debts or for home betterment. If the improvements grow the economic value of your property your rates of interest might be very small. But Then if the loan is to be used for debt consolidation or debt reduction you can plan on paying a higher rate.

Debt reduction- if you already have a bad credit rating, this could be an option for you. This is when a party aids you in putting away money in order to pay back lenders. Usually you will make no requitals for well-nigh 6 calendar months and then you will conciliate with your creditors so that you can pay back less in the long haul. This can obliterate your credit, so if there is another option, you should emphatically think of it.

Settlement- if you owe a creditor $5000 but you can't produce any requitals, or you can only make less than the nominal each calendar month, they could square up with you and take 30-70% of the balance instead. This way they receive something out of the money you owe them. This will provide a damaging mark on your credit score and report because they will shut your accounts and then place "paid as agreed" on your credit report card, registering that you did not pay it all back and they had to end your business relationship in light of this.

You will discover that you can receive lots of help with your debt situation online, but you must do the due diligence and make sure you have chosen aid that is through a company with a positive reputation of aiding consumers and not defrauding them.Don't ever divulge your personalized info with any business organization on-line unless you know for sure about them and have searched them with the BBB.

About the Author:

This article was penned by Frank Froggatt, an expert on Bad Credit Debt Consolidation. You can clear up a lot of your confusion about this topic while sitting at home in your easy chair by visiting mydebtconsolidationsite.us

Steps To Create Home Solar Energy

By Daniel Shermann

Whether we like it or not, everyone has a role to play in saving the environment. One of the best ways to do so as consumers is probably our switching to home solar energy. First and foremost, kudos to you! Solar energy for the home is one of the most practicable ways just about any regular person can do in the crusade to save the world's dwindling energy natural resources. Here are some basic tips you have to know in order to solar power your home:

Step 1: Research

Like buying almost any other item, the most logical consumers would first do a bit of research regarding the product. The same consumer attitude should apply when deciding to shop for a home solar energy system. Basic considerations include:

- How much money are you willing to spend in solar powering your home? - In what part of my home will I place my solar energy system? Do I need to renovate part of my house to make room for all the equipments of the solar system? Will there be any major aesthetic changes made to my home once the system is put into place? - What part of my home is the sun able to maximally reach? (Most preferred and logical location for panels is the roof although there are a few homeowners who choose to place their panels adjacent to their homes.) Step 2: Custom fit

Which part of your home do you want powered with solar energy? If you plan to have enough solar energy for only a certain room (e.g. living room only) of your house just to offset your increasing electric bill, there are companies that sell equipments piece by piece.

Some companies also offer complete custom fit home solar energy systems that are suitable for homeowners who have decided to solar power their entire residence. Custom fitting your system is recommended in this case because the company has the necessary knowledge on how to maximize the use of your system.

Step 3: Solar power contractor

When selecting a solar contractor, longevity in the business is a key factor. The size of a solar power company is irrelevant; what is more important is their experience in installing and maintaining their systems.

Do your assignment. Ask as many possible past and present consumers about their experience with companies. Take down notes and information to help you make a wiser decision regarding your solar dealer.

Step 4: Solar bidding evaluation

To lure customers, solar energy companies will provide biddings. It is your responsibility, as an astute consumer, to make sure that all the biddings follow the same criteria for fair evaluation.

Carefully and thoroughly read about installation process and cost, primary equipments and accessories used, and warranties offered by each home solar energy dealer. For water solar heating systems, information about estimations of yearly energy saved in kilowatts per hour should be stated. Electrical solar system bids should include information about system size and yearly energy produced. Make sure that all of the dealers have met all legal requirements in your locality and tax credit applications.

Now that you have learned some basic yet very important facts about solar energy, may you be guided in your selection and thank you for supporting solar power!

About the Author:

Discover new ways to save on your electricity bills! Lower electricity bill by using a home solar energy system.

Baltimore Condominiums

By J. Kim

While the rest of country is in housing downturn, Baltimore condominiums market is little better than the rest of the country. While the real estate has declined significantly, the sales prices of condos remain stable. The average sales price for condos in Baltimore was $280,000 in 2008 compared with about the same in the July of 2007.

Luxury condo markets in greater Baltimore area also did not decline much, with recent listing in Georgetown area for $1,300,000 a $400 per square feet, a healthy price for a luxury condo. The price decline seem to be in condos in the middle or lower end of the buyer. The prices of real estate has not decreased much, but the appreciation in value of condos are not as great as in 2001-2006, with only less than 3 percent decline in sales prices in certain metro Baltimore areas.

May developers in Baltimore area have decided to include "going green" as a way to continue building condos. "Greening" has certainly helped some of the developers that were in trouble. But one of the downside of "going green" is that increased environment friendliness cost more than standard building. Many buyers though see this is absolutely necessary for future Baltimore condominiums.

The Harbor East neighborhood in Baltimore are awaiting new constructions like The Vue at Harbor East and the Four Season Hotel and Residence, which makes these Baltimore condominiums more desirable because of there location in the Baltimore harbor area, where condos are still desirable.

Even with the bad economy and the nation in recession for over a year, many real estate developers are still continuing with construction. This is a great time to buy with economy to rebound sometime in 2009 continuing to 2010, window of opportunities to purchase these will be closing.

So, many new construction and condo conversions are being built in Baltimore. Baltimore is great place to live, work, and raise family or condos can be just a good investment.

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If your planning on purchasing Baltimore condominiums, please review Baltimore Condominiums, and Baltimore Condominiums

Hidden Costs Of Free Credit Reports & How To Avoid Them

By Jim M. Davies

With so many companies advertising free credit reports on national television, it's becoming increasingly hard to separate the wheat from the chaff. Because if the advertised offer is really free, then can the company justify paying for national advertising? And it's not like the campaigns ran and then stopped all of a sudden. They've been on the air for years now, so it has to be a profit-generating venture. And they all seem to be hell-bent on showing you what horrible things can happen to you should you not get your free credit report, while minimizing the fact that they're just as intent on selling you something.

Since we see more and more companies jumping in the "get your free credit report" fray, and spending the corresponding advertising dollars, then it has to be a profitable venture. Yet a "free" product doesn't exactly generate profits, so there has to be some kind of exchange of funds going on in order to generate those profits. Viewed from this angle, it then becomes very interesting to wonder if those offers are really free? Or do they come with strings attached?

The short version of the answers to these questions would simply be "No, they are typically not free", and "Yes, they mostly come with strings attached". If you're the type of person who like more detailed answers, then feel free to read on. A more detailed answer would be that just about any offer you see advertised on TV is NOT free, and so are most of the offers you see online. There are free offers, though, and we can help you sort out the free variety from the paid variety.

Like we said previously, most of the credit report offers do carry a cost. Banks and other lending firms have been touting free credit reports for years now, but what they really are offering is a subscription service where you get to check your credit report any time you want. This service is managed either by them or is the result of a partnership with one of the three major credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian, and Transunion. There are more than 3 credit bureaus operating in the US, but those three are pretty much the only ones that count.

Another reason for the rise in free credit report offers is that people have been getting more concerned about the content of their credit reports, because of the rise of "identity theft". Consequently, a lot of companies have entered the so-called "identity protection business". Their business model is simple: they advertise a free credit report, but in the fine print of their offer, should you accept it, it says that you're agreeing to subscribe to their credit monitoring services. They typically charge from $6.95 to $19.95 a month, and upon sign up you enroll for a plan that lasts anywhere from 3 months to a year. For your money, you get alerted in the case of suspicious activity on your account, and get notified about credit inquiries and late payments.

With the enactment of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the "big three" credit bureaus are each required by law to offer their customers a free credit report every year. They're not required to send it to you, though, so you have to actually ask for it. You can do so by mail, by phone, or over the Internet. Be sure you follow the instructions so you can get your free credit report, the one where you really don't have to pay a dime.

You can legally request a free credit report if a company denies your credit, insurance or employment application based on information that was in said report. Just know that you have 60 days from the date this happened to make your request. Unemployed people are also eligible for a free credit report every year, provided that they're planning to look for a job within 60 days. Finally, if you're on welfare, or if you have reason to believe that your credit report contains errors, you can also request a free credit report and it will be sent to you.

In case you didn't know it, there's a tremendous amount of competition in the banking industry. In order to keep customers or bring in new ones, banks constantly have to improve their offerings. So some banks have been offering a free credit report, and some form of basic online service that allows you to view and monitor your credit score, when you do business with them, either by getting a credit card issued by them or opening up a bank account with them. Highly desirable (and equally selective) credit cards issuers, such as American Express, also offer their best consumers very competitive packages of services, with credit report access and monitoring almost always being included at no extra cost.

If your needs do not go beyond looking at your credit report a couple of times a year to check for erroneous reports and misuse of your accounts or identity, there's no need to pay a monthly fee for that. Even if you do want to monitor your credit report on an ongoing basis, before you go to a paid service, set up your free reports so that you receive one every four months. If that's still not enough for you, then you can investigate one of the banks or credit card issuers that offers the service as part of a package deal.

Because so many life-changing decisions hang on the status of your credit report, it is essential that your credit report be accurate and that you take the necessary steps so that it remains that way. Monitoring services will only alert you, they won't do the legwork to correct anything that might go wrong. It's your responsibility to ensure that your credit report contains no errors, and you can do that without having to pay for it.

About the Author:

We have been advising people for years to get a really free credit report with no trial, instead of paying for the service. For more of the same type of money-saving tips, feel free to drop by our personal finance blog.