Here’s a quick rundown of upcoming Realtor® events & education for August in Oregon & Southern Washington. If you have an event that is not listed here, please let us know by commenting below. For future events, please send an e-mail to communications (at) rmls (dot) com.

– August 5:Realtor Day at NW Natural Street of Dreams – noon to 8 p.m.

– August 12: CCAR hosts Get Connected: Expose Yourself to Social Networking

– August 13: OAR hosts What’s going on with Short Sales (web seminar)

– August 13: Oregon CRS – CRS 205: Financing Course in Ashland, Oregon

– August 19: CCAR hosts Washington State Housing Finance Commission

– August 19: Douglas County Board of Realtors Membership Meeting – Speaker, Gene Bentley, Oregon Real Estate Agency Commissioner

– August 21: Southern Oregon Women’s Council of Realtors hosts – Qualifying for a FHA/VA Loan

Also, if you’re an RMLS™ subscriber, we have lots of FREE opportunities for continuing education credit at a location near you, click the link for your area to view the August Training Calendar:

– Coos County
– Eastern Oregon
– Eugene
– Florence
– Gresham
– Portland
– Roseburg
– Salem
– Vancouver

Image courtesy of Ayhan Yildiz

Here’s a quick rundown of upcoming Realtor® events & education in our service areas for July. If you have an event that is not listed here, please let us know by commenting below. For future events, please send an e-mail to communications (at) rmls (dot) com.  

– July 16: OAR (Oregon Association of Realtors) hosts Dealing with Foreclosure Consultants – webinar

– July 23: PMAR (Portland Metropolitan Assocition of Realtors) hosts Short Sales and Foreclosure: An Accredited Buyer Representative (ABR) Course

– July 23: CCAR (Clark Co. Association of Realtors) hosts its 28th Annual Golf Tournament

– July 23: EAR (Eugene Association of Realtors) hosts Membership Luncheon, featured speaker is Lennox Scott, CEO John L. Scott

– July 23: SAR (Salem Association of Realtors) – SAR Night at Volconoes Baseball 

– July 24: CCAR hosts Realtor Foundation Texas Hold’em Tournament & Casino Night

– July 29: OAR  hosts Internet Marketing Skills – webinar (free)

– July 30: OAR hosts Dealing with REO Properties – webinar

– July 30: EAR hosts Stock the Pantry, a benefit for Food for Lane County

Also, if you’re an RMLS subscriber, we have lots of FREE opportunities for continuing education credit at a location near you, click the link for your area to view the July Training Calendar:

– Coos County
– Eastern Oregon
– Eugene
– Gresham
– Hood River
– Portland
– Roseburg
– Salem
– Vancouver

Image courtesy of Ayhan Yildiz

Here’s a quick rundown of upcoming Realtor® events & education in our service areas for the rest of June. If you have an event that is not listed here, please let us know by commenting below. For future events, please send an e-mail to communications (at) rmls (dot) com.  

Vancouver Fine Homes Group Tour, June 18: The next Vancouver Fine Homes Group tour will be on Thursday, June 18 starting at 9 a.m. They will be touring the East side of the county. Visit www.vancouverfinehomes.org for more information.

Eugene Association of Realtors, Principal Brokers Roundtable Forum – Short Sales, June 19: http://www.eugenerealtors.org/education_events.html

CCAR June Membership Meeting, June 25: Hear tips on how to best integrate some of today’s hottest social media tools, including Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook into your current marketing plan. Register here: http://ccrealtors.com/downloads/junemtg.pdf

Springfield Homebuyers Fair, June 27: http://www.ci.springfield.or.us/CMO/NewsRelease/NR%202009%20May%2029%20Mayor%20Sid%20Leiken%20to%20Proclaim%20June%20as%20National%20Homeownership%20Month.pdf

Image courtesy of Ayhan Yildiz 

June is National Homeownership Month and if you read the blog, you probably know I am a new member of the homeowner community.

After getting through my first transaction, I can say that I definitely understand how some first time homebuyers can be intimidated by the process of buying a home. Per the old adage, “nothing good comes easy”, and I emphasize the good.

Between choosing a Realtor and a lender, finding the right home, negotiations, inspection and the mounds of paperwork at each step, it can make your head spin when you have no experience with it. Fortunately, Realtors help alleviate all of those concerns and lend understanding to each stage of the process.  

However, for those first time buyers who may not have chosen a Realtor yet, or a just looking for more information, our friends over at the Portland Metropolitan Association of Realtors® (PMAR), have put together a great website for potential buyers –  HOWNW.com (Homeownership Opportunities Website Northwest).

The website features a very helpful Home Buying Process section. I peeked at the site a few times before I decided to buy and found it very helpful. The site also includes a section that allows potential buyers to search for homeownership programs that may fit their needs.

Even though I had a good Realtor, along with friends, family & colleagues around me that are knowledgeable about real estate, I still found it stressful at times (I’m a worrier), so I think any other resources that can shed some light on the process are worth highlighting – here are a few others I was able to find: 

American Bankers Association – National Homeownership Month Resources

CNN Money: Money 101 – Buying a Home

Portland Housing Center: Schedule for Homebuying 101 Classes

Image courtesy of John Salazar