Criswell Real Estate Team Logo

Louise Criswell

Principal Broker

503.913.3500

Licensed in Oregon

Kimberly Criswell

Principal Broker

503.349.9339

Licensed in Oregon

Keller Williams Realty

Portland Central

700 NE Multnomah Street, Ste 950

Portland, OR 97232

503-548-4848

Evaluate Your Home For energy-saving opportunities.

Most every home can be made more energy efficient—it’s all about knowing where to begin and determining what fits within your budget. Energy Trust offers three easy ways to evaluate and improve your home’s energy performance, and provides cash incentives to help complete your improvement projects.


Home Performance with ENERGY STAR®

This comprehensive 3–4 hour home assessment is led by a specially trained and certified contractor who uses diagnostic state-of-the-art equipment to assess, test and evaluate all components of your home’s health, safety and energy performance. Cost varies per Home Performance contractor. You’ll receive:

  • A detailed energy consumption report and customized action plan for home efficiency improvements, comparing what you pay now to what you could be paying when your home runs at peak performance
  • A list of available cash incentives for efficiency improvements to your home

Home Energy Review

Have a trained Energy Trust Energy energy advisor visit your home for a one-hour walkthrough. You’ll receive:

  • A prioritized list of recommendations based on visual observations, Energy Trust cash incentives and available tax credits
  • Energy-saving products

Online Home Energy Analyzer

This free, easy tool takes less than 10 minutes to complete. You’ll receive:

  • Energy-saving tips
  • A calculation of your home’s carbon footprint

Start now by selecting one of the following options:

Billing Insights » Use my actual utility usage information (recommended)

Home Energy Analyzer » Calculate my home’s energy use based on estimates

Breaking News: Homebuyer Tax Credit Set to be Extended and Expanded!

 Breaking News: Homebuyer Tax Credit Set to be Extended and Expanded!

 

Earlier this week, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed an extension and expansion of the homebuyer tax credit. This morning, the House of Representatives approved the agreement reached in the Senate by a vote of 403-12. The bill has now passed both chambers and is awaiting [...]

Big Rebound in Existing-Home Sales Shows First-Time Buyer Momentum

Washington, October 23, 2009

Existing-home sales bounced back strongly in September with first-time buyers driving much of the activity, marking five gains in the past six months, according to the National Association of Realtors®.

Existing-home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – jumped 9.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate1 of 5.57 million units [...]

Reporting from Washington - Will Congress extend the wildly popular $8,000 home buyer tax credit beyond its Dec. 1 expiration date?

Reporting from Washington -

Will Congress extend the wildly popular $8,000 home buyer tax credit beyond its Dec. 1 expiration date?

That’s a question generating huge pressure on Capitol Hill from would-be buyers who haven’t found the right house as well as from realty agents, builders, lenders and squads of lobbyists working on their behalf.

But here’s the [...]

First-Time Buyer Tax Credit Extension Possible

 Bills to extend the maximum $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers, which expires Nov. 30, are pending in both the U.S. House and the Senate. Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat and chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, is co-sponsor of a bill with Georgia Republican Sen. Johnny Isakson [...]

Housing Experts: Now Is a Perfect Time to Buy

Now is the time to buy, but that opportunity may be slipping away. For people who have a job and money, a dream house is within reach, writes Marc Roth, founder of Home Warranty of America and a columnist for BusinessWeek. He points out that mortgage rates remain low, prices are still at historic lows, [...]

Downpayment, Closing Costs Biggest Obstacles …….

Downpayment, Closing Costs Biggest Obstacles
Most Americans still consider having enough money for downpayment and closing costs to be the biggest obstacles to buying a home, according to the 2009 National Housing Pulse Survey, an annual survey released Thursday by the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.

The survey, which measures how affordable housing issues affect consumers, also found [...]

Is HUD Really Going To Do Tax Credit Bridge Loans?

Pam Kabati, VP and Editorial Director at NAR, Twittered that Realtor Magazine Online has a update on the HUD Bridge Loan Credit.  Here is what Realtor Magazine Online, has to say:

Buyer Tax Credit Loan Guidance Coming Soon
Detailed guidance on the federal government’s plan to provide short-term loans to borrowers using the First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit [...]

Welcome to another instalment on the question on every first time buyers lips these days

Welcome to another instalment on the question on every first time buyers lips these days…..how can I use the available $8000 tax credit as a downpayment towards my first home?

 

I have been in touch with several key people this week [...]

The Basics: 2009 First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit

Bringing the Dream of Homeownership Within Reach

As part of its plan to stimulate the U.S. housing market and address the economic challenges facing our nation, Congress has passed legislation that grants a tax credit of up to $8,000 to first-time home buyers.

Here is more information about how the 2009 First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit can [...]