There’s a lot you can change about a house. You can repaint it, renovate the interior, landscape the yard. The one thing you can’t change is its location—and there’s abundant truth in the familiar list with the three most important words in real estate: location, location, location…

That’s why getting to know as much as possible about the neighborhoods in Portland is so important when you are searching for the right local home. The characteristics of your choice of neighborhood will affect the quality of life your family enjoys—as well as the capital appreciation and resale value of your property (a good example is the strong positive correlation between house prices and school quality).

Begin with a Plan

A good place to start is by making your personal list of what you think will make a great neighborhood for you and your family. Ideally, one of the Portland neighborhoods will check off all the requirements. In any case, you do want to make sure that your highest priority needs are met. For some, that might mean access to quality schools. For others, it might […]

When you begin scouring Portland area listings for a new home, the cost of the home appears to be right there at the top: the asking price. All the other details about the property are there, too, but they usually get close attention only after that dollar amount at the top falls within (well, is at least close to) your target number.

But as soon as the shopping starts to narrow the field, the financial implications of those other details begin to reveal themselves. Good thing! In fact, the true bottom line cost of your new Portland home will be greatly affected by them.

Many buyers work with the details exactly as presented—but as a purchase grows more likely, they should consider them simply as starting points. Back when home prices were racing steadily upward, it may have been okay to assume that price appreciation would make up for any exaggerations or oversights about the property (whether inadvertent or not), but today’s more cautious buyers appreciate how the disclosures impact the real cost of a property. They know how expensive it can be […]

The Portland listings aren’t dominated by any particular kind of seller—like local listings everywhere, all kinds of homeowners are represented. One attribute they generally have in common is the motivation to make their sale happen quickly. Sometimes that’s because they have settled on a new home purchase and want to avoid months of paying double duty on multiple residences. Sometimes a seller is relocating; sometimes there’s been a death or divorce.  Regardless of the reason for entering their property in the Portland listings, most sellers are strongly motivated to do what it takes to accomplish a sale.

Even in what has proven to be a generally strong market, a quick sale can be harder to accomplish during the summer months when buyers have other priorities on their minds—like vacations or the impending start of school. It might seem to be a less than optimum environment to enter the local listings, but the fact is, sales DO happen during the vacation months: and they can happen quickly—especially when the seller avoids some common missteps:

Not Perfecting the Homes Appearance.

Sometimes it’s actually fairly easy to […]

Negotiating tactics. It’s a topic that business authors adore. This is perennial best-seller territory…so much so, you could probably fill a moderate-sized home library with titles like The Art of the Deal and Getting to Yes.

When it comes to negotiating a home purchase in Portland, fine-tuning your offer—finding the balance between writing a winning offer and writing the most advantageous offer—can present a real challenge. Add to that the national headlines that tell us that there are more bidders out there vying for the same properties, and it makes sense to listen to what the experts have to say about the most successful tactics. When you’re negotiating a home purchase in Portland, some of the most repeated generalities are applicable:

• Keep your cards close to your chest

Kenny Rogers sings about it, and every poker player agrees: when you’re negotiating, it’s almost always prudent to volunteer as little information as possible about yourself and your home search. If you aren’t considering any other properties, don’t let the sellers’ agent in on the fact. Never lie, of course; but find a polite way to […]

The upheaval in global financial markets over the past few years may have been unnerving for almost everyone, but among the hardest-hit group was first time home buyers, in Portland and across the country. Many had to deal with the stress caused by an uncertain economy, the fallout on business and job security, and, more directly, a pronounced increase in the difficulty of securing mortgages.

The good news for Portland first time home buyers is how the national situation has stabilized. It’s confirmed by the increase in the number of people interested in buying a home for the first time—which has climbed out of the slump. The latest NAR (National Association of Realtors^®) annual Profile—a yearly report describing home buyers and sellers—shows that new entrants into the residential market accounted for 39%, just 1% shy of the pre-crash mark.

If you’re selling a Portland area home this summer and have priced it attractively, it could pay to be mindful of this important segment of our market.

So just who are Portland first time home buyers? That’s where the NAR report gives us some important […]

Many people assume that when the kids leave home, their newly empty nest automatically signals that downsizing into a smaller house or condo is the next step. In truth, for such families living in Portland, downsizing is a common option—one that could very well be the best choice.

But, as the old Gershwin tune says, “it ain’t necessarily so…”

For many of us, once we establish a firm direction in life, a lot of decisions are more or less made without much hesitation. Career, family, and even community needs head us in certain directions, so a lot of choices are obvious. But every once in a while the paths open up, and it’s time to take a breath, clear the head, and realize that there may be a lot more freedom to change course than we are used to. When the downsizing idea bobs to the surface, it’s likely to signal such a turning point. That’s when it’s your true interests and passions should govern your next step—especially with respect to your residential options, which will shape much of what happens next. If […]

I’ve written about the professionals who are on call to help anyone who sets about selling their house—but there is another team of pros who can be called on when it comes to buying a Portland home. Buying a home in Portland is not quite like any other purchase—even those with high dollar amounts. Buying a new Audi or Dodge Viper, for instance, can run you well over $100,000, but you don’t need much more than a fat savings account and willing car salesman to complete the deal.

Buying a home is just different; you need to be able to count on the help of a number of professionals from a number of different fields of expertise. Before you are handed the front door key, you’ll need to secure the necessary funds, acquire the property in a legally-bulletproof manner, and diligently investigate various aspects of the home’s plant and history—all the while protecting you against any kind of fraudulent representation. Here are four of the professionals whose assistance will greatly facilitate the process.

The most basic requirement for buying a Portland home is […]

When promising investment properties, in Portland or anywhere, are well-promoted, you can count on them drawing a crowd. Why wouldn’t they? Investment properties that perform well are like money machines: put in a quarter, get back a quarter and a nickel (and another nickel, and another, and another…). What’s not to like?

But not all Portland investment properties are well-promoted. There can be any number of reasons why, but the bottom line is that some of the best ones are hard to sniff out. In that case, they may take a “Bird Dog” to discover.

A word about the term. Ask any hunter (or even any regular viewer of Duck Dynasty—and there are a lot of those!) about the value of a good bird dog, and you’ll get an earful. Those canine sleuths use their highly-evolved senses to locate and retrieve the quarry—even when it is all but invisible to their human companions. Without a good bird dog, hunters would be the ones thrashing through swamp and forest to find supper. Not a pretty picture (and one that could often end in McDonalds’ […]

For owners who are contemplating some major upgrades with an eye to eventually selling a home in Portland, there’s always the question of where to do the upgrading. Last year, the National Association of Home Builders weighed in with a study of what today’s home buyer “really want”—which supplies some guidance that may be helpful.

Although the findings aren’t directly applicable for every home, the concepts that were cited as most popular can be informative, particularly to creative-minded homeowners ready to take a fresh look at how they might add allure and value to their property.

While the kitchen remains the top location for upgrades, there are several other valuable options for adding appeal in other areas of your home.

“Drop Zone”

A Drop Zone is designer-speak for any area that conveniently serves as a catch-all utility area. As such, it can be just about the most cost-effective upgrade for owners selling a home because many prospective buyers recognize their value. Such spaces can be customized for use as laundry rooms, mudrooms, or areas where children can store backpacks and coats.

Open Plan Family Area & […]

Last year comprised a decision point for many a local investor who had been holding back from the Portland real estate market. There’d been a number of good reasons for them to hesitate.

First, there were memories of the pervasive price drops that followed the global financial meltdown. Not exactly what a prudent investor was looking for—even given the real estate’s traditionally invincible long-term record. Then there were fears that the economy’s slow reverse out of the Great Recession (a term that was in itself enough to freeze many a checkbook!) would hamper apartment and single family unit rental increases. A landlord could get squeezed by inflation…if there were any inflation…who could know for sure?

But as 2013 began, some positives that were at last beginning to provide a degree of optimism. Last year’s Portland real estate investment decision was looking a little less risky when the historically low mortgage loan rates were taken into account. They penciled out to what looked like a potentially rosy cash flow outlook. And even the more hesitant investors had been noticing for a while how institutions […]