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Displaying blog entries 121-130 of 203

Seller Not Sure About Oil Tanks

by Rob Levy, Prudential Northwest Properties

Submitted by Sandra Hanis

It seemed like there would be no problem. Our buyer found a great home in Southeast Portland with some gorgeous gardens. The newer gas furnace gave no hint that there was an oil tank but when we looked over the tax records, it showed there was an oil furnace at one time. We of course stated on the sales contract that the buyer would do a test to locate whether there was an abandoned tank in the ground. We were told the seller had the paperwork to show an oil tank had been decommissioned. Fortunately the listing agent said she would get the papers issued from DEQ (Dept of Environmental Quality). When the seller went to provide the papers, we learned that the company that did the decommissioning is now out of business and never went that final necessary step. The good news was that we started this inquiry during the 10 day inspection period so there was time for the tank locator to do the necessary inspection on the soil and if it is needed, the seller is willing to do any needed clean up and provide DEQ certification. My buyer knows that they will need to deal with this later with another buyer so they must have the DEQ certification. Also if you do not have DEQ certification and rules change in the future, you would probably need to meet new requirements. In this instance, everyone was working together to make this sale happen and by doing so the seller was able to move on and my buyer was delighted with their new place!  You can learn more about oil tanks at RobLevy.com under recommended links.

Greatest Cities in the Portland Area

by Rob Levy, Prudential Northwest Properties
Submitted by Shawn Headlee
Good Morning All,
 
Hope everyone had a great weekend. SmartMoney.com has a great article with the 100 greatest places to live. The highest ranking for the Portland/Vancouver area was Lake Oswego ranked 32. Camas and Salem both made the top 100. Apparently the author has not been to Camas when the wind is blowing in the wrong direction!  Most of the cities on the list were small towns of 30,000 or less. I grew up in a small town and it was great as a kid, but there is not much to do now except fish and hunt
 
Hope you all have a great week!!

Other Cities Spend Money Building Roads That Cause More Traffic, not Portland

by Rob Levy, Prudential Northwest Properties
Submitted by Bruce Hecht
 
Here are some facts about Portland's environmentally friendly ways:
More people in Portland, Oregon drive Hybrid cars than any other city
 
More people in Portland, Oregon fight to bring money to the city to grow,expand and improve our MAX Light Rail system
 
Portland, Oregon ranks 3rd in the US that wear seats belts when they drive their cars
 
More people in Portland, Oregon ride their bikes to work than any other city
 
More new businesses are opening in Portland, Oregon that are building Solar Panels to power many new ideas in self sustaining energy
 
The world is looking to Portland ,Oregon for ideas and examples on how to go more Green in designs for buildings and infra structure

Walking Tours of Portland

by Rob Levy, Prudential Northwest Properties
Submitted by Cathy Hill
 
Many of Portland’s residents are fitness-oriented, making it an attractive city for outdoor enthusiasts. In 2005, Men’s Fitness ranked Portland as #6 on the list of America’s 25 Fittest Cities, an improvement from the #8 ranking in 2004. I’m a regular at my neighborhood gym, and when spring and summer arrive, I mix it up with some outdoor challenges.
 
I recently bought Portland Hill Walks, a book written by hiking enthusiast Laura Foster. The book provides routes and information on 20 Portland neighborhood walks, including details on distance, difficulty, and landmarks along the way. Many neighborhoods of the city are covered, including North Portland, Southwest Portland, Northwest Portland, Southeast Portland, and Northeast Portland.   Getting out and about on foot provides a fun way to learn our city, and a nice cross-training experience away from the gym when the weather begs us to get outdoors! Enjoy. 

Blazers Pick Oden!

by Rob Levy, Prudential Northwest Properties
Submitted by Shawn Headlee
 
Hello All,
 
Big week for the Trail Blazers! I have not been this excited about the team for a long time. I really like the character of this team. Management has done a wonderful job of cleaning house. It may take a few years, but we will be in the playoffs again. SI.com had some great analysis of the draft. Portland was basically rated #1 for the moves and picks they made.
 
In the real world, people are remembered more for who they were and not as much for what they did.
 
Have a safe 4th of July!!

BEAVERS WIN!

by Rob Levy, Prudential Northwest Properties
Submitted by Shawn Headlee
Hello all,
 
How about those Beavers?? What an amazing story of drive overcoming talent. Not to say they weren’t a talented team, but they were not of the level of some of the teams they faced. They truly believed they could beat anybody and did. It makes you wonder why more corporations don’t stress the family attitude. The head coach sure has it figured out, give your kids total confidence from you and they will learn to believe in themselves 100%. They had no clue they weren’t the most talented team on the field, they knew they were going to win, end of story.
 
I followed most of the College World Series on NCAASPORTS.COM, fantastic site for all college sports. 

Travel to PDX with Ease

by Rob Levy, Prudential Northwest Properties
Submitted by Cathy Hill
 
This past weekend, I visited with several of my college friends in the California Bay Area and the San Joaquin Valley. While I enjoyed living in northern California, I’m always so happy to come home to the beauty and quality of life we have here in Oregon. One of the things I appreciated most about my trip was the ease of getting to the airport using Tri-Met, Portland’s public transportation system.
 
I’m from Hawaii, which has an award-winning public transportation system called The Bus. When I was growing up, my mom, sister, and I took the bus everywhere. Last week, my trip to PDX involved hopping on the Max at the Sunset Transit Center. Getting to the airport cost me $2.00 and an hour of time, versus about $3.50 in gas, $50 in parking fees, and the immeasurable traffic frustration of a 4:00PM drive. The biggest dilemma we had on the ride that day was how to avoid the large bee buzzing around; such a small problem and such an easy trip! If you have questions about getting around Portland, call us at The Rob Levy Team – we’re always glad to help.

Baseball and the Summer with the Boys

by Rob Levy, Prudential Northwest Properties
Submitted by Shawn Headlee
Good Morning All,
 
Hope you had a great weekend!! The Oregon State Beavers won their first game of the College World Series. NCAA.com is a great site to follow college sports scores. My nephew is enrolled at OSU for Construction Engineering. He moved in with me this weekend for the summer to work for Skanskausa as an intern this summer. It should be a summer of male bonding!!  I feel very lucky to have this time with him due to him growing up 6 hours away and me missing a lot of his child hood. We often forget how important family is and I hope you all called your fathers this weekend.
 
Don’t forget to watch OSU’s second game today at 4 against Arizona State.
 
Have a great week!

Oden vs/ Durant! Who do You Think the Blazers Will Choose?

by Rob Levy, Prudential Northwest Properties
Submitted by Sandy Morley
 
Finally it looks like lady luck may have changed course for the Portland Trail Blazers after receiving the Number 1 Draft pick. The two biggest contenders for the position are Greg Oden, the 7-foot center from Ohio State and Kevin Durant who is a high-scoring Texas forward. The team is allowed two visits with each player before the June 28th draft and both are arriving this week for the first round of interviews and practice. The Trail Blazer’s GM Kevin Pritchard has said meeting with the two ball players in Portland this week will be the determining factor after a month of scouting and game-film study. He has also said he hopes to get to know the players as normal guys – to see if they laugh, have a sense of humor or take themselves to seriously. Last year the team chose Brandon Roy from the University of Washington - who proved to be a valuable choice when he was chosen Rookie-of-the-Year.
I think the Blazers will make the best choice possible – although my vote is for Oden. What do you think? It seems to be quite a buzz around town and season tickets are selling faster than they have in years. Maybe this year will bring back the spirit we used to have during the 90’s with players like Terry Porter, Clyde Drexler, Danny Ainge and Kevin Duckworth. Gotta love Rip City!

Blues and Views on the Portland Waterfront

by Rob Levy, Prudential Northwest Properties
Submitted by Kate Baldus
 
Woo hoo!!! It is that time of the year again… my favorite festival in Portland is just around the corner. The 20th Annual Waterfront Blues Festival is scheduled for July 4th to July 8th along Tom McCall Waterfront Park. This year’s line-up is just as good as most years with the following artists scheduled to perform: The Neville BrothersKoko Taylor Joan Armatrading, The Blind Boys of Alabama , Pinetop PerkinsMarcia Ball, James Cotton Band with special guest Hubert Sumlin , Mavis Staples , The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Voice of the Wetlands Allstars (Tab Benoit, Cyril Neville, Anders Osborne, Johnny Sansone) Eric Burdon and the Animals, Savoy Brown Steve Lucky and the Rhumba BumsJ.J. Grey and MofroWatermelon Slim,  Dan Hicks and the Hot LicksBrian Auger and the Oblvion Express!
 
This year the festival’s four stages will host more than 125 blues performances from around the world. The festival began in 1988 and has grown to be the largest blues festival west of the Mississippi attracting more than 120,000 fans from all over. Get to the festival early and plan to stage hop from area to area to catch your favorite performers. Be prepared for warm weather as it is often hot and the waterfront provides little shade unless you take refuge under the food tents or the Morrison Bridge. If you are a lucky blues fan with a boat you can join water enthusiasts on the Willamette River and enjoy music while relaxing on the water.
 
Don’t miss these events:
Fireworks on July 4th
Specialty River Dinner Cruises throughout the weekend.
After Concert Dances
Educational Workshops
Children’s Activities
Blues Films
Local Brews & Food
 
All of the festival is produced by the Oregon Food Bank who uses the event as a benefit for fundraising. Daily admission is a donation of $8 per person/per day plus two cans of food. All of the proceeds benefit the Oregon Food Bank so please come out and support our community and enjoy the blues, brews and views!
 
 

Displaying blog entries 121-130 of 203

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