Real Estate Information Archive

Submitted by Sandy Morley:

Will you live in your next home for at least 3 years? If the answer is "Yes," you should  purchase rather than continue renting. With average appreciation, you'll break even on your closing costs after 2 years.  Starting with the 3rd year until you sell you will be putting money in your pocket.  Remember that the most expensive aspect of real estate is buying & selling, so the longer you can live in the home the better. However, purchasing makes sense if you can make as little as a 36 month commitment.

I recently bought a house in the St. Johns neighborhood in North Portland - close to the University of Portland.  I am constantly reminded that people in Portland and surrounding areas think that St. Johns is its own town.  While it was originally a separate incorporated city it was annexed by Portland in 1915.  The drive from downtown Portland along Highway 30 and across the stunning St. Johns Bridge is only about 10-15 minutes and actually less time then most commute to many of the popular eastside neighborhoods.  The best part is that St. Johns is still relatively undiscovered (which is probably why I could afford to buy there!)  

St. Johns is named for the settler James John who laid the original eight block town site in 1865.  This outdoorsy neighborhood is bordered by the Columbia River to the northeast and the Willamette River (separating it from Sauvie Island and Linnton) to the northwest.  Most locals add the Cathedral Park neighborhood and refer to the entire area as St. Johns, including the main business district on Lombard/Ivanhoe as "Downtown St. Johns."

Why visit, live or play in St. Johns?  There are some great new businesses opening in the neighborhood such as Greg's, Orlean's Candle Company, and Proper Eats.  Anna Bannanas has become a staple of downtown St. Johns with live music some evenings and healthy goodies and coffee selections.  If you want to relax you can catch a film at the St. Johns Theater on Lombard serving pizza and beer.  To top it off, what neighborhood would be complete without a McMenamins... Across from Blockbuster on Ivanhoe, this particular pub and theater was built in 1905 as the National Cash Register Company's exhibit hall for Portland's Lewis and Clark Exposition.   To arrive in St. Johns, this ornate building was barged down the Willamette River to its current location where it has housed a Lutheran Church, American Legion Post, bingo parlor, and home for Gypsy wakes.  

Many Portlanders "trek" to St. Johns for the numerous parks and natural areas.  Take a stroll across the bridge and immediately up into forest park (over 70 miles of hiking trails) or discover disc golf at Pier Park, considered one of the most beautiful and challenging courses in the northwest.  Kelley Point Park and the Smith and Bybee Lakes wildlife sanctuary are just a five minute drive from downtown St. Johns and great for wildlife watching.  In the summers the bike lanes are filled with avid  bicyclists making the loop from downtown Portland through St. Johns and down Highway 30.

While my friends might not visit because they think I live a little far away (boy are they missing out!) I have fallen in love with my neighborhood.  Friends of Trees activities, packed community centers for neighborhood association meetings, fun events in Cathedral Park and downtown St. Johns festivals make this neighborhood a great place to live - Just don't forget that it is still considered Portland, zip code 97203!

The ReBuilding Center!

The ReBuilding Center originally opened to the public in 1998 and has expanded to over 60,000 square feet of warehouse space filled with useful building materials.  A huge help for the environment it has the potential to divert nearly ten tons of construction and demolition waste per day by 2008!  The ReBuilding Center is a project of Our United Villages, a non-profit community enhancement organization developed by dedicated volunteers.

Also check out the North Portland Tool Library... with over 300 brand new tools it will lend out to North Portland residents for FREE!

Submitted by Kate Baldus; unlicensed assistant to Rob Levy

Submitted by Bruce Hecht

Mow your grass or shovel snow, you decide!  

Sounds like it could be the better of two evils.  Not for some buyers I was working with the other day.  They were trying to decide where to relocate to and they could pick from anywhere.  They chose Portland, Oregon.

While I was touring them around the city, they saw Crocus, Daphne and Daffodils all in full bloom.  We even saw a few pink cherry blossom trees starting to bloom.  They mentioned part of their relocation decision making was the weather in the different cities.  Using a number of online weather websites they found tons of information as far as averages, seasonal and allergy information.  After all of their research, they chose Portland for the place to buy a home!

Just the other day I looked up a few of the other cities that had made their original list.  One had a high of 12 degrees and the other was in the middle of the worst snow storm in 100 years.  I looked at the same day weather for Portland and we had 62 degrees, sunny with winds at 4 mph from the SE. Now I see what they mean!  This is why I have spent most of my entire life in Portland, Oregon.  The weather, the seasons and the calm, warm early springs.

To help our clients prepare to file their 2006 taxes we send each buyer and seller a jump drive containing a copy of the documents related to their transaction, including a copy of their final HUD-1.  Most clients will have received a hard copy of their HUD-1 after closing, but we found that these can get lost in the wake of a large move and they appreciate the follow up from our team.  Not to mention that they receive a handy dandy 62 megabyte jump drive that is reusable if they choose to transfer their files to a personal computer. (see below)

We also recommend Oregon residents to look up these two important Oregon tax documents:

1)      Home Mortgage Interest Deduction - Buyers

2)      Taxes on the Sale of your Home - Sellers

Submitted by Kate Baldus; unlicensed assistant to Rob Levy

Submitted by Bruce Hecht:

Submitted by Bruce Hecht 

So you think you want to buy a home?

1)      Don’t buy if you are not going to live in it for a few years.

If you can’t commit to staying in one place for at least a few years, then buying a home is probably not a good direction for you, at least not now.  With the transaction costs of buying and selling a home, you may end up losing money if you do not hold on to it for at least 2.5-4 years.

2)      Start by making your credit as stellar as it can be.

Since you will need a mortgage to buy a home, unless you plan to use CASH, you should have your credit history as clean as possible. T his process should begin/take place many months before you start house hunting, get copies of your credit report.  Make sure the facts are correct, and fix any problems you discover.

3)      Aim high, but not so high that you are house poor.

A good rule to use is: buy housing that runs about two-and-one-half times your annual salary.  Use one of many calculators available online to get a better handle on how your income, debts, and expenses affect what you can afford.

4)      Don’t worry if you can’t put down the usual 20 percent.

There are a variety of public and private lenders who, if you qualify, offer low-interest mortgages that require a down payment as small as 3 percent of the purchase price.  The change is that the rates may vary.

5)      Buy where you can afford with the best schools.

This advice applies even if you don’t have school-age children. When it comes time to sell, you’ll learn that strong school districts are a top priority for many home buys, thus helping to boost property values and your home appreciation.

6)      Get professional help.

Even though the Internet gives buyers unprecedented access to home listings, it’s still a very valuable tool to have an experiences/savvy agent on your side.  Look for an exclusive buyers agent, they will have your interests at heart and can help you with strategies during the purchase process.

7)      Choose carefully between points and rate.

When picking a mortgage, you usually have the option of paying additional points – a portion of the interest that you pay at closing – in exchange for a lower interest rate.  The lower interest rate will save you more in the long run.

8)      Before house hunting, get “credit approved.”

Getting yourself credit approved will save yourself the grief of looking at houses you cannot afford and put you in a better position to make a serious offer when you do find the right house.

9)      Do your homework before putting your offer together.

Your opening offer should be based on the sales trend of similar homes in the neighborhood.  Consider sales of similar homes in the last three months.  If homes have recently sold at 5 percent less that the asking price, you should make a bid that’s about eight to ten percent lower than what the seller is asking.

10)  Make sure to have your new home professional inspected.

Your lender will require a home appraisal.  But that’s just the banks way of determining whether the house is worth the price you’ve agreed to pay.  You should hire your own home inspector.  His or her job will be to point out potential problems that could require costly repairs down the road.