By Alyssa Isenstein Krueger, July 7, 2020
Kat was referred to me in mid-May by a former client of mine, about two months into the pandemic. Like a lot of first time home buyers, being home all the time with roommates while also running a business had lost a lot of appeal after two months into Covid. Kat is an artist and has developed a successful business selling dice for role playing games and was looking for a cozy vintage home that also had a large enough space to move her business operations into. She also wanted to live as close-in as possible. We looked at a few houses to give her a feel for what was on the market, and nothing was close to ringing her bell. And then like magic, the perfect little 1910 bungalow with a nice front porch and porch swing on the back porch popped up in Creston-Kenilworth. It is sweet as a bell in the sunshine with high ceilings, a true to period re-done kitchen and bathroom and vintage charm galore. And the basement set up is perfect for running her business out of with an outside entrance that will allow her sweet pooch to run in and out of all day long. Like a lot of houses listed these days, it was unfortunately listed under market. In this frenzied market, even buyers with great down payments, over asking offer amounts and fantastic terms are having to write offers on multiple homes before one sticks. I had prepped Kat for this, and so we wrote up a really strong offer and then just bit our nails while we waited for the seller to review the 7 offers they received. Thankfully they did select Kat’s offer. A home run on the first hit for Kat. The sellers had done all the hard stuff so the inspection went well and a month after her offer was accepted, I got to meet Kat at the house to hand over keys.
Alyssa Isenstein Krueger
Broker | OR
She/Her
I am living the dream. Working as a real estate broker in my home town brings this native Portland gal joy beyond measure.
Check Out My Reviews!
I took the round-about-road towards this career. After graduating from Sarah Lawrence College in NY two decades ago with a degree in liberal arts/creative writing, I returned to my hometown of PDX and got a job in a legendary record store of days gone by, worked as a music and culture writer for Portland’s oldest weekly publication while pursuing a graduate degree in Urban and Regional Planning at Portland State University. Armed with my masters degree, I moved into the realm of affordable housing, community development, and urban planning, and then rounded the corner with a long stay in arts management then back around the bend when I got my real estate license and went to work for a non-profit housing builder at the cusp of the market crash in 2007.
In the time between that market crash and the ensuing madness, I’ve stayed on top of the market like a dog guarding a bone. Using a magical combination of experience, instinct, and market data, I know what homes are worth, I know how to write a terrific offer, and I know how to help a seller market a home and receive and accept a great offer.
Mutual trust and tender relationship building is the basis and foundation of my real estate practice. I use my skills as an active listener, creative solution finder and ace negotiator to get my clients the best price on a home, win the multiple offer roulette, and have as smooth and easy transaction as possible. Timely and responsive communication is the most important aspect of building trust and I don’t take that part lightly. I am a stickler for details and nothing pleases me more than guiding a client through the home buying or selling process (and sometimes both at the same time). My role is one of advocate, advisor, partner, transaction organizer, and counselor. I am a partner broker with Portland Housing Center and relish the opportunity to work with eager first time home buyers.
I have a knack for seeing the potential in almost any home and love to help clients see past what is and help them envision what can be. I have a decade of first-hand experience renovating and caressing my bungalow in Ladd’s Addition and had the honor of having my own home featured in a story in the Oregonian’s Homes and Gardens section. I can feel the love for any and almost all homes, but my heart goes all aflutter when entering a museum quality time capsule house -- the solid mid-century ones with the original pink or green tiled bathrooms, those charming early 1900’s farmhouses with the original kitchen cabinets and fir countertops, the cozy bungalows with the built-ins still intact.
When I’m not working with clients, you’ll find me hanging with my two boys, Kalman and Saul, and my husband Robert, a Fine Art Conservator with his own business, Cascadia Art Conservation Center. Retired racing greyhounds have been my constant companions since 1997, and our family includes Peanut the greyhound, Pinto the South Korean Italian greyhound, our 2 cats Spaghetti and Will, and our chickens, Rosie, Lil' Peck, Penelope and Nugget.
I am an obsessive gardener/plant fiend and love that we live in a climate where I can grow eucalyptus trees (I have 3 in my yard including a couple I started from seed) alongside blueberry bushes (6 in my yard). Given some free time, you’ll find me junking at an estate sale, dreaming of high brow junk, low brow art, making things, sewing, reading and dreaming of tropical locales.
Read More
- T: 503-724-6933
- PDXHappyHouse@gmail.com
