Finding the way home
Akira and her dad, Mark, were so ready for a place of their own! The search took them to neighborhoods from Hawthorne to Montavilla and out to St. John’s looking for a place that felt like home.
Then a nearly new build with a lot of style popped up less than 100 feet from Kenton Park and it was too good to miss! Akira, the trusty husky, said, “Dad, do it, woof…”
Akira had no idea how much she would love sitting by the fire with her dad, or sunning in her own yard. Those delights would be discovered after closing.
Now they are staying safe at home together.
Cindy and Oscar got in touch with me in what feels like a lifetime ago- mid January of 2020. They were eager to become homeowners, and after having gone through the process of trying to buy a home last year only to have it implode with a very low appraisal, they were ready for a fresh start. New agent (me), new lender (Umpqua) and a new year. They love mid-century homes and were looking for a home that wasn’t in perfect cosmetic condition. They love to garden and were looking forward to having a yard for their beloved pup Cookie. In late February we looked at a a 1960 tri-level in a picture perfect mid-century block in Mill Park. The home hit most of their marks- it was in good enough shape to move into, had hardwood floors, mid-century charm, and a beautiful yard. They also wanted a home that would work for multiple generations for parents to move into eventually and kids in the future, and with the tri-level layout, it had the perfect floor plan for being able to do so. It also needed a face-lift, something Oscar and Cindy actually wanted to do on a home. It had been on the market for almost 2 months, and while it was priced lower than what neighboring homes had recently sold for, it definitely needed some vision and felt overpriced considering how much work it needed. They decided to keep looking and found another great mid-century home in Milwaukie that they loved and decided to put an offer in on. That home had multiple offers and went for way over listing price, so they did not get that house. But all the while, the sweet tri-level in Mill Park kept calling to them. So a little over a week after they first saw it, we wrote up an offer for $25k under list price. The sellers countered back with $20k under list and my buyers accepted.
Congratulations to Bea and David on getting the keys to their new to the home in Pleasant Valley. From start to finish their transaction was 32 days, and during this time, the world turned upside down and our planet went to war. The seller was Opendoor, which if you are unfamiliar with is an Ibuyer company that buys homes for cash off market and undervalue, and then slaps some paint and caulk on the house and puts the house back on the market at market value. I was out of town for President’s Day weekend when Bea and David decided to check out a house in Pleasant Valley that piqued their interest. Since it was an Opendoor property, they were able to let themselves in without me and what they found was a home that had parquet wood floors throughout the entire house, a tri-level layout, and decks with views for days on all levels. They were in love, so we wrote up the offer while I was still out of town, and the next day Opendoor accepted their offer. The first time I saw the house was at their inspection, and our inspector warned us that all Opendoor does is slap some lipstick on problems, and she has seen a lot of sale fails because of the poor condition of homes and Opendoor not willing to negotiate credits or repairs. Thankfully the inspection went fairly well- still a lot of work will need to be done to fix some rotted siding, roof and gutter issues and a few plumbing repairs, but overall it was one of the better Opendoor homes our inspector had inspected. Getting Opendoor to offer any credits was like trying to pull teeth out of a live tiger, but I did manage to get them a couple thousand in credit, which was better than a poke in the eye. And then right after we finished that negotiation, poof- the whole world collapsed. Thankfully my buyers were far enough into the transaction that we had everything pretty much nailed down so they were able to sign their closing docs- though I was not allowed to join them. The sale closed, and rather then me meeting them to give them their keys my buyers were able to get the keys from the lockbox at the house themselves. This was the first transaction that I can remember where I didn’t get to hand over keys or go to the signing. And like everything else in this new world, it feels strange and sad. But my buyers are thrilled and really that’s all that matters. They can focus on moving from where they are sheltering in place at their rental, to quarantining themselves in their new home.
Molly and her son have been renting a below market rate home owned by a non-profit in NE Portland for years. With her rent about to rise, Molly made it her mission to buy a home to provide her and her son much needed stability. Through luck, timing and meeting the right qualifications, Molly qualified for a $90k down payment assistance loan through the Portland Housing Bureau. The loan is actually a silent second, which means there are no payments made on the loan, it accrues no interest and is forgivable after a certain number of years living in the home. Concurrently, Portland Housing Center’s LIFT program was unveiled and Molly was able to snatch up one of their $20k grants. With $110k in down payment assistance, Molly was able to buy a fabulously adorable new construction home on a quiet street in the heart of the Kenton neighborhood. The 2 bed 1.5 bath was built in what was an oversized yard of a house, and though only 800 sf, this home is a great example of how to use a small footprint to create a home that lives much larger than what you would expect with a home with less than 1/2 the square feet than your average new construction home. And with the smaller footprint, it kept the cost down and created an affordable option for home ownership in the thriving Kenton area. The transaction itself was smooth as butter with an awesome listing agent, Daniel Silvey with Knipe Realty, who also happened to own the home, a fabulous lender- Jennifer Leon at Umpqua, terrific escrow officer Mariah Yee with Ticor Title and lots of help and guidance of folks at both the Portland Housing Bureau and the Portland Housing Center.
Congratulations to Sarah, Scottie and Piggers! Thanks to impeccable timing they were able to get $35k in down payment grants through the LIFT program and University of Portland’s down payment program designed to help full time employees buy their first home near the UofP. Within a week of having the LIFT reservation in hand, we found a great rancher in University Park that checked all the boxes including what we thought would be a difficult to find huge detached garage for Scottie’s blossoming contractor business. This was the week before Christmas, and knowing that the LIFT funds expired in 2 months, and that most likely they were not going to see a house that checked this many boxes in their price range anytime soon, I suggested they offer just a few hairs over asking in hopes that the seller would accept their offer prior to the weekend, and it worked! Three days before Christmas they had their offer accepted, which was just 2 days before I left town on vacation for 2 weeks. Thanks to my excellent colleague Lisa Avena at Living Room who took great care of them and handled their home inspection, I was able to enjoy my vacation knowing Sarah and Scottie were being well taken care of. The inspection turned up a few unexpected surprises in the crawl space, but having a contractor buying a house always makes me feel better when a house is going to need some work. Even though the seller (who was also the listing agent) wasn’t happy, we were able to get him to agree to fix the big stuff. And then the appraiser called out some dry rot on the garage. Grrrr. By this time we were in mid-January and the market had clearly turned a sharp corner. In the 4 weeks from when their offer was accepted to the time the appraisal came back, the market shifted strongly into a sellers market with little inventory and a ton of buyers out shopping. The seller was very aware of this, and reminded me a couple of times that he had someone waiting in the wings who wanted the house badly enough because of it’s huge garage, that this supposed buyer would have taken the property as-is. So when I told him that the appraiser had called out that the garage needed to be repaired before the lender would loan on the property, he refused to the garage repaired. This would have been the end for most buyers, but Sarah and Scottie were not daunted. Scottie knew he could take care of the issue himself in less than a day’s work, so we got the seller’s permission for Scottie to fix the issue and Scottie got to work. Between the 35k in funds, finding the right property at the exact right time, and having the literal skills and ability to fix a problem, this family of three were able to close on the perfect house for them.
Upon entering you’ll notice vaulted ceilings and wonderful natural light. The floor plan flows easily into the formal dining room and formal living room, wonderful for entertaining and intimate dinners alike. You’ll love how the living room shines with an oversized picture window and soaring ceilings. Making your way into the heart of the home is the beautifully updated kitchen featuring ample counter space, storage galore and soaring ceilings. A dining nook and breakfast bar help to make this space feel both spacious and inviting.
of Bauer Woods’ best. In the end, the style of this 4,100 sq ft mid-century stunner won their hearts.
With some buyers the journey towards home ownership takes a few more twists and turns then planned. My buyer Sydney had a few bumps in the road along the way, but through luck and good timing, reaped the reward of the perfect house for her.
I am thrilled to start out the new year by helping Tessa and Hayley purchase their first home. After wrapping up their doctorate work and related training they decided to make Portland their home. Tessa is a professor at PSU and I was honored when one of her colleagues, a past client of mine, referred them my way.
ed in real estate back in the wonder year of 2007 when I got a job at a non-profit home builder HOST Development. My background was in community development and affordable housing, and my new job at HOST was to do community outreach and sell homes built by the non-profit builder to first time buyers who made at or below the area’s median family income. When I started working at HOST, I was eased into my job by our most fabulous office/computer/everything wrangler Holly. Holly had purchased a HOST home herself, and liked the company so much she was hired as our office manager. Fast forward a couple of years and the Great Recession hit, and being the smart and savvy person she is, Holly jumped the HOST ship when the writing was on the wall, and found a job working for the State of Oregon. I rode that ship out until the last lifeboat left in 2009, and while it was sort of traumatic to lose a salaried job in the height of the recession, the biggest gift that job gave me was the realization of how much I love working one on one with buyers and sellers.
John had recently sold his house in sunny Southern California and was making the move to Portland. After viewing several homes he decided to take a look at the coast…and that’s where I step in. His Portland broker called and let me know John had been looking in Portland but wasn’t finding the perfect house. He saw a couple of homes on the beach and decided to take a look. That afternoon we met at the coast to view a few properties.
Through the kitchen, you’ll find yourself in a spacious den with a big window and bookshelves. 
I met Rachel and Rubin this past March. They had a matched savings account, an IDA (individual development account,) from Portland Housing Center and they were ready to buy a house. To say these two are delightful is an understatement- they are DELIGHTFUL and it’s people like these two that make my job so much fun. They are both from Portland and have lots of family in the area and knew they wanted to live near at least some of their family. They honed in on Milwaukie and SE Portland, and we set off looking at houses.
My buyers Daniel and Vinci contacted me after being exhorted (their words) by a mutual friend (and client) to contact me. They were living in my neighborhood, Hosford Abernethy, on a smallish house on a busy street and were thinking they were ready for a bigger house on a quieter street. The catch? They only wanted to live within a 15 square block area. They had been spending a large part of the summer visiting family in California, but a fixer located in their search area came on the market and they were intrigued. I had also just listed my neighbor’s house and it was getting a lot of action, so Daniel decided to fly up to Portland for an afternoon to look at these houses. In the meantime, there was another house in the neighborhood they had been keeping their eye on- a large brick house on a corner painted a bright and cheery green. This house had originally been listed nearly a year ago at a pretty far fetched price- nearly $200k more than it was currently listed at. Two weeks prior the house had a dramatic $75k price reduction putting it within reach for Daniel and Vinci. So on a sunny summer Monday three days after contacting me, Daniel flew up to Portland for a few hours. We took a grand tour of the 3 homes- all within a few blocks of each other, including the fixer, my listing and the big green big brick house. The fixer was too fixer-y, and my listing was a little too small, but the green brick house was a match.
Sometimes you walk into a house and you just know it’s the one for you. That’s how this one went. I sent the listing to Pat first thing in the morning, he drove by within an hour, and pretty much knew it was the one before we even walked in the door a couple hours later. As we looked around the house, loving on the undisturbed midcentury vibe he looked at me and said, ‘Don’t let me not get this house.” Ummm Yikes! No pressure right? But ok, let’s do this! It was tense – he wasn’t the only person in love with this awesome house and we really had to shine. When we got word that his offer was accepted we practically (maybe literally, but that’s a secret) cried tears of joy.
The very best call a real estate broker can receive is a call from a buyer where they let you know they were referred to you and want to work with you and they already found a house they want to write an offer on. In real life though, it’s never quite as easy as that sounds. When my buyer Brittney called me in late April she and her family had fallen in love with a house in Brentwood Darlington they just saw at an open house and they wanted to put an offer in, but she didn’t have a broker yet. Thankfully I was available and I high tailed it over to the house to see for myself, and then right afterwards met with Brittney and her partner at a coffee shop to discuss.
Back in mid-March my buyer Valerie called me in somewhat of a panic because the new construction condo she had been in contract to purchase was a steaming pile of mess and the lender eventually pulled the plug on getting a loan for it. Turned out that the condo she had been in contract to purchase for months was part of a brand new complex and only 1 other condo out of twenty had sold since they officially went on the market 5 months prior. When there are that few sales on a new condo project, most lenders are going to deny a loan because the risk to the buyer of the whole stack of cards falling down is pretty real. If the rest of the complex winds up turning into rental apartments because the developer could not sell them as condos, it then it makes the units purchased by unfortunate buyers almost impossible to sell down the line- and that’s not a risk worth taking.
