Portland, OR Real Estate Podcast with Stellar Realty NW

How can you stand out as a buyer in the competitive Portland real estate market? There are a few ways to achieve this.

Pre-approval from your lender and a competitive offer. A pre-approval shows you are qualified for a mortgage and are financially able to buy their home. These days, sellers won’t take an offer seriously without a pre-approval letter, especially in competitive markets like Portland. Don’t even consider making a lowball offer. Sellers have a slight edge in this market, so if you want your offer to stand out, you need to show that you’re serious.

Quick timelines on inspections and appraisals. Sometimes, a competitive offer price isn’t even enough. To many sellers, favorable time lines like those on inspections, appraisals, and closing carry more value than a few thousands dollars. The buyer’s agent should reach out to the listing agent to find out the seller’s goals and if they want to close quickly or if they want to close after their children are done with the school year.

"Find an agent that you can trust."

Trust for your agent. Your agent is a real estate professional who works full-time studying the market in order to get you the best deal. They’re also expert negotiators who can get you the best deal on a home and find ways to make your offer more attractive to a home seller.

We can help with all of these factors. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to reach out.

Located just minutes south of downtown and right next to Lewis And Clark College, this safe community offers the best of both worlds with huge estates and an amazing school system. The Riverdale school district in Dunthorpe has the high school and the elementary school with 18 students per classroom and an average of $14,000 spent on each student.

I’m joined by Andre, who just moved to Dunthorpe from Pasadena, California, to talk about Dunthorpe and his favorite parts of living here.

“The location allows us to be almost in a country-like environment right here in Dunthorpe, and yet we are 10 minutes away from Lake Oswego, we are 15 minutes away from downtown, we have access to the Five Freeway very easily,  and we have a number of ways that we can go downtown,” Andre said. “The access from this position is outstanding.”

Andre has already found several favorite restaurants here in “The City of Restaurants,” as he says, including Tucci and A Cena for Italian and Tavern on Kruse for a modern option, and of course a number of restaurants he frequents downtown both on the East Side and West Side.

Lewis and Clark offers a wonderful library, lectures, and music, all of which Andre plans to take advantage of, living just walking distance from the college.

I also want to show you this beautiful custom home built in 2007 between the Willamette River and Highway 43 on Riverwood road, in one of the most exclusive parts of Dunthorpe. It recently sold in 2015 for just under $1.6 million.

Take a look at Elk Rock Gardens, one of my favorite spaces in all of Dunthorpe. Elk Rock Gardens boasts about six acres of English gardens designed by an amazing firm in New York City that also designed Central Park. It’s a great place for a picnic where you can sit knowing you can be here seven days a week.

Thanks so much for joining me in our tour through the beautiful Dunthorpe neighborhood. Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions. I look forward to hearing from you!

.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; height: auto; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; } Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation  Call me at (503) 427-9233 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation Today, I'm here to talk about the Foster Powell neighborhood, affectionately known to Portland residents as FoPo. One reason FoPo is so popular is the diversity of businesses, home styles, and street layouts.It truly is a unique blend of neighborhoods. No Portland neighborhood is complete without food carts, and FoPo is no different. Be sure to check out Carts on Foster. There are so many different options: pizza, barbecue, vegan, and more! Roadrunner BBQ was voted the #3 barbecue establishment in Portland by the Oregonian. Visit their Yelp page to see the reviews. Carts on Foster even has a beer pod. Steve Woolard owns the Pod Bar. It's open from 12:00 pm to 9:00 pm every day. It's family friendly, dog friendly, and you can fill a growler for just nine dollars! Check out their Yelp page for more information. Also, make sure to check out the Portland Mercado. This is a Latino-themed market and food court plaza. It's a great platform for local businesses to grow and succeed. There's a produce market, a coffee shop, a juice bar, and much more! Tierra Del Sol is great food at the Portland Mercado. Check them out at portlandmercado.com/tierradelsol. Make sure to stop by in person and try one of their amazing tacos! All in all, this is a fantastic neighborhood. If you're interested in living in the Foster Powell neighborhood, give me a call or send me an email. I'd be happy to help you!

Today we are excited to give you a tour of one of our favorite areas in Portland, Milwaukie. Milwaukie offers a small-town charm, but is just a few minutes away from downtown. It was recently voted one of the top 50 places in the country to raise a family. Milwaukie is close to the river, and there are over 100 parks in the area, offering great hiking, backpacking, and cycling options. Today we are going to highlight some of the great things about Milwaukie, from the food to the real estate. Let’s get started.

Bob’s Red Mill Natural Foods was started by local resident Bob Moore, who founded the company in 1978. Today, they produce over 400 different products and are known as the leaders for grain production in the United States. 

Another great local spot is Wine:30 wine bar. It’s a great, cozy neighborhood bar, with an open-air atmosphere and complete with comfy furniture. They have a great patio area, which is built on top of a few parking spots in the street. They offer local music throughout the week and a daily happy hour from 4-6 p.m.

Milwaukie is also home to one of the largest farmers’ markets in Portland. You’ll find over 75 local vendors with organic meats, produce, baked goods, garden crafts, and more. There are also local artists there every Sunday.

Milwaukie’s Riverfront Park is an 8.5 acre park spanning along the Willamette River. It was recently renovated to include a new boat launch, parking, restrooms, a public lawn, and a riverside path.

The orange light rail system connects Milwaukie to the city of Portland and travels across the Tilikum Crossing Bridge, which you usually don’t get to go through in a car. 

If you have any questions for us about this area, or anything else real estate related, we would love to hear from you. Give us a call or send us an email today!

West Linn is located in Clackamas County and it’s where I was born and raised. There are some lovely old homes in this rustic area, and if you’ve never been in the area, I recommend you come and take a look.

Holloran Winery and Oswego Hills Vineyard are popular spots for locals. McMenamins is where I’m shooting this video, and this restaurant was the first brew house in West Linn. Their Sunflower IPA is their signature beer, and this is because their beer garden is lined with sunflowers.

If you come here, you need to see the Williamette Falls. There is an intricate lock system built by the pioneers that settled here, and these falls are the 17th widest in the United States!

West Linn was established back in 1913, and in 2011 CNN and Money Magazine ranked West Linn as the 69th best place to live in America. We were also voted as the top place to live in Oregon!

We are also named ‘Tree City USA’ by the Arbor Day foundation for our commitment to urban forestry. Developers like to come to West Linn and renovate old homes into new and beautiful ones. We are actually doing this right now and will be selling 3,000 sq. ft. homes for about $575,000. 

If you want to find out more about West Linn, please don’t hesitate to contact me!

that the Oregon Association of Realtors has picked me to be an instructor for

real estate classes aimed at educating consumers. I was one of twelve agents chosen out of the

entire state of Oregon, so I'm very humbled and honored to have this opportunity.

I've worked out a deal with Stellar Realty's owner, Paul Campbell, and he's also agreed

to teach one class per month. I will also teach one class per month, and these

two classes will be aimed at first-time home buyers, and then the other portion

will be aimed at investing in real estate.

If you're interested in learning more about these classes,

please don't hesitate to contact us or resister here! You won't want to miss out on any of this

information! 

Today, I want to give you a behind the scenes

look at one of Portland's most established neighborhoods: John's Landing.

of the I-5 between the Tualatin and Willamette rivers. It follows the Willamette River for three

miles, stretching north to South Waterfront and south to the Sellwood Bridge.

John's Landing is home to both commercial and residential properties, including

our very own Stellar Realty office!

Just across the street is Jolly Roger, a great pit stop whether you're

looking for food or something to drink; we really like to do Thursday night

trivia! Down the street you'll find the amazing Zen Salon; I recommend

Melissa - she's great for girls and guys alike!

neighborhood. Properties range from gorgeous old foursquares to bungalows and

condos! Seeing these great old homes is a great reminder of the home maintenance we should all be doing in our current homes: cleaning your furnace filter; inspecting your tub and sink drains; cleaning your carpets and windows; checking the batteries in your smoke detectors; and inspecting your roofing, among other things.  For a

complete list, check out the Better Homes and Gardens Maintenance Checklist!

A great restaurant in the area is Fulton Pub & Brewery,

one of the infamous McMenamins restaurants. The story behind this pub is quite

interesting. Although the McMenamins didn't open this pub until 1988, legend

has it that the pub dates back to 1926, before it was a prohibition era hangout

that served home cooked meals and offered pinball games, candy, and ice cream.

To learn more about McMenamins and the passport program they have, click here.

One of the best parts about John's Landing is Willamette Park. There's

plenty of room to play for the kids and plenty of room for adults as well.

Across the river is the Oregon Yacht Club, to the south is the Sellwood Bridge,

and to the North is the downtown area. It's a great place for recreation of all

kinds, but especially boating!

If you

have any questions about John's Landing, or if you want to search for homes in

the neighborhood, visit Caralee.PortlandPropertyFinders.com. I would love to hear from you!

give you a tour of one of my favorite neighborhoods in Portland - the Mount

Tabor Neighborhood! This great

location is nestled in Southeast Portland, an ideal location close to downtown,

freeways, parks and other venues.

Mount Tabor Park. This park is actually on top of an inactive volcano. The park offers miles of

hiking trails that cover 196 acres. These trails are great for biking or

hiking. There are tennis courts, picnic areas, and a playground. There is

something for everyone at Mount Tabor. Stop by for a beautiful view of the

downtown skyline, and the best sunset you've ever seen.

Tilikum Crossing Bridge is the only bridge in Portland reserved for cyclists, pedestrians, and the MAX

light rail. This is my favorite way to get to Mount Tabor from downtown

Portland! It only takes 10 to 15 minutes to go from downtown Portland to the

Mount Tabor neighborhood, and there are many great public transportation

options for you, such as the bus line.

offers a variety of locally owned businesses. There are great bars, restaurants, bookstores, and pubs!

Hawthorne Boulevard is one of the most well-known streets in this neighborhood. Cup and Saucer  is one of my favorite breakfast places. You must try their homemade

scones!

Albina Press Coffee Shop is just west of Mount Tabor Park. Portlanders are very serious about their coffee, and Albina

does it right. They also serve Stumptown coffee, a local coffee that is very popular. Albina provides a cozy atmosphere.

scene, food carts are our claim to fame. There are pods of food carts all over town, such as this

one, Good Food Here, located at the base of Mount Tabor. This pod definitely

lives up to its name. There is a huge variety of food: Korean, tacos, seafood,

vegan, vegetarian, and more! Good Food Here offers a heated, outdoor eating

tent. It's a great place to check out if you want to try a few different

things, or if you don't have time to prepare a meal at home.

Tabor Tavern is located right in the heart of the neighborhood. The food is amazing, and

there are rotating taps of beer, cider, and local wines available as well. I

recommend their Caesar salad. Happy hour is from 3:00 to 5:30, so be sure to

stop by!

Tabor neighborhood is a great place to live. In addition to the parks and restaurants, Mount Tabor

offers a wide diversity of homes. If you have any questions, give me a call or

send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you!

Today, Shelby Spencer of Primary Residential

Mortgage joins us to discuss some of the changes to FHA Guidelines starting

September 14.

The biggest change to look out for is with student loans, which

can no longer be removed from the debt ratio if they are deferred. This means

that all contracts or offers written after September 14 will be affected by

these changes. Another change comes to large deposits; we used to only need to

source large deposits of around 2% of the sales price, but deposits of 1% or

more now need to be documented. In addition to these changes, know that funds

can no longer be used as assets; you can't create a stronger profile with gift

funds, although they can be used as a down payment.

some of the pre-approved FHA buyers may find themselves losing their previously

issued pre-approved status before they get an accepted offer. The new FHA guidelines take effect with FHA

case numbers assigned on or after 9/14/15. (Case numbers can only be assigned

when a property has been identified.)

The following bullet points are just a few of the areas that

could affect buyers. I recommend that all FHA pre-approved buyers contact

their loan officer to review their situation against the new guidelines. Here

are some of the areas that are affected (I will cover them in more detail

soon):

years

credit score

income is greater than 20% declining from the previous year

less than 10 months remaining

(student loans)

profession changes in the last 12 months

a rental

social security income)

greater than 1% of sales price

any reserve requirements

As long as everyone is aware of these changes up front, closing

times shouldn't be too affected. Of course, the best way to prepare yourself

for these changes is to reach out to a professional and begin the process

sooner than later. You can reach Shelby at [email protected] or (503) 572-8865. Of course, if you

have questions or concerns on the real estate side of things, don't hesitate to

reach out to us. We would love to hear from you!

Today we're in Lake Oswego, a charming town just south of Portland, and one of our favorite destinations when we just want to get away for a while.

We're in the Millennium Plaza Park of Lake Oswego, where there is fine dining, movies, music, and much more. It's a wonderful little area for anyone and everyone looking to relax for a bit. Maybe if you're lucky your parents will take you to Salt & Straw for a gourmet ice cream cone. 

One of the great parts about this area is the school system. Both high schools in Lake Oswego were in the top 15 in Oregon, and this is just one of many reasons why people are choosing to move here. 

Our favorite neighborhood in Lake Oswego is called First Addition, and it was established in 1888, making it the oldest neighborhood in the town, and also the most desirable. 

If you're interested in properties in this town, please don't hesitate to ask us about them. There is a lot of buzz surrounding this community right now, so don't miss your chance to invest before it's too late.

To find a home in Lake Oswego, visit http://bit.do/LakeOswegoHomes.