Teresa St. Martin

Hi Kayt,
I would recommend that you check out the following neighborhoods, they each have their own charm and a variety of price points for homes, condos etc. Each has a varying size of commercial district, but all have some restaurants, shops and services within walking distance - the East side is covered pretty well by our Max line transit system so you are very close to reaching anything via the streetcar. The West side has the streetcar line but most of the max lines head out to the suburbs. Also we have a good distribution of 'zip car' or 'flex car' locations so you don't need to own a car to be able to use one for a few minutes/few hours if you don't want to walk.

SE area: Hawthorne - Belmont - Clinton- Sellwood
NW area: Alphabet District also called NW 23rd/Nob Hill
NE area - Alameda - Irvington

The good news is that there are lots of choices and it depends on how the areas appeal to you - each has some distinctive characteristics. There are a few more neighborhoods that are in transisition where you might be able to find a better price on a home, but if safety and school quality are of immediate concern you may not want to look in these n'hoods at this point.

There are many websites with Portland n'hood info and you can use the names above to google for more details. I specialize in helping folks build their sustainable lifestyles by exploring housing options that fit lifestyle choices, there are quite a few options in Portland so good luck on your investigations. - Thu Jun 19 2008, 23:31

Hi Ellen,
There are a lot of answers about how, but the more important question is why you want this information. If you are trying to figure out the market trends on how long it takes for a home to sell, then a sample of one might not be a good indicator. There are many reasons why a home may be sitting on the market longer than average and several of them relate to mistakes that you would not want to make in selling your own home.
Conversely, if you are wondering about on market time in preparation for making an offer to buy, then your best bet would be to ask the sellers directly. The length of time on market does make a difference, but other factors can be even more telling about whether you can offer a lower price and these would be best determined based on the specfics of the situation for that home seller. Elements such as why they are moving, if there are any upcoming timelines that impact motivation etc.
Good luck - Fri Jun 13 2008, 10:36

The good news is that you will be able to find something in your price range, the bad news might be the condition of an older home with a large yard. Have you considered sending your dog to doggie day care where he/she will have friends to play with and you might be able to find a home that will fit your desires.
Also good advice on the first post about checking with a lender about what you can qualify for. You can do some internet searching for properties from many websites that will help you to get an idea of what is available in the area in your price range. My link is provided below and you can use the property point box to circle an area of interest and see what the list prices for homes are in that area to help you get comfortable with availability and pricing. You might also consider Aloha which is nearby and has an increased selection of homes in your price range. Good luck - Thu May 29 2008, 13:49

That is quite a list of items, did the seller disclose any of these on the required property disclosure forms? That would help you with your negotiations, if they truly had no idea of the issues then bringing them up with the support of your inspection report should allow for an aimable starting point for the negotiation.
If you have the time to get contractor quotes for the repairs then you can include them with your request repairs as part of the inspection period contingency release. If you don't have time to get contractors quotes to support your requested repairs, then you should detail the required repairs referencing the inpsection report and using terms such as "evaluated and repaired by a licencsed and bonded contractor" so that it is clear when the sellers are agreeing to the repairs that it is not just cousin Joe going up on the roof with a bucket of tar to 'fix it". Be careful of how you write the repair addendum as it could have some impact on your bank loan, particularly the roof and sewer issues as the bank will see the addendums and many will insist that these items be repaired prior to closing so if that doesn't meet your strategy i.e. you are looking for a price reduction vs repairs be careful.
Good luck - Thu May 29 2008, 13:38