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Portland Lifestyle and Real Estate

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Jessica Berger and Tekela Fisher

HOW TO – 3 tips to sell for more than your neighbor.

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Everyone wants to sell their home for the most amount of money. I’ll go through my top 3 tips to get your home sold for more money than your neighbors.

If you don’t have time to watch this great video, feel free to read below for all my tips!

1 – Spruce up the exterior

Nothings sells a house faster than having a ton of curb appeal. You don’t have to spend a lot of money to make a really big impact. The simplest steps are to keep the lawn mowed, bushes trimmed, and exterior paint touched up. I would also buy some fresh potted flowers to sit on the front steps, they really help to welcome prospective buyers as they walk into your home.

2 – Choosing paint colors

Paint colors effect the value of a home more than you might think. You want to be sure that you are appealing to as many buyers as possible, so you want to stick with neutral tones and a cohesive theme throughout the home. Zillow did an interesting study on how colors effect a home’s value and found that a black door can raise a home’s value by 2.9%! Grey has been the popular color lately, specifically when it has blue undertone. If you don’t want to repaint every room in the house, the bathroom and living room will get you the biggest bang for your buck.

3 – Keep up the cosmetics

Buyers want to be able to move right into a home, especially if they are paying top price for it. If the carpet is old and dingy, it should at the minimum be cleaned, but consider replacing it, or trading it our for hardwoods. Also consider staging, or having a staging consultation. If you have old or worn furniture, it won’t show well. If it’s in your budget you could consider buying new furniture and taking it with you! Research by the National Association of Realtors shows that a staged home sells for 5-20% more than a vacant home depending on the price range.

Bonus – Marketing

They way you market your home matters more than anything else, 98% of home buyers find their home online. simply entering the home into the local MLS is not enough. Make sure you are hiring someone who understands the power of social media and will work with marketing trends to get the most buyers looking at your listing. Interested in what we offer to sellers? Click below to download our FREE seller’s guide!

Buying/Selling Guide

I hope you enjoyed these tips! Please reach out if you have any specific questions about selling your home. We would be happy to discuss how we can get you the most money for your home! Want to know what your home is worth? Click for a 15 second home valuation! — > See Home Value

Portland Market Action – April 2019

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Portland’s market is staying strong as we head into our summer months. We had a huge push of new listings coming on the market with 700 more homes being listed in April than in March. The inventory didn’t change in the city though because we also had 400 more homes go pending and 300 more homes sold. This means that while we are seeing lots of homes coming up, there are tons of buyers in the market purchasing everything new that is being listed.

Average and median home sale prices both increased this past month which is further evidence that our market, though slowing, is not crashing. We continue to put out strong numbers and are heading into a neutral market with steady growth. The Days on market lowered slightly as well with some hot homes selling very quickly. In most close in areas we are seeing market times of about 7 days and typically one or perhaps 2 offers on a property.

I expect these numbers to be slightly softer in the month of May and to continue to plateau as we head through the summer. If you are thinking about selling, now is really the best time to do so as we may experience a slower than normal fall and winter. If you want any specific data about how pricing and what strategies will work bet for you, please reach out to us!

Palomar

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This week we went and checked out the cuban cocktail bar Palomar! We must be feeling a sunny theme with all the rain we have ben having as this is our second decidedly “Miami” themed location. The decor is pink and teal and certainly makes you wish you were sitting on the beach in Miami drinking one of their fabulous daiquiris!

They feature a rotating flavor of frozen daiquiri everyday, and this isn’t your mama’s frozen cocktail. It’s just boozy enough so you know it has good rum in it, but just sweet enough to be sure you keep on sipping. They also have an extensive bar and many cocktails that stray away from rum.

They sell delicious empanadas, plantains, and a variety of other cuban food staples. The servers and bartenders are all warm, friendly, and go out of their way to make sure you are satisfied! I highly recommend checking this place out I promise you will not be disappointed! If you want to check out the menu, click here

Do you have somewhere you think we need to check out? Tell us in the comments!

Delores

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A visit to our hotspot of the week Delores turned my expectations upside-down instantaneously. The décor, rife with giant pink flamingos and fronds, has a sort of Miami in the 80s vibe, but in chic way, which wasn’t quite what I was anticipating from Portland’s newest Polish restaurant. The soaring ceilings and scope of the murals make the space feel more modernist than cozy, which created a pleasant contrast with the menu and speed of service, both warm and inviting.

I chose to set the stage for the upcoming Polish feast appropriately with the Valentina, a smooth and icy vodka martini adorned with a foie gras stuffed olive and my companion enjoyed the Hotel Cortez, a rich bourbon cocktail with a deliciously smoked cherry adding a whiff of campfire.

We started with the happily seasonal asparagus dish, in part because I haven’t had the chance to enjoy nearly enough of my favorite fruit of the forage this year, morel mushrooms, and in part because my dining companion will order anything that involves a poached duck egg. We were both quite pleased by the balance of the bright and the earthy, and the plate was quickly emptied.

The leek pierogi and beef tartare were our next conquests, the tartare one of the best I’ve had the pleasure of eating, and the pierogi, outstanding in their own right, were further elevated with little dollops of caviar decorating the tops. We continued with the dish of braised rabbit with carrot spaetzle, so warm and cozy that I could have been in my grandmother’s kitchen rather than a lovely restaurant in the heart of the city.

It seemed to me that the unifying idea behind Delores was that everything had some touch that felt like an extra special treat, be it the caviar atop the pierogi, the foie stuffed olive, or the smoked cherry in the Hotel Cortez cocktail. I can’t wait to return and I hope that they continue producing these delightful and nuanced dishes for many years to come.

Have you dined here yet? Let us know in the comments!

5 Tips for Determining Resale Value

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While you are out searching for your new home, selling that home is probably the farthest thing from your mind but it should be an important factor in your new home

Check out this great video to learn more about what you should be looking at in terms of resale. If video isn’t your thing, read on down below!

1 – Neighborhood

This is likely already on your list of top things to consider when buying, and it should be! This is the only thing you truly cannot change about a home. While looking at neighborhoods you want to consider how close the home will be to important amenities, what school district it is in, and what the crime statistics are. It is no surprise that homes in highly rated school districts with low crime rates will have the highest appreciation year over year.

2 – Layout

The layout of a home is more important that you might think. People need to LIVE in their homes, so having some open space to do so is important. Whether that is an open concept living area, or a large family room, you need to consider where people will be gathering. Bedrooms and Bathrooms are of course important as well, you want to make sure they are proportional to each other. No one wants a 5 bedroom home with only 1 bathroom, on the other side a 1 bedroom home with more than 1.5 bathrooms will seem like overkill. You also want to consider the flow of the house. Are the bedrooms near each other? How close is the bathroom and laundry to the bedrooms? Do you have to travel through a bedroom to get to another room? You want to be certain that you have a home that is livable for any family.

3 – Storage

This is one of the most overlooked features of a home, but it is also one fo the most important. Everyone has stuff, and you need somewhere to put that stuff. Closets in each bedroom, storage in the bathroom or hallway for linens, and plenty of kitchen cabinets come in most houses, but where will you store your christmas decorations? Or your bikes and kayaks? Make sure you are looking beyond the room sizes so you know you can comfortably move in to your new home.

4 – Maintenance

This one is pretty simple, the less that needs to be done to a home, the more that home is worth. If the furnace, water heater, siding, and roof are all maintained while you are living in the home, you will have less projects to do down the road. You also want to look at the areas that are easily forgotten. Things like retaining walls in the yard, mortar around the chimney, Flushing the sewer lines, and keeping your gutters clear. These are all good things to ask the seller to fix while you are house hunting so you don’t have to do it when you decide to sell.

5 – Number of Levels

This is a personal decision for most people, maybe you love foursquare style homes, with all the bedrooms up stairs, maybe you love split levels with a lower level family room. But the fact is, a single story home will always sell for slightly more than a comparable home with more levels. While this shouldn’t be the deciding factor in what home you decide to buy, it is something to consider!

BONUS – Outdoor Space

Outdoor space is a huge selling point, especially here in Portland. This doesn’t need to be a huge yard to add value, it can be a simple patio or deck. As long as there is some room for someone to enjoy the fresh air, you will be getting a value boost! Even if you are looking at condos, having a balcony will make your home more desirable.

I hope you enjoyed this tips! As your realtor I will help you look out for all of these things during your next purchase. If you have specific questions, or want to start looking at a new home, please reach out to me!

Be sure to follow this blog for lots more real estate tips, community events, and neighborhood hot spots!

Wayfinder

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There are so many wonderful things to say about this Eastside industrial district brewery and restaurant!

They have one of the largest patios in town, and as long as the weather is nice (or nice to us Portlanders) they are serving on it. They have the best German style lagers in Portland (this is a fact, not my opinion), and superb pub food. They make a beer cheese sauce that can be found on many items on the menu, best of which is the Black Lodge, their own twist on a Philly cheesesteak. They also have buffalo fried cauliflower, steak fries, and a niçoise salad, all of which are worth trying. They also have lots of vegan food options if you have a restrictive diet.

If you aren’t in the mood to eat, don’t worry, they have plenty of beer! The beer here isn’t just good, it is well thought-out, well-executed, and delicious. Wayfinder was the brain child of the co-founder of Double Mountain, the co-founder of Sizzle Pie, and the co-founder of Podnah’s Pit Barbecue so you know you are in for a treat. If you don’t want to take my word for it, they won best new brewery, best new brewer, and best brewpub in 2018 at the Oregon Beer Awards.

If for some reason you end up here and don’t want to try the beer, they do have some great cocktails and glasses of wine. Definitely take a trip to the East industrial district for this awesome brewery, and let me know what you end up ordering!

  • Wayfinder Beer
    • 304 SE 2nd Ave.
    • Minors welcome until 8pm

Do you have a place you think we need to check out? Post it in the comments!

Boutiques

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Mother’s day is just around the corner, and if you are anything like me, maybe you procrastinated? The good news is that I have some great local boutiques for you to finalize that last minute shopping! Here are some of my favorites in no particular order!

  • Sloan – Promoting themselves as surprisingly affordable fashion for every woman, they have brands that you will be familiar with and some unknown names. No matter your style there is something that both you and your mom will love!
    • 3526 SE Hawthorne Blvd
    • 3824 N Mississippi Ave
    • 735 NW 23rd Ave
  • Recycled Chic Boutique – This designer store is so much better than your average consignment shop. You will find unique pieces in perfect condition. If you want the very best without paying the full designer price, this is the place to shop!
    • 612 NW 12th
  • Imelda’s and Louie’s – This shoe store is much more than just a shoe store. They have shoes that are ahead of the trends in a laid back environment. They also have great handbags and jewelry!
    • 3426 SE Hawthorne Blvd.
    • 1416 NE Alberta st.
  • Gild – This shoe store is modern and sleek. The customer service is fantastic and they will help you find something perfect for your style and budget! They also carry tons of jewelry by local Portland artists!
    • 3370 SE Division st
  • Adorn – Focusing on trendy but timeless fashion these boutiques are sure to have many things that would make great additions to your closet. Everything is handpicked by the owner and is frequently updated.
    • 3366 SE Division st.
    • 4120 NE Fremont st.
    • 1016 SW Washington st.
    • 360 First st. LO

If you are a new mom like me, perhaps you would also like to buy some cute clothes for your little one! I find it much more fun than shopping for myself, here are 2 cute places that I love!

  • Posh Baby – This boutique has Modern and Eco-Friendly gear for mom and baby. If you have any “must-haves” on your list that you haven’t purchased yet, or you just need an adorable new toy, this is the place for you!
    • 916 NW 10th Ave.
  • Hoot N Annies – They offer both new and used items for both mother and baby. This surprisingly affordable baby boutique will have everything on your list!
    • 6308 SW Capitol Hwy

Good luck with all of your shopping and let me know what you all get!