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Our Favorite Up and Coming Areas

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Hey Friends, Today we are going to be telling you all about our favorite up and coming neighborhoods in Portland. They are the perfect place for you to invest!  Check out this short video for all the details! If you are prefer to read the transcript, skip ahead!

The dream is to be in Irvington, or Laurelhurst, or Ladd’s Addition, but if you are looking for your first home, or an investment property, those neighborhoods may be out of reach.  I also want to talk about some of the mistakes that people can make when it comes to buying in an up and coming area.  

Make a Plan

When you are buying in an area that isn’t as established you need to think of it as a long term investment.  The Portland Market has been in a quickly appreciating city for many years. While everyone has benefited from this appreciation, the “up and coming” areas did so a little slower than the rest of the city.  We don’t want you to purchase a home and expect to have a huge return on your investment the following year.  We will help you to come up with a 5 year or 10 year plan so you know exactly what you are getting into.  

Trust Your Advisors

We will help to guide you so you can avoid any big missteps.  I want to be sure that you don’t overpay for a home, or buy something that needs a ton of work.  We will make sure that you are equipped with a market analysis for the areas that you want to seriously look in so you know what you should be paying for the houses we see.  We will also use our years of experience to identify any inspection red flags.  

Now that you know how to buy in an up and coming area, our favorites are….

St. Johns

I love St. Johns because they have such a strong sense of community, great restaurants and bars, and easy access to the rest of the city.  This neighborhood has become more popular over the years, but it is still one of the most affordable places to live.  You also get to be near the amazing Cathedral park!  

Foster-Powell

I love the Foster-Powell neighborhood for many of the same reasons. Ever since Foster Rd went down to 2 lanes last year, we have been seeing a new boutique, cocktail bar, or coffee shop pop-up practically every other week! In addition, there is a really strong sense of community and many great neighborhood focused events. While prices are certainly increasing as many are realizing the great investment opportunity, you can still find homes that are affordable. 

There are plenty of other areas that are still affordable, if you want to talk with us about your specific needs, definitely reach out to us and give us a call! 

Do you want to take a look at our buyer or seller guides? You can download either of those here

We are always happy to share our resources with you and answer any of your real estate questions.  Also, make sure to follow our blog for lots of great information and our favorite local bars and restaurants.  Thanks so much for joining us today and we will talk to you soon! 

Hat Yai – Belmont

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For our Hot Spot of the Week, we decided to check out the newly opened SE branch of Southern Thai spot Hat Yai. With counter service and checkered plastic tablecloths, this casual eatery is a perfect spot to grab a bite while checking out the great bars along the Belmont strip with friends. If you want to check out the menu, or see more information, you can do that here

As usual, we each got a cocktail to start. While the cocktail list here isn’t extensive (3 options and a seasonal special) we were both able to easily choose something that catered to our preferences. The Turmeric Sweet Tea was a lovely Thai twist on the classic, and was perfect alongside the fried chicken. The Tamarind Whiskey Smash made me seriously wish it were a hot sunny afternoon. If cocktails aren’t your thing, there is also a no-frills wine and beer list to choose from.

For dinner, we decided to share the famous fried chicken. We opted for the half-chicken portion so we could try several different dishes. The dark meat was, of course, the winner. Even the breast was tasty when doused with the Thai chili dipping sauce. We also shared the Goong Tom Gati, a shrimp and clam curry served with sticky rice. The curry was fine, but we wished we had gone with our instincts and ordered the special Jungle Curry. With trout belly and Chanterelles, it sounded outstanding. However, the person at the counter somewhat warned us off of it saying, “It’s a 9/10 on the spicy scale.” Sometimes in Thai restaurants, that would mean inedible, but once we had tasted the other curry, we felt that we certainly could have handled it.

Our surprise winner of favorite dish of the evening was the seasonal special pea tips. Simply sauteed and served in a light curry sauce, pea tips have been an exciting discovery for me in restaurants this year. They were my favorite of this evening, as well as another spent at delicious newcomer Eem a few months ago. After this experience, I know I will be ordering them every time I see them on a menu! Have you been to Hat Yai yet? What should we order next time?

What Hot Spot should we try out next? Let us know in the comments!

Holiday Light Displays

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There are so many wonderful ways to spend the holidays, one of my favorites is definitely looking at all the holiday lights. We put together a list of some of our favorites around Portland. Let us know which ones are your favorite down in the comments!

Peacock Lane

Peacock Lane, portland

December 15th – December 31st

6pm – 11pm daily

*15th, 16th, and 17th are pedestrian only nights*

Info and Website

SE 40th Ave between Stark and Belmont St.

Free

Peacock Lane has been a favorite to Portlanders for decades. The street is lined with primarily tudor homes and they all decorate to celebrate the holidays. You can drive slowly through the neighborhood any night with the exception of the first 3 nights which are pedestrian only.

The Grotto

November 29th – December 30th

*Closed Christmas Day*

5-9:30pm Daily

Info and Website

8840 NE Skidmore Street, Portland

Tickets $12.50 sold at door

Tucked into a beautiful setting in NE Portland, The Grotto has thousands of holiday lights covering all of the lower level of the grounds. There are also many performances to see from local choirs, carolers, and puppeteers.

Zoo Lights

November 29th – January 5th

5-9 pm Daily

Info and Website

Oregon Zoo

Tickets $19.50 *save $2 and buy online

Visiting the zoo in the evening to see over a million Christmas lights is one of the best experiences of the holidays. Most of the animals will be sleeping, but all the lights and the walking path make it worth the trip. Also, if you happen to be a member, tickets are free!

Winter Wonderland at PIR

November 29th – January 4th

5- 11pm Friday and Saturday 5:30-9:30 all other days

Info and Website

1940 N Victory Blvd, Portland

Tickets $20-$25 Click here

Considered the largest light show in the Pacific Northwest, there are over 250 different light displays laid out along the raceway. Most people drive the raceway listening to holiday music, but there are also bike nights and dog walking nights.

Miracle of a Million Lights

December 8th – December 28th

6pm – 10pm Daily

Info and Website

1441 N McClellan Street, Portland,

Tickets $5 – $8 Click here

This stunning victorian home covers nearly every inch of it’s interior to wow visitors. they also decorate the 2.5 acres that the home sits on making this home a true winter wonderland.

Christmas Ships

December 5th – December 22nd

Starting at 7:30pm

Info and Website

Columbia and Willamette rivers

Free

Ships sail up the Columbia and Willamette rivers every night for 2 weeks. You can gather along any of the shorelines to watch this wonderful show.

We hope to see you at some of these wonderful holiday lights events! Want to be notified every time we put together a Portland’s best list? Be sure to subscribe to the blog!

Buyer Closing Costs

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Today we are going to be talking all about closing costs! Check out the video below to learn all about them! If you don’t like videos, read on below.

Last week we went through closing costs when you are selling a home, but there are also closing costs associated with purchasing a home.  Most buyers are aware that they need to save up for a downpayment. They also know they need to pay for inspections. But, many people don’t realize there are also quite a few fees that you need to budget for.  

I had a buyer a couple of years ago that had to let their dream home go because they didn’t have enough cash to close on the home. This could have been solved if they had know to budget for an extra 3%.  I really don’t want you to end up in that situation. So here are my 3 tips for buying a home when it comes to closing costs.  

Write out a budget

Meet with your realtor and write out a budget. Depending on the time of year that you are buying, closing costs can vary from 2-4% of the purchase price. That means if you are buying a $500,000 houses here in Portland, you can expect your closing costs to be about $15,000.  We have a great buyers guide for you once you are ready to get serious about buying a home. You can download it HERE

Be honest about what you can afford

Take a look at your finances and budget for what makes sense.  Just because you are approved for a $500,000  house doesn’t mean that is what you should spend.  If you only have $7,000 to put towards closing costs, we may want to look at buying a cheaper home.  You don’t want to move in and be immediately house poor, so lets come up with a real budget and decide what kind of purchase makes the most sense to you.  

Stretch your money

Make a plan for your money to go farther.  Depending on the health of the overall market, we may be able to ask the seller to pay for some, or all, of your closing costs. This means that your money can go farther.  While this is an option in all markets, if we end up writing an offer on a home with multiple offers, the chances of our offer being accepted and getting closing costs covered is very low.  There are things we can do to combat this, so we just need to sit together to plan everything out.  

Closing costs are not a fun part of the real estate transaction. They do however pay for your new deed, so they are crucial to buying a home.  If you want to sit down to discuss the specifics about what fees are covered, or if you just have general real estate questions, I would love to chat with you anytime! 

Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube so you are always up to date with what we are doing!  You can also sign up for our monthly newsletter and we will send you fun events happening in Portland.  

Thanks for joining me today and I will talk to you soon!

Straightaway Cocktails

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We headed out to try the relatively new tasting room for straightaway cocktails this week. You may have seen some of the cans of white wine spritzer on the shelves of your local new seasons and that had me very curious!

straightaway cocktails building, Portland Oregon

We sampled both the cocktail flight and the spritzer flight, both of which come paired with a little snack. The cocktails were all delicious, perfectly strong, and less sweet than you would imagine for a pre-made cocktail.

Straightaway Cocktails has 6 pre-mixed cocktails tat you can sample or buy. These 6 classic cocktails are the Lintik, a gin martini, a cosmo, a negroni, an old fashioned, or a paper plane. Each cocktail has a unique twist on to give you a little surprise, as an example, the martini also has a dash of orange bitters. My favorite of the bunch was the cosmo, not just because I am a vodka girl, but also because it had a really nice dry citrus bite to it. Each cocktail comes with it’s own pairing snack, which for the most part, were wonderfully flavored popcorns. We tried a mexican chocolate popcorn with the negroni and they both really complimented each other.

The Spritzers are served on a tray with a nice amount of kettle chips. These help you get that salty element you crave while drinking a white wine spritzer. There are 4 choices; the last word, the apertivo, the fiore, and the negroni. They are all made with sparkling pinot gris, a liqueur, and some bitters that vary drink to drink.

The staff was incredibly kind, knowledgeable, and very excited that we were in to visit. We were given really great pairing notes and information about where all the delicious snacks and flavors were sourced from. You can’t get a full sized cocktail in the tasting room, but just doing the smaller platters was a ton of fun! they have a small shop inside the tasting room so you can bring a bottle home with you. I bought a sample pack just in time for the holidays.

Have you tried this awesome new distillery yet? Check out the menu and website here! Let us know what you think in the comments!

Holiday Shopping

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With black Friday arriving it is time to do some holiday shopping. When you live in a place as awesome as Portland, it is easy to shop local! There are lots of places having sales all week for you to take advantage of. Whether you’re shopping for family, friends, or yourself, we hope you find something wonderful on this list!

Sloan

  • 735 NW 23rd ave ·· 3526 SE Hawthorne blvd ·· 3824 N Mississippi Ave
    • On Trend women’s apparel and accessories

Twill Boutique

  • 3539 SE Hawthorne blvd
    • Youthful women’s fashion boutique stocking jewelry, dresses and sportswear, much of it US made.

Ragan’s Boutique

  • 1925 NE 42nd Ave #A
    • Carrying a wide variety of sizes and styles in unique women’s fashion

Sweet Jayne

  • 1914 NE Broadway st.
    • Eclectic boutique offering fashionable closeout womenswear & inventive, locally-made jewelry.
sweet jayne boutique
Photo Courtesy of Sweet Jayne

Modo Boutique

  • 729 E Burnside st #103 ·· 2025 NE Alberta st
    • Snug store stocking an ever-changing selection of womenswear, shoes & accessories on consignment.

Adorn

  • 3366 SE Division st ·· 4120 NE Fremont st ·· 1016 SW Washington st
    • Brand-name women’s clothing, shoes & accessories in a chic, stylish boutique setting.
adorn boutique
Photo courtesy of Adorn

Frock Boutique

  • 1439 NE Alberta st
    • Store stocking clothing & accessories for women, men & kids made by local, independent designers.

Say Say Boutique

  • 1010 SW Morrison st
    • Intimate women’s fashion boutique featuring casual clothing from independent designers.

Monique’s Boutique

  • 429 NW 10th Ave
    • offering innovative clothing and accessories for women who value quality, style and comfort.
monique boutique
photo courtesy of moniques

Silver Lining

  • 7044 SE Milwaukie Ave
    • Women’s consignment shop specializing in brand-name apparel, shoes & accessories.

North of West

  • 203 SW 9th Ave
    • Hip, design-focused women’s shop featuring clothing, bags & jewelry, along with home accents.
north of west boutique
photo courtesy of North of West

We hope that enjoy all your holiday shopping! Did we miss your favorite place? Let us know in the comments!

Cascade Brewing

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This week we went and checked out Cascade Brewing! This sour ale brewery has so much variety we will have to go back multiple more times to try everything on the menu.

I love sour ales, so if you don’t this is likely not the place for you. They do typically have 3 or 4 non sour beers on the menu, but they are no where near as good as the sour ales. My favorite thing about Cascade is that they use fresh, local ingredients and truly experiment with their beers. I tried the Brunch Line, which is very Portland. Its a sour wheat ale that is aged in white wine barrels with willamette valley chardonnay grapes and orange zest. It does taste a bit like a mimosa.

We went during happy hour and were able to try both the pretzel with beer cheese, and the smoked albacore tuna melt. The pretzel was perfectly salted and toasted to perfection. The albacore sandwich isn’t your grandma’s tuna sandwich. With both cheddar and gruyere cheese, the sandwich was delicious and well balanced.

We will absolutely be heading back to cascade brewing for some beer very soon!

If you want to see the current offering of beers, you can see the menu here. or check out the full website

Do you have somewhere that you want us to feature? Let us know in the comments!!

Seller Closing Costs

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Today is all about closing costs and specifically about the closing costs sellers are responsible for. We made a great video for you to watch, but if you would rather just read along, skip ahead!

One of the most common mistakes that sellers make when it comes to listing their home, is failing to budget appropriately. I see this especially often when it comes to closing costs.

Sellers in Portland should expect to pay about 7% of the total sales price in closing costs. On a typical home priced at 500,000, a seller should anticipate allocating about $35,000 toward closing costs. That number is inclusive of most fees, however, it will vary depending on your specific situation.  If you have equity in your home, these fees will be deducted from your proceeds.  However, in some cases, a seller may be required to actually bring money to the closing table.  We don’t want this to happen to you. Here are my top 3 tips so we are fully prepared before listing your home.

Discuss the true cost of selling

Before you decide to list your property, meet with a local real estate expert. You want to discuss the true cost of selling your home. As a licensed Realtor®, I’m able to provide you with resources like a closing checklist and a seller net sheet. These will help you to better understand the home selling process, your responsibilities as a seller, and what you can expect to net from the sale of your home.

Budget for Closing Costs

Work with your Realtor® to understand and budget for Closing Costs. Sellers in the Portland market are typically responsible for paying; Commissions, mortgage payoff, title search fees, transfer taxes, city recording fees, unpaid property taxes, and any other liens that may be on the property. We want to have a clear idea of what these numbers add up to.

Factor in the unexpected

In competitive markets, it’s common for a seller to offer a concession toward a buyer’s closing costs.  This is done as an added incentive. As an example, it can be done after we may have had weeks of slow activity, or as a result of an issue that arises during a home inspection.  Often times, this practice can make your home seem more appealing to a buyer that may not otherwise have thought of buying your home because they didn’t have the cash to cover potential repairs or their own closing expenses.

Planning ahead will ensure that we both have a pleasant transaction together.  You will have a clear idea of exactly where you will be financially, and there won’t be any what-ifs left to think about.  If you have some questions or want any guidance, please feel free to reach out to me and I am happy to walk you through the specifics.  

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