That Portland Life

Portland Lifestyle and Real Estate

Contact Us!

pdx real estate

Cascade Brewing

by Leave a Comment

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

by Leave a Comment

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.  

Are you ready to see what your home is worth? Check the value now! Click Here

October Market Stats

by Leave a Comment

It’s time that we look back on the Portland real estate market and analyze how healthy our market is. Enjoy the market stats!

If you want just a quick and dirty analysis; houses are still selling, they are still gaining value, and the market is still balancing from many years of incredible appreciation. If you want to get a little deeper, keep reading!

Portland Metro Market Stats October 2019

We saw a small uptick in home sales in the month of October. That was very likely due to the interest rate dropping back down. This caused a flurry of buyers to jump into the market and we saw both pending and closed sales jump up from October of last year. We also had quite a few more closings than September which is a sign that the market is holding steady.

New listings, and therefore overall inventory, dropped this past month. We expect this to happen every fall as sellers prefer to sell in the warmer months. Surprisingly, we also saw the total days on market increase. Typically with low inventory we would also see the days on market lower. When we have buyers competing for the same house, things tend to sell faster. I think in this case, buyers are being more cautious about the homes they are buying, so if it isn’t priced perfectly, they move on.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, home prices are up 1.2% from last year. While this isn’t the type of gain that we are used to, it’s important to note that the number is still climbing. We expect this trend to continue through the holidays and into next year.

With talk of a looming recession, it’s important to watch these market stats closely. Whether you are thinking of buying or selling, you don’t want to miss your ideal window.

Do you have specific questions about your home or area? Feel free to reach out to us at Team@ThatPortlandLife.com!

Want to know what your home is worth right now? Click Here

Feature Friday at Training Day

by Leave a Comment

This month for our Feature Friday we visited with Megan Marchello of Training Day PDX! She owns a barefoot gym in southeast Portland and did a great job of making us sweat in just a short amount of time.

We also learned a ton about how your stance, and how you treat your feet, will affect your whole workout. Check out the full video below!

Be sure to check out this awesome gym and support local business!

Do you have somewhere that you think we should visit? Let us know in the comments!

The Importance of the Home Inspection

by Leave a Comment

Having a home inspection is perhaps the most important piece to buying a home. As a buyer it can be very easy to look over the little flaws in a home while you are walking around falling in love with it. Check out this awesome video we made explaining why inspections are so important! If video isn’t your thing, read the transcript below.

No matter the type of home that you are buying, whether a 1920’s bungalow, a midcentury modern, or a brand new home, you need to have a home inspection. A couple of weeks ago we discussed the importance of property disclosures, and the inspection is your opportunity to really dig deep into any issues that the home might have.

With older homes we especially want to look into the electrical system and plumbing, the foundation and the overall structure. With new construction you want to make sure the builder didn’t cut any corners and that everything is functioning the way that you want it to.

Inspections are also your best opportunity to negotiate with the seller on repairs. Anything that is a safety concern, a major defect, or is no longer functioning properly is a fair thing to ask the sellers to fix. Alternatively, we could negotiate for closing costs or a price reduction. We will be sure to discuss all the details and what will work best for your specific needs once we get to that point.

Another important thing to remember is that not all inspectors, like Realtors, are equally skilled. It often happens that we will have buyers that enter into contract on a home that was only purchased by the sellers within the last couple of years and our inspector finds major defects that were certainly around longer than that time period. Make sure you work with someone you can count on, otherwise you might end up on the wrong end of the repair negotiations when you eventually decide to sell! We, of course have fantastic recommendations for you if you need them.

Do you want a list of the most common issues found with new construction homes? You can find that here. As always, don’t hesitate to reach out with any further questions you may have! See you next time.

Market Update May 2019

by Leave a Comment

May Stats are finally out and we can look back on the past month to reflect on how healthy the Portland market is. The short answer is that we are still in a strong market and homes are still increasing in value! If you want to read about the full breakdown, continue below.

The Portland market continued to pick up through May as we head into Summer time. Historically people believe June is the best month to list their home so we should see even stronger numbers coming out next month, but we had 700 more homes listed in May than we did in April. We also had more homes close and go pending than in April so we are maintaining a healthy balance. Average days on market dropped slightly which is likely due to the home : buyer ratio dropping slightly as well as homes being priced more accurately. We are still seeing homes under the $500,000 range frequently sell in only a few days and often with multiple offers, so be sure to consult your realtor before touring homes or writing an offer.

The average and median sales prices both went up in May, showing a continued appreciation of home values in the area. Many people are reporting that the market is slowing drastically and some people are even calling it a crash. Rest assured that homes that are priced within their market range are selling and still appreciating. We are seeing closer to 5-6% over the year as opposed to the 12-15% we have seen the past couple years. This is good for everyone, we needed the market to slow and stabilize to keep us out of a bubble and that is exactly what is happening.

If you are thinking of selling or buying, don’t hesitate to reach out and we can discuss how these stats will affect our strategies in the current market!