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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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October Market Stats

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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!

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Belmont Station

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For our Hot Spot this week I visited Belmont Station over the weekend during a beer release event and we had the best time. This small bar is heaven for anyone who loves beer.

There are 2 sections to Belmont Station, one side is a very diverse bottle shop. They have all your favorites, some of their own favorites, and rare beers you have never heard of. They take very special care of the nearly 1,400 bottles to ensure they stay fresh. For anyone that appreciates beer, it would be very easy to spend a long time perusing the selection at hand.

The other side is the taphouse. You can choose a beer from their 34 draft tap list. They tend to serve beer mostly from the Pacific Northwest, but they also usually have on a European beer and a couple from elsewhere around the country.

The “beertenders” were incredibly knowledgeable, very friendly, and quick to get to you. All the beers we tried were perfect fresh and tasted brand new. I would definitely recommend checking out this incredible beer destination.

Want to see what they currently have on tap? Head over to thier website here

Have you been yet? What is your favorite beer or experience so far? We hope to hear from you in the comments!

Do you also love our Hot Spot Belmont Station? If you want to check out our other hot spots you can do that here

Portland’s Best – Steakhouses

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In a city that claims to be “one of the best for vegans” there are still many residents that love to enjoy a delicious steak. We have our fair share of places to get a perfectly seared steak so we wanted to share our favorites with you.

We love to support locally owned businesses so everything on this list is a true Portland steakhouse. Listed Alphabetically, here are our favorites!

Clyde's prime rib steak

Clyde’s Prime Rib

5474 NE Sandy Blvd
Portland, OR 97213

Website

Clyde’s keeps it old school. With a dimly lit dining room it brings us back to what Portland used to be. While the prime rib is reason enough to go, they also have many other cuts of beef that are sure to please. Clyde’s also offers live music in the bar overnight of the week.

Imperial PDX steak and sides

Imperial

410 SW Broadway
Portland, OR 97205

Website

Vitaly Paley’s wood fired restaurant, you will find tons of delicious cuts of meat on this menu. They have a trusty flat iron and ribeye always on the menu, and they frequently will pass out a specialty cuts list with the menus.

Laurelhurst market steak

Laurelhurst Market

3155 E Burnside St
Portland, OR 97214

Website

Laurelhurst Market is frequently named the city’s best steak house. Everyone that works here can give you the fine details about every cut of steak on the menu. They also serve them with wonderful accoutrement – like the pictured grilled flatiron with chanterelles and shrimp.

ox portland steak for 2

Ox

2225 NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd
Portland, OR 97212

Website

This James Beard Award winning Latin American restaurant is all about the smoky flavors. There is a wood fired oven front and center in the restaurant which they use to cook all their steaks. The steak is served with the best chimichurri you have ever had and you can order a myriad of amazing vegetable sides.

portland city grill steak

Portland City Grill

30, 111 5th Ave
Portland, OR 97204

Website

This restaurant should be on your must visit list. The 30th floor restaurant offers panoramic views of the city. Whether you are a long time local, or a new visitor, the crew never gets old. They have a variety of steaks you can order from along with sauces and sides for your choice of beef.

urban farmer portland steakhouse

Urban Farmer

525 SW Morrison St
Portland, OR 97204

Website

This open-concept lobby/restaurant serves up some delightful steaks. You have a variety of options once you have chosen the cut of steak you’d like to enjoy. For example, you can have 8oz, grass fed, Oregon tenderloin, or you can have the 8oz, grain finished, California tenderloin.

We hope that you are able to get out and enjoy some of these great steak houses! Are you interested in seeing our other “Best of” lists? Check them all out here

Did we miss your favorite? Add it in the comments!

Feature Friday at Training Day

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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!

Spitz

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This week for our hot spot we tried out this awesome N Portland restaurant. They serve mediterranean street food with a slight german twist. The chainlet is based out of LA, but we are very glad that they decided to come up to Portland. 

Street Cart Doner at Spitz photo by That Portland Life

I tried the Street Cart Doner which is a beef/lamb mix with cabbage, romaine, cucumber, tomato, and garlic aioli. The wrap was delicious and had some great mediterranean flavors. We also tried the Berliner Doner which had most of the same ingredients with a german red sauce and carrots. 

Everyone had mentioned that we had to try the Street Cart Fries, which is what the restaurant is best known for, and they did not disappoint! The perfectly crispy fries were covered in aioli, pepperoncini, tomato, feta, onions and green peppers. I would definitely order these again! 

Street Cart Fries by Spitz Photo by That Portland Life

The restaurant was bright, clean, and had a fun hip atmosphere. The walls have spray painted murals from Portland area artists, and all the ductwork is bright pink. They are definitely making a statement and I really loved it. 

Interior of Spitz Photo by That Portland Life

Have you been yet? Let us know what you think in the comments! Check out the full menu here

The Importance of the Home Inspection

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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.

Coquine

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This week we decided to treat ourselves to something extraordinary. I have had Coquine on my “must try” restaurant list since it was named restaurant of the year in 2016. It has remained one of the highest rated restaurants in town year over year and it did not disappoint.

We chose to do the 7 course chef’s menu to get the best idea of what offerings the James Beard nominee had. Everything we tried was fresh, seasonal and full of flavor. One of the biggest surprises of the night for me was our very first salad. There were fresh sugar snap peas, spring greens, black sesame seeds and toasted nori all topped with shaved Oregon wasabi. the wasabi gave a unique bite to the very crisp salad.

We continued on with a calamari salad with fresh radishes and cucumbers and a lovely piece of halibut with oyster mushrooms and herb oil. We continued on with a pasta with a rabbit ragu that was my favorite dish of the night, multiple small desserts, and the cutest candy tray.

To end the night we had to try one of their famous cookies. The smoked almond, salted caramel and chocolate chip cookie was as delicious as it sounds. It is no surprise that they won cookie of the year. You can even order these cookies in advance, or just get one to go! We will definitely be back to this incredible restaurant!

Where do you think we should try next? Let us know in the comments!