Portland Lifestyle and Real Estate
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!
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.
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!
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.
Have you been yet? Let us know what you think in the comments! Check out the full menu here
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.
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!
Our stats are here! The Portland market is still performing incredibly well and is slowing significantly less than we anticipated and actually picking up speed in some areas. I you want the full breakdown, read below!
The Portland market stayed strong through June as we continue into Summer time. Last month we mentioned that June is frequently the time that most people list their homes for sale, and while we saw some great numbers, we actually had fewer homes listed in June that we did in May. The interesting thing is that we saw many more homes go pending than they have in precious months. This means that more people are out shopping than before. If you have been house hunting, you have likely noticed this first hand. We have been experiencing multiple offers on almost all the homes we have been in to see. This also means that average days on market dropped. With more people out hunting, homes are not lasting as long before they go pending.
The average sales price went up in June while the median sales price did not change. The disparity in these changes comes from the fact that we have a denser pricing pool. There have been fewer very low or very high priced homes to affect the median, but home prices are climbing.
All in all, things in Portland are going well and we expect these trends to continue for at least the next couple of months.
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!
This month we sat down with owner Sharon Santucci to eat some delicious BBQ! We had a blast trying the many different dishes that she created for us. Check out the full video!
Be sure to head over to Facebook to enter our giveaway! That Portland Life
Where should we head next? Let us know in the comments!
Watch below to learn about the differences and what might be the best fit for you! If you don’t want to see the video, read below for a breakdown. Enjoy!
When you want to know what your home is worth there are a couple different options for you. You can reach out to your favorite realtor and ask them to send you a comparative market analysis also known as a CMA. Or you can use a instant home value finder like the one on Zillow called a zestimate. We will break these both down for you.
The simplest thing to do is log in to a website and enter your address for a computer generated home value. The upside of this method is that you get the information almost instantly and its very easy to input the basic criteria. These systems use a general radius from your home instead of taking into account the rapidly changing neighborhoods that we know and love here in Portland. It also doesn’t consider any upgrades you may have done or whether your home is nicer than your neighbors, it just averages all the figures across a broad range.
The better option is to reach out to your realtor and have them run the numbers for you. We know the neighborhoods, what you have done to your home and what value those projects bring to your property and we can get laser focused on the recently sold homes to give you a much more accurate number of what your home will sell for in the current market. While the most accurate way to do this would be to walk through your home with you, we can still get you a better number with just a phone call.
No matter what choice you decide to make, we will be here to help you when you decide to sell!
This week for our featured hot spot we went to Keys Lounge in NE Portland. We have been really wanting to try the cocktails here because their Instagram game is on point. I am happy to report that we finally made it and we were not disappointed!
They have some wines, a decent tap list, and a great mix of cocktails. I tried the Bootsy Collins which is vodka, lemon, soda, and a splash of Lillet Rouge. It was perfectly refreshing for a hot summer evening. We didn’t try any of the food but the menu looks to be perfectly Portland. They have all the bar staples like popcorn and fries, and burgers. They also have some fun twists like pork belly bites and vegan “calamari”. Whether you are a meat eater, vegetarian, or a vegan you will find lots of options on this menu.
One of my favorite things about this visit was the numerous places to sit! There is a huge wrap around bar with stools both inside and outside, a cute patio with a decent amount of tables, booths surrounded by old records, and a back lounge where they were showing the game.
The building is a old locksmith building from the 60’s and still features the giant KEYS sign out front. The building had been abandoned and run down for many years. It has now been returned to it’s full potential and is ready for your patronage!
Be sure to check this place out and let us know what you think!
Do you have a place that you want us to feature? Let us know in the comments!