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Tacos

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May 5th is Cinco De Mayo so naturally I am going to focus on Tacos! 

I love mexican food, more than any other style of food, I would happily eat it everyday! I especially like tacos, they are so simple, but so delicious. This was an incredibly difficult topic for me to research *wink wink* but now you can enjoy the fruits of my labor! 

There are 5 taco places that really stand out to me, of course there are many many more, but I can vouch for all of these. In no particular order, here are the places you should definitely check out this week! 

  • Xico – 3715 SE Division – They have an awesome back patio, amazing margaritas, and fantastic food, everything on the menu is worth eating and while they don’t always strictly have tacos on the menu, the carnitas is a build your own taco plate and to die for! 
  • Taqueria Nueve – 727 SE Washington – They also have an amazing patio and so many taco choices you will need to try them all! They really focus on keeping things authentic and it shows! 
  • Nuestra Cocina – 2135 SE division – really cute restaurant that is a Portland staple. They have homemade tortillas instead of chips and really incredible sangria. They don’t always have tacos on the list either, but many of the entree’s come with tortillas to build your own tacos! 
  • Mi Mero Mole – 32 NW 5th – this Mexico City inspired eatery has tons of choices for your tacos. They focus on guisados, which are home style dishes like stews and stir-frys. Put that all together and you get some amazing food! 
  • Portland Mercado – 7238 SE Foster – This list wouldn’t be complete without the Mercado. There are so many delicious carts here, by Tierra del Sol wins for their tacos. Lots of choices, simple and delicious, and affordable! You truly cannot go wrong. 

Let me know which places you end up trying and which ones are your favorite!! 

Gran Moraine Winery

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Sometimes the very best thing about living in Portland, is getting out of Portland! Located only an hour outside of the city center, this winery is well worth the drive. Tucked into the hills in the Yamhill Carlton AVA they specialize in Pinot Noirs in the burgundian style. If Pinot Noir isn’t your thing they also make a killer Chardonnay and a Sparkling Rosé that is to die for.

This last week I had my wine pickup party and I was reminded just how much I love this winery and its wine. We were served multiple courses to pair with the 6 wines they were pouring. Everything was thoughtfully chosen and paired perfectly. Even if you aren’t a member, or don’t want to join a wine club, the staff is incredibly friendly and will pour you a delicious glass of wine.

If you want full details and contact info you can head over to their website at granmoraine.com Hopefully I will run into at this fantastic winery, and if you have already been, let me know in the comments!!

Hey Love!

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If you haven’t been to Hey Love yet, put it on your short list. I have been twice and both times the vibe was different, but equally amazing. The bartenders are friendly, knowledgeable, and make a mean cocktail.

Hey Love calls themselves an indoor jungle. And that isn’t wrong. The main dining rom is completely surrounded by plants, and if you have been following me, you know I LOVE plants. If you aren’t in the mood to sit amongst indoor plants there is a “secret” second floor patio.

With plenty of seating, a fire pit, and the sweet portland air, this is a pretty nice place to relax. As you can see from the pictures, it still remains a bit of a secret because we were the only ones up here on a busy Friday night. The bar hangs art from local artists, makes healthy versions of food you would find somewhere much warmer, and serves up delicious daytime coffees.

I hope to see you here at this amazing new Bar/Restaurant/Coffeeshop/Jungle!

920 E Burnside

  • 7am – 4pm in Suprette lounge
  • 10am – 2am lunch, dinner, late night
  • 2pm – 5pm Happy Hour

Portland Market Action – February 2019

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It’s statistics time! February’s stats came in right where I expected them to. We saw a slight softening in median home price, slightly less homes come onto the market, and slightly less inventory. This is all very typical for the end of winter here in Portland. Here is a quick glance at what the market is doing. Keep reading if you want a more in depth take!

The first thing you likely see on my graphic is that the median sales price is down nearly $15,000 in one month. That may seem like prices are tanking, but the average sales price actually went up by just over $6,000. There is such a difference in these prices because of what is happening in the lower price ranges. There were quite a few “fixers” listed in February that are really dragging the median price down. If you look at the homes that are selling throughout the Portland area, it is hard to find anything under $400,000.

The days on market dropped by only 1 day. 75 days seems like a long time to be sitting on the market, but if you are in a “hot” neighborhood and the home is move in ready under $500,000 or so, the homes are still going pending in a matter of days. Pricing is still really important in this market because buyers are well educated on the market and know when something is priced well.

March has been off to a super strong start and I expect that the average sales price will go up, inventory will go down, and we will see a ton of new listings. Subscribe to the blog to stay up to date with all the latests stats and for fun things to do around town!

Why preapprovals matter

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Chances are if you have ever had a conversation with a Realtor you have been asked “are you pre-approved?” A pre-approval is a letter from a lender that states you have the ability to purchase a property within a certain price.  They take a quick look at your debt, income, and what you want your monthly payment to be. Then they are able to give you an accurate price range. Not only does this give you criteria for your home search, but it allows you to shop confidently without wondering whether the house payments will be too high.  While your peace of mind is important during the real estate transaction, that isn’t the main reason that pre-approvals matter.  We will get to that in a moment.

In Portland houses are selling faster than hotcakes!  If you are looking for a home in a desirable neighborhood, that is move in ready, you are going to have a lot of competition.  statsAs an example, here are the stats for the Richmond neighborhood.  As you can see, the average days on market before a home went pending (upper box) is 10 days.  That is less than 2 weeks on the market before the seller has negotiated and accepted an offer.  If you look at the closed sales (bottom box) you can see that the average is only 3 days!  While I did select a specific neighborhood, this trend continues into almost every neighborhood of Portland.

So, Back to the importance of the pre-approval. Say we are out looking for houses and you fall in love with one of these cute homes; 47th 30th

if you didn’t already have that pre-approval on hand, you wouldn’t be able to write an offer in time to even be considered. There are a lot of people out looking for the same homes and the only way to win is to be more prepared than your competition is.  The first home that you lose is always the hardest, and while sometimes there really is nothing more that you can do, if you lose a house because you missed a step in the beginning, you will always regret it.  Calling a lender and talking numbers for 20 or so minutes may not be the most fun thing in the world, but it is a lot more fun than losing a house.

If you are getting ready to enter the real estate market and need some referrals to lender, I would love to help you out. And as always, if you or anyone you know has any real estate needs, I am never to busy to help!