Sunnyside!

Sunnyside might be the epicenter of the people's republic of Portland. Seriously.  Anchored by SE Belmont, Sunnyside boasts a hip K-8 environmentally focused school, a City Repair Project piazza,

oodles of certified backyard habitats and the highest number of vegan coffee shops per capita (just kidding, but it could well be).

The Sunnyside neighborhood is bounded by SE 28th Avenue, SE Stark, SE 49th Avenue and Hawthorne Boulevard.  Not quite as densely populated as its neighbor to the west, Buckman, Sunnyside, nevertheless is a dense urban neighborhood. Blessed with creative, innovative and scrumptious businesses on both SE Belmont and SE Hawthorne, living in Sunnyside is a rich and textured existence.   Breakfast at Suzette, work out at the Green Microgym, pick up some groceries at Zupan's Market and meet friends for a pint at the venerable Horse Brass Pub.

Sunnyside's central location means close proximity to buses, bike ways (including the Hawthorne Bridge, I-5 and I-84.  This neighborhood is home to plenty of folks who chose a carless, or nearly carless lifestyle. Bikes, cargo bikes and recumbent bikes are de rigueur.

Kids in the neighborhood may attend Sunnyside Environmental School; a small K-8 school with curriculum focusing on the environment through an integrated, holistic approach.

I have just listed in  house in Sunnyside.  The sellers, smitten with the neighborhood, bought a larger home to house their busy family, but stayed quite close by.  We are now selling their four bedroom, two and a half bath house located at 3231 SE Alder Street.

This house has a great blend of original charm:

combined with the convenience of an updated kitchen and baths.

The house has four bedrooms and two and one half baths; Three bedrooms and two baths up, with a bedroom and 1/2bath on the main floor (there was a tub in the 1/2 bath, the plumbing remains available).  There is off street parking, a real asset in this urban neighborhood, and a sweet back yard.  It is listed at $525,000.

Open house Sunday afternoon from 1:00 - 3:00. Stop by! 3231 SE Alder St.   Contact me for more information, if you'd like to see the house, or if you'd like information about buying or selling real estate in Portland.

Gotta love South Tabor

I've just listed a sweet little ranch house in South Tabor and was reminded what a great neighborhood it is.  South Tabor is bounded by SE 52nd and SE 82nd, between Division and Powell.    This neighborhood benefits from close proximity to the restaurants and food carts along SE 50th and Division, a long with great access to Mt. Tabor Park. 

The house is at 5827 SE Woodward Street.  Just down the block is Clinton Park, with a great playground and a nice treed area.  Atkinson Elementary School is nearby;  drawing students from a wide range of cultural backgrounds. The school is seen as having a strong arts programs and a focus on sustainability with  a native plant garden and ecologically friendly outdoor classroom.  Atkinson also houses a Spanish Immersion program.

Franklin High School is also nearby. Franklin has strong programs in Business Technology, Law and Public Service,  and Industrial technology. 

This house (and the neighborhood) are a quick commute to downtown via bus, car or bike.  The upper part of the Clinton Bikeway goes right past the house on SE Woodward.

About the house; three bedroom, two bath ranch, all on one level.

 This house has a wonderful open kitchen with doors leading to the covered back deck.  The living dining and kitchen areas are very open and have great natural light.

 

 

 A master bedroom suite with private bath also has a nice door leading to the backyard. The house had lots done in 2009, including new high efficiency gas furnace, water heater, air conditioning, roof and energy efficient windows.  The fenced yard gets lots of sun, allowing for plenty for plenty of gardening.

This house has an attached double garage and garden shed.  All appliances are included; washer dryer too!  It is listed at $307,500.



The house will be open thius Sunday, 3/16 from 1:00 - 3:00.  Stop by 5827 SE Woodward.

That listing in Cully

I just picked up a new listing in the Cully neighborhood, which has me paying a bit more attention.  Of late, I have heard Cully referred to as" Cully Arts".  Seriously?  We just put "arts" after a neighborhood and it becomes trendy?

Actually, though, Cully has been quietly becoming popular for years. The large lots and strong community feel draw lots of folks interested in an urban farming lifestyle. There are community farm dinners, the Cully Neighborhood Farm CSA, a potential new park in the neighborhood,  and of course the Old Salt Marketplace has been a great addition to the neighborhood. Willamette Week's recent  dining guide happened to have a review of what I thought was a non-descript neighborhood restaurant, just across the street from my new listing.  Apparently a sous-chef from Bluehour is doing some pretty yummy cooking over there.   Who knew?

So the house is a rehab.  The seller has bought and fixed up houses in Portland as long as I've been in real estate...a longtime.  He goes slowly, doing about one house a year.  In this house, he installed all new hardwood floors, a new furnace, hot water heater, and beautifully updated the kitchen and baths; including custom tile work.

 

 

That island in the kitchen is on wheels, so it can move off to the side or stay in the middle of the kitchen.  He's got high end Samsung appliances in there; including washer and dryer.

 

The house has four bedrooms, one and a half baths. It has 1448 square feet, all on one level. The lot, like many on Cully is big, at 150' x 51'.  $245,000.  Oh yeah, and it has a great garage too, with power and an extra storage room.

 

 

The house is located at 5114 NE 60th Avenue. It will be open from 1:00 - 3:00 on Sunday, March 2.  Stop in and check in out.  For more information give me a call at 503-312-8038 or drop me an email at leslievjones@gmail.com.

 



Yellow means stop?!

Did you catch that article by the Oregonian's commuter reporter, Joseph Rose?  The one about how laws around yellow lights in Oregon are more restrictive than yellow lights in other states?  I truly did not know that!  It has been several years since I took the Oregon driver's test, but I don't think I ever knew that.

So here is the thing: " You see, the vast majority of U.S. states, including Washington, have what are called “permissive” rules, allowing drivers to enter an intersection during an entire yellow interval. (A violation occurs only if a driver enters after the onset of red.) Not Oregon. It’s one of only 12 states with a “restrictive” yellow-light rule, which essentially translates into “a solid circular yellow means stop and red means stay stopped.”"

I drive a bunch; most real estate agents do.  I despise being late, and am a busy gal.  This leads to frequent encounters with yellow lights.  Up until now, when I arrive at a yellow light, the question has been, " can I make it through before the light turns red?".  In actuality, the question should be, "can I stop safely?".

In the week or so since the article, I've REALLY been trying to ask the "right" question; can I stop safely?.  I am amazed how hard it is to switch my thinking.  I suppose I'm making progress, in that at least now I feel a bit guilty about making a run through a yellow light.  The yellow light question is posed so quickly, I am challenged to re-write the question?

What question do you ask at a yellow light?  And does it change as you cross state lines?

Read the full article here.

A glimpse of Portland's 2014 housing market

By now, we are a solid year into the housing recovery.  Looking back a year no longer has us looking down into the cavern that was the fall of the housing market.  This time last year, we were busy, slightly shell shocked from the previous five years and a tad bewildered at once again navigating a quick and competitive market.

Today, we are a year wiser. Buyers entering the market know they'll be challenged to get their offer accepted.  Brokers representing buyers are adept at counseling their clients in the strategies of competitive offers. Sellers are starting to understand the importance of a well presented property to realizing top dollar; it must be prepared for the market; in good repair,clean, attractive and well presented. It must be easily viewable, quickly.

With the recently released stats for January 2014 we see the start to the year with 4.1 months of inventory.  At our current rate of sales, it will take 4.1 months to sell all the properties on the market. 2013 started with 4.7 months of inventory.  hmm

As expected, January 2014 saw an increase in pending sales over December 2103; 36.6% higher, and up 6.3% over January 2013.   Correspondingly, January's slight dip in closed sales is a result of December's lower pending sales.

Our market time got a tad longer in January; 96 days vs. 87 days for December 2013.  January 2013's market time was 114 days.

Our median sales price of  $265,000 in January is up 6.9% from $248,000 in January of 2013.

Good houses are still in short supply, and potential buyers are out in force.  Contrary to popular belief, Winter, as in now, is the best time to put your house on the market.  By mid-June, we can start to see some summer slowing; school is out and vacations start.  Give me a call if you are planning to sell this year and we can map a plan.  Thinking of buying?  Better get started on that loan pre-approval.

Read the full report for the Portland Area.

Waverly Commons...again

The Oregonian recently published an article on this development project.   I found the article rather boring, or without much focus.  But it did flirt with the notion of an exclusive development in a very cohesive neighborhood.

Remember, this was the old Waverly School property (SE 36th to SE 35th  and SE Woodward to SE Brooklyn). It has been developed into 19 lots with custom homes, all sharing a spacious common area in the middle of the block. 

 

I have watched this development as it has been built. Yes, the houses are big, but no more so than  other infill projects in our neighborhood.

 And though the article failed to mention it, most all of the houses have installed photovoltaic solar panels, and many are built with passive solar features.  Several existing houses in the neighborhood also have solar panels; perhaps some common ground?

 But, the article had for me, hinted at an exclusiveness of the development.

 There was a resident who gushed about her daughter and the girl next door (also in the development) being friends.  I sure hope they take time to meet kids in the neighborhood who may not live in Waverly Commons. There is a great little guy whose grandparents live down the block. One morning he was giving away free art on the street corner, and gave us a wonderful explanation of his picture; a picture of a leaf made from looking at a ceramic sculpture of a leaf. It hangs on my fridge.  He's probably about four years old. Waverly Commons folks would be lucky to know him.

The article also purred about the common area/backyard/park.  This will be a great resource and amenity for the homeowners. But a private park, only for the benefit of the 19 homeowners,  may have an odd dynamic in an otherwise egalitarian neighborhood. 

I know the folks living on SE 35th have had a very close knit relationship for years, and didn't need a private park to do so.  The Waverly Commons houses all face out into the neighborhood, with their back yards facing the common area.  The optimist in me says they'll be welcomed into the neighborhood, and will value the existing neighbors.

Sadly, the neighborhood hasn't been so good to the builder and new home owners.  Several of the under construction houses have been broken into, and robbed of the metals in the house; primarily copper wiring. This is expensive and sets back construction.  Currently, there are three houses still under construction, with surveillance cameras, in an attempt to stop the problems.

All this being said. I like Waverly Commons.  I walk by it on my daily walks and have enjoyed watching the construction as the different styles of houses emerge. The builder is hard working and hands on.  We see him there at all hours on all days.  The Waverly School, an old brick building. most likely unreinforced and with plenty of asbestos and lead paint, was well past its useful life. Energy efficient, new construction residential seems a good use of the land.

Questions about this posting or others?  Give me a holler.  leslievjones@gmail.com   503-312-8038

The owner said the tank had been "taken care of"...

My friends at Eco-Tech LLC do great work, with oil tanks and radon, among other things.  We call on them frequently to search properties for buried and sometimes abandoned heating oil tanks.  I've written and posted about their adorable dog, Terra, who is trained to sniff out oil, so she can find a spill, even if the metal of a tank isn't there to be detected.

We're going on 20 years in the real estate industry since oil tanks became a topic, and a concern to buyers. Early on,mostly, many sellers preferred to "decommission" their own tanks, rather than pay a professional, and get bogged down with Department of Environmental Quality standards.

DEQ does allow for the in-place decommissioning of tanks. The tank is opened and any remaining oil is removed. The tank is then cleaned, and filled with a clean, inert substance such as concrete slurry, sand, or sand and soil. The tank is then closed up, but tell tale markers of the existence of the tank are left so its existence is knowable. 

Tanks are also decommissioned by removal.

This week, Eco-Tech was engaged to do a tank search of  a property for a buyer.  I don't know the particulars, but that a tank was found. It had leaked a minor amount. I don't know the specifics of how it was that Eco-Tech LLC came to open up the tank. Decommissioning, removing, checking on a previous decommission?  But what they found in the tank was shocking. No, not THAT bad but...

 

 

They pulled out oil soaked carpet, a tripod, and a barbecue, among other things.  Oh yes, there was sand...contaminated with old oil.  Wow.

 

So,  should you have a tank search done on that house you are buying?  Yes!  Don't try to save a few bucks up front by skipping the tank search.   And hey, if you are lucky, you might even get Terra on your search.

 

 

 

I know some of you have abandoned oil tanks on your property. You bought long enough ago that we weren't making a big fuss about them.  It may not be a fun way to spend money, but deal with it now, and you'll sleep better at night.  And, when you do eventually sell your house, the scary buried oil tank won't drive good buyers away.

 

Call or email me if you want to talk tanks.  503-312-8038  leslievjones@gmail.com