Commuting by Community

Finding a home in close proximity to where you work may not rank as high in your home search as finding good neighborhoods or schools. However, if you are looking to live in Gresham, but work in Hillsboro, you’re going to spend a lot of time listening to talk radio.

In response to a reader’s question, I’ve prepared a list of suburban communities below, with their distance and drive times to downtown Portland.

Caveat: I generated this table using Google Maps, generically using its definition of the center of each city to downtown Portland as its starting and ending points. If you live on the outskirts of one of the communities, your mileage could be significantly longer or shorter. This table also does not take into account rush hour traffic loads, but I am on the lookout for such a study.

Distance and Time to Downtown Portland

In my experience, commutes get complicated any time you need to cross the Willamette River (downtown, Sellwood Bridge, Oregon City). The east/west commute using Highway 26 and the Banfield is a challenge just about every day. Other congested routes include Interstate 5 to and from Vancouver across the Columbia River, as well as Interstate 5 between downtown and Wilsonville south.

For public transportation users, Google is experimenting specifically in Portland with it’s Transit Trip Planner (http://www.google.com/transit). You enter starting and ending addresses, and the planner will provide detailed instructions on where, when, and how to use the bus and MAX lines to get you there. You can also toggle the Drive setting to compare time and costs between public transportation and driving. Tri-Met’s Trip Planner may be a more definitive resource.

Technorati Tags: commuting, transit, suburbs, Portland, drive

Photo by Bringo under Creative Commons license.

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Add comment July 27th, 2006

Don’t Buy Without a CLUE

(It’s hard not to title this post without a pun….)

One of the practices I have begun employing when representing buyers is to request a CLUE report from the home owner or seller.

CLUE is short for Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange and it takes into account all insurance claims (and inquiries, too) on you and your property going back 5 years.

Why would a buyer be interested in your insurance claim history? Well, homes with multiple claims can end up being uninsurable. And if the home is uninsurable, it’s unlikely you’ll get a loan on the property. It’s a quick way for a transaction to go sideways.

The categories of ’causes of loss’ on a CLUE reports include smoke, water, wind, lightning, hail, and fire damage, as well as contamination, worker’s comp claims, liability, vandalism, and more.

Also, please note that even inquiries about potential claims can be noted on your CLUE report as ‘unpaid’ claims. For example, let’s say you call your agent to talk about a water pipe in the house that leaked one day and caused some damage. It may get noted on your report even if you didn’t file a claim, but rather fixed the damage yourself.

You can’t order a CLUE report on a property you don’t own–only the homeowner (or their insurance agent) has access to the report. So in the process of writing an earnest money agreement, make sure your agent includes a request in the additional provisions section. Also, get your homeowner’s policy ordered sooner than later in the home buying process to avoid any last-minute insurability snags.

As a home seller, consider being proactive and acquiring a copy of your CLUE report and providing it along with disclosures when an offer is accepted. The report costs $19.50 and can be ordered online. Visit www.choicepoint.com or call 1-866-312-8076 to order your report.

More information about CLUE reports can be found at this FAQ from the state of Washington.

Technorati Tags: insurance, CLUE, report, loss, homeowner, claims, advice

1 comment July 19th, 2006

Market Activity - June 2006

The news is mixed, depending on your point of view, as June 2006 results are released for Portland’s metro residential real estate market.

Home buyers should find some relief in the news that the available supply of homes for sale is 58% higher than a year ago. Home sellers can take solace that appreciation gains continue to outpace historical averages, but will need to be more patient and proactive as buyers sift through the increased inventory.

The transition of the area’s real estate market continues. Year-to-date new listings are up nearly 12% over the January-June time period in 2005. In June 2006, new listings jumped over 21% over June 2005 (5,530 vs. 4,558). Pending and closed sales are down 11.8% and 8.0% respectively from last year at this time.

However, average appreciation gains continue to range between 14 and 26% (depending on the community) from over 12 months ago. The twelve-month average appreciation for Portland-area residential properties was 17.4%. The average sale price over the past 12 months in the market is now $305,700 (vs. $260,400 for 06/2004 through 07/2005).

The average market time for properties year-to-date is 42 days, versus 49 days this time last year. At the current rate of sales, the current inventory of homes would sell out in 2.6 months, still far less than a ‘balanced’ market rate of 5 months’ inventory.

Click here for a table showing the year-to-date market activity in the Portland metropolitan area through June 30, 2006, sorted by community and average sale price.

Technorati Tags: Portland, real estate, homes, prices, sales, appreciation, market, activity

Photo by mharrsch used under Creative Commons license.

1 comment July 17th, 2006

10 Tips for First-Time Homebuyers

With the peak home-selling and home-buying season upon us, I’d like to share some first-time homebuyer advice, as prepared by the National Association of Realtors.

1. Be picky, but don’t be unrealistic. There is no perfect home.
2. Do your homework before you start looking. Decide specifically what features you want in a home and which are most important to you.
3. Get your finances in order. Review your credit report and be sure you have enough money to cover your downpayment and your closing costs.
4. Don’t wait to get a loan. Talk to a lender and get prequalified for a mortgage before you start looking.
5. Don’t ask too many people for opinions. It will drive you crazy. Select one or two people to turn to if you feel you need a second opinion.
6. Decide when you could move. When is your lease up? Are you allowed to sublet? How tight is the rental market in your area?
7. Think long-term. Are you looking for a starter house with the idea of moving up in a few years or do you hope to stay in this home longer? This decision may dictate what type of home you’ll buy as well as the type of mortgage terms that suit you best.
8. Don’t let yourself be “house poor”. If you max yourself out to buy the biggest home you can afford, you’ll have no money left for maintenance or decoration or to save money for other financial goals.
9. Don’t be naïve. Insist on a home inspection and, if possible, get a warranty from the seller to cover defects within one year.
10. Get help. Consider hiring a REALTOR® as a buyer’s representative. Unlike a listing agent, whose first duty is to the seller, a buyer’s representative is working only for you. And often, buyer’s reps are paid out of the seller’s commission payment.

Technorati Tags: homebuyer, first-time, advice, real+estate

Photo by Meganne Soh.

Add comment July 6th, 2006

Oregon Lists Predatory Sex Offenders Online (finally)

While this is a less-than-savory subject to cover on a real estate blog, for some of my clients, the proximity of sex offenders in their prospective neighborhoods is certainly a germane issue.

Unfortunately, Oregon is (was) one of only two states in the union (South Dakota, the other) without a convenient online database, forcing concerned citizens to call the State Police for a list of released convicts in their area.

On June 29, the Oregon State Police launched the first Internet site for the state listing the names, addresses and photographs of the most dangerous sex offenders living in Oregon.

Well, sort of.

Only 700 out of 14,500 registered sex-cons show up in the website at this point. A legal challenge to the term ‘predatory’ (along with budget constraints) delayed the launch of the State’s site, and for now, is limiting the list by not including the names of serious offenders released from prison since February 2005.

Offenders in the list at this point will be identified by their physical description, residential address, photo, description of the crime(s) committed, and a description of their vehicle.

It’s an incomplete start, but a start nonetheless. You can look up your address (including a map search) at http://sexoffenders.oregon.gov. For a complete list (without photos), you’ll still need to call the Oregon State Police at 503-378-3725, ext. 4429.

Additional coverage by The Oregonian.

Technorati Tags: sex offender, Oregon, website, neighborhoods

Photo: abardwell

Add comment July 5th, 2006