Archive for the ‘Moving To Portland’ Category
Thursday, January 27th, 2011
Next up in our new series of Portland Home Style Guides is the Greek Revival style guide, also known as “Federal” or “Neoclassical” homes. The first architectural style to take off in the Oregon Territories in the 1850′s, Greek Revival is a highly geometric, clean, and simple home style that evokes Greek temple architecture. While Greek Revival homes can be quite grandiose and imposing, the style trickled down to the average residential home-builder throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, resulting in the many symmetrical column-porched family homes you now see around town. In the McDonald Group Portland Real Estate Greek Revival Home Style Guide you’ll find historical information, interior and exterior architectural details, and where to find many Greek Revival homes in Portland.
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Posted in Archetecture, Historic Register, Moving To Portland, Portland Home Styles | No Comments »
Wednesday, January 26th, 2011
Starting February 1st, there will be some new rules from the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program that should help ease the pain of buying or selling a short sale in Portland. First, “Once a sales contract has been initiated, loan servicers then have 30 days to approve or reject the transaction.” This should speed up the rate at which it takes to close on a short sale. Right now there are twice as many short sale listings than bank owned listings on the active market, but there are 2-3 times as many sale pending bank owned properties than short sale properties. It’s pretty obvious what’s more attractive to buyers. Also, “Another big change: Loan servicers will no longer be restricted on paying second-lien holders, allowing them more freedom particularly when dealing with second-lien holders when borrowers owe less than $100,000. Loan servicers used to be restricted to paying second-lien holders no more than 6 percent of outstanding loan balance (with an overall limit of $6,000) in exchange for releasing subordinate liens. Second-lien holders have been another big obstacle to completing short sale transactions.” (more…)
Posted in Mortgage Rates, Moving To Portland, Portland Real Estate, Tips When Buying a Home, Tips When Selling a Home | No Comments »
Wednesday, January 26th, 2011
Check out the New Arnold Creek Real Estate Guide detailing the desirable Arnold Creek neighborhood just minutes outside of Downtown Portland. The beautiful area of Arnold Creek is located in southwest Portland, just north of Lake Oswego. Combining the best of urban accessibility and gorgeous green natural atmosphere, it’s a fantastic place to live. Many new construction luxury homes are expanding the luxury feel of Lake Oswego into Portland city limits. Walk your dog in one of the beautiful, lush parks, or visit the Hillsdale Farmers’ Market for the best local produce only minutes away. If you’re looking for homes, apartments, or condos for sale around the Arnold Creek Portland District, check out this Arnold Creek Real Estate Guide filled with the best restaurants in Southwest Portland and the top parks and neighborhood resources. Relocating to a new area can be hard, but it’s a lot easier when you’ve got the best real estate agents in Portland on your side.
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Posted in Moving To Portland, Neighborhoods & Areas, New Construction, Portland Real Estate, Southwest Hills | No Comments »
Wednesday, January 26th, 2011
If you know anything about Portland, you know about our enthusiastic bike culture. Bikes in Portland aren’t just for kids, they are a major mode of transportation for commuters in suits, whole families with kids, and Portlanders of all types. In fact, 2010 saw a 12 percent increase of bicycle traffic on bridges and a 7 percent increase in bicycle trips on Portland streets over the past year. Southwest Portland had the highest increase in number of cyclists, with an increase of 19 percent – which means more bike commuters in the office-heavy Downtown area. In the “Create a Commuter” program, one of Portland’s non-profit neighborhood bike shops – the Community Cycling Center in the Alberta Arts District – distributed 173 free refurbished donated bikes for people in need, as well as bicycle safety classes and employment connections. Free bikes can help unemployed Portlanders looking to re-enter the workforce by allowing them to get to job interviews and have better access to public transportation once they secure a job.
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Posted in Moving To Portland, Portland Activities, Transportation | No Comments »
Monday, January 24th, 2011
First up in our new series of Portland Home Style Guides is the Tudor Revival style guide, also known as “Medieval Revival,” “Mock-Tudor,” “Tudorbethan,” “English Cottages,” or “English Countryside” homes. Common in many older Portland neighborhoods, the Tudor Revival side is a romantic, charming home style reminiscent of classic English country architecture. In the McDonald Group Portland Real Estate Home Style Guide you’ll find historical information, interior and exterior architectural details, and where to find Tudor homes in Portland.
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Posted in Archetecture, Moving To Portland, Portland Home Styles, Portland Real Estate | No Comments »
Monday, January 24th, 2011
Victorian, Craftsman, Ranch, modern, mid-century, “Portland Style.” If you’ve spent any time looking for homes for sale in the Portland Real Estate market, these words should be very familiar – but do you really know what they mean? If you were to do a search in the Portland Real Estate Market for “Tudor” homes, you’d no doubt come up with drastically varying results. What are the characteristics that make up a Tudor home, or an English cottage, or an “Old Portland”-style house? If you love classic built-ins, fireplaces, and hardwood floors, what words should you be using? If you want a truly modern West Hills home, what can you ask for to avoid being shown all the ranches and mid-centuries? We’ll answer those questions and more with our upcoming guides to Portland Home Styles.
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Posted in Announcements, Archetecture, Moving To Portland, Portland Real Estate, Real Estate Tips | No Comments »
Saturday, January 22nd, 2011
This year’s Portland International Auto Show – now in its 102nd year – is set to herald in 2011 as the year of the green car. Located in the Oregon Convention center, the Auto Show is four days (January 27th to 30th) of cutting-edge developments in the auto industry. This year, those developments will be heralded at the Eco Center featuring 30,000 square feet of green innovation. Electric and hybrid-electric vehicles such as the Nissan Leaf and General Motors Volt will be entering the American car market this year, and Oregon has been set up to be one the the leaders in green vehicle infrastructure. 2010 was rich with news of new recharging stations throughout the Portland metro area – the gas stations of the future.
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Posted in Design, Green Homes, Moving To Portland, Neighborhoods & Areas, Portland Activities | No Comments »
Friday, January 21st, 2011
Admit it, you’re interested in Portland. There’s something about these streets, the creative energy, the great food (Portland was just named “America’s new food Eden” by TIME magazine), that is drawing people in by the thousands to see what the buzz is about. It won’t be a secret much longer, but the Portland real estate market is ripe for a renaissance – so why not jump on the bandwagon before prices start climbing again? If you’re interested in visiting Portland to check out the amazing homes for sale in Oregon, this winter could be the ideal time. Travel Portland and Expedia have teamed up to offer some ridiculously good deals for travel to Portland this winter. Check out these great travel deals, then contact the McDonald Group real estate experts to set up a tour of homes for sale in Portland during your exploration of the great Northwest.
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Posted in Downtown, Investment Information, Moving To Portland, Neighborhoods & Areas, Portland Activities, Portland Food, Portland Landmarks, Portland Real Estate | No Comments »
Thursday, January 20th, 2011
The variety of clubs, bars and microbreweries in the Portland area is as diverse as the people who call Portland home. Dubbed “Beervana” and “Beertown,” Portland is known to be the micro-brewing capital of America, with the most microbreweries in one city this side of the Atlantic. Area micro-brew moguls, the McMenamins Brothers, own over sixty quality establishments throughout Oregon and Washington, and played a large role in establishing Portland as the beer town it is today. If you’ve ever spent time the Portland area, you’ll no doubt recognize the name McMenamins. From the popular Bagdad Theater on SE Hawthorne to the huge McMenamins Edgefield compound in Troutdale, this family of restaurants, breweries, theaters, hotels, music venues and more combine to make up one of the largest entertainment empires in the Northwest. McMenamins currently has 15 breweries in Oregon, each year collectively producing more than 200 different recipes. Since their first brew at Portlands Hillsdale Brewery & Public House in 1985, McMenamins has handcrafted more than 20,000 different batches of beer. In one year, the McMenamins family will brew over 41,000 kegs of beer- an astounding 5.1 million pints of Terminator, Sunflower IPA, Ruby Ale, Hammerhead and more. According to the Brewers Association, McMenamins is one of the top 50 largest craft breweries in the United States – but the McManamins empire is about much more than great beer. Unlike other chains, each outpost of McMenamins has its own identity and history, though you can always count on great quality and atmosphere.
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Posted in Historic Register, Moving To Portland, Neighborhoods & Areas, Portland Activities, Portland Food, Portland Landmarks | No Comments »
Wednesday, January 19th, 2011
Check out the new Durham Real Estate neighborhood guide detailing the city of Durham, Oregon, one of the greenest small towns in Oregon located just southwest of Portland. Combining the best of urban accessibility, small-town living, and agricultural beauty of the Willamette valley, Durham, Oregon is the best of all worlds. If you’re looking for homes for sale or other real estate in Durham or other Portland Suburbs, check out our Durham Real Estate neighborhood guide filled with the best restaurants near Durham, as well as city history and neighborhood resources. Relocating to a new area can be hard, but it’s a lot easier when you’ve got the best real estate agents in Portland on your side.
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Posted in Moving To Portland, Portland Real Estate | No Comments »
Wednesday, January 19th, 2011
While Portland’s reputation as a fine dining destination is quickly growing, there are so many places to grab an inexpensive meal that the gourmets won’t be pushing out the cheap-eating lunch crowd any time soon. Even the fanciest places in town offer great happy hours and lunch specials, so no matter your budget you’ll be able to feed your appetite for great food in this great city. We certainly deserve the attention as an upcoming foodie city, but that doesn’t stop us from serving up great, local food at ridiculously low prices. Just like the Portland Real Estate market is full of deals on houses that would cost three times as much in other metropolitan areas, the Portland food scene is packed with great deals that would exhaust your budget in Manhattan or San Fransisco. Here are some of our favorite cheap eats in Portland – check them out when you’re touring homes for sale in Portland and you’ll feel very much at home.
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Posted in Moving To Portland, Portland Food | No Comments »
Tuesday, January 18th, 2011
Check out the New West Portland Park Real Estate Guide detailing the West Portland Park neighborhood in Southwest Portland. Combining the best of urban accessibility and small town atmosphere, it’s a fantastic place to live. Walk your dog in one of the beautiful, lush parks, visit the Hillsdale Farmers’ Market for the best local produce, or step into the newly updated library as if it were your own private collection. If you’re looking for homes, apartments, or condos for sale around the West Portland Park District, check out this West Portland Park Real Estate Guide filled with the best restaurants in Southwest Portland and the top parks, shopping, and neighborhood resources. Relocating to a new area can be hard, but it’s a lot easier when you’ve got the best real estate agents in Portland on your side.
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Posted in Moving To Portland, Neighborhoods & Areas, Portland Real Estate, Southwest Hills | No Comments »
Tuesday, January 18th, 2011
One of the most talked about features of the Portland Real Estate market is how close most homes for sale in Portland are to public transportation. Here at the McDonald Group Portland Real Estate blog, we’re often getting inquiries about the future of Portland and Oregon’s transportation system, and we’ve been tracking the growth of ridership and new construction of transit lines, including developments in Portland-area suburban commuter support. In a report out this week, Portland public transit agency TriMet showed increased ridership for 2010 – up more than six percent from 2009. Public transportation in the Portland metropolitan area has grown to over 1.74 million total trips per week. The contributing factors to this growth in rider numbers are varied, including the convenience of Portland’s transit system, desire to decrease carbon footprints, reduce time spent in rush-hour traffic, and save money by cutting down on personal car use.
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Posted in Green Homes, Moving To Portland, New Construction, Portland Activities, Portland Landmarks, Portland Real Estate | No Comments »
Friday, January 14th, 2011
Check out the updated Ladd’s Addition neighborhood profile detailing the historic neighborhood of Ladd’s Addition in Southeast Portland, filled with quirky culture, classic Old Portland homes, and some of the best trees in town . The Ladd’s Addition neighborhood is progressive and proud, and provides easy commuting access downtown via the Hawthorne and Ross Island bridges. Ladd’s Addition is near two of the most popular retail districts in town, Hawthorne and Division Streets, complete with vintage stores, great brunch spots, and lush, open parks. Combining the best of urban accessibility and comfortable, small-neighborhood atmosphere, Ladd’s Addition is quintessential Portland.
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Posted in Historic Register, Ladd's Addition, Moving To Portland, Neighborhoods & Areas, Portland Landmarks, Portland Real Estate | No Comments »
Thursday, January 13th, 2011
Portland’s South Waterfront Neighborhood is about to get a bit more pedestrian and bike friendly.Work has started on a new bridge over Interstate 5 that will connect South Portland’s Lair Hill neighborhood to the up-and-coming South Waterfront district. The pedestrian bridge, called the “Gibbs Street Bridge” will run under the popular OHSU Aerial Tram, from the intersection of Southwest Gibbs St. and Kelly Ave. on the east side to the intersection of Southwest Gibbs St. and Moody Ave. on the west. Portland Real Estate is increasingly bike friendly, with many homes for sale in Portland within easy walking or biking distance to neighborhood resources like restaurants, grocery stores, and public services like libraries.
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Posted in Announcements, Green Homes, Moving To Portland, Neighborhoods & Areas, New Construction, Portland Landmarks, South Waterfront, Southwest Hills | No Comments »
Next up in our new series of Portland Home Style Guides is the Greek Revival style guide, also known as “Federal” or “Neoclassical” homes. The first architectural style to take off in the Oregon Territories in the 1850′s, Greek Revival is a highly geometric, clean, and simple home style that evokes Greek temple architecture. While Greek Revival homes can be quite grandiose and imposing, the style trickled down to the average residential home-builder throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, resulting in the many symmetrical column-porched family homes you now see around town. In the McDonald Group Portland Real Estate Greek Revival Home Style Guide you’ll find historical information, interior and exterior architectural details, and where to find many Greek Revival homes in Portland.
