Basically, a family can't afford a home around Portland, Salem, Eugene or Corvallis??? (Hillsboro: mortgage)

[fjb903]

I'm going NUTS trying to find a place to move in Oregon! We live in the Chicago burbs right now and I don't think we'll ever get out there with all of you!
Am I crazy, or is it near impossible to find an affordable home near Portland, Salem, Eugene or Corvallis? (I'm concentrating on those cities because we need to be near a university or college.)
It's hard enough coordinating this move, but to not be able to find a newer home for under 240K is SO disappointing.
Please send me any tips, hints, secrets you may have. I am a mom of three small children. My husband and I want our children to live in an area that is scenic, "green," environmentally responsible and well-educated. If for no other reason, please help me because we are NICE people!
Believe it or not, my ex-husband will also be moving with us- trying to find a home near us and a job in higher ed. We work hard to have a good co-parenting relationship for our son, my oldest. Any of you who co-parent with an ex know how hard it is to maintain a good working relationship. Now imagine trying to orchestrate a move across the country with your husband, your ex-husband, three children, finding jobs for everyone and two new homes! It's hard enough to agree on a state- and then to find out it's not even affordable is SO frustrating!!!
Help! Where can we live? Are there new/affordable home communities around any of the above cities? Thank you so much!!!

[SarumanTheChef]

I must say as someone relocating from California to Oregon soon, this is pretty funny.

In Los Angeles, it's basically impossible finding a family home under 400k anywhere but the shoddy/ghetto areas, and even then...probably more like nothing under 600k.

So 240k isnt too bad

[Waterlily]

Salem may be the most affordable of those cities mention by the OP. There are some smaller cities outside of Salem that might work for you. Towns like Stayton or Independence would be worth a look.

[fjb903]

thank you! I'll try those!
Any other ideas???
Thank goodness this forum exists...

[CHEWY12]

You might want to consider renting for awhile so you can be sure that the city you move to will be a good fit (schools,church,activities,jobs ect). Oregon has a lot to offer so check out the cities that interest you in person so you can make an informed decision for your self.
Keep your options open before you lock your self into a house that may be hard to sell in the future or worse find out 6 mos later that you over paid for the house due to a falling real estate market. Keep your eyes and ears open.
You may also want to look into REO property alot of the mortgage lenders are listing these properties on their web sites now.

Best of luck to you in your new adventure.
Chewy

[Larry Caldwell]

It may be tough for a young family with children and no skills, but the traditional way to get the house you want is sweat equity. Buy a fixer-upper in a good location, and spend a few years upgrading. Houses in poor condition are harder to find in Oregon than they used to be, but they are still out there. Older people rarely do much home improvement in the last decade or so of their lives.

Also, as Chewy mentioned, there are distressed properties coming on the market, and there will be more as the big wave of adjustable rate mortgage resets hits this fall. Be patient, and power shop.

[jjpop]

I want to echo what Larry is saying here. Why do you need to buy a newer house? What do you mean by "newer"? There is a house just down the street from me here in Corvallis, built in the same era as my house (early 1960s), and the asking price is $249,500. It probably needs some updating, but I can attest that these early 1960s ranch houses are SOLID.

When we bought our house it wasn't exactly what we wanted but it was what we could afford. We were favorably impressed by the good construction. Initially we slapped some new paint on the walls and called it home, then we've gradually (over the last 8 years) made improvements--both by ourselves and with the help of contractors. Every once in a while we wish we had a 4th bedroom or a master bathroom, but we look at what we've done with the house and feel really at home.

[DavePautsch]

Depending on what you are looking for in terms of the size of your home, I would tell you that Albany (only 15 miles to Corvallis...I used to make the commute every day and it really is easy)...would be a sure thing for you to find a nice home, in a nice neighborhood for less than $240K.

In my neighorhood right now (Spring Meadow) there is a 4 bedroom, 1478 square foot home (built in 2001). Great schools (Liberty ELementary, Memorial Middle School, West Albany HS...where my kids go)...listed for 224K.

There is some new construction by multiple builders where you can actually get 2000 sq ft homes easily within your price range. The neighborhood is decent, but the lots are a bit small.

Things are even MORE affordable in Lebanon, although you ARE adding to the commute to Corvallis.

If you are interested I can get you a great deal more specific information on these or other options in the mid-Willamette valley.

Good luck...

Dave

[mdvaden]

Either you have a big family, or haven't looked found the right home or two yet.

We have 4 in our family, 2 dogs and 4 birds in 3 big cages.

And we found a 265K home or two that would meet our needs easy. And we could get by with less, or more. That was in Hillsboro. About 1800 square feet. We're willing to go up to 300K, but it seems we can find a good home for less now that we've checked enough listings.

McMinnville is even a bit less.

[LIDALA]

My favorite subdivision in the Albany/Corvallis area is Springmeadow. I LOVE the family feel, the kids playing in the streets, the old people walking their dogs, etc.

The only problem is, Albany is not the nicest city (IMO)... Corvallis is not much better, but it's somewhat better.