Confused about West Linn (Portland: appointed, real estate, houses)

[Topaz]

Based on Internet research, my family identified West Linn as a nice place to live and we made some decisions prior to moving here. For instance, we enrolled our children in preschool in West Linn even though we had never visited the place. They started school today and I was extremely pleased with how it went...the teachers seem terrific and my children settled in quite happily.

So now we are house hunting and I'm confused. Some areas of West Linn seem really run down...is West Linn in decline or was it once less nice and some neighborhoods are still catching up? We drove around many neighborhoods off 43 and there were entire blocks where the houses looked deteriorated and the yards were not maintained. Considering the high prices of West Linn, I wasn't expecting to see this...I'm not just talking about middle class homes vs. upscale ones, I'm talking about homes that look neglected. Can someone more familiar with the area advise me about what's up with West Linn? Thanks!

[Topaz]

My question must have been lame as no one answered. I'm just really fearful of making a bad house purchase as I already did that last year in another state!

[oldtintype]

I imagine it's the catching up thing. Most of that area was pretty rural until not long ago.

[sandybeaches]

I dont have an answer, but I saw something similar and found it so odd.

High prices yet neglected neighborhoods... odd.

[mojody]

Originally Posted by Topaz

So now we are house hunting and I'm confused. Some areas of West Linn seem really run down...is West Linn in decline or was it once less nice and some neighborhoods are still catching up? We drove around many neighborhoods off 43 and there were entire blocks where the houses looked deteriorated and the yards were not maintained. Considering the high prices of West Linn, I wasn't expecting to see this...I'm not just talking about middle class homes vs. upscale ones, I'm talking about homes that look neglected. Can someone more familiar with the area advise me about what's up with West Linn? Thanks!

Topaz,
I live and West Linn (5 years now) and I am also a real estate broker. West Linn does tend to be more pricey, but there are older areas of the city where the homes may not be as well-kept. Some of these homes get purchased and then fixed up, but it takes time for the whole neighborhood to turn over. Some of the older areas are Bolton, Cedaroak, Robinwood and Sunset. There are many fancy areas also: Barrington, Hidden Springs, Parts of Tanner, Pete's Mountain. We have homes that range from $300,000 up to $1,500,000 - from cottage and turn-of-the-century homes to farmslands and mansions.

I'm not sure if you schools are a factor in choosing West Linn, but we have a great school system that is very highly rated. In fact, my family moved from NE Portland to West Linn because of the schools and I haven't been disappointed. If you want to find out a little more about our town I co-author a real estate website about West Linn: [ur}moderator cut[/url]. Or, if you would rather, feel free to email me with any questions: moderator cut

[Topaz]

Thanks, everyone...I'm feeling better about West Linn because the school system is a major factor in why we chose it and the schools seem excellent. We've driven around the different areas more and it does seem that the extremely run down areas are being fixed up, just slowly and in patches. I'm having a bit of sticker shock since we moved from a less expensive state but so far we love Oregon so we think the high cost is worth it.

[Topaz]

mojody - please send me your Web site URL via PM - I'd love to see it.

Thanks!

Topaz