Moving from Seattle to Portland (Gresham, Hillsboro: short sale, condos, loan)

[Moniquemarie08]

My husband, daughter and I are moving to Portland this summer. I was hoping some of you PDX natives might be able to give me some insight into good places to buy. We are looking under 200k for a 3 bedroom home. We want a fairly safe neighborhood that is somewhat close to shops/restaurants etc. we don't want too suburban. Any tips or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. We cannot wait to become a part of Portland

[urbanlife78]

I would say start with a site like Redfin, put in what you are looking for and see what shows up. Once you have an idea where the houses are you are looking for, then you can learn more about those specific areas.

[christiner81]

Where are your jobs at? There aren't many non-fixer homes in that price range where I live, and I'm a good 45 minutes outside of Portland. If you put in that criteria in redfin, you'll see the areas in your price range very easily. I think finding something "walkable" or "not too suburban" for under 200K will be difficult. You will also probably need to look at school ratings for your daughter, I assume? How old is she?

[bler144]

Most of Portland's suburbs haven't been traditionally 'suburban' though the newer developments in Happy Valley, Hillsboro, etc. are much more in that style.

3BR in a desirable neighborhood (close to shops, etc.) for under 200k is a very tough find right now. You might get lucky, but a lot of that stock has either been inflated to 225k, is a fixer, or both. In 2011 it was possible, but the last 12-18 months have seen most of what was available in that range get snapped up by flippers or investors.

That said, you could potentially hit your target in Vancouver, WA (as a bonus, you wouldn't have to pay for a new DL). Vancouver prices stay a bit lower mostly because it's currently hard to commute to where most of the Portland jobs are. If you were working in Vancouver, or even on Portland's east side/airport, it's not quite as bad. You would however pay a bit more in taxes if you were living in WA (sales tax + property tax) and working in OR (income tax). But I can't recommend it if you'd be working in downtown Portland or west-side.

[Tulippsy]

My husband and I are currently looking for a second/retirement home and I can tell you without question you will not find a 3 bedroom, single family home in Portland anywhere, unless in the most undesirable of neighborhoods. You won't even find a three bedroom condo in Portland for under $200,000.

Just trying to save you some trouble.

[EnricoV]

Hate to confuse opinion with fact, but, from Redfin (under 200K 3bdrms):

133 listings within Portland city limits

187 listings in Clark County, Washington

47 listings in Gresham city limits

21 listings in Hillsboro city limits

I could go on ...

[Tulippsy]

Originally Posted by EnricoV

Hate to confuse opinion with fact, but, from Redfin (under 200K 3bdrms):

133 listings within Portland city limits

187 listings in Clark County, Washington

47 listings in Gresham city limits

21 listings in Hillsboro city limits

I could go on ...

Thanks, Enrico. I should have said there are no 3 bedroom, single family homes under $200,000 in Portland, in a non-suburban area, close to shops and restaurants, that I would consider acceptable. Sorry, my bad.

[bler144]

Originally Posted by Tulippsy

Thanks, Enrico. I should have said there are no 3 bedroom, single family homes under $200,000 in Portland, in a non-suburban area, close to shops and restaurants, that I would consider acceptable. Sorry, my bad.

And that's really the crux of the issue. Can it be done? Sure, it's technically possible. But with some pretty significant limitations, particularly if you're looking for an SFH specifically (some of that Redfin count looks to be townhomes and condos, and for Portland a lot of it is east of 82nd).

This is one of the ones I would at least consider from that list: 6652 NE GOING St, Portland, OR 97218 | MLS# 14345135 | Redfin It's a mostly okay neighborhood, and there are a few retailers within 5 or so blocks (Albertson's, Prescott Cafe, and of course being Portland there's a strip club), but it's 1,000 sqft at $195k, and it's a short sale with 3 loan holders.

And the schools are pretty meh. Not that Great Schools rankings are infallible, but Scott elementary gets a '2' (out of 10) and my teacher friends have told me in the past it's not a school they'd want their own kids in.

[EnricoV]

Originally Posted by bler144

And that's really the crux of the issue. Can it be done? Sure, it's technically possible. But with some pretty significant limitations, particularly if you're looking for an SFH specifically (some of that Redfin count looks to be townhomes and condos, and for Portland a lot of it is east of 82nd).

This is one of the ones I would at least consider from that list: 6652 NE GOING St, Portland, OR 97218 | MLS# 14345135 | Redfin It's a mostly okay neighborhood, and there are a few retailers within 5 or so blocks (Albertson's, Prescott Cafe, and of course being Portland there's a strip club), but it's 1,000 sqft at $195k, and it's a short sale with 3 loan holders.

And the schools are pretty meh. Not that Great Schools rankings are infallible, but Scott elementary gets a '2' (out of 10) and my teacher friends have told me in the past it's not a school they'd want their own kids in.

Yes, but as Tulippsy said you can't even find a condo for 200K ... I didn't bother to try to filter them out.

But bottom line is, 200K is not a large budget. It's less than the average Portland home price. You're not going to have your "perfect" home wish-list fulfilled, and will have to decide which things you're willing to compromise on. But it's not impossible, as Tulippsy claimed.

[bler144]

Originally Posted by EnricoV

Yes, but as Tulippsy said you can't even find a condo for 200K ... I didn't bother to try to filter them out.

But bottom line is, 200K is not a large budget. It's less than the average Portland home price. You're not going to have your "perfect" home wish-list fulfilled, and will have to decide which things you're willing to compromise on. But it's not impossible, as Tulippsy claimed.

I wholly agree with that.