Happy Valley good or bad choice for a family (Portland: loans, estate)

[Balco9]

What about these area's???
Damascus, Milwaukie, Happy Valley, and Clackamas.
Is it a easy commute to downtow from these area's.
How are the schools, and crime. Thank you.
Looking to buy in the mid 400's range.
I checked out greatschools.com, but 97068
would not come up and wonder about the schools
in these area's. Thank you.

[fosters2]

The 97068 is West Linn. I found their schools by city....
http://www.greatschools.net/city/West_Linn/OR

Hope that helps!

[robertpolyglot]

Happy Valley is indeed nice. It is where my parents settled before it became real built-up. It is probably the nicest new neighborhood on Portland's east side. The East Side is less preferred to the West Side, but there are a few nice neighborhoods and a lot of depressing ones. Access to the airport is easier as well.

Happy Valley should offer a lot of good choices in that price range. Clackamas is adjacent to Happy Valley but not as upscale in terms of image...plus, it's unincorporated whereas Happy Valley is a municipality on its own. Milwaukie is spotty. Damascus and Boring are kind of hick still (sorry) and if you are a transplant, I would steer you toward Happy Valley and then Clackamas.

West Linn is technically on the west side of the river, though not by much. It can be a bit snooty, as that's where the new Volvo station wagon crowd hangs out. But it is very nice in terms of housing choices and topography.

Hope this helps.

[gypsydoc]

Originally Posted by Balco9

What about these area's???
Damascus, Milwaukie, Happy Valley, and Clackamas.
Is it a easy commute to downtow from these area's.
How are the schools, and crime. Thank you.
Looking to buy in the mid 400's range.
I checked out greatschools.com, but 97068
would not come up and wonder about the schools
in these area's. Thank you.

One thing about Happy Valley is that it got built up so fast, that there are many homes currently on the market. Great homes... with very motivated sellers (many, not all)... some are brand new, never lived in homes that are heading towards foreclosure... so, in addition to a new area, great schools, convenient location, it is possible to get a great home for yesterday's prices. Cool beans!

[aalverson]

I would say Happy Valley is nice, but only if you want to be isolated in full on suburbia with a capital S. In my opinion it would be a horrible commute to downtown. It's one of the furthest suburbs from the core. If you are looking for a decent commute, and want a suburb, places like West Linn, or even Beaverton, may be better options. All of the places you listed are fairly far out of the city. I can't really comment on the schools so this is, of course, my opinion without that factored in.

[seven of nine]

Originally Posted by aalverson

I would say Happy Valley is nice, but only if you want to be isolated in full on suburbia with a capital S. In my opinion it would be a horrible commute to downtown. It's one of the furthest suburbs from the core. If you are looking for a decent commute, and want a suburb, places like West Linn, or even Beaverton, may be better options. All of the places you listed are fairly far out of the city. I can't really comment on the schools so this is, of course, my opinion without that factored in.

I agree, it was a fast build up, very pretty though, I am not sure what city services there are, maybe gyp doc can enlighten us on who is responsible for the infastructure in Happy Valley, in Wilsonville when we became cow country to suburb in 5 years we were struggleing with new taxes for sewer upgrades, went from wells to river water (yuck), how has happy valley done it.

[gypsydoc]

Originally Posted by seven of nine

I agree, it was a fast build up, very pretty though, I am not sure what city services there are, maybe gyp doc can enlighten us on who is responsible for the infastructure in Happy Valley, in Wilsonville when we became cow country to suburb in 5 years we were struggleing with new taxes for sewer upgrades, went from wells to river water (yuck), how has happy valley done it.

My understanding is that it is the responsibility of the Happy Valley Public Works department. Here is the link to their website.

City of Happy Valley, Oregon :: City of Happy Valley Public Works Department

I tried to do some research on the matter... Seems like there are issues with who is paying for it all.. Damascus (just south of Happy Valley) and also incorporated, has been taking their sweet time in developing a city plan to allow for the new status. Perhaps they don't want the fast growth that Happy Valley experienced and are trying to make it a more moderate expansion. I believe they will have a connection with Happy Valley over some of the utility resources, but I don't know to what degree or how it might work.

[seven of nine]

Originally Posted by gypsydoc

One thing about Happy Valley is that it got built up so fast, that there are many homes currently on the market. Great homes... with very motivated sellers (many, not all)... some are brand new, never lived in homes that are heading towards foreclosure... so, in addition to a new area, great schools, convenient location, it is possible to get a great home for yesterday's prices. Cool beans!

I think anyone who is heading into foreclosure is not as you state "cool beans", however it is an indicator of the amount of speculative investement going on in Oregon at this time. OP take your time prior to buying and if possible rent a while and look all the areas over

[gypsydoc]

Originally Posted by seven of nine

I think anyone who is heading into foreclosure is not as you state "cool beans", however it is an indicator of the amount of speculative investement going on in Oregon at this time. OP take your time prior to buying and if possible rent a while and look all the areas over

The "Cool Beans" reference was not for the folks heading towards foreclosure, it was for the observation that the strong "Sellers" market has now shifted to be more advantagous to be a buyer... more choices, prices not escalating upwards - more bargains to be had. Change in market conditions is the only constant.

We are coming out of a strong seller's market where buyers were faced with few homes to choose from and a lot of competition and bidding wars over the ones that were there.

Some of what happened in the Happy Valley area, was due to speculative investment practices. People took out construction loans to build $500 - 700,000 homes. These loans didn't have to be paid on during construction - sometimes up to a year with no payments. The intent was to sell the finished home to another buyer and make a tremendous profit.. all with no money out of their pocket! They never intended on living in them. It was a calculated risk they were willing to take.. Now, many of those are sitting empty on the market... The owners can't make the payments (since they live somewhere else), and some of those are going towards foreclosure. It is dangerous, in my opinion, to count on appreciation as a "sure thing" investment strategy.

When it works, it is great... when it doesn't, well the downside can be catastrophic. The problem is, no one has a crystal ball.

People who live in their homes and are struggling financially with loans that they didn't understand well, or they had employment changes or life changes that put additional financial burden on their loan payments increasing, those folks are clearly in trouble. If I came across as being callous, that certainly was not my intent.

[seven of nine]

Originally Posted by gypsydoc

The "Cool Beans" reference was not for the folks heading towards foreclosure, it was for the observation that the strong "Sellers" market has now shifted to be more advantagous to be a buyer... more choices, prices not escalating upwards - more bargains to be had. Change in market conditions is the only constant.

We are coming out of a strong seller's market where buyers were faced with few homes to choose from and a lot of competition and bidding wars over the ones that were there.

Some of what happened in the Happy Valley area, was due to speculative investment practices. People took out construction loans to build $500 - 700,000 homes. These loans didn't have to be paid on during construction - sometimes up to a year with no payments. The intent was to sell the finished home to another buyer and make a tremendous profit.. all with no money out of their pocket! They never intended on living in them. It was a calculated risk they were willing to take.. Now, many of those are sitting empty on the market... The owners can't make the payments (since they live somewhere else), and some of those are going towards foreclosure. It is dangerous, in my opinion, to count on appreciation as a "sure thing" investment strategy.

When it works, it is great... when it doesn't, well the downside can be catastrophic. The problem is, no one has a crystal ball.

People who live in their homes and are struggling financially with loans that they didn't understand well, or they had employment changes or life changes that put additional financial burden on their loan payments increasing, those folks are clearly in trouble. If I came across as being callous, that certainly was not my intent.

thanks for your reply, you are always helpful to new posters, I just wanted you to restate your position and you did with grace, I have seen these types of investment builds in Clackamas county so I understand your point, and I agree better times have come for buyers,