New Homes/Schools in Portland (Beaverton, Beaver: sales, employment, to buy)

[coreymlong]

Hello,

My wife and I are looking to move to Portland. The job I'm going to get might be in Vancouver. What are some areas where I can buy a new home but also be close to some decent schools?

Also, who are the best builders in the area? I like Lennar and New Tradition Homes but are there other good builders? Thank you!

[Daisy32673]

My two cents: live in Vancouver if you are going to work there

[Nell Plotts]

A new building is not necessarily better than one 10 or more years old. You can see construction defects in an older structure. Whether you buy an existing residence or a new one hire a home inspector who knows his stuff and will be your advocate - not one recommended by your realtor. As a matter of fact I would choose my home inspector first, meet with him/her to find out what are the problems in this area so that you can search efficiently. [Search this forum for my comments on this subject to others.]

Do not buy a house constructed or flipped during the bubble years. Too many short cuts, too few skilled construction workers.

Start your home search with the enrollment area of schools you wish your children to attend.

[Nell Plotts]

This thread is about a year old but it contains some good information about looking for a home to buy:

//www.city-data.com/forum/portl...ket-doing.html

[coreymlong]

Originally Posted by Daisy32673

My two cents: live in Vancouver if you are going to work there

We're considering that as well and I'm asking the people in that thread, but we also want to look in Portland. I may not be working at this place forever so living in Vancouver isn't a must.

Originally Posted by Nell Plotts

A new building is not necessarily better than one 10 or more years old. You can see construction defects in an older structure. Whether you buy an existing residence or a new one hire a home inspector who knows his stuff and will be your advocate - not one recommended by your realtor. As a matter of fact I would choose my home inspector first, meet with him/her to find out what are the problems in this area so that you can search efficiently. [Search this forum for my comments on this subject to others.]

Do not buy a house constructed or flipped during the bubble years. Too many short cuts, too few skilled construction workers.

Start your home search with the enrollment area of schools you wish your children to attend.

In that case, we really need to speak to a realtor and get a good overview of the area. I like new homes just because you can customize them and pick out more of exactly what we want. But yeah, we definitely want to explore all our options.

Any suggestions on realtors or relocation specialists?

[Nell Plotts]

I will pm you later today.

See if you can negotiate a relocation (not necesarrily moving because that is where the big bucks are) service in your employment offer.

[Catras]

My friend taught in the Evergreen School district and I hear it is nice but I don't know much about Vancouver.

But Oregon has ZERO sales tax just for your information

[coreymlong]

Originally Posted by Catras

My friend taught in the Evergreen School district and I hear it is nice but I don't know much about Vancouver.

But Oregon has ZERO sales tax just for your information

I mean, our goal is to have a nice house we can live in for a long time and be in a good school district. I can always commute a bit further to work if I have to. Perks like no sales tax or income tax are nice, but the bottom line is the house we want and the schools we want.

[OldNavyGirl]

If you live in Oregon and Work in Washington you still have to pay Oregon income tax. Some employers in WA will take out OR taxes for you and send them to OR for you. If they don't you have to make sure you take out your own OR income tax and pay quarterly estimated income tax.

[coreymlong]

I haven't secured a job yet, but it looks like I'll end up working in Portland more likely. We are looking in the Beaverton/Multhnomah/Murrayhill area. Any advice for those areas?