Another neighborhood thread (Portland, Lake Oswego: sales, rent, new home)

[bler144]

Originally Posted by Tipsy McStagger

Haven't even considered WL yet. The furthest south/SW we have been so far was to drive around Oswego Lake and get a handle on LO's downtown area.

I missed that - but no worries, LO is even more Edina-ier.

That area between Sylvan and Ridgewood is pretty nice, and certainly convenient to the hospital. Not bad for walking around the neighborhood, but I think you'd be pretty car dependent in terms of actual commuting/service trips.

Short hop from the MAX line, but it's on the north side of 26 and off-hand I can't think of a way to cross-over to a station. And within biking distance to a lot of services, but you'd best be in good shape for those hills, and I personally wouldn't be psyched about biking through the 5 corners area. I don't even really like driving through it - not exactly a smoothly designed interchange.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MwgrqLJKUo)

[Tipsy McStagger]

Originally Posted by bler144

I missed that - but no worries, LO is even more Edina-ier.

That area between Sylvan and Ridgewood is pretty nice, and certainly convenient to the hospital. Not bad for walking around the neighborhood, but I think you'd be pretty car dependent in terms of actual commuting/service trips.

Short hop from the MAX line, but it's on the north side of 26 and off-hand I can't think of a way to cross-over to a station. And within biking distance to a lot of services, but you'd best be in good shape for those hills, and I personally wouldn't be psyched about biking through the 5 corners area. I don't even really like driving through it - not exactly a smoothly designed interchange.

(
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MwgrqLJKUo)

That's probably why I like what I've seen of LO. It's pretty close to ideal for us apart from the wife's concern about meeting people there vs living closer in which is probably a valid concern.

Neither of us have to commute anywhere and might never even ride the MAX...lol. Public transit is just not something that we have much use for. Would be nice to have shopping within walking distance but we don't have that here either, so no loss if we are car dependent in Portland.

The only real concern with traffic will be getting her to and from the airport, and that won't usually be during the height of rush hour. Portland traffic is one of the things everyone else has to deal with but that we don't. If we both worked downtown, we would be looking in entirely different areas I think.

As long as we can get in some decent runs out the front door in that neighborhood, that is more than fine. We will be dragging the dogs all over exploring places to hike and run multiple times each week until we can figure out where we want to put down roots. Plus yoga and bar method classes in the Pearl, gets the dogs doing agility or tracking as a way to meet people, etc.

[bler144]

Originally Posted by Tipsy McStagger

That's probably why I like what I've seen of LO. It's pretty close to ideal for us apart from the wife's concern about meeting people there vs living closer in which is probably a valid concern.

The only real concern with traffic will be getting her to and from the airport, and that won't usually be during the height of rush hour. Portland traffic is one of the things everyone else has to deal with but that we don't. If we both worked downtown, we would be looking in entirely different areas I think.

As long as we can get in some decent runs out the front door in that neighborhood, that is more than fine. We will be dragging the dogs all over exploring places to hike and run multiple times each week until we can figure out where we want to put down roots. Plus yoga and bar method classes in the Pearl, gets the dogs doing agility or tracking as a way to meet people, etc.

I wouldn't worry too much about occasional airport trips. Even in the absolute worst traffic you'll find ways to get there in an hour. Even staying entirely off the freeway you could do it in an hour (43-Naito-99W-30B). Or just leave an hour earlier. Or catch the MAX downtown or at the Clackamas TC if the tie-up is out by the airport. Not something I'd want to do every day at rush, but not a big deal now and then.

As for meeting people, you have the right idea. LO will have a lot of families relatively, but it's not a big deal to get into the city off-peak for meet-ups, shows, etc.

[Tipsy McStagger]

Welp, looks like we have a rental home nailed down. Flying in tomorrow afternoon so that we can view the property early Friday and be back home in time for dinner. Assuming there aren't any surprises, we should have a lease signed within a few days and can take our time house hunting once we arrive, probably late September or early October.

[Nell Plotts]

Make sure that the property manager checks on the house and has someone maintain the yard in your absence, the grass is growing like crazy and you don't want door-knob hangers (typically advertising) to linger. Purchase renter's insurance. I would pick up a couple cheap lamps and one of those timer devices that switch lights on and off so that the house looks occupied - maybe the property manager has a couple to lend. Empty houses are attractive to bad actors but also a water heater could go bad or the refrig condenser freeze up and leak. If it were empty for only a week or two I wouldn't worry but you are looking at about 6 weeks.

You could also introduce yourself to a couple neighbors, ask them to keep an eye on the place and if they don't have the property manager's # give it to them.

[Tipsy McStagger]

Originally Posted by Nell Plotts

Make sure that the property manager checks on the house and has someone maintain the yard in your absence, the grass is growing like crazy and you don't want door-knob hangers (typically advertising) to linger. Purchase renter's insurance. I would pick up a couple cheap lamps and one of those timer devices that switch lights on and off so that the house looks occupied - maybe the property manager has a couple to lend. Empty houses are attractive to bad actors but also a water heater could go bad or the refrig condenser freeze up and leak. If it were empty for only a week or two I wouldn't worry but you are looking at about 6 weeks.

You could also introduce yourself to a couple neighbors, ask them to keep an eye on the place and if they don't have the property manager's # give it to them.

Thanks, Nell. Been a while since we have rented (ten years) so your advice is well taken.

I don't think we will have time to meet neighbors this visit as we will be leaving from the house basically straight to the airport at 11 a.m.

The lease doesn't actually begin until the end of September and the home will be occupied until that time. Depending on how quickly we get things wrapped up here and movers scheduled, we could very well be arriving within a week or two of turnover. Just enough time to have it thoroughly cleaned.

If need be, I can fly out for a day when we take possession in order to sort lamps, lawn care, etc.

[Nell Plotts]

If you are arriving within 10 days of the current tenant's departure you should be fine but still I would ask the property manager to do a yard clean-up as the folks who are moving out won't be thinking about that. The property manager should also check the condition of the fencing, you don't want your dogs 'escaping' or you be held responsible for damage.

[Tipsy McStagger]

Originally Posted by Nell Plotts

If you are arriving within 10 days of the current tenant's departure you should be fine but still I would ask the property manager to do a yard clean-up as the folks who are moving out won't be thinking about that. The property manager should also check the condition of the fencing, you don't want your dogs 'escaping' or you be held responsible for damage.

Thanks, will definitely be doing a check of the fencing (which is cast iron) although Belgians aren't the sort of dog that likes to escape. I take both my girls into our unfenced front yard, with no collars, and they respect the property boundaries as they have been trained. The same will be true of any property we occupy, and they are not generally left in the yard to their own devices unsupervised. Being a protection breed, they are prone to barking at passersby, other dogs and the odd coyote in the night. They have never in their lives been allowed to bark for more than 30 seconds at a span and are called off easily with a simple "no bark. Leave it". Excellent dogs.

One of the best parts of the home in question would be that the entire property is fenced in, including the front yard and the front door though a double gate, as opposed to just the backyard as is typically the case. So solicitors aren't going to be an issue.

On the other hand, on two or three sides the fence is 3 or 4 foot cast iron which they can easily clear, although fortunately they haven't figured that out and so it won't be a problem. Of course they wouldn't have any problem going over a six foot cedar privacy fence like they have now, again thankfully they are not aware of their abilities so they don't even know to try. This is among the reasons why I have limited their training.

It really is an ideal situation for us. Hopefully there aren't any surprises but i feel that we have covered our bases as well as anyone could and it should be fairly transactional when we view the property.

[bler144]

Congrats - glad it's coming together.

If you are going to be house hunting, just be aware that most leases will have a provision for breaking the lease early for a fee. The going standard in Portland seems to be 1.5 x rent, so if your monthly rent were $1400, the fee to break the lease would be $2100. Not ideal, but given house prices a drop in the bucket when considered as part of the purchase.

Given the low vacancy rates, it's a great deal for the owner/prop mgr, since they get to collect 1.5 months in a scenario where the house will likely only be vacant for a week. In any case, you'll at least want to know what it will cost you to break the lease if you find a house you like/love and want to buy before the lease will be up.

[skiffrace]

Mr. Tipsy, may I ask what prompted you to move from Medina to Portland?
Out of curiosity I traveled to Medina on Google Maps. It appears to be a very nice place, with lots of outdoor opportunities.
Streets look quiet and good enough to run on, houses well-kept.
The Lake Minnetonka is huge and a great place for all the possible water sports. Morris T. Baker County Park looks like a great place to run/x-country ski. A single trail around the Katrina lake is 10K long!
We know about the winter, but other than that, is there something wrong with Medina/Minneapolis that you think your move to Portland will fix?