How "small town" is Camas? (Vancouver: short sales, foreclosures)

[Barlea]

Hello there! Our family is moving to the PNW this summer. We initially were looking in Portland, but have expanded over the Washington border and are intrigued by Camas. I am worried it may be too small for us. I grew up in rural Texas, moved to Austin and now live in a large suburb of Phoenix and though I enjoy the feel and vibe of small towns, I prefer the accessibility of cities. I love that everything I need is within 10-15 minutes of my house. Can I run all my errands (groceries, Target, car maintenance, hardware stores, mall) in Camas or will I need to drive out of town? If so, how far? Is it easy to get in and out of Portland to go to museums and the zoo and such? How long is the commute? I read on another thread that there are a lot of HOAs, which we hate, are there good neighborhoods without them? We don't mind an older home. We have three small children. Oldest will be starting kindergarten in the fall. She is very into (and good at) gymnastics. Are there facilities for that in or near town? I think that is all for now. TIA!

[hml1976]

I think maybe Camas is not for you. While groceries, Target, hardware, etc. wouldn't be a problem, they are all in town or 5 min out of Camas, there's no serious shopping without going into Portland and that's going to take you at least 30 min. Zoos and museums are also 30-45 min away and Portland traffic can be unpredictable.

My neighborhood doesn't have an HOA, many of the older (in Camas older is pre 2000) neighborhoods don't have them.

There are two gymnastics places. Vega is in Camas and Nadenov is in Vancouver, both are considered good.

Camas is a small town and feels small and as you get out farther, rural. I've lived in cities or major suburbs for most of my life and Camas is small. There's no mall here. However, the schools are excellent and the people are kind, interesting and worldly (it's a small town with people from everywhere). I would come take a look obviously before you decide but you may be happier in Lake Oswego or somewhere like that if you want more amenities and state income tax isn't an issue for you.

Eta I saw on another thread that your budget is 200k? If that's right in Camas its going to be difficult to find something in your price range.

[Barlea]

Originally Posted by hml1976

I think maybe Camas is not for you. While groceries, Target, hardware, etc. wouldn't be a problem, they are all in town or 5 min out of Camas, there's no serious shopping without going into Portland and that's going to take you at least 30 min. Zoos and museums are also 30-45 min away and Portland traffic can be unpredictable.

My neighborhood doesn't have an HOA, many of the older (in Camas older is pre 2000) neighborhoods don't have them.

There are two gymnastics places. Vega is in Camas and Nadenov is in Vancouver, both are considered good.

Camas is a small town and feels small and as you get out farther, rural. I've lived in cities or major suburbs for most of my life and Camas is small. There's no mall here. However, the schools are excellent and the people are kind, interesting and worldly (it's a small town with people from everywhere). I would come take a look obviously before you decide but you may be happier in Lake Oswego or somewhere like that if you want more amenities and state income tax isn't an issue for you.

Eta I saw on another thread that your budget is 200k? If that's right in Camas its going to be difficult to find something in your price range.

I figured. As soon as I saw that the population was under 20,000, I had a feeling it wouldn't have a lot. We kept reading about how great the schools are and saw there are several big companies there my husband can work for, so I was surprised at how small it is. 30-45 minutes into Portland isn't bad. Right now we are abut 20 minutes from the zoo and museums, so not much difference. If Target, a good grocery store and gymnastics place are within 10 minutes it might be doable.

I've been looking at houses and am aware of the costs. My husband's salary should go up a bit due to cost of living and according to payscale.com, so a house over 200 isn't out of the question yet especially since we will be getting a high return on our current home. We just don't want to be house poor, so we are staying as low end as possible. The quality of house you get for the money is better in Camas though .

[StealthRabbit]

You can live on the west side of "Camas" (which is really more of a Vancouver Suburb) and have 90% of what you need and want within 20 minutes.

Having owned commercial property in Camas... and I would venture to say 40 - 50% of the "Camas" residents seldom get to 'Camas' (as in Downtown), some may only get there a couple times / yr. (The 'city', is somewhat detached' from the western suburbs).

On 'off-hrs' you can breeze in and out of Portland. ~ 20 min without traffic.

I live 10 miles east of Camas in the switchback windy roads of the mtns, and schedule my trips to downtown to be 30 minutes. I go often for free concerts and discussions at universities. I get to the airport in 20 minutes.

Camas = accessibility to city services without much traffic and the noise / smell / hassle of living in a city.

If you can handle Phoenix (spread out) you should be fine added a few minutes for the benefit of a higher quality of life.

There are many nice areas in Portland if you truly need to be IN the city. I spend a lot of time in Woodstock / Eastmoreland near Reed College.

$200k for housing will be a challenge in either area if you shop 'conventionally' (i.e. through realtor / stuff already on the market). I encourage you to DIG for your properties and uncover the bargains on your own BEFORE they hit the market. (or suffer a 10 - 30% 'up-charge'), I found 3 places last week by digging. All were bargains and under $200k.

[Barlea]

Originally Posted by StealthRabbit

You can live on the west side of "Camas" (which is really more of a Vancouver Suburb) and have 90% of what you need and want within 20 minutes.

Having owned commercial property in Camas... and I would venture to say 40 - 50% of the "Camas" residents seldom get to 'Camas' (as in Downtown), some may only get there a couple times / yr. (The 'city', is somewhat detached' from the western suburbs).

On 'off-hrs' you can breeze in and out of Portland. ~ 20 min without traffic.

I live 10 miles east of Camas in the switchback windy roads of the mtns, and schedule my trips to downtown to be 30 minutes. I go often for free concerts and discussions at universities. I get to the airport in 20 minutes.

Camas = accessibility to city services without much traffic and the noise / smell / hassle of living in a city.

If you can handle Phoenix (spread out) you should be fine added a few minutes for the benefit of a higher quality of life.

There are many nice areas in Portland if you truly need to be IN the city. I spend a lot of time in Woodstock / Eastmoreland near Reed College.

$200k for housing will be a challenge in either area if you shop 'conventionally' (i.e. through realtor / stuff already on the market). I encourage you to DIG for your properties and uncover the bargains on your own BEFORE they hit the market. (or suffer a 10 - 30% 'up-charge'), I found 3 places last week by digging. All were bargains and under $200k.

Thank you for this awesome response! Camas may be what we are looking for, country feel with city benefits. I don't need to be IN the city, but I like that if I go to the store and forget something it's no big deal to go again the next day . Where I grew up, it took at least 30 minutes to go anywhere and we only went into town on the weekends, sometimes only twice a month. I don't like that.

We know the housing situation won't be easy, but I have already found a couple foreclosures, short sales and even a nice 4 bed townhouse for under $200k. And I we are very familiar with the short sale/foreclosure process. Our current home was a short sale, which is why we got the deal we did and why our return will be significant.

How did you find your deals? How can you become aware of a home premarket?

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by Barlea

... we are very familiar with the short sale/foreclosure process. ...

How did you find your deals? How can you become aware of a home premarket?

Do be aware that 2 groups of investors control 90% of the regional Short Sale market. They buy up to 200 homes / month in a 5 county area. You will have a tough and disappointing battle trying to outbid them.

I dig my bargains up on the private market. (research / driving around / networking)
If it hits the MLS, it is too late.

[Barlea]

Originally Posted by StealthRabbit

Do be aware that 2 groups of investors control 90% of the regional Short Sale market. They buy up to 200 homes / month in a 5 county area. You will have a tough and disappointing battle trying to outbid them.

I dig my bargains up on the private market. (research / driving around / networking)
If it hits the MLS, it is too late.

Yes, the Phoenix area is crawling with investors too. In the 3.5 years since we bought our house, 5 other houses have been purchased on our street and rented out. We are the only new home buyers actually living in our house. Our neighborhood is also full of flipped houses.

Thanks for the tips!