With the prevalence of short sales and bank owned properties in the Portland real estate market these days, it behooves buyers to become a little more savvy about how to work within the system to close a deal faster and with fewer hassles for these types of sales. Following are some tips to get your bank owned or short sale deal closed faster. Short sales are admittedly harder, but if you follow these pieces of advice, you’re likely to fare better than if you don’t.

1. Make an all cash offer

This is hard for most people to do, because we’ve become accustomed to going into debt for everything. Nevertheless, average people with average incomes are increasingly paying off their mortgages in full through financial discipline and hard work. You don’t have to be wealthy to aspire to and actually become debt free in a short amount of time and pay cash for a house.

2. Sell your current home before making an offer on another one

This can be an inconvenient experience, because you’ll have to live with relatives or rent a home during the interim, but it is extremely helpful for a number of reasons. First, if you have enough equity, it may enable you to make an all cash offer. Second, you won’t have any contingencies to tie up the new deal. It just makes for a clean offer, so if you can pull it off, do it.

3. Get preapproved with a mortgage broker, not just prequalified

Many buyers don’t know the difference between getting pre-approved and pre-qualified for a home loan. All too happy to have a warm body to show a house to, many agents don’t care enough to advise their clients on this.

Being prequalified for a home loan is sort of like getting those mass mailed postcards telling you you’re “prequalified” for a credit card. It simply means that, on the surface, you’re credit history and unverified income appear to qualify you for the loan, but the bank hasn’t necessarily seen all of your backup docs, tax returns, etc. Pre-approval means the bank has all the documentation and is ready to actually give you the loan. They just need an acceptable property for collateral.

4. If possible, get your loan from the bank that is selling the property

This is not always possible if you’re going to get pre-qualified before you even start looking for a home. But if you know you want to make an offer on a particular property, especially if it’s a short sale, anecdotal evidence suggest that you may have better luck getting the bank who has to sign off on the sale to say “yes” if you are taking out your loan with them. They may be writing down a bad loan the first time around, but if they get the deal with your loan, they are more likely to agree to the deal.

5. Tighten inspection timelines to 3 business days instead of the standard 10

This is an easy place to cut an entire week out of the closing process. Most inspectors have no problem getting their visit scheduled within 24 hours, and they often print their inspection report on the premises.

6. Have mortgage broker order appraisal 2 business days after offer acceptance

Ordering an appraisal can take time, and many mortgage brokers don’t want to do it until the end of the process so they have less money at risk if the deal falls apart. It’s not hard to find a mortgage broker who is willing and able to speed things up for motivated (and qualified) buyers. If you demonstrate your seriousness to close the deal, they will reciprocate and order that appraisal quickly.

7. Have certified funds to escrow prior to signing closing documents

This is something that should happen for all escrows. There is no good reason a loan officer can’t get certified funds into the escrow account before the signing. Waiting to the last minute is just asking for delays.

8. Don’t make any last minute credit purchases

Don’t even think of making any major credit purchase, especially by opening new lines of credit, once you’ve been preapproved. That will just raise questions and potentially impact your loan approval, causing serious delays. If your approval is already tight on the debt to income ratio, it could completely derail your loan.

The bottom line is that fast closings can and do happen, but you have to plan for it. Knowing a few tricks of the trade to can help your Portland real estate deal be one of the fast ones.

So the idea of finding Beaverton houses for sale and flipping it for profit intrigues you enough to at least read this sentence?  Well you’re not alone.  The prospect of easy money never goes out of style, not that house flipping is necessarily easy.  Beaverton real estate has gone through its swing in pricing just like the rest of Portland and is still sliding south.  So is it possible to flip today and be successful?  You bet. 

Math is a bit more important now than in 2005 when a buyer could be a complete flunky with a paint brush and resell for 20% more than the purchase price.  However, I’d venture a guess that a lot of these self proclaimed real estate investors actually didn’t do as well as they say they did.  Fuzzy math seems more common sometimes than regular.  Selective understanding of overall costs in the flip process elude more investors than you’d think.  Purchase, holding, and sale costs being the biggest factor left out of their version of how awesome a flip turned out to be.  Makes for a better sounding story when embellished a bit.  It’s not free to buy, hold or sell real estate.  Hmmm

 Let’s take a look a client’s latest Beaverton house purchase:

• Advertised in RMLS at $125k for a 1290 sq ft. 3 bedroom, 2 bath, vaulted living areas, light and bright, deck, fenced yard, 1992 built home on a .17 acre corner lot in a decent area.  Short sale. 

 Well, sounded real interesting up until the short sale part anyway.  9 out of 10 offers I write are pulled by buyers prior to getting seller’s bank acceptance.  Told my buyer that he’d get impatient like everyone else and pull his proposal in order to close on some other closable property, even bet him lunch on it.  But what the heck, we threw out an offer.  Did that and came to find that several other buyers had done likewise.  

 About 30 days go by and the listing agent makes contact with me saying we’re in first position and a short sale negotiator has been assigned on the seller’s side.  Woo hoo!  That means a little bit more than nothing.  Then the funny thing was that this short sale negotiator says “Hey, if you guys don’t close in 10 days we’re going to foreclose.”  Holy cow.  That’s not much time to get funds together.  We went back with a counter addendum stating that closing in 10 days was going to net them $10k less than our original offer.  They accepted $115k!  Wow.  That IS exciting!

 Buyer ended up with a bargain compared to other homes in the same neighborhood.  Our subject house needed paint, flooring, landscape maintenance plus a few odds and ends, the sum total being under $7,000.  Quick resale on this Beaverton house will be around $170k.  Recall those little-remembered costs of buying, holding and selling?  Even with these factored into the equation flipping will add up to a decent profit.  Unfortunately though I owe my buyer lunch…

 Watch Beaverton houses for sale, Portland houses for sale, or whatever area you’re after.  Short sale and foreclosure profits are possible, even in a down market.  Do your homework and factor all costs with a cushion.  Evaluate realistic resale price and make the offer accordingly.   Write up a handful of short sale offers and see what sticks.  Potential reward is out there!

Downtown city life may not be for everyone, but for those who are drawn to the fast paced lifestyle of the city center, it can offer some pretty amazing perks. Downtown Portland, in particular, is one of the most vibrant downtowns in the U.S. to live in.

One of the most obvious benefits is transportation. There’s no need for a car if you use Portland’s nationally recognized public transit system, TriMet. For most residents of downtown Portland, walking, biking, and public transit are the preferred mode of transportation.

City blocks in Portland were intentionally designed smaller than in some other cities (200 feet instead of a typical 300 to 800 feet), making for a closer walk to Portland’s many corner restaurants and shops. If your workplace is downtown, this means you may truly be able to do without a car completely.

The Pearl District is one of the most popular places to live in the downtown area because of the abundance of retail shops and easy transportation. You can search this site to find condos and lofts in the Pearl District and other downtown Portland areas.



Portland area home buyers may have heard the announcement last week regarding FHA mortgage changes.  Why pay attention to these details since it only usually affects first-time buyers?  Well, changes to entry level financing affect all Portland real estate in reality.  Also, FHA loans are by far the most popular right now and are not used by only first time buyers.  Home purchasers take advantage of the low down payment option of 3.5% and that’s the attraction. 

Financing options during boom years of 2005 and 2006 made use of loser lending guidelines like the ever popular 80/20 loans which eliminated mortgage insurance.  Those days are in the rear view mirror.  Mortgage insurance is pretty much a requirment today for anyone putting less than 20% down.  Although no buyer ever wants to pay these extra fees they are a necessary evil and insure lenders against default.  Portland’s entry level market is sustained by first-time buyers coming in with minimum down.  If we went back to yesteryear requirements of 20% down minimum the market would be crippled. 

New FHA loan guidelines:

• Mortgage Insurance Premium (MIP) increase from 1.75% to 2.25% of loan amount
• FICO minimum (credit score) 580 to qualify for 3.5% down payment
• Seller credit to buyer’s closing costs down from 6% to 3% of purchase price
• Mortgage Insurance Premium payment shifted some cost from up-front MIP to annual MIP

What does this mean for the Portland real estate?  Since first time home buyers drive the entire housing model, without these there are minimal upper end sales.  Move-up buyers are critical to the cycle.  Looser lending guidelines generate more buyers, tight guidelines eliminate qualified buyers.  Changes mentioned above are tighter and will have some affect on Portland house sales. 

Most area home buyers come in with only 3.5% total cash (the down payment) for their first home.  Statistically that’s just reality.  Sellers often are requested in the offer to pay buyer’s closing costs (loan costs) which keeps cash out of pocket to a minimum.  Figure $200,000 houses for sale in Portland will cost buyers closer to 4% of purchase price, or $8000.  With new seller contribution limits going from 6 down to 3 percent this leaves buyers coming up with the difference.  More money out of pocket is now required to get into a house, potentially.

Tightening restrictions cautiously and slowly is key to not rocking the already fragile housing market.  My guess is that overall we’ll see minimal affect on Portland real estate in general and it’d take a micro-economic guru to place figures on such changes.  Yes, home buyers may have to come up with slightly more money but we’re only talking another thousand or two and if cash is really that tight buyers may want to build up a bit more reserve before purchasing anyway.  No one wants to be house rich and cash poor, right?  Something to consider…

Portland area homes have a plethera of ideas to offer home buyers. the sky is the limit as far as varieties to choose from.  From a cozy studio condo in Beaverton to a monster classic 1900′s craftsman close to downtown close in NE portland’s Irvington district.  What’s your fancy?  Pretty much depends upon the depth of a person’s wallet. Closer in to downtown you get, the higher the price.  Stands to reason, right?  Buyers looks for upside potential through investment in Portland’s real estate should take a closer look at some of the cool vintage areas such as Irvington, Alemeda, or Laurelhurst.

For buyers not faint of heart and willing to wield a large hammer might want to take a look at recent find on 2732 NE 15th. This property is offered for sale through RMLS (rmls #9077589) by Gary Had Real Estate and gets my pick of the moment vote.  At over 5000 square feet this large classic is just waiting for a buyer to see the big picture and seize opportunity.  Driving down the 15th you’ll notice that this has got to be the last vintage structure with no remodeling. Well hidden between giant cedars it’s easy to miss. Currently offered to the public for $450,000.  Homes of similar size have sold for a million or more recently.

Taking a closer peek into the innards of our pick shows incredible features not easily found in newer homes.  Select lathe and plaster, leaded glass windows, bi-fold 8 pane interior doors separating the high ceiling rooms.  Boxed beam, wainscoting, built-in dinettes, storage cabinets and even a real dumbwaiter with original crank!  Talk about cool features!  This place has got them.  Hardwoods are on the main, 2nd and 3rd floors with nice ceiling height throughout every level, including a full basement. This is a large house!

Vintage also means that there’s tons of original everything included.  Sometimes that’s not a great plus but hey, we’re talking upside potential here.  Check out the awesome octupus dinosaur furnace deep withing the basement confines.  Gravity fed oil heat at it’s best.  This beast looks like it came straight from a Freddie Krueger movie. Not sure that keeping this guy is in a rehabber’s best interest.  Oil heating was typical of the era and buyers are always advised to check buried oil tanks for ground contamination.  Better to have sellers absorb DEQ costs if there’s an issue.

Die-hard enthusiasts may want to keep reminiscent features of the old lathe and plaster but I’m not convinced that this adds to resale value.  Observations of home buyers in Portland throughout my 8+ years in the business tells me that you’d have to come across a fairly particular buyer wanting cracked original plaster over conversion to drywall.  One of the big obstacles is how the heck to insulate these homes without destroying such.  Heating costs were no big deal in the day and, I’m going out on a limb here, but don’t think this place is going to get a LEED gold stamp of approval.

Updates required for resale on most of these home will involve electrical and plumbing.  We’re looking at possible knob and tube in this place, although there is an updated electric panel.  Most homes in Portland area neighborhoods with electrical updates have gone to a 200 amp service.  Early 1900′s homes don’t have many outlets and this place is no exception but maybe a lack of receptacles will promote Oregon’s green agenda… well, maybe not.  Owners may find it rather annoying not having a place to charge the Ipod.  Hey, just because you live in a cool classic home doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy modern amenities.

Speaking of modern amenities, the kitchen is reminiscent of days gone by.  Although, there’s some updating to some version of 80′s red laminate countertops. Most will agree that investment into kitchen updates is money well spent and easily recouped upon resale.  Our subject home has a decent sized kitchen but could benefit from rearrangement of a few walls for enlargement.  Sky is the limit here.

Overall I’d give this Irvington project house a great rating due to it’s upside potential. Investing in Portland real estate will pay off on this place if buyers limit their use of contractors and swing the hammer themselves more.  Sweat equity always helps return on investment.  A ballpark figure may put expenses in the hundred’s of thousands for our subject but when all is said and done sellers will also be looking at a home that’s pushing $800k plus within only a few short years.  Portland’s market will recover and buying opportunities like this have never been better!

Contact us to see this home today or visit the main site to search Portland homes for sale.

In the market for high end foreclosures?  Portland Oregon is offering some amazing deals with Street of Dreams quality construction by builders who cater to the upper end buyer.  Several recent showcase-of-homes tours featured locations on the outskirts of Portland’s metro area, mainly Oregon City.  With a drive that’s under 25 minutes to downtown Portland there are 3 locations that offer huge bang for the buck right now.

Because of changes to our market place there is incredible opportunity.  Take a quick trip back to early 2005.  Remember the Portland real estate market?  It was going gangbusters and builders were scarcely able to build fast enough to keep up iwht public demand.  One obstacle was availability of land to put these new construction projects on the table.  The urban growth boundary keeps tight reign on development so luxury home builders had to move further out in order to capture estate sized lots.

In comes Oregon City and it’s ability to cater to high end clientele.  Luxury home development was much more in demand during fast paced days of 15 – 20% appreciation of homes.  Large lots are incredibly hard to find in prime upscale areas such as Stafford, West Linn and Lake Oswego.  Much better availability in Oregon City.

With estate sizes ranging from about 2.5 acres to over 5, luxury home builders found pricing much easier to work with.  Finishes are immaculate.  Landscaping individually designed into every nook of the lot to the tune of $250,000 or more.  Ornate architecture on every wall.  Mature trees positioned in just the right location to compliment grand homes and sculpted landscape.  Almost every home is entitled to show off some form of water feature.  Many have several coi ponds and cascading waterfalls.

At the time, several investors in these estates were reaping advantages of our economy and loose credit terms, income was abundant.  That was three years ago.  Now it’s a bit different.  While short sales and foreclosures run amuk on entry level pricing there are also several on the luxury home end.  Most of this Portland luxury real estate is selling for less than half the construction costs.  Often even one third.

Looking for a deal?  Check out Hidden lake homes for sale.  There is a foreclosed property which will be offered shortly close to $1.1m, a guesstimate.  Construction cost is somewhere around $2.8m.  It is a foreclosed property and may need a slight amount of attention, around $50k worth.  Investment in a few kitchen appliances will mean big returns down the road when real estate heads in it’s historical upward direction.

There are essentially 3 main estate subdivisions catering to Street of Dreams buyers in the SE area of Portland’s Oregon City.  All are gated communities; Grasle Road, Hidden Lake and Beaver Lake.  Guess which two offer their own small bodies of water?  Pretty tough to compete with over the top finishes and settings of all these locations.  Several homes are offered as short sales and even a few have been foreclosures over the past 6 months.  Opportunity is here!

For more information on these and other Luxury Homes in Portland check out the property search or give a call.  We’re happy to help point home buyers in the right direction.   www.maxwellsinclair.com

Portland’s real estate market is not bad. Buyers of investment properties need to take advantage.  Want a competitive edge?  Better be on top of the new listings.  Most websites offer automatic email functions.  These can often be set to send immediately as new property listings become available but some only send once per day.  Only looking once per day may not cut it when competing for hot properties around Portland Oregon neighborhoods.

How can buyers have first shot at the good deals?  Reality is that 99.9% of real estate transactions happen through Realtors.  Hook up with a good one.  Agents working with investment property buyers need to stay on top of new listings and do market research immediately as houses become available.

What’s a good deal for investors?  Take a look at Portland’s west side for example.  Beaverton homes and Hillsboro neighborhoods often offer better cash flow than those found elsewhere.  When looking at the home purchase consider what sort of expenses are attached directly to PITI (principle, interest, taxes and insurance) and what neighborhood rents are.  Entry level homes offer much more bang for the buck than higher end, rental wise.  Rents on a 1200′ 3 bedroom 2 bath detached Beaverton home are running around $1100/mo at the moment.  Figure a good price for such a property might be $175k.  Compare that with cash flow on a $350k home where rents may be $1600/mo.  You do the math.

Competitive nature of investors.  Being first to the table with an offer is key.  It’s almost better to shoot first then aim in this market, you’ll have opportunity to bail out later.  I’m referring to red hot bank dumped properties here and not average run-of-the-mill real estate.  Hot properties like ones priced at $90 sq. ft. vs. the neighboring ones selling around $150.  These will be bank-owned foreclosures in Portland and surrounding areas, and they’re marketed through agents just the same as any other property.  I’ve seen several in the last few months around Beaverton and Hillsboro, they do exist.  Jump on them the same day they hit the market.

Sitting on the fence. At any given time there are a ton of buyers who say “wow, that was a good deal.  I’d have bought that one… if I’d known about it.”  The only reason buyers don’t know about it is because they (and their Realtor) are not paying attention.  Countless would-be investors sit on the fence analyzing a particular property while another savvy investor snatches it up.  That way the little kid mentality can kick in; That guy wants it, now I really want it.  Not all properties listed in RMLS are still available, some are awaiting bank paperwork before listing a property as “pending” in the system.  Dilly dallying doesn’t pay!

Home buyers often bring up the old adage that newer homes aren’t being built like they used to be.  Hmm, might depend upon what they’re specifically referring to.  Ever heard of a predicted earthquake Portlanders lovingly refer to as “the big one?” Buyer’s may want to ask themselves this;  Would I rather be standing in the 2nd story of a 1940′s home or the 2nd story of a 2009 home if that thing hits?

Engineering vs. finished product, maybe that’s the question.

Materials are different. Asbestos and lead based paints have been replaced with more edible products like fiber cement and polyethylene.  Realtors are required to give lead based paint pamphlets to any person buying a 1977 or older home.  The pamphlet tells you not to snort paint dust or each the chips.  Actually, none of the materials mentioned are edible so please don’t try.  Sellers are required to disclose any known hazardous substances on the property and all for good reason.

Changes to construction materials can be due to improvement out of necessity but often also because of end cost to consumers.  How much did your parents pay for their house?  Prices today are outrageous!  Well, OK, they’ve come down 20% so maybe they’re in line with inflation.  Everyone’s trying to make a buck. Not trying to defend use of inferior materials here but have to understand that competitiveness is everything.  Using premium natural occuring organic green sustainable renewable stuff sounds good in theory but find a steady flow of consumers who will pay extra costs may be a bit challenging.

new construction

Fiber cement siding and polyethylene piping have replaced real wood and galvanized.  Is one better than the other?  Portland neighborhoods range from classic Victorian to contemporary.  New homes are often wrapped so tightly with siding materials that the house can’t breathe, causing moisture/mold problems.  I’ve also heard several buyers comment on the fumes from new materials/chemicals not agreeing with their health.  Neighborhoods with older home will probably contain far more natural materials.  Portland offers it all.

Engineering practices of today are much tighter than 100 years ago, that’s for sure.  Practices used then are not necessarily used now. Walk into some of SE Portland’s Belmont or Hawthorne houses and you’d think you’re may have enjoyed one too many of the local micro brews.  “Hey, these doorways and floors seem slanted.”  They are.  The plus side is that when you spill liquids they’ll run only to one corner and be easier to clean up…  Most buyers write off slants and crooked doorways to “character”, things you just won’t find in newer construction (or tolerate).  It’d be interesting to see how homes hold up over the next 100 years.

Changes to requirements for shear wall, tie downs, joist hangers and anchor bolts have all come a long way.  It’s educational to look at new construction and see all the metal that’s attached for engineering purposes, things that were just not present years ago.

Which is built better?  Points can be debated.  Tell you what though, when the big one hits I’d rather be in a home engineered to today’s standards than one from 50 years ago.  Of course, I may croak from the mold and chemicals before that…

Check out www.maxwellsinclair.com for more information regarding Portland real estate and home buying!

Proximity to Downtown- If you’re looking to relocate to the Portland Metro(politan) area there’s probably a reason and it’s most likely job related.  While our unemployment rate is blazing ahead of the rest of the country at 12.1% currently.  Several factors figure in to that number.  One is that Portland Oregon is a fast growing location and many relocatees move before securing employment.  Also, keep in mind that even in the best of times we tend to be ahead of the pack… maybe it’s just due to all the cool entertainment around.  Who has time for work?

Portland’s downtown area is a hub of entertainment both day and night.  Art, culture, open-air markets and the Willamette river provide attraction.  Distance to these and other recreation tend to be on the top of people’s lists when relacating.  Map searches are invaluable when it comes to home choice.  Find your ideal happy medium between work and entertainment, then map search homes for sale in target areas.  Search homes for sale using map based queries like www.maxwellsinclair.com/portland_mapsearch.php

Transportation – Portland is very progressive with it’s public transportation system and planning of such reflects the overall goals, keep it green.  Preventing urbal sprawl is what the urban growth boundary is all about and detailed transportation planning makes vehicle use optional.  In addition to busing systems there’s a light rail train (MAX train), streetcar (downtown Portland), transit mall (new trolley in downtown opening soon), sky tram (South Waterfront to OHSU) and commercial rail train (WES, Beaverton to Wilsonville commuter).

While not in existence yet the east side (Milwalkie) will be connected by MAX within a few years to downtown Portland.  There have been rumors about connecting Lake Oswego to downtown but that’s not going to materialize in the near future… check out www.trimet.org for proximity to public transportation.

Walking Score – Pretty cool idea that someone came up with recently.  www.walkscore.com rates addresses based upon several factors and their proximity to convenience.  Higher score means potentially less use of the car.  Leading areas in Portland are the NW District, The Pearl, South Waterfront, and Cultural/University Districts.  All receive scores near 100.  In fact, talking with downtown condo owners you’ll commonly hear things like, “ya, we went down to the parking garage to see if our car was still there since it hasn’t been used for a month.”

Convenience is a big factor in the overall equation.  Choosing the right Portland neighborhood for your home purchase doesn’t need to involve numerous plane tickets with desktop research whittling down the field.  In addition to these 6 websites finding a good Realtor will also help significantly… probably goes without saying, right?

For more on Portland Real Estate, check out www.Maxwellsinclair.com.

So, you’re relocating to Portland Oregon.  That’s awesome!  About 3/4 of Portlanders were either born here or relocated.  The other 1/4 were not sure about… just joking.  Attraction to this area can be attributed to several factors including entertainment, culture and cost of housing.  Believe it or not we’re ranked in the top 5 relocation destinations for the nation!

This blog focuses on Portland real estate and as luck would have it so will this article.  Surprise, surprise.  Coming from out of town has it’s difficulties so much research often takes place long distance before finding a suitable neighborhood to buy a home.  Here are 6 big tools to help with neighborhood research:

School ratings.  Whether or not you have kids is not the point.  Schools are one of the easiest ways to determine whether neighborhoods are going to be a good match.  There’s a fantastic website (www.greatschools.net) that rates schools on a scale of 1-10, 10 being the best.  Elementary schools pull from a small radius.  RMLS lists elementary schools as a required field.  Even the laziest agent has to fill in this information before a home listing goes public, therefore, house searches can be centered around specific schools.  While a home’s elementary school rating is not everything, it is a reflection of community.  Better school rating, nicer neighborhood.  Check it out if you’re familiar with a particular school location in the country and see for yourself, this is a national tool.

Very few neighborhoods in Portland actually feed into “10″ rated elementary schools.  Bethany, Cedar Mill and Laurelhurst are the only ones, last time I checked anyway.  Lake Oswego/West Linn ranks top in Oregon too, but it’s a suburb-type city.  Some of Beaverton’s schools are rated well too.  It’s amazing that within only a few blocks school ratings can vary significantly, so do the neighborhoods.

Food Shopping – QFC, Whole Foods, New Seasons, and other high-end grocery storesare an indication of neighborhood quality.  Also, check out Starbucks.  They put alot of research into store locations and won’t plant one in a sketchy area.  Stores mentioned above can only thrive in certain areas, areas of higher income mainly.  Money isn’t everything.  Check out crime stats, income levels and other census information at www.portlandmaps.com but look at grocery shopping more than just shopping.

Pictures – Every Realtor is now required to upload at least one front shot of the listed house within a few days of input into RMLS.  Searching Portland homes for sale from a distance has it’s hurdles, especially when not familiar with the city or surrounding locations.  Want to know what a neighborhood really looks like?  www.maps.google.comwill put you right in front of the house you’re looking at online.  It’a a tour right from your desk.  Pan around, look at surrounding homes, see how many cars are parked on the neighbor’s lawn, how many washing machines are on their porch?  www.earth.google.comhas similar aerial shots.  Many times, there’s waaay more to the story than what RMLS pictures stratigically leave out.  How close is the subject property to commercial buildings, apartments or a freeway?  Value is affected by such.  This is a great tool!

Visit the website for Portland relocation, Portland neighborhood information, and Portland homes for sale throughout the metro area.  www.maxwellsinclair.com