Not all transactions are smooth. It helps when you have an agent that is working towards the same goal on the other side of you, but sometimes a property, or in this case, a condo, can be a venture into information digging and fact finding.
My client Andy was familiar with condos, as I had helped him sell his Atwater Place condo in the South Waterfront many years back. He had been renting on the westside and recently reached back out to me to help him find a new place. His criteria was a ground level condo or single family home with no stairs, with close proximity to a Max Stop on the Westside of the Greater Portland Metro Area. This limited to a few things, especially at the price point he wanted to stay within. We looked at a number of properties, but he kept coming back to a few ground level condos in the Orenco Station area. We were focusing on a very specific property, that had built out to the specifications for wheelchair access, which he did not need, when the COVID-19 crisis arrived. He decided to stay home and wait for things to settle down, which took a few months. By that time, the property he had in mind had since gone under contract and closed, so we moved on to a few others in the same complex. The one he found himself drawn to hit all his criteria. 2 Bedroom+, under $400k, ground level, no stairs, walking distance to the Max. This one looked like it was in fairly good condition, so we offered. Andy was a cash buyer, so we were able to negotiate to an agreeable price, with some favorable closing terms for the Seller, and we found ourselves in contract.
Andy was my first Buyer client since the scare of COVID-19 became our new normal. Thankfully the inspectors I recommended, and contractors who came out, all adhered to safe practices in wearing masks, gloves, keeping appropriate distancing and being overly communicative on information that was discovered. We discovered this owner had only owned it for a few months, had never lived in it, and was an investor who took over the property as it was entering pre-foreclosure proceedings. As such, the Property Disclosures were minimal, and the knowledge of the property and HOA was extremely limited. It fell to us to do some digging and find out what we could. This property had 2 HOA’s, one for the condos themselves, and another Master Association that dealt with some of the amenities. Each HOA also had their own set up Condo Docs, as we discovered on the last day of what we assume was our review period. We were also under the impression each had their HOA dues and what was represented to us is what we took as fact. When the Settlement Statement arrived, it did not match up with what was on RMLS (The property disclosure portion for HOA dues was left blank), and even the Listing Agent was confused by the extra amount. After all of us did some fact digging, we discovered there was indeed an extra $80/month HOA increase for the Master Association, which was roughly an extra $1,000 a year. There was also a special assessment for plumbing work, that was added on as an extra line item for monthly HOA dues, which was about 1/2 through it’s 15 year term for repayment. Add this to the fact that we had some issues with the Sewer Line, that we wanted to make sure that the HOA assumed responsibility for fixing, and it added up to a lot of things that some Buyer’s would walk away from.
I wanted to make sure Andy understood what he was getting into. I asked him if he wanted to negotiate the Special Assessment to be paid off, I said he was within his right to walk away from this. But he seemed to really wanted this property. We got some paperwork completed from all parties to clarify the actual HOA amount, and Andy performed what he needed to and closed on the property.
One of the joys of my job is meeting my clients and handing them keys. With Covid-19, agents have had to become safer (and creative about doing so), but I still wanted to do it in person. So when all was official and we got notice, we set a time to meet. My inquiry to the listing agent about all remaining access items was met with, “I’ll check with the Seller”. When we got there, I popped the key from the lockbox, went inside, wiped the key with a Clorox wipe and placed it on the counter. Andy met me shortly after and we began to look for any other access items. Nothing. The response I got from the listing agent was that her transaction coordinator would look into it.
We were told that the current owner had nothing else. No Mailbox Key. No garage door opener. No keys for the other doors that lead to the deck area and no key for the storage room. No key or FOB for the HOA’s common spaces. Nothing. We had 1 key for the front door and that was that. There is nothing more deflating than the look of a new owner that realizes they have now have to try and get this all taken care of, so that they can even enjoy their personal space. My inquiries to the listing agent’s team was, we tried, we don’t have anything, sorry. Good luck. Professionalism comes in all forms and I am not here to disparage another agent, but it left a sour taste in my mouth, as well as my client’s and I was determined not to leave it like that.
I started bombarding the Property Manager for the HOA with questions. I got a locksmith scheduled with locksmith in dublin for coming out to change out locks. We contacted the Post Office for procedures on rekeying the mailbox. I swung by Home Depot for new Garage Door Openers as a part of Andy’s unplanned closing gift. It took 2 days, but when all was said and done, the entire home was rekeyed thanks to Lee at Portland Locksmith & Garage Doors who came out and had everything completed within an hour, with a smile behind his mask and a friendly and gracious attitude. Andy made a trip to the Post Office to get that situated and within a day he had his keys. The Fob for the Common Areas, which were currently closed due to Covid-19 since they were public spaces, were going to be delivered once those opened again again. And those garage doors? Programmed by yours truly as evidenced by the picture. Keys were now in hand and Andy could finally relax and get settled into his home. I have always prided myself on being service oriented, both in work and in life. I will continue to do so, even after those keys are safely in the hands of my clients.
If you are curious about the market in these times, or are looking at buying or selling now or down the road, I am happy to chat over some socially distanced coffee or tea. Let’s connect!
eady to buy a home, it was well into the COVID-19 outbreak. Waiting it out wasn’t an option so we set out to see 7 homes one day; armed with gloves, booties and hand sanitizer. By the end of the day, Wendy and Jeremy wanted to make an offer. And they were ready. They were able to compete for a home that they loved because of their preparation and patience.
Cindy and Oscar got in touch with me in what feels like a lifetime ago- mid January of 2020. They were eager to become homeowners, and after having gone through the process of trying to buy a home last year only to have it implode with a very low appraisal, they were ready for a fresh start. New agent (me), new lender (Umpqua) and a new year. They love mid-century homes and were looking for a home that wasn’t in perfect cosmetic condition. They love to garden and were looking forward to having a yard for their beloved pup Cookie. In late February we looked at a a 1960 tri-level in a picture perfect mid-century block in Mill Park. The home hit most of their marks- it was in good enough shape to move into, had hardwood floors, mid-century charm, and a beautiful yard. They also wanted a home that would work for multiple generations for parents to move into eventually and kids in the future, and with the tri-level layout, it had the perfect floor plan for being able to do so. It also needed a face-lift, something Oscar and Cindy actually wanted to do on a home. It had been on the market for almost 2 months, and while it was priced lower than what neighboring homes had recently sold for, it definitely needed some vision and felt overpriced considering how much work it needed. They decided to keep looking and found another great mid-century home in Milwaukie that they loved and decided to put an offer in on. That home had multiple offers and went for way over listing price, so they did not get that house. But all the while, the sweet tri-level in Mill Park kept calling to them. So a little over a week after they first saw it, we wrote up an offer for $25k under list price. The sellers countered back with $20k under list and my buyers accepted.
Congratulations to Bea and David on getting the keys to their new to the home in Pleasant Valley. From start to finish their transaction was 32 days, and during this time, the world turned upside down and our planet went to war. The seller was Opendoor, which if you are unfamiliar with is an Ibuyer company that buys homes for cash off market and undervalue, and then slaps some paint and caulk on the house and puts the house back on the market at market value. I was out of town for President’s Day weekend when Bea and David decided to check out a house in Pleasant Valley that piqued their interest. Since it was an Opendoor property, they were able to let themselves in without me and what they found was a home that had parquet wood floors throughout the entire house, a tri-level layout, and decks with views for days on all levels. They were in love, so we wrote up the offer while I was still out of town, and the next day Opendoor accepted their offer. The first time I saw the house was at their inspection, and our inspector warned us that all Opendoor does is slap some lipstick on problems, and she has seen a lot of sale fails because of the poor condition of homes and Opendoor not willing to negotiate credits or repairs. Thankfully the inspection went fairly well- still a lot of work will need to be done to fix some rotted siding, roof and gutter issues and a few plumbing repairs, but overall it was one of the better Opendoor homes our inspector had inspected. Getting Opendoor to offer any credits was like trying to pull teeth out of a live tiger, but I did manage to get them a couple thousand in credit, which was better than a poke in the eye. And then right after we finished that negotiation, poof- the whole world collapsed. Thankfully my buyers were far enough into the transaction that we had everything pretty much nailed down so they were able to sign their closing docs- though I was not allowed to join them. The sale closed, and rather then me meeting them to give them their keys my buyers were able to get the keys from the lockbox at the house themselves. This was the first transaction that I can remember where I didn’t get to hand over keys or go to the signing. And like everything else in this new world, it feels strange and sad. But my buyers are thrilled and really that’s all that matters. They can focus on moving from where they are sheltering in place at their rental, to quarantining themselves in their new home.
Congratulations to Sarah, Scottie and Piggers! Thanks to impeccable timing they were able to get $35k in down payment grants through the LIFT program and University of Portland’s down payment program designed to help full time employees buy their first home near the UofP. Within a week of having the LIFT reservation in hand, we found a great rancher in University Park that checked all the boxes including what we thought would be a difficult to find huge detached garage for Scottie’s blossoming contractor business. This was the week before Christmas, and knowing that the LIFT funds expired in 2 months, and that most likely they were not going to see a house that checked this many boxes in their price range anytime soon, I suggested they offer just a few hairs over asking in hopes that the seller would accept their offer prior to the weekend, and it worked! Three days before Christmas they had their offer accepted, which was just 2 days before I left town on vacation for 2 weeks. Thanks to my excellent colleague Lisa Avena at Living Room who took great care of them and handled their home inspection, I was able to enjoy my vacation knowing Sarah and Scottie were being well taken care of. The inspection turned up a few unexpected surprises in the crawl space, but having a contractor buying a house always makes me feel better when a house is going to need some work. Even though the seller (who was also the listing agent) wasn’t happy, we were able to get him to agree to fix the big stuff. And then the appraiser called out some dry rot on the garage. Grrrr. By this time we were in mid-January and the market had clearly turned a sharp corner. In the 4 weeks from when their offer was accepted to the time the appraisal came back, the market shifted strongly into a sellers market with little inventory and a ton of buyers out shopping. The seller was very aware of this, and reminded me a couple of times that he had someone waiting in the wings who wanted the house badly enough because of it’s huge garage, that this supposed buyer would have taken the property as-is. So when I told him that the appraiser had called out that the garage needed to be repaired before the lender would loan on the property, he refused to the garage repaired. This would have been the end for most buyers, but Sarah and Scottie were not daunted. Scottie knew he could take care of the issue himself in less than a day’s work, so we got the seller’s permission for Scottie to fix the issue and Scottie got to work. Between the 35k in funds, finding the right property at the exact right time, and having the literal skills and ability to fix a problem, this family of three were able to close on the perfect house for them.
of Bauer Woods’ best. In the end, the style of this 4,100 sq ft mid-century stunner won their hearts.
DELIGHTFUL BUNGALOW IN ST JOHNS 
Ross is always sharing client stories, and thanks to him I have a “happy ending” story of my own.
ed in real estate back in the wonder year of 2007 when I got a job at a non-profit home builder HOST Development. My background was in community development and affordable housing, and my new job at HOST was to do community outreach and sell homes built by the non-profit builder to first time buyers who made at or below the area’s median family income. When I started working at HOST, I was eased into my job by our most fabulous office/computer/everything wrangler Holly. Holly had purchased a HOST home herself, and liked the company so much she was hired as our office manager. Fast forward a couple of years and the Great Recession hit, and being the smart and savvy person she is, Holly jumped the HOST ship when the writing was on the wall, and found a job working for the State of Oregon. I rode that ship out until the last lifeboat left in 2009, and while it was sort of traumatic to lose a salaried job in the height of the recession, the biggest gift that job gave me was the realization of how much I love working one on one with buyers and sellers.
John had recently sold his house in sunny Southern California and was making the move to Portland. After viewing several homes he decided to take a look at the coast…and that’s where I step in. His Portland broker called and let me know John had been looking in Portland but wasn’t finding the perfect house. He saw a couple of homes on the beach and decided to take a look. That afternoon we met at the coast to view a few properties.
