Homing In On Portland

Helping you home in on your best life in Portland

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Jan 19 2021

My latest video takes you inside the historic Cobbs mansion, one of Portland’s many old homes enhancing the city’s charm and sense of place

At $5.9 million and over 14,000 square feet, Cobbs mansion is the priciest and largest Metro area home I’ve ever toured as a realtor. But the architectural pedigree and details of the 1918 Jacobethan gem designed by noted Portland architect, A.E. Doyle, were the real draw for me. Episode 7 of Homing in on Portland takes you inside this historic home in the Southwest Hills. Click the play button below to watch.

Fortunately, you don’t have to be a realtor to tour our historic and vintage homes. Below is a hyperlinked timeline of the four best annual tours on offer in Portland, pandemic permitting.

April

Old House Revival Tour sponsored by Architectural Heritage Center

May

Mid-Century Modern Home Tour sponsored by Restore Oregon   

Irvington Home Tour sponsored by neighborhood community association

December

Duniway Home Tour sponsored by Duniway Elementary School PTA in Eastmoreland

Written by Catherine Quoyeser · Categorized: design, lifestyles, livability, neighborhoods · Tagged: A.E. Doyle, Cobbs mansion, historic home tours in Portland, historic homes in Portland

Dec 03 2020

Mission critical – finding your happy place. My Facebook page can help you get more joy out of your home, neighborhood and city

The places where we live, work and play have a deep impact on our mood, behavior and health. So it’s important to choose them with care. Thoughtfully designed environments can bring out the best in us.

Running just over 2 minutes, Episode 3 of my vlog sketches a few thoughts on how to find your happy place. A key takeaway? You’ll find help and support in that quest on my Facebook page. Click the play button below to watch. (BTW, you can cherry pick its contents using the timed outline just below the embedded video.) Then click here to visit and like my Facebook page.

To cherry pick video content, use this timed outline:
Intro 0 – 0:15
Finding your happy place at home 0:15 – 0:42
Finding your happy place in Portland 0:42-1:23
How my FB page can help 1:23-1:54
Your next step – visit & like my page! 1:54-2:03

Written by Catherine Quoyeser · Categorized: design, lifestyles, livability, urban planning and services

Nov 27 2020

Are you a fan of Portland walks and walkability? Here – in 6 buckets – are tips and resources to learn and enjoy more

Episode 2 of my vlog counts the many ways Metro area walks and walkability enhance our lives. In case you didn’t catch it on Youtube or Instagram, you’ll find the video at the bottom of this blog post. The written tips and resources below are a companion piece. I hope they deepen your understanding and appreciation of where you live.

Bucket 1: Get walk scores

Find the walk score of your home or a listed property if you’re looking to buy. Just enter the address in the search window on this home page

Bucket 2: Learn how walkability affects home values

You’ll find Portland-specific data in the graphics of this Redfin article

Bucket 3: Join a Meetup walking or hiking group and let someone else plan your next outing (outdoor groups remain active in the pandemic)

  • Positively Portland architectural history walking tours are a favorite of mine. Eric Wheeler helps you get to know Portland neighborhoods and home styles.
  • NW Wilderness
  • Trails Club of OR
  • Portland Hiking Group
  • 55+ Fitness and Fun with Physical Activities

Bucket 4: Buy or borrow guidebooks to memorable walks in Portland and Oregon, some tailored to active seniors and kids

The links below the images will take you to amazon.com, but you may be able to find the e’books on the virtual shelves of your neighborhood public library.

Click hereClick hereClick hereClick here

Bucket 5: Brush up on walkability, the 15-minute city, and Portland’s complete neighborhoods

  • Global in perspective, this Bloomberg article lauds Portland as model city in car-centric America
  • This Bureau of Planning & Sustainability piece defines ‘complete neighborhoods’ and presents the city’s 2035 access goal
  • Our ParkScore courtesy of The Trust for Public Land
  • Our score and national ranking courtesy of WalkScore

Bucket 6: Last but not least and because a picture’s worth 1,000 words, here’s a slide show of the nature walk just steps from my door – meant to inspire you to get more joy out of your neighborhood or to visit mine

  • Have seen a Snowy Egret & a Great Blue Heron in this spot!
Homing in on Portland, Episode 2

Written by Catherine Quoyeser · Categorized: design, home values and prices, lifestyles, livability, urban planning and services, walkability

Jun 22 2018

Buy your ideal home in Portland or CIY (create-it-yourself)? Lay solid groundwork for your decision with these expert remodeling tips

Portland Metro regularly lands on top 10 lists – for home price gains, creativity, livability, job growth, public health, green-ness, bike-friendliness, gentrification, and more. Did you know it’s also #8 for residential remodeling?

And no wonder. A full 80 percent of area homes were built before 1980 compared to the national average of 52 percent. So they’re bound to need some TLC.

Meanwhile, the inventory of homes for sale stands at 1.9 months – about half the national average – and has not broken 3 months in over 3 years. Our lopsided seller’s market limits choices all around. Buyers can’t be too picky and would-be sellers may decide to stay put because they can’t find – or can’t afford – replacement homes.

Click here to read this ORLive story about Contractor of the Year award winners. Beaverton’s Cornerstone Builders remodeled the 1970’s daylight ranch shown.

But every challenge is also an opportunity. If you’re willing to remodel, you can add priceless character and comfort to your home as well as dollar value. This post offers advice from experts – 8 questions and 2 tips, to be exact – for the planning and decision making phase of remodeling. That’s when realtors can be of most help.

Q 1: How long do you expect to stay in your home?

As a rule of thumb, you should plan to stay in your home at least 5 years after a significant remodel – say 15 percent of your home’s “before” value. Since home improvements never offer a 100 percent return at resale, you should give yourself plenty of time to enjoy their other benefits.

Click here to read a Sunset story about how interior designer Vicki Simon restored the kitchen of her 1908 Kenton home. If she ever moves, she’s taking the kitchen with her! (Photo: Lincoln Barbour)

Of course, if you plan to sell in the near term, modest improvements will boost the price and speed of sale. De-cluttering, deep cleaning and yard work can cost no more than your time and offer some of the very best returns. Ask a realtor to walk through your home and make suggestions.

Q 2: Can your biggest pain points be soothed? Can your pride and joy be matched?

In deciding whether to move or remodel, review the best and worst features of your home. If the best can’t be replaced, you’ll likely want to stay put. If the worst features can’t be changed or call for major structural work (big ticket items like moving walls or expanding the footprint), a move is probably the thing.

Q 3: What’s the ballpark cost of your remodel wish list?

Your review of your home’s best and worst features will guide you in creating a wish list. Magazines and books can help too. If you’re leaning toward remodeling, you may also want to invest in a 1-off design consultation for a modest set fee. Many interior designers offer this service.

Next you’ll want a rough cost estimate of your wish list. Here are three good resources for this exercise:

  1. Each year, Remodel magazine publishes the Cost vs. Value Report. It compiles average costs for 21 common projects in 149 markets around the country and compares them to project value at resale. You can access the 2018 report for Portland Metro here.
  2. The National Association of Realtors has published a similar report. It features some projects not included in the Cost vs. Value Report (a plus), but the data isn’t broken down by locality (a minus).
  3. Home Advisor’s True Cost Guide doesn’t provide information on resale value (a minus), but can help you track down local contractors and costs (a plus).

Remember to add a contingency fund of 10-20% to your estimate for unexpected costs.

Click here to read a Gray Magazine story about a busy PDX single who hired Atomic Design to convert the unfinished attic of her 1893 home into a master suite (Photo: Mhari Scott)

Q 4: Can you afford your wish list?

With a rough cost estimate in hand, you can decide whether your wish list is affordable. How much do you have in savings or can you access in credit and what do you feel comfortable spending? Click here for a good overview of ways to fund a remodel and the pros and cons of each.

If you find that your wish list is beyond your means, you can pare it down, crossing off items that will have the least impact on how you experience your home. For example, if your kitchen is 50 years old and functionally obsolete, a major remodel is money well spent. But if changes made 20 years ago are good quality but not to your taste, then a minor remodel is best. Rather than replacing cabinetry, for example, you can replace or repaint cabinet doors and pulls.

Click here to read this Portland Monthly article about a couple who worked with architect Risa Boyer Leritz to transform their vintage split level in Raleigh Hills (Photo: Aaron Leitz)

Q 5: How does the cost of remodeling a given room compare to its value as a percent of your home’s overall value?

Answering this question can also help you to trim your wish list. The bullets below show the values of specific rooms or areas as percentages of a home’s total value according to an appraisers trade association. Suppose you’re thinking of a mid-range major kitchen remodel as defined in the latest Cost vs. Value Report for Portland (see Item a under Q3). Since the average cost for the project is $66K, your current home value should be at least $440K to justify the expenditure. ($66K is 15 percent of $440K.)

  • Kitchen: 10-15% of a house’s value
  • Master bedroom suite: 10% of a house’s value
  • Powder room/bathroom: 5% of a house’s value
  • Finished attic or basement: 10-15% of a house’s value
  • Other rooms: 1-3% of a house’s value
  • Patios, decks, paths and plantings: 2-5% of a house’s value

Click here to read an Arciform blog post about 5 of the firm’s favorite kitchen projects

Q 6: How does the total estimated cost of your wish list compare to the current value of your home?

Unless money is no object, you’ll want to weigh the total cost of your wish list against the current value of your home. Assuming you’ll stay put for at least 8-10 years, your list should not exceed 30 percent of its value. Spend more and you’re unlikely to recoup your investment.

Q 7: How does the estimated value of your improved home compare with the rest of your neighborhood?

No home is an island, so in addition to answering Q6, you’ll want to weigh the value of your remodel against upper price limits in your neighborhood.

Add estimated costs to the current value of your home. If the total is more than around 20 percent over the highest recent sale prices for nearby homes that resemble yours after planned improvements, you run the risk of overspending and getting a disappointing return at resale – even if you intend to stay for 8-10 years.

Click here to read this Sunset story about a couple who asked Van Giuiletti/Schouten Architects to give their Lake Oswego home a facelift and major curb appeal (Photo: John Clark)

Q 8: With the cost of moving?

Answers to Q5-7 will help you set a cost ceiling for each room or area and for the remodel as a whole. But they won’t tell you how staying put compares to the cost of moving into a new home. Click here for an online calculator designed for this second task.

A little market research is needed before you use it. You’ll want to search active listings with the features and locations you must have to motivate you to leave your current home. Average list prices for your top 3 choices and you’re ready to fill in the “Home Price” blank on the “New Mortgage” side of the calculator. Your realtor can also help you with transaction costs, property taxes and other blanks on the right – in addition to providing an estimate of your home’s current value on the left.

If, having answered these 8 questions, you decide to remodel, consider these two pieces of advice.

Click here to read this Oregon Home article about a Beaverton couple who updated their Rummer home with the help of Garrison Hullinger Interior Design

Tip 1: Invest in good design

I’m never surprised when homeowners on HGTV’s Love It or List It choose Hillary’s artful remodels over moving to houses that may be bigger but lack personality and charm. Good or great design provides daily pleasure, ease and well-being to you and your family, and can attract multiple offers when you’re ready to sell.

Design services come in 3 main forms. The traditional model is a full-service architect or designer who crafts the entire plan, solicits bids, and oversees the work of a contractor or contractors. You can also hire design services a la carte for key aspects of the overall plan. A third and increasingly popular option is a design-and-build firm. For example, local success story Neil Kelly is #3 on Remodeling magazine’s list of the biggest firms in the country. Click here for a good overview of the 3 options and the pros and cons of each.

Click here to read this Apartment Therapy story about a former Nike Design Director who acted as her own general contractor to bring her 1906 home in SE PDX back to life (Photo: Heather Keeling)

Tip 2: Remodel for spaciousness (not necessarily space), more natural light and a better connection to the outdoors

Even a small house can feel spacious – and provide pleasure, comfort and well-being – with an open plan layout, lots of natural light, and a strong connection to a well-tended garden or view. In fact, realtor.com has assembled a trove of national data on home features linked to the highest rates of appreciation. Homes with open plan layouts and patios top the list, with average annual appreciation of 7.4 and 6.8 percent respectively.

Click here to read this ORLive story about a handy owner who worked with an architect on a limited budget to make the most of a 1098 SF cottage in Woodlawn

Not surprisingly – since they typically have open plan layouts, large windows or glass walls, and strong connections to the outdoors – modern or contemporary style homes appreciate the fastest at 7.7 percent.

And supporting the idea that spaciousness rather than space is key, realtor.com’s research shows that smaller homes with fewer bedrooms appreciate faster than larger homes with more bedrooms – by a factor of 2 at opposite ends of the spectrum.

Written by Catherine Quoyeser · Categorized: design, home improvement · Tagged: design, home improvement, remodeling

Feb 01 2018

If it’s Tuesday this must be broker tour – An inside look at Portland’s best “Hemenway Colonial”

 

Every Tuesday, Portland Metro realtors open the doors of newly listed homes to other members of the trade. The idea is to attract agents with clients looking for a property like the one on tour, and to offer the chance to preview it. I don’t have any buyers with a $3.75 million ceiling at the moment, but I was excited to see 2728 SW Greenway Ave on this week’s west side tour list.

According to the Oregon Historical Society, the house is one of the finest examples of Roscoe Hemenway’s work. A graduate of Grant High and the U of O’s School of Architecture, Hemenway designed some 300 buildings over his 36-year career in Portland. He became best known for homes in the Colonial Revival style.

Dunthorpe neighborhood has the most “Hemenway Colonials.” But as I say, Portland Heights has the best. Built in 1951 on two-thirds of an acre, 2728 Greenway bears all the hallmarks of the style. Well-screened from the street by thick shrubs and tall trees, the façade – and its key architectural elements – are shown in the exterior photo.

Hallmarks of Colonial Revival style

Inside is just as grand. The house runs to over 12,000 square feet with 6 bedrooms, 5 full baths, 2 half baths, 3 stories, a home theater and library/bar on the top floor, a wing for live-in staff served by back stairs, and an elevator. The master suite is the size of an average 1-bedroom apartment (625 SF). The living room is the size of a small starter home (1000 SF). And at $58K per year, property taxes are also outsize – just $10K less than the average Portlander’s annual income. Utility costs must be formidable too. Newly required as part of the city’s effort to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2050, the energy score for the house is 1 on a 10-point scale.

The master suite
The sitting room
Dentil moulding & doorway pediment in the dining room
Roses etched in glass & brass hardware
Barrel vault skylight in the sunroom

Back at my desk, I wondered who lives in such luxury. The owner is normally shown on the listing, but not in this case. So I looked up the tax report for the property in the Regional Multiple Listing Service. Turns out, he is just as prominent in today’s civic life as the architect was generations back.

Co-founder of the ad agency that began as a start-up and is now a global brand in its own right, Dan Wieden has called the property home since 1993, when he bought it for $1.225 million.

Industrial style with wildly creative touches – PDX office of W+K

It’s a far cry from the Wieden+Kennedy headquarters in the Pearl – a once abandoned 1908 warehouse with an atrium carved out of its middle, modern industrial finishes, and some wildly creative touches. But the two buildings have historic character (and preservation) in common. As the listing notes, the house has been “meticulously cared for.” Still a young 67, it may eventually join the warehouse on the National Register of Historic Places.

For now, 2728 Greenway needs a new owner. A 25-year appreciation of 300 percent seems reasonable, but it will be interesting to track the listing, which is on my RMLS watch list.

Postscript: As I was putting the finishing touches on this blog post, OregonLive published an article about the house. You can read Janet Eastman’s take here.

Written by Catherine Quoyeser · Categorized: design, home values and prices · Tagged: Colonial Revival architecture, Don Wieden, Dunthorpe, National Register of Historic Places, Portland Heights, Portland Metro, Portland neighborhoods, realtor, Roscoe Hemenway, the Pearl, Wieden+Kennedy

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