Don't Judge the Book...

Three vintage homes with sweetness oozing from curb appeal cooed to me this week. All of them surprised me once inside, one jarringly so. As often as I caution new clients that most homes - particularly older ones designed for a different era lifestyle and also survivors of generational changes in aesthetic and taste - are rarely just what you expect from the photos you saw online. Sometimes they're much nicer, much brighter, or laid out much better. Sometimes they're darker, rougher, even puzzling. Stinky. Drafty. Worse, maybe, is when the story they tell is nothing like the title implies. And so we come to this week's stroll.

1. Queer Queen Anne 2036 SE Umatilla St. 3BR/2BA $279,900 - Sweet as sugar from the sidewalk (would there be tea and biscuits served?) and clearly well-maintained. This was the one theme that held true throughout. And, to be fair, for a smaller home it had fairly good spaces, friendly updated kitchen, warm finished basement. But whoever installed the laminate flooring (on both levels) was um, overzealous - it was everywhere - and it was made impossible to ignore because it wasn't floated properly. Either that, or there was Captain Crunch cereal underneath.

2. Craftsman Shell 3605 NE 8th Ave 3BR/1.5BA $320,000 - This one derailed from the soul train. Intact on the outside, once in, I thought I'd walked into a new townhome in Hillsboro. That sensation held solidly through both floors and I found it eerily appropriate that the house also lacked a basement. Otherwise, it had a sensible layout - main floor swing 3rd bedroom & half bath, and two solid bedrooms and bath up. Nice street, good nabe. But wow. Ugh.

3. Westmoreland Winterland 1415 E Yukon St 4BR/2BA $469,000 - Beautifully remodeled and kept, and much larger than it appears from the street. Great spaces, soaring ceilings, a layout that could work with many scenarios, and an enviable stroll from tony shops & eats. But not all Victorian-era homes are created equally. Or heated equally. This one was downright frosty upstairs, lovingly decorated master suite notwithstanding, and those white-washed bare floors weren't exactly minimizing the effect. The very finished, seeemingly-endless basement was also chilly. Bummer. It's a nice home, though only new on the market at this price - they started a year ago nearly $100K higher. A shopworn bargain now, it still needs a bale of insulation and a talented heating contractor.

Sunnier Skies, Cloudy Inventory...

North Tabor Bungalow 6500 E Burnside St $249,000 3Br/1BA - Spacious, solid 20’s bungalow includes 2 really great bedrooms - one up, on on main - and a larger if so-very-tired kitchen with generous eating nook. A lot of house for around $250K in this neighborhood. Still... hard to ignore the Burnside noise (new windows on the front would help) in the formal rooms, and no backyard to speak of.

Dejected Sweetheart 2413 SE 16th Ave $274,500 2BR/2BA - A truly lovely little house, in need of a lot of wooing - all the goods are there, they just ache for restoration. The ceiling height on the lower level is a real bummer for anyone over 5’10” - which explains the price quite a bit.  So does the appearance of a cringing “as is” warning in the listing notes. I did see some newer mechanicals - electrical and furnace - so maybe it isn’t so bad. For under $260K it starts to look like a great rental property, given the Ladd’s Addition address.

Roseway Oddball 3113 NE 71st Ave $284,950 3BR/2BA - This house would be a hard-to- pass buy if the owners had just bit the bullet and removed the ridiculous tile flooring that the previous owner had left in both main floor bedrooms, especially since the listing agent verbally waved an alleged $2500 bid to do so (in order to unearth the fir floors trapped below) in front of me as soon as I walked in. The rest of the home is nice and relatively unspoiled. Neither bathroom was a standout, but they weren’t egregiously dated, either. Good street, and LOTS of nice mechanical updates for this price point.

(Not SO Forgettable) Family Starter 4619 SE 49th Ave $289,000 3BR/1BA - The curb appeal won't incite any squeals, but the inside really went a long way toward making up for that on this nice street. A sensible, 1-to-2-kid-friendly layout with well-proportioned room sizes - given that the house was small, it didn’t feel compartmentalized - plus a clean basement with an easy playroom to be had below. A great yard, (fenced!) an attached garage for rainy days or small-child safety, & new windows throughout.

Alameda English Puzzle 2600 NE Ridgewood Dr 4BR/2.5BA $575,000 - Tastefully updated and decorated throughout, with especially nice bedrooms up, I nevertheless found the home’s layout on the main floor to be counter-intuitive and confusing. The dining room was in the back of the house (behind the kitchen) and one therefore stepped into the kitchen off the formal entry. The living room, off the entry in the opposing direction, was therefore diagonal to the dining room, which is to say, completely separated from it. This, and the bizarre, star- shaped traffic intersection the house sits on, left me a little disoriented.

Final Price Reduction! 3306 SE Alder Street

$319,950!!  $1000 bonus to selling agent!

Pristine 2 bed, 2.1 bath + den/office, with rare 1 car garage.  Quiet unit facing trees, near Laurelhurst park and all the Belmont/Hawthorne shops.  Low HOA's.

On Market Soon!! Ladd's Addition

New listing 2101 SE 20th Avenue : $329,000

Amazing opportunity. Generous 3+BR/1BA Craftsman bungalow with all new drywall & wiring has full-size yard, detached garage, basement w/great potential too. Ample closets up make for easy 2nd bath addition.  Fireplace, beautiful hardwoods, original dining room built-in, bright kitchen w/eating nook.  Newly-tiled bath & new period sink/cabinet, w/original vanity intact.

Pictures coming! Tremendous opportunity in a coveted neighborhood; short walk to best of Clinton/Division area shops & eats, easy bike commute downtown.

Open House today! 1-3pm 2883 SE Clinton Street

Come celebrate my new listing at 2883 SE Clinton Street,

and join us for an open house from 1-3pm!

Coming September 10th!!

- Generous Craftsman Bungalow 3+BRs/1BA in fabulous Waverly Heights / "Clinton" nabe location
- New granite/custom tile/sink/electrical in kitchen + eating nook
- All new/newer stainless kitchen appliances
- Formal living & dining rooms with fireplace, original builtins, newly refinished hardwood floors
- New gas furnace and newer Marvin Tilt-pak windows
- Lovely, full-height upstairs with walk-in closets & bonus area perfect for office
- Completely rebuilt front porch
- Detached garage & fenced backyard
- Partly finished basement could be made into separate living quarters.

Below is Piccolo Park, right near this home!

Please contact Chylese for any questions!  email: chylese@meadowsgroup.com  cell: 503.703.3303

Upcoming New Listing in Ladd's Addition

 Another move-in ready 3BR/1BA Craftsman Bungalow with all the desired trimmings:
* All new drywall and updated electrical throughout main & upstairs
* Refinished oak hardwood throughout & new paint in and out
* Intact wood-burning fireplace and full-length, original dining room built-in
* Generous bedrooms (1 on main, 2 up) and closets!
* New Marvin wood-framed windows
* Period bath with new tile, sink, flooring & intact vanity
* Bright & generous kitchen with eating nook
* Very high ceiling height and bonus room in basement with more potential
* Desirable schools: Abernethy, Hosford, Cleveland
* Fenced & quiet backyard with alley access garage & parking
* Walk Score Heaven:  Skip to New Seasons, Bar Avignon, Nuestra Cucina, Tart, Vindahlo, Pastini Pasteria, Pizzicato, the Oregonian's 2010 best restaurant in Portland (Castagna) ... Restaurant of the Year, Castagna and the lovely, prized rose gardens of your new neighborhood Link to Rose Gardens

Southeast Rollercoaster

A new week, and some new houses to see. It is abundantly clear to me that the fixers - even the "light" or simply aesthetically-challenged ones - are NOT moving unless they are true bargains. At the same time, I am equally convinced that the turnkey, pretty ones that are not priced above 2007 numbers are selling fast, at least in the close-in east side neighborhoods.  Reviews of three new listings follow:

1.  Tabor Sweet Tooth 4844 SE Grant St. $289,900 3BR/1+BA Pretty much the quintessential Craftsman bungalow, with a hard-to-find 3rd true BR on the main floor, that still harbors room for improvement - such as a better exterior color scheme (it's too WHITE at the moment, ugh) and one or two egress windows put into a valuable full footprint basement already extensively decorated/furnished to appear as living space - yet presents itself as a good-vibe turnkey sweetheart. I note the tidy, clean & upgraded mechanicals (A/C! new vinyl windows) and a friendly, private low maintenance yard. The dead end street could be prettier, but who could complain about this location? Will go fast at this price.

2. Woodstock Wiener 5530 SE 45th Ave. $229,875 3BR/1BA The price, location and description were so appealing that I raced over to see this one, even though the pictures weren't up online yet. Yikes! The exterior took down my expectations one notch on arrival (worn-looking up close) but I was still overcome by the smoker smell and appalled by the kitchen, whose cabinetry and overall state would not be move-in satisfactory for anyone I've ever met. The bath was forgettable, the closed staircase going up was awful and beat to heck; I didn't linger upstairs because the carpet and configuration up there was depressing and wholly unappealing. What do you want for $229K? More than this. Should be $195K.

3. Nice, But Painful 4837 SE Lincoln St. $375,000 3BR/2BA A blooming example of Why You Shouldn't Hire a Low Fee Agent. This house has enough location, curb appeal, yard size and amenities to sell for about $395K quickly. Why won't it? Because the absentee Broker isn't saying/doing what the seller needs. For $0, the home should have been cleaned, top to bottom. It was dirty, dusty. Furnishings were depressing or glaringly absent where they were sorely needed. And the yard looks like the "After" photo of a meth addict who was once a pretty thing. These conditions totally overshadowed and compromised a whole lot of modern-taste remodeling, including a new concrete/slate/stainless kitchen and inventive, especially lovely master suite upstairs crying out for a virtual tour. A classic example of "saving" 1% in favor of squandering perhaps 5%.

Little houses, fit for spouses

(And that's about it!) Today I made an impressive arc around the close-in eastside in the quest for the perfect little house. Of five examined, there was a $100K price difference ($219K-$319K) in play, and two  were great buys. The others had challenges were either location, kitchen, or a little of both. Read on for the lowdown and please - leave a comment! I get emails from some of you on these reviews that I would love to see (so everyone else can, too) here. Thanks for reading!

1. First Kiss $219K 2BR/1BA 6804 NE Davis St.  Here is the first-time homebuyer's dream: a little move-in ready house on a great street barely north of Mt. Tabor. It has curb appeal, hardwoods and a fireplace, no wizened furnace or unknown oil tank lurking, and a friendly-appearing full basement to play with when it starts to feel tiny. The second bedroom is very small, and there is no formal dining room. The eat-in kitchen won't wow you, either, but it was what I would expect to see in a house for $30K more. What a buy.

2. 200lbs+ Need Not Apply $319K 3BR/1BA 3726 SE 10th Ave. Perched in the perfect pocket of tricky Brooklyn, this was one I had high hopes for. Truthfully, it showed as well as its MLS description promised, but for two unavoidable "elephants in the room." Elephant #1 concerned an overzealous kitchen remodel that left perhaps 18-20" of clearance for a person wishing to exit its rear doorway (to say, access the basement or back door.) A larger person would be um, stuck.  The other problem was that the whole house just felt really tight. A touring companion (who lives in a 2BR apartment) felt the same way; and in this market the price seemed of small comfort to us.

3. Not Quite, But Almost $299K 2BR/1BA 1625 NE 58th Ave. The location is alright, as is the curb appeal. It's a roller coaster from there:  a truly fabulous living room and dining room (and layout) are barely affected by a tenant's uninspiring furnishings. The kitchen needs new colors and a bit of polish, yes, but still large, bright and pleasant. The bath is also roomy, with some vintage sparkle. The real downer comes when one enters the ill-conceived converted garage, uh, room. It was like stepping out of a cute little cafe into a seedy bar. Cheaply carpeted and unused by the tenant, it not only added nothing but took away from the sweet little home it was connected to. Wave a wand and change this one back.

 

 

4. Boxed-in Beauty (or, "No Wonder We Couldn't Find It!") $229,9K 2BR/1BA 226 N Page St. A hip remodel of an early eastside Queen Anne (like, 1895-early) which hasn't lost the connection to its roots, this sweet, small house and darling deck & small yard stand in total defiance of their immediate surroundings:  tall, concrete commercial structures to the east and north of the house aim to smite its charm with a battle axe. But take a deep, cleansing breath. The one next door is a friendly 9-to-5 printing house, with no windows, so privacy is complete. And the one across the street? Well, remember the lovely backyard and deck? Yeah, that's where you'll be. Still, a mite high; $205K feels about right.

5. Belle of the Ball $249K 1+BR/1BA 4417 NE 71st Ave. Please, don't let the address stop you. The street is nice, it isn't all that far from Beaumont Village (<1mi) and the house is really, truly lovely. The yard is amazing, almost breathtaking. The kitchen is a nice, smart remodel sure to appeal to a range of tastes, and the not-quite-legal BR in the basement is surprisingly warm and delightful, with pretty fir (yes, fir!) floors and matching wainscot. The rest of the basement was wisely emptied, polished economically and perfectly staged, such that no one would object to it as living space. A gem for sure.

3 Flavors of Bungalow: Perfect Peach, Neopolitan and.... Cherry Garcia

Oh, I do love ice cream! And for me, touring interesting Craftsman bungalows is almost as gratifying as licking away at some delectable confection squarely planted on a crispy sugar cone - yum! This week's flavors are named (subjectively of course) according to their overall, um .... mouthfeel?

1. Perfect Peach $329K 4274 SE Morrison St. 2BR/1BA A taste of heaven - delicately remodeled with a sweet layout - friendly front porch, small entry, nice living room-into-dining room layout with a re-done clawfoot-comprised period bath, spruced kitchen (fresh paint, nice countertops) and private - though petite - backyard entertaining yard. Also boasts a cool semi-finished entertainer basement and most notably, all new beautiful, double-hung wood windows throughout. Heard they had a buyer already for this one.

2. Neopolitan $393,9K 2006 SE 32nd Pl. 3BR/2BA Like the ice cream, this house has at least something that everyone digs - whether it be the fabulous location, perfectly refinished hardwoods, updated kitchen or master suite. But some people don't like a "mix" of flavors together, which admittedly this house has too:  a  lousy staircase up & atticky master bath are surprisingly married to a spacious, tall-folks-friendly bedroom with mahogany floors. Lovely kitchen cabinets lose some luster under some shlocky tile counters. A corner lot but no parking. Still, it's a great deal, needs nothing major and you can't beat the spot.

3. Cherry Garcia $289K 1315 NE 74th Ave. 2BR/1BA Before you even set foot on this property, you'll have an idea where the flavor name came from: homemade, studded sliding doors must be parted to take the first step inside the yard. Once in, a pleasing, tranquil oasis does greet you. A sleepy, hospitable front porch rests above a carefully-tended front, landscaped to highlight a sweet water feature. Once in the house, the first impression is of a cabin with all the original, unpainted millwork & builtins nestled in a shaded grove. But it's a wacky house, to be truthful, with a small and too-worn kitchen missing all the cabinet doors, miniscule 2nd bedroom and kooky, draped-but-really-unfinished upstairs that must be hot as hell later in the day. Location feels far out, too.

Icy Cold, or Steaming Hot?

Before leaving for a late-July trip, I took aim at a few market newcomer homes in the $250K-$350K range; on an unrelated yet strikingly parallel note, I just finished an outing with some new buyer clients casing the creampuff eastside neighborhoods (Laurelhurst, Irvington & Eastmoreland) in the $550K-$800K range a couple days before. I say "strikingly parallel" note because I found the same inventory dynamic in play during both outings. Listings seem either completely out of step with respect to current price-condition values, or they knock them out of the park (i.e. look pristine or fabulous and have an aggressive price point.) During my outing with the buyer clients, we saw one large $800K+ home that showed like a dream on four levels of living (as it should!) and another in a comparable location that apparently relied on its double-lot measurements to make up for a very disappointing kitchen (one I'd expect in a $349K house, frankly) and half the living space below grade. Similarly, when I toured a 2BR/2BA condo with comparable square footage and little more than a stone's throw from my own listing, I was relieved (but still shocked) that the substantially lower price it had ($50K) did not overcome the very busy and loud street, its mediocre kitchen, 100-yr-old windows, missing bonus room and utter lack of parking. I can't say enough how important it is to keep the price expectations realistic and also have the property as sparkly as possible for this market.

Here is the scoop on the three new ones I saw:

1. Sunnyside Dud - 2518 SE Belmont St. $285K 2BR/2BA main floor condo unit in an architecturally strong (but unevenly maintained) converted building in what was probably an original duplex but is now a fourplex structure. Nice staging and soft background music don't quite make up for the blazing traffic noise (rendering its nice porch unusable before 10pm or after 8am) or the unreplaced windows everywhere. Privacy concerns would require curtains anyway, I guess. On the upside, the rooms are mostly generous, and the fireplace and floors and some original features/fixtures help quite a bit, and the baths are both solid. Laundry is in the basement, along with some nice storage space. Still, it's a tough sell, even at this price.

2. South Tabor Sweetie - 7526 SE Pine St. $247,5K 3BR/1BA one-level updated modern ranch-style home with attached garage (thankfully not featured from the curb view.) Tucked into a sleepy nook of Mt. Tabor's southeast corner pocket, this modest little home nevertheless showed exceptionally well, with refreshingly tasteful and orderly decor, a smart kitchen remodel that maximized the space, nice hardwood floors and a pretty newer bath. The bedrooms, true to typical ranch style, were all unremarkable but well-proportioned and clustered at the rear. The yard wasn't big (but not small) and it was fine-tuned with healthy grass and landscaping. Great buy, easy to "see yourself" there. Happy.

3. Neglected Waverly Waif - 2406 SE Ivon Street $360K 3BR/1BA A towering foursquare in a to-die-for location, with an unfinished third floor (well, fourth counting the basement) accessible by existing stairs. Recently painted acceptable exterior colors, sizable lot & yard, plenty of space. It seemed a steal! Oh, but the pleasantries stop there. Showed egregiously poorly, including a downright revolting bathroom, because...? Don't know. Here's what I do:  the condition cost the seller an easy $25K that would have been negated entirely by a thousand bucks on a packing/staging service and another $500 for a cleaning crew.