News Headlines for Portland, Oregon : 2012 Quarter 1
3/24/2012
Want to Live in North Bethany Take a Look at Arbor Oaks
North Bethany is a growing and mid-scale master planned community of 230 homes that when finished will comprise 500 homes. It's located off NW Springville Rd in Washington County. The community has a pool and an adjacent elementary school and sits near PCC's Rock Creek campus, West View High School and a 32 acre THPRD complex. The new area that was just opened will have daylight basements 1700-4000 sq feet and priced from $290,000-$635,000. For more details about this community you can visit Arbor Custom Homes here.
To catch more of the Oregonian Article
3/16/2012
Homeowner's Associations Can Go Down With Windbags
Ever heard the expression "TMI" too much information? This little expression can cost an HOA thousands of dollars. There is a fine line as to what the board of an HOA should tell their members and what they shouldn't. If a board is required to disclose certain material facts it's just as important how you disclose those facts as it is what the facts are.
To catch more of the HOA Leader's Article
3/7/2012
US Government Settlement of $25 Billion For Mortgage Service Foreclosure Abuses Filed
The US Department of Justice, The US Department of Housing and Urban Development and 49 State Attorney Generals filed an agreement with the nations five largest mortgage servicers regarding foreclosure abuses. The five banks were Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Company, JPMorgan Chase and Company, Ally Financial, and Citigroup. Twenty billion of the $25 billion is going to be used for home refinancing and principle reductions for underwater homeowners. The article suggests that 1 million borrowers will be helped out from this settlement.
To catch more of the Atlanta Business Chronicle Article
3/1/2012
Polygon Northwest Homes' Timberland Offers A Fallback For Increasing Rent
Timberland is an 88 acre master planned development located off NW Barnes Road in Northwest Portland. When some of the high rise rental condominiums downtown have been increasing their rents some of these renters have found a home in this development which is a short 5-10 minute drive downtown and located between Cedar Mill and Forest Heights. It can be cheaper to purchase in this development then to rent.
To catch more of the Oregonian Article
2/25/2012
Retailers Flood Away From The Pearl District
The Pearl has always been a pride and joy for Portlanders; it was the place to be and the place to be seen. Retailers felt the same way. Now that the Pearl is maturing, still very expensive retailers are wising up and choosing to cut overhead and display there products in different ways. A few businesses that have left the Pearl include: Eddie Bauer, Adidas, Puma and a few restaurants closed or relocated. There are many that would suggest looking at the Pearl with a different point of view such as, there is Section 8 housing there, some restaurants are closing shop and heading to the Pearl, and lease rates are not increasing.
To catch more of the Oregonian Article
2/18/2012
Will Park Avenue West 27 Floor Building Ever Start Construction Again?
The Park Avenue West was going to be a 27 Floor Building High Rise Construction Project located at 728 SW 9th Ave which is directly behind Nordstrom and near Pioneer Courthouse Square. The building was 50% leased but the project was stopped in April of 2009. After much energy spent shoring up financing, the construction will restart in 2013 and conclude in 2015. It's going to be a really cool building with underground parking, retail, office and two twin spires that light up at night. It will also have biker friendly commuter showers, bike parking and lockers. It will make it Portland's third highest skyscraper behind that of the Wells Fargo Center and US Bancorp Tower buildings.
To catch more of the Portland Business Journal Article
2/12/2012
Honey Break Out the Radon Gas Masks
Do you live in Portland? Do you live in a radon hot zone? Have you heard that radon is the number two cause of lung cancer and your really freaked out? Yes there are studies that show that certain areas of Portland have high radon levels compared with the entire country and yes there can be cause for real concern. If you smoke or have lung issues and your home has a high exposure to radon it's going to increase your likelihood that you'll have a problem too. Freaked out yet? Want the good news? Ok the good news is first and foremost if there is a problem it can be remedied. Radon is one of those issues where your home could have very high levels but your neighbors home might not have any at all. What do you do now, you ask? First, get some tests completed by professionals to see if you have a problem. You can call any radon inspection company and for $150 they'll come out and put equipment in your home for 48-96 hours testing the radon exposure. You'll need to keep the doors and windows shut the majority of time so a good time to do it is just before a vacation or extended weekend. You can also buy different kits at Home Depot as well. If the results are deemed unsafe when compared to EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) or the World Health Organization standards, then you have options. There are many radon remediation companies out there that will help to eliminate or reduce the radon in your home. They will put special equipment in your basement or home to get the radon out of your home. Then they will retest the home after so you'll see the differences.
To catch more of the Portland Tribune Article
2/2/2012
Hoyt Street Properties Get's Fined by Oregon DEQ for Christmas Horses
Do you remember that really cool horse show with incredibly beautiful horses, acrobats and actors that took place in the Pearl District around Christmas time? Well Oregon's Department of Environmental Quality is not happy with the way the show disposed of gravel. The fine was $4941 for water quality violations and was charged to Hoyt Street Properties who is the owner of the land. DEQ claims that because the gravel did not go through an appropriate washing it could put fish habitat at risk.
To catch more of the FOX 12 Article
1/30/2012
Anthony Tuomi Pleads Guilty to Screwing Over Investors To The Tune of $5,000,000
Anthony Tuomi was the Chief Financial Officer of Willamette Development Services. Willamette Development Services was an real estate development company headquartered in Albany, Oregon. The original purpose of the company was when it was founded in 2006 was for building commercial and residential homes across the Willamette Valley.
To catch more of the KOIN local 6 Article
1/22/2012
New 6 Story South Waterfront Building Going Begins Construction
This is an affordable housing project. The project costs are estimated at $50,000,000 and will house 209 residents that meet the eligible income requirements. Also Veterans get 42 of those units who earn less than $15,000 a year. The South Waterfront has been a neat area to be apart of over the last decade. They have many really nice residences in 6 different high rise condominiums buildings. A few of the buildings are for owning and the other buildings are for renting. It's a perfect place to live if you work at OHSU or the VA. Simply walk to the gondola and take it to work.
To catch more of the KATU Article
1/18/2012
Is Your Rent Going Up You Need An Affordable Place to Live? Partner with Proud Ground!
Proud Ground is a non profit company started in 1999 to keep homes affordable forever. Using creative financing with a various grants, loans, and trusts Proud Ground is able to help Portlanders get into affordable quality (many times new) homes. Pohl Real Estate, LLC has personally worked with Proud Ground to get a client into a home in Gresham. Our client has a disability, very low fixed income through social security and receives section 8 money and through a combination of programs we he was able to purchase his first home. He would not have been able to purchase if it were not for Proud Ground and various others partners.
To catch more of the Oregonian Article click here
Here is a link to Proud Ground
1/5/2012
Staley Purchase Finalizes Work on the Staley Agreement
James Staley has waited for this day his entire life. Through partnership with many organizations his dream of home ownership came true. Mr. Staley has a developmental disability that mainly affects his speech, but through a mass community effort involving, Community Vision, Proud Ground, City of Gresham, SHOP Program, land trusts, grants, gifts from his Mom and late Father, Freddie Mac, HomeStreet Bank, Pohl Real Estate, and a victory in the class action suit the Staley Agreement, Jim was finally able to walk into his new home before Christmas. One requirement for one of the grants was that he had to get community volunteers to help him work on the house after purchasing. Jim is one of the most likable guys you'll ever meet; he had about 30 volunteers from family and friends show up to move bark dust, grade the landscaping and drainage, fix lights, weatherize the home, paint, and clean up. We are honored to have helped Jim purchase this home.
To read the Gresham Outlook article (Picked Up By the Portland Tribune) and the details of my client's purchase click here
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