Go-To Source for ADUs

Here is your local, Go-to Source for ADUs. 
A one-stop source about ADU's, granny flats, backyard cottages, in-law units, accessory dwelling units…

(So...what's an ADU? An Accessory Dwelling Unit.) I also like: Alternative Dwelling Unit.

But, especially good is Martin John Brown's article: Appraisal Journal on ADUs, making the point that appraisals of ADUs have lagged far behind the touted trend, continuing to depend on property comparisons rather than income-based assessments. Income-based appraisals spell out what a good return rate on investment ADUs make.

Now, why do people in the industry think ADUs are a headache: too hard to deal with, or even illegal?
Besides those folks in the industry repeating things they have heard but not proven, and those wanting to make transactions easy as possible...(laziness, in other words, or, to be more generous: lack of structures to deal with the unusual) it also originates from those sellers who end up disappointed when their hand-built basement flat fails to enhance their selling price.

Jeff's house at Tiny House Design
Well Done. Lovely ADU.

There are a million and one ways to build against code, and real estate brokers and appraisers have seen them all. But one of the most common is attempting to build a space that can be "legally" separately occupied. Let's say a homeowner has built in the hot water heater closet within a bedroom (this was true of the first house I bought), creating a potential explosion hazard. Who knew it has to have a separate entrance? The weekend builder didn't know, but a professional would have.

Despite good intentions, jerry-rigged spaces can end up having no closets in the bedrooms, no separate, lockable entry, a multitude of seemingly "it'll be good enough" problems that end up deflating the value  and livability of an ADU. Mostly because the space is not clearly thought out as to its potential long range uses, and because it ends up as an irritating (or nightmarish) code violation when the property changes hands. It's not that ADUs are a bad idea; it's badly executed ADUs that are the problem.

Countless properties have pulled off an ADU successfully. But what sticks in the memory of experience of appraisers and brokers are those that became a drag to negotiate during a sale. And it is street-level prejudice, like stereotypes, that can take the longest time to dissolve.

ADUs have been making the rounds in cutting edge living magazines for decades as the "latest new idea," but they still haven't made it to the grown-ups table at Thanksgiving. I predict this is about to change, and gain momentum with speed. There is a perfect storm of several components making ADUs necessary now:

• general hip coolness of living super small among "Millenials" - it's trendy but it shouldn't be underestimated how powerful this movement is and how its influence will grow
• current recession and economic tightness, school loan debt of same
• aging population, and greater numbers of the Woodstock Generation without own homes
• lack of affordable housing within metropolitan areas
• for those with smaller family size and larger property: an interest in maximizing income generation with one's own assets
• a recognition that maximal spaces require maximal resources, time, and effort to maintain/a desire for smaller, compact living that emphasizes experience over acquisition

In a way, the single worst thing to happen to stymie ADUs as an everyday solution (imagine they are an alternative that we take for granted, whose support is a given among the industry, and the strategies for making them happen with ease are already in place) would be for the economy to dramatically recover and begin booming, and soon. Because whenever that has occurred, society has forgotten the reasons that made ADUs attractive in the first place, when space becomes cheap and "living large" cycles back into trend.

The economy is probably not going to switch direction overnight, which means ADUs are on track to make the transition from intriguing trend to common alternative. Gradually, the botched jobs will get fixed, and the real estate industry will become well practiced in appraising, listing, and selling ADUs.

Portland Neighborhood Life has its own Soundtrack

Typhoon makes some beautiful music. And their videos give you a good idea of what it's like living east of the river. So that's why I keep sharing them on a real estate blog.

Summer Home by Typhoon

New state Program Helps Homeowners

Help for Homeowners Facing Foreclosure

Interested residents can call 855-412-8828 toll-free to learn more about the program.

"Intake specialists will screen callers for income eligibility and refer qualified households to an attorney. The phone lines are staffed from 9 a.m. to noon and from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Assistance can be provided in English and Spanish, with additional translation services available if necessary...Program provides eligible households with a free one-hour consultation with an attorney."

Be Kind to Your Neighbors

"Be Kind to all of your neighbors

because they are just like you

and you are nothing special

unless they are too."

Typhoon: The Honest Truth

People Who Move to Portland Will Need Homes

"Long term forecasts show that Oregon will add over 1.4 million people between 2015 and 2040."
 (click on the dots to get a population trend breakdown)

Accessory Dwelling Units : Popular in Portland

Have a look around in magazines (like Dwell) and trendy image collection sites (like Pinterest) and you'll find that Tiny Houses are in style. Downsizing takes on a whole depth of meaning when pre-retirees and twenty/thirty somethings take on the challenge of living in a 150- to 600- square foot home. 

Known as ADUs (Accessory Dwelling Units) or Granny Flats or Mother-in-Law apartments, these alternative dwellings have also become a desirable addition to the flip of a regular house within Portland metro neighborhoods. Having a an extra dwelling built into the attic or basement of a home makes it attractive for those still living with adult children, or those looking forward to caring for aging parents.

"Regardless of their size, ADUs are generally more environmentally friendly than a new home built in a traditional subdivision. They require no new land, less building materials and energy usage. They help Portland and the metro area meet population growth needs without developing farm land. Putting those residents in existing neighborhoods reduces sprawl and vehicle miles traveled, easing road congestion."

Here the Portland Tribune's Steve Law describes how a fee waiver for ADU construction (set to potentially expire next summer) has encouraged building of these small homes.

Portland Home Prices Rise

CoreLogic: Portland home prices up 4.1%

Says the Portland Business Journal

Sun Just Came Out

http://www.rainymood.com/

5 Reasons Why Portland Rain is so Sweet

It rained yesterday and Portland's long summer came to an end. It had been the longest stretch of contiguous rainless, only sunny days in Portland, Oregon since 1871.

We had all gotten used to it, and when it rained it reminded us all of what we have in front of us for the next several months. Before you move to Portland, everyone whines about the rain. How are you going to be able to stand all the rain? Won't it be gloomy? Oh, I would miss the sun, they say.

I have a love/like relationship with rain. In Colorado, where I grew up, rain was so rare that my mom pulled chairs out onto our front porch to enjoy it. She missed the big rains of Montana's big skies. It is so dry in the west that the unusual rains bring all the scents to life, makes you feel thrillingly cozy and melancholic.

After I moved to Sydney, Australia, and worked a dreary, weekday job, I counted 41 consecutive rainy weekends which threatened to unhinge me. Living in Germany, weeks would yawn by without a patch of sunlight, only low hung gray clouds, day after day, until the dazzling springs turned into summers.

Yes, it rains often in Portland. Yes, it's often gray or white in the sky. But here's why it's so good.

1) Rain brings out the character in people. When you're in the sun all the time, you never develop the more fascinating parts of your shadowy personality; the smile is never supposed to leave your face. The lack of water makes all the optimism a bit tense and exhausting. But rain makes handsome men grow beards. It makes computer nerd girls take up burlesque dancing. It makes nearly everyone in Portland's neighborhoods east of the river at least seriously consider getting a tattoo to express the iconography of their deepest soul. It ignites a sense of humor, an appreciation for the whimsical. Rain gives people have challenging thoughts, spurs them to consider alternatives to the accustomed. Somebody's got to have deep thoughts, and Portlanders have them in spades.

2) It's always temporary. The rain occurs for two to three days and then the sun comes out. Wondrously, the clouds scoot aside and  the blue sky shines. You can pretty much count on it. There's an end to the gray. In other parts of the world, where the drabness hangs around without any actual rain occurring, only unrelenting, stubborn overcast. If it's not actively raining, about to rain, or having just finished raining, the sun will come out again. Then it makes it all worth it to have Portland moist and damp and nourished with the sun glinting through the trees. It's luscious.


3) Plant life flourishes effortlessly. The abundance of rain means we don't have to water our lawns. They turn California-brown by summer's end, but green up again in October. If you've ever lived in a dry place you know how slowly things grow, and how one has to baby them until they've taken root, how obsessed one can be moving the sprinklers around, desperate to make plants thrive. Not so in Portland. Some of the most extravagant, finicky plant life grows here easily: Japanese maples, bright blue hydrangeas, staghorn sumac, trees both deciduous and coniferous. Rhododendrons are like dandelions, they are so common. Also: Roses.

4) The rain creates a constant cleansing effect. The water washes Portland regularly. Portland never feels dry, crackly, static or dessicated. The air smells fresh, and the water in the air carries lovely scents and breezes. It smells full and fresh and rich of soil. It makes our skin and hair feel and look better. Just wait a little while, and the magical rain will clean the roads and cars and buildings again. You won't have to wait long.

5) In spite of of all the rain, Portland has an active civic and natural life. People are out in bookstores, having conversations in coffee shops, going dancing, seeing bands, sitting around talking about books, and making and eating amazing food. People get out of their houses and among each other, thinking, making plans, growing ideas, being involved in the world. And they hike, bike and boat around in the rain, enjoying the lush forests of the Pacific Northwest.

5 Tips for Buying a Family Home in Today's Market

How to Choose a Family Home in today's Real Estate Market

5 practical tips from the Alphamom web blog...

Working with a real Realtor is Better

A Redfin study of online property listing services found that 36-37% of (online realty listing service) Zillow's and Trulia's property listings are out-of-date. Sold. Gone. No longer active.

Another reason to work closely with a Portland neighborhood real estate broker who will give her clients 100% of her attention and make sure that the homes they are seeing are actually for sale!

Redfin Study Finds independent online property listing services inaccurate

Light Rail Connecting Portland with Milwaukie

Find out about Trimet's
Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail Transit Project 
and how it will impact that corridor of the city...
(I predict it's about to make Milwaukie neighborhoods very popular!)

5 Year High: Portland Home Sales

Portland Home Sales Hit a 5 Year High
 Says the Portland Business Journal

Portland: Best for Young People

Portland/Multnomah County Named One of the 100 Best Communities for Young People

"The national award was given to Portland/Multnomah County to recognize its outstanding and innovative work in addressing the high school dropout crisis and for its programs and services that make it an outstanding place for youth to live, learn and grow."

Finding Your "Best Place to Live"

"Best Places to Live" lists aren't all they're cracked up to be. 

Looking at Money magazine's story on the best places to live in America, I roll my eyes at many of the findings. You won't find Portland, Oregon's inner city neighborhoods there, for one thing.

If all neighborhoods were the same, then, sure, finding a home in the middle of big-impersonal-house-land with an Olive Garden around the corner would be everybody's idea of The American Dream. And that's what too many of these lists list as being the kind of life we all want.

Maybe Money magazine knows exactly who it's talking to. But it sure isn't talking about the neighborhoods and lifestyle of Portland, Oregon. 

(Although, goodness knows, Portland Oregon often ranks in "Best Places to Live" lists regularly...for bikers, and river rats, and artists, and foodies, and characters...)

When I was in high school in Littleton, Colorado, we used to drive out to the edge of town, which was County Line Road, and park our cars by big piles of sheep dung. You would have to drive about 30 miles to begin to see a flat-topped rocky outcropping that marked Castle Rock, on your southward way to Colorado Springs. Something like the lusty thrill of illicit freedom sent us out the edge of the prairie at night, in the twinkling dark. Not even the smell sent us packing.

Twenty years later, when you drive along County Line Road, you are smack in the middle of deepest, Car-is-King suburbia. National Geographic took pictures of this place called "Highland's Ranch" a decade ago, white house after white house, stacked like cards, painted not only white but also oyster, beige, or ivory. Wide roads connect these masses of McMansions with the companies that feed and serve them: Wendy's, Starbuck's, Albertson's, Outback Steak House, Best Buy, Target. Toys R Us, Hobby Lobby, Starbuck's, Krispie Kreme, DSW Shoe Warehouse, Dress Barn, and Starbuck's. 

Memories of growing up in suburbia are the only ones I have. A high school boyfriend from downtown Denver used to drive all the way to where my mom lived, and, as the nighttime hiss of summer sprinklers sputtered to life, and he embraced me in the flawless carpet of green grass, he sighed: "Ahhhhh. Suburbia." For an inner-city boy, it was a kind of dream. Nobody can deny that it's conveniences are many. It's intended perfection may mesmerize us.

Yet the connoisseur of city-close neighborhood life is looking for something else. Either escaping what trapped them as kids, or wanting more of what we are used to, The Neighborhoodly have a different standard for what makes a living and a lifestyle. Here in Portland, Oregon, it is a youthful and welcoming diversity that makes everyday life exciting. Tastes that challenge, sights that may affront, clever characters that make a day memorable. Good intentions, and good vibrations, beauty and improvisation.

The internet has conditioned us to expect "quick tips," "hot lists," and short cuts. Magazines have copied internet pacing, and stories have a peppy and facile pace that refuses the subtleties of distinct impressions. When Money Magazine touts Highlands Ranch as one of the best places to live, ever, it is recommending a town less than twenty-five years old that crowds the grasslands where the ranches and farmland south of Denver used to begin. 

There is no main street, no center, no history, and nothing off-putting or alternative...except for the few suburban kids trying to skateboard on sidewalks there, begging to feel the illicit thrill of freedom. The food you eat has been approved by someone in a corporate office: it won't offend you, it won't challenge you, it will recreate a muffled mythic sensation of another country or of Grandma's Kitchen. A grandma you may never have had, in a family that may never have existed. 

The parks are full of children playing soccer. Not tattooed guys slowly doing tai chi or a young family teaching their husky to sing "My Funny Valentine" as there might be in a Portland neighborhood. 

There are thousands of Highland's Ranches all over America. And it's okay to want that kind of life; but when considering the "Best Places to Live" in America, it may easily have as many downsides as advantages for the discerning lifestyle artist.

Take time to figure out how exactly you want to live, when considering buying a house in a Portland neighborhood. Because you are buying into also a lifestyle, and purchasing, with your commitment, stake in a certain kind of world. A neighborhood: a community, a vast and flavorful and disparate collection of people who surround you and provide the services you will depend on as well as the history and landscape of the place firmly set in reality. A real place, with a past, present and future.

Educated Home Buying & Reaping What You've Sown

I just had a lovely chat with a gardener-escrow officer near my office. Noticing a homemade jar of sauerkraut on her desk, we launched into a discussion of all things related to perma culture, early bolting spinach, an overabundance of tomatoes, gardening in Germany, getting rid of bland growing carpets a.k.a. front yards, seasonal foods and traditional food combining, et cetera. As you do, in Portland. Some of the most exciting talk here is of making do/growing your own, and about food and nourishment in general. Portlanders bask in the flavah of being part of the preeminent Food City of the moment.

Kimberly Allen of WFG National Title Insurance Company brought to my attention the Portland Housing Center. If you are a new homebuyer, interested in a healthy and rational process of qualifying for your own home, look into their services. A registration fee of $65. gains access to their counseling and classes, in order to become educated in one of the most important financial commitments you'll ever make: paying off a home over the course of decades.

There are programs out there to make home ownership a journey of support and equity: for folks meeting the income criteria, their IDA plan matches the funds one saves for a down payment. It's vital to know what exactly you are getting into, and to that end, our society has an interest in citizens going into homeownership with eyes open so we can commit to purchasing homes that are affordable to pay off, with the expectation of success. The Portland Housing Center is all about citizen education and functioning neighborhoods. Their FAQ provides an overview of their services.

It's Getting Better All the Time

U.S. home prices show first annual gain since 2010; Portland area up 3%
Mortgage rates fall as housing market continues to recover

Urban Gardens and Eating Out in Portland

This short clip by Neighborhood Films http://neighborhoodfilms.net/ expresses perfectly the fusion in Portland of its food culture and urban garden culture. All about Besaws restaurant. I love Neighborhood Films' work.

Plus I love the inclusion of one my favorite songs: Wildwood Flower.

Rainy Portland Trip Postcard

A nice and mellow Portland postcard by Robbie Conaway : "Our trip to The Pacific Northwest where we went hiking and camping in Mt. Hood and Green River Canyon, explored Cape Lookout Trail, ate at the delicious local food carts, barbecued in the rain, fished for Dungeness Crab in Netarts Bay, and drank at the local wineries."

Music by Bon Iver. Here's how it feels to be in rainy Portland.

Summer Most Popular Moving Time

Summer months are the most popular time to relocate. Try to move before May or after August, or you might find movers and trucks booked out. Good thing is, Portland's summers tend to be dry and sunny and Californiate in nature, so there's rarely worry about moving in the rain.

When looking for a moving company, look into a company's ratings and history.

Complete the statement of customer responsibilities and inventory forms provided : the stuff you leave off the list is usually the first to go missing. (wink!)

Review more than one estimate; as they can vary widely. 

Always find out what the company will do with your stuff in case it can't be delivered at the right time: How much would storage cost? Do they arrange it?

For more tips: check www.ProtectYourMove.gov

Summer 2012 - Seller's Market

Tight Portland-area housing market brings stiff competition, bidding wars

By Elliot Njus, The Oregonian 

Oregon New Home Building Rises

Oregon's homeownership rate has fallen from 69% to 65%, reports Elliot Njus of The Oregonian, coming back into balance with rental housing. 

Construction of new apartments has started to climb in Oregon. In 2011, almost 2000 apartments within 80 buildings were given permits to build: that's half the normal pre-housing crisis figure, but has been enough to keep the construction industry above water, leading to some more jobs opening up in those companies that didn't go under.

Permits for new home-builds are also rising, compared to a year ago. 

Oregon home-for-Sale inventory has fallen, which is expected to lead to rising house prices. 

These are modest climbs and improvements, however, compared to the mid-2000's, yet these changes are grounds for optimism.

Postcard to Portland

Here's a sweet 4 minute postcard of Portland, produced by Sockeye Creative. Music by Portland performers MarchFourth.

Summer afternoons I can hear MarchFourth practice by the eastside waterfront...

Overview of Oregon's High Tech Industry

Want a reason to move to Portland? Want to find a job in Oregon's tech sector? While employment hasn't gone back to it's pre-recession levels, there is still quite a lot happening in Oregon's high tech sector.

Mike Rogoway of The Oregonian newspaper says Oregon's high tech sector is alive, growing, up and running, but still struggling.

• Oregon tech job numbers are nearly back to their 1997 levels (57,000 as of April 2012) but still way below their spike of 72,800 in 2001.
• Venture capital money is close to being back up to 2007 levels at 238.86 million (2011 stats)

Intel is the big name, employing 16,200 Oregonians, and it will add 1000 more workers in the next year and a half when it opens DIX, a new research facility in Hillsboro. (Intel's headquarters remain in California, but its most vital operations are in Oregon.) Intel tops the data center industry, with China, Russia and India becoming ever more important, growing markets for Intel chips. Intel's revenues grew 24% last year to $54 billion. Growth has slowed but profits remain high as the company starts seeing positives from the billions it spent improving its factory network.

Several publicly-traded tech companies live in Portland's suburbs. FEI Co, in Hillsboro, is an electron microscope manufacturer with both record revenues and stock prices. Its tools are key in Intel's labs, and it's expanding into biotech and academic research.

Mentor Graphics Corp. just passed its $1 billion in sales last year. A locally started Oregon company, it employs 1000 people in Wilsonville.

Hillsboro's TriQuint Semiconductor's revenues are going up since it bagged a contract that has every new iPhone using a TriQuint amplifier. However, its limited manufacturing capacity has frustrated larger contracts from being filled, letting investors down.

Other companies that occupy a niche: LatticeSemiconductor, and RadiSys Corp.

Many small but promising, privately held start ups are doing business near each other in Portland's Pearl District: Act-On Software, Elemental Technologies, Jama Software, Janrain, Puppet Labs, ShopIgniter and Urban Airship. (Mozilla is likewise planning to open a Portland office). Most do their part to help build the infrastructure of the mobile internet, but don't act as large scale, Silicon Valley-like magnets.

A possibly more influential and riskier venture:  Simple (aka BankSimple) moved to Portland in 2011 and plans to improve the online interface capabilities of banking and similar industries.

Oregon's fastest growing aspect of the tech industry is outside Portland. Data centers (for Facebook and Amazon) have opened in Prineville, Oregon. With their capital intensive facilities (they require hundreds of top-quality computers), Oregon's lack of a sales tax has drawn them here like bees to honey, besides providing an exemption from property tax on equipment.

Find Mike Rogoway's original story: "Investment in Oregon tech companies heats up..."

at The Oregonian.

Alternative Energy is Happening

In 2002 Oregon voters accepted Senate Bill 1149, enabling public utilities companies, like Portland's local PGE, to offer renewable energy alternatives. (The senate bill made into law what PGE had already initiated 4 years before: offering renewable energy to it's customers)

Guess what, a decade on, the program is #1 in the nation:

• Wind companies have invested 4 and a half billion in Oregon already
• Oregon ranked # 2 in the 2010 US Clean Energy leadership index.
• Growth in non-hydro renewable energy capacity has risen in Oregon 530% from ten years ago
• $143 million invested in commercial and private solar projects across the state

Which means, Oregon has avoided putting 3.1 billion pounds of CO2 into the sky. Just another reason to love Oregon's green.

Find a list of all the local businesses who buy renewable power from PGE at GreenPowerOregon.com

Stats on Senior Homebuyers

The Market Enhancement Group recently interpreted the latest data found in the US Census, and found that 5 million senior Americans plan to sell or buy a home within the next 3 years. 

Home ownership for people 65 and over is high, higher than any other age group.

Many plan to pay with cash from equity built in long-owned homes, and therefore won't need preapproval from a lender. Irrelevant to these senior buyers: worry about credit scores and down payment size.

More real estate findings:

• 31% of homeowners own their homes free and clear
• 68% of seniors own their homes free and clear, the rest will do so within the next 6 years
• 15% of senior homeowners plan to sell their home in the next 3 years to buy another home
• 94% of these plan to pay cash for their next home
• Only 1.6% of retirees are moving out of state after they sell their homes
• Florida used to be the main attraction with 1 in 4 retirees heading there, but that has dropped to 1 in 7 between 2005 and 2010. 
• Seniors are staying put: many are staying near to where they worked, only moving an hour or two outside the city, leaving high priced inter urban areas for less expensive property and taxes

In Your Portland Neighborhood

When I was little, our family was the first in our apartment building to get a color TV. All the kids came to crane their necks in our front door to see Sesame Street in color. Yellow big bird, Ernie with his orange and blue striped t-shirt, blue cookie monster. This was years before Elmo. 

I remember a song from that show: Who are the people in your neighborhood? There's the postman, the grocer, the auto mechanic. Even as a child, it gave me a feeling of peace and belonging to know that I lived in a neighborhood where other people lived, who did their work, and kept my world functioning.

Here in Portland's inner neighborhoods you'll find the printer, the professor, the jewelry maker, the barista, the tattoo artist. The singer, the saleswoman, the food cart guy. But truly, you'll never find them and meet them if you don't live in a Portland neighborhood.

A neighborhood is where you regularly travel. You set your footprint there and you belong to it. You are central to its workings, and your interaction with all the other people is what makes it a place worth being in. It's the place your memories are seeded and take root, creating your life.

A good neighborhood contains the lovely and practical things that compose your environment: the big trees, the diverse kinds of homes, the range of human expression in the shops and businesses people have individually designed and run, in the specialties they cook for you to eat. Portland's full of great neighborhoods.

Pocket neighborhoods in big cities are what make life grand, living there. When you live in a true neighborhood, you are recognized and others recognize you for belonging there. Belonging can be a rare thing in the world.

If you have what it takes to live in an exciting Portland neighborhood, you are already comfortable with diversity. That your neighbors may not live or look like you is cool. You know how to navigate city life, and you aren't afraid of it. It energizes, excites, and fires you up, at the same time making you comfortably at home. The character of the homes reflects the range of character of the people who live alongside each other.

You know who you are. Let me put you in a home in Portland that is rooted in its neighborhood, and let the life of depth and richness begin.

Incredibly Low Mortgage Rates...Still

Mortgage rates go up but still remain close to record lows

By The Associated Press 

Finding Home in Portland

Somebody asked me: If you could live in any city in the world, where would you live?

I love these kinds of questions, any excuse to dream my life...and began thinking of the most outrageous and interesting places where I could imagine myself living. Mumbai, Lisbon, Amsterdam? I'm not sure. Copenhagen? Definitely. What about closer to home: St. Paul, Raleigh, Austin, Boulder? Maybe.

But, to my surprise, I realized I already am living in the place that I most want to be: Portland, Oregon. There isn't any other city I'd want to live in. I chose it on purpose and love my decision.

This blog will tell you why you want to live in Portland, too.

And when you move here, I will help you find a home. Not just somewhere to live, a place to crash, a house, the address at which you park your stuff. But a home. Which means: a neighborhood, a community, a place to truly put down roots.