Got to love jet lag at 5:30 on a Saturday morning. Regular readers know that I spent the last 10 days in England. I cringed at some of the comments that were posted here while I was gone. It’s been less than two months since I wrote “Why there is a Portland Real Estate Blog, again.” It may need reviewing.
New Year’s Resolution 1: Love thy fellow blogger. If we all had the same opinion and view of the market this would be one freak’n boring site. If we make 2008 market predictions, some are going to be right and some wrong. I’ve freely admitted when I have thought or proved to be wrong. JP sorted out the error of my math last week. Sometimes, looking at the data from a different prospective doesn’t produce valid results but the data as put forth may be equally untelling. I could make a policy of just cutting and pasting stories from other sources but what would be the point?
New Year’s Resolution 2: Remember there is a diverse readership. We have renters, one-home owners, multi-property owners, sellers, buyers, investors, want-to-be owners and never-want-to-be owners. What is right for you may not be right for any other reader. Respect the views of others even if they are not yours. Somebody is probably making money right now conducting real estate transactions in this great/awful market. Someone else is losing their shirt.
For the New Year: I am going to do my best to continue not to edit or delete comments (even Naysayer has made the occasional cameo appearance). If they get nasty, I’ll either call you on it or shut off the comments for that particular post and if necessary delete them and ask you to leave. I’ve closed the comments on RMLS November and MarketWatch since I don’t feel the current thread is heading down a productive road.
This is a great, well read, and highly regarded forum but everyone that uses it has some responsibility in keeping it that way.
***Asked by commenter to delete.
Just a note of support — great blog! This is one of my (few) daily reads.
I just relocated from a Tigard apt (3 month corp lease) to a 1 year house lease in Vancouver. I’m waiting for the market to stabilize, so I presume I’m one of your demographics…
48 hour observation: Vancouver appears to have lower cost of living than PDX , however it also appears to have corresponding lower quality of life. I’m still undecided as to which state/neighborhood we’ll wind up in — Beaverton has good schools; I happen to like Mt. Tabor neighborhood, and I love PDX’s numerous museums but 2008 is the year I do local research and (hopefully!) settle on a neighborhood. Comment certainly welcome!
As a home buyer w/ a child (10 months old), it would be really cool if I could search listings by school district. I haven’t found a website yet that provides that functionality…
Also, as stated in a previous post, I’m very concerned about the apparent ability to rezone a neighborhood — I’m interested in purchasing a 1/2+ acre lot (w/ house!) but am concerned about the possibility of having neighbors converting their large lots to multi-family housing. Any info on how to research this would be appreciated.
Regards,
Chris
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
Hi, Chris,
I am in the same situation with you, looking to buy in 2008 (hopefully at a reasonable price).
Do you know where can I view the rankings of school district in the metro-portland area?
thanks
thanks, Charles.
Is there any website dedicated to the portland area school district research?
Portland Monthly puts out their school guide each year and is the current issue online.
http://www.rmls.com allows a search by individual schools but you are relying on the LA listing the correct school. Numerous times I have noted homes in not so desirable neighborhoods come up while searching for homes in the Buckman elementary school area, same w/ Laurelhurst elementary.