My partner and I are looking to buy a house in/near Portland Advice please

[musiclawyer]

Planning to look at a few modest houses in Lake Oswego next month And some a little better than modest houses in West Linn and Arnold Creek area. Also a few houses near Cornell st in the NW

We are from out of state and unfamiliar with the tax structure there. Zillo and Trulia provide information of property taxes paid ( 2012 most recent ) It's become the key factor in our selection of houses to see. Why do the property taxes seem almost arbitrary --swinging wildly from house to house bearing no relation to quality or location sometimes ?

Anyway we need a buyers agent. If you want to drop some names PM me Thanks

[jeffrey_pdx]

1. A few tips

Lake Oswego is very white, rich, and Republican. Though I don't think they are outwardly hostile to liberals, minorities, LGBT, etc. West Lynn is similar, but slighly less so. It is farther from Portland though. I have friends with a house near NW Cornell, they seem to like it, but I haven't spent enough time there to get a feel for the people who live there. You might want to look in the Westmoreland/Eastmoreland section of SE Portland too. I think the price range might be similar to the 3 areas you mentioned.

[davidpdx]

3. I agree the SE area

I'm very fond of the Milwaukie area as I lived there for a good chunk of the 11 years I was in the PMA. There is light rail out that way now that runs into downtown. When I was there the transportation wasn't that great, but now it is quite a bit better. I'm going to try to drop by next time I'm in the country as I want to see how things have changed.

[grasswire]

6. The light rail to Milwaukie won't open til 2015.

It will be FANTASTIC, if the RWNJ yahoos stop yammering about "Portland creep".

Transportation isn't too bad even now. The 33 bus runs from Oregon City all the way down McLaughlin to downtown Portland every fifteen minutes. What is a bit harder is getting around to other areas of Clackamas county from central Milwaukie.

What's stopping you from moving back? It's beautiful here today! Wind storm last night. The river is high, high, high right now. I'm about to take my border collie out for a walk along the river. The sun is out, 47 degrees, who could ask for more?

[davidpdx]

7. I've pretty much resigned myself to continue living here

I'm married to a Korean national. We try to visit every 2-3 years. Didn't make it last year, so I'm hoping to make it this year.

[quakerboy]

2. It is odd, isnt it?

I cant speak as directly to how Lake O does their property taxes, but I think a big part of it for Portland has to do with timing and perceived value.

I will go out on a limb and guess that you will find the seemingly arbitrarily higher tax homes were generally built more recently, often in the 2000's.

For most of Portland, the property tax did not keep pace with the market on its upswing, they undervalued everything and charged lower taxes than could have been justified by market prices. One of my neighbors places sold for 105k in 2007, and sold for 30k last year. And throughout, its assessed value has been in the mid 40k range.

Or, for a more direct comparison, One of my family members had a home in Lake O. At the height of the market, there were unsolicited offers coming in for over 500k. After the crash, it sold for under 200k. and throughout this, its assessed value had not changed but incrementally (since it was built in the 50's). After they sold it, it was demolished, and the new structure has a completely different assessment value.

[PasadenaTrudy]

4. If I were you

I'd just rent for at least a year and get a feel for the place and neighborhoods.

[grasswire]

5. well?

Did you find something?

If I had seen this thread earlier, I would have recommended looking in Laurelhurst, Mt. Tabor, and Sellwood areas. All in S.E. Beautiful, settled neighborhoods. And a bit less likely to be filled with snooty Republicans.

[musiclawyer]

8. We are a few months behind schedule

Waiting for a bit extra money ...We like the SE but I think we have narrowed it down LO and WL --not the real expensive parts. Utilities seem a bit lower and a little less congestion --for people like us who are out in the exburbs now and will not have to commute then