By Carson Mead, June 20, 2018
I’ve known Paul and Ashley for a couple of years now. I worked with them in their relocation to Portland and I helped them get settled in to a great rental home while they learned this fine city. We’ve stayed in touch, become friends, and it’s been a pleasure to watch them grow into the community here and take a lot of pride in Portland. I was really happy when they were ready to buy, and wanted to find an awesome home for them. We talked through different scenarios for what they’re ideal home might be. It ranged from something that was new construction and open concept, to a house with good bones that they could remodel a few choice things like the kitchen or bathroom. Ultimately the latter won out, and they found a really solid house with a great layout, really nice period details and a great backyard for their puppy. The kitchen needed some work though, as the door to the backyard was covered by the fridge, and the space was really quite tight. I had just finished remodeling my own kitchen, including removing a wall and vent stack chimney. I knew there was a lot of potential to remove it, reorganize the layout and make a really fun, functional kitchen. We visioned it out, and they saw it too.
We went ahead with an offer, but it went multiple and escalated into a bidding war. They were pretty clear what their bottom line was for the house though, as much as they wanted it. We got the bad news that another buyers offer was selected, and they were offered backup position. They were pretty discouraged, but ultimately felt ok with sticking to their bottom line. As they were processing the information, we got a call that the buyer in first position had got cold feet right before signing, and my buyers were offered first position at their offer price. It was a rollercoaster few hours working through these details, but in the end they were so excited to get the house. The buyers and sellers were able to come to agreement on terms, work through negotiations for repairs, and they are closing tomorrow.
I often have a very personal experience of learning what’s important to my clients, and working very hard to make sure that they’re well taken care of through the process of finding a home and the buying process. Having been through a remodel and building my own detached ADU, I love to lean into that experience and vision out projects and potential. Even if ultimately my clients decide to pass on those ideas, I find the process of talking it through and feeling it out can often lead to more understanding of what the right home is. Let me know if you are interested in having coffee to talk about what’s important to you!
Carson Mead
Broker & ADU Specialist
My first introduction to the world of real estate came in 2004, when at the age of 22 I bought my first home in NE Portland with my sister.
I still remember what a monumental life transition that was. Buying my own home laid the foundation for a lifelong love of all things related to houses. I enrolled in a year-long Building Construction program to gain more knowledge in housing systems and techniques. I have used those tools to enhance my own home both inside and out. I joke that my favorite part of a house is the basement, as that’s where I can see the health and maintenance of a home’s systems: plumbing, electrical, HVAC, foundation etc. While a home inspector is the professional on helping to understand the story of a home, I like to provide as much due-diligence as possible up front before you spend the money and get into contract.
Ultimately my goal is to meet you in any endeavor that you are wanting to undertake. If you are looking to sell, I will develop a strategy that makes sense for you with your goals, timelines and marketing strategy. If you want to invest in your home before going on the market, we’ll look at what you can do to maximize your profit: be it refinishing floors, painting, modifying light fixtures, and getting it staged. If you need to stay in your home while selling, I’ll bring in my stager to help get perspective on how to pare down the feel of your home and have tangible goals to achieve in getting ready to go on the market.
If you are looking to invest in Portland real estate, we can talk about the big four in analyzing properties. Rental income, principal reduction, equity growth and tax benefits. I work with spreadsheets to outline these assets so you can see the short and long term performance of your investment.
Once last piece of my professional and personal life that I spend a lot of time thinking about are ADU’s (Accessory Dwelling Units). Also known as mother-in-law units and granny flats, these can be detached or attached. When I see a home, I look at the property in detail to see how the home is oriented on the lot and if it is ripe for a detached ADU (new construction), or if it is a good prospect for creating an attached unit (a basement apartment). I also look at the zoning to see what kind of potential this could add.
I am in mid-process building my own detached ADU. The structure is going to be modern with clean lines and open concept. I live on a corner lot, which means the ADU can have it’s own street entrance. I also have zoning which will allow me to split the lot if I choose and sell it separately at some point. My plan is to keep it as a rental, but this will create a lot of flexibility both short and long term.
I am a cooperatively focused broker, with a passion for helping people achieve their goals and succeed in their endeavors. I am patient, understanding, trustworthy, and truly care about your best interests. I serve on my neighborhood association board and the larger Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods.
Please let me know if you'd like to share a beverage, coffee, tea, beer/wine to talk about what’s important to you and see if it would be a good fit to work together. All the best—
carsonmeadpdx.com
yelp
Read More
- T: 503-853-5446
- F: 503-961-8224
- carson@livingroomre.com
F
503-961-8224