By Jennifer Johnston, November 13, 2018
Leah dreamt of development. Be it an ADU or a house.
My client Leah wanted to buy a home with property in Vancouver for tax purposes and wanted enough space to build. Development is in Leah’s blood. Her dad is an architect.
We had the willingness, and the team. All we needed was property. We found a property that spoke with Leah near downtown Vancouver. It was a bit of an odd home and priced a little out of line for how quirky the house was. While doing some pre-due diligence, the sellers accepted an offer from someone else.
Heading back to square one, we found a property with a small home that was listed as developable. It was priced even higher than buyer wanted to go. This property was different than the last one she was interested in. Located in an area of higher priced homes and had over a half an acre in size, and development happening across the street. The property was priced too high for average developers. Leah was willing to take a swing and write a low offer.
After a few rounds of back and forth, we came together. During inspections though we learned that the lender Leah was working with couldn’t get the property to appraise based on being an owner occupied home with the value being more in the land. With that and the inspections results, the deal fell apart. After researching more lenders and speaking with several brokers to find the right lender, we found a lender that was willing to work with the property being a bit different than the usual. Additionally we swung for the fences and asked the seller for a big price reduction. To our surprise, the seller agreed.
My client now is the proud owner of a small 50’s home on a HUGE lot, with development potential for around 7 – 8 homes, and she bought the property for $253,000.
So excited for my client to embark on her development as time progresses.
Jennifer Johnston
Principal Broker licensed in OR & WA
Jennifer Johnston has been a Real Estate Broker since 2001, and is a proud resident of Portland’s University Park, living in the house that her mother grew up in.
She understands the power of home and putting down roots. Being a native of the Portland metro area, she received the benefits of learning about great neighborhoods, trends and hot spots. She is a 5 star rated agent on Zillow, Trulia and Yelp and multiple years 5 star award winner with Portland Monthly Magazine and is a recipient of 100 Most Influential Real Estate Agents in Portland award.
Jennifer’s goal is to have synergy with her clients. She wants you feel like you are house hunting or house selling with a trusted and experienced friend, and that your journey will be stress-free and as agreeable as possible. Jennifer believes in spending quality time with her clients and really getting to know how they love to live, so she can help serve them and find them their new home.
In addition to providing residential real estate services to her clients, Jennifer’s background experiences are artistic and entrepreneurial. She started and ran a restaurant guide for several years after leaving a Program Manager position at NIKE. She developed and organized the International Gourmet Dinner Club, a dinner club which consists of individuals expanding their culinary palette and cooking skills while making new friends who are also passionate about food through monthly theme dinners.
When time allows, Jennifer enjoys spending time with family and friends, listening to music from the 70’s and 80’s and doing something that releases some creative energy. Her paintings have been shown in galleries, commissioned by local collectors and she is a major donor for Cascade Aids Project.
Certified Relocation Specialist
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- T: 503-784-2204
- jenniferj@livingroomre.com
