What YOU Need to KNOW Right NOW Before GOING to an Open HOUSE (You Won’t Believe #4!)

What YOU Need to KNOW Right NOW Before GOING to an Open HOUSE (You Won’t Believe #4!)

Posted inReal Estate
If you really stop to dwell on it, there's something quite strange about open houses. You leave your home- with all your memories and your toys and that open Gatorade bottle in the back of the fridge- in the care of a real estate agent that you may not have ever met or seen or whose name you know, so strangers can walk through your house for a few hours and judge how you live. If you're fortunate enough to not…
I (Don’t) Like to Move It Move It

I (Don’t) Like to Move It Move It

Posted inMoving to Portland
Somewhere out there is a human who enjoys moving. I don't mean enjoys having moved, that's a different thing. Generally people are good with that. I mean a person who enjoys the process of moving, which might make that person an energy vampire. The cleaning, the packing, the boxes, the boxes, the boxes. At its best it's a hassle, and at worst it's a layer of hell Dante chose not to write about. Naturally, I've moved twice in the past year…
What the F*** is a “Zestimate,” Anyway?

What the F*** is a “Zestimate,” Anyway?

Posted inReal Estate
(Update: this whole post is now moot, glad I took the time) Folks in my business tend to see Zillow and other techy real estate companies as anywhere from benign presence to the Anti-Christ. I land somewhere in the middle, as I have a healthy distrust of any giant company but can see how when they offer real value, it's best to figure out how to work with them or they'll eat your lunch. I have seen firsthand what kind of…
What the Hell Are You Talking About

What the Hell Are You Talking About

Posted inReal Estate
There's an old saying in marketing that half of all marketing works, but nobody knows which half. That's likely an outdated metric, what with the new army of data scientists and algorithms that didn't used to exist, but there are still plenty of places where art is called for more than science. Take for example movie advertising, my old bailiwick. When deciding what tagline to put on a poster, or which review quotes to include in an ad, it's mostly hunch.…
There’s No Baseball in Portland, Which Sucks

There’s No Baseball in Portland, Which Sucks

Posted inMoving to Portland
With apologies (not really) to the barely-in-the-minors Hillsboro Hops, there's no baseball in Portland. I'm sure one of these days I'll take in a game at Ron Tonkin Field to see the Hops take on the Tri-City Dust Devils or the Everett AquaSox, and I might even enjoy myself, but it isn't the real thing. Once you've flown first class it's tough going back to coach. So how did we get here, with Portland- the 25th-largest metropolitan area in the US-…