Sell a Home in the Portland, Oregon Metro

Top 1% Seller’s Agent

Planning on selling a home in the next year or so? You’ve come to the right place. Stephen FitzMaurice, Principal Broker is a top 1% sellers agent in Portland with over 2,000 local sales under his belt and writes extensively about the Portland real estate market.

The Right Way to Sell

Our team charges 4% commission max. and we pay more online to market our Portland and SW Washington homes so they sell faster and for more. (In Salem and Bend areas we charge 4.25% max.) We have a reasonable commission fee, while still providing more marketing and services than our competitors. We back it all up with a cancel anytime policy for no charge.

If you’re thinking of selling your home in the next twelve months, Stephen would love to tour your home. Call today to set an appointment.

Stephen FitzMaurice, Realtor
4% Max. to Sell a Home
Cancel Anytime Policy
Licensed Since 2003
503-714-1111

Sell your Portland Home Fast in 2015

January 8, 2015

In 2014 I sold 54 Portland area homes as their listing agent in less than 30 days. In about 3 weeks from now, I’ll be releasing a little e-book titled, “5 Secrets to Selling your Home in Less than 30 Days.” It will be available on Amazon.com and other sources. I thought I would write an important tip here that I did not include in the e-book as it is more locally specific to the Portland real estate market and may not apply to other markets across the country. In order to sell your Portland home fast in 2015 you have to time the Portland market right, or at least know the market you are getting into. Spring comes early...

What is my Portland Home Value?

December 11, 2014

Admit it. You, like many people — whether or not they’re actually interested in buying or selling a home — have typed your address into Zillow to see what homes in your neighborhood are worth. You might have even seen a “Zestimate” on your own home. How accurate is that number? Actually, according to the company itself, Zillow’s Zestimates are accurate to within 5% of the actual value of the home no more than half of the time. If you’d rather not flip a coin when it comes to this life-altering decision, there’s a better way to find out what your Portland home is really worth. And it’s easy — just talk to your Portland real estate agent. Real estate...

Sell Your Portland Home Fast – Stage it!

October 7, 2014

Maybe you’re just putting your Portland home on the market and can’t wait to get it sold, or maybe your home has been sitting on the Portland real estate market too long. Hopefully, your Portland listing is in the hands of a good real estate agent with a great marketing plan (see ours here). But even then, there are things you can be doing to help move it along into the waiting hands of the right buyer. You might read a lot of things online about how to get your home sold, but they all boil down to two things: Lower the price or improve the value. If your home is priced fairly for your market (and your Portland real...

5 Steps to Get Cash for Making your Portland Home Green

August 29, 2014

Are you putting your home up for sale on the Portland real estate market this fall? You may be looking around for low-cost improvements you can make to boost your home’s value. Or maybe you’re a new Portland home owner who felt the cold air seeping through your single-pane windows last winter and thought “Ouch, this is definitely hurting my heating bill.” You’re not alone. Ninety percent of home buyers these days are looking for energy-efficient homes, with features like good insulation and efficient appliances. Even in Portland’s relatively temperate climate, energy costs can be high.  Unfortunately, measures to reduce the amount of energy it takes to run your home can often be costly. Don’t let that stop you, though....

Portland Home Tests: Oil Tank Sweep

July 15, 2014

Portland homes are heated in many ways. Some use electricity, some natural gas, and there are even a few homes that just use a wood stove or fireplace (not to mention Geo-thermal, heat pumps, and a variety of alternative methods!). Oil heat is not as common but it has been in use since the 1940s, heating about 10% of all homes in the United States. Oil heating systems are different in that oil must be delivered to the property and stored for use, much like you store gasoline in your car’s gas tank. The life span on Portland heating oil tanks is about 20 years, after which they pose an environmental hazard because of leaks. Unfortunately, once a tank is...

Portland Real Estate Danger: Asbestos

June 17, 2014

It’s not a mold or a metal; a fungus or a gas. It’s not a chemical from a lab or something beamed in from space – in fact, this household hazard has been in use for 4,000 years! Asbestos is actually a mineral that forms long fibers with a wide array of uses. Unfortunately, its dangers were not recognized until the early 1900’s, and the Environmental Protection Agency still hasn’t completely banned it. That’s right, we’re one of the few developed countries where cancer-causing asbestos can still be found in everything from brake pads to oven mitts! In home construction prior to 1990, asbestos was a common material for floor tiles, siding, insulation and ceilings because of its ability to...

Portland Home Tests: Sewer Scope!

May 29, 2014

Continuing our series on home tests Portland real estate agents recommend on older Portland homes, let’s talk about everybody’s favorite subject: Sewage. Okay, most of us would rather not think about what happens when we flush the toilet or run the garbage disposal, but just as you wouldn’t buy a home with fraying electrical lines or rusted-out water pipes, you should look into the condition of your potential home’s sewer system before you commit. In case you weren’t aware, all of the drains in your home’s kitchen, bathroom, laundry, etc., are connected to a sewer pipe that you become responsible for when you buy the home. Your sewer pipe runs under your front or back yard to connect to a...

Appraisal FAQ – Need to know info. for Portland Home Appraisals

April 22, 2014

A home appraisal is part of nearly 95% of Portland real estate home sales. It is not 100% because around 5% of sales in Portland, Oregon are cash and do not require an appraisal. (Pro Tip: A cash buyer can hire an independent appraiser to evaluate the home and make their offer contingent on their satisfaction of that independent appraisal. This is not common, but also not a bad idea.) Also appraisals are used for home refinances, but in this article we will focus on an appraisal for a real estate transaction in Portland. Here is what you need to know about Portland home appraisals: Who pays for the appraisal? The buyer pays for it and it is not included...

Best time to sell a house in the Portland real estate market.

April 9, 2014

There is a lot of debate in the Portland real estate industry surrounding the best time of the year to sell a Portland home. What I’ve found listening to the debate is that most Portland real estate agents are talking about it based on their experience. Experience can be useful, but when you’re considering broad questions, a bigger data picture is much more useful than one agent’s experience. So I will share my experience as a top Portland real estate agent, but I will also use the official Portland real estate market data as obtained from RMLS. (You can also sign up here to get it for free.) Big data picture for the Portland real estate market. Take a look...

Boost Portland Home Values with Smart Bathroom Remodels

February 27, 2014

Before listing your home with a Portland real estate agent, you may be looking around at what you can fix up to improve your home’s market value. In my experience, home buyers in Portland are always attracted first to the kitchen and the bathrooms, and these rooms can really be the deciding factors in whether or not they love a home. We blogged about remodeling your kitchen in four easy and budget-friendly steps, so now let’s cover bathrooms. The most important thing to remember in any resale-focused home remodel is to be sure you’ll get a return on your investment. It seems basic but it is the easiest thing to forget in the throes of fixture shopping and bathroom-gutting. By...