Top Five Family Friendly Home Features in Portland
Portland is a great place to raise kids. Welcoming, diverse neighborhoods, great schools, and an abundance of cultural, outdoor and recreational opportunities. Portland real estate is a great investment for any home buyer, be it a single individual or part of any sort of family (the rental market here is tough!). Regardless of your familial status, we’d love to help you find a home! That being said, I wanted to write briefly about some of the top features to consider when you’re buying a home with kids in tow.
As a real estate agent, I’ve seen lots of Portland home buyers move in to homes that fit them like a glove. Homes that I know will not only allow their family to thrive, but also prove to be a good investment for them when it comes time to sell.
On the other hand, I’ve also seen people move into homes that weren’t quite right for them. In this fast-paced market, impulse buys are rampant. To make it easy, I’ve put together this list of five family friendly things to look for.
1. Schools
The quality of education your children will receive (unfortunately) can sometimes be dependent on where you choose to live. School quality (or at least perceived quality) also impacts home values down the road, so choosing a home that’s close to a school with a good reputation is key!
According to the website niche.com, compiles data on U.S. schools and neighborhoods, Portland Public School District ranks #6 out of all the districts in the metro area (and it is not a long list!). At the surface, this seems unfortunate because it is the default district for most Portland students. However, a quick look at the data shows that in fact, PPS gets respectable marks for academics and outcomes such as students going on to college. Where they suffer most, however, is in the “resources and facilities” category.
The good news is, the district has been working hard on a bond proposal that will be the largest in state history. It goes to vote in May 2017. If passed, the bond will provide funding to improve the old and overcrowded Lincoln, Madison and Benson high schools and Kellogg Middle School, as well as perform environmental health and safety upgrades district-wide. I understand that all bond measures (any proposed tax increases) are controversial.
Before putting in an offer on a Portland home, be sure to learn not just how the schools in the neighborhood are currently perceived, but also what improvements are coming down the pike. If your home’s value is low right now because of an old and overcrowded middle school, you may get a good deal — depending on the timeline for school improvements.
2. Indoor-outdoor living
Even if you’re a small family looking for a two-bedroom home, having a way to transition from the rain to the indoors makes life incredibly easier. Most Portland homes have some kind of porch or mudroom where everyone can dump their rain jackets and umbrellas. When you have kids, being able to send them outdoors any time of year is a bonus. A lot of families with kids love going into a home where there is at least a front yard and a back yard, and ideally a way for them to run around the entire perimeter! But it doesn’t have to be big, fancy or extravagant. Any kind of outdoor space will contribute to happy and healthy kids. Right now in Portland, you can find homes on the market that blend indoor and outdoor living — just let your real estate agent know.
3. Great lighting
Let’s face it — the winter months can be long here. We have to remind ourselves that the sun is still there behind that ceiling of grey, and that if our house has large windows, skylights, or solar tubes, we can enjoy some benefit from that light. As you tour homes with your agent, keep light in mind. If a room seems dark, try to figure out why. Is it just because the curtains are drawn and the furniture and flooring is dark? Or is the room impossibly dark because of poor design? Living in Portland winter after winter, you’ll be glad that you chose a home with great windows and an open layout that allows light to flow through.
4. The neighborhood
This is another way of saying “location”, but while location is a fixed point on the map, neighborhoods can appear differently through the eyes of each buyer. Like homes, what’s not a good fit for one family may be great for another one.
Many different qualities define a neighborhood, and thankfully most of them are measurable. In fact, the City of Portland has already compiled most necessary neighborhood data for us on Portlandmaps.com.
When you go to the site, enter the address of the home you’re checking out. In the column on the right-hand side, you can select information in each tab. Want to know how many property crimes happened in that neighborhood? Click on “Public Safety”. Curious how fast you can get downtown by public transit? The “transportation” tab will take you to a list of the closets bus and light rail (MAX) routes.
5. Walkability.
Most kids can’t drive — but walking gives the whole family a fun thing to do together, plus you stay healthy, save money on gas, and build a sense of community. So how can you tell if a neighborhood is good for walking until you’ve lived there?
Walkscore.com has a system that it applies to each neighborhood in Portland (or anywhere you are looking for a home to buy). A Walk Score of 100 means the neighborhood is perfectly walkable — all daily needs like schools, shops and parks are within walking distance. Even if you don’t mind being car-dependent, Portland will become less of a car-friendly place as we grow and add residents – look at San Francisco or New York. Your home value could benefit down the road just because you’re in neighborhood that’s easy to get around by foot.
Bottom line: Is it a good investment?
The definition of an investment is something that gains value over time. I state the obvious here because it’s amazing how many buyers buy a home on emotional appeal. That’s fine if you don’t expect to gain some kind of equity from your home when you’re ready to sell — but most people need that, whether for their kids’ future or for their own retirement.
The hallmark of a good investment home is one that is reasonably priced now, in a neighborhood that’s set to improve and see gains in home values across the board. That’s why it pays off so much to have an experienced buyers’ agent on your side. We don’t just help our clients pick the best home for right now — we help them pick the right home for their future.
