All Forum Posts by: Tara Ballenger

@Kelvin Lee curious - do you mean you stay away from the entire east side? As in, you don't cross the Willamette? 

@Jacob Szeto fantastic info - thank you. Hard to imagine it wouldn't be a gain for the community and property values. Lents hasn't followed the same narrative as other neighborhood that have rapidly gentrified, but by my math, it's had steady appreciation in its existing housing stock, as well as steady investment in renovation of individual properties. I see Lents as one of the last "oh, I wish I would have bought there when i could still afford it!" neighborhoods. But that kind of investing is always part speculation, and it's not for everyone. 

@Zach Davis good point. Certainly something for the more experienced investor, but a viable option if the numbers work. Hey by the way, I'm just north of Rockwood in North Gresham! :)

I would not buy a property with tenants in place, in Oregon but in Portland especially. It's not worth the headache and risks. I advise my clients (buyers and sellers) of the same thing. The flood plain is something to consider, but not all of Lents is in it. I'm definitely seeing a lot of construction and renovation going on in Lents. There are many rundown homes, but I wouldn't describe it as a place where progress isn't happening. Not sure of how the new mid-rise buildings at foster and 205 will affect the foster commercial strip. People have been waiting decades for Lents to take off. It seems inevitable that it eventually will. So it's  a risk tolerance issue, in my mind. 

@Account Closed it's time we have another happy hour and catch up. I'll email you :) 

I am keeping my eye on Lents. I'm looking to buy new primary, convert legal max sqft (800 of an 1900+ sqft home) to legal ADU, live in the adu for awhile, then buy a new primary and rent both units. Then rinse/repeat. Lents is one neighborhood I have my eye on... wondering about finding quality renters in that neighborhood. $/sqft is pretty good there, once you exceed 2,000 sqft.

Also interested in Powellhurst Gilbert and Glendoveer - they are quaint and serene, but they will never be walkable. Commercial zones aren't really there. 

Any buy and hold investors with property in the Lents area (or surrounding neighborhoods) in Portland? If so: how's it going? 

@Kevin Coggins are you looking for listing agent or buyer agent (or both)?

Harjeet Bhatti I switched lines of work. I went from a marketing director (W2), to real estate agent (1099). My question is, for FHA, does it matter that my 2016 only has a small amount of 1099 income? Do I have to wait till my 2018 are filed? I'm okay if 2016 (my partial year) and 2017 (my full year) are averaged...

Harjeet Bhatti I thought was just for conventional Freddie Mac, before March 2017 (when it changed). Michael Cohen I don't know if it's that gray in my situation. You have to be in the same field, and I switched fields. I don't think I'll be able to use only one year, bc Freddie Mac doesn't allow it anymore and the loophole for FHA is quite small (same field). My question is more about, do you need two full *tax* years, or could you have one full and one partial tax years, and two calendar years? Devil's in the details I suppose.

Robert Niosi best of luck to you... let me know how it's going!