First Time Home Buyer Guide - Step #5 - The Home Search
Mar 21st, 2008 by Jody McLeod
Next in my home buyer series - the fun part - getting out there to search for your new home!
Beginning to Search for Homes
Use your wants and needs list to give your agent (if you are using one) to get the process started. Not only is it important to have the approximate number of bedrooms, baths and square footage, but in a bigger city like Portland, it really helps to narrow down particular neighborhoods you would like to search.
Do some homework. Ask your friends and family (they can be SO helpful in this process!). Drive around different parts of town and find the areas that appeal to you. I would suggest you go out at different times of the day to get a true feel for the different neighborhoods, especially if you find yourself drawn to one in particular.
Search for Portland Homes on the Internet
Most people these days start their search on the internet. There are home search tools where you enter your search criteria to get results and there are classified ad listings that may contain homes not listed in the search tools. Here are some links to help get you started:
HOME SEARCH TOOLS
CLASSIFIED AD LISTINGS
Sign up to Receive Daily Listings by Email
You can also sign up to receive daily listings via email based on your search criteria. My clients really like my search engine tool that does this, but there are hundreds out there (any others you will have to find on your own - I’m no fool!). 
Research the Neighborhood Links:
- Portland Maps - Enter a Portland address and this site will show all kinds of information about that property. Not only will you find the tax assessor’s summary, but also information on schools, parks, permits that have been pulled on the property, underground storage tanks and all kinds of maps, including satellite views.
- Portland Monthly Neighborhood Article - Portland Monthly’s 2007 review of Portland’s metro area neighborhoods that include information such as schools, people, crime, parks, commute time and much more.
- Walk Score - Walk Score shows you a map of what’s nearby and calculates a Walk Score for any Portland address you enter.
- Schools - There are a few of good links on schools I would like to share with you: Great Schools.net, Portland Monthly School Progress Report, and the Portland Public Schools website. In addition, on my website I have listed all of the public and private Portland Schools, most of which have a link for school boundary locations.
- Portland Neighborhood Associations on Wikipedia - There are 95 officially recognized Portland, Oregon neighborhoods. Each is represented by a volunteer-based neighborhood association which serves as a liaison between residents of the neighborhood and the city government, as coordinated by the city’s Office of Neighborhood Involvement (ONI).
- Neighborhood Livability Survey from the City of Portland
Portland Neighborhood Vibes, Photos and Videos
- Portland Metroblog - Local politics, event reviews, lunch recommendations and ways to avoid that big traffic jam downtown. If it’s happening in Portland, they’re on it.
- People of Portland on Treehugger - They asked their readers for the good and the bad things going on in Portland. Questions answered include: What is the general level of eco-consciousness in population? How is it for cyclists? How’s public transportation? Suburban sprawl? Air quality? Recycling/composting? You get the idea.
- Portland Ground - Portland Ground is a geo-photo-documentary by Miles Hochstein. Each of the 1446 images on the site is connected to one of the 75 odd neighborhoods or places Miles has visited.
- Street Films Portland Videos - Some really good videos about the eco-side of PDX. - Intersection Repair - Portlander’s take back their streets | Celebrating America’s Most Liveable City | Bike Move
- PDX Companies - Every few days the author profiles a Portland area employer from a list of over 175.
- PDX Pipeline - Julian Chadwick started PDX Pipeline in 2005. The blog covers various events and happenings in Portland.
- Portlandville - From the author: “I started portlandville.com as a way to organize my thoughts on various personal interests, many related to the place I live — Portland, Oregon and others related to media (particularly emerging media), music, food, and other targets of my over-active curiosity.”
Be watching for the next installment in the First Time Home Buyer Guide - Making an Offer
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