Portland REAL ESTATE: ART AND SCIENCE

Buying a piece of Portland real estate is a science but buying your Portland home is an art. The science part involves getting the legal and financial parts down while the art is finding the Portland property with which you will be happy.

You know what you like; or do you? It's a good idea to start by clarifying your needs, your financial ability, your preferences and your dislikes. Start with the general, such as your price range and approximate location, and then narrow your requirements by delineating the specifics such as neighborhood, age and type of home, and kind of ownership such as traditional, condominium or co-op. The total universe of possibilities within the universe of Portland real estate is quite diverse but narrowing your search ahead of time will help keep things in perspective.

In general there are two phases to any Portland real estate search. In the first phase, you get a feel for the different areas and an idea of what is being offered at what price. In the second phase, you search for the Portland real estate that meets all or most of your specifications.