Featured Neighborhood: Hallinan Heights

Hallinan Heights
Hallinan Heights
Lake Oswego has 25 individual neighborhoods and this week we are going to feature Hallinan Heights. Both Linda and I love this neighborhood, there is just something about it.

I think it’s unique boundaries are part of why it is so great. It is clearly defined by the Willamette River to the East, Oswego Creek and McVey to the North, Cornell Rd to the West, and Upper Cherry Rd to the South. It’s not a large neighorhood, but within it is a wonderful Elementary School and a very nice Park. It has a real feeling of community where people walk their dogs and picnic.

Hallinan Elementary School
Hallinan Elementary School
My kids did not live within the Hallinan Elementary School attendance area, but the play ground at Hallinan Elementary was hands down their favorite. We would drive across town to play on it. It’s a BIG playground with a great variety of equipment. As my kids got older, I learned to love it because it is adjacent to the playing field which has a great walking trail around it. So my kids could be playing and I could be taking a nice walk within sight of them.

The real estate in Hallinan Heights includes one very nice condominium complex on the Willamette River, Oswego Terraces. Built in the 1950’s, these mid-century buildings are solid and sleek. There are currently 3 condos for sale in the mid $250,000’s. While none of the waterfront units are currently for sale, when they do come along they boast some of the finest river views in the entire metro area. The complex is uniquely situated on a curve in the river that looks directly North to downtown Portland.

Wide Streets
Wide Streets
Most of the single family homes were built in the 1960’s and 1970’s. The wide streets have well landscaped and tidy yards. There are currently 8 homes for sale. The least expensive is 2442 square feet, all on one level, and is listed for $399,900. The most expensive is 3700 square feet of new construction with river and mountain views for $1,225,000.

My final boast for Hallinan Heights is that it is close to downtown Lake Oswego. Whether you want quick access to great restaurants, or you want to walk along the river at George Rogers Park, you are right there. I would estimate that you could walk to the Farmer’s Market at Millenium Plaza Park within about 20-30 minutes. Nice!

Do not hesitate to contact Linda or myself if you would like more information.
Dianne

It’s A New… Centennial Year in Lake Oswego!

HappyHappy 2010 to each of you!  I don’t know about you, but I can feel the excitement (and dare I say relief) in the air.  It’s a new year, and things are looking good.  Lake Oswego is already celebrating its Centennial, employment figures are up, real estate tax incentives are in full force (for a few months anyway), stocks started the year with a rally, and “the trend is still up” according to Rob Lutts, chief investment officer at Cabot Money Management.

Are there naysayers and warnings of impending doom?  Yes, as always.  I, however, am “cautiously excited” at the prospect of renewed opportunity all around.  I see my clients achieving their goals and changing their lives, and I know that time does indeed march on.  For my clients, job changes happen, marriages and divorces happen, families grow & need more space, loved ones want to be closer geographically, retirement and downsizing happen, and of course, “upsizing” is also very much alive.

Couple3The beginning of the year also always brings some legislative changes, like needing a hands-free device to talk on your cellphone in the car.  The new law does, however “…exempt motorists who are on their hand-held cell phones ‘in the scope of the person’s employment if operation of the motor vehicle is necessary for the person’s job’.”  Hmmmm, I wonder if that includes Realtors?  Well, I think I’ll opt for safety anyway, but I can smell some friction (is that burning rubber?) ahead in the way of challenges to these minimum $142. tickets.

In the real estate world, there are all manner of regulatory changes, and changes to the “new” forms we’ll be using.  Make sure to talk with your SophieTuckerRealtor (or Dianne and I if you are without a Realtor) if you have any questions.  Some of the changes could affect the timeline of your transaction if you are not aware of them. For instance, if a transaction includes any seller-carried financing, and the document is prepared by escrow, there is a 3-day mandatory review period… so if the Buyer is just seeing the document for the first time at signing, there will be a 3-day delay in closing.  Also, you will notice that our ML#’s have gotten a bit longer.  As we are starting a new decade, the ML#’s now start with “10”… so they’ll be longer numbers & have lots of zero’s for awhile : )   As an aside, the count on these, and therefore the number of new January listings as of today in Lake Oswego number 24, and range in price from $90,000 to $998,500.

CarrieNationLast, but definitely not least, I want to address the excitement of the ongoing Centennial Celebration in Lake Oswego.  I’m including a link here to a pdf that has all kinds of historic Lake Oswego photos, and news stories from 1910. By that time Lake Oswego had been in existence for 60 years already.  Three previous attempts at incorporation had failed due to fears around “additional regulations and taxation” (sound familiar?). Residents in First Addition were interested in: “promoting small businesses, water quality, fire protection, debate over the sale of alcohol, as well as government autonomy. The vote in favor of the measure was 79 to 22.  Only men cast their ballots because Oregon women did not win the right to vote until 1912.” You really MUST check out this link.  Some of the headlines read: “City Government Controls Width of Tires”“Buy a Lake-Front Lot for $50.” “Oswego’s Bear Population”, “Illiterate Cows” “Pig Penmanship”, and many, many more.

Happy, Happy 2010 to you and yours, and thank you for reading the Property Blotter!

Linda