Portland Home Energy Audit

Starting January 1, 2018, any homeowners looking to sell their home in the city of Portland will have to first have a home energy audit and make their home energy score public. Although these audits have been available for awhile, they are just now becoming mandatory. Portland wants to increase the energy efficiency of residential properties and give buyers a more informed view of their future homes energy usage.

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Home Buying 101

I recently hosted a class in my community for first time homebuyers, or seasoned buyers who need a refresher in this fast changing market. Saopon Cha, owner of Cha Mortgage and one of my favorite local mortgage brokers co-hosted, and everyone in the class walked away with some great information! For those that couldn't attend I still want to share what we taught, so here is a summary of all of the information!

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A Guide to Home Styles

Every one has their own favorite style of home, and figuring out a buyers ideal home style is a great way to get ready to start viewing properties. Here is a fantastic chart explaining the most popular home styles, their histories, and their defining characteristic. Which home style is your dream home?

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Rachel Bernhardt, Portland Realtor

In order to help people get to know me better I am proud to release my first promotional video! I'm always trying to grow my business, so if you know anyone in the Portland area looking to buy or sell real estate, now or in the future, please share this with them and send them my way!

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Neighborhoods: Goose Hollow

The Goose Hollow neighborhood in Portland sits west of downtown and just south of Burnside street. The neighborhood is more residential than some of the other neighborhoods in Portland, but is certainly not lacking in attractions, restaurants and things to do. Goose Hollow is still very walkable, with downtown being only a few blocks down the hill and NW Portland being right over Burnside. 

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Top Home Design Trends for 2017

What will homebuyers and builders be looking for as we move into 2017? Below are some trends that we will be seeing in new builds in 2017, and that homebuyers will be interested in seeing in both new and existing homes in the coming years. Most of these trends have been gaining ground in the past few years but will be big selling points in 2017. 

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Portland Catio Tour

Two of my favorite things are cats and homes, so obviously a tour of cat homes (catios) is right up my alley. Unfortunately I wasn't able to make it to the Portland Catio Tour last weekend, but one of my best friends Lauren was able to document the event and do a great blog post for me! Lauren is a fellow cat lover and my most crafty friend, so it was a perfect match. Enjoy!

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