There's no place like home sweet home. Andy is in search of a home in SE and asks:
I am looking at buying a house sometime in the near future and am wondering if any urbanmamas have used a realtor they would like to recommend. We are looking at purchasing in SE and I have no idea where to start. I've been looking online, but would love a good suggestion from someone whose been through buying a home for the first time. Thanks!
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I love our realtor, Andrea Dufresne at the Hasson Company - Broadway Street/Irvington office. She's very professional, very thorough, super sweet, knows Portland like the back of her hand, has great thoughts on homes, areas in the city, schools, etc. . . I could go on and on. We just closed on our house in NE and we move in next week. We relocated to PDX from Pennsylvania & I honestly don't know what I would have done without Andrea.
Posted by: Patti | March 22, 2006 at 08:39 PM
Mimi Heil at ReMax on NE Broadway is absolutely, hands down the best realtor in the entire world. There's a statement, eh? I'm really picky about the people I work with and she passed all of my "must-have" qualities easily. She really listens and knows exactly what you are looking for and will only show you homes that have that criteria (one of my criteria was I wanted a realtor who wouldn't waste my time). She found us our first home in SE PDX a few years back, and really helped us through the first-time home buying experience; she also got us the home in which we currently live. She's super sweet and relaxing, but knows how to work the deals and believe me, she will WORK for you. She met us on Thanksgiving one year to look at a home and place an offer, then she worked that whole weekend for us. She loves kids, and gave us a beautiful handmade child-sized chair for our son when we sealed the deal on our current home. Mimi also sold our last home for us and was amazing as a selling agent as well. She's also found homes for two other friends of ours and they were very happy with her. OK, I'll stop gushing - we LOVE Mimi!
Posted by: Marlynn | March 22, 2006 at 08:45 PM
Jane Swanson at Realty Trust in Hollywood. We have bought and sold two houses with her--both in SE, and she's great. One of the best things about her is that she really listens when you tell her what price range, style of house, neighborhood you want, and that's what she shows you. Plus, she gets a great price for you whether you are the buyer or the seller.
Posted by: margaret | March 23, 2006 at 07:17 AM
We bought our house in the SE this fall through Elaine Line at NW Prudential (www.eline.pru-nw.com), and loved working with her. We found her by chance, when we emailed her from SF about a listing on craigslist, and couldn't have been happier. She's laid back but knows her stuff, and she was so accomodating of our needs (we only had a weekend to find something and had our 2 year old son in tow, so we had to make stops for food/walking around/naps) She lives in the SE and knows the area well. I'd recommend her without hesitation!
Posted by: jj | March 23, 2006 at 07:56 AM
we loved nancy ettinger through prudential. she weeded through a lot of the houses that she absolutely knew wouldn't work for us, then when our house was being auctioned off the day we were signing papers (do. not. ask!), she went way beyond the call of duty to save it (and my sanity!).
Posted by: stellarma | March 23, 2006 at 10:12 AM
When I bought my NoPo home in late 2001, I had an outstanding experience with Tina Schafer of Re/max Signature Properties on NE Broadway. (She had been recommended to me by Rose City Mortgage.) When I first contacted Tina, I was still living on the East Coast and she was very generous with maps and information on costs, neighborhood trends, and so on. Once I returned to Portland to househunt in earnest, Tina diligently alerted me to new listings in my really limited price range. When an affordable-but-dreamy home finally came back on the market after a previous purchaser backed out, Tina was one of the very first people to learn of it. I am 100% certain that it was her credibility with the seller's agent that enabled me to get in and seal the deal before other, higher offers started flooding in.
Posted by: Tia | March 23, 2006 at 12:05 PM
I also have experience with Tina Shafer of Remax. She helped us buy our first house about 5 years ago and then helped us sell it last year.(the only reason we did not use her to buy our new home is we were buying in Vancouver) She has also helped a couple of my friends find homes recently who had very specific needs and wants. I would recommend her to anyone. She is both a great buying and selling agent and has tons of contacts in the community for anything you might need regarding your house (mortgage, roofers, flooring experts, inspectors etc)
Posted by: Mary | March 23, 2006 at 01:06 PM
Jennifer Raynak with the Hasson Co. She is so amazing.......We have bought and sold two homes with her and she is the cat's meow. She makes it so easy, is patient, and extraodinarily diligent. With the market the way it is we got both of our homes when there were 4-6 other bids...
Good luck.
Posted by: Heather | March 23, 2006 at 01:16 PM
erin task-donnell
503-312-0323
She is stellar in all ways a realtor should be.
Posted by: Monica | March 23, 2006 at 01:22 PM
I highly recommend Dana Cody at Coldwell Banker West Burnside office. She is very customer service focused. I have recommended her to several people and they have always been very happy with her.
Posted by: Alisa | March 23, 2006 at 03:28 PM
We absolutely loved working with Gene Moreland at Hasson! He made the process so easy with his relaxed, calm yet thorough demeanor. We felt we could totally trust him, and he came through for us in every way. He is such a nice guy, too. We bought our house in NE but I think he specializes in the SW/SE area. Gene also led us to an amazing mortgage broker who demonstrated great patience walking us through the process, got us an outstanding rate, and who has become a personal friend. I hadn't imagined we would find such wonderful, trustworthy, hardworking, good people to make the finding and purchasing of our home so easy!
Posted by: Emily | March 24, 2006 at 08:56 AM
Alia Hazen from RE/Max was awesome and wonderful when I bought my house four years ago, and I still consider her a friend. she also works with a mortgage broker directly. she's great because, firstly, she knows portland very well, and secondly, she's great at working in a budget and having patience to work hard even for people she won't make a lot of money off (relatively speaking). 503.705.8414 is her number and tell her jonathan hanson (my hubby) and i referred you.
i really can't say enough good things about her. she is funny, hip, and really considers your needs first.
Posted by: sarah gilbert | March 26, 2006 at 11:46 AM
Erin Rothrock from Hasson just sold my mom's house for her-she was fabulous. She's rated as one of Hassons top realtors, and I can see why...she's a sweetheart, but also a really SHARP businesswoman.
Posted by: Fionnsnana | March 27, 2006 at 08:54 PM
Anna Coey
503-349-2165
Windermere
http://annamurphycoey.mywindermere.com/
Posted by: Laura | March 28, 2006 at 02:57 PM
I really love Loenie North.
She is incredible...
Leonie North
Realtor
Re/Max Equity Group Inc.
2100 NE Broadway, 1B
Portland, OR 97232
office: 503-287-8989
cell: 503-701-6283
fax: 503-284-1618
Posted by: Autumn Pardee | March 30, 2006 at 08:04 PM
Testimonials
"As first time homebuyers, my husband and I did not know much about the process of buying a home. Phyllis Ghazi sat us down for our first meeting and walked us through the process from A-Z in easy-to-understand terms, leaving plenty of time for questions. As our search started, Phyllis would e-mail new property listings in our price range and preferred locations first thing in the morning. Most of these listings were so new that they did not have photos!! It was this extra effort of sending the listings ASAP that got us to the stoop of what we now call home.
From referring a top-notch inspector (saved us $20k in hidden damage), to our seemingly endless extensions and amendments (repairs/construction had to be completed before closing), to cleaning up after our messy mortgage broker, Phyllis was with us every step of the way. Throughout the process we felt that Phyllis worked for us. If you want a real estate agent that will work for you, be on your team 100%, and see the transaction through to the very end, Phyllis is your gal. We could not have asked for anything more!!! Thanks Phyllis!"
Posted by: Gina | October 22, 2006 at 08:26 AM
We also had a great experience with Phyllis Ghazi of RE/MAX Signature Properties. Phyllis' help and professionalism in the successful sale of our home in NE Portland was such a complicated move out of state for us and much to coordinate, but she helped to keep things rolling right on schedule. We appreciated how she kept us fully apprised of any changes and/or potential problems in the sale and closing of our home and managed to give a personal touch to the transaction, going out of her way to help us out. We certainly recommend her to all we know who would like to sell their home in Portland. You can reach Phyllis at 503-421-2407 or www.PointClickandPack.com.
Posted by: Robin & Jack | October 22, 2006 at 08:34 AM
I will agree with an earlier post MIMI HEIL from Remax is awesome! When we bought our current house she was the selling agent. We did not have an agent. She was awesome. She worked for the seller and us..the buyer! She smart and personable. If we ever want to sell our house (very doubtful) I will definetely use her...she's the best!
Posted by: colleen | October 22, 2006 at 05:43 PM
I have to highly recommend Patrick Henry from Coldwell Banker Barbara Sue Seal. My husband and I were first time buyer who moved here from out of state. He was born and raised in Portland. He knows all the neighborhoods inside and out. Patrick was so patience with us. He emailed new listing everyday, took us to see properties and helped us for over five months. We just love him!! He is knowledgable, trustworthy, honest, professional, reliable and provides excellent customer service. We would use him again in a heart beat.
Posted by: Chrissy | October 22, 2006 at 06:59 PM
There are a lot of great testimonials here for realtors but we will add another.
When we decided to move here from Seattle, a friend referred us to Phila Kelsey at Windermere. She was wonderful - very informed, very attentive, very easy going and she made our transtion to Portland much less stressful for us.
We would definitely use her again. We have since referred her to friends and family and - no surprise to us - they have also raved about Phila. Here is her website:
http://oldportlandhomes.com/
Posted by: Milagros | October 22, 2006 at 09:08 PM
Phyllis Ghazi is a great resource for Portland real estate. She now has a real estate blog with some really good information for home buyers and sellers .
You can view her Portland real estate blog at: http://www.pointclickandpack.com/blog/
Posted by: Steve James | March 15, 2007 at 11:44 AM
Carmel Siler Falls from affinity reality. 503.210.6822. She is fun, young, and hip. You'll love her!
Posted by: Melissa | March 15, 2007 at 01:23 PM
Not to toot my own horn, but my clients seem to like what I do for them. My mom likes me too, but I guess she has to.
Posted by: Patrick Beringer | August 03, 2007 at 02:38 PM
I would NOT recommend Alia Hazen. She was disappointing from the get go -- often not returning phone calls, always seemingly disorganized, generally curt and, I know that this is a personal pet peeve of mine, but she has terrible sentence structure and word choice. I was appalled to see typos and ellipse in her email signature. She is simply not professional.
We did not end up using her and would recommend that you make the same decision.
Posted by: Sarah | August 19, 2008 at 03:14 PM
"generally curt and, I know that this is a personal pet peeve of mine, but she has terrible sentence structure and word choice."
Is the use of the word 'but' in this run on sentence truly correct? Sorry, just a pet peeve of mine.
Posted by: Steph | January 29, 2010 at 09:51 AM
I'm a single mom who recently purchased a condo in Ladd's Addition with the help of realtor Phyllis Ghazi based on some recommendations in this thread. They were so right, she's a keeper! Phyllis is the pro's pro... she knows her stuff and has an eagle eye for any inconsistencies or possible issues with a purchase. I also found her wonderful to work with. She's straightforward, with much needed honesty, not at all into sugar-coating salesmanship and just the right amount of non-condescending hand holding needed in the negotiations. I feel altogether fortunate to have had her services... she was the right person to help me through this at the right time.
Posted by: Gina | September 27, 2010 at 11:02 AM
Alia Hazen is wonderful to work with! She is a Portland native who really knows and is passionate about the city. While being completely professional she is also fun and witty, actually making the entire process enjoyable. I’ve recommended her to all my friends, three of which have subsequently worked with her and have raving reviews for her.
http://www.home-hazen.com/
Posted by: Adria | February 22, 2011 at 01:17 PM
I agree with you Adria! Alia Hazen is such a good person indeed. I wish to meet her again.
Posted by: Prudential | April 21, 2011 at 02:30 AM
I know also Alia Hazen..and besides i also with u...infact she's so fabulous...
Posted by: Prudential | May 05, 2011 at 06:34 PM
Carmel Siler is a horrible agent, has no etiquette and cannot remember who the names of people she is contracting with. Definitely one of the worst in the Portland area.........stay away!!
Posted by: d | July 23, 2011 at 10:54 AM