Meet Sarah and Keith: Proud dog parents and some of Portland’s newest homeowners! Jamie recently had the privilege of working with them so we wanted to share their recent foray into the competitive Portland housing market. It has a happy ending!

Jamie: I met Sarah and Keith through mutual friends. One of my first experiences with them was an unforgettable dinner party! In her spare time, Sarah is a master pasta maker (Lucky Keith!) and made us an amazing handmade lasagna with the most delicate and delicious layers I’ve ever tasted! We became fast friends and soon after, Sarah and Keith came to me ready to lay roots in Portland and buy their first home!

Backstory / What brought you to the area?

We moved to Portland in 2018. Keith’s job gave him the opportunity to move to the West Coast and neither of us had really dreamed of spending the rest of our days in Ohio, so we took it and haven’t looked back.

What made you decide to hop into the market?

Remember a few years ago when there was a headline circulating about how millennials weren’t buying homes because of their marriages or children but because of their dogs? Yeah, that was pretty accurate for us. Roo and Pimento needed their own yard! But also, we were tired of people living above us, and spending a fortune for the pleasure.

Previous neighborhood you lived:

Hawthorne area, just a few blocks from Ladd’s Addition. We absolutely adored that neighborhood. It was really walkable and there were parks and restaurants and lots of activity. We also had awesome nextdoor neighbors.

Neighborhood of new home?

King. It has a lot of the same great things that Hawthorne did—walkability, access to parks, etc.—but with the added features of being closer to the MAX and to some of our favorite restaurants.

What were you looking for in a home?

We had a list that we whittled down before we started looking, but the big things were something in a walkable neighborhood and with a yard for the dogs. It didn’t have to be a huge yard, they get daily walks and enrichment activities, but we wanted something for them to play and sniff around in. We also wanted more space. We were both working from home due to COVID, and it was looking like that might turn into a more permanent working situation (spoiler alert: it has). That working arrangement wouldn’t have worked in the apartment we were in, as much as I loved working at a tiny bistro table in our living room (sarcasm!)

How did house-hunting go?

Honestly, it was kind of a dream. We’d heard so many horror stories about the Portland market and adding COVID on top of that made it so unpredictable. Plus, we were both coming from the Midwest, and the price differences took some getting used to. We got really, really lucky.

Jamie was awesome to work with. She gave such good advice and made us feel a lot more at ease and our lender at OnPoint was helpful too. It can be a scary process!

Do you have any house projects planned for the future?

Yes! We’re redoing our backyard (did we mention the yard was a big deal for us? Haha). The house we bought had a large storage shed that we didn’t need, so we had that removed, and now we’re going to put in some grass for the dogs and some pollinator-friendly native plants for the bees!

What’s your favorite part about your new home and/or neighborhood?

New home: We have a really cute sunroom that’s been wonderful to work from and just enjoy the weather.

New neighborhood: Right now it’s a favorite part, but I imagine it could become a problem … We’re SO close to ice cream!

Our Alberta Top 6: Keys Lounge, Bye and Bye, Peninsula Park, Killingsworth Station Food Carts, Alberta Park and Salt & Straw!

Any advice for future buyers?

There can be a lot of waiting. Waiting for showings, waiting for a response to an offer, waiting for confirmation of a loan, waiting for closing; just be patient—it’ll all be worth it!

Jamie: “Sarah and Keith were dream clients and I was so thrilled to help them find a home with more space for them to spread out and have room to host guests, and a backyard for their two sweet doggos to romp! It’s also pretty awesome having them live closer to us for impromptu hangouts! Congrats on your new home and I am looking forward to the next Pasta Party… I’ll bring the wine!”