Lately, I have been sitting across from a weird number of homeowners who bought three or four years ago, already want out, and are getting some really shitty news from me.
Depending on what they bought, what they paid, and what has happened in their little corner of the Portland market since then, some may be looking at selling for roughly what they paid. In a few cases, less.
Nobody is thrilled when the Realtor says that.
There are obviously times when life gives zero fucks about your ideal real estate timeline. Divorce happens. Jobs move. Health changes. Families change. Sometimes you genuinely need to go.
But some people simply bought houses they were never going to be able to stay in very long. That is exactly what I am trying to avoid when I help someone buy.
Ideally, I want you there for seven to ten years. Long enough to enjoy the damn thing, give the money you put into it some time to season, and let normal market appreciation do some work.
The COVID years warped expectations a little because some homeowners bought in 2017 and turned around a few years later with a shit-ton of appreciation. Amazing. Love that for them. I am still not building your housing plan around the possibility of that happening again.
So if you are wondering when to sell your Portland home, somewhere around that seven-year mark is a useful time to look around.
You are not committing to anything. I am not showing up with a FOR SALE sign hidden in my trunk. We are checking the plan.
Seven Years Gives Us Something Useful to Work With
I have talked before about buying a house with the next ten years in mind, because I am an enormous pain in the ass about Future You.
When we are house hunting, I want to know about the kids you might have, the jobs you might leave, the parents who may eventually need more help, how much yard you realistically want to maintain, and whether that commute you swear is “fine” will still feel fine with an eight-month-old at home.
We do not have a crystal ball, but we usually know more than we pretend we do. If you want three kids and two home offices, that tiny two-bedroom bungalow is probably not going to magically become more house because you love the tile.
That is how I try to keep you from calling me three years later saying, “Lauren, I cannot fucking live here anymore.”
By seven years, we have actual evidence. We know what happened with the jobs, the family, the commute, and whether the guest room quietly became a permanent office with a printer where your mother now sleeps.
Future You has arrived. Let’s see how we did.
If you are somewhere around year six, seven, eight, ten and starting to wonder what the hell the next move is, reach out before you decide you need to sell. That conversation is much more useful while all the options are still on the table.
Your House Will Usually Start Telling on Itself
Most people do not calmly announce, “Our housing needs appear to have evolved.” Usually the house starts annoying the shit out of you first.
The office is also the guest room, craft room, playroom, workout room, and place where every mysterious box goes to die. Your sweet little kid is now a stinky teenager permanently occupying the living room. You are carrying laundry down two flights of stairs and getting increasingly pissed about it every Tuesday.
Or Zillow starts sneaking back into your morning routine.
“I’m just looking.” Sure…
If checking new listings has started feeling suspiciously similar to checking the news, I would like to know what is going on.
This is also where I become a somewhat inconvenient Realtor, because I talk people out of selling their houses all the time.
I had a client call me completely overwhelmed by her house. One of the big daily issues was basement laundry, along with some older-house stuff down there that was making her increasingly anxious.
By the time we talked, her brain had already arrived at: I need to get out of this house.
Okay. But did she hate the house, or did she hate going into the basement?
She had a gigantic upstairs bathroom. There were professionals who could properly address what she was worried about downstairs. Eventually the conversation became, “Why the hell don’t we just put the washer and dryer up here?”
Oh. Right.
Suddenly we were no longer discussing the sale of an entire house because doing laundry sucked. She literally said, “This is why I call you.”
YES. EXACTLY.
If your house is making you crazy, I want to know why before we turn that feeling into a transaction.
And if you bought only a few years ago and already want out, call me before you start building the next plan around whatever number Zillow is whispering sweetly into your ear. We can look at actual Portland comps, what you have put into the house, and what selling would really leave you with.
Selling may still be the right answer. I just want us working with real numbers and the actual problem.
What Problem Are We Actually Trying to Solve?
“I think we need a bigger house” is usually where people start.
Okay. What is actually not working?
Two real offices might solve it. Another bedroom might solve it. Less yard might solve it. A main-floor bathroom might solve it. Getting the hell out of a three-story house might solve it.
Square footage on its own tells me very little. There are also plenty of houses that work just fine while the life around them has stopped working.
I can help you rethink a basement, move laundry, or remodel a kitchen. I cannot renovate your commute, bring your sister ten minutes closer, or make the busy street outside suddenly chill the fuck out.
When the thing driving you crazy is baked into the location or the property itself, that is when moving starts getting a lot more interesting.
Before You Spend $200,000 Remodeling, Call Me
Please do not decide the answer is a giant remodel and call me after you have signed the contract.
Let me stick my nose in first.
I want to know what the renovation actually fixes, how much longer it lets you stay, and what else that same money could do.
If you love the neighborhood and $75,000 gives you another eight happy years in the house, fantastic.
The math gets less charming when we start piling expensive project after expensive project onto a property that still will not become what you need. At that point I am going to ask: “What if we just bought the house you are trying to turn this one into?”
Worth discussing before somebody starts swinging a sledgehammer.
If you already have a remodel list, send it to me before you start getting bids. I can help you sort through what improves your life now, what may help when you eventually sell, and what I would leave the hell alone.
Okay, But What About All That Equity?
This is usually where somebody says, “We have so much equity.”
Awesome. What does it get you?
For me, that is the useful part of home equity planning.
We look at what your Portland home could realistically sell for, what you would probably walk away with, what the next house costs, and what the payment on that house actually looks like.
This is also where I bring in the appropriate grown-ups. I am not your lender, financial advisor, or CPA wearing a tiny Realtor hat.
Every so often, we do the math and discover you could sell a perfectly good house with a payment you like, burn through a chunk of equity, and buy…
Basically the same fucking house with a much worse payment.
Why?
If your body has changed and the house no longer works, that is a reason. If your family needs something fundamentally different, that is a reason. If your location makes daily life miserable, that is a reason.
“I technically can afford to move” does not impress me nearly as much.
Please Call Before You Reach the “Get Me the Fuck Out of Here” Phase
People make weird housing decisions when they are desperate.
We saw that all over Portland during the beginning of COVID. Everybody was home, kids were home, offices appeared in dining rooms, and people were absolutely losing their minds.
Then the desperation hit. GET ME OUT.
I watched buyers become willing to overlook shit they absolutely should not have overlooked because the relief of moving felt so good.
Part of my job, and part of how I train my team, is knowing when somebody needs some guardrails.
You might just be fucking over it. The commute sucks, the house is getting on your nerves, and somehow you have opened Zillow 87 times this week. Fine.
I still want to know where we are actually trying to get you before we start making giant decisions. I would much rather hear from you at, “Huh. I wonder if we should move,” than after you have mentally packed the moving truck.
You Are Allowed to Call Your Realtor Without Selling Anything
A few clients I had not heard from in years recently reached out with a list of house projects they were considering. They basically said, “What would you prioritize for our enjoyment now, what matters for resale later, and what is actually worth doing?”
I wanted to frame the message.
YES. THAT. Please do that.
The kitchen may be making you insane. You got a promotion and suddenly have more options. Your parents might eventually need to live with you. Finishing the basement has started to sound either brilliant or financially unhinged. You may also have developed a suspiciously intimate relationship with Zillow again.
You do not need to know whether you want to sell.
We might look at comps, bring in a lender if the numbers need sorting out, or just walk through the house together and figure out what the hell is actually bothering you.
If you have a house decision rattling around in your brain, reach out to Team Goché. Let’s look at it before you spend a pile of money or make yourself crazy.
So, When Should You Sell Your Portland Home?
There is no seven-year alarm clock that goes off and announces, “Congratulations! Your house has expired.”
I like the seven-year mark because by then we usually have enough information to have a worthwhile conversation.
You have enough history with the house to know what still works and what does not. Life has probably shifted, the money picture may look different, and the projects you poured energy into years ago have had time to prove whether they were worth it.
If the house still works and the numbers say stay, great.
Absolutely fantastic, actually.
Sometimes the answer is embarrassingly small. Fix the thing that is making you nuts and stay put. Other times I run the numbers and tell you moving right now makes no sense. And every so often, we look at the house, look at your life, and go, “Yep. This worked for a long time. We are done here.”
I do not need every conversation about your house to become a transaction. I would much rather get involved early enough to help you figure out whether there should be one.
So if you are wondering when to sell your Portland home, come talk to us before you decide.
You are allowed to still be completely fucking undecided.
