Let's play House Hunters (Jack Bog's Blog)

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This page contains a single entry from the blog posted on August 26, 2010 1:42 PM. The previous post in this blog was State budget hole: Now it's up to $1.3 billion. The next post in this blog is They don't even have a football team. Many more can be found on the main index page or by looking through the archives.

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« State budget hole: Now it's up to $1.3 billion | Main | They don't even have a football team »

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Let's play House Hunters

For $400K, would you take the tiny 2-bedroom house in the Berkshires, the 1,038-square-foot Pearl District condo, or the "earthship" hobbit hole in Taos?

Posted at 1:42 PM | Permalink

Comments (14)

Earthship, paws down.

Posted by Bark Munster | August 26, 2010 2:37 PM

It's a tough call. The Berkshires pad looks pretty sweet and the Pearl District condo beckons, but the hobbit hole in New Mexico has a wind turbine!

Either way I have no $$$ for a house at any cost.

Posted by none | August 26, 2010 3:03 PM

None are LEED-certified, so no self-respecting Portlander should buy any of them, right?

Posted by Eric | August 26, 2010 3:26 PM

The New Mexico house will be a hard sell in a crappy housing market. And a buyer may have a difficult time finding a lender due to the non-standard electric and plumbing systems.
Keep in mind that the entire Southwest is awash in homes for sale; and at 400K this will be a tough sale when you can buy a decent conventional home in that general area for 50-60% of the cost of the eco-house.

Posted by Dave A. | August 26, 2010 4:19 PM

A Pearl condo for only $400/ft? Where do I sign?

Posted by Allan L. | August 26, 2010 4:27 PM

It would be interesting to know what the costs of labor and materials were for the condo. Then land and then permits. Breakout all the costs individually.

Posted by Bluecollar Libertarian | August 26, 2010 4:37 PM

I'm loving our 2000 sq ft, 4 BR home on a beautiful, wooded 1/2 acre lot backing up to the Salmon River for about half that price.

Posted by Lewis | August 26, 2010 4:41 PM

Dig into Jac'ks first link in the original post and look at the real estate taxes. You have to page down a bit in each subpart of the Times story to which Jack linked.

I'd appreciate your comments after you check the real estate tax numbers.

Its an interesting exercise.

Posted by Nonny Mouse | August 26, 2010 5:05 PM

exercise

Thanks, but I'm all in.

Posted by Allan L. | August 26, 2010 6:44 PM

We like our off the grid 900 sq ft island cottage in BC, and it didn't cost any where near $400k! And it comes with a 180 degree water view too!

Posted by portland native | August 26, 2010 9:34 PM

A good friends daughter 1 1/2 years out of college just bought a 4 year old home in Phoenix for $120,000 in a newer neighborhood. It's 8 blocks from a freeway, 10 minutes from her Boeing job, has a community pool, exercise, community building, 3 bedrooms, granite, tile floors, two car garage, corner lot with community landscaping services, no HOA fees. Taxes are $938 a year and her monthly payments are only $9 more than her previous 2 bedroom apt It isn't LEED, but has low volume toilets-showers and energy star appliances, super insulated, and low water-use landscaping.

Portland prices will be coming down even more, even though politicians and planners will keep blabbing how Portland is so affordable and jobs are plentiful, and we are the leaders in every category they can imagine.

Posted by lw | August 26, 2010 9:46 PM

I lived in NM for 3+ yrs. Home prices in Sante Fe and Taos were going through the roof driving all the lower income earners out of town. Building like this hobbit hole meant people were driving upwards of an hour to get to/from work.

Yeah, those ultra LEED homes really help save the environment when factoring in fuel use.

Posted by Darrin | August 27, 2010 7:20 AM

Yeh, LEED is just another form of taxation, but going to companies that "certify", for a big fee, that your building is "green". It's all about making their companies and employees "sustainable". There's a lot of graft in their long process.

Posted by lw | August 27, 2010 9:30 AM

Property taxes here compared to the other locations - wow! As a 5th generation Portlander, I'm ready to vote for a sales tax for several reasons: a) Lower our property taxes, and b) Give us a three-pronged stool during times of economic stress.

Give me the Berkshires!

Posted by Tess | August 28, 2010 12:11 PM

In Vino Veritas

Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2009
Mauro Molino, Barbera d'Alba 2009
Garda Chiaretto Rose
Columbia Crest, Two Vines Vineyard 10 White
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Pinot Gris, Columbia Valley 2009
L'Hortus, Rose de Saignee 2010
Maculan, Pino & Toi 2008
McKinley Springs, Bombing Range Red 2008
Trader Joe's Pinot Gris 2009
Montes Alpha, Cabernet 2007
Gran Sasso, Sangiovese, Terre di Chieti 2009
Garda, Classico Chiaretto Rose
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 1999
Picos del Montgo, Tempranillo 2008
Chateau de Montmirail, Vacqueyras 2008
La Granja 360, Syrah 2009
Montgras, Carmenere Reserva 2009
Lange, Pinot Gris 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet 2008
Kirkland, Pinot Grigio 2010
Trader Joe's Coastal Syrah 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Merlot 2008
Trader Joe's Coastal Chardonnay 2009
Vieux Papes Red
Domaine de l'Aujardiere, Chardonnay 2009
Santa Rita, Cabernet, Medalla Real 2007
Penfold's, Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2008
Guild, Red, Lot #02 2008
Dievole, Dievolino Sangiovese 2008
Laforet, Burgogne Chardonnay 2009
Columbia Winery, Merlot 2007
Bonterra, Cabernet 2008
Elk Cove, Pinot Gris 2009
Maquis Lien 2006
Scott Paul, Pinot Noir, Le Paulee 2007
Cameron, Chardonnay
B.R. Cohn, Cabernet, Silver Label 2006
Graffigna, Cabernet 2005
Palo Alto, Reserve Red 2008
Menguante, Garnacha 2008
Lange, Pinot Gris 2009
Felsina Berardenga, Vin Santo 1997
Anne Amie, Pinot Gris 2009
McKinley Springs, Bombing Ramge Red 2007
Vieux Papes Red
Dionysius Chardonnay 2009
Haden Fig, Pinot Noir 2009
Vega Montan, Mencia 2008
Chateau la Vernede, Coteaux du Languedoc 2007
Mount Defiance, Hellfire (White) 2008
Root: 1, Cabernet 2008
Columbia Crest, Two Vines Pinot Grigio 2009
Columbia Crest, Two Vines, Vineyard 10 White, 2008
Columbia Crest, Two Vines, Vineyard 10 Rose, 2007
Abacela, Grenache Rose 2009
Avia Cabernet 2004
Lemelson Pinot Noir, Thea's Selection 2007
Chateau de la Roulerie, Rose d'Anjou 2009
Casal Garcia, Vinho Verde Rose
La Ferme Julien, Rose 2008
Cana's Feast, Bricco Red, 2006
Hogue, Genesis Merlot, 2008
Owen Roe, Sharecropper's Cabernet, 2008
Kim Crawford, Unoaked Chardonnay 2008
J. Scott, Pinot Noir 2008
Edmunds St. John, White, Heart of Gold 2008
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2006
Stevenot, Cabernet, Sierra Foothills, "Stanford" 2000
Portuga, Vinho Rose 2009
Taylor Fladgate, First Estate Reserve Porto
Franciscan, Cabernet, Napa 2006
Chaparral de Vega Sindoa, Garnacha 2008
Quinta da Aveleda, Vinho Verde 2008
St. Francis, Chardonnay Sonoma 2008
E. Guigal, Cotes du Rhone Blanc, 2007
Edmunds St. John, Bone-Jolly, Gamay Noir 2008
St. Innocent, Pinot Noir 2006
Jigsaw, Pinot Noir 2007
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Merlot, Indian Wells 2007
Charles Shaw, Chardonnay 2008
Edmunds St. John, Bone-Jolly, Gamay Rosé 2009
Cameron, Willamette Valley Chardonnay
Il Valore, Sangiovese, Giovane, Puglia 2008
Duck Pond, Chardonnay, Wahluke Slope 2007
Kim Crawford, Marlborough Pinot Noir 2008
Domaine du Pesquier, Cotes du Rhone 2005
Cantina Zaccagnini, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 2006
Domaine Matrot, Chardonnay, Bourgogne 2007
David Hill, Oregon Sparkling Wine, Brut
Chandler Reach, Monte Regalo 2006
Elk Cove, Pinot Gris 2008
Kirkland, Columbia Valley Merlot 2008
D'Aragon, Old Vine Garnacha 2008
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2005
Pavin & Riley, Merlot 2006
David Hill, Estate Pinot Noir, Barrel Select 2006
Castle Rock, Paso Robles Cabernet 2006
Magnificent, Cabernet, Steak House 2008
Conundrum 2008
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 1998
Saint Cosme, Cotes-du-Rhone 2007
La Granja, Tempranillo 360, 2008
Santa Rita, Mendalla Real Cabernet 2006
Columbia Crest, Grand Estates Merlot 2006
Andezon, Cotes-du-Rhone 2007
Collegiata, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo
Troon, Druid's Fluid 2008
La Granja, Tempranillo 2008
Monte Antico, Toscana 2006
Vieux Papes, Blanc de Blancs

The Occasional Book

Jack London - The House of Pride, and Other Tales of Hawaii
Jack Walker - The Extraordinary Rendition of Vincent Dellamaria
Colum McCann - Let the Great World Spin
Niccolò Machiavelli - The Prince
Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus - The Nanny Diaries
Brian Selznick - The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Sharon Creech - Walk Two Moons
Keith Richards - Life
F. Sionil Jose - Dusk
Natalie Babbitt - Tuck Everlasting
Justin Halpern - S#*t My Dad Says
Mark Herrmann - The Curmudgeon's Guide to Practicing Law
Barry Glassner - The Gospel of Food
Phil Stanford - The Peyton-Allan Files
Jesse Katz - The Opposite Field
Evelyn Waugh - Brideshead Revisited
J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
David Sedaris - Holidays on Ice
Donald Miller - A Million Miles in a Thousand Years
Mitch Albom - Have a Little Faith
C.S. Lewis - The Magician's Nephew
F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby
William Shakespeare - A Midsummer Night's Dream
Ivan Doig - Bucking the Sun
Penda Diakité - I Lost My Tooth in Africa
Grace Lin - The Year of the Rat
Oscar Hijuelos - Mr. Ives' Christmas
Madeline L'Engle - A Wrinkle in Time
Steven Hart - The Last Three Miles
David Sedaris - Me Talk Pretty One Day
Karen Armstrong - The Spiral Staircase
Charles Larson - The Portland Murders
Adrian Wojnarowski - The Miracle of St. Anthony
William H. Colby - Long Goodbye
Steven D. Stark - Meet the Beatles
Phil Stanford - Portland Confidential
Rick Moody - Garden State
Jonathan Schwartz - All in Good Time
David Sedaris - Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
Anthony Holden - Big Deal
Robert J. Spitzer - The Spirit of Leadership
James McManus - Positively Fifth Street
Jeff Noon - Vurt

Road Work

Miles run year to date: 54
At this date last year: 50
Total run in 2011: 113
In 2010: 125
In 2009: 67
In 2008: 28
In 2007: 113
In 2006: 100
In 2005: 149
In 2004: 204
In 2003: 269