*not to be confused with Mt. Scott, a 1,091-foot-high volcanic cinder cone in Clackamas County
When I first moved to Portland 13 years ago, I was told to stay away from this area. People called it Felony Flats. A lot of the yards had pit bulls chained up in them, next to the carcasses of dead cars and appliances.
Oh how things change.
It’s still one of the more affordable neighborhoods in the city, but according to Portland Monthly the median home price is now $384,999. Felony Estates, more like.
It’s the area between SE 52nd and SE 82nd, north of Woodstock and south of Foster. (Cool fact: Foster Road was named for Philip Foster, who owned a trading post near Estacada in the late 1800s and was married to Mary Charlotte Pettygrove. Another cool fact: Foster Road was built on top of the northern fork of the Oregon Trail.)
The centerpiece of the Mt. Scott Park neighborhood is …wait for it …Mt. Scott Park. It’s a quiet, family-friendly park, and just about every weekend there’s a birthday or graduation or something being celebrated in one of the picnic areas. A couple of years ago, the World Naked Bike Ride started in the park. So yeah, totally wholesome.
Okay, I lied. The Mt. Scott community Center is the centerpiece of the neighborhood. It’s adjacent to or maybe in the park and has two swimming pools – one that’s great for lap swimming and water aerobics and the other that’s built just for kids, with a slide, whirlpool, buckets that splash water on top of you, and a wading area that graaaaaaaadually gets deeper and deeper until the water comes all the way up to your knee.
The neighborhood is culturally diverse with a pretty substantial Russian population, as well as Mexican and Vietnamese.
In addition to the pools, the community center has a basketball court, a gym, meeting rooms, and a skating rink. For real. A skating rink with wood floors and posts which I know from first-hand experience are placed perfectly for you to run into when you’re trying to teach your kid how to skate and not paying close attention to where you’re going.
Someone told me that in the old days, the Mt. Scott Trolley ran from downtown Portland up to the town of Lents and no, I have no idea why it was called the Mt. Scott Trolley, but because that was the name of the line, that became the name of the park.
I was also told that the Arleta Triangle, a weird orphan of land that’s cut off from the southwest corner of the park at SE 72nd and Woodstock, came about because trolley tracks were laid to cut the corner of the park, leaving a little triangle of land all sad and lonely out there in the middle of the intersection. It sounds convincing, but according to the 1942 trolley route map I dug up, the trolley didn’t go anywhere near that corner. And also, it wasn’t called the Mt. Scott Trolley.
Anyway.
Speaking of things that are named for what they aren’t, across the street form the park is the Arleta Library, which isn’t a library, but a breakfast place that got famous because some TV Chefs ate there once. It’s good, but good enough to wait in line to get in? Yeah, actually it is.
Next door to the Arleta Library is Space Monkey Coffee where I have a secret crush on a barista named Amy. If you go there, tell her hi for me.
Okay, I lied. The centerpiece of the neighborhood is the Portland Mercado at SE 72nd and Foster. It’s a collection of Hispanic food cars – everything from Colombian to Peruvian to Oaxacan to Cuban – plus a tiendita for groceries, a carniceria for meats, a cafeteria for coffee, and a bar.
You know what? For real, the centerpiece of the neighborhood is Milo, the Best Puppy Ever™. He lives across the street from the park and loves to invite neighborhood dogs into his yard for play dates. If he’s not out by the gate when you come by, ring his doorbell on the little free library and he’ll come out. Unless he’s gone to work with his dad (me) to sell some houses in the neighborhood.
– Brian
The timing was perfect for hippies. San Francisco was getting pricey. So tons of them hitchhiked up north to a land where you could drive a VW bus 20 minutes in almost any direction and find yourself in a gloriously beautiful setting –– you could take a quick hike through misty woods, pluck a couple of psychedelic mushrooms, and bliss out naked in a hot spring.
The hippies turned their craftsman houses into goat barns, pottery studios, rooming houses, and mini ashrams. They didn’t have the money (or inclination) to tear the houses down and build modern houses, but they put enough love and care into them to keep them from falling completely apart.
About 15 years ago, I can’t remember who, but some adventurous chef decided to open a restaurant on SE Division, driven mostly by how inexpensive the property was. The restaurant became a media darling and other chefs came in with their restaurants. Soon Division became a culinary destination. That’s about the time that I moved into the neighborhood. I used to walk five blocks to Pok Pok, sit down, and have a great lunch. Now you have to wait in line for an hour to get in.
Division is super close to downtown. You just hop on your bike and pedal thirty some-odd blocks and you’re at the river. Take the Hawthorne Bridge across and bam, you’re there. Bonus, Hawthorne is about a half mile to the north and Clinton is two blocks south and a little west. Getting to the airport is pretty easy, too. Just head east to the 205 Freeway and go north. It used to take me 20 minutes. I suppose now it’s 35 when there’s traffic.
they drive up to your home and the landscaping is nicely manicured, the walkway is clean, there are welcoming potted plants at the front door, the door itself is inviting, the windows are clean, the exterior paint is in great condition, perhaps there are even a couple of nice chairs or a porch swing (if applicable), it will create a positive first impression. Remember you are just trying to set the stage that tells the potential buyer this is a quality home and a lot of care has gone into it.
important for building on that first impression. Take extra care to make this space as warm and inviting as possible. Also, notice the scent of your home when you enter the front door (this is especially important if you have a pet). A nice scent helps create an inviting atmosphere that works on a subconscious level with the prospective buyer. Nothing will dissuade a buyer faster than “house-a-tosis”. It’s important to correct the odor instead of covering it up if it’s due to mold or carpet damage caused by pets, etc. Stay away from heavy perfume scents or anything overbearing. Freshly cut flowers in the entry and throughout the house can provide some natural scent and add extra beauty and warmth to your home.
collection of widgets, but a prospective buyer might be distracted by all of the clutter. You want the buyer to look carefully at your home, not your possessions. A good rule-of-thumb is if it’s smaller than a grapefruit, pack it up. Remove any countertop appliances that are not built-in. Your furniture and accessories should help them get a sense of the space in the room and allow them to envision moving their own things in. Consider removing your personal photographs and memorabilia. You want buyers to envision creating their own memories in your home, not distracted by yours. Closets, basements, attics and garages should be clean, well-lit and organized. Ample storage is a common buyer request so make yours appear as spacious as possible. Do not make the mistake of moving the clutter from the living spaces to these areas. A temporary storage unit might be well worth the investment while your home is on the market. Plus you are moving, so consider the packing process underway!
Look at every surface: floors, walls, doors, windows, ceilings, built-in furniture, etc. Also make sure that all of your home’s systems are in good working condition (electrical, mechanical & plumbing).
you are trying to appeal to the masses so if your home is decorated in a way that only a select few can appreciate, change it. Don’t remodel – it’s amazing what a fresh coat of neutral paint and simplifying and rearranging your current possessions will do. A few new accessories like fluffy new bath towels, accent pillows and fresh flowers might just add the finishing touches. Also, if your house is on the dark side then purchasing some extra lamps or using LED bulbs will be money well spent.
all the clutter removal, repairs, and improvements. This is money well spent and will put the final polish on your “show ready” home. And don’t forget the windows!
As a small, Portland-based company, our goal was to celebrate everything local in our design. We partnered with 
We turned to Portland’s own 
General Home Inspection
Testing r
This is not always necessary, but if you or your Realtor sees that there may have been oil heat in the past and you don’t find a record of decommissioning, you should get it done! Most old homes around Portland were heated with oil back in the day (many still are), and while oil heat can be just fine, an old neglected tank is not! Old tanks can corrode over time, leaking oil and sludge into the soil that can seriously mess up your gardening plans. 
At this point, if you have concerns over any of the inspection results, you have 3 options:
