A Home 20 Years in the Making: Helping Kurt & Kathryn in Their Oregon Move

Once upon a time, give or take 20 years, I was the softball coach for Kurt and Kathryn's daughter. Since then, I’ve helped that same daughter buy a home here in Portland. And, most recently, I was able to help Kurt and Kathryn find their own Oregon home when the couple was ready to move from California to be closer to their family. Time really does fly!

I partnered with fellow Bridge to Portland Group team member, Genmae Rianelli to help them find the perfect house. Kurt and Kathryn came up to Portland for a first visit and we toured the inventory that was on the market within close proximity to the couple’s daughter and grandkids.

They were looking for a one-level house or a two story with the primary suite on the main level for ease of accessibility. They were also hoping to find a sweet spot with an easy-to-maintain backyard that had enough play room for the kids and space to enjoy the summer months plus a big bonus room for Kathryn's sewing hobby.

We didn't find anything on that first visit, but they came back again as they worked simultaneously to list their house in California. We saw a lot more homes on this second trip, including a tour of a new Lennar development. The finishes, floorplan, and location of this new construction property all caught their eye and they started to get excited about the future. We found a lot in the development that the couple liked and that sealed the deal on this new build home!

The house wasn't under construction yet, which meant that they got to select a few finishes along the way. When their California house sold more quickly than anticipated, the two were in limbo, waiting for their new Portland home to be built. But Kurt and Kathryn saw this as an opportunity to travel and they spent the last few months visiting friends and family and adventuring around before coming back to Portland.

Once we got the word that the house was completed, Genmae and I quickly scheduled inspections and helped to facilitate repairs prior to the first official walk through with Kurt and Kathryn. The first walk through for a new construction home is the buyers’ first opportunity to see the new house they purchased for the first time, so this was a really exciting time for everyone!

While we walked through and learned about the house, we also taped any areas of the home that needed touch-ups or repairs. We often refer to this meeting as the "blue tape walk through" because our team brings a roll of blue painter’s tape to mark things up. One week passed between the first walk through and the final, during which time the builder completed the touch ups and last repairs before move-in day.

These two were SO ready to go! On closing day, Genmae and I met them for the final walk through and later that day we gave them the keys to their brand new home. We felt so lucky to share this moment with Kurt and Kathryn’s daughter and grandkids as well.

Congratulations to this sweet couple; we were so happy to be a part of this journey!