We’re #1 – in Food Carts?
September 3, 2011 by
Jesse
Filed under
Fun Information, Local Events
Better than nothing, I guess…
Portland takes title of Number 1 in the world for best food carts
Did you know that Portland has been named by Budget Travel as the Number 1 city in the world for food cart service? This rating was based on the number of food carts (more than 400 and still rising), pricing, variety of foods offered and quality of food.
For Portland residents, these carts can be found, not only downtown, but in all the up and coming neighborhoods, and even in the suburbs.
Portland Ranked Greenest U.S. City
March 12, 2010 by
Filed under
Buying
The Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton metro area ranked No. 1 among 43 U.S. metro areas in a report on America’s “green cities.”
The “Green Cities Index” ranks metro areas on a variety of environmental factors, including traffic congestion, transit use, water quality, carbon emissions, LEED-certified projects and number of “green” jobs.
The index was compiled by the Business Courier of Cincinnati, which is owned by American City Business Journals, the parent company of the Portland Business Journal.
The index draws on data from a variety of government and research agencies.
For the index, the paper evaluated the 40 markets in which American City Business Journals publishes newspapers, plus Los Angeles, where the company operates a business-news Web site, and Indianapolis and Cleveland.
The index looked at such variables as commuting habits of residents, travel time and fuel use, and air and water quality.
Second on the Green Cities list was the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, Calif., area. Honolulu ranked third. Austin, Texas, and Boston rounded out the top five.
The Portland region received high rankings for having the second most LEED-certified building projects in the country and for having minimal sprawl — Portland ranked fourth in the sprawl index behind San Francisco, Boston and Honolulu.
Portland’s poorest showing came in the ranking for commute travel time, where it came in 21st. At 19th, Austin was the only metro area in the green top five with a better travel-time ranking.
The city with the No. 1 travel time ranking was Wichita, Kan. Not surprisingly, Witchita ranked No. 43 for use of public transportation. Portland ranked eighth for public use.
via Portland ranked greenest U.S. city – Portland Business Journal:.
Do You Qualify for the First-Time Homebuyers Credit?
Update: First-Time Homebuyers Credit has expired.
As most of you know, the first-time homebuyer’s credit has been extended to the end of April 2010. This is great news for Portland home buyers. But the question is: who can get the credit?
The good news is that more buyers are eligible now than before. Even better news is that if you buy a home in 2010, you can claim the credit in your 2009 return. That means up to an $8,000 credit on last year’s tax return. Very cool.
Here is a summary of who can take the credit:
- Purchase must be your principal residence and you must live in the home for at least three years. If you sell or move before that, you must pay back the money to Uncle Sam. If you live in the home for over three years, the money is yours to keep.
The New Short Sale Rules – It’s About Freakin’ Time!
If you have ever been a party in a short sale transaction, or even know someone that has, you know what kind of nightmare it can be. For the last few years, the banks have been doing everything they can to make a short sale as difficult as humanly possible. They just don’t want to do them, it’s that simple. I have heard that only one in ten short sales are actually completed. Those are bad odds in any casino you go to.
But there is help on the way. The Home Affordable Alternatives Program (HAFA) has just released some new guidelines that are set to take effect in April of 2010. The new rules are designed to help homeowners get out of their property if they are underwater (they owe more on the mortgage than the house it worth). This is great news for all.
Here is summary of some of the points that will have the greatest impact.
- A homeowner will be able to get a short sale approval in advance. This is huge! In the past, the banks wouldn’t even look at a short sale unless there was a buyer with a signed contract. The homeowner, real estate agent and the buyer never even knew if the bank would consider the short sale. The new guideline allows the owner to receive a pre-approval from the bank that includes the minimum net amount it will accept.
First-Time Home Buyer’s Credit – It’s Not Too Late
If you haven’t taken advantage of the first-time home buyer’s credit to buy your Portland home, don’t fret, you still have some time. To get the credit, you have to be in a binding contract by May 1st, 2010 and close before July 1st, 2010. So what are you waiting for?
If you are a first-time home buyer you can get a credit of $8000, and you can even take the credit on your 2009 taxes! And this is credit, not a deduction, which means that if you owe no taxes for the year in which you claim, Uncle Sam will write you a check for $8000.
So get yourself in gear. It’s a buyer’s market in Portland which means that you can get a great deal as well as a little cash in your pocket. If you don’t act now you will be kicking yourself later.