SW Portland, Lake Oswego and West Linn Oregon real estate listings, home buying, selling and relocation information

Portland
The Rose City, The Outdoor Adventure City, The City of Parks and Fountains, The City on Two Rivers

There are many ways to describe this wonderful place to live that we call Portland. Snow skiing is just one hour away. The fabulous Oregon Coast is only 1 ½ hours away. Camping, hunting and fishing are within easy reach at a number of different locations. Water sports are numerous with two rivers and a number of large lakes. There are a myriad of parks throughout town in just about every neighborhood. The fountains are people friendly - the city chlorinates them and encourage "kids" to play in them.

Portland's cultural activities are just as numerous including the Portland Symphony conducted by James DePriest, The Oregon Ballet, The Oregon Opera Society, The Performing Arts Center has on-going plays including Shakespearean plays from the Ashland Festival, and Broadway traveling shows. The Portland Art Museum brings world class shows to town.

The revival of downtown Portland is in full swing. Serviced by light-rail from both sides of town it is an easy place to reach. Pioneer Square has ongoing entertainment during the summer months for great brown bag lunches. Shopping is first class with Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstroms, Ann Taylor and Pioneer Place (an enclosed skylit four story mall). Architecture ranges from the contemporary newer building to the restored turn of the century classics and is a delight to the eye. Waterfront park along the banks of the Willamette River and downtown has walking, jogging, biking, in-line skating paths and also features concerts throughout the summer. Rose Festival, usually in the first weeks of June, brings a carnival atmosphere to Waterfront Park. No matter what time of day or night, when you are downtown in Portland, it is vibrantly alive!!!

Tax Considerations >New 1031 Exchange Rules

One of the most popular "tax deferring" strategies for real estate owners who are selling one property and acquiring another is the use of Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code. It is an effective way to defer paying income tax on capital gain generated by the sale of a property when you intend to reinvest the proceeds in a similar, "like-kind" property. Almost any kind of real property is considered "like-kind" with any other real property.

A recently enacted law closes what was considered a loophole in the Section 1031 rules. In some cases, owners of investment real estate have used the 1031 Exchange to swap their investment property for real estate that could be readily converted to an owner-occupied residential property. After the exchange, they made the property into their principal residence, lived in it for a couple of years, then sold it. Now the American Job Creation Act of 2004 has ruled that properties converted from a 1031 exchange property into a residence must be held and used as a principal residence for at least five years to qualify for the tax exemption. Otherwise, the basic tax-deferring benefits of 1031 exchanges remain the same.

Consult your tax advisor for more detailed information.

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Q	In what area of the United States did the price of existing homes increase most dramatically in 2005?
A	Phoenix, Arizona real estate recorded a 55.2 percent increase in home prices during 2005.
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