Buying a house seems scary and stressful. Let’s shake off the inertia and make it fun.

Home Buying Steps

  • I have a list of lenders I love and work with often that I can send you to get you started!

  • Let’s met up! I have a buyer book I would love to go over explaining the home buying steps in even more detail. Client education is a pillar of my business so you will leave this process feeling confident, informed, and practically able to be your own real estate agent (please don’t).

  • You will start to spend a lot of time with me looking at houses! We will see good, cursed, haunted, and hopefully at least a couple GREAT houses. I will guide you thought offer writing process until you get one ACCEPTED!

  • Once you’re under contract, there will be a million things to do but I will handle as many as I legally can. I will schedule inspections with inspectors I trust to work on my own home, talk you through the repair negotiation, work with the listing agent to get sh@t done, jump over the appraisal hurdle, plus a whole lot more. We will work together every step of the way until we both get the best gift of all–I get to give you KEYS and you get a HOUSE!

Why buy?

Beyond the inherent “American Dream” we all grew up with, home buying is the most important rung in the ladder to financial stability. Home buyers have a lot more options and opportunities than renters. Building equity helps you in the long run by making your monthly housing expense mean something—I like to say you’re always paying someone’s mortgage, just make sure it’s your own!

Testimonials

  • Madison, past client:

    Erica was such a crucial and special part of my home buying experience.

    My husband and I met with Erica last summer to figure out how to begin the process and we immediately felt comfortable with her. Erica is so patient and genuinely cares about her clients and it shows.

    We saw a handful of houses before putting an offer in on our dream house that needed a ton of work. Erica was so helpful and realistic about the scope of projects that needed to be done and helped us negotiate a credit to make the purchase possible.

    She also sat in our house for days and days during the inspection process to ensure we had all information we needed to feel comfortable.

    We bought our house 4 months ago but I still have Erica in my corner! She’s been an invaluable resource for additional recommendations.

    11/10 would recommend Erica to anyone even considering buying a home.

  • Brianna, past client:

    We were first time home buyers, who were reluctant to believe we were in a position to actually buy a home. Erica is so kind and transparent about the realities of home buying. After our first viewing she spent a huge amount of time at a cafe with us explaining the process and giving us insight and did that after each house. It was so assuring to have someone looking for all the things that we didn't even know we needed to be keeping eyes out for. She always had our best interest at heart. We sent over some past listing we had liked (inventory was low) and Erica broke down each one--good, bad, and run away. Our first reaction to getting an offer accepted was full of fear and doubt before we got excited and Erica helped us navigate that too. Sincerely, she made the process feel attainable and safe for us. We love our house and our neighborhood. Bonus-they support other rad folks too, so when your house inevitably needs something, they have a vetted list and are gracious in sharing. PS- Our mortgage company praised them too. When we sent him our agent, his reaction was, "oh you're in great hands." We couldn't agree more!

  • Emma, past client:

    I truly don’t know if my partner and I could have bought our first house without Erica. They were with us from the start, taking us out for a very long coffee to walk us through everything we didn’t know about the process and answering any questions we came up with. We didn’t have a lot of money which meant we were seeing some truly cursed houses, but Erica never let us feel like finding our home wasn’t possible (majority of the houses we toured have since been knocked down if that gives insight into what we were working with). She was knowledgeable, incredibly supportive and so very patient. Erica was intensely honest and transparent the whole time, bringing us back down to earth when we thought about taking something on that would have been too much to handle, while simultaneously dreaming up (reasonable) possibilities with us. They advocated fiercely for me with a potential lender when I had questions, and made sure I was always heard whether by her or anyone else we worked with. We had quite a few people tell us our offer wouldn’t ever be accepted, but Erica was never one of them. After seeing what felt like a million haunted houses and one failed back up offer, our offer was finally accepted. The house needed a lot of love and work, but not so much that it felt impossible. And the work that it did need felt manageable thanks to Erica and the amazing people she connected us with (like the guys who completely replaced our WWII era cast iron furnace and still come back every year to service it and say hi to our cat that they’re obsessed with).

    Two years later and my partner and I still constantly tell each other how lucky we feel to have found our house and been able to turn it into the most wonderful little home. I had an eye twitch for 3 weeks during the final bit of the process, and it all felt worth it when we walked up to Erica holding the keys to our house on closing day, with the most thoughtful house warming bag full of gifts, including a couple cat toys for our kitten, which truly summed up the experience of working with Erica. She thinks of everything and makes you feel seen every step of the way. Absolutely could not have done it without Erica.

  • Chloë, past client:

    I recently had the pleasure of working with Erica during my first home-buying experience in Portland. As a foster care kid, the process of buying a home felt scary and unreal, but Erica made me look past that with her authenticity and communication. Her intense knowledge about Portland was invaluable, and she provided unique and insightful input, always honest about both the good and the not-so-good aspects of the houses we viewed.

    What truly stood out was her down-to-earth energy, which made the entire process much less stressful. Erica was a genuine joy to work with, making my first-time home-buying exciting and most importantly memorable. I highly recommend Erica for anyone looking to buy a home in Portland!

  • Taylor, past client:

    Erica is a gem! We were first time home buyers when we worked with her and she made us feel so supported during the process. Something we loved about Erica is her honesty. She would be real with us about any concerns she saw with homes we looked at, rather than just trying to get us to buy sooner. She really worked hard to find us a home that was the perfect fit for our needs and was very patient with us throughout. I highly recommend working with Erica!

  • Finley, past client:

    We really put Erica through the wringer looking for our first home, and they stepped up with flying colors all the way through. Erica showed us what felt like 7000 homes (hehe) in order to find one that really checked all of our boxes, and we had a LOT of boxes. They made us feel so safe with their wealth of knowledge and experience, especially when it really came down to all the dirty details during our closing process. I’m so very thankful they are always outspoken and clear about their views and who/what you’re supporting when working with them. Knowing I align with their beliefs and opinions provided an invaluable aspect to working with them. I truly never would’ve been able to do this without such a great agent. If all of these other 5 star glowing reviews aren’t selling it for you, ask all of the dogs they’ve also found homes for :,-)

Why me?

  • Some brokers have windows of time they are unavailable, either off hours or busy with other clients. Rest assured your showing schedules can always be accommodated and your questions answered in a timely fashion

  • I have a background in education teaching at University of Oregon, so my job revolves around educating my clients. You will leave this process basically ready to become a realtor yourself! I want everyone to be set up for success and a huge part of that is growing your knowledge base.

  • My goal is to find you a piggy bank that you love to live in. I am not a home inspector, however, I have sat through hundreds of them and know what things are big issues and what I should point out during our initial tour so you can go in eyes wide open.

  • All of the paperwork will be handled by a trusted professional and emailed to you in a folder at the end after you close. No chasing down email attachments!

  • You are the captain of this voyage and I’m the handy navigator, first mate, and organizer of the crew (I don’t know enough about ships to continue the metaphor). Everything revolves around you–your schedule, preferences, wants and needs. If you are more of a texter and can only see houses in the evening, that’s fine! If you are an early bird who wants me to send you listings and schedule them without having to think about it, I can totally do that too. We are working together but it is entirely client-focused.

  • This process can sometimes be frustrating, stressful, or anxiety-inducing. Thankfully I am prepared and can act as your unofficial therapist, budgeting specialist, professional vibe-checker, life coach, marriage counselor, and oftentimes nanny.

  • I learn something new every transaction but having worked on hundreds of home sales, I have seen a lot of stuff. I can anticipate where things may start to get wonky and spring into action to make things right.

  • Please keep in contact even after you buy a home. I will have a referral or an opinion about everything so you can feel well-taken care of into the future, even after you close.

  • At closing I will give you a massive bag of locally made products from my favorite people/designers. No corporate logos to be seen.

Ready to go?

Beginner

If you’re just starting out or just toying with the idea of buying a house someday—reach out! It may be within your reach sooner that you’d think or we can set you up on a plan to work towards your goals.

Intermediate

Have you gotten pre-approved or taken some home buying courses and are ready to rock? I have a home buying book I’d love to go over with even more helpful information. Or better yet, let’s go see some houses!

Advanced

Have you already bought or sold before in the past, or have you been working with someone else that isn’t your vibe? I would love to step in and show you through to the finish line.