New Listing in Surrey Pines Estates

We are proud to announce a new listing for the Jackson Group in a well established neighborhood- walking distance to Nike.  We always say that real estate is all about location, location, location and LOCATION is exactly what this home has.  The location is ideal for those wanting easy access to the Sunset/Hwy 26 corridor, (just 2 miles to the freeway), close proximity to the Tualatin Rec Center and their elaborate network of trails (fees are lower for folks that live in the immediate area), walking distance to Nike, Fred Meyer and of course Starbucks! Check out this map to see how close the home is to the trails and the shopping area:

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=14877+SW+Oregon+Trail+Lane+beaverton,+or&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&split=0&gl=us&ei=qrHjSePOD4-EtAOgw8C1CQ&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=title&resnum=1

Homes in this neighborhood rarely stay on the market for very long.  At our first open house, we had a lot of neighbors come by and they all sang their praises about the area and their cozy streets.  This is definitely a kid friendly neighborhood, tucked off the main street.

Not only is the location of this home distinguishing, the interior and exterior has been well presented and maintained by the current owners.  They have put their heart and soul in their upgrades with designer “divine” paints, Pottery Barn hardware and stainless steal appliance.  The hearth to the wood burning fireplace was also recently redone with beautiful slate tile that blends with the paint.  The floor plan is ideal for those with a couple and a little one who wants to have their bedrooms near each other.  There are 2 full bathrooms on the main level.  Upstairs, there is another full suite bedroom- ideal for guests.  There is also a finished bonus room- ideal for an exercise room or added play space.  The loft upstairs is a great work space and opens into the vaulted living room below.  The windows are trimmed with beautifully crafted white shutters and the flooring is light which give the home a bright and uplifting feel, year-round!

The front and the backyard both have mature plantings with a beautiful cherry tree, hydrangeas, wild roses, Japanese snowbell, clemantis and wisteria blooming in the summer.  There are plenty of humming birds you can watch from the garden window in the kitchen.  The sellers have also hand layed in bluestone tiles in the backyard and installed a new Timber tec decking system.  The backyard is flat and really private and has a side yard patio with a brand new infiniti spa.  There is also a slider door from the master suite to the patio spa.  The sellers love to spend time on the private spa patio, year-round.

We would love to show you this home if you’d like to take a closer look.  Give one of us a call and we’d be happy to show 14877 SW Oregon Trail Lane to you!

Sarah-503-416-4178

Front of the home

Front of the home

Living Room

Living Room

Backyard

April 13, 2009 · Filed Under New Jackson Group Listings, Portland Listings

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Portland Farmers’ Market is Open!

A favorite stop of mine on Saturday mornings after my Pilates and Aerobics classes is the Farmers’ Market at the Portland State University campus.  The Portland area has several farmers’ markets, on different days and in different locations, but this one fits my schedule and location best.  Another good one for me location-wise is the Thursday afternoon version at the Patagonia Building in The Pearl.  Either one of these or the others on the schedule are great open markets of seasonal fresh produce and farm products, dairy and meat offers, flowers and fun stuff.  It is fresh, local good food and a totally fun experience.  My niece Ashley and I meet up there on Saturdays about 9:20.  Ashley arrives from South Waterfront by streetcar, so she is totally sustainable, and we drink coffee and share our interest in food, cooking, gardening and family.  We have our favorite spots, the ‘Tart’ Lady from Hood River, the mushroom stand, the grilled pepper man, and any one of the fresh veggie and fresh egg providers.

The crowd is increasing now that the sun has come out!  Hope to see you there sometime!

Becky

April 4, 2009 · Filed Under Neighborhoods, Places We Recommend, The Jackson Group

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Are you toast? And if so, what are you doing about it?

For 8 years I have studied business fundamentals with The Aji Network. The learning from this course has helped The Jackson Group experience steady and substantial growth. Our clients have increased in number and value, the team has expanded in talent and our colleagues seek our help and cooperation. Now we are coping with the recession by refining services, managing costs and investing in tools and the knowledge to use them – all to help our clients and ourselves achieve our respective objectives and continue to thrive. I attribute our success, and trust our future, to the learning that comes from the association with The Aji Network.

Aji Network founder, Toby Hecht, recently published a paper titled Reading-the-Economy: Interpretations and Strategies for Fulfilling Ambitions. When I read this paper I was compelled to add my voice to his about the serious problems that Americans face as a result of not preparing for the future; for “disrespecting,” as Toby would say, the fundamental realities of the marketplace. I recommend his paper as an opportunity to learn how to take care of your own situation in this recession and avoid the trap that so many Americans are in today.

What trap is that, you ask? Toby claims in “Reading-the-Economy” that the recession displays for us how people ‘squander’ their opportunities to earn, save and invest adequately to take care of themselves while working and suffer as a result in their retirement. He observes that millions of people (70M Baby Boomers, in particular) have foolishly spent their careers working hard, spending freely, saving little and borrowing heavily while they lived for the moment at the cost of their dignity and capacity to take care of the basics of life in their old age. Toby has been warning students for years that “incomes, savings and investments are far too low while spending and borrowing are far too high” and he poses that most of us have been duped and tranquilized by journalists, entertainers and politicians whose messages have been motivated by the need to sell advertising or get elected. Now there are millions of Americans who have too little saved or invested to support themselves through retirement – the 20-30 years that they will no longer be able to work and will need care and support (food, housing and healthcare) from programs and institutions that are as broke as they are.

This is not a pretty picture. The economic recession shines a clear, cold light on the problem bringing us increasing unemployment, homelessness, bankruptcies and rolling bailouts. The marketplace demonstrates its fundamental mechanics, including – you don’t get to borrow more money just because you need it, you can’t replace a 40% loss in equity without the “time” for compound interest to grow your money again, and, most of all, you can’t fix these problems or support yourself to live well except by out-performing the marketplace with knowledge, strategy and superior competitive action – the key to making money!

Hard working people are good a decent and they are also a-dime-a-dozen. They are the ones who have denied the imperative for learning and becoming expert with new knowledge and we will observe the harsh reality of that mistake for some time to come. The unfolding crisis and the consequences of people losing their homes, their cars, their healthcare and their dignity will be the vivid reminder of what we risk when we fail to learn and develop our personal value in the marketplace.

Aji Network students practice “Reading-the-World” to 1) plan action for coping with threats, 2) discover new obligations that matter to us (those things we do to avoid problems or fulfill our promises), and 3) observe and take advantage of new opportunities that will help or improve our lives. We do this practice out of “respect” for the marketplace. After this recession there will be the inevitable expansion and all of us must prepare now for the new marketplace that we will live in when that happens.

As the marketplace evolves old products and services are abandoned and we must invent new ones. We must not be gripped by the recession, but use its lessons to develop new ways to help our customers. We must be responsible for producing our own new value in the marketplace. Toby claims that through the strategic use of computer-driven tools we can be more effective at developing competitive advantage – and competitive knowledge is the source of power for that invention. We must drop the common and obvious work that is priced on the margin and pay attention to proven superior offers of help. The new power for business people is in communication, coordination of action and production – all of which are augmented with the knowledge to use computer-driven tools effectively. This is where design and innovation will trump hard work and task-oriented processes and enable us to produce highly-valued and scare help. There is no shortage of the former, and customers willingly pay for the latter.

So, rather than be toast, let’s make one!  Here’s to life-long learning and the stable future that uncommon knowledge and superior offers in the marketplace will produce!

Becky

April 2, 2009 · Filed Under Business Philosophy, The Jackson Group

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