Such is the state of the housing market in Portland that I begin to get nervous when a house is vacant for too long, especially in this hot rental market. This beautiful specimen is one block north of me and has two rental units. They’ve always been occupied and the property has been kept up very well.
Right now they are not occupied and haven’t been for a few months. Judging from past rental notices posted the house is managed by an individual owner, not a property management service. The rates have always seemed quite reasonable for the neighborhood which makes me worry that whoever owned this property has died and the heirs are looking to make a killing selling the lot for someone to tear down what is there and build a monstrosity. 
I mean, really, look at how big the lot is! You could fit an 8-plex in there, easy. Plus, see how they’ve covered something up with raw plywood? Another not-good sign. If the house has to go, I hope the huge oak tree survives.
I just looked up the property on PortlandMaps.com. It’s owned by a trust. Grrrr. Not a good sign at all. Also? Frank A Morse bought the house in 1988 for $29,000. That trust is going to be making some money there. Sigh.
Oh no! That house is beautiful. I really hope they don’t tear it down, but you’re probably right. So sad. How much could someone get for that lot? Several hundred thousand at least, I’d imagine.
Given that that other empty lot for sale (the one with the walnut tree) in the neighborhood is more than $200,000 I would bet they could get at least $400,000 for this one. But with an 8-plex of two-bedroom units, that would be a do-able deal.