To begin with, you've landed on a website called oregonbythesea.com.   All you have to do is click away and you'll find out a whole bunch of important stuff about Brookings and about Oregon along with some unimportant stuff you probably could have lived without.  

This site is NOT all about me!  I should, however, give you the basic information so here we go:

I am a former school teacher turned real estate broker, earning my first real estate license in 1978.   In 1981, my wife and I opened Seashore Real Estate, a small real estate office located in Brookings, Oregon.  After running this company for over twenty years, I sold the business to an associate in 2003 but continued to work in the company until finally going into semi-retirement in December of 2011. 

Today, I work from home, mainly with prospective buyers who have been referred to me by previous clients or who may come to me by way of this website.  While keeping up to date with the listing inventory of the various local brokerages, and with well over thirty years of experience, I am able to provide the best service to a prospective buyer who may have an interest in living on Oregon's South Coast but would like to eliminate the hassle of going from broker to broker just to find the perfect property.

As you can tell from the picture, I'm obviously not a “spring chicken”.  On the other hand, with this many years in real estate, I've learned tons of stuff about what people should watch out for when they buy or sell property.  You know, things like the new parts and the old parts of town and the locations where the weather is better and where the wells don't run dry and where septic tanks work best and where the taxes are lower and stuff you can or can't do under Oregon's land-use laws.  

Over the years, I've found that most of the people who buy property here are moving from out of state and, naturally, Brookings isn't for everyone.  Also, real estate is just too big an investment to make without knowing at least most of the pros and cons about the property and the area.  That's why I try to give the negative side as well as what's really great about living here. This policy has definitely cost me a few sales over the years.  It's also gained some pretty good friendships!  

Anyway, I've designed this “homemade” website to be a friendly, informative, easy-to-follow guide to a lot of general information about Oregon and particularly the Brookings-Harbor area on Oregon's southern coast.  Since I am a licensed broker,  I naturally hope the site will bring some business my way.  On the other hand, if you'd simply like to check out the website, buying property is certainly not a requirement. 

Also, because I am a real estate broker - and because most people seem to like dogs better than they like real estate brokers, I also included a couple pictures of my Cocker Spaniel just to grab your attention.  The dog’s name is Willy and my wife and I rescued him from an ugly metal cage at an equally ugly animal shelter.  That was six years ago and since that fateful day, he has become a great pet and companion.  I'm sure he wishes that his aging owners had more energy for playing,  but he pretty well has it made, spending most of his day either sleeping, eating, or chewing on some stuffed toy. 

So on to Brookings, Oregon - my home by the sea.  Thanks for stopping by and I hope you'll find the visit worth while.

Karl Johnson