Housing Crises Revisited

Good times are upon us with regard to the Portland metro area’s rental market. If you are a landlord, you can achieve much higher rent than you could have ever dreamed of achieving. If you are a reluctant landlord, now may be the time to sell your investment property. Inventories are way down and prices are way up.

From the aspect of the tenant, things are not so rosy. Affordable rent is nearly impossible to find. Your housing budget is now a moving target, since you may get an increase several times per year. You expect value for your hard-earned dollar and it will be nearly impossible for your landlord to meet your expectations. What would make you happy is to have your rent reduced to the amount charged in the “good old days” (2 or 3 years ago).

Supply and demand is a cruel master. The rental demand in the Pacific Northwest is huge. The supply in the Portland/Vancouver area is very limited. Developers have been very cautious about building since the real estate crash of 2008. Building permits have been down for years. Recent recessions have not helped spur on new construction. We have very restrictive rules for development within the Urban Growth Boundary, which theoretically keeps our development in the urban setting without the undesirable sprawl. Logically, within a large metropolitan area new roads should be built, but are nowhere to be found. The least expensive in-fill would be to build vertically and build up a few stories. However, tear downs cost a fortune here, review processes are numerous, expensive and slow-tracked and, of course, “we can’t change the character of our neighborhoods by going vertical”.

It would appear that our local government has developed the “no-win scenario” on the supply-side economics of our housing. We don’t have enough supply to meet the demand. If it is profitable and a relatively pain-free and set in stone process; all developers would continue to build until they could not sell their products. Profit is a great motive, while government can jam the gears to create a work stoppage.

We have a supply problem. We do have landlords seizing the opportunity to make more profit if they can. However, many of our clients have saved historic buildings and struggled to keep rents down to retain good tenants and provide housing while eking out a living, Remember, however, that their costs have increased exponentially with regard to everything government touches, such as taxes, utilities, licenses, permits and more permits. Landlords and property management companies are not the enemies of the tenants, but that is now the chant of the day. The most ironic part of this is that now tenant advocates and groups of tenants are protesting and demanding that government agencies take action in our housing crises. Rent control does not work and it never will. Control the revenue and anything involving expense (maintenance) will be cut to the bone. No value for your money there. Inclusionary zoning might work if there were logical tax incentives (there’s that profit motive thing again) guaranteed and logically put in place.

We have allowed the regulatory agencies to become the mediators between landlords and tenants, when they created the majority of the problems (here’s the irony I mentioned). They get off without a scratch. They are Teflon. They have turned the battle to the victimized tenants vs the greedy landlords and they are the wise wizards that will magically fix everything. Perhaps the real answer is very simple. Why can’t we fast-track development processes knowing that neighborhoods must get more vertical and denser? Why can’t agencies make their fees a small percentage of the projected costs, rather than big windfalls (basically a fine for the privilege of doing business in our fair city)? How about we build some new roads to move all these new people? Supply and demand is certainly a cruel master. But having our agencies crater our supply side and then ride to the rescue is a cruel joke.

Video-- Actions Speak Louder Than Words

We establish regular landscaping and property clean up programs
with local vendors (as needed, with client approval)

Winterize and De-winterize your investments for the climate
conditions present in the Northwest.

Educate residents about Mold & Mildew control.

Complete two written inspections of your rental property every
year, combined with curbside inspections, which are less invasive
to the tenant & allow us to keep an eye on you investment.

Coordinate and monitor large scale projects such as remodeling,
siding, roofing, sewer & other projects with outside vendors.

Maintain and use a list of skilled and experienced Preferred
Vendors helping to keep the expenses down for our clients.

A fast turnover regimen for new tenants, which includes
painting, cleaning, carpet cleaning.

Our Maintenance Department is run like a team, available
24 hours a day for on-site emergency solutions. Rest assured,
your investment is in great hands.

Check us out at: http://www.inter-west.com/
PH:503-256-2323

Washington Move-Outs

I’m Out of Here!

When our tenants in the State of Washington depart, we need to be on our toes due to the differences with Oregon tenants. The final accounting of the tenant’s security deposit accompanied by details of your charges and inspections made is due within only 14 days of possession. This is a quick turnaround and can sometimes result in using reasonable estimates, prior to receiving all billings.

While you are allowed to charge for storage of abandoned property, there is no defined amount, so it must be reasonable and customary. If the value of the abandoned property is determined to be less than $250.00, the landlord may dispose of it after 7 days except that Personal Papers, Pictures and Keepsakes (not defined) must be retained for 45 days (the same period as for property with a value above $250.00). During the notice period the tenant has a right to the reasonable access for the return of their property.

The accelerated 14 day final accounting and the extracted storage time of 45 days for valuable abandoned property are two areas that can really trip up new landlords, so get educated and follow the rules to avoid problems. Happy Landlording.

Bob Johnson

InterWest Properties, Inc.

BASIC PHILOSOPHY

 

We believe that this is a business which, by its nature, is very personal. Unlike many other investments, we deal in hard assets that provide tenants with a home and clients with a return on investment. In order to do well at both, constant monitoring of activity is required and complete control of the project must be maintained. Expectations of the property owners must be completely understood and abided by at all times. Tenants must be clear about the expectations of the Management Company and care must be taken to assure that this relationship remains a "two-way street" with open and honest communication.

Our goal is to achieve such complete satisfaction with each of our clients that any of them could be used as a reference at any time. We are proud to say that we are meeting this goal.

We further believe in managing your property in your own way, rather than instituting our personal preferences. Different clients place more emphasis upon certain aspects of the management than others and we respect and adjust our approach for them.

Our dedication to customer service is real and not just something that we place in advertisements. We have been through the training ground of large corporations. We have been exposed to the rhetoric of "customer service above all else”; which sometimes falls very short in actual practice. We attempt to give personal service with one-on-one communication and maintain our sense of humor at