Portland Real Estate Blog

The Oregon Construction Contractors Board (CCB) governs construction in the state of Oregon. The fines are steep. Notice that a lot of these requirements are about your intent.

Straight off thier site, the following DO NOT require a contractor’s license:

The following categories of construction work are exempt from licensing, according to ORS 701.010. If you
have any doubt about whether you meet any of these exemptions, write to the CCB for clarification.

1. Work on your own personal property as long as there is no intent to sell.

2. Work within the boundaries of a federal site or reservation.

3. Supply or delivery of materials with no installation.

4. Owners or residents who contract for work and do not intend to sell the structure.

5. Owner-builders who are not building the structure for resale.

6. Licensed engineers, architects, water well contractors, sewage system installers, property managers,
real estate managers/agents, and landscaping businesses, when operating within the scope of those licenses.

7. Employees of property owners and licensed contractors.

8. Mobile home manufacturers.

9. Moving of modular structures.

10. Commercial lending institutions.

11. Units of government other than schools that sell student-built residential structures.

12. Businesses that provide labor only, such as worker leasing companies or agencies supplying temporary
help.

I spent nearly an hour yesterday talking with freelance reporter, Christian Gaston, about all things real estate. He’s got a couple of stories brewing so I won’t steal any of his thunder here that would relate. I’ll post or let him post once the stories hit the streets.

One of the subjects that we talked about that was off topic was what our changing market has in store for Realtors. Lots of us entered the market when it was easy money. The barriers to entry into the real estate profession are too low. It would cost just over $1000 to be able to call yourself a Realtor in less than 60 days. You’d be completely unprepared, inexperienced, and lack to professional tools to fully service your clients but you’d be in business. You could get your Internet access from the public library and buy a disposable camera at Safeway just in case you happened to get a listing from friends or family that were trying to help you jump-start your career. You could probably get away without having a car. Carefully plan to meet your buyer at the one property you’re going to show and arrive early enough via public transportation or bike to cool down and look professional by the time they arrive. Pray that the listing isn’t at the top of Council Crest. Just remember that you don’t get paid until the deal closes which will mean a couple of months of ramen unless you have financial backing to realistically not receive a paycheck for 90 days. What? You thought you could do this part time?

Did I just describe your Realtor?

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Litigation between the HOA and the builder appears to be becoming the rule, not the exception. In Forest Heights, most of the townhouse and condo developments are either in or past litigation with the developer of their units or have issues that the owners have been left to fend for on their own.

For the most part, it seems that the material is not defective, the installation is.

As an HOA member, even if your unit is fine, you go down with the ship if massive repairs are needed. In the case of the Riverpark Condominiums in Sellwood, the settlement with the builder actually put some money in the pockets of the owners once the repairs were completed and the building was better than new. They did live inside a tent for nearly a year though!

The HOA board president that I spoke with today hoped their settlement would cover 80% of the $55,000 average per unit repair estimate!

As an owner, you should keep everything that you HOA sends out. Buyers will typically ask for six months of HOA documentation and the latest budget and reserves to determine the health of the HOA. Management companies will often charge to reproduce what you have already received.

The whole country has enjoyed years of historically low interest rates. That’s been great for real estate and even better for Portland real estate. Market factors have typically allowed Portlanders to get lower interest rates than the national average.

For the first time in 18 meetings, the Federal Reserve held interest rates at their current level. The rise of rates has a much bigger impact on short term loans. In real estate, this means Home Equity Lines of credit (HELOCs) feel the brunt of each Fed hike. Long term rates (30 year mortgages) are not as substantial to the hikes which mean we have seen adjustable rate mortgages increase faster than fixed and they are no longer the great bargain they once were.

No two people have the same mortgage requirements so talking to a competent mortgage broker is your best bet.

This article ran in the Daily Journal of Commerce about us a couple of weeks ago:

Hybrid house-hunting
by Kennedy Smith
07/19/2006

Daily Journal of Commerce Photo
The National Association of Realtors hasn’t heard anything about it, not even anecdotally. Neither has the Portland Metropolitan Association of Realtors (PMAR), nor the American Automobile Association, Fannie Mae, nor any other usual suspects.
Realtors trading in their cars for hybrids barely qualifies as a trend. In fact, it’s barely on anyone’s radar, but two agents in town have done it, and they’re hoping it will lead to a larger client base.

Last winter, Charles and Jennifer Turner of Prudential Northwest Properties bought a Lexus RX 400h, a hybrid luxury sport utility vehicle. Then, just last month, they traded in their gas-only SUV for a second RX 400h.

As real estate agents, the Turners are in their vehicles a lot, and their cars are often their offices. Each drives about 20,000 miles per year, compared with the national average between 10,000 and 15,000 per car, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. With the price of fuel steadily rising, driving a premium-gas-only SUV was starting to affect the couple’s bottom line, Charles said.

Because the couple racks up 40,000 miles together annually, transitioning to a hybrid seemed like the best business decision, as well as the “socially” responsible thing to do, Charles Turner said.

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