All Forum Posts by: Mathew Wray

While always looking for talented candidates to help streamline our business and make the client experience better, we are specifically looking for a talented Office Manager and Marketing Coordinator to support our busy residential real estate team in Portland, OR. Your main role will be to manage the day-to-day flow of the office and execute the company’s marketing efforts. We are looking for an organized, team-player who knows how to work QUICKLY while never missing

Job Details

Key Job Responsibilities:

• You will be the “Quarterback” of this team. You will improve, create, and follow systems for sellers, buyers, database management, and marketing initiatives. You will ensure that all systems and processes run efficiently.
• Assist with the Contract-to-Close process and provide an executive level of administrative support. Duties may include but not be limited to calendar coordination, client correspondence, email, and phone management.
• Oversee all marketing projects. Coordinate listing marketing including flyers, mailings, feature signage in homes, online marketing, websites, and more.
• Manage the Marketing Calendar by optimizing resources and carrying out calendared events such as newsletter distribution, pop-by gifts, and client relations (which will include event management from the planning stage to the execution of the event).
• Provide world class, concierge-level customer service to customers by serving as the first point-of-contact for any inquiries.
• Proactive problem prevention and solving is a must...you must score a zero on the "that's not my job" mentality test!
• Hold your team to a high level of accountability. The importance of your role in the accountability process cannot be overstated. This is an essential requirement for this position. You will be expected to “hit the ground running”.

Required Experience:

This is NOT an entry-level position. You have 2+ years of prior experience working as the Office Manager, Lead Administrator, or Marketer for a sales-type/entrepreneurial team. Marketing experience is a must with expertise in marketing skills such as writing content, copy editing, managing a marketing calendar, and using Publisher, Adobe Creative Suite, or other programs to create marketing collateral.

You are passionate about helping others reach their goals and dreams.

You have a proven track record of success helping manage a business and client relationships.

An Oregon Real Estate License is preferred but not required

Technical Skills:

You are skilled with systems such as MS Publisher or Photoshop, MS Office Suite, Google Suite, CRM Programs, and computer data clean up.

Candidates MUST have a reliable form of transportation and be licensed and insured.

Logistic Details:

Salary: $75,000 + bonus potential

Benefits: Paid vacation

Hours: Full-time, 40+ hours/week, M-F

Location:Portland, OR. On the east side of downtown Portland. In the heart of it all: great restaurants, easy highway access, good parking, etc.

Ready to apply? Email a cover letter and resume to [email protected]

Morning John!

I believe that the infill changes Jeff wrote about are the ADU changes you were asking about. The city is looking at using an overlay zone to accomplish the zoning changes. There is nothing official yet, so we don't know what the final proposal/action will be but we have some decent info from the city on the scope of the changes they're looking into. Here's some info:

https://www.portlandoregon.gov/bps/article/678802

This is pretty radical for Portland’s council and is likely (in my opinion) to face opposition from the same groups that bemoan our housing challenges. I’m hopeful that some version of this will go through as it could be a great value-add for owners as well as contribute to more housing for the massive population influx Portland is expected to receive in the next 20 years.

The next scheduled portion is a Feb. 12th meeting on the proposals (I don’t think open to the public) with it being sent back to the council for review and public comment sometime in March. It’s looking, as far as I can tell, like there won’t be an official vote on the proposals until summer. 

Hope that helps!

Mathew 

Hi Ryan! We’re glad you took the plunge and introduced yourself instead of just lurking in the background! Like Bill said, Portland can be tough to cash-flow in while great for other ways of wealth generating. Whatever route you take, just make sure you use the boards to investigate the pros and cons of each method! Congrats on riding the appreciation wave to where you’ve got options!!

Mathew

Alex is right on, you’ll want your ducks in a row before talking with the seller (and the the lawyer so you make the most of your time on the phone). I’d make a calendar/timeline of events and write it out so when you’re talking with the lawyer everything is clear and in front of you both. 

You’ll also want to go back and make sure that the owner knew the work was un-permitted. Can you prove the work was done by the previous owner through emails, RMLS listing changes, photographs from google maps, etc.? Disclosures really just mean “to the best of my knowledge” and if they bought the house with those changes to the utility room in place then you’ve likely got an up-hill battle. But, if you’ve got some sort of proof that the changes were made on their watch or that they were the only owners, then it’ll be easier on you. 

Best of luck! 

Mathew

Got it! That makes perfect sense! 

I do appreciate the art form and fluidity of a lack of guidelines...and all things being equal would prefer a human touch vs. a checklist, even if it does make it more nuanced to explain to clients! 

@Mike Nuss thanks for lending your appraiser knowledge to the conversation!! 

A quick clarifying question-when you said you'd look at the context from how the market looks at the property are you talking about how an individual buyer under contract is assessing the property or the market in aggregate? I'm assuming you don't know whether the buyer is buying a property with an ADU for an investment or as a SFR to offset the cost of the purchase/family reasons. Do you just look at the proportion of multifamily sales to sfrs to gauge that specific area?

Would love to know more here to help educate my buyers. Appraiser’s we've spoken to at brokerage meetings and for listings tell us there are no hard and fast guidelines which is about as frustrating an answer as possible!

Mathew 

No new solar incentives that I’m aware of. As far as I know Oregon’s tax credit is still expired. That being said, we do have a state law that requires utilities to bank excess power for those that generate it through a credit system. PGE has a rebate system in place and some cities, I want to say Salem, Ashland, and Eugene (not sure about Bend) have their own incentive programs. 

That’s really interesting Eric, thanks for sharing! It kind of reminds me of the argument for solar through tax incentives, not directly through reduced energy costs. 

Hi David, Chris is pretty spot on that the market is tight, but I don't think you'll find that to be too different in any urban, coastal city (certainly on the west coast). In the range you're talking about you can find more economical, value-add opportunities that will help cushion your equity including a few triplexes that pop-up. You can also find steady, rehabbed units that are near the top of their rents. 

Many of our buyers happily take the win of reduced interest rates and down-payment requirements from house hacking and add it to a value play by having an opportunity to kick-start appreciation. Others aren't okay with breaking even for a year while you stabilize rents and upgrade the unit. It's all a matter of finding the sweet spot in the Venn Diagram of your goals, opportunities, and risk tolerance. 

Hope that helps!

(Chris, nice find on the Cervantes 4-Plex...if needed, you've got a great opportunity for an exit through condo conversion as well as a nice rental in a great area!)

When you’re looking at the numbers for a house hack just recognize that they’re going to be different than what they would be for a traditional investor.

You have to come to an agreement with the market on a few things: location, condition, tenant base, price, and down payment/cash flow. If you expect to score a 10 in each category, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment! Doesn’t mean there aren’t good deals out there that will push your goals forward, it does mean that you won’t be able to use an owner occupied loan/lower interest rates with 3.5% down and get the same results as somebody buying with 25% down. Still lots of ways to win...just trying to help frame your thoughts! 

Mathew