All Forum Posts by: Mathew Wray

Welcome to BP Jason...We've got a fairly nice little community from the greater Portland area on here and are hoping to meet up fairly soon. There are a number of Portland area people on here who found creative ways to invest in the area. On the other hand there are also a fair amount who are looking for ways to invest outside of Portland while mitigating risk.

In any event, welcome and good luck!

Mathew

Heidi,

I don't pretend to know about the brokerage end of things but I can tell you that the Oregon Real Estate Board has been a great resource and quite friendly. When I had to ask a question about Client Trust Accounts I had myself prepared to deal with a typical state agency. But I was pleasantly surprised! They returned phone calls, answered my question, and pointed me to where in the volumes of code I could find proof of the answer. I think they should be your next stop!

Mathew

Matt Devincenzo D'oh! That's what I get for speed reading.

Joel Aguilar My PO Box costs me something like $60 bucks a year. They vary depending on size of the box but are pretty reasonable.

Jesse,

Congratulations on going out on your own! What part of Portland do you focus on?

Mathew

Karen, I agree with Joe B. The rents should've been raised for years and the fact that they haven't isn't your fault. In fact you should use it to your advantage in negotiations and see if you can get a better deal.

I've personally been on the receiving end of a 30% rent increase when a property I lived in was sold. It sucked. But the place was nice and we had been getting a great deal so we paid it. And on the other end of the spectrum I had to evict two tenants as a condition of purchase (they were on M2M) because I needed to gut their units to bring them up to market.

Just plan for worst case, that both tenants will move out. If they're on an annual lease and you want to be kind let them know as soon as you take possession so that they can plan for it. And that way if they do go it isn't a shock and you've got it built into your reserves.

Good luck!

Mathew

Although, Josh is definitely right, by the time everything falls into place you'll be looking at a year! If you're really worried just put together a bullet point sheet with the details of your loan and the circumstances of your company move and give them a call. Make sure you hit the key points you wrote down and you'll be fine.

Also,

Welcome to Bigger Pockets!

Mathew

I did the same thing with a Wells Fargo owned VA loan. From the beginning I had the mailing address changed to a PO Box so after my year was up and I got renters in the house there was no switching addresses. As far as insurance goes there was no problem switching it for me. From my point of view I held up my end of the bargain by living there for a year so why would they call it due? I say just pull the trigger and do it!

Mathew

Thanks Jesse! I got a recommendation from another BP member as well. When you have a few minutes I'd appreciate it if you'd PM me the names of the guys you use. I'm always looking for people I can add to my service call list.

Thanks!

Mathew

Welcome aboard Jim! It seems like we're getting quite the community together here in Portland!

I definitely echo the other posters. You have to have good, state specific forms to protect you, your property, and the rights of the tenant. I buy my forms from a local property management association. They keep them updated with Oregon's changing laws and also lobby for landlord rights. If you can't find an association in Anchorage then getting in touch with a lawyer is a great idea. It wont be cheap but it'll be worth it in peace of mind.