All Forum Posts by: Ross Leavitt

In Oregon, all the fees you can charge are spelled out explicitly in ORS 90, and it also describes how the fees must be described in your lease if you're going to charge them. I could give you the details about the allowed smoking fees, but in the interest of teaching a man how to fish, I'll instead refer you to your local Rental Owner Association. http://www.portlandarearoa.com/

I'm a member of the Linn/Benton ROA, and it's wonderful. They have a hotline you can call with any questions about ORS 90, and especially when I was getting started, I called it all the time. BP is great for lots of things, but these laws are so detailed and state-specific, it's really better to ask someone with a local orientation.

I am finally looking to get my RE license. The trouble is that I am also a licensed property manager, and in Oregon you aren't allowed to hold both licenses at the same time. I spoke with a rep for the real estate agency in Salem and she confirmed that you have to surrender your PM license to get a broker license. 

I manage all my family's rental properties, and I'm not willing to give that up. But I also knock doors and cold call to find new properties for us to buy and develop, and one of their business partners has asked me to do the same for them. But it seems I'm not allowed to do both! 

What would have to happen is that my existing property management business would have to become a part of the brokerage I hang my shingle at. I would assume they would want a portion of my PM income as well. I have heard of several brokerages in Portland that are more hands-off with low per-transaction fees, but I don't know about them allowing property management.

Long-term, I could get a principal broker license and manage property under that, but I can only do that after 3 years as a broker.

This seems like a completely unnecessary catch-22. Is this true in many other states? Does anyone have suggestions, or has anyone heard of a brokerage allowing an agent to continue his PM business under their supervision?

Justin Harford , I'm sorry to hear about all this! Sometimes rental properties aren't as kind as they ought to be to first-time landlords. I'm a property manager in Eugene, so go ahead and message me if you'd like some help, either with full-service management or just certain aspects of the process.

My brother and I are looking at a house-hacking project together, and I'm thinking through our financing options. If we buy a 4-plex and go on the deed together, and he lives in one of the units but I don't, would we be able to get an FHA loan or some other type of owner-occupied financing?

Right now might not be the best time to buy in Oregon, with the prospect of rent control on the horizon. 

http://portlandtribune.com/pt/9-news/347630-227387-lawmakers-examine-impacts-of-rent-control-just-cause-eviction

First talk to your bank and find out what they will allow. Depending on the type of loan, they may require the downpayment to be your own money.

I would love to see what deals you come up with. We've been developing in Corvallis but I'm always nervous that market will dry up.

@Chris Quinn That sounds like a great way to go. It will be educational to see how students react to those options.

@Ed B. did you end up moving forward on this? I am looking at a similar deal (from the buyer's perspective) and I'm curious how it turned out for you. I haven't found much info on land contracts in Oregon.

Wow. I think I want to start developing in Texas. Here in Oregon, if you're out of the city, the zoning laws just get more restrictive. But then again, Oregon is known for its strict land use laws.

4 miles does still sound far to me, but I've only worked in one market, and it's a relatively small city, so yours very well could be different. I second the suggestion to make sure you've got a good idea of what rents will be that far away, because they do go down as you get further from campus.

Also, our market is definitely moving toward individual leases. All the large developments owned by national corporations do individual leases exclusively, so students are expecting it more and more. We have several houses where a group came to rent the whole house, but opted for individual leases. Also, if we have a couple of units that aren't rented when the pre-leasing season is winding down, we advertise individual bedrooms and rent them one at a time.

Keep us posted on your progress! It sounds like a great project.