The RHAGP publishes a monthly newsletter, the RHAGP UPDATE,

Holds MONTHLY DINNER MEETINGS

Sponsors SEMINARS AND TRAINING CLASSES

for the purpose of offering improved management techniques to its members and all rental housing owners and managers of Portland metropolitan area.

The RHAGP also sells Oregon Rental Housing Association (ORHA) Rental forms for use by Landlords in Oregon, both hard copy and online and instruction books on how to use them.

Non members are encouraged to attend the monthly dinner meetings and training seminars and classes to see what the RHAGP offers to its members.

RHAGP members receive substantial discounts from non member pricing on rental housing forms both hard copy, online forms and on training classes and seminars.

Q? - How do I Join RHAGP? A- Click Here

 RHAGP Blog is now Online Please Visit! CLICK HERE

NEW 2010 ORHA RENTAL & LEASE FORMS NOW AVAILABLE

Click here to see the New 2010 ORHA Forms and Documents for Sale

One new and Ten revised ORHA Rental and Lease forms are now available for both hard copy and online purchase. See new forms in PDF preview format.

FEBRUARY DINNER MEETING

FEBRUARY CLASSES

2010 NEW LAWS SEMINAR

The Rental Housing Association of Greater Portland and the Metro Multifamily Housing Association have partnered to provide this NEW LAWS SEMINAR regarding the major changes in legislation for 2010 affecting landlords and the property management industry.

~2 Continuing eduacation credits are available with this seminar~

Substantial legislative changes include restrictions in the types of allowable fees, a new 60-day no cause notice for qualifying tenancies, the option of temporary occupant agreement and streamlined abandoned property procedures of deceased tenants.

Prior to the tenancy, landlords will now be required to give to the tenant a written list of all eligible deposits and fees. Additional written disclosure requirements include informing the tenant of the smoking policy of the premises and whether or not the property is located on a 100- year flood plain.

This seminar will detail all pertinent law changes for the property management industry including further restrictions for towing vehicles from apartment parking lots and new carbon monoxide alarm requirements for certain qualifying units.

SPEAKERS:

J.Norton Cabell, Principal, Cabell Enterprises http://www.cabellenterprises.com/index.php J. Norton Cabell, as principal of Cabell Enterprises, provides consulting services to Landlords throughout Oregon. His clients include housing authorities, manufactured dwelling facilities, providers of housing for specialized populations, affordable housing developers, as well as owners and managers of conventional properties. For these clients, Cabell provides one-on-one consulting, and specialized training. Since 2006, he has been Legislative Director for Oregon Rental Housing Association.

Andy Hahs, Attorney, Bittner & Hahs, P.C. http://www.bittner-hahs.com/ Andy Hahs, is partner at Bittner & Hahs, PC. He is also a founding member of Metro Multifamily Housing Association and currently serves on the Board of Directors. He practices Landlord Tenant Law in both Oregon and Washington, conducts numerous educational seminars, and is known for his knowledge, humor and effective style. He has been instrumental in the creation of the MMHA forms and has successfully guided thousands of property managers through the Intricacies of Landlord/Tenant Law.

CLICK HERE OR ON FORM BELOW TO DOWLOAD REGISTRATION FORM FOR FEBRUARY 16, 2010 LAW CLASS

NWREIA Multi-Family Commercial Real Estate Secrets

When: February 16th, 6 p.m. -

Where: RHA Office - Call Doug Foley for more info 503-336-6495

MARCH CLASSES

NWREIA Multi-Family Commercial Real Estate Secrets

When:March 16th, 6 p.m. -

Where: RHA Office - Call Doug Foley for more info 503-336-6495

Parks Class - Education for Park Managers and Owners

When: March 30th -

Where: Tigard - Call Maren Winters at ORHA for more info (503)364-5468.

LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS PAGE

A Legislative Affairs Page has been added with Oregon Legislative proposed House and Senate bills affecting Rental housing. Check out this new material.

OREGON RENTAL HOUSING ASSOCIATION (ORHA)

RENTAL FORMS HARD COPY

Buy Now Hard Copy ORHA Rental, Lease Forms and Documents

View all ORHA Rental forms in PDF Format

The RHAGP, sells a complete hard copy paper set of Oregon Rental Housing Association Property Rental and Lease forms and instruction manuals for their use by property owners and managers. Hard copy forms are available in pads of 10 or 50.

RHAGP members buy forms for about 60% of what non members pay.

Example: A pad of 10 Form 1, application to rent is $6.30 for RHAGP members and $18.90 for non RHAGP members. Individual forms are sold for NCR (No Carbon Required) are $1.35 for members, $3.50 for non members.

These forms are updated to meet the Oregon State Rental laws which can change every two years.

These forms are available for sale at the RHAGP office and can be requested via phone, fax, or email. The forms will be delivered by mail, fax. Some forms ar available by mail only such as rental agreements.

These forms are also available in a fill able online PDF format for easy use.

All Rental forms are available to view in Adobe Acrobat PDF Format. Click on form or link below to view forms.

CLICK HERE For Information & to Purchase Online Fill able, PDF, ORHA Rental Form

The RHAGP, publishes a monthly newsletter which is sent to all members called the UPDATE

This newsletter contains articles for property owners and managers on all aspects of rental property.

The UPDATE also contains the latest information on Oregon Rental Law and Application.

There are many vendors and suppliers that are affiliate members of the RHAGP that provide direct support to RHAGP members. The vendors contact information is hot linked in the UPDATE.

The UPDATE is available with prior years editions 2005 - 2008 to view in PDF format to see the support that the RHAGP gives its members.

February 2010 Update Newsletter Page Index

Click on Page to View in PDF format

Article from February 2010 Update

Are you wearing your crash helmet? Forecasting the real estate market The recession is far from over. The biggest indicator of our economic health is how many people are unemployed.

Unemployment

In September 2009, 211,529 Oregonians were unemployed which means roughly 90,000 more people than last year. Oregon’s unemployment rate was 6.8 percent in September 2008; in September of 2009 it is running at 11.5%. Crook County has the highest unemployment rate at 19.7%, with Gilliam County the lowest at 6.2%. Unemployment is expected to continue to rise through the second half of 2010.

Increased Foreclosure rates

There is a direct correlation between unemployment and the ability of home owners to pay their mortgages. According to RealtyTrac, an online seller of foreclosed-property listings, Oregon had the 11th-highest home foreclosure rate in the nation from July to September (the third quarter).

There were 76.6 percent more foreclosures in Oregon during the third quarter than a year earlier, during the third quarter of 2008. This pattern will continue until the economy bottoms out. In the apartment marketplace, we will also see an increase in the foreclosure rate as some owners struggle with higher vacancy rates, lowered rental rates, and concessions.

The Average apartment investor is going to face a loss of one month’s revenues, as a result of rental concessions they have to give to attract tenants. In suburban areas rents are dropping up to 10% while expenses for utilities and property taxes are creeping up. This has created a cash flow crunch for those owners who are highly leveraged.

Bad news (why we have fewer tenants)

In addition to apartment dwellers not being able to afford rents because there are no jobs, or they have lost their jobs, we are seeing more roommates moving in together to reduce the rental costs until they can move from part time jobs to full time jobs.

The federal first time homebuyer credit of $8000, coupled with low interest rates, have enabled many tenants to exit the rental market. These tenants are now moving into new homes, thereby increasing apartment vacancy rates. In the Portland market place there are approximately 2500 condominiums unsold.

The developers of these properties will have to make their payments to avoid foreclosure. To generate cash many are renting them. Depending on upcoming FHA rules condominium sales financing might behard to find. If this occurs, some portion of the condominium market place will stay rentals for at least the next 36 months.

This also pulls tenants out of the standard rental pool. Finally, investors are purchasing foreclosed homes and converting them to rentals. Homeowners who have not been able to sell their homes are turning them into rentals to generate cash until the marketplace right’s itself. This is affecting the rental market resulting in reduction in number of apartment renters.

Good news

The good news is further off. In 2009 we expect the lowest rate of apartment construction since before the 1980’s. The forecast is for 900 apartment permits to be pulled in the Portland Metro area, compared to highs of 5000 permits a year in 2006.

Low construction rates will continue as bank fi nancing for new construction will be hard to fi nd. This means that over the next 24 months the apartment marketplace will tighten. We expect rents to increase signifi cantly at the end of 2011 and 2012 as demand will outstrip supply. As the Federal tax credits for homebuyers evaporate, buyers will need higher down payments to purchase homes.

Since it takes time to save for the higher down payments, we expect apartment tenants to stay tenants for an extended period of time. Increased demand will be generated by increased Population. Statistics show average increase in population in Oregon of 17,000 a year from now through 2015.

Of this number we expect 32% per year to become tenants, because they are between 25 and 45 (typically a high rental group). Eighty percent (80%) of the jobs nationally are in urban areas. This indicates that more people will move to cities rather than rural areas, and create apartment demand.

Summary
In summary, apartment owners will need to brave a downturn for the next 24 months, to get to the light at the end of the tunnel in 2012. This will motivate landlords to innovate to attract tenants and reduce operating cost. Our advice in the short term is not to leave that crash helmet out of sight.

______________________________________________________

Printed in the RHAGP Update with permission from:

Bluestone & Hockley Real Estate Services http://www.bluestonehockley.com or phone 503-222-3800.

FREE INTERNET ADVERTISING CLASS FOR RENTAL HOUSING

A FREE On line Class in creating a basic web site for use in rental housing advertising using free resources.

This class is a basic overview of how to use the internet for rental housing advertising and is presented for the property owners and managers. Most of tools and methods used in this discussion are free or low cost.

RHAGP Smoke Free Information Page

Updated 01/29/2009

New EPA Requirement for Painting and Remodeling pre 1978 Rental Units. Critical new EPA rules require certified contractors to do remodeling and painting on pre 1978 rental units.

Renovate Right Brochure Link to EPA Renovate Right Lead Brochure

Quality Housing Draft Document (65 pages) New Rule Proposals

City of Portland Quality Housing Workgroup overview

Link To www.housingconnections.org This site is run by the City of Portland to advertise rental property for property owners and tenants. Covers four counties: Multnomah, Washington, Clackamas & Clark County. Very good site. Very detailed descriptions of properties, local maps, FREE to land lords to post their rentals. Properties can remain online until ready to rent, then can be switched on with no need to reload informaton. Many properties can be kept online. This site also links to RHAGP web advertising site.

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RHAGP is a member of the Oregon Rental Housing Association (ORHA) Our Parent Organization. Click Here for State Wide Events

ORHA Newsletters

ORHA Calendar & Activities

ORHA Current Events

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Mr. Landlord.com A National Landlord Web Site

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Northwest Real Estate Investors Association is dedicated to providing investing education and networking opportunities in Portland OR, Salem OR, and Vancouver WA. (stop here if you want to or also add the following….) We deal with all kinds of real estate investment, including wholesaling, rehabbing, multifamily, commercial real estate, deal analysis, short sales, creative financing, legal issues, and more. www.northwestreia.com.

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