Bluestone and Hockley Real Estate Services

UPDATED: 01-DEC-2006

We had just taken off from the Portland airport, and I was getting comfortable in my seat. Well that’s if you call getting comfortable negotiating with your neighbor’s elbow. [...]

UPDATED: 01-NOV-2006

Nancy’s co-workers came running and saw a fire in the trash can in the women’s restroom. They were on the 10th floor of a 16 story mid-rise office building. The bathroom had smoke pouring out of it. [...]

UPDATED: 01-OCT-2006

One of the most contentious issues that tenants and landlords grapple with in their rental relationships is the final stage — the move out — especially the security deposit return portion of the move out process. I have tried to play out some of the issues with the following three scenarios. I encourage you to review them. [...]

UPDATED: 01-SEP-2006

As baby boomers get older and closer to retirement, and the stock market continues to underperform, many investors have been driven to real estate investing. This demand has created a “boomlet” that has significantly increased the pricing, and thereby the purchase cost, of real estate in many parts of the United States. [...]

UPDATED: 01-AUG-2006

As an owner of investment property your ideal is to not have to worry about your property. You go on vacation, you work overtime, you retire to Bali and your property keeps making money for you. [...]

UPDATED: 01-JUL-2006

For years we have been hearing about the real estate mantra, “location, location, location,” but is that really what drives the success of an investment? I agree with the pundits that you can charge more rent at a better location and potentially have more return. Perhaps your vacancies will turn faster because you have a better location. [...]

UPDATED: 01-JUN-2006

Tom and Irma spent a lifetime buying real estate. By the time they were in their sixties they owned 4 houses, a 30 unit apartment building, three commercial buildings, and had additionally invested with a couple of friends in some real estate partnerships. [...]

UPDATED: 01-MAY-2006

Increased interest rates have created an interesting dilemma for the potential real estate investor — especially in the area of apartment investments. Is now the time to buy, or not? [...]

UPDATED: 01-APR-2006

The times are a changing. Landlords have gone through a three-year period of not being able to increase rents as their expenses have been increasing and their cash flow has been decreasing. The demand by investors for apartment properties has been supercharged. While interest rates were low and the demand from condo converters was high, sellers were able to sell their properties for significantly increased prices and low CAP rates. In our market CAP (capitalization) rates have plummeted from 8% to 6.5% over the past four years as prices have increased. [...]

UPDATED: 01-MAR-2006

What is it that you might not know about American demographics that would affect your decision about when and where to invest in real estate? [...]

UPDATED: 01-FEB-2006

Jolene rummaged in her pocketbook. She was looking for a pen. She had the Sunday newspaper on her dining room table as she was looking for a new apartment. Max had agreed to move in with her. Actually, Max had suggested it; he was hopelessly in love with Jolene. She had agreed with the caveat that they would both move into a bigger place. Max currently rented a studio and Jolene lived in a one-bedroom. His baby grand piano was not going to fit into her small apartment, so they had agreed on a budget, and here they were looking in the paper and online. [...]

UPDATED: 01-Jan-2006

Last week I had the honor of attending the national Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM) Forecast breakfast. As luck would have it, the meeting was located here in Portland where I was fortunate to rub shoulders with 800 other real estate practitioners, attorneys, property managers and owners, and to get the latest scoop from the front lines. Now it’s not like our gut doesn’t already give us indicators (i.e. the phone rings less, or deals are harder to make), but it is nice to know that it is happening to everyone across markets. [...]