Bluestone and Hockley Real Estate Services

UPDATED: 09-Dec-2009

Each legislative session includes thousands of bills, an increasing number of which deal with issues related to the day to day operations of condominium and homeowners associations in Oregon. In 2009, Senate Bill 963 served as an omnibus bill, containing a series of modifications to existing language in both the Planned Community (PCA) Act and Oregon Condominium Act (OCA)…[...]

UPDATED: 03-Dec-2009

The recession is far from over. The biggest indicator of our economic health is how many people are unemployed…[...]

UPDATED: 30-Nov-2009

Recently we updated you with news regarding HUD regulations for financing of condominiums. Facing significant political pressure, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development issued a temporary stay for some of the changes they had in mind…[...]

UPDATED: 02-Nov-2009

We all know that condominium developers built more condominiums than the market could absorb from 2006 – 2009. They built from scratch, developing small and large projects from duplexes to hundreds of units, and they bought apartments, renovated and replatted them so they could be sold as condominiums…[...]

UPDATED: 05-OCT-2009

Cliff Hockley, President

Bluestone and Hockley Real Estate Services

“The biggest mistake many investors make is to ignore the numbers generated by their properties.”…[...]

UPDATED: 10-SEP-2009

In this last legislative session the House and Senate were very busy. Over 3000 bills were introduced and close to one thousand were signed into Law by the Governor. The session… [...]

Challenge:

It’s the age-old challenge faced by every community association and property owner: past due accounts and inconsistent collection processes.

Solution:

First, we conduct an in-depth review of the Collections Resolution process to ensure that past due accounts are being collected in accordance with resolution guidelines. We then provide universal, pre-built templates that make the collection process extremely straightforward. When it becomes necessary to draw upon them, we have excellent working relationships with local attorneys, which can further ease the collection and lien process.

Results:

With this system in place, accounts are primarily current and, governing documents for property owners and homeowner associations are being followed, creating less homeowner and Board of Director confusion.

Challenge:

A routine quarterly inspection revealed that several homeowners were not maintaining their lawns in accordance with governing documents. This was affecting curb appeal and the overall desirability of the community.

Solution:

We established a Landscape Committee to provide homeowners with the information and resources necessary to maintain their lawns to desired standards.

Result:

The community is now being maintained as expected, with lush, beautiful lawns that are enjoyable to all.

UPDATED: 03-AUG-2009

The world has changed.

There was a time when a landlord rented a vacancy by placing an advertisement in the local newspaper and waited for the phone to ring, or tenants to visit. The classified sections of the local newspapers were packed with ads. You had to be very creative to leap out of the pack of ads.[...]

UPDATED: 07-JUL-2009

Bluestone & Hockley Real Estate Services has for a very long time only offered commercial real estate brokerage services. As with most businesses these days, we’ve had to modify our business model and have branched out into the brokerage of select residential properties. For us this means representing Banks and Servicers selling their foreclosed inventory and working with Investors to acquire homes for rentals.[...]

UPDATED: 10-JUN-2009

I Introduction and Overview – Topics to Cover

• Overview of the economy
• Overview of current apartment market conditions – YTD 2009 summary
• Inventory of residential housing
• How energy efficiency fit into the overall scheme [...]

UPDATED: 02-JUN-2009

Now is the time, in a recessionary economic cycle, when owners of investment properties begin to get calls from tenants about rent reductions, forbearance, assistance, desire to cancel their lease and a number of other requests for what amounts to financial assistance from their landlords. In these times it is hard for a landlord to know which way to turn given their own financial situation, the size of their mortgage and other variables.[...]

UPDATED: 12-MAY-2009

The biggest challenge for real estate investors right now is access to money to finance or refinance their investments.

This newsletter will summarize financing options for different kinds of property to help clear some of the smoke in the financial air. Bear in mind that we are in a fluid, ever changing market place. [...]

UPDATED: 06-APR-2009

As a real estate investor setting aside a reserve fund is always a good practice. Not only is the economy unpredictable, so are the weather and your tenants. How do we evaluate how much to set aside? Let’s review some of our risks.[...]

UPDATED: 10-MAR-2009

par·a·digm

1. One that serves as a pattern or model.

paradigm \s for investing

As real estate investors our world has changed.

Our paradigm has shifted. Once American Investors were the kings of leverage. 10% percent down, 20 % down, 25 % down were the currency that was used to purchase real estate. [...]

UPDATED: 10-FEB-2009

As a successful investor you may have already given thought to hiring a property manager take care of your investments. This article will give you some tips and tools that you can use to help make a successful decision.[...]

UPDATED: 09-JAN-2009

“Strength of mind or of character” is “the ability to keep one’s head at times of exceptional stress and violent emotion.”

Many intelligence reports in war are contradictory; even more are false, and most are uncertain.”[...]