medford rentals are the best. yah.

Well, they have been hitting this area with a a vengeance.  As a Property management Company in Medford, it can definitely be a royal pain in the bahookie.  On top of it all, we are in a small town, who would have thought that these overseas jerks would be targeting our small town in Medford.  I guess it just reinforces that the Internet puts us all on an even playing ground.

We had actually written a few articles about this over a year ago just warning folks in the valley about these scams because other people in the valley and in the rest of Oregon were experiencing this.  Well, they have now gone after our listing personally….so game on.  Well, OK, not too much we can do except continue to over communicate to our Clients and Tenants about these losers and let them know that they are placing bogus listings all over Craigslist.  For example, we placed an ad last week for a nice 3 bedroom home in Medford, I think the listing was for $1,350 per month.  Well, here is the thing, these guys are pretty good.  They are looking up and doing some pretty extensive research on the properties before they advertise.

When they posted the ad, they were able to find out about all of the characteristics of the property, past sales and even some rental information, which is kind of scary.  There is a lot of public information out there, but this seems extreme from another country.

Their MO is that they take the listing, then do some great research, so when they are questioned they have so much knowledge about the property (mind you over email exclusively) they APPEAR to be the true owners.  The they market the property for a SIGNIFICANT discount compared to the true listing.  For example, ours was listed through us for $1,350, they then created an ad for $1000, which would be a size able discount large enough for anyone to call on.  Which, this is exactly what happens.  They then give some long drawn out story about them and the property and after the process the way to secure the property is to send them a western union check for the 1st months rent and security deposit.  Duped.

Here is a great little website, which is a combined effort from the FBI and the National White Crime Center and the Bureau of Justice, where you can report these idiots:

http://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx

We actually created an anonymous email client and emailed these people acting as if we were an interested party in the Medford Rental that they had so delightfully “stolen” from us.   Here is a copy of the initial response email that was sent to us.

The address came from William Stacey, I am sure that they will not use this email address again when they strike, but either way they will likely utilize a similar email response:

***BEGIN BS EMAIL****

Hi,

I did get your response concerning the AD I posted on craigslist. The apartment is still available but presently I’m not around.. I did bid for a portion of petroleum land sometimes ago in West Africa and fortunately I won the bidding so I have to move quickly down to Africa to have my company set up because I will still have to rebid for it in the next 10 years. I came over here with my wife, we both built the home when we got married. As soon as we settle down here I had a thought of selling the home so I have to look for an agent, after getting one, we got a deal but later my wife advised against that.. She said we may not be able to win the bidding next time, in other to keep our head when we return that we have to keep the home. I reasoned with her and accepted her advise. So I contacted the agent back and requested for my keys and documents. Later we decided to have the home rent out, we would have give the same agent this job also but the truth of the matter is that the agent would want to handle it professionally and the occupant may not be able to reason along with him later.  If you notice, you will discovered that the price we are offering is far below standard price, this is enough for you to know that we are not after the rental fee but the  absolute care for the property. I know there is no way I can be sure that you are the right person to live in the home because we won’t be able to see physical before sending you the keys and the documents to occupy the space. But I just had a  feeling that anyone who knows what it takes to put the kind of structure down should know that maintaining a building is mandatory, so if you belief you can take good care of the home and handle it like yours then I will be more than happy to let you rent the home.

House Address: 1726 Dove Lane, Medford OR 97501.
House rent: $1000
Refundable Security Deposit Payment: $600

Please if you are ready now to occupy the house kindly provide the
information below for record purpose

PLEASE TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF
Full Name__________________________

OK, that was the email.  So, please be careful. If you are a Medford Property Management Company or a Landlord here in Medford, don’t think for a second that we are shielded because we are in a small town.  The Internet makes us just as vulnerable as the big boys.

What to do:

If this happens to you, be sure to call ALL of the people that had called on your rental previously and let them know that the scam is occurring, flag the listing and have a friend of your flag the listing as well.  It only takes 2 people to flag the listing to get it booted.  Next report them at www.ic3.gov.  Then I would even update YOUR listing to say that there is a Fraudulent listing that is falsely advertising the property for much less than the actual rental amount.

If you are looking for a rental and suspect this, then go here to learn how to verify the proper owner of a property in Jackson County, Oregon: Verify Medford Oregon Rentals Don’t assume anything when you are dealing with this.  It could cost your THOUSANDS.

Shelly & Patrick Rogers

New Foundations Property Management Medford Oregon

View our medford rentals here.

2010 is almost closing upon us and 2011 is right around the corner. So many people want to know what 2011 will bring for the real estate market, property management market, sales, rentals, etc. Medford and the surrounding Rogue Valley continues to be a great area and I think that if you are thinking about investing….DO IT NOW!

Let me explain..

In my last post I talked about the factors that effect a real estate market prices. Two of the biggest are the affordability ratio and interest rates. Well, the CEO for Trulia and Realty Trac just released some comments on their thoughts for what 2011 will bring:

“We don’t see a full market recovery until 2014,” said Rick Sharga of RealtyTrac, a foreclosure marketplace and tracking service. He said that he expected more than 3 million homeowners to receive foreclosure notices in 2010, with more than 1 million homes being seized by banks before the end of the year.

It is expected to get even worse in 2011 as over $300 billion in adjustable loans are going to be coming to term and resetting. And even worse, banks are being accussed of using “robots” to auto-sign foreclosure documents, which is going to send the whole market into a delaying spin.

For those who have money, now is a great time to buy. Christmas is about here and the market is again seeing a seasonal reduction. Banks, owners, sellers are willing to go even a little lower than they otherwise would have in October. Also, look at the interest rates, they are predicted by the CEO of Trulia.com to go up in the 1st quarter of 2011: pet Flint, the Trulia CEO said: “Mortgage rates will start to rise in 2011, further dampening demand and limiting affordability. “Nationally, prices will decline between 5 percent and 7 percent, with most of the decline occurring in the first half of next year,” Pete said.

They are predicting the interest rates will climb back up to 5% and over on 30 yr fixed loans, which will increase a $400k loan by $120 per month.

So, froma pure cash flow standpoint, this little opportunity moment that we have here will soon start to fade away on pure interest rate alone…or at least that means less cash in your pocket. And it is all about cash flow, isn’t it. I persoanally know all too well about equity rich and cash poor….I am done with that…cash flow baby.

Get your Medford Oregon area rentals and start making some money. The prices aren’t going to drop that much more, what is the prediction…5% drop in the next 12 months. Nothing compared to the increase of $120/month cash flwo you could be looking at, expecially if the rental amount already pays for the mortgage. These are my thougts for the day.

Patrick & Shelly Rogers
New Foundations Property Management, Medford Oregon

Hello World, New Foundations Property Management here commenting on a recent article in the Medford Oregon Mail Tribune which discusses the recent Southern Oregon MLS sales statistics. They go out of their way to mention that some of the Medford Oregon surrounding areas existing and new home sales have increased for the last 3 months compared to 1 year ago, which I guess is somewhat nice to hear. Of course, the title of the article is “County’s median home price continues to sag”…so at least Greg Stiles, the article author understands that overall we continue to drop home prices and that that surrounding areas IS NOT some kind of sign that we are on the way out, because we are not.

So back to article real quick before I move on about housing prices. The southern Oregon MLS statistics (by the way the southernoregonmls.com website is painfully slow…save yourself the time and just read the Medford Tribune article) show that Eagle Point, Shady Cove and Gold Hill are increasing in price compared to last year for the 3 month period between Sept 1 to Nov 30. I really wonder why this is. Hmm, OK my brain hurts now and I have no idea other than the dams being take down somehow having an effect on the opportunity for tourism in those areas…who knows on that one.

And believe me, this is still good news for real estate investors. This means that there is still time to buy buy buy. Because I think most savy rela estate investors understand too that, the person that can gobble up the most real estate during this opportune time, will come out a winner when the market again starts its long journey of increasing prices again. And I have already heard it from many people: “Do you really think the real estate market will come back from this?”. Of course it will. There is only 1 thing that IS predictable about the real estate market, is that it is cyclical in nature and will come back.

There are so many things to consider when you look at a real estate market…And by the way, the below allows one to virtually cherry pick and predict exactly what the market will do.

1. Affordability index ratio. This is the percentage of people over the age of 18 in a city that can afford the median home price with their given household income. Somewhat tougher to find this out for a given small metro area like Medford, but possible. When the affordability index drops below 17% for any area, foreclosures are sure to start increasing.
2. Net Migration rate. Are people moving in or out of an area? And what is the trend on that rate, increasing/declining?
3. Mortgage interest rates. Are the interest rates high or low?
4. Unemployment Rate. Again you need to look at trends here.

The cool thing is that all of this stuff above repeats itself, every time the market goes through a cycle.

You want to know something else…the future economic indicator of the Medford Real Estate market will be the southern California Market. Just keep your eyes open to what goes on down there, because within 6 months to 2 years the same thing will happen here, just maybe not as elastic.

If and when you do decide to buy your Medford Oregon and surrounding area rentals, let Shelly manage them for you. We are real estate investors as well and take property management very seriously with respect to your return on investment and monthly cash flow.

Hope ya’ll can have fun with these facts, pretty eye opening when you know what goes into the market.

Patrick & Shelly Rogers
New Foundations Property Management

Wow….I am amazed every day at what people are capable of. Morals, dignity, self worth…gone are those days with some people. I guess economic strife can force people to make some pretty poor decisions.

Here is the article:Forbes Magazine Article.
It is a real shame that this sort of thing can happen in our back yard.

Tennessee acres was to be the name of this real estate development. He took $1.2 million from mainly eldery real estate investors and then only put $400,000 of it towards the project. The articel doesn’t really go into detail, but it seems like he has spent the rest and it is gone.

It has been in the works for a long time. I did some google research and the City of Medford actually approved the plat approval back in 2004.

Shelly & Patrick Rogers
New Foundations Property Management, Medford Oregon

The Medford Oregon area is great for a number of reasons….4 seasons, tons of activities for all seasons.  We have Mt. Ashland 30 minutes away, tons of Lakes for the summer (some of the best in the country in my opinion…even if they are just across the border in CA), Crater Lake, the Rogue River wilderness for the outdoorsman or hunter.  And that is just the start of the great features of the Rogue Valley.

So anyone looking to invest their money would do well to take a hard look at the Medford Oregon area.  Lately, we have worked with many Investors that do not live in the area, but they recognize that there are some phenomenal deals right now and want to take advantage.  And with that, they also recognize the wonderfulness of the area and want to live here some day, just not right now.

Having said that, we work directly with out of town Investors looking to buy a rental property in Medford, but are challenged to do so because of their geographic location.  You see, we used to, and still do, buy houses and rehab to either rent or turn and sell. Additionally, trying to manage that property from any measure of a distance is equally challenging.  Because we have recognized that challenge for out of town Investors, we have decided to offer the specific service of helping find a suitable investment (we are not Realtors, but work with many) and once the property is acquired, become the Project Manager for returning the property to an acceptable rentable condition.

This service has turned out to be very economically wise for Investors, as in this economy there are great deals, however many of them will require a certain amount fo work to fix up.  That is where we can come in before we actually take over the management of the property.  Which means that all an Investor needs to do is say Yes to us and we go to work, networking with Realtors to help find a great investment property.  We have partnered with some of the best Realtors in town in identifying great property income potential.  We then work the owner and Realtor and fix the property up, then transition to finding a long term good Tenant and manage the property for you.  Done.

For example, we work with an Investor in the Phillapines whom we had never met (now have), yet he bought 3 houses with which we worked on to bring to a rentable condition, found great renters and the rest is history.  He was able to purchase the properties directly from a bank, so the rent he receives actually pays for the mortgage and then some.  This even included the cost of repairing.

We are actually investors too and understand this game and how it is played.  Keep your eyes open, because the deals are out there.  And if you live out of town, feel free to call us to help manage your next project (or property).  Medford Oregon is a phenomenal place to invest..prices are low and the area is great. And when the economy does come back, you can be sure that Medford will be one of the places to take a great leap right back up.

Patrick & Shelly Rogers
New Foundations Property Management
Oregon Commercial Management

Tis the season again….the rain continues. So, as good property management best practices dictate, lets get out there and make sure that our water tight enclosures, roofs, etc. are in fact still water tight.

Over the summer, the hot temperatures and direct sunlight here in the Medford Oregon area have a tendency to degrade seals, petroleum areas, etc. So be sure to take a quick stroll through your attic and bring a flashlight. This is especially true of older homes that would be much more likely suspect to such issues. It should take you no more than about 10 minutes to crawl through your attic and just shine your flashlight along the roof and make sure that you don’t see any water coming in. It is much better to catch it now than in February when the leak has developed a pool that is now coming through your ceiling.

Be safe though too, in fact if you have not done this before, you may want to think about having a relative crawl through for you or hire a professional for a minimal cost to take a look.

It is the little things like this that can go a long ways in preserving your investment and preventing costly repairs down the road. Since youa re already looking for water, take a few extra seconds and peer under the kitchen sink and bathroom sinks. Especially if we are talking about a rental property that you own or manage. Take 5 seconds to make sure that there is not a slow (or fast) leak occurring that your Tenant has either not realized or not told you about. Again this is a simple fix that can prevent costly repairs down the road.

If you find a leak either in the roof or under a sink, have it repaired asap. Do not stall on this as water damage is relatively quick and disastrous.

Patrick & Shelly Rogers
New Foundations Property Management
Oregon Commercial Management

3508 Darrell Ave. Video Tour

Call Shelly at 541 499-6211 for a viewing.

I don’t usually create a post about our listings, who knows maybe I should start. We recently acquired a listing for an absolutely stunning 6,200 square foot home located very close in, yet in a very private wooded setting.

Many times, people want to live in the country near Medford because the country surrounding the Rogue Valley is gorgeous. However, many times it takes over 30 minutes to get a far enought distance where you can have a couple acres and have great privacy and wooded surroundings. That is why I am creating an entire blog post about this property:

This property is located between 1-2 miles from the brand new South Medford High School, yet it has over 2 acres and is over 6,200 sq ft with a 4 car garage! There are deer and turkeys in the area that give this property a peaceful environment. Not only that, but from this knoll top property, you can see a full view of the Medford skyline. Stunning.

The house itself is completely new. There was an original, much smaller home that the builder expanded into the now 6,200 sq ft mansion.

You can view (or download by right clicking and choose ‘save as’) the flyer for the property:
Darrell Property Flyer

There are 3 floors in the property.

Bottom Floor:

4 Car Garage
Theatre Room
Bathroom
Bonus Room
Electronics/Telecommunications Room

Main Floor:

Main Entrance
3 Bedrooms
Master Bedroom / Master Bath
Living Room
Great Room (Kitchen / Entertaining Room)
Dining Room

Upstairs:

Recreation Open
Balcony Area

Outside the home there is a circular driveway with another huge landing are for many of your guests to park. There is a huge backyard with plenty of room for having a family picnic/volleyball (whatever). On the side yard there is an inground swimming pool with a diving board.

Here are some pictures, you can find even more pictures at our residential property management website:
New Foundations Property Management

I feel horrible for the family that just moved to Medford from Spokane, paid for a rental upfront, and then found out that they had been had. This market is bringing on all kind of scammers.

If you haven’t heard, here is a link to the article from KOBI news, but basically, a woman foreclosed on her home and moved out. An opportunistic a$$ decided he would take advantage of the situation and rent out the home to an unsuspecting tenant. He was successful in renting out to a family from Spokane who moved in a little while ago. The owner, Crystal Rhodes, who’s house was going to auction in December, came back to the house and found the family there. Here is the link to the video news: KOBI News 5; Rental Scam

I wish I could find one of these guys and have some 1 on 1 time in a dark alley for a couple minutes. (By the way, this is Patrick writing this blog entry, not Shelly!)….Although Shelly might do more damage than me on the poor chap. But seriously, it makes you cringe when you think about what must go through the mind of these scammers. Do they have no conscious?

How can you look an entire family in the face, accept likely greater than $2,000 from them for absolutely nothing in return? In fact, worse yet they will find themselves without a home within a couple months and be forced to go through the drudgery of moving and be out 100% of the security deposit. Thank goodness that the original homeowner, Crystal Rhodes has a huge heart and let them stay there until the courtdate, all is not 100% lost for the family.

So here is why I am commenting on this, besides the fact that this pisses me off: You can check the name of the owner online!

ATTENTION ANYONE LOOKING TO RENT FROM SOMEONE IN JACKSON COUNTY:

GO TO THE JACKSON COUNTY WEBSITE AND CHECK THAT THE PERSON YOU ARE RENTING FROM IS THE SAME PERSON ON TITLE!

HERE IS A PREVIOUS POST ON HOW TO DO THIS: Medford Scammers, How to Beat Them

I want to raise a glass to all those ethical people out there….seems like a dying (or dieing?? any votes??) breed.

If Shelly or I can of service to you or anyone you know in helping to ETHICALLY preserve their rental investment and make more money from their properties, please let us know. Ethical property Management is what we do.

Patrick & Shelly Rogers
Property Management Medford Oregon

The article from last weeks Mail Tribune is very distrurbing, from a Proeprty Management and Landlording perspective. It is definetely disappointing when you see other Landlords in our Medford area not doing it right, and who is to pay…the Tenant of course.

So the subtitle is: “Residents face eviction after landlord loses lawsuits, several businesses”. As you read on through the article, we find out that this landlord has done the following:

1. Allowed rent to be paid in installments (mistake, explain below)
2. Trade work for credit on rent (mistake, explain below)
3. Never issued a receipt for rent collected (cash…illegal and poor accounting principles all together)
4. Never performed maintenance for Tenants (leaking pipes and skyrocketing bills)

Oh my gosh, well where do we start.

1. Allowed rent to be paid in installments. OK, first of all, this MAYBE could be allowed once. Once.
As a Property Manager or Landlord, we are NOT in the charity business. And believe me, this is much harder to do than to say. But it is the truth. If you condition yourself to allow Tenants to give you a new excuse every month with why they are late on rent, or why they want installments, etc., then you are going to be doomed.

Bottom line: Owning a rental is a business and needs to be treated as such. Your Tenants are under a contractural agreement (hopefully) and are obligated to follow through on their lease committments. When you give and inch, they will try to take a foot. And I am not saying thsi to be uncompassionate, rather as a Proeprty Manager I have a fiduciary responsibility for the Property Owner (not the Tenant)

2. Trade work for rent. Yup, we used to be in the business of hospitality and helping the Tenants out. When we first started we used to let Tenants perform work in exchange for rent credit. Do you know where it got us:

a. Work that was completely late
b. Incomplete work that then needed to be completed by a professional anyways
c. Jobs performed incorrectly creating costly re-work by a professional
d. Hassle for us (more time and energy)

Our policy is that we do not allow this anymore. It is time and money waster for the Property Owner and the Proeprty Manager. Some people might say that if you keep the job simple, like lawncare and paiting, it would work. I disagree. It still creates a headache no matter what.

3. No receipts for rent payment (especially cash). C’mon now landlord, that is basic Tenant-Landlord Oregon Law. If you are receiving a rental payment that is in cash, you MUST (not optional here), issue a receipt summarizing the transaction. Else where is the proof that the rental payment existed? You are exposting yourself to real risk without issuing a receipt. I would issue a receipt for all payment types, no matter what.

4. Never performed maintenance. Well, that is just adsurd. No getting around it, maintenance keeps the Tenant happy and preserves your rental investment. Leaky pipes are one those that is a “pay me now or pay me later” gigs. A leaky pipe underneath the bathroom faucet may not seem like a big deal, but overtime the water will cause damage to the structure and rot. This then turns a simple $20 fix into a $200 fix, and possibly more.

I recommend performing due maintenance for your properties within a 3 day timeframe from the request. If you keep this your policy and communicate it to your Tenants (and stick to it), you will be sure to keep them happy and ensure the value of your property stays high.

Remember, it is a business and you must treat it as such. One day you might need to sell it, and if you don’t keep up on your meintanance, your value will drop significantly. Perform the appropriate property management and maintenance upkeep to preserve your rental.

By the way, if you want to check out the article it is here, written by Anita Burke: http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100928/NEWS/9280316

Patrick Rogers