Market Update 2021 - Tips and Rights for Tenants

Transcript below of Video

Alice's Analysis_ March 2021 Advice for Renters Affected By The Housing Shortage in Southern Oregon

Morning, real estate fans, Alice Lema, Broker, John L. Scott in Southern Oregon. And today we just wanted to chat briefly about what's going on in the landlord tenant situation. So today we're primarily going to focus on the tenants. If you are a renter in Southern Oregon right now, then post Corona.

[00:00:26] Well, we're still in Corona, but it's opening up. We're kind of getting past a lot of it But, you know, the end of the COVID plus the fires, it's caused a lot of shortage of housing. And we had a shortage to start with. So if you are currently a tenant in Southern Oregon, I have a couple of recommendations.

[00:00:46] First of all, if you have a decent credit score and you still have a job after all the COVID stuff, think about seriously talking to a lender to get pre-qualified. The only reason I bring this up because, I mean, I'd love for you to buy a house, but I'm not pushing for you to buy a house. I just want you to know what your options are.

[00:01:03] And the interest rates are so low. One of my millennial, kiddos for a thousand dollars, which was less money than they were paying in rent. Their new mortgage is a thousand dollars. Now that particular scenario, they had to scoot up to Klamath County to get a place But the idea is still the same. The rents are ridiculously high because there's a shortage and everything works on supply and demand.

[00:01:26] So if you're currently renting, let's get you hooked up with a good lender and just kind of find out what your options are. If you're not able to buy a house right now, they'll tell you what you need to do, to make that happen. And it just doesn't hurt to know kind of what your choices are. The other thing is if you are a tenant and your house goes up for sale, then you need to know what your rights are.

[00:01:48] The state of Oregon has FAQ's online. You can also get them from me. You can text me at (541) 301-7980 or email at Alice Lema, Alicelema.com. And we'll get those to you. The new rent control laws went into effect a couple years ago, and it just kind of even the playing field it defines everybody's role.

[00:02:12] So I think for the most part, these new rules are good, but you need to know what they are. They're new enough not everybody has all the facts. So and it's kind of a different video to go into all that. The other possibility if you're currently, a tenant and you think you might want to be a homeowner is you could buy a duplex.

[00:02:34] And one of the interesting things that's happened in Oregon, in the last year or so as in town, the single family zoning, which used to say you can only have one house per lot, has been changed so that everything's kind of defacto multi-family.  Why do you care? Because you look at a house like this, which is two stories, separate entrances has all kinds of room, a house like this could be kind of sliced and diced in a construction fashion, and you can create multiple units.

[00:03:09] So then all of a sudden you have extra income. Yo yes, that does cost money, But did you know, there are rehabilitation loans now that we're at the end of the COVID, they're kind of like mini construction loans. And again, that's a different video, but we should talk about it. If you get a property that is already divided into two units or three units, the lenders will take the income from those other rentals and apply it to your side.

[00:03:35] Just like you got a raise. So for example, I have a project. I'm going with a, another investor, three units, and they could live there for free. Plus have an extra thousand dollars a month after all the expenses are paid. So there's lots and lots of options. If you are a tenant right now in Southern Oregon, I just don't want you to be vulnerable.

[00:03:56] I don't want you to be scared and I want you to have the facts and there's nothing wrong with being a renter. It serves a purpose in life. We all go in and out of that mode and you know, it comes in handy. But you do want to know what all your rights are. And you do want to know if you can buy a house when the interest rates are low.

[00:04:14] What 2.5%, 2.9%. They went up a little tiny bit, but basically free money. So, just think about what I said. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help. 541-301-7980Alice Lima, broker John L. Scott Southern Oregon. Have a great day.