Editor's Note: The next MHCO Management Training Seminar is three weeks away - June 13th in Medford.  We are very excited to be welcoming Bjorn Hess as our one of MHCO's newest members who will also be presenting at MHCO's training seminar on June 13th.  Bjorn Hessis a founding member and partner of the law firm Hazen, Hess & Ott, PLLC of Camas, WA. He is licensed to practice law in both Washington and Oregon. In addition, Bjorn is an owner of Sterling Properties Real Estate Services, a property management company based in Vancouver, WA / Lake Oswego, OR. After completing his Doctor of Jurisprudence and Master of Science in Personal Financial Planning at Texas Tech University, Bjorn returned to the Pacific Northwest where focuses his practice on landlord tenant law and serves as Chief of Operations at Sterling Properties Real Estate Services. Bjorn's passions include traveling abroad to experience different cultures, skiing, cycling, and pheasant hunting with his chocolate labrador Kona (who can often be found at his office). He is a volunteer member of the Mt. Hood Ski Patrol.

Bjorn will be presenting at MHCO's Medford Seminar on June 13th on Fair Housing.  We are extremely excited to have him participating in the MHCO training programing.  

By:  Bjorn A. Hess, Attorney at Law

Two weeks ago I had the unique opportunity to visit the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington D.C. Much of the museum dealt with race and the struggles experienced by African Americans in our nation and touched on difficulties in access to housing amongst other topics. Having dealt with Fair Housing issues as an attorney it was informative for me to experience a museum that dealt in part with housing laws and how we got to where we are today. The following article looks at the history behind current legislation intended to prevent discrimination in housing and how it became law. 

The Fair Housing Act (The Act") is federal legislation codified in Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 intended to address discrimination in the context of housing. The purpose of the Fair Housing Act is to prevent discrimination by a landlord or homeowner against either a prospective tenant or prospective buyer on the basis of status as a member of a protected class.  The Civil Rights Act of 1968 was signed into law by then-president Lyndon B. Johnson one week after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King

Editor's Note:  The 2018 Oregon Primary Election on last Tuesday was brutal for Oregon community owners and landlords and business owners.   It was a dismal election night for some of Oregon's strongest opponents of rent control.  In some cases the primary election winners - staunch rent control advocates - will face NO opposition in the November General Election.  The loss of Senator Rod Monroe (Senate District 24) will have a profound impact in the 2019 Oregon Legislative Session.  Senator Monroe was the one vote stopping rent control in the Senate in the 2017 Oregon Legislative Session.  MHCO will be monitoring and engaged in the upcoming General Election  - but with Tuesday's election results the 2019 Oregon Legislative Session may consist of super majority Democrats in both chambers and a definite leftward tilt that will make rent control and other anti-landlord and anti-business all that more challenging to defeat.  The following article from "The Oregonian" sums up the key legislative races in Oregon.  

The following article is from "Oregonian", "OregonLive" - Posted May 15, 2018 at 09:59 PM | Updated May 16, 2018 at 12:04 PM

Oregon's liberal Democrats notched key wins Tuesday in legislative primaries that focused on such hot-button issues as housing affordability and the state's public pension crisis.

With the Legislature likely to consider proposals on tax increases, public pension reform and greenhouse gas emissions next year, the constituencies that support and oppose those plans - businesses, public employee unions and environmentalists - poured money into certain primary contests.

The vote also set the stage in a couple of swing districts that are likely to be intensely contested in November's general election, as Democrats attempt to win a supermajority and Republicans do their best to block them. Democrats need to pick up just one seat in the House and Senate to achieve the three-fifths supermajority necessary to pass bills raising revenue without Republican support.

Tuesday's primaries included 16 seats up for grabs in the Senate, with five Democrats running unopposed. All 60 seats were up in the House, with seven Republicans and 24 Democrats running unopposed.

SENATE DISTRICT 24

This East Portland district was one of the most closely watched and high-spending races in the May primary, with civil rights attorney Shemia Fagan handing a decisive defeat to five-term Democratic incumbent Rod Monroe. Fagan won 62 percent to Monroe's 25 percent. Kayse Jama, a 43-year-old Somali immigrant and community organizer collected 13 percent of the vote.

Monroe, 75, a five-term senator, was vulnerable because the race centered on housing. The owner of a 51-unit apartment complex in East Portland, Monroe alienated tenant advocates and fellow Democrats last year when he opposed a bill that would have restricted evictions and allowed some rent controls.

Monroe spent heavily to defend his seat, raising nearly $385,000 -- much of it from the real estate industry -- and spent most of it. A group largely funded by the real estate industry also raised more than $360,000 and spent much of it on polling in support of Monroe and advertising against Fagan. 

That wasn't enough to fend off Fagan, who moved into Monroe's Senate district last year. The Happy Valley resident has raised $310,000, with big contributions from the state's public employee unions and the Oregon Trial Lawyers Association. The recently formed political action committee A Progressive Voice for Oregon also paid for advertising against Monroe, although the committee funded mostly by trial lawyers and public employee unions did not disclose the purpose of most of its $66,000 in reported spending.  

Fagan made affordable housing her top priority and said she would put an end to no-cause evictions and allow cities to enact rent controls.

SENATE DISTRICT 11

Senate President Peter Courtney, a Salem Democrat, faced his first primary challenger in 20 years. Though Courtney handily beat Joyce Judy -- 65 percent to 35 percent -- the race put the state's longest-serving current lawmaker and most-tenured Senate president in the position of defending his record against attacks by Judy and other more liberal Democrats.

SENATE DISTRICT 3

This is poised to be a pivotal race in the general election, potentially giving Democrats the additional position needed to achieve a supermajority in the Senate. It opened up after Republican Sen. Alan DeBoer decided not to seek reelection.

Democrats had four candidates: community services nonprofit employee Kevin Stine, television producer Jeff Golden, behavioral health administrator Athena Goldberg and physician Julian Bell. Golden had a decisive lead Tuesday evening, with 52 percent of the vote. Athena Goldberg trailed with 36 percent.

On the Republican side, technology company founder and CEO Jessica Gomez claimed victory with 54 percent of the vote, over certified public accountant Curt Ankerberg's 46 percent. Gomez also worked as one of DeBoer's legislative aides.

HOUSE DISTRICT 32

This Democratic primary was likely the most-watched House race among political insiders. It pitted Tim Josi, a full-time Tillamook County Commissioner backed by outgoing Rep. Deborah Boone, against two rivals running to the left of Josi. Child welfare worker Tiffiny Mitchell, who moved to Oregon from Utah about three years ago, led with 39 percent Tuesday night and Josi had 31 percent. John Orr, who splits his time between part-time jobs as a municipal court judge and biomass energy contractor, followed with 30 percent.

A central issue in the race was whether public employees should begin contributing to the public pension fund. Orr and Mitchell said the state should not require public employees to contribute. Josi said the state should consider requiring employees to put money into the fund, but said he remains undecided on the issue.

HOUSE DISTRICT 20

Selma Pierce, a retired dentist from Salem, was recruited by House leadership to challenge the potentially vulnerable Democratic incumbent, Paul Evans. She easily bested her opponent in the Republican primary, garnering 61 percent of ballots versus Kevin Chambers' 39 percent.

Pierce, the wife of former gubernatorial candidate Bud Pierce, is a longtime volunteer in the Salem area and says she'll prioritize improving graduation rates and vocational education; providing more robust services to those suffering mental health issues; and private sector affordable housing solutions.

This is a swing district some consider to be the closest in the state. Democrats have only a 3.6 percentage point registration margin and Evans, an Air Force veteran and Western Oregon University professor, eked out a victory by less than 2,000 votes in 2016.

HOUSE DISTRICT 52

Democrats have long set their sights on this district, and the departure of former Rep. Mark Johnson last year to take a short-lived job leading a business group put the seat in play.

On the Republican side, Rep. Jeffrey Helfrich -- who was selected by county commissioners to serve the remainder of Johnson's term -- was the clear winner with 98 percent of the vote.

Democrats fielded educator and environmental activist Aurora del Val, who fought the Nestle water bottling proposal, and academic adviser Anna Williams. Del Val withdrew from the race earlier this year but was still on the ballot. Williams held a large lead with 77 percent over del Val's 22 percent.

HOUSE DISTRICT 26

Gun control was a central issue in this Republican primary. Incumbent Rich Vial garnered 70 percent of the vote, easily beating challenger Daniel Laschober. Laschober entered the race after Vial and two other House Republicans joined Democrats to pass a lawbroadening an existing ban on people owning guns because of domestic violence or stalking convictions. Vial is a lawyer and Laschober is a software and finance consultant.

By:  Kurt Plaster, MAI
        Director BBG   VALUATION + ADVISORY + ASSESSMENT
         1220 SW Morrison, Suite 800
         Portland, OR 97205
         P 503-478-1014   C 503-593-7726
         KPlaster@bbgres.com

Most of an owner's or manager's experience with an appraiser corresponds with purchase, sale, or refinancing of a park. However, appraiser's do not only work for the bank. They can also help in estate planning or valuation services surrounding tax issues (among other things). 

As objective market participants, an appraiser can provide insightful consultation services as well. Whether it is insight to market rental rates, trends in rental increases, or expense structures (to name a few), an appraiser's understanding of valuation can potentially help improve a park's cash flow or operating margins. Further, they can provide relevant data to support you during the sale negotiation process.

Range of Services

• Appraisals and consulting for financial institutions, attorneys, accountants, private individuals, etc.
• Market and Feasibility Analysis
• Portfolio Valuation
• Arbitration/Dispute Resolution
• Private estate planning/filing

Critical Valuation Issues

• In-Depth Market Analysis: Market supply/demand analysis. Surveying current rental and occupancy rates. Forecasting occupancy and potential rental increases.
• In-Depth Operating Income/Expense Analysis

We focus on providing superior communication with our clients to offer the best possible solutions to their appraisal or other valuation related needs. We provide appraisal, advisory and consulting services on the full spectrum of mobile home park and RV park related facilities.

Contact Kurt Plaster, MAI or Alex Annand for more information.

By Zach Koucos, Senior Director, HFF

The financial headlines during the first few weeks of the new year were dominated by political, stock market, and interest rate volatility. Nonetheless, 2018 is positioned to be another very strong year from a real estate capital markets perspective. Providers of capital across the industry are planning to match or exceed their lending and investment volume from last year. 2017 saw the manufactured home community (MHC) industry continue to benefit from a growing shortage of affordable housing in markets across the United States. Furthermore, demand increases have outpaced supply for MHC assets, a trend that should continue throughout 2018. 

Most investors and capital providers believe that 2018 will be an excellent time to consume and deploy capital, either by selling assets, acquiring value-add acquisitions, or taking advantage of attractive fixed and floating rate financing. Capitalization rates (the rate of return) for well-located, quality manufactured home communities remain aggressively low, as relatively slow deal flow cannot keep pace with the amount of desired equity deployment from institutional and private investors. Thus, we continue to see more flexible investment strategies across the board, as groups struggle to deploy a plentiful amount of capital.  

As an example, we have seen institutional and private investors with a traditional focus on Class A (top quality) MHC's in major U.S. metro areas expand their focus to include Class B and C properties in these same markets, or in secondary or smaller U.S. markets. The continuing disappearance of distressed acquisition opportunities, and the unwillingness of owners of Class A MHC's to sell, has forced certain investors to look at value-add deals that require more complex business plans to achieve acceptable investment returns. Buyers acquiring MHC's are still benefitting from very attractive fixed and floating interest rate financing, and interest-only payments, which help support higher transaction price points. Furthermore, investors understand that most assets will continue to benefit from additional revenue growth over the course of the coming years, and are often willing to factor this growth into present day valuations.

From an MHC financing perspective, liquidity continues to increase and various capital sources are showing more flexibility and aggressiveness as they try to keep pace with their dollar volume allocations. This translates to a very favorable financing environment for owners and buyers of MHC's. Life insurance companies are generally increasing real estate allocations, and can offer extremely attractive non-recourse long term financing solutions (up to 40 years) for owners looking to lock in today's still low interest rates. 

We have seen life company lenders reduce credit spreads (the method by which loan interest rates are priced), lengthen amortization schedules, and provide interest-only payment options before amortization kicks in. Since they are on-book" or "balance sheet" lenders

Editor's Note:  Last month the Eugene "Registered Guard" ran an article on the front page on a manufactured home community - Falconwood Manufactured Home Community.  The article has caught the attention of Oregon Legislators who are demanding more protections for residents.  Many of the protections that may be proposed have already been passed into law (HB 3016 - passed in 2015).   MHCO asked our legal counsel Phil Querin to review the article and advise members how to to CORRECTLY sell a resident's home.  

Here is a link to the orginal Eugene Register Guard Article:

http://registerguard.com/rg/news/local/36552747-75/state-investigates-sa...

Phil's article is attached - simply click the attached file ABOVE.

By: Bill Dahlin

Wi-Fi is everywhere and much of the time it is offered for free." Starbucks offers it. So does McDonald's. In fact

While setting up a disaster plan for manufactured home communities, be sure to include steps that would reduce the risk of damage or injury.  Here are some actions to consider: 

• Keep trees healthy and strong.  Remove dead limbs immediately, and cut back branches that overhang buildings or touch power or phone lines.

• Make sure all homes in the community are installed properly and comply with all local codes that apply to disasters.

• Do visual inspections of the community on a regular basis to look for damage to foundations, roofs, walls, tie-downs, awnings and other structures.  Notify residents of any potential problems observed on their homesite.

• Install an audio warning system, such as a siren or horn, and tell residents when and how it will be used.

• Have a battery-powered radio that can monitor reports from the National Weather Service, an agency of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).  These are referred to as NOAA Weather Radios.  The National Weather Service broadcasts updated weather warnings and forecasts for most kinds of weather emergencies.  NOAA recommends that you buy a radio that can run on either electricity or batteries, and that has a feature that automatically sends out a warning beep" when a weather watch or warning is issued.

• Inspect fire hydrants regularly and keep them clear of debris

Editor's Note:  As we start the count down to the next full Oregon Legislative Session (2019) one of the biggest issues our industry faces is how to resolve conflict between residents and landlords.  Mediation is one of the answers and one that MHCO strongly encourages ALL owners and managers of manufactured home communities to pursue.  Today MHCO is introducing a new ad promoting mediation along with a long term commitment to providing quality articles and information on mediation.  The ad  provides a click thru to important information such as how to access mediation.  Mediation is FREE and should be one of the first tools you turn to when conflict arises in your community - whether it is between resident and resident or resident and landlord.  

Mediation: Tips for Effective Communication

1. Talk Directly. Assuming that there is no threat of physical violence, talk directly to the person with whom you have the conflict. Direct conversation is more effective than sending a letter, banging on the wall, or complaining to others.

2. Choose a good time. Plan to talk to the other person at the right time and allow yourselves enough tie for a thorough discussion of the issue. Don't start talking about the conflict just as the other person is leaving for an appointment, after you've had a terrible day, or right before you make dinner. Try to talk in a quiet place where you can both be comfortable and undistributed for as long as the discussion lasts.

3. Plan ahead. Think out what you want to say ahead of time. State clearly what the problem is and how it affects you.

4. Don't blame or name call. Don't blame the other person for everything or begin the conversation with your opinion of what should be done. Use responsible language (I statements such as I feel"

By:  Jim Joffe

            It seems to me that Resident Relations" encompasses "resident relationships". Those residents with whom you have positive and pleasant interactions are often promoters of your community