@Account Closed three things. 1) all of your points are valid points. There are plenty of economic factors we can discuss. What is 100% apparent from yesterday is this. It doesn't matter. Many of our "opinions" are simply taken as threats. Tenants rights have never been stronger, their representation has never been more emboldened and they're ready for a fight.
Tenants rights activists own Commissioner Eudaly (can't forget commissioner) and she clearly told everyone, multiple times, that rent control ban will be gone. She is 100% focused on this one issue at hand. Wheeler knows it and he gave her the floor yesterday because of it. The commissioners have to stand behind her right now because of the current housing market conditions. Portland is in serious growth pain and the political waters are heavily weighted on the tenant side of the story.
The proponents have all of the emotional fire power. The statistics are on their side and the announcement of Normandy Park and Titan Terrace in the media was perfectly timed. The ordinance passed before it went to vote. The only thing that mattered for owners was how many amendments would get included.
2) It is also 100% apparent that our City Council has very little knowledge about the rules and regulations of housing, and hence, the housing market as a whole. All they can do is talk about inclusionary zoning and design review, the hot button issues on the supply side (y the way, those supply side issues are a joke of a conversation that's not the solution to the problem. But we'll talk about that on another day). They had item 106 moved to a mayoral elective yesterday to address the design review issue. They're puppets in this manner. They asked multiple questions that were basic landlord tenant law and there were multiple instances when attorneys came to answer questions. At one point, an attorney giving public testimony, came back up to give a legal answer, I didn't totally understand her answer, but I think it could've been actually wrong.
Our leaders need education in this matter. They apparently are not getting it from anywhere. I had a conversation with Commissioner Fish and I think he gets it, but we'll see.
3) I believe that there are multiple portfolio owners who will make the decision to move their assets somewhere else. Since you can't move housing, that means they'll sell. Think of the owners from the 70's - 90's. How many units do they own? How many don't like liberal tenant laws? How many of them need to own Portland real estate anymore? We could start putting projections into some stats to come up with some numbers, but this is a great time to sell and if you're concerned about the future tenant laws, what's keeping you from selling? I got an email from one such property owner last night. He's out of town, actively looking at real estate. He owns close to 200 units.
I definitely see this as an opportunity for people that want to buy Portland real estate. I've been saying it at our meetings for months, I am not threatened by rent control at all.
I repeat, rent control is not scary.
I compare this to the HUD laws that popped up in the 1980's and my mentor's mentor, Abie Label's mindset at that time. "We will work harder than everyone else, we will know the code better than HUD knows the code. When someone needs to know about HUD. They call Abie Label". That's not a perfect quote, but I hear it in my head a lot lately.
We are living through what will be known as a defining time in Portland's history, right along with the creation of water front park. This isn't a time to sit on the sidelines. We should be more excited than ever to talk with property owners.
