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Board Members Rental Owners Association, Lane County is a non-profit association that is managed by members who volunteer their time and expertise to serve on the board of directors to address matters important to the association and its members. Board members are confirmed by the general membership for two year terms. The board elects officers from within its group. Current Officers and Board Members Jim Straub - President Crystal Buel-Mcintire Dennis Casady Dennis Chappa Patrick Costello Eric Hall Devin Gates Biographies of current officers and board members are provided below. Individual board members may be reached by telephone or email through the ROA office. Board Member Biographies Jim Straub is a native Oregonian and third generation investment property owner/landlord in the Eugene/Springfield area. He presently manages 48 houses and a few duplexes. While completing his studies at the UO in the early 1990's, Jim and his two older sisters started a real-estate investment company. They would purchase fixers, do all the work on them themselves and then keep them as rentals. Jim would usually live in them while the work was being performed. After graduation, Jim was surprised that he was not able to find any jobs locally in his field of study: physical anthropology. He considered moving to a larger city but felt that he had a good thing going with the rental properties and was hesitant to give them up. He worked for a year as a carpenter foreman on the construction of the Hyundai computer chip factory in west Eugene, then close to another year working on the construction of the HMT hard drive factory also in west Eugene. After the stint in commercial construction Jim ventured back in to residential construction where he had worked several summers framing houses in Bend during college. Crossing his fingers, he borrowed money to the hilt and bought a couple of lots in NW Eugene. Jim did his own excavation, foundations, framing, interior finish and landscaping. Luckily they sold and Jim did the same thing a few more times until he could afford to start hiring out the framing and interior finish. This process worked great for a number of years until Jim’s father decided, after being a landlord for 30 some years, that he was ready to retire from that line of work and asked if it was something that Jim would be interested in pursuing. Feeling a bit skeptical that the new housing market could keep booming forever and seeing investment property as a more stable career, Jim said yes to his father’s question. Jim still builds occasionally but only to keep for a rental. He presently manages only his rentals and those of his family, priding himself on doing 100% of the maintenance (carpet and drapery cleaning excluded). Being involved with the ROA has proved to be an invaluable learning experience for Jim, providing a great venue for networking and career growth. Michael Steffen - Vice President and Treasurer Michael Steffen became a member of the ROA after purchasing his first rental property in 2003 and joined the board of directors shortly thereafter. Steffen has worked at a variety of positions in general manufacturing, from shop floor to engineering to management, and briefly assisted in the management of an online bookstore. He founded and operated a software development, distribution and consulting company in Minneapolis MN for 12 years, providing software support to a variety of manufacturing, distribution and retail companies’ nationwide. With a business degree from the University of Minnesota, Steffen also provided accounting, bookkeeping and business support services as part of his general consulting services. He has also served on the board of various small non profit organizations. For the past 8 years, he has operated a software consulting business in downtown Eugene. Steffen finds his association with Rental Owners Association to be a valuable tool for keeping abreast of the rules and regulations associated with managing rental properties. “Before my involvement with ROA, I had no idea of the potential pitfalls associated with owning rental properties. The education I have received concerning the rights of tenants and the obligations of landlords is exceptional and the advice from members is invaluable. I can only imagine the difficulties I might have encountered had I chosen to manage my properties myself without the assistance provided by the ROA. I look forward to my continued association with the organization.” Scott Smith began actively managing residential rental property in 1996. He works from a home office on-site in a subdivision of 44 of the 70 total units that he manages. He is involved in all facets of property management: showing, screening of applications, bookkeeping, and all phases of maintenance. Scott handles all tenancy issues including the occasional court eviction. “I find property management to be an interesting business because, on the one hand, we must keep tenants in compliance with the minimum standards (pay rent, get along with neighbors, take reasonable care of home), but ewe ar also effectively closing a sale every month that the resident chooses to stay instead of giving notice to move. There is an on-going element of salesmanship of the property and my service. I enjoy the fact that I am directly assisting people by providing a basic need of shelter, and I take pride in offering good service for well kept properties. I also strive to have the highest rents in the neighborhood, because it is a challenge to me to provide a nicer, cleaner home and better service than my competitors. I have also found that upper-scale rents typically go hand in hand with responsible, quality residents. Further, the value of the property I manage is increased through higher rental rates.” Scott is very active in the hobby of collecting and enjoying early heavy diesel trucks from the 1940s and 50s. He is on the board of the Pacific Northwest Truck Museum in Brooks, Oregon and is regional vice president for Oregon of the American Truck Historical Society. Scott feels that everyone benefits when landlords and property managers are well informed and practicing in accordance with the law and the standards of our industry. He has gained much useful knowledge and many valuable connections through the Rental Owner’s Association for Lane County and hopes that others can benefit as he has from association with this group. Feel free to contact Scott with any questions or ideas. Phone 541-484-6844, email: thatdarnscott@yahoo.com Bev Bjurling, Section 8 Supervisor, started life as a stubborn Missouri mule before being transplanted to Lane County at the age of 11. Much of the stubbornness remains, but Oregon has captured her devotion, even though she is a lonely Beaver in Duck country. Prior to her 19 years of employment with the Housing and Community Services Agency of Lane County (HACSA), she spent many years in various government funded positions where a degree in English and graduate work in counseling were considered an asset. After a variety of jobs finding training and employment for welfare recipients, parolees and probationers, and other low-income folks, she spent several years working in and eventually managing private rehabilitation counseling offices for worker's compensation clients. Needing a break from intensive one-on-one counseling, she was fortunate enough to be hired by HACSA, where she has had the joy of providing housing subsidies to thousands of local residents who qualify for Section 8 assistance and the delight of working with landlords who are willing to jump through the regulatory hoops to help the homeless. No one who sees her office would have to ask, "What's your sign?". She is definitely an organized, neat-freak Virgo with the desire to have life be fair to everyone. Any moments of spare time are spent in the company of fictional fantasy, science fiction and mystery characters in lands near and very, very far away. As a former percussionist, music with a good, strong beat is a delight. Having divested themselves of the hard work of raising farm animals, she and her husband of nearly 35 years enjoy quiet time together in their country home on the all-too-rare occasions when his work allows him to be in Oregon. Crystal studied property management at LCC and purchased her first rental in 2000. Included in the rentals that she and her husband have purchased over the past eight years is a coastal lot where she is building an eco-friendly vacation rental. She recently received her Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration. Dennis Cassidy got an early interest in residential income property because his parents and a couple of rentals which he helped clean, paint and panel. In 1972, while attending the University of Oregon and still living at home, he purchased his first two rentals. Upon graduation in 1973, Dennis moved into one of them and purchased another that fall. Borrowing his down payment from the credit union, he always had more than one mortgage payment. Dennis joined Rental Owners Association in the early 1980s and has been a board member since about 1985. For 10 years he put together the newsletter on his living room floor, cutting and pasting articles and advertising, until the ROA office opened in 1998. Dennis has been a truck driver since 1999, working for a national freight company while managing his rentals in his “spare” time. Dennis Chappa currently serves as Secreatary for ROA of Lane County. He also represents ROA of Lane County as a delegate to the state association (ORHA). He serves on the board of directors of ORHA, assuming the office of President effective in June of 2006. He and his wife have been landlords for over 20 years, becoming members of ROA of Lane County shortly after they moved to Eugene, 11 years ago. Dennis was “talked into” joining the board about 5 years ago. His board service has turned out to be a great educational experience and he feels that he gets back as much as he contributes. Costello bought his first investment property in St. Louis in 1980, and with his current business partner, Norton Cabell, now owns and manages 42 apartment units in Eugene. He has served as a Director and the Treasurer of the Rental Owners Association (ROA) since 2000. He is a Vice President of Business Lending at SELCO Community Credit Union, and is actively involved in the financing of real estate including rental properties from 1 to 100+ units as well as commercial and industrial properties. He represents the ROA at Eugene Chamber of Commerce events and has been active with Eugene Springfield Commercial Brokers. With an MBA in Accounting & Finance from the University of Chicago, he spent twenty years in the retail and commercial lending sides of banking before leaving to start two retail stores in Eugene and Medford and rediscovering that rental ownership and management is a much better business opportunity. “I am pleased and proud to be associated with the ROA. It is a terrific organization that helps new as well as experienced landlords to do a better job, resulting in more satisfied tenants and higher returns. ROA provides the opportunity for networking with other landlords, regular training seminars, monthly meetings with topical speakers, forms and law books that are regularly updated based on Oregon law changes, and a helpline to deal with the urgent and most difficult questions. And it is a bargain to boot; annual dues are often less than a half hour billing from many lawyers”. Eric and his wife Paula, both became interested in property management back in 1990, when they became licensed with the state as property managers and managed for their first client and landlord 7 apartment units, 3 duplexs, and a single family dwelling. After a brief hiatus from the rental property market, they have several houses they currently rent, as well as 15 executive office suites. While their business, Centerline Properties currently only manages their own properties, Eric's architectural business, Eric Hall Architects, Inc., has done a number of residential, high efficiency dwellings, apartments, and SRO's (single room only). Eric brings to the board almost 25 years of experience in residential and commercial Architecture, as well as five years of construction estimating and construction project management experience. In the increasingly complex regulatory environment that we live in, the impact of building code and land use laws continue to grow as a factor in the rental property arena. "It is nice to be in a position to share some of our experience with our board and membership, so that they can avoid some pitfalls, or at least enter the fray with their eyes wide open." Eric finds the opportunities to continue the seemingly never ending learning cycle a treat while in the company of some of the best our profession has to offer within the local community. "It is always a joy to talk with people that really know their stuff." Beyond the world of managing a 15 person architectural firm, and managing properties, Eric enjoys raising grass fed Belted Galloway cattle. It's been alot of work getting things going, but their is something nice about knowing that their out there eating and growing even when I'm not around. Devin Gates is a native to Eureka, California having moved to the greater Eugene/Springfield area in 1999. A couple months later, he purchased his first duplex immediately throwing himself into the world of landlord ship. After several years of work, Devin transformed a formerly rundown property into a premium quality rental. Like many landlords, it took an experience with a progressively worsening tenant for Devin to become involved with ROA. Shortly after joining ROA he began duties on the board with the purpose of rental management education, further involvement in the rental market scene, and the possibility of being part of the legislative process at the city/county/state levels. Devin is currently an electrician also taking classes in the evenings after work. Hobbies include swimming, biking, and most ironically building, fixing, and designing.
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