Speaker: Matt R Powell, Loan Orginator/Owner, Blue-inc. Capital
What are the dynamics which are driving real estate investment activity and hard money lending in Oregon?
Matt R Powell: A lot of dynamics affecting the real estate environment in the market, in the state of Oregon and hard money lending. But the one I'll talk about is supply and demand. It's kind of been a hot topic now for a few years. But in our market in Oregon, there still is a supply and demand issue. Even with the slowing market time and the higher interest rates, there's still just not enough, a good quality inventory for the demand. So it's created a, a need for hard money lending. Often when a buyer or an investor wants to move quick, wants to have that competitive advantage and not have an offer contingent on an appraisal and be able to close in a few business days or the property just will not finance conventionally. It's gonna take, you know, private lending to acquire the property, fix the problem and then refinance.
Are there any particular cities or neighborhoods in Oregon where you've seen a lot of activity?
Matt R Powell: Blue-inc Capital is a private money lender located in Oregon and we only lend in our home state of Oregon. However, we're located in Eugene, Oregon, which is in Lane County and Lane County is a large county. It goes from the Oregon coast to the mountains over 4,700 square miles. But as a private money lender, we stay in our state and blown anywhere and everywhere in the state of Oregon. However, just because of our physical location, most of our lending happens in Lane County and we're not seeing any really specific neighborhood or location that I would say is getting more opportunities or inquiries for private lending. So just all over the state of Oregon.
What is the hard money lending landscape like in Eugene?
Matt R Powell: The private money landscape. In the State of Oregon, I would say it's pretty balanced. It's pretty collaborative environment amongst the lenders, the conventional lenders and the hard money lenders, the private money lenders, it's a good balance. I would say we all have our niche and maybe our specific area or location, for example, Blue-inc. Capital, we're a direct lender, we're not a fund. We're a direct lender which gives us a lot of ability to close loans fast. So sometimes there's referrals from some of our competitors in the market that know we might be able to handle something that they can't and vice versa. You know, we are a more local lender. So if we get someone to look outside of Oregon, we're quick to refer that opportunity off.
How do you differentiate yourself from the competition in Oregon?
Matt R Powell: The value proposition of Blue-inc. Capital for our borrowers and our investors alike is really the vast experience. My business partner and I have in the real estate industry, Kerrie Johnson, my business partner, was in Title & Escrow as an escrow manager from many years. And I owned a real estate company for over 17 years. So just having that background, that knowledge and those experiences really benefit our clients. A lot of times when borrowers come to us about how to structure a loan, we end up talking about the project and maybe about the zoning or about the real estate side and just we're really hands on and see it as a partnership with our borrowers and investors alike.
What types of hard money loans do you typically fund in Oregon?
Matt R Powell: When talking about the types of loans we fund, I really proceed cautiously to put us in a box because right when I think I've seen it all, there's something new. If it has to do with real property lending in the state of Oregon, I wanna talk about it. I want to look at the opportunity. We really excel when things have to move fast. If there's an opportunity and you need to close in two or three business days, that's where we excel, we can get that done, we can evaluate the property fast, we can get the loan underwritten, we get our documents drawn up and get it done fast. I really love the fix and refinance projects when people come to us because the property will not conventionally finance. Maybe it's just in major disrepair, maybe they're in the middle of a land development doing some partitions and there's something unique going on that the bank just can't understand and they need to get it closed. I like those projects. Let's get the problem fixed, let's get it fixed up and then you refinance it. I would say those are my favorite projects to work on. But again, when it comes to real estate lending that needs a Plan B, which I would say is private lending, we like to look at everything.
