George Bennett, Sole Proprietor, GRI, ABR

Imagine yourself on your horse galloping along the beach in a place that time forgot. The sun is shining. The waves are rolling in with a quiet roar. The sea breeze is blowing your hair. You feel free and enlivened as you breathe the ocean air and splash through the shallow surf waters as they recede back into the ocean.

Discover the horse camps along the beach at two of Oregon's State Parks

Cape Blanco State Park has a horse camp with eight primitive sites, four single-horse corrals and two shared corrals, each accommodating two horses. On horseback, follow a seven-mile trail or enjoy a 150-acre open riding area across the road from the horse camp. For more informatin go to the website at http://www.oregonstateparks.org/park_62.php

Bullard's Beach State Park has a horse camp with eight primitive sites, three double and five quadruple corrals. For riding, you have four miles of ocean beach and seven miles of designated trails to enjoy. For more information go to the website at http://www.oregonstateparks.org/park_71.php

Donna C. Smith states that: "Horseback riding on the beach can be a wonderful experience, or it can be a miserable one if you and your horse are not prepared."

Check out her article that provides tips for riding on the beach at http://hubpages.com/hub/Riding-on-the-Beach

The Oregon Coast Birding Trail was created by local birders, wildlife professionals, and tourism specialists for birding. Birding enthusiasts will tell you that bird watching is one of the fastest growing outdoor recreational activities in the country.

The Trail is a self-guided driving adventure that highlights the best locations for observing birds along the entire Oregon Coast and into Northern CA.

The striking beauty of the Oregon coast landscape will compete for your attention at every turn of the road as you search for birds in their natural habitats.

Three of the foremost locations along the southern portion of the Trail are in Port Orford where the coastal forest meets the sea. Birders can explore forests, river valleys, fresh water lakes, sandy beaches, coastal dunes, tidal estuaries, and rocky tide pools.

1. There are nearly 500 varieties of birds that make their home along the coast. They can be divided into four categories:Seabirds spend most of their lives in the waters of the Oregon Coast and they even tend to sleep in the waters. They return to land to lay eggs, but they spend most of their lives at sea. They dine mostly on small fish, squid, shellfish, and other crustaceans. Types of seabirds observed here include the Tufted Puffin, Marbled Murrelet, Common Murre, the Black Oystercatcher, Auklets, Albatrosses, Shearwaters, Jaegers, Fulmars, Petrels, the Western Gull, and many varieties of cormorants.
   
2. Shorebirds, unlike like the seabirds, don't have webbed feet and spend their lives on the shore foraging for food, eating worms, insect larvae, etc. The type of shorebirds observed here include: the Western and Least Sandpiper, Dunlin, Whimbrel, the Semipalmated and Western Snowy Plover, and Killdeer.
   
3. Birds of prey that live along the coast include the majestic Bald Eagle, Osprey, and Barn Owl. They feast on other small birds, rodents, small mammals, and fish. It is always a memorable moment when you spot an Osprey catching a salmon, or find a Bald Eagle sitting on its perch above the river.
   
4. Water fowl that make their homes in the freshwater lakes and around the coast include a variety of ducks and geese.

Checkout the Oregon Coast Birding website at http://www.oregoncoastbirding.com/

Premise

The value of a delinquent primary note is not zero.

If a bank/lender wants to sell a delinquent note to convert a non-performing asset into a significant lump sum of cash then we need to establish a process for establishing the value of these assets.

Facts

1. Real estate value have deteriorated in many parts of the country.
2. The number of foreclosures is at an historic high.
3. Large banks have incurred loses on large portfolios on non-performing notes and/or real-estate secured instruments that is jeopardizing their solvency.
4. There is too little cash in the private sector to purchase these notes.
5. GSEs are the only institutions with the funds to purchase these notes
6. Delinquent primary notes in markets where drops in property values have experienced significant declines are not worth the current amount of the note.
7. Markets that have experienced significant delines in propert values have not hit bottom.
8. Delinquent primary notes have a value greater than zero.
9. Equity in the property or lack thereof is an important factor in establishing the value of the note.

Discussion

Many markets have experienced a drop in property values. Some areas have experienced drops in property values greater than 30%. In many cases the primary note exceeds the current market value of the property. The property buyers/owners have lost all of their equity and the note holders/owners have lost equity. However, the note holders are not in the business of owning and managing property. They want to sell the asset.

In areas where properties are selling professional appraisers have a sufficient amount of data to establish a professional opinion of a property's market value. In areas where properties are not selling it is more difficult to substantiate the appraiser's professional opinion of a property's market value but it can still be accomplished. If necessary you could have three separate appraisers submit their professional opinions of a property's market value and then use their findings to establish an appraised value for the asset.

In a declining market buyers are not going to pay the appraised value of the property. They are going to factor in an amount of the expected decline in the market into their offer price. If the buyer expects the property values to decline another 15% then they will not make an offer greater than 85% of the asking price. Using this practice as a benchmark we can create a model for GSE purchases of non-performing primary notes.

If the private market will not pay more than the appraised value minus the forecast for the market decline for the next year then the GSEs should establish a policy that they will pay an amount equal to the appraised value minus the forecast for the market decline for the next year, less a 20% margin to establish an equity position in the asset.

Therefore, if a home was appraised at $200,000 and the forecast in its market area was for another 15% decline. Then the private buyer in this market would pay no more than $170,000. If the note holder wanted to sell their non-performing asset to one of the GSEs then the price would be 20% less than $170,000 or $136,000. This amount is approximately 68% of the appraised value.

This is one method of establishing a bottom for these markets. There are certainly other methods that could be used to establish the bottom including an approach that just lets the market flounder until it can establish a bottom on its own.

What are your thoughts?

This Week - Thurs, Dec 26, 2008- Wed, Jan 1, 2009

Marine Biologists explain that most Gray Whales spend the summer and early fall months in the arctic waters of the Chukchi and Bering Seas. Around mid to late fall the whales start their 6000 mile journey south to their mating and calving lagoons in Baja California, Mexico -- one of the longest migrations on the planet. The whales return north in the spring, when it is possible to see mothers with babies, as well as courting and mating adults.

According to the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department approximately 18,000 Grey whales will pass by in the 4 weeks from mid-December through mid-January in their yearly journey to the Baja Lagoons of Mexico. The main body of whales is about 5 miles off shore because of stormy weather however; in fair weather the whales can be seen closer to shore. During the peak period approximately 30 whales per hour will pass by specific viewing sites.

The Northern migration occurs in the spring during the week of March 21 - March 28. Trained volunteers will tell you that the younger whales travel by first followed by adult whales and lastly the mother whales and their calves (see Whale Watching Spoken here website http://whalespoken.org/ for more info).

The Parks and Recreation Dept. website listed below documents a few whale watching tips.

http://whalespoken.org/OPRD/PARKS/WhaleWatchingCenter/watch_weeks.shtml

• Gray whales may possibly be seen year-round on the Oregon, Washington and northern California coastlines.
• Winter migration has the highest numbers (30 per hour) but the whales are usually farther off shore (1-5 miles) because of stormy weather.
• During the spring migration (northbound), the whales are more spread out (6 per hour) but they are closer to shore (1/2 - 3 miles), sometimes stopping to eat.
• Summer feeding whales are very close to shore and eat tiny mysid shrimp that live in the kelp beds. They may feed for hours in the same location.
• Bring your binoculars and dress for the weather. Focus your binoculars and have them ready, but watch with your eyes. When you locate a blow, then bring up your binoculars for a closer look.
• Learn the diving and feeding habits of the whales so you will know how often and where they may surface by going to http://www.oregonstateparks.org/images/pdf/whale_watch_center.pdf for the Whale Watching brochure.
• Morning light (with the sun at your back) is often helpful for spotting blows. Afternoon light reflects off the water and makes viewing difficult.
• Calmer days are better whale watching days, by land, sea or air!

They advise that any spot with an ocean view may yield whale sightings, but higher locations like Cape Blanco and Battle Rock Park are better than sandy beaches.

Built in 1898 by Patrick and Jane Hughes.

In 1868, Patrick and Jane Hughes bought 80 acres of bottomland near the mouth of the Sixes river by Cape Blanco and started what became a land and dairy empire. They bought adjacent acreage, cleared land, and added buildings to the farm as needed: most notably a creamery and dairy barn.

In 1898, after 30 years of living in the old farm house, Patrick and Jane built what is now known as the Historic Hughes House. The farm house is a two-story, eleven room structure built of 2x8 old-growth Port Orford cedar that covers more than 3,000 square feet and featured running water upstairs and down, gas lights, and a built in cast iron wood stove with an oven, a warming oven, and a water heater.

The front parlor was the most significant room of a Victorian home and the Hughes House reflects the wealthy status of the Hughes family with their choice of a fireplace with a shallow firebox that was designed to burn coal rather than cheaper more abundant firewood. The house contains a chapel with the original alter and a hand-painted ceiling, and a men’s parlor. The men's parlor was well-used and simply furnished, It was here that the men retired at the end of the work day to catch up on bookwork and reading. The central focus of the room is a massive wood-burning fireplace, making it one of the warmest rooms in the house.

It was originally constructed for a mere $3,800. It is estimated that it would cost more than $2,000,000 to build today.

If you take the tour you will experience the lifestyle enjoyed by one of the most successful pioneer families in Port Orford. You’ll learn about the farming, mining, and housekeeping practices of that era.

The photos below were taken at Christmas time 2008. Each year community organizations and businesses take responsibility for decorating each of the rooms in the Hughes House for Christmas.

This is the Victorian parlor.

Coal Burning Fireplace

Sewing Room

Chapel with hand-painted ceiling.

Men's Parlor

Fireplace in Men's Parlor

Kitchen

Wood-burning cook stove with oven, warming oven, and hot water heater.

Wooden tub ringer washing machine.

Dining Room adjacent to kitchen and pantry