The Rabid Bush-ite Who Priced-Up SE - A Gentrifier Profile

Sometimes I search for property info on PortlandMaps.com (like, they bought it for how much? And now they're asking what??) It's pretty fun, at least if immersing yourself in useless fury is your idea of fun. But darn it, sometimes the information isn't available, and that is vexing. In some cases it looks like the information isn't available deliberately.

click pic to enlarge

This is what appeared to be the case when I searched for the purchase history of a house being offered by Phoenix Redevelopment, the little thousand sq ft or so 2-bedroom pictured. (they include the unfinished basement and call it 1,750 sq ft. I call that lame). As it's somewhere near Belmont, it's going for $414,900, naturally. I wanted to torture myself with the knowledge of how much they bought it for before fixing it up. No info available. (I'm guessing low-mid 200s, sometime in '06ish?).

When I found that none of Phoenix's properties had any sales-history information on PortlandMaps, I was compelled to read up on the company. Who are these people, that seemingly have the power to wipe clean the history of their properties from the public record, thereby concealing from the free marketplace some of the information that would help one make an informed, free market type evaluation of their asking price?

The Phoenix website is alarming enough:

Since our founding in 1991, we have renovated hundreds of homes and plexes in the Portland and Seattle metropolitan areas.  We are the largest buyer of single-family homes and plexes in the Northwest

and naturally, full of the usual sustainability boilerplate:

We view every renovation project as an opportunity to improve the quality of life in a neighborhood, community, and city.  We work very hard to put into practice the idea of renewing, reusing, and recycling the resources in place in existing housing stock.  We love the work we do because it gives us a chance to provide high quality housing while preserving each neighborhood's original architecture and character.
http://www.phoenixredevelopment.com/Misc/CompanyInformation.asp

What kind of horseshit is this? First Class. For a contrasting view we have an article from the Portland Mercury, way, way back in the year 2000, when Portland's sharper minds were starting to wonder about those "We Buy Houses!" signs popping up everywhere:

Critics are charging that Phoenix Redevelopment and a handful of similar companies that buy houses cheap, renovate them and sell them for a large profit are serving as stalwart engines for gentrification throughout East Portland. The profits of these companies, say critics, are coming at the expense of the individual families living in some of Portland's developing neighborhoods--and, equally as pressing, threaten to undermine the entire character of these neighborhoods.

Over the past two years, as land speculation has become more intense in many of Portland's eastside neighborhoods from the Concordia neighborhood in Northeast Portland to Belmont in Southeast, the polemic Phoenix Development has gone on a real estate buying spree.
http://www.portlandmercury.com/portland/Content?oid=23602&category=22101

Hm. What kind of a guy is Steve Kreitzberg, the Phoenix Redevelopment president? (Apart from the kind who can tell Portland Maps to wipe a sales history)? Well, here's what kind: He's the kind of guy who, in 2004, so feared the possibility of a non-George Bush Administration-driven business climate that he donated money, twice, to the "Swift Boat Veterans" slander squad: http://www.campaignmoney.com/finance.asp?type=in&cycle=04&criteria=kreitzberg
Not to mention, the kind of guy whose other business, North and Outer SE- rent-lords Grid Properties, makes use of the most restrictive application process possible, claiming not to discriminate on the basis of "source of income" but, as so many do, disqualifying out of hand any applicants with Section 8 vouchers, as well as refusing to accept personal checks, refusing to work with anyone who gets paid mid-month, refusing anyone who's ever been arrested on a drug or felony charge (not convicted: arrested - wouldn't that be unconstitutional?), etc.
http://gridpropertymanagement.com/applicationprocess/applicationforms.asp
http://gridpropertymanagement.com/applicationprocess/faq.asp

2000 was eight long years ago. Home prices in close-in SE have pretty much tripled in that time, in some cases even more, mostly as a function of speculative buying and reselling. Now, renovation of a piece of historic architecture is not the problem for me per se, though I doubt that Phoenix and their ilk do renovation with anything but sales-appeal in mind (and saving money, which is what they mean by "recycling the resources in place" - varnishing the boards underneath the old carpet). But the claim to be on some kind of sustainability mission as one strives to improve the quality of life, coming from a Bushie who's worked so diligently to make a formerly inclusive neighborhood into a hugely inaffordable enclave is nauseating. And probably pretty typical of the developers here, no matter what they say about their projects. "Quality of life," "neighborhood character," and my favorite, "renewability" - when you hear these words it usually means you're in the company of a bullshitter who doesn't want you to know he's after the money and fuck everything else.

The Mercury article mentioned (a good read for the student of ancient history):
http://www.portlandmercury.com/portland/Content?oid=23602&category=22101

Other hideousness referred to is among the following:
http://www.phoenixredevelopment.com/
http://gridpropertymanagement.com/
http://www.campaignmoney.com/finance.asp?type=in&cycle=04&criteria=kreitzberg

Comments

[Steve R.]

We looked at one of these quick flip Phoenix homes back around 2000 (at least I'm pretty sure it was Phoenix).

You're right, they don't care so much about historic preservation as slapping up some inexpensive paint, carpet and fixtures, and flipping properties.

As to any link between this kind of activity and party affiliation, I think you'll find lots of wealthy Democrats playing the game too.

It's a class issue, not a party issue. But I think you already knew that.

[PG]

For sure. D's get no pass from me, any more. Still, I remember what was in the air in '04 - the Rs were an unstoppable, gigantic lie-machine, but even in that context it seems donors to the Swift-Boat-Vet thing were the crackpot elite.

[Naysayer]

Yes, whenever someone criticizes the republicans some "fair-minded" idiot has to chime in that "both parties are guilty". Yes, but at least democrats view greed and expolitation to be vices. Republicans see them as virtues. And your worst democrat is about 10X better than the best republican.

As for the sustainability thing: it's old, tired and so overused. Pretty soon you'll be seeing the greedy ones promoting "sustainable casinos" (almost being done in the case of the proposed Gorge casino) or "sustainable child porn", if they think they can make a buck off it.

[Naysayer]

How ironic. I stumbled onto this story on Marketwatch. I have no problem with internet porn, not judging that, but it illustrates how capitalists will invest in anything for a buck.

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/zivity-marks-sexy-new-chapter/story.aspx?guid=%7B7C2C26EF%2D1747%2D410D%2D8DAF%2DC8050E705291%7D

"In one of the most curious funding deals ever to cross our desk at VentureWire, two mid-sized venture capital firms invested in a Web site some are saying dabbles in pornography."

[BridgetownPeddler]

I love what you are doing with this blog. While I am somewhat of what some might call a "homesteader" up here in St Johns I appreciate very much the plight of those who are not as fortunate as myself and what are city is becoming for those who cannot afford 400K houses (for the record I cannot afford a 400K house either.)

I will keep reading.

Thank you again.

[squeezed]

"While I am somewhat of what some might call a "home-debtor" up here in St Johns "

20% haircut by summer of '09.

And if you are Sam Adams...go fuck yourself.

[WillJongIll]

The speculation will be ending soon. Prices are going to start coming down. The median income cannot support 400-800k houses that are *miles* out of sync with rental prices. Unfortunately, I doubt companies like Phoenix will feel the pinch as much as the people speculating by buying their wares..

[petrichor]

you just don't get it--the "free" in "free market" means one of two things:
1. "free for me and not for thee", or
2. "free" as in "free parking"

but never free as in freedom.

this your best post so far. keep up the good work.

[BridgetownPeddler]

To me the "Free" market is free in much the same way a animals are free in the wild. It means freedom for those who are more sophisticated, trained and with connections to prey on those who are not as sophisticated in that area of knowledge. It means when everything goes to hell they are free to use their inside connections to get bailed out by their friends.

In short it means freedom to exploit.

As for the mysterious squeezed post above if there is a 20% haircut by Summer 09, I will be a buyer and rent out my current home.

[PG]

Don't do it, BridgetownPeddler! Don't be seduced by THE DARK SIDE!!!

[squeezed]

"I will be a buyer and rent out my current home."

And as your fake equity melts away...I'm sure you'll find banks lining up to give you more credit. LOL!

Alot of the wannabe flippers in PDX have IT backgrounds. Most of them talk big but have little equity or net worth...just debt. Margin is a bitch for the financially retarded.

[petrichor]

bridgetown,

"To me the 'Free' market is freedom for those who are more sophisticated, trained and with connections to prey on those who are not as sophisticated in that area of knowledge... etc"

that's basically what i was getting at with "free for me and not for thee": unilateral freedom for those in the hegemonic position.

[buy houses]

Buying and selling houses in the house property market becomes the trend and everybody started purchasing and selling the houses which have been brought. Sell and buy houses consists of some unusual steps which every buyer and seller should be carefully.