In focus
Dick Marsyla:
A man whose happiness is
reflected by his profession
By Laura Henkes
■r the Print
I Dick Marsyla smiled with
the self-assurance of one who
Blows that his profession is
anonymous with his goals, his
■ere sts, and his personal hap
less.
| “I like teaching because it
■ves me personal satisfaction—
Specially teaching real estate.
You have students approx-
■ately one year. Then they
take the exam, and you see the
■suits of your efforts. They are
able to apply the information
Bey have learned,” Marsyla
Bid.
I Marsyla was working on
his masters degree at
Washington State University
two years ago when he ac-
ctpted his full-time position as
real estate instructor at CCC.
“I really like my job here,”
he said. “The students are
great--the administration is
great. I think we do an even
better job than some of the
four-year institutions. Here the
instructors have the time, and
they want to^help the
Hidents.”
I Through the years, Mar
cia has built up extensive ex-
perience which has, no doubt,
contributed to his growing
ryutation as a quality instruc
ts.
I In planning for a second
career prior to his retirement
from the Navy, (20 years of
service) he started taking real
■ate classes and selling real
estate part-time in the various
places he was stationed which
include Rhode Island, Texas,
California, and Bermuda. He
gained supervisory experience
as Master Chief in command of
750 people and teaching ex
perience as an educational
supervisor during a significant
portion of his enlistment.
After his retirement, he
and his wife of 25 years (who is
also a licensed real estate
agent) moved to Bellingham,
Washington, where he con
tinued his studies and eventual
ly became part-owner of a real
estate office after receiving his.
associate broker’s license. Prior
to teaching at CCC, he had
also taught part time at the
community college level and
also had his own pre-license
real estate school.
In addition to teaching real
estate full time, Marsyla also
serves on the Oregon Real
Estate Advisory Committee.
One of his important duties as a
member of the advisory com
mittee is his participation in a
special committee which
screens the test questions used
for the state exam.
The advisory committee,
he explained, is very active in
Oregon. They are also involv
ed in putting together seminars
and offering continuing educa
tion clases.
•
When asked of his
philosophy of life in general,
Marsyla revealed an attitude
that he displays in the.
classroom. “Enjoy it as you go,
and maintain your sense of
humor. Without that, it is pretty
difficult.”
Eventually, Marsyla’s goal
will be to “retire on the
water”-a house or a small
grocery store and condo, pro-
Ceramics-more than
a craft for La Lone
By Lynn Griffith
and Dave Hayden
Of the Print
■ Slowly she presses her
hand against the clay. Gradual
ly,« with each touch, she
develops the mound of potter’s
clay.
■ For Kay La Lone the
sculpting and potting of clay is
more than a craft. To her it’s a
profession she can use to com-
municate with and a medium in
which to work and become ab
sorbed.
J As a paraprofessional at
the College, La Lone oversees
cejamic labs. She helps
students develop their ceramic
potting techniques. She also
mixes oxides for the glazing of
peatery and sets up the kiln
before the pots are fired.
■ La Lone became involved
in art and ceramics very early in
life. “My mother taught school
anf did a great deal of art,” La
Lone said, “Because of her in
terest I became involved.
Later, in high school, her
interests in art intensified. Kay
Rosser, La Lone’s high school
art teacher, was instrumental in
the development of her art
fascination. “The most impor
tant thing she did was to tell me
what was good and what was
bad,” La Lone said. “She
made me realize the talent I
had and developed it. She
became my friend. She still
teaches like that. I suppose I
shouldn’t say this, but I use to
get so involved in art that I cut
classes to work on it.”
This past week La Lone
has had a pottery showing in
the College library. Many of the
pieces on display were thrown
while she was doing
demonstrations for Richard’s
Mug MilHatNoid^^
Wednesday, November 18, 1981
bably in his native state of
Washington.
“If there was just me,”
Marsyla commented, “I would
live on a boat, but my wife gets
seasick. She has to have a
home to go to, so we are trying
to combine both our desires so
we will both be happy. Just like
anything else, you have to
make some compromises.”
Following are some of the
major questions which
were addressed by THE
PRINT reporter Laura
Henkes in her interview
with Dick Marsyla regar
ding real estate and future
economic trends:
P: Considering the current
housing market, why should
someone take real estate
classes or get their license at
this time?
M: What a lot of people
fail to see is that this is a good
time to prepare themselves,
and then they will be ready for
it when the market changes.
They can put their license on
an inactive status and keep the
registration up. (In Oregon,
successful completion of three
classes-Real Estate Practice,
Real Estate Law, and Real
Estate Finance, and passing
grades on the state exam are
required for a person to obtain,
their license as a real estate
salesperson.)
P: What does the future
hold for real estate?
M: The 1980’s are sup
posed to be one of the best
markets we will' have had in
business. The market—the
buyers are there—the sellers are
there. If we could just finance
them. However, subdividers
and contractors are going to
build smaller homes (approx
imately 1,100 sq. ft.) as they
did in the 50’s. We can’t afford
modemhousing.
Not only did the size of
homes increase, but the extras
such as the hot tubs and Jenn
Air’s also increased--and the
consumers want them. The
tendency is for young people to
look for instant gratification
when they see what Mom and
Dad have ..They go out there to
buy, and there is no way they
can do it.
Other trends in real estate
would include more con
dominiums, reductions in some
of the requirements for subdivi
sions (street widths, etc.), and
an increase in manufactured
housing (mobile homes).
Pressure will be exerted on
local governments to permit
development of manufactured
home subdivisions. The trend
photo by Jay Graham
Real Estate Instructor-Dick Marsyla
will be toward buying a lot in a
subdivision so you don’t have
that high space rental.
P: Will the cost of housing
significantly decrease?
M: The cost of homes will
hot significantly come down
except for isolated areas that
would suffer a drop-because
the demand is there, regardless
of financing.
Metropolitan Portland is
not true of the entire U;S. The
Southwest is still doing a very
good business. So much of our
economy is tied to the lumber
industry. If we could have
diversified sooner (such as
electronics), it would have
helped.
We’ve got to be optimistic.
We have had periods like this
in our history and real estate
has always come around, and I
am sure it will this time.
P: What about financing?
What changes will we see
there?
M: There will be a reduc
tion in long-term amortized
loans-the 30-year fixed mon
thly payment loan. Loans will
possibly be tied to some type of
index, and the interest rates
would fluctuate up and down.
How can you plan your house
payments, though, with dif
ferences ranging from 12 to 18
percent? The savings and loans
have the option of using these
types of mortgages now. In a
significant portion of loans
now, there is private financing,
and there will be a trend in this
direction until the rates come
back down to 12-13 percent, if
they come back down that rar.
This is not the first time in ou\
history that we have had high;
interest rates. One mortgage
that we showed in class dated
January 7, 1896, had an in;
terest rate of 12 percent/
P: When do you think
there will be a significant
change in the interest rates?
M: We are seeing some
changes now, People I have
talked with seem to think the
prime would be down, to
around 16 percent early 1982,
which would permit real estate
loans' at 14 or 14-5 percent.
Then in the mid-quarters,
down to 13.5 percent. Some
people think that buyers would
enter the market at 13 percents
P: What about savings
and loans?
M: There is no doubt
about it. They are having
tremendous problems. You will
probably see mergers and
eventually there will not be
distinguishing factors between
commercial banks and savings
and loans as they will both be
full-service institutions. The
overhead on the savings and
loans is too high to compete
with larger institutions.
P: What is the most im
portant thing a student could
learn from the study of real
estate that he could use in his
own life?
M: Be cautious. The In
troduction to Real Estate class
gives a general overview of
everything but doesn’t make
you an expert at anything. It
gives you enough to make you
dangerous. There is something
in this class for everyone
whether they want to get into
sales or deal on their own. It is
my favorite class, and I think
the students really learn a/lot.
Often, people think of real
estate and only think of a real.
estate salesperson-^and that is
just one area. If I Were a young
person, I would really consider
property management or ap
praisal. Both take expertise,
but once you get there, they
are very, rewarding.
P: What do you feel it
takes to-be successful in real
estate?
M: First of all, you have to
be motivated. In sales, it is not
an eight-hour day; and you are
going to have to be able to
budget your personal finances
because it is all in commissions.
You are going to have to be
somewhat aggressive and per
sistent.
As a private investor, you
would need knowledge and
motivation; but you may have
problems—tenant Xrelations,
maintenance problems. If you
have a sense of humor with the
above traits and the education
you can probably be quite suc
cessful in real estate.
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