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J uly 24, 1996 • T he P o r tlan d O bserver
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Mortgage Rates To Decline
Wells Fargo Housing Donation
W ells Fargo, the nation's eighth
largest banking company with 170
branches throughout Oregon, an
nounced today its donation o f
$ 150,000 for support o f local, low-
income housing.
W ells Fargo’s Southem/Central
Oregon Regional Com m ercial Bank
ing Manager Dennis Huserik, a Se
nior Vice President, presented the
check to Mayor Ruth Bascom , who
was joined by Springfield Mayor B ill
Morrisette and Lane County C om
missioner Bobby Green.
A lso attending from W e lls Fargo
were Retail B a n kin g Execu tive s
Metro West President M ike Fo glia,
Lane County D istrict M anager Ray
Bates and Managers o f W ells Fargo
Eugene area branches.
“Through our charitable co n
tributions program, W e lls Fargo
seeks to invest in organizations that
make significant contributions to
the needs o f the com m unities in
w h ich we do b u s in e s s ,” sa id
Huserik
“ In this com m unity, one o f the
most obvious needs is affordable
housing T here are now more than
1,200 homeless people here, one
third o f whom are children
We
believe that by w orking together with
organizations such as the H ousing
P o licy Board that are committed to
the revitalization o f our com m uni
ties, the partners can accom plish far
more than they could do as single
o r g a n iz a t io n s .”
The Intergovernmental H ousing
P o licy Board, an advisory com m it
tee that coord inates low - income hous
ing efforts on behalf o f Eugene,
Sp rin gfie ld , and Lane County, w ill
coordinate the expenditure o f the
funds.
Tw o -thirds o f the funds w ill be
used to support the city o f Eugene's
adopted housing plan, while the re
m aining $50,000 w ill go towards
housing programs throughout the rest
o f Lane County.
“ T h is g e n e ro u s c o n trib u tio n
w ill make a big difference and is an
im p o rtan t step in o ur 1 0 -ye ar
p lan,” said M ayor Bascom .
Com m issioner Green added that
the $ 150,000 grant was made after
the H ousing P o licy Board demon
strated how local governments are
combin ing efforts to address the lack
o f affordable housing, saying that
“this cooperation is a model that
we hope others w ill follow in the
effort to address this gro w in g prob-
I e m . ”
Donna Taggart, a Board M em
ber o f Lane Fair Share, says that the
o rgan izatio n “ is pleased to see
W ells Fargo jo in in g the effort to
provide affordable housing in E u
gene and Lane County. We see this
contribution as a prom ising start in
bu ilding W ells F a rg o ’s com m it
ment to com m unity in O rego n.”
The grant request was spearhead
ed by Lane Fair Share, and has now
reached 25 percent o f its $ I m illion
goal for affordable housing. B ill
Morrisette, who like B o b b y Green
is a member o f the H o usin g P o licy
Board, lauded the efforts o f W ells
Fa rg o and F a ir Share. “ O u r
com m unity is one that cares. The
efforts that went into securing the
contribution, by Lane F a ir Share
and others, and the generosity o f
W e lls Fargo, w ill be felt for many
years. It is my hope that these funds
w ill make home ow nership a reality
for many o f our w orking fam ilies.
We encourage other businesses to
jo in our effo rt.”
The housing market is expected to
remain strong this year, despite mod
erately higher mortgage interest rates,
according to D avid Berson, vice pres
ident and c h ie f econom ist at Fannie
Mae ( N Y S E : F N M ), the nation's
largest source o f home mortgage
funds.
Berson said he sees mortgage orig
inations continuing to show strength
through the summer and into the fall,
despite the increase in mortgage in
terest rates. He also said it is like ly
that the econom y w ill slow over the
second h a lf o f the year, w hich —
along with stable inflation — should
allow long-term interest rates to de
cline modestly.
In addition, Berson said he e x
pects mortgage originations this year
could rise to about $750 b illio n , 18
percent above last y e a r’s level and
the first increase in originations in
three years. He said the pace o f new
home sales in the first four months o f
1996 was the strongest such period
since the first h a lf o f 1986. A d d in g
to the outlook for a so lid housing
market this year, homeowners in near
ly all regions o f the nation are seeing
faster appreciation in the value o f
their homes, m any forthe firsttim e in
several years. He said increases are
p articularly strong in C a lifo rn ia , the
M ountain states and the Southeast.
“ D esp ite increases d u rin g the
past six months, m ortgage rates re
m ain affordable enough that they
should not sign ifican tly dampen the
h o u s in g m a rk e t,” B e rs o n sa id .
“ M ortgage interest rates still are
about 80 basis points below the 9.2
percent level recorded in January
1995. W ith modest inflation overthe
rem ainder o f the year, and an expect-
Rebuild An Old Porch
A porch is an architectural fea
ture worth preserving. L ik e most
exterior areas o f a house it is vulner
able to water damage and eventual
rot. R epairing or rebuilding one is a
straightforward project. Here are
the basic steps involved.
S u p p o rt the R o o f: U n le ss a
porch is open, its ro o f must be sup
ported before any m ajor repair w ork
can be done to the jo ist system.
Forget about ja c k s ; the easiest way
to support a porch ro o f is with a
system o f temporary 2x4 or 4x4
posts. Place a post next to the
e xistin g posts or at ten foot inter
vals.
N a il a piece o f2 x 4 to the under
side o f the ro o f header. C ut the
posts about 6 inches longer than the
distance between the 2x4 and the
ground. N otch one end o f the post
to fit the 2x4 cleat and place the
other end on a 2 foot section o f 2x8.
D riv e the post towards the porch
with asledge hammer. When they’re
tight, toe nai I the temporary posts to
the base and cleat.
Jo is t L a y o u t: O n our 6 ft. by 16
ft. porch the area between the first
jo ist and the house was vulnerable
to water damage. A n alum inum
bracket was used to hold the jo ist
away from the house. The bracket
was bolted to the band jo ist or sill
and the first jo ist was attached to the
bracket, keeping it aw ay from the
building.
L e v e l the D e c k : A porch should
slope away from the house to pro
mote drainage. On a sm all porch
like ours layout was easy. T em p o
rarily support the front beam on the
old footings or make some tempo
rary posts. Then nail the headers
I (porch ends) to the rear beam at
Moore Data Acquires Online Software
Moore Data Management S e rv ic
es, the real estate software and data
base services di vision o f Moore C o r
poration’s U .S . subsidiary, and O n-
Line Software, Inc. (O LS)a n n o u n ce d
today that the two com panies have
reached an agreement in principle
whereby Moore w ill acquire O L S , a
privately held real estate software
d e v e lo p e r
h e a d q u a rte re d
in
Matteson, III., a suburb o f C hicago .
“ In line with our growth strategy,
Moore continues to invest in the real
estate and property information man
agement market," said Thom as M.
f
COMMUNITY
®he
1
G rego rich , president o f M oore Data
M anagem ent Se rvice s. “ W ith the
purchase o f O L S , we are acq u irin g a
tech no logically advanced com pany
offerin g solutions to the real estate
in d u stry that is in co ncert w ith
M o o re’s directio n to expand our
market breadth in broker and agent
p ro d u c tiv ity so lu tio n s .”
O ve r the past year, M oore has
been increasing its investment in this
area with the form ation a new broker
services group to market real estate
products, system s and services d i
rectly to brokers and agents.
The effort is focused on helping
them em ploy inform ation and tech
nology as differentiators that w ill
grow their com petitive position.
“ T h e acquisition o f O L S and the
m arketleading products and services
it p r o v id e s w ill c o m p le m e n t
Cull 5(13-288-111133
DIVERSITY
The strong housing market con
tinued in June as housing starts rose
1.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted
annual ra te o f 1 4 8 0 m illio n units and
sin gle-fa m ily starts rose to their high
est level in more than two years, the
U .S . Com m erce Departm ent report
ed today.
“ It seems that the econom y is
strong enough to offset the I + per
centage point rise in interest rates
that w e’ve experienced since the
early part o f the year,” said N a
tional A ssociation o f Hom e Builders
( N A H B ) President Randy Sm ith, a
home builder from Walnut Creek,
C a lif. "A lth ou gh we keep expect
ing higher interest rates to have a
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Building the Foundation: Con
structing a footing and pier for a
sm all porch is not difficult. The old
piers are there so the layout is a l
ready done. The piers and footings
for a sm all porch do n ’t require a
large amount o f concrete so it’s
practical to use ready-to-m ix con
crete and hand m ix it.
Most bu i Id ing codes requ ire foot-
ings to be at least 8 inches thick and
twice the diameter ofthe pier. The y
must be placed below the frost line.
I f sections o fth e porch have to
be com pletely rebuilt it’s easier to
d ig and pour the new footings be
fore the porch jo ists are replaced.
Then frame up the porch, level the
deck and build the pier form right
under the beams. M ake this form
strong enough to support the porch
so you can continue w orking on the
porch as the concrete cures.
I f the porch jo ists and decking
don’t have to be totally replaced
you m ight be faced with the prob
lem o f placing a pier under the
existing structure. E xcavatin g for
and pouring the footing is not too
d ifficu lt but fillin g a form with con
crete that is positioned under the
porch is a challenge.
A solution is tousean 8-in. diam
eter cardboard bu ilder’s tube form.
C ut aw ay the front o f the form so
you can fill it. Purchase a section o f
this form tube at least a foot longer
than needed. Cut the tube to length
and then cut a sm all U-shaped open
ing at the top so you can shovel in
the concrete. Cut the extra foot o f
tube lengthwise so it w ill slide over
the form.
Place the form under the beam
with the opening facin g outward.
F ill the form with concrete by shov
eling it through this opening. Add
reinforcing bar if required by the
bu ild in g code.
When the form fills raise the
slid in g section. Use a stick to work
the concrete into all areas o f the
form. O ve r fill the form to be
certain that it is com pletely full.
W a ita w e e kto strip o ffe ith e rth e
tube or pier form so the concrete has
time to cure. It m ight be necessary
to shim the deck up slightly because
concrete tends to shrink up within
the form. C o v e r the top o fth e pier
with an alum inum termite shield.
WILLIAMS
LANDSCAPING
2 8 9 -0 8 4 1
Buying A House?
Mark Tomlin
raise the posts o ff the deck and
prevent water damage.
(503) 230-1390 • (Res.) 287-6837
Thinking o f
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tached to the house or alum inum
brackets and the front beam. Raise
or lower the front beam until it’s
about I inch lower than the rear.
When these members are set, repair
the old piers or make new footings
and piers.
F ra m e the D e c k : Install the
central header and then the floor
joists. Use galvanized jo ist hangers
on 12 inch centers to support 3/4-in.
tongue and groove fir decking.
Reset the C o lu m n s : Coat both
ends o f the old ro o f support c o l
umns with a water sealer and then
reset them on alum inum colum n
supports. These alum inum pads
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negative impact on the housing mar
ket, it appears that the impact has not
k ic k e d in y e t.”
However, Smith noted that he does
not expect the current pace o f housing
starts to continue throughout the year.
“ W e fully expect the market to
move down moderately in the second
h a lf o f the year as higher interest
rates take their to ll,” he said
LISCENSED IN OREGON SINCE 1975
WASHER & DRYER
JT-1IL
its inception.
O L S has an active direct sales
force that w ill complement M oore's
own as w ell as a North Am erican
dealer network to provide widespread
distribution.
O L S w ill continue to operate un
der its current name. Founder Bruce
Peterson w ill remain as president o f
O LS.
Moore Corporation Lim ited ( T S E ,
M E , N Y S E : M C L ) is a global leader
in del ivering integrated business com
m unication products, services and
solutions that create e fficie n cy and
enhance competitiveness for custom
ers, including business form s and
systems, business equipment, print
management outsourcing, com m er
cial and digital printing, labels, per
sonalized direct mail, statement print
ing, and related services.
Housing Starts Rise Slightly In July
^ I n r tla tib
(©bseruer
M oore’s o ffering to address the needs
o f the broker as w ell as the individual
agent by offerin g advantages in tech
nology, data and im age,” said M r
G regorich.
Founded in 1993, O L S designs
and develops full-featured software
applications for the real estate indus
try, inclu ding productivity systems
for broker o ffices as w ell as in d ivid
ual real estate agents.
The O L S offerin gs provide all the
management tools required to effec
tive ly and e fficiently manage a busi
ness for growth and profit. O L S soft
ware provides fu lly integrated func
tions inclu ding contact management,
scheduling and full general account
ing.
The com pany has contracts with
several national realty franchises and
has tripled its revenue annually since
ed drop in interest rates later in the
year, we expect 1996 still should be
the fourth-best year ever in terms o f
h o u s in g a c t iv it y .”
Berson expects the housing m ar
ket w ill remain strong in 1996 even if
the Federal Reserve Board tightens
m onetary p o licy, as most financial
m arket experts predict. “ I f inter
est rates rise in the near-term, it be
com es more like ly that the econom y
w ill slow later in the year and in fla
tion fears w ill not be re alize d,” he
added
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