It’s easy to get lost in the lushness of Oregon, with waterfalls, ponds, brooks, rivers, and alder, maple, and oak trees that span hundreds of miles. But the Beaver State is much more than nature; it’s home to several industries too. We know what you’re thinking – those delicious donuts. The state’s bakers certainly satisfy many a sweet tooth of cruller creatures of habit. But the state is also home to healthcare, manufacturing, apparel and technology. While many of those industries thrive, some see struggle. Ultimately, those borrowers make the decision to stop paying back their commercial loans. Total Lender Solutions, a nonjudicial foreclosure team that assists hard money lenders and financial attorneys, is looking at the data of Oregon commercial foreclosures to begin 2024.
Oregon Commercial Foreclosures By the Numbers
The most recent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data for Oregon is a job opening and labor turnover report from August 2023. This report indicated that the state saw 8,000 more job openings in August than it did in July.
Job hires stood at 72,000, while job separations were about 8% higher at 77,000. Specific industry gains and losses were not listed in the report. As we entered January, data showed 2024 commercial real estate foreclosures in Oregon to be 45.
Using PropertyRadar®, we found that the biggest concentration of commercial real estate foreclosures was in the following cities:
- Portland (16)
- Brookings (4)
- Klamath Falls (4)
TLS facilitates nonjudicial foreclosures, reconveyances, and UCC sales in Oregon, and you can connect with our team here.
Portland Commercial Foreclosures
Portland is the state’s largest by size, stretching 145 square miles with a population of nearly 650,000 people.
While it’s famous for its cider and scenery, Portland’s business community is experiencing some challenges. Just recently, the Oregonian reported the results of a business poll that painted a grim picture. The issues are similar to those we are seeing in the Bay Area of California – homelessness, crime, and safety.
This could be among the reasons commercial borrowers are defaulting on their loans.
The largest is the Montgomery Park office building on Wilson Street. The 228,000-square foot building was built in 1921 and sits on nearly four acres of land in Multnomah County.
The building was expected to sell at auction in February of 2024.
“This is the perfect example of a building that’s virtually known by everyone in the community, and one’s first inclination would be “that building can’t be in trouble,” but you never know what is happening financially within the walls of a property,” said Randy Newman, founder and CEO of Total Lender Solutions.
Brookings Commercial Foreclosures
The city of Brookings is much smaller in size than Portland, and the active foreclosures in that coastal town are more reflective of the city’s charm.Case in point: a property on Cottage Street. That’s where a charming standalone building could be used for a small business or a restaurant/bar.
“Commercial financial struggle can occur in the cutest and most quaint communities. They could be set up for success, and the revenue of the business just doesn’t come in as planned,” said Newman. “Nobody can walk down a street of commercial businesses and detect which ones have entered foreclosure. The most manicured property could be in default, whereas a dilapidated business is doing just fine financially.”
Klamath Falls Commercial Foreclosures
Slightly larger than Brookings is Klamath Falls, and that community of 22,000 people is considered Oregon’s community of sunshine. But not all business deals are on the sunny side of the street.
For example, a lot of 1.5 acres that are zoned for commercial development sits in the middle of town as a patch of dirt.
It isn’t uncommon that people enter hard money loans for land and come to realize the challenges of building out what was once intended for that spot.
“There are a significant number of commercial hard money loans for land. A borrower comes up with a big idea and finds what they think is the right piece of property for it, but things just don’t pan out,” said Newman.
When to Start an Oregon Commercial Foreclosure
If you are a lending institution or you serve as a financial attorney for a lender and you have a commercial transaction that has ended up in a defaulted loan, we can help. To start the Oregon commercial foreclosure process, connect with us. Our team can begin the nonjudicial foreclosure process in Oregon almost immediately.
We work as an extension of your team looking to maximize recoveries on defaulted loans. We transform the complicated process of foreclosing commercial real estate into clear resolutions for institutional and private lenders.
Fill out a form today, and let us assist you.
