A great time to renovate!!!!

The New and Improved 5 Lynx! Some of the properties in our rental pool are in their original condition and starting to show signs of aging. Sometimes selling the home isn't the best option. In many cases, we have owners with sentimental attachments who opt to renovate their vacation rental instead of sell. This is one owner's recent experience with doing a major remodel.

5 Lynx Transformation

Written by Mindy and Gary Alton (owner's of 5 Lynx Lane)

My family has made some great memories while staying at 5 Lynx over the last 10 years, so when the opportunity to buy the house became an option in the summer of 2008 we were excited and jumped at the opportunity! 5 Lynx was built in the early 1970's and her age was starting to show. The house had a great foundation, but there were a few cosmetic things that were holding it back and keeping it stuck in the 1970's, the interior lighting coupled with the dark woodwork paneling being the biggest issue. We knew with a few small changes that we could bring 5 Lynx into the 21st century! We bought the house both for personal use and as a rental property. We knew that if we were to increase our rental potential that we had to do some up-grades, both inside and outside of the house. We chose to start with the homes interior first. We hired a local general contractor to supervise and oversee the many, many projects that needed to be done. The only thing that wasn't updated in the house was the carpet, everything else was updated including the walls and ceiling being retextured, new appliances, new lighting, new granite tile counter tops in the kitchen and bathrooms, new tile flooring in the kitchen and bathrooms, new windows through out, new doors and new millwork, even the toilets are new!

The projects started in November 2008, over the Thanksgiving holiday we were able to pick and choose paint colors, tile, granite and appliances. When we came back a month later what a Christmas surprise it was to find new appliances, counter tops, tile flooring, the new can lighting and a new wood burning stove surrounded by beautiful new tile. Those things were great, but for us the biggest improvement was removing a pony wall that separated the kitchen from the living room. Now there is just one great big space!

The biggest transformations happened between New Year's and Spring Break. Stepping into 5 Lynx for the first time at the end of March was like stepping into a brand new home, as almost everything was new! The walls and ceilings were retextured and all of the cabinets had been painted. There were brand new windows through out the house and the old metal blinds were gone. We spent most of the week buying new furniture, new televisions and hanging draperies and artwork. It's a good thing that 5 Lynx is only a short walk to Sunriver Mall, my daughter and I would take our dog on a walk to the mall and on more than one occasion we carried back a new treasure to decorate our "new" home!

Now you might think that it is time for us to sit back and enjoy the fruits of our labor and we plan to, but we also plan to tackle the outside of the house and make it just a beautiful as the inside! We had planned on spending around $42,000 on the remodel, but of course once we got into the process it became evident that more needed to be done than we first anticipated like purchasing a new wood-burning stove, replacing the chimney, powder coating fixtures and other odds and ends. While the final project came in higher than expected, we are confident with all of the up-grades that our rental potential has greatly increased. For now we look forward to making many more happy memories at 5 Lynx and sharing our home with our friends and family, we hope our renters enjoy our home-away-from home as much as we do.

- Article written by Mindy and Gary Alton (owner's of 5 Lynx Lane)

If you are interested in discussing ways to upgrade your vacation home, contact Deb Nikita for a personal evaluation and referrals to local, qualified contractors.

Deb Nikita

Bennington Properties, LLC.

Sunriver, Oregon

(800)231-8570

http://www.benningtonproperties.com/

deb@benningtonproperties.com

Gearing Up for Summer 2009

What We Are Doing To Prepare Your Home?

Memorial Day is just around the corner! Our crews are working hard to prepare your vacation property for the busy summer season. The Maintenance Department is in the process of evaluating seasonal items such as barbecues, patio furniture, and bikes. They may contact you if an item is identified as needing repair or replacement. We are happy to help you with that, if needed.

Housekeeping is also working hard to ramp up for vacation season. We have purchased two commercial washing machines with "green" friendly laundry products. Bennington Properties is proud to be the first laundry operation in Sunriver to "go green". This investment also includes two commercial grade dryers to speed up the drying time, to improve the presentation of the linens, and to insure proper hygiene. Remember, this June is when all of the remaining homes will transition onto the linen program. Substantial upgrades in the laundry facility will translate into less time doing laundry at the homes and more time to focus on cleaning.

Another big acquisition in Housekeeping is the "Bonnet Buffer" system. This is a carpet cleaning machine that will be operated by our crew. Keeping carpets looking clean and smelling fresh can be a challenge in the summer. The difficulty is compounded by back-to-back reservations nearly all summer long. Even a professional "traffic area clean" can be difficulty because of minimal drying time, not to mention costly! This system has much less moisture and therefore the drying time will be much faster. Our goal is to present the cleanest carpet possible with the lowest charge to you, our homeowner.

How Can Owners Help?

There are a few areas where our Owners can really help our crew present their home in the best possible manner.

1. Please be sure that all of the items belonging to your home are marked with the property address in indelible ink. If writing space is limited, abbreviations are ok. Example of items to mark: blankets, kitchen rugs, shams, comforters, bedskirts, throws, etc. Our crew wants to keep your items clean and fresh for all guests-they are just as disappointed as you if something gets misplaced.

2. Garbage service needs to be on "normal" pick-up status. Starting mid-June, twice weekly pick-up service will be necessary.

3. When scheduling an Owner Booking, please remember that arrival time is 4pm or anytime later and departure time is anytime by or before 11am. During summer and holiday seasons, we URGE Owners to be mindful of this. If you need to arrive early or depart late, simply add an extra day to the front or back of your reservation. By doing this, the housekeepers and inspectors will have adequate time to clean & inspect your home, especially on back-to-back reservations. We greatly appreciate your cooperation and look forward to a great season!

You can contact Deb Nikita, Owner Relations Manager, at deb@benningtonproperties.com

Letter from SROA re: Maintenance Fee Increase

Following the recommendations of SROA's reserves fund specialist, Felix Reserve Group, the SROA Board of Directors unanimously approved placing a measure on this summer's ballot that proposes a maintenance fee increase to properly fund SROA's reserve fund and operations. If successful, the measure would take effect, January 2010.

While the board's action follows the reserve specialist's recommendations, the ultimate decision remains in the hands of all Sunriver owners. Governing documents of the association require that any proposed increase to the maintenance fee greater than 6% must be decided by vote of the ownership. In order for this measure to pass, at least 60% of all votes cast must be in favor of the increase.

Understanding the importance of such an action, the board has prepared a brief explanatory letter of the ballot measure along with an accompanying pamphlet that further explains the nature of our current reserves. Also included is the recommended plan by the reserve specialist. Watch for this to arrive in your mail box next week. SROA General Manager, Bill Peck, has prepared a presentation relative to the reserves. It is posted on the Web site www.sunriverowners.org>News & Notices>Your Association Reserves.

Your board and staff are currently planning several town halls to inform owners about this reserve ballot measure. The town hall format provides a structured atmosphere conducive to collaborative problem solving. You are encouraged to attend any of the scheduled gatherings listed below and bring your questions.

SUNRIVER Thursday, May 14 & Wednesday, May 20, 6 pm SROA Administration Building
EUGENE Thursday, May 28 6 pm Phoenix Inn 850 Franklin
SALEM Friday, May 29 6 pm Phoenix Inn 1590 Weston Ct., NE
LAKE OSWEGO Saturday, May 30 10am-12 pm & 2-4 pm Phoenix Inn 14905 Bangy Rd.

Changes in Sunriver

COMMUNITY MEETING TO REVIEW DEMOLITION PLANS – Sunriver Owners Association’s Community Development Department will hold a public meeting at 3 pm, Friday, Apr 24th, to review plans submitted by Rediscover Sunriver Village LLC to demolish buildings 0, 3 & 11 in the Village as part of its redevelopment of the mall. The meeting will be held in building #5 in the space next to the Sunriver Area Chamber of Commerce. Info - 541-593-6645.

IMPROVEMENTS SET FOR SUNRIVER AIRPORT RUNWAY – Work will begin today on widening and repaving the 5,500 ft long runway at Sunriver Airport. 5 feet will be added to the width of the runway and new asphalt applied. When finished in late April, the runway will be able to handle larger and heavier aircraft. Info - 541-593-1000.

Highway 97 Project begins April 6th

The arrow marking south is the existing two lane portion of 97 which will eventually be two lanes of southbound traffic. The arrow marking north shows that ODOT has already begun removing trees for the northbound lanes of traffic. Photo taken by Century Drive/97 Interchange.

Drawing of the new North bound lane being constructed between South Century Dr. and Lava Butte.

ODOT and the US Forest Service are beginning work on the Highway 97 improvement project between the Sunriver/South Century interchange and Lava Butte. Forest clearing operations will be conducted to the east of the current highway in preparation for construction of an additional two lanes of traffic and a separate frontage road that will give access to Lave River Cave and Lava Lands Visitor’s Center. The $31 million project will also provide an improved interchange at Cottonwood Rd. Using stimulus funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, ODOT and the Forest Service are contracting with local companies to do much of the work. They estimate the construction jobs will sustain about 430 local family wage jobs for the duration of the project (completion due by fall 2011). Info - Click here for more information.

March Numbers

Compiled by Penny Bennington penny@benningtonproperties.com

The February 2009 US Travel Association survey of 2,270 U.S. adults is now complete, and the results reveal both "good" and "challenging" news for travel service suppliers.

The good news: Fully six out of ten U.S. adults are planning to take at least one leisure trip during the next 6 months. This is a slightly higher percentage than recorded in February 2008.

The challenging news: Travelers are now demanding far greater value for their vacation dollar, and they are comparison-shopping more aggressively than ever. As a result, they are likely to be far more responsive to certain promotional offers than others.