Story originally printed in the Tomah Journal or online at www.tomahjournal.com
Published - Friday, October 10, 2008
Real estate agents offer hope to villa owners
The closing of the Three Bears Lodge last month left many villa owners at the resort with the fear of possible foreclosure. Soon after the lodge’s closing, two real estate agents from Tomah started a business that they hope will help such a fear not become a reality for some property owners.
“A lot of homeowners invested in and loved this place,” Luann Griffin said. “Some will be able to ride the storm out. That is what we are doing here.”
Griffin, along with business partner Demberly McDonald, recently started a rental management business called Bear Creek Rentals. Both are real estate agents with the First Weber Group of Tomah. Griffin, who owns property at the resort, said that after it became known that the resort might close she began to receive requests to do some rental management at the resort.
“A number of homeowners live far away and wanted someone close by to watch over the homes and try to drum up some business,” Griffin said. “Temporary month-to-month housing is our biggest push.”
Through Bear Creek Rentals, people can rent out properties at the resort at least until the resort comes under new management, which Griffin and McDonald believe will occur. The business was forced to move along rather quickly when the Three Bears Lodge unexpectedly closed early in mid-September. Griffin and McDonald have advertised with the Greater Tomah Area Chamber of Commerce and have talked with parties at Fort McCoy and other contractors.
“We are taking care of lawns and setting up cleaning outside of trying to get the properties rented,” McDonald said. “We have small homes and duplexes that are good for a couple or a single person. Our biggest model is two bedroom, and a loft. Some have garages. And they are fully furnished so people can just move in.”
Griffin said that it is a common misconception that the properties are owned by the resort. Homeowners own the properties that are annexed into the village of Warrens, Griffin said. Roughly 53 homeowners have expressed interest in participating with Bear Creek Rentals, and Griffin said that contracts have been obtained for roughly half of them.
“We had some tenants start to move in already last week,” Griffin said. “It is not only about the owners, but it can also help with Fort McCoy and others looking for homes to rent. It’s killing two birds with one stone.”
With Tomah, Warrens, Fort McCoy, Camp Douglas and Black River Falls nearby, Griffin and McDonald are encouraged that many homes will be able to be rented and give some relief to the owners of the properties. They also hope to shed a positive light on a negative situation.
“There has been so much negativity, we want to do something positive,” Griffin said. “If we can keep a few homeowners’ heads above water, then it will be a success. Hopefully people will move in and forget about the resort and start to think of it as a neighborhood.”
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