Bill Bellamy has been an important figure in Central Oregon for 45 years, and has filled many roles in that time. From a teacher to a legislator to a realtor, he is well-known in Central Oregon, especially in Jefferson County. Bellamy, an agent for Coldwell Banker Madras, will take over as the president of the Central Oregon Association of REALTORS® (COAR) in 2018.

Since arriving in Culver in 1972, Bellamy has been deeply involved in the Jefferson County community, through both personal and career endeavors.

“I was the Ag teacher at Culver High School for six years,” he said. “Then I was elected to the Oregon Legislature and served 10 years, five terms as a state representative.”

Bellamy also served four years on the Central Oregon Community College (COCC) board and 12 years as a county commissioner in Jefferson County. He began his first term in the Legislature in 1979, after some good friends asked him to run. His time in the Legislature is what made him consider real estate as a career.

“When I was a state representative, I needed a part-time job,” he said, explaining that spending six months in Salem wouldn’t allow for a normal full-time job. “Real estate was something where when I got home I could work it and if I needed to leave I could leave.”

Decades after his Legislature terms, he has found that his love of teaching and helping others has translated well into real estate.

“Most of your work as a real estate agent is assisting people, not only finding and locating [the right homes for the right people] but the real work begins once they agree on the price,” he said. “Getting them financed, getting the home inspection done. So you spend a lot of time assisting, whether it’s on the buyer or seller side.”

When people think of Central Oregon, the more populated towns come to mind — Bend, Redmond, and others. And although Jefferson County’s population is quite a bit smaller than Deschutes County, it has a thriving community. Its real estate market has been growing, and Bellamy has been a part of that growth the whole time.

Within that Central Oregon area, real estate can include everything from small farms to multimillion dollar townhomes and houses. But in Jefferson County, things are a little different. Bellamy explained that there is not necessarily a difference in buyers themselves, but there is a difference in what buyers are looking for.

Bellamy’s background is agriculture, which helped give him an understanding of farmers and ranchers and working families in general. That passion has helped give him a unique perspective to selling real estate in Jefferson County.

“Bill Bellamy has been with my office over 20 years. Bill has the ability to work with all types of clients, from first time buyers to farm and ranch customers and can relate to the issues they face in either the selling or buying side of the transaction,” said Dick Dodson with Coldwell Banker Madras. “Bill has been able to put transactions together that most agents would run from. We are fortunate to have Bill be the first realtor from Jefferson County rise to be the president of COAR.”

Bellamy became involved with COAR five years ago, as a board member representing Jefferson County. He believes in their mission, and is truly passionate about helping them achieve it.

“It’s a really good organization in terms of being active and representing the homeowner. The National Association of REALTORS® are the ones that are the main lobbying groups that are there to see to it that homeownership is still viable,” Bellamy explained. “The local association has been blessed. We have gained back [a number of realtors lost during the recession] and are very solid right now, so we have been able to donate money to the Bethlehem Inn and OSU-Cascades. And last year the realtors took on a lead deal in raising funds to build a house for Habitat for Humanity. Central Oregon Realtors have been able to do some things like this that are good for the community.”

Bellamy has also found that real estate is more than just helping people find their dream home — it can be life changing for many. Recently, he helped a family with children find a new home and get out of a bad living situation.

“The mother said about a week after they moved, one of her kids came up and gave her a big hug and said ‘This is so nice, thank you for moving.’”

Bellamy was installed as COAR president on December 8 and will begin his term Jan. 1, 2018.

“Bill has been able to put transactions together that most agents would run from. We are fortunate to have Bill be the first realtor from Jefferson County rise to be the president of COAR.” — Dick Dodson, Coldwell Banker Madras.

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