Broken Top Homes For Sale

Broken Top is one of the most desirable neighborhoods in Bend Oregon. Broken Top is located on the West side of Bend perched on the foot hills of the Cascades.  The views from Broken Top can be amazing, and the most prominent is Broken Top, Mt. Bachelor and the Three Sisters.

Homes in Broken Top can be purchased in the mid $200,000 up to multimillion.  Broken Top features many types of homes from cottages, to large homes on the golf course.  If you are looking for a great home on the west side of Bend Broken Top may be a great option for you.

Looking for a condominium in Bend?  The choices are endless, from the Old Mill to Inn of The Seventh Mountain, on the Deschutes River or near St. Charles the choices are endless.  Pricing of condos in Bend is as varies as the locations, you can find condos in Bend any where from $50,000 (occasionally under) to almost a million.

Remember when purchasing a condo  you will want to know a few details about the Home Owners Association (HOA) what the fees are, what those fees cover and so on.  One of the most popular features of a condo vs a home is that the HOA almost always covers the insurance on the structure and the exterior maintenance.

Your List of Bend Condos For Sale (click for full list)

There are two basic types of USDA Loan Products, the direct and the indirect.  A direct USDA loan is a low income loan with really low interest rates which a purchase is funded directly from USDA.  The direct USDA loan can be a very slow and painful process as the buyer and seller at the mercy of the funding of the program, money comes and goes through this program and often times a closing can be delayed for months.

Today however, we are going to talk about an indirect USDA loan which is works very similarly to a standard loan. What makes a USDA loan appealing to many is that you can finance 100% of the purchase price.  Now that does not mean you can buy a home and not have it cost you anything.  There are costs associated with purchasing a home which typically run just from just under $2,000 to about $5,000 on a $150,000 purchase.  The difference comes in whether or not the seller will agree to pay your closing costs.

So, what should you expect to need the funds for and when do you need them – the list below will help you understand what the costs of purchasing a Bend home with a USDA loan is;

• Earnest Money – a typical earnest money for a home that qualifies for USDA is between $500 and $1000 these funds do go towards the purchase of the property and sometimes these funds can be refunded at the time of closing but not all the time.  These funds will be cashed by the title company upon acceptance and they will sit in escrow throughout the purchase process.
• Home Inspection, most home inspections run under $500 and most home inspectors want to be paid at the time of the inspection.  The home inspection is typically done within 10 business days of the seller accepting your offer.
• Appraisal, the appraisal is ordered by your lender and your lender will collect the fee from you prior to ordering the appraisal.  The appraisal is generally ordered about the same time as the home inspection happens. A typical appraisal will cost about $500 to $600.
• If your seller does not pay closing costs there will be closing costs at the time you close the deal which will be 30 to 45 days if all goes well after your seller accepted your offer.  These costs can and should be calculated at the time you write your offer, although they will be an estimate they should be pretty close.

Not all homes in Bend qualify for the USDA loan, most of Bend in fact does not.  However there are homes that do, these homes are outside the city limits generally.  Deschutes River Woods is one neighborhood that does typically qualify for a USDA loan.

Homes for Sale in Deschutes River Woods That Qualify for USDA Loans

Bend Oregon Home Search Click Me

Buyer’s Market?

Many real estate professionals have been saying for years that we are in a Buyer’s Market.  And we ARE!  But what exactly does that mean?  Does it mean that every home on the market is over priced?  Or that every seller will replace or repair things to make the home appear brand new?  Does a buyer’s market mean that there is a set percentage a buyer should consider making an offer for?  The answer is NO!

A fellow Real Estate Blogger said it perfectly!

You Can Buy a Home, but You Will Never Ever Steal One - Katherine wrote a great post to help buyers in her area understand that although prices are low, you need an agent to help you determine what a great deal truly is.  After reading her post it became apparent that buyers in her area have some of the same thoughts as home buyers in Bend do.

An agent that is knowledgeable in the area can tell you if a home is priced well.  Katherine shows this great example;

Some sellers, the smart ones, will price their homes accordingly.  Maybe their home in great condition would be worth $250,000, but because their carpet is trashed, and the new buyer would have to buy some new appliances, and maybe touch up some paint, they’ll drop the list price to $245,000.

A Lesson Learned?

While reading Katherine’s post I could not help but think of a couple I was working with, they knew exactly what they wanted in a second home.  The perfect home came on the market and they made plans to visit the area and see the property. On the Friday prior to their arrival the home had a major price reduction, one that I knew as their agent would most likely bring multiple offers.  This did not worry me as I knew the buyer was well informed of the market and since this was a river front property priced well below any other river front properties I knew they would see the value and make a respectable offer.

The buyer arrived, and they did love the home.  We were writing an offer, and the listing agent called to let me know that another offer had been received and that they were giving us the opportunity to submit our offer and have both offers presented at the same time, still I was not worried after all my buyers knew exactly what the market was and they were well educated in the process, we had talked multiple times about when a home hits the sweet spot on pricing it is time to move swiftly and as cleanly as possible.  This home had hit the sweet spot.

My buyers ran to grab some lunch while I prepared the paperwork.  When they came back I had everything in order, all the necessary documents a current Comparative Market Analysis (CMA in Real Estate Lingo) just a couple blanks to complete some signatures and they would be ready for acceptance.  This is when they told me what their offer price was, and all that education, all the time we had spent searching for the perfect home in the sweet spot went out the window.

Multiple Offers!!! They Really Do Happen!

Knowing they were in a multiple offer situation, knowing the house now listed about $30,000 under value they wrote their offer for $15,000 under list price.  No matter what the numbers showed, no matter what they already knew they were determined this was a good offer.

Sadly they did not get the house, and sadly 3 years later even in this decline they have not found the perfect home in the perfect sweet spot.  In almost every correspondence I have with them these same words can be found… if only we had listened.

Buyers it is a buyer’s market out there, but what that means is there are a lot of things that can go your way, not that you get to have your cake and eat it to.  There is a lot of inventory, prices are low, interest rates are low and often times there can be some heavy negotiating to get you a lot more for your dollar.  But when a home is priced well, and is in a price range or area that creates good movement you really need to investigate the situation, and listen to your agent.

Bank owned homes in Bend are for more than the first time homeowner.  The choices in homes that have gone through the foreclosure process vary in price, location, size and style.  There of course are areas that have been hit harder by foreclosures than others but with patience and perseverance you can find just about any type of home you are looking for as a bank owned home or REO (real estate owned).

Bend Bank Owned Homes Under $225,000

Full List of Bend Bank Owned Homes Under $225,000

Remember that bank owned properties are generally priced under market value and priced to sell quickly! Occasionally a bank owned home will go through a price reduction or two before a buyer will write an offer. Remember that when a home is reduced and it excites you, it very well may be exciting others too! If you the home you decide is right for you and it is bank owned, be prepared to act quickly.

Bend Bank Owned Homes OVER $225,000

Full List of Bank Owned Homes OVER $225,000

Bank owned homes in Central Oregon can be anywhere from move in ready to almost needing to be torn down.  Some of these homes have been vacant for a year or more and some of them were just recently vacated.  Many times there is deferred maintenance and sometimes they are pristine.

Unlike Bend Short Sales, you will not wait weeks to months for an answer from the bank.  A bank owned home can move through the purchase process just as it would if the home were a traditional sale.  The bank has already taken their loss and is ready to sell these homes.

Many bank owned homes offer to pay the buyers closing costs right up front and even if they do not many times these costs can be covered when you write your contract.  When purchasing a bank owned home using an agent that understands the area, what is happening in the market and has good relationships with the listing agents that the banks use can make your bank owned home purchase go much more smoothly.