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For those interested in moving to Bend, I thought I would share our experience in the search to buy in Bend. Our budget is $300-$400K. We are looking for family friendly, 4BR and 2300+ sq ft and up, fairly move in ready. We started looking a month ago. We live the NW/Aubrey Butte area but its way out of our price range if we want a house that doesnt need work. Most houses $200/sq ft in this area. We live the SW area. Close to the Old Mill for shopping, downtown Bend, river, parks, trails and Mt Bachelor. Houses here are a better price ($130/ sq ft range). Still in Summit school district too which is good. But houses here are being snatched up super fast! Wow! I had a list of about 15 that we wanted to see. In 2 weeks that number dropped to about 5 because they all sold or went pending. In the past 2 weeks, we saw 5 more go pending and we just made an offer on one that hit the market Friday. In the time it went on, there have been a ton of calls on it and even a backup offer on it now. Crazy!
A lot of houses are way overpriced still, most being in the NW area and lots of short sales too.
For those interested in moving to Bend, I thought I would share our experience in the search to buy in Bend. Our budget is $300-$400K. We are looking for family friendly, 4BR and 2300+ sq ft and up, fairly move in ready. We started looking a month ago. We live the NW/Aubrey Butte area but its way out of our price range if we want a house that doesnt need work. Most houses $200/sq ft in this area. We live the SW area. Close to the Old Mill for shopping, downtown Bend, river, parks, trails and Mt Bachelor. Houses here are a better price ($130/ sq ft range). Still in Summit school district too which is good. But houses here are being snatched up super fast! Wow! I had a list of about 15 that we wanted to see. In 2 weeks that number dropped to about 5 because they all sold or went pending. In the past 2 weeks, we saw 5 more go pending and we just made an offer on one that hit the market Friday. In the time it went on, there have been a ton of calls on it and even a backup offer on it now. Crazy!
A lot of houses are way overpriced still, most being in the NW area and lots of short sales too.
Thanks for sharing your story, we just got our second home in WV under contract so we may be looking for an investment property in Bend in a few months? Likely a townhouse in NW areas in the 200-230K range. Nicer ones now seem overpriced. I would like to see prices stay steady or grow slowly there in Bend. Our VA home (based on comps right across the street that sold last month) have increased 13% in the past 2 years. We may be able to cash out well here when we are ready to move to Bend?
Good luck on your search and post when you get something. I want to learn more about the SW areas too and will study more when we are there later this year.
Thanks for sharing your story, we just got our second home in WV under contract so we may be looking for an investment property in Bend in a few months? Likely a townhouse in NW areas in the 200-230K range. Nicer ones now seem overpriced. I would like to see prices stay steady or grow slowly there in Bend. Our VA home (based on comps right across the street that sold last month) have increased 13% in the past 2 years. We may be able to cash out well here when we are ready to move to Bend?
Good luck on your search and post when you get something. I want to learn more about the SW areas too and will study more when we are there later this year.
Good luck to you too!
We just love the SW area. Its close to everything without paying the NW price! If you find something you like you defintely have to jump on it
Good luck to you too!
We just love the SW area. Its close to everything without paying the NW price! If you find something you like you defintely have to jump on it
Personally, I find the SW area to be too dense with very small lots and a lot of homes. Many of those subdivisions like River Rim have very tight covenants too. I know of two people that have tried to rent their homes out in River Rim and were denied by their HOA because it's against the rules. My sister-in-law and her husband were trying to rent from one of these friends because their other rental went into foreclosure and they had to vacate and weren't ready to buy yet. They are both in the medical profession, he's a doctor and she's an occupational therapist, and the HOA wouldn't even allow that even though they were outstanding rental candidates with a solid rental history and a great income.
Be very cautious with these subdivisions and really read through the HOA rules. In addition to the no rental unit clause, they also have strict rules about garbage cans, vehicles, outdoor furniture...you name it! For me, all of those things would turn me away in a heartbeat. We have no HOA where we live now and it's great!
Personally, I find the SW area to be too dense with very small lots and a lot of homes. Many of those subdivisions like River Rim have very tight covenants too. I know of two people that have tried to rent their homes out in River Rim and were denied by their HOA because it's against the rules. My sister-in-law and her husband were trying to rent from one of these friends because their other rental went into foreclosure and they had to vacate and weren't ready to buy yet. They are both in the medical profession, he's a doctor and she's an occupational therapist, and the HOA wouldn't even allow that even though they were outstanding rental candidates with a solid rental history and a great income.
Be very cautious with these subdivisions and really read through the HOA rules. In addition to the no rental unit clause, they also have strict rules about garbage cans, vehicles, outdoor furniture...you name it! For me, all of those things would turn me away in a heartbeat. We have no HOA where we live now and it's great!
We are used to HOAs and personally we dont mind them. In fact, I find that these neighborhoods tend to be kept in better condition because of some of the rules. I would rather have an HOA in place to keep folks from trashing their place than living with it. What turns some away can be attractive for other folks.
It doesnt affect us, but what rules exist that prohibit a home from being rented? We looked at one for sale that was a rental over in that area. Interesting.
The bidding thing can get a little frothy at times.
What bugs me about it is that my clients using VA Financing tend to get passed over for Conventional Loan buyers. Not illegal, but seriously bad Karma, IMO.
We are used to HOAs and personally we dont mind them. In fact, I find that these neighborhoods tend to be kept in better condition because of some of the rules. I would rather have an HOA in place to keep folks from trashing their place than living with it. What turns some away can be attractive for other folks.
It doesnt affect us, but what rules exist that prohibit a home from being rented? We looked at one for sale that was a rental over in that area. Interesting.
I agree, that HOA's can help keep the neighborhood looking good. It's just something to be aware of and wanted to point that out. I do know for a fact that some areas in River Rim have it in their covenants that they cannot rent their home. If you purchase the home, you are agreeing to these covenants, so I think legally it can be done. The home my SIL was renting was done under the table for about 2 months before the HOA determined they were renting it out, so that could also be the situation you experienced. I also know that one of our friends in currently in the process of trying to get the HOA to allow them to rent their home in River Rim, so that may also be the case.
Personally, I find the SW area to be too dense with very small lots and a lot of homes. Many of those subdivisions like River Rim have very tight covenants too. I know of two people that have tried to rent their homes out in River Rim and were denied by their HOA because it's against the rules. My sister-in-law and her husband were trying to rent from one of these friends because their other rental went into foreclosure and they had to vacate and weren't ready to buy yet. They are both in the medical profession, he's a doctor and she's an occupational therapist, and the HOA wouldn't even allow that even though they were outstanding rental candidates with a solid rental history and a great income.
Be very cautious with these subdivisions and really read through the HOA rules. In addition to the no rental unit clause, they also have strict rules about garbage cans, vehicles, outdoor furniture...you name it! For me, all of those things would turn me away in a heartbeat. We have no HOA where we live now and it's great!
HOA's can be good or bad, my experiences have been positive in the 3 places I have lived with HOA's (or POA's) There have been good common sense leaders on the board and good neighbors. They certainly provide protection for your property whenever there is undeveloped or concerning activities near your property. The WV property I have under contract would have been a nightmare with out an HOA, with over 42 miles of dirt roads in the subdivision and steep mountain land we would have been trapped by landslides, snow storms, trees down, overgrown brush between our place and the gates. We got more than our moneys worth there. The WV place also gave me an 8 year experience of wilderness and no neighbors.
The cookie cutter place we live now has small yards and close neighbors. I have really enjoyed being so close. We have 5 other families in the neighborhood (which has 42 homes) that we do various activities with. Imagine that could happen in Bend neighborhoods too? I have observed some who are very private and reserved here, so I think it is easy to keep private even in a busy place if you respect others, most people will do the same.
I have worked on outdoor landscaping and home maintenance at every place I have ever lived. When we move to Bend I want the opposite, a small deck or patio with privacy fence, little or no outdoor maintenance and predictable properties near by.
Plus the awesome thing about Bend, there are all the parks and trails everywhere which make getting outside easy.
SW area may work for us ? certainly will explore there.
I would never by in an HOA type place without reading every page of the restrictions and covenants.
Less chance to be surprise by things like "My neighbor just opened a drumming school in his basement" "I did not know I couldn't rent my home or have it as a VRBO" " The house viewed outside my window was just painted hot pink what can I do about that?" They don't work for everyone, but the benefits have out weighed the restrictions in my experiences.
When I worked for several years as a realtor in CA between jobs in my field, I found that almost ALL houses there had CC&Rs even if there was no HOA, and the CC&Rs could restrict a number of things like what color the houses could be painted, etc. CC&Rs can be drawn up by developers, even if there is no home owners association. Amazingly, many realtors never provide a copy of them to buyers, and many homeowners don't even know they exist in their neighborhood.
The worst ones I ever dealt with were for a 1920s home I sold to a young couple who planned to restore it...when we looked at the CC&Rs, they stated the home couldn't be sold to "Negroes." Yikes. From what I read, a lot of older developments had this prohibition, but of course, it's no longer enforceable.
You should always get a copy of the HOA CC&R'r before considering a property. That is common sense. They differ greatly depending on how the covenants are written. Some people have an issue with some Hoa's because they do not believe in the democratic system which is what Hoa's are. They are a governing body of the people, for the people and operated by the people. (gee when have you heard they before.?)
Any rule and regulation can be changed by a majority vote of the people. And almost nothing is a subjective decision, these are regulations governed by Law.
They can work to greatly protect you as well.
If you buy a property in an HOA, you agree to abide by the rules of the HOA. If you don't agree with the rules, Don't buy there. At no time are your personal rights intruded on, they are protected.
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so we may be looking for an investment property in Bend in a few months? Likely a townhouse in NW areas in the 200-230K range. Nicer ones now seem overpriced. I would like to see prices stay steady or grow slowly there in Bend. Our VA home (based on comps right across the street that sold last month) have increased 13% in the past 2 years. We may be able to cash out well here when we are ready to move to Bend? 
