Sally Russell says there's some days this May you can drop off yard debris for FREE at the Knott Landfill....

 May 1-16, you can drop off all your yard debris for FREE at Knott Landfill AND May 1-2, 8-9, 15-16 FireFree will be accepting yard debris at the Tree Farm neighborhood on Bend’s Westside.

Midtown, big lot !!! AND with development possibilities....

MLS 220121373 | Mary P Gemba: Looking for a little elbow room - your own private sanctuary? How about 3/4 of an acre in town with water rights - walking distance to all that Mid-town has to offer. Development possibilities abound - buyer to do due diligence. Just minutes from The Yacht Club and Hollinshead Park - easy access to all Bend's opportunities. Built in 1930, this home was originally at the end of the Urban Growth boundary - you can own your own piece of Bend's history. It has been lovingly updated over the years with a focus on ease of use and and eye for style. New carpet, exterior paint, updated bathroom and new minisplit add to this already dreamy home. The three sun filled bedrooms, two baths and an office make a perfect place to enjoy looking out at your in-city acreage. Fruit trees bearing apples, pears and cherries line the property and lilacs reach to the sky. Brand new irrigation pump added in 2021. The possibilities are limitless with this amazing property.

Planning to move? Here are 6 handy tips from my friend and colleague in Klamath Falls, Tony Nunes at Caldwell Banker...

 Declutter and donate. Your first step should be to declutter your house and donate any items you no longer need. You should do this a few months out — long before you start packing. 

Start vetting and reserving services early on. Book your packers, movers and moving trucks early on. This will ensure you get the dates you need (as well as the best rates). 

Pack an overnight bag for each member of the family. Think about what you’ll want access to on moving day and on the first night in your new place. Make sure to include snacks, water and anything else you might need. 

Get creative with packing materials. You don’t necessarily need packing peanuts or costly bubble wrap to keep your items safe. Consider using hand towels, dishcloths, blankets, socks and other soft belongings instead. (They need to be packed anyway, after all.)

Label boxes systematically. Pack items by room and label each group of boxes with its own color (using stickers or a marker). This makes them easy to spot when loading, unloading and unpacking. 

Plan for your pets and kids. Little ones and pets could get in the way during the big move, so make sure you arrange for them to stay somewhere safe until you’re more settled. 

Short term rental makes good $$$ is coming to market for $499,000 on Lotno

 Call for info.  541-771-8947

Amazingly low amount of new listings late this week !!!

 So... I don't have much if any to compare.  

Enjoy your Sunday !

Bend's Best Budget Buy is in a low-key neighborhood below Pilot Butte with a garage that has high ceilings for storing your 'stuff'

MLS 220120914 | Mary P Gemba

Bend's Best Buy today is nearer the Old Mill District up Brookswood Blvd...

MLS 220120950 | Mary P Gemba

HouseLogic | REALTOR® Content Resource | 5 Tricks to Rejuvenate a Run-Down Patio on a Budget

HouseLogic | REALTOR® Content Resource | 5 Tricks to Rejuvenate a Run-Down Patio on a Budget

Bend Residents Oppose Eliminating Minimum Off-Street Parking Requirements - Cascade Business News

Bend Residents Oppose Eliminating Minimum Off-Street Parking Requirements - Cascade Business News

Ryan Ranch in Redmond ! GREAT price for this place !

MLS 220120309 | Mary P Gemba

Coming to Market soon !

MLS 220120155 | Mary P Gemba

In the past 3 days 4 homes here in Bend have sold over a million dollars and all sold for CASH and over list price!

 JUST letting you know !  It's extremely competitive right now.

River Wild ! is just 25 minutes or less to Mt. Bachelor with 3 ensuites with a master suite on both levels. $935,000

MLS 220119825 | Mary P Gemba

Lots of great homes listed these past 2 days at reasonable prices. Call me if you're shopping! 541-771-8947

 marygemba.com

As Lumber Prices Skyrocket, Oregon State Professor Develops Method to Predict Future Price Changes .....

As Lumber Prices Skyrocket, Oregon State Professor Develops Method to Predict Future Price Changes - Cascade Business News

One level in Aspen Rim backs to larger parcels $730,000 and Hendrickson-built...

MLS 220119841 | Mary P Gemba: Welcome to this immaculate, single level Northwest craftsman built by Hendrickson Homes in the coveted community of RiverRim. This great room concept home boasts over 2100 sq ft of interior living space and features vaulted ceilings, extensive hickory hardwood flooring and south-facing main living area which backs to private land at the edge of Bend's city limits. Spacious kitchen includes a walk-in pantry, granite counters and stainless appliances. Primary bedroom with en suite bathroom has a separate shower and soaking tub along with dual vanities. Additional spaces include a junior suite with attached bathroom, den/office and three car (tandem) garage. The sun-drenched rear of the home features a sprawling composite deck, garden shed and easy care yard. Easy access to trails, the Deschutes River and the Brookswood Meadow Plaza. Abundant natural light, towering pine trees and a supremely private setting round out this offering in SW Bend.

Usonian in Ridgewater $700k

MLS 220119717 | Mary P Gemba

Foreclosure ban may be extended until the end of the year....

 

CFPB proposes foreclosure ban until 2022 Amending Regulation X to give servicers and homeowners more time to work through options April 5, 2021, By Alex Roha

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released a notice of proposed rulemaking on Monday that would amend Regulation X to provide a special pre-foreclosure review period prohibiting servicers from starting foreclosures until after December 31, 2021. Under current CFPB foreclosure rules, a borrower must be 120 days delinquent before the foreclosure process can start. The Bureau said that nearly 2.1 million households in forbearance are past the 90-day delinquent mark and said it is concerned that those homeowners may be transferred immediately in to the foreclosure process once their forbearance period expires. To manage a potential wave of foreclosures, the CFPB’s proposed change would permit servicers to offer certain streamlined loan modification options to borrowers with COVID-19-related hardships based on the evaluation of an incomplete application. “What we’re proposing would be that you wouldn’t have to evaluate someone for every possible available option, so long as the options that you offer them have certain safeguards,” said Diane Thompson, senior advisor to the acting CFPB director, on a Monday media call. Similarly, in the spring of 2020, the CFPB engaged in a rulemaking process that laid out new guidelines for servicers. Servicers didn’t have to evaluate every borrower for every loss mitigation option so long as they moved them in to a deferral where the payments that they missed were put on the back end and they resumed their regular payments, Thompson said. Usually, with certain exceptions, Regulation X requires servicers to review a borrower for all available options at once, which can mean borrowers have to submit more documents before a servicer can make a decision. This new rule would also allow for servicers to move borrowers directly from forbearance in to a modification without reviewing them for all options so long as the modification meets certain basic consumer protection standards. Those standards are also a subject the CFPB is looking for input on during the proposed rulemaking, set to expire May 11, 2021. “One common way to make payments more affordable is you just extend out the amortization time, how long people are making payments,” Thompson said. “So it would be under our proposal that period could only be extended out another 40 years, and the payment after capitalization and interest rate changes could be no more than their current payment.” The CFPB also proposes temporary changes to certain required servicer communications to make sure that, during this crisis, borrowers receive key information about their options at the appropriate time. According to the Bureau, while many protections of the CARES Act only apply to federally backed mortgages, the Bureau is looking to set a blanket standard across the industry so that all homeowners would have similar protections regardless of who the owner or servicer of the loan is. The CFPB said it will also cover the private mortgage sector that currently makes up 30% of the market. “The nation has endured more than a year of a deadly pandemic and a punishing economic crisis. We must not lose sight of the dangers so many consumers still face,” said CFPB Acting Director Dave Uejio. “Millions of families are at risk of losing their homes to foreclosure in the coming months, even as the country opens back up. Last week we warned that servicers need to be prepared for a high volume of borrowers exiting forbearance, and today we are proposing additional guardrails and tools for servicers as they navigate the coming months.” The CFPB said that the proposed rule, if finalized, would not change coverage of the Mortgage Servicing Rule, so small servicers, as defined in Regulation Z, would not be subject to these requirements. This is the third time in less than a week the CFPB has expressed growing concern about dealing with borrowers as the pandemic tapers off. On Thursday, the Bureau warned servicers that it is ramping up enforcement and will be specifically watching how they manage borrowers coming out of forbearance. On Wednesday, the Bureau announced it was rescinding seven of its temporary policies put in place to protect consumers during the pandemic, effective April 1.

Bend's Best Buy today is near St. Charles for $415,000....

MLS 220119472 | Mary P Gemba

This week's Round Up News....assuming government loans rather than starting a new loan.....

 

Homes selling faster than ever, but market should ease soon. Student debt shouldn't stop buyers from qualifying for a mortgage. Buyers can take on existing mortgages, get lower rate and term. Fed expected to keep rates low for the next few years. Baby Boomers benefitting the most from selling in a hot housing market. Read on for our coverage.

Homes Selling at Light Speed Homes sold last month in an average of only 20 days on the market, compared to 36 days at this time last year. But that may relax as higher prices and interest rates make housing less affordable. Also helping: more inventory hitting the market, as builders add new homes and owners begin selling again post-pandemic.1

Buying With Student Debt Many first-time homebuyers carry significant student loans. That can affect their debt-to-income ratio (DTI), and a DTI over 43% can make it harder to get mortgage approval. However, borrowers with DTIs of up to 50% can still qualify for FHA or HomeReady loans if they have a good credit score and can make a larger down payment. Borrowers should connect with a loan officer early to help discern their best options.

Buyers Can Assume Mortgage Instead of originating a new mortgage, buyers can (in certain cases) take on a seller's existing loan. This gives them a lower rate and shorter term than they might otherwise receive. However, they must pay the difference between the loan balance and the purchase price upfront. Additionally, only government-backed mortgages are assumable, not conventional ones.3

More Families Buying Mult-generational Homes...

 

REAL ESTATE TRENDS

More Families Buying Multigenerational Homes

About 15% of home buyers plan to live with multiple generations under one roof, a nine-year high. The pandemic may have caused the uptick, but experts say the trend is here to stay. Families are pooling their income to buy a bigger house and save on expenses. Another benefit: grandparents can help with childcare; grown children can help with eldercare.⁷

Less homes on the market than last year...

 Almost 50% fewer homes are on the market now compared to this time last year, according to Realtor.com's latest housing report.⁴

From the Desk of:

1 themortgagereports.com; 2 forbes.com; 3 cnet.com; 4 currently.att.yahoo.com; 5 cnbc.com; 6 npr.org; 7 magazine.realtor

Mark Long Mortgage Advisor NMLS-208965 Finance of America Mortgage LLC o: (541) 633-7500 c: (541) 633-7500 malong@financeofamerica.com Bend Branch | 233 SW Wilson., Suite 203 | Bend, OR 97702 www.foamortgage.com/malong

Deschutes County Libraries Update..

 Last November Deschutes County voters supported the Library’s bond measure to expand and improve libraries across the county. The bond will fund the design and construction of an approximately 100,000-square-foot Central Library to serve all Deschutes County residents. Bond funds will also pay for doubling the square footage of the Redmond Library and will expand and update existing libraries in Downtown Bend, East Bend, La Pine, Sisters and Sunriver. 

The Central Library will be constructed on a 12-acre parcel off Highway 20 and Robal Road. Design planning for an expanded Redmond Library will begin in late summer 2021. Dunkelberg estimates it will take four years to complete the Central Library project and up to two years to complete the expanded Redmond Library. 

deschuteslibrary.org/about/visionprocess