Lynne Connelley Bend Real Estate

Yep, it's true.  Almost everyone I am sure knows and recognizes the Coldwell Banker brand for real estate, a national company with franchises in every state of the country with more than 1,000 offices.  I am sure that most people do not know what a gem we have right here in Central Oregon, Coldwell Banker Morris Real Estate, a company I am proud to be affiliated with as a broker.  Among those many, many offices we stand out as the 9th top producer among offices with 50 to 100 agents (and we only have about 52).  The first quarter of 2011 showed that we were #43 top producing company in the United States.

So how does that help you, Mr. Buyer or Ms. Seller?  We bring national attention to your listing, Ms. Seller, and we pay to use the top technology and advertising in selling real estate in Central Oregon.  How many other companies do you see running full page color ads in the local paper?  STILL after all these rough months and years we have never failed to fully market your property.  We have experienced, obviously top producing agents bringing in listings to show you first, Mr. Buyer, including high end properties, including bank owned properties, and including commercial properties.  The experience and education level of our agents is unparalleled not only in Central Oregon but in the country.  You are well served by me and by Coldwell Banker Morris Real Estate.  It is a combination that works.  For you.

Daily I hear buyers who want a REAL DEAL in this market.  After months and months of national news stories about vacant houses, short sales, foreclosed homes and general doom and gloom, apparently many folks out there believe that this dismal picture is reality.  At least in Bend and at least for now, it is NOT, particularly under $400,000 in our market.  We actually have a shortage of inventory and many very frustrated would-be buyers who keep losing out in multiple offer situations.  I know of one couple who just got outbid on their third offer on Bend homes.

But there indeed are still incredible deals to be had, and that price range is $950,000 and up.  In the past 90 days in Bend, 8 homes, both residential in town and those on acreage, have sold or are in escrow, or just under 3 per month.  Taking that figure of 3 sold homes per month, let's look at unsold inventory.  There are a whopping 68 estate homes for $950,000 and up on the market, or almost a 2-year supply if nothing else is added to the mix, which is not going to happen.  These are sellers who are -- or should be -- ready to DEAL, and the winner could and SHOULD be you!!!!

Available just in NW Bend are plush custom homes with the Deschutes River roaring past your deck, homes with stunning panoramic Cascade views, ranches with large barns, indoor arenas and beautiful homes including guest homes, a log home on 17 acres with Cascade views, and a 5,600 sq foot home with 5 bedrooms, office, two laundry rooms, wine room, butlers pantry and great views on Awbrey Butte.

Oh, and you want a gorgeous, fully appointed home downtown with river AND Cascade views for a steal?  How about under $450,000?  Call me today and we will go tour this beautiful home in the Old Mill District. 

So luxury real estate is available for a fraction of the prices we saw three years ago, and these homes are yours for the taking.  Make an offer!

You may have waited too long!

I can definitely feel the market heating up for bend, OR, homes for sale and even for Central Oregon ranches and farms.  Buyers are finding value, which is no surprise, but a surprise is that in many price ranges it is now a sellers’ market, and not a buyers’ market.

Homes under $200,000 are selling so well that there is little inventory. For instance, in Bend 368 homes priced under $200,000 sold in the past 90 days, or 122 a month. There are, however, only 159 active listings in that price range currently.

In the $200,000 to $300,000 range we have seen 39 homes on average selling per month for the past 90 days, and there are 95 active listings for an inventory of about 2 ½ months of available homes.

Even as we get into the higher price ranges there is competition. Between $300,000 and $400,000, on average 23 homes sold per month in the past 3 months, and there are only 77 homes on the market for an inventory of about 3 months. (Call me or email me if you want more details on the price range for your home or that of a friend or relative. It actually may finally be the time to put that property on the market.)

We are experiencing in many cases multiple offers on homes, which means if you have four offers on a home, only one is the successful purchaser. It also means that three buyers are competing for the next home. That can mean only one thing: Prices will increase.

Buyers are still attracted to Central Oregon. I got two calls just this month from people who are moving here from other areas – one Utah and one California – and neither have ever been here before. They have read about Central Oregon and/or heard from friends that quality of life is better here.

If you or a friend find your life is wrapped up timing your lives and job commute around rush hour, give me a call!  And preferably before those prices go up!

I would like to present for your reading enjoyment an article by attorney Phil Querin, a distinguished real estate attorney in Oregon.  I have been contending for at least a year that the banks are simply going to have to get better at approving short sales and modifications since the foreclosure process is, quite frankly, a mess due to the securitization (loan packaging and reselling) of mortgages so common these past years. 

Two banks, Wells Fargo and U.S. Bank, got their hands slapped good in two different Massachusetts cases.  Their foreclosures were deemed illegal, and in one case they returned the home to the original homeowner and in the other had to write a check to the homeowner who no longer wanted the home back!

In short, the banks foreclosed before they even had the legal documents (deeds) in their possession and cited to the court the "everyone else is doing it" legal principle.  That principle does not even work with your five-year-old, so why would it work in a court of law?  Not well!

Mr. Querin's article is cited in full below from his website, Q-Law.com.  (The highlighting is mine)  Please call or email me if you have further questions in this matter relating to Bend Oregon homes. 

It was just a matter of time.  Sooner or later, trial court rulings against Big Banks were going to make it into the appellate system and become recognized judicial precedent.  Such is the case of U.S. Bank Association, Trustee vs. Antonio Ibanez, which consisted of two appeals from trial court rulings that were disposed of in one consolidated court opinion out of Massachusetts.  There are several things that distinguish thus case.  First, Ibanez does not arise out of a bankruptcy court ruling, as so many previous opinions have.  Second, it is not a case of a homeowner/borrower contesting the initial foreclosure action.  [Presumably, like most homeowners, they had neither the money nor the appetite for a fight. - PCQ].  Lastly, this consolidated case arose out of the Oregon equivalent of a quiet title action, initiated by the banks well after the foreclosures had been completed.  Both lenders sought a judicial declaration that once they had acquired title following the foreclosures, they actually had the legal right to convey marketable title to another purchaser. The banks both failed and flailed.

The Ibanez ruling was released on Friday, January 7, 2010.  [I actually think this is 2011] The facts of the consolidated cases are substantially similar, so I will summarize them as if a single case.  Essentially, the borrowers closed their loans directly with the lenders that loaned them the money (the “Originating Banks”).  The mortgages were duly recorded on the public record.  Through successive assignments, both loans were pooled and securitized into REMIC trusts.  In one case, the REMIC Trustee was Wells Fargo, and in the other case, it was U. S. Bank.  Both of these lenders, acting in the capacity as Trustees for the REMICs, initiated foreclosure proceedings against the borrowers, seeking to either sell the properties at auction, or recover them back to re-sell.

However, as it turns out, at the time of both sales, neither bank had the power to foreclose on the properties.  In the U. S. Bank case, the foreclosure sale occurred on July 5, 2007, but the Assignment of Trust Deed from the Originating Bank to U. S. Bank (giving it the legal power of sale) did not occur until September 11, 2008 – well after the actual foreclosure sale date.  In the Wells Fargo case, the loan was also closed on July 5, 2007.  But the Originating Bank’s conveyance of the mortgage containing the power of sale was not recorded until May 12, 2008.  In short, at the time both lenders advertised and conducted their foreclosure sales, they had no legal power to do so, since the mortgages granting them that power had not yet been transferred to them.

In lawyer-speak, both banks’ arguments may be described as disingenuous and specious – in less charitable, but more descriptive terms, one might call them insulting.  Essentially, the banks rely upon a sort of fait accompli rationale:  Their predecessors, the Originating Banks, had the right of foreclosure; the Big Banks were going to get it sooner or later, and the borrowers were in default anyway, so there is no foul, since there was no harm. The Court rejected these arguments out of hand.  Relying upon precedent dating back to 1871, 1905, and 1936, it held that the statutory power of sale given to lenders in foreclosure – where there is “no immediate judicial oversight”- must be strictly followed.  [Note: This is the reason I maintained in my recent post on non-judicial foreclosures, that lender and servicer fraud is actually easier in trust deed states, such as Oregon. – PCQ] So, with 140 years of court precedent, it was a bit hard for the banks to argue that they didn’t realize the rules applied to them.

What is most interesting about this case, besides the holding itself, was the banks’ consistent unwillingness or inability to provide evidence supporting their legal position that they had a right to conduct the foreclosures without owning the actual mortgages that gave them the right to do so.  The gist of the banks’ arguments revolved around the claim that, although they did not hold the mortgages, they nevertheless had the ability to foreclose based upon the documents generated by the securitization process itself.  Here’s a sampling:

• U.S. Bank argued that it had the right to foreclose based upon the trust agreement described in the private placement memorandum (“PPM”) for the REMIC trust – a preliminary document used in private securities offerings that outline the business plan of the offering.  However, the bank never offered the trust agreement into evidence.
• Wells Fargo based its right of foreclosure on the Pooling and Servicing Agreement (“PSA”) which is the document governing the operations of the REMIC Trust.  However, although it offered the PSA into evidence, that document contained language that the trust deed had already been deposited with Wells Fargo, the Trustee for the REMIC.  The PSA did not grant the bank any future right of foreclosure. Moreover, the bank could not establish that based upon the mortgage loan schedule for the PSA, the borrower’s property was actually in the Trust. [Note: This is symptomatic of a related problem, which is that in many cases, the loan schedules are frequently not a part of the PSAs, which makes it nearly impossible to track down a particular loan. - PCQ]

In a last ditch effort, the banks relied upon the “everybody is doing it” argument.  In the rarified atmosphere of appellate argument, this defense is given the more dignified title of “custom and usage.”  Loosely translated, the rationale is that even though the banks’ actions fly in the face of 140 years of Massachusetts’s precedent, since the lending industry had been ignoring the law already, it should be permitted to continue doing so.  The Court would hear nothing of it.  With perhaps a note of exasperation coupled with whiff of disgust, the Court concluded that “(t)he legal principles and requirements we set forth are well established in our case law and our statutes.  All that has changed is the (banks’) apparent failure to abide by those principles and requirements in the rush to sell mortgage-backed securities.”  Smackdown!

And as if that were not enough, two of the concurring judges felt it necessary to include their own written opinions.  While they agreed with the majority, they added the following:  “(W)hat is surprising about these cases is not the statement of principles articulated by the court regarding title law and the law of foreclosures in Massachusetts, but rather the utter carelessness with which the plaintiff banks document the title to their assets.” [Italics mine. - PCQ] Significantly, while the two concurring judges acknowledged that although the borrowers had defaulted on their mortgages, “…that is not the point.  Foreclosure is a powerful act with significant consequences….”  Smackdown!

Will Ibanez have any effect on bank foreclosure practices?  First, presumably, lenders will do a better job in picking which cases they decide to appeal.  In retrospect, Ibanez raised questions they may not have wanted answered.  In my opinion, there were other ways to make title to the properties in question marketable, without submitting the issue to court scrutiny after flaunting 140 years of Massachusetts judicial precedent.  Secondly, and more to the point, perhaps Big Banks will now begin seriously considering pre-foreclosure events, that is, modifications, short sales and deeds-in-lieu, as viable alternatives they should more seriously entertain.

If I didn't know better and I didn't have a calendar in front of me telling me it is clearly 2010 and NOT 2005, I would think we were back in the crazy days of Bend, OR, homes for sale when we had offers and multiple offers almost as soon as we listed a property, be it a residential sale, condo or a Central Oregon ranch or farm.  All price ranges, all types of sales.

This week I submitted offers for two clients on homes, and both ended up in multiple offer situations.  On one, which was a bank owned home under $200,000, there were a total of SIX offers submitted to the listing agent.  My client improved his full-price offer by about 20 percent (!!!!!) and still did not get the home.  It was beautiful and underpriced, but not that much! 

As I have said before and continue to say:  Low prices and rock bottom interest rates make this the buying opportunity of a lifetime.  I see banks getting smarter and more efficient, and when short sales and foreclosures are a smaller part of our market, which will certainly happen by 2012 but maybe 2011, these opportunities will be gone.  Forever.

Pay attention!  This is crucial and can affect your property taxes for years to come!  There is no question that property values are down from 30 to 50 percent in Central Oregon depending on whether you own undeveloped land, a residence or commercial property.  It is time, if you are eligible, to reset that marker of property value because from then on you can only have an increase in your assessment of 3% per year.  This year and next are crucial in perhaps decreasing your tax bill.

Property tax bills have just arrived in your mailbox for your Central Oregon property.  READ THEM!  And I would suggest even taking the time to go to the assessor's office to have them explain it to you.  First look at the RMV, or Real Market Value.  Then look at the AV, the Assessed Value.  If the RMV is less than the AV as of Jan 1 of 2010 (these calculations are lagging by almost a year), you may have an appeal.

Properties that may particularly be eligible are newer construction, property valued at $500,000 or more, large sites and vacant buildings and unique properties that are a challenge to appraise. 

Check for errors!  Do your homework!  And the appeal MUST, MUST, MUST be filed before January 1, 2011. 

Feel free to contact me to get a copy of the form for appeals or get that from the assessor's office.  And good luck!

Looking at Bend OR homes for sale today on the Multiple Listing Tour were a few gems.  Please contact me if you want to see photos and I will send them out immediately.

In city homes, two homes were outstanding.  One is on my favorite street in all of Bend, Drake Road.  This is located within walking distance of downtown (just a few blocks) as well as the Deschutes River, which runs through town, and Drake Park, scene of countless festivals and activities.  This 1928 home has been tastefully updated with a spacious master suite and sitting area as well as three other lovely bedrooms, finished basement with exercise room and a fabulous kitchen.  Move in, chill the champagne and let the fun begin. 

The second city home is on Awbrey Butte with killer views of the Cascades, a homesite that is over 2 acres for totaly privacy and a magnificent home with understated elegance and lots of light.  I loved the media room!  This large home has 4 bedrooms, 3 1/2 baths and a great price.  REALLY great.  Call me for details and photos.

The country homes are wonderful Central Oregon ranches and farms at their best all located in the popular Tumalo area.  All with Cascade views, the homes range from $935,000 on about 40 acres to $2,950,000 on five acres with a lake, pond, barn, and a magnificent home with every room you would ever want for playing, relaxing and entertaining.  My favorite home is $1,899,000 because the home is peaceful, mostly single level and elegant plus the horse facilities are excellent including an outdoor arena and six-stall barn.  All these homes have irrigation rights for those green, green pastures. 

See these and other MLS listings in Bend, OR, on my website and then call me for more details and a personal tour.

Occasionally -- maybe a couple of times a month at most -- I see a fabulous buy on a home on our Tuesday morning MLS tour of Bend real estate or our Wednesday morning office tour of homes and farms & ranches for Coldwell Banker Morris.  This past week I saw THREE incredible deals, the kind of property you walk in and wonder, "WHO DO I KNOW FOR THIS WONDERFUL PLACE?"

One of these homes is a custom home on 20 acres, the perfect Central Oregon ranch.  One is a beautiful home with artist's studio on 2 1/2 acres.  The third is a quality fairly new home with many upgrades in town with great Cascade views.

First, picture a totally private single-level custom home high on a knoll with unlimited Cascade views amid 20 irrigated acres for livestock backing to public land for miles and miles of riding.   All for the incredible price of less than $500,000. 

Next, you still want privacy but just few acres is perfect for you?  The home has two separate wings, one for the master suite and office and the other with guest suites and media/family room, the artist's studio is your getaway, your office or your work room, and gardens surround the home affording that sought-after privacy.  Located in a desireable neighborhood and bordering public land for miles of great walking or riding (horses are permitted), this is a great deal for about $550,000. 

A home in town with killer views is more your style and you still want a great deal?  How about a custom Craftsman home with upgrades such as passive solar, granite counters in the kitchen, cherry flooring, solid core doors, two master suites, a bonus room and a 3-car garage, all for less than $350,000? 

Give me a call (541-408-6720) or email me at Lynne@LynneConnelley.com for more details, pictures and a private tour of any of these wonderful, well priced properties.