About Deschutes County, OR

It's never too late to come and play in Sunriver, Oregon. School has begun and the air is crisp - Fall is here! Perhaps a weekend getaway is exactly what is needed. Come and rent bikes from Four Seasons Rentals and travel the endless miles of scenic bike paths. Take a leisurely float and enjoy the wildlife on the Big Deschutes River. Golf any of the three fabulous top rated golf courses - home of the 2008 Jeld-wen Traditions. Pamper yourself with a relaxing massage at the Sage Springs Spa. Enjoy an evening under the stars at the Nature Observatory. Dine at the Grille at Crosswater boasting the finest in North West cuisine. Kick up your heels at the Owl's Nest -featuring live music on most weekends! The list is endless of all that Sunriver Resort has to offer - the best resort in Central Oregon. Take advantage- come and play today!

One of the greatest things about visiting Sunriver in the fall, once school has started... the bike paths are not crowded, the golf courses have tee times and life is much slower. All you empty nesters come take advatange of this great time.

Central Oregon Home Buyers you will be amazed at how much easier it is to get into those vacation rentals most of them are vacant for at least one day when you are here.

Starting October 24 travel between Central Oregon and the Phoenix / Mesa Arizona area just got easier and less expensive.

Allegiant Airlines will be starting service with prices as low as $89 each way. Flights will be limited to Friday and Mondays to start if successful more flights will be added.

Central Oregon is full of "snowbirds" that travel to the Phoenix / Mesa area every winter. I am sure there are many from Arizona that find Central Oregon a great place to spend summer.

Now it is easier than and more affordable than driving this distance. I would expect to see buyers in both areas seeking second homes.

Since Central Oregon and Arizona both are known to be great locations for second home buyers.

With airfares like this and easy travel, now may be the time to search for your home away from home.

If you are looking for a home in Central Oregon I would be happy to help you. Central Oregon offers almost any kind of home you could imagine. Prices of homes are as varried as the styles of homes. Click here for a complete search of the Central Oregon Homes For Sale.

If you need assistance in the Arizona area I have a great REALTOR® referral for you, her name is Teri Ellis - she is the expert for the Phoenix / Mesa area.

It has always been said that price is everything in Real Estate. For most markets, homes and times this is an accurate statement. However, in La Pine right now that may not be your problem. Sales in La Pine since June 1, 2008 show that only 4 homes have closed escrow over $250,000.

If your home is listed above $250,000, priced well and not one of the lucky ones it may just be that the buyer for your price range has not bought yet. Many of my listings in this price range are sitting, frustrated and waiting to move on with their lives. The reality of it is, the buyers in this price range seem to be sitting on the fence a little longer than the lower priced homes.

There is a little good news if you are one of those that are waiting. Internet stats are increasing and more emails are coming from the buyer. Remember that most of the buyers in this range are relocation, second homes and vacation homes, these buyers must travel to purchase your home. With fuel prices coming down a little, and airfare becoming a little more reasonable I hope they will be here before the snow comes.

Click here to view a list of La Pine homes that have sold.

Today Jack and I were supposed to be enjoying a weekend horse camping trip in the Ochoco Mountains with some friends. Unfortunately, Mother Nature had something else in mind: Two weeks ago, lightning from a heavy batch of thunder showers started almost a dozen wildfires in Central Oregon, one of the biggest in the Ochocos, not far from Prineville.

Here in the high desert of Central Oregon, wildfire is a real concern, especially in August. We typically experience at least one major fire in the tri-county area each summer, often more. So homeowners know to make their homes as fire-safe as possible (see my previous post on how to prepare your home for fire season).

But as anyone who lives in a wildfire-prone area knows, there's only so much that we as homeowners can control. This particular fire, for example (known as the Bridge Creek Fire), was originally burning only on Ochoco National Forest land. Because one Forest Service policy is to let a fire on public land burn (under the wildland fire use program), a week passed before anyone began fighting it. Turns out, according to the Bend Bulletin, that was too late for at least one area resident, whose family ranch sustained fire damage when the wind changed and the temperature raised, heating and speeding up the blaze.

As of yesterday, the fire had grown to 4,902 acres and was just 45 percent contained. That latest report said it was expected to be 100 percent contained by Monday. Meanwhile, this morning, the Summit Springs Complex Fire, 10 miles northeast of Sisters, had intensified and spread to 1,926 acres, with 30 percent contained.

As for me and Jack, we're heading south to the Diamond Lake area, with a couple of friends and our horses (and their mules) tomorrow for a day ride instead. Here's hoping all goes as planned.

About the Author:
Lisa Broadwater is a Central Oregon-based real estate professional who specializes in listing
and selling rural acreage, especially horse properties. If you'd like to learn more
about Central Oregon, please visit www.CentralOregonHome4You.com.

...Or What H.R. 3221 means to me.

Do you ever feel the more things change the more they stay the same? H.R. 3221, a.k.a., "The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008" is just one such example. Granted, I have not delved into all 260+/- pages, but from what I have skimmed over, and tried to read, this act is not in actuality the panacea we are hoping for. In my opinion it's not even a high quality band aid.

(Or am I a duck out of water here?)

Let's start with the $4,000,000,000 in aid to those states and government localities for the "emergency assistance and redevelopment of abandoned and foreclosed homes" to be allocated to these areas based upon a funding formula from HUD. Currently, there is no allocation formula or a viable plan on the table for this allocation. However, HUD has 60 days to come up with a plan and another 30 to implement it; so we are at a minimum 90 days out from an actual start to this plan. I don't know about your locality, but 90 days will see more than a few more homes go to foreclosure, sit at county auction and return to the bank that holds the note. Where is the "recovery for these individuals or are they just a necessary loss on the way to recovery?

And "Riddle me this Batman..." what happens when the localities buy back these properties with government funds (also known as our tax dollars) to "refurbish" these houses? The banks get paid, but then the property is at the mercy of it's locality to liquidate after rehabilitation. Has anyone stopped to think what type of financial burden creating a program to manage these properties will create on the individual localities and how that portion of this grand plan is to be paid for? Now as local and state tax payers we possibly have the added joy and burden of helping further offset this investment until qualified buyers are located and these distressed homes are liquidated.

Here in Central Oregon, we have great prices and great inventory we just don't have many qualified or cash ready buyers given the tightened lending restrictions and lack of private market competition against Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. By eliminating the Down Payment Assistance Programs H.R. 3221 has ensured that we have even fewer qualified buyer's than before. And I personally would like to see the statistics that supported the thought process that first time home buyer's using these programs are the bulk of our defaulted properties as in my locality during the "boom" years we had little concept of Nehemiah, or other down payment assistance programs and generally used the conventional financing vehicles offered at that time.

Then of course there is the ubiquitous "First Time Home Buyers Tax Credit." In actuality, what we have here is a first time home buyer's tax advance/loan. The actual amount of this "credit" is tied into gross adjusted income therefore the entire $7500 is not available to all buyers and decreases in proportion to the buyer's income. However, what needs to be made crystal clear is the fact that this is a loan to be paid back over 15 years and not a gift. Beginning with the 2nd year of home ownership and ending with recapture of the balance owed at time of sale or final payment in the 16th year of ownership.

In closing, while solutions to our housing market crisis are needed H.R.3221 is not the answer we think it is. At best it is political "smoke and mirrors" act to allow our government officials to look involved and concerned in a process they obviously know little to nothing about while seeking reelection in their districts this year.

(The Views and opinions expressed within this post are those of the author's soley; they do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of COAR, OAR, NAR or the other agents of Desert Sky Real Estate, LLC.)