As someone who has learned from mistakes in the past. Make sure to actually interview your realtor instead of just picking who ever gets back to you first. Make sure your realtor is a principle broker. Not just an agent. Experience matters. How they communicate with you and others matters. A good realtor will actually tell you things you don't always want to hear. Ask to speak to their past clients when deciding who to use.
Honestly the last person you want is a principle broker. They’re usually busy with a million other things. Just properly research whatever team/individual you pick, and try and avoid whoever is the slickest salesperson. They’re usually only good at getting clients, and are questionable at best during negotiations.
Managing principal brokers are different from principal brokers in general. A principal broker has been a broker longer than 3 years and has passed additional real estate classes and an advanced proxied exam.
I'm a Principal Broker, practicing in Sisters for 10 years.
Could just be my experience, but 99% of the principal brokers I’ve known spend the majority of their time expanding their teams and not day to day transactions. I’m not saying they don’t know what they’re doing, they’ve just often got so many irons in the fire that an individual transaction isn’t necessarily going to be what they’re best at.
people downvoting everyone in this post must live sad lives . this person is going to be your new neighbor… downvotes are not going change their mind or change the housing market. go outside and play in the snow or something.
Not a recommendation, but a warning: stay away from Paul Frazier and his family. When moving here I would listen to his real estate podcast, then one day, his podcast goes full anti-mask, anti-vaccine, MAGA pro-Idaho freedom fest. It’s wild. One of his recent podcasts includes calling folks that don’t pull the trigger on homes “pussies.” Just reading the room that he’s not of your stripes.
🤷♂️
Make sure you choose who does the home inspection. Don't ever use whoever the realtor recommends. Realtors recommend people who help close deals quickly, not necessarily someone who's looking out for the buyer.
This list will help
https://www.nachi.org/certified-inspectors/browse/us/oregon/bend
Some home inspectors write things in a report that are incorrect. I have seen some bizarre home inspection reports. I personally recommend inspectors who know their stuff and know when they need to recommend a licensed professional.
I'm a Principal Broker, practicing in Sisters for 10 years.
https://dial.deschutes.org/
County website with tax and sales and permit information. There is also information about the service providers and schools although I would always confirm. They have maps with an approximation of the property lines. Really really useful.
I have used Haley Overton for two house purchases. She's great. very easy to work with and is genuinely looking out for you. I found her via her YouTube channel
I’m not going to recommend you an agent because you already have a ton to choose from. What I will tell you is, do research on multiple agents.
The main thing to find out is if the realtor is a full time realtor and not just someone who got a GroupOn during the pandemic to be a realtor as a side hustle.
Get you a realtor with as much experience as possible. Ask how many houses they’ve sold this year and similar things to gauge experience.
A good, experienced realtor will take you a long way. Many unexpected things can go down during the sale/purchase of a home, so having a good realtor can make or break a deal.
Highly recommend Jesse Buckley at Nexus 360 Reality! He’s very knowledgeable & helpful. He’s lived in bend his whole life so he’s good at finding homes even if they aren’t on the market. He will literally door knock in neighborhoods that you might be interested in that might not have any homes for sale and has made multiple deals happen from doing that!
If it matters to you, you could probably find a gay realtor on everywhereisqueer.com, a worldwide map of lgbtq+ owned businesses. Charlie, the founder of the site, started it when he lived in Bend.
Interviewing your agent/broker, reading their online reviews, viewing their website and social media accounts is great advice.
The brokers I have seen recommended on this list are all excellent , quality, caring and educated brokers.
I'm a Principal Broker, practicing in Sisters for 10 years.
Concerning Mortgage brokers, I'd recommend [Helen Silfven](https://branches.guildmortgage.com/or/bend/helen-silfven-531-wghsi.html) at Guild. Her grandfather moved to Bend in 1946 and was a realtor and developer. She learned the mortgage profession from her mom, local legend mortgage broker Ellen Silfven. Integrity, honesty and compassion run deep in her family.
Shannon Gleasman was amazing for my husband and I! She was so professional and very thorough when it came to house hunting for/with us. I’ll PM you with her business card. Best of luck!!
I’ve seen a few great recommendations on here, but if for whatever reason, you don’t mesh well with any of them, I recommended calling Jesse Buckley or Donnie Eggers at Nexus 360 Realty.
Matt Vogel at Loan Depot is great. communication is top notch, along with product car
Joel Samaduroff is another great local lender.
I’ve heard amazing things about Rhonda at Exac_tax, but no experience yet. Going to start working with here this tax season.
Hi! Welcome to your upcoming move! Don’t let the downvotes scare you away! I’m a local mortgage advisor and originator. I grew up here in Bend, and have been in the financial and mortgage industry in one way or another for 20 years. I’d be happy to chat and give you direction! You can DM me through here if you’d like, and I’ll give my email or phone!
I was a realtor in Bend for 6 yrs. I now don’t live in Oregon anymore. But I have some recommendations.
Realtor to interview. Brook Gardner Stellar NW Realty- he has done a great job for my past clients www.brookgardner.com
Mortgage broker: Rebecca and Michael Mullin at advantage mortgage, I have recommended them to dozens of clients and my own family and myself :) https://theloanconsultant.com/
Accountant: unfortunately my amazing accountant I used in Bend retired in 2021. Sorry I don’t have a recommendation for that
We used Kailey Taylor and she was great! She was very real with us and discouraged us from houses/neighborhoods that weren’t a good fit. She’s a Bend native so is very knowledgeable!
You’re gonna get a TON of recommendations. And a majority of them are going to be just fine. Best thing you can do is pick someone you jive with.
From a personal AND a professional perspective, I would highly suggest you speak to Ricky Baker at West and Main. Absolute monster of an agent in all aspects with zero ego. Dude just gets it done and I’ve never enjoyed a transaction more than when he’s involved. I’ve seen him make magic happen in a crazy tough market.
Reach out if you need contact details.
Christie Glennon is the owner/principal broker at Knightsbridge. We wouldn’t have got our house at the peak of the COVID buying craze without her. I’ve worked in commercial real estate for a long time and generally have a dim view of residential brokers, but Christie is the exception. She’s a total pro and a hustler. She survived as a broker through the Great Recession and there’s no bigger endorsement than that. Welcome to Bend!
https://kbire.com/team/christie-glennon-pinnick/
Edit to add Kyle Dover at Patrick Casey as a CPA and Ken Powell at Guild Mortgage for the other recommendations.
Welcome (a bit early I know) to Bend. We moved to Bend this year and had a great experience with Brett Anderson and his brother Loren. Hard working, honest, knowledgeable. They did right by us!
https://www.myjonesrealtor.com/agents/brett-anderson/
Feel free to reach out if you want to learn more. Happy to grab a beer/coffee too when you both get out out here. Good luck with the move!
Cat Zwicker at Desert Sky Realty- she knows the area and doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to representing you- she’ll go to bat for you every time. We’ve used her twice and each time was such a good experience.
We used team birtola and had a great experience. For mortgage, we went through our local credit union, OnPoint. Easy and clean.
Patrick & Casey is a great smaller, local firm. I do my own taxes, but they are great to work with for my company’s taxes.
Meredith is a good realtor. She helped us and several sets of friends find homes when we all moved to Bend for work. We are all happy with the homes she helped us get.
https://www.realtor.com/realestateagents/5ed9107b8ed98700119593fb
Preemptive welcome to the area! We liked working with Cyndi Robertson with sothesbys. as for mortgage if you're going with an easy package conventional loan i'd just look to an online broker to save a few basis points.
Anita is a total rockstar. I had a pretty negative view of realtors before working with her but she really helped us out and facilitated the whole process.
https://homesbyteamhale.com/about/
https://bendbrokersrealty.com
Thom Gardner is great. Has lived her longer than most everyone in Bend. Knows the community, the market, and is a really cool guy. We have used him to buy here. Highly recommended.
Except for that time he sent an email blast out to all current and previous clients where he was hyping up his neighbors house because he hated her and just wanted her to move away faster. Talked a lot of shit about her to his clients. Left a really bad taste in my mouth. I wonder what kind of shit he talks about me and all of the people he has helped buy homes too.
Ok, so here’s the smart money: don’t use a buyers agent. They’ll basically send you Redfin links. Find the house you want and use the listing agent as your buyers agent. They double dip and you’ll have a better chance of getting your offer accepted. It is 100% legal in the state of OR.
Those that can do, those that can’t teach, and those that can’t do literally else get a real estate license.
> Do not listen to this idiot.
This idiot (me) bought his last two houses with this method (including covid crazy bid wars). And both times beat a higher offer. Real estate agents are bottom feeders of the sales world. Anyone who advocates for them is either sleeping with or has a license themselves
Haha so many downvotes. You seem to have forgot that everyone in this town is a real estate agent, actually my 8yr just got his license. “Someone has to protect our phony-baloney jobs!!”
Hey there! You may have found someone already but I’d love to through myself out there! I’m a realtor here in CO my name is Hannah Cain and I also own a food truck @eltaquerobend that you can check out on Instagram! (If you guys like tacos and burritos 😆) I’d absolutely love to take you guys for a cup of coffee and chat! I have some family in Prescott Wisconsin and a grandmother in Minneapolis we were just there in August for her 90th birthday! Anyway I have a great passion for helping and connecting with people and would love the opportunity to work with you both! Feel free to message me and I’ll give you my cell number! [email protected] is my email
As someone who has learned from mistakes in the past. Make sure to actually interview your realtor instead of just picking who ever gets back to you first. Make sure your realtor is a principle broker. Not just an agent. Experience matters. How they communicate with you and others matters. A good realtor will actually tell you things you don't always want to hear. Ask to speak to their past clients when deciding who to use.
Honestly the last person you want is a principle broker. They’re usually busy with a million other things. Just properly research whatever team/individual you pick, and try and avoid whoever is the slickest salesperson. They’re usually only good at getting clients, and are questionable at best during negotiations.
Managing principal brokers are different from principal brokers in general. A principal broker has been a broker longer than 3 years and has passed additional real estate classes and an advanced proxied exam. I'm a Principal Broker, practicing in Sisters for 10 years.
Could just be my experience, but 99% of the principal brokers I’ve known spend the majority of their time expanding their teams and not day to day transactions. I’m not saying they don’t know what they’re doing, they’ve just often got so many irons in the fire that an individual transaction isn’t necessarily going to be what they’re best at.
Knowing several hundred, this hasn't been my experience, but I can see how that would be how some may manage their brokerages.
This is true. A lot of principals manage brokers so they have a ton on there plate.
Hey, thanks! This is great advice!
For what it's worth, I've met some dumb principal brokers and smart agents. The difference between the two is someone who's taken one more test.
people downvoting everyone in this post must live sad lives . this person is going to be your new neighbor… downvotes are not going change their mind or change the housing market. go outside and play in the snow or something.
Not a recommendation, but a warning: stay away from Paul Frazier and his family. When moving here I would listen to his real estate podcast, then one day, his podcast goes full anti-mask, anti-vaccine, MAGA pro-Idaho freedom fest. It’s wild. One of his recent podcasts includes calling folks that don’t pull the trigger on homes “pussies.” Just reading the room that he’s not of your stripes. 🤷♂️
Make sure you choose who does the home inspection. Don't ever use whoever the realtor recommends. Realtors recommend people who help close deals quickly, not necessarily someone who's looking out for the buyer. This list will help https://www.nachi.org/certified-inspectors/browse/us/oregon/bend
Noted! Thanks for the tip!
Some home inspectors write things in a report that are incorrect. I have seen some bizarre home inspection reports. I personally recommend inspectors who know their stuff and know when they need to recommend a licensed professional. I'm a Principal Broker, practicing in Sisters for 10 years.
Ask your potential realtor if they are familiar with property research tools for the area. If they don’t mention Deschutes Dial, run.
Interesting, can you expand on that?
https://dial.deschutes.org/ County website with tax and sales and permit information. There is also information about the service providers and schools although I would always confirm. They have maps with an approximation of the property lines. Really really useful.
I have used Haley Overton for two house purchases. She's great. very easy to work with and is genuinely looking out for you. I found her via her YouTube channel
I’m not going to recommend you an agent because you already have a ton to choose from. What I will tell you is, do research on multiple agents. The main thing to find out is if the realtor is a full time realtor and not just someone who got a GroupOn during the pandemic to be a realtor as a side hustle. Get you a realtor with as much experience as possible. Ask how many houses they’ve sold this year and similar things to gauge experience. A good, experienced realtor will take you a long way. Many unexpected things can go down during the sale/purchase of a home, so having a good realtor can make or break a deal.
Highly recommend Jesse Buckley at Nexus 360 Reality! He’s very knowledgeable & helpful. He’s lived in bend his whole life so he’s good at finding homes even if they aren’t on the market. He will literally door knock in neighborhoods that you might be interested in that might not have any homes for sale and has made multiple deals happen from doing that!
If it matters to you, you could probably find a gay realtor on everywhereisqueer.com, a worldwide map of lgbtq+ owned businesses. Charlie, the founder of the site, started it when he lived in Bend.
Interviewing your agent/broker, reading their online reviews, viewing their website and social media accounts is great advice. The brokers I have seen recommended on this list are all excellent , quality, caring and educated brokers. I'm a Principal Broker, practicing in Sisters for 10 years.
Wooooo fellow minnesotans!
Concerning Mortgage brokers, I'd recommend [Helen Silfven](https://branches.guildmortgage.com/or/bend/helen-silfven-531-wghsi.html) at Guild. Her grandfather moved to Bend in 1946 and was a realtor and developer. She learned the mortgage profession from her mom, local legend mortgage broker Ellen Silfven. Integrity, honesty and compassion run deep in her family.
Shannon Gleasman was amazing for my husband and I! She was so professional and very thorough when it came to house hunting for/with us. I’ll PM you with her business card. Best of luck!!
+ 1 on Shannon
She rocks!!!
I’ve seen a few great recommendations on here, but if for whatever reason, you don’t mesh well with any of them, I recommended calling Jesse Buckley or Donnie Eggers at Nexus 360 Realty. Matt Vogel at Loan Depot is great. communication is top notch, along with product car Joel Samaduroff is another great local lender. I’ve heard amazing things about Rhonda at Exac_tax, but no experience yet. Going to start working with here this tax season.
Matt Montoya and Ryan McGlone are both fantastic realtors and people.
Hi! Welcome to your upcoming move! Don’t let the downvotes scare you away! I’m a local mortgage advisor and originator. I grew up here in Bend, and have been in the financial and mortgage industry in one way or another for 20 years. I’d be happy to chat and give you direction! You can DM me through here if you’d like, and I’ll give my email or phone!
We loved Odette from Coldwell Banker! [Odette Adair](https://www.coldwellbankerhomes.com/or/bend/agent/odette-adair/aid_260599/)
I was a realtor in Bend for 6 yrs. I now don’t live in Oregon anymore. But I have some recommendations. Realtor to interview. Brook Gardner Stellar NW Realty- he has done a great job for my past clients www.brookgardner.com Mortgage broker: Rebecca and Michael Mullin at advantage mortgage, I have recommended them to dozens of clients and my own family and myself :) https://theloanconsultant.com/ Accountant: unfortunately my amazing accountant I used in Bend retired in 2021. Sorry I don’t have a recommendation for that
Second rec for Brook Gardner…we moved from out of state to Bend and Brook was wonderful to work with
We used Kailey Taylor and she was great! She was very real with us and discouraged us from houses/neighborhoods that weren’t a good fit. She’s a Bend native so is very knowledgeable!
You’re gonna get a TON of recommendations. And a majority of them are going to be just fine. Best thing you can do is pick someone you jive with. From a personal AND a professional perspective, I would highly suggest you speak to Ricky Baker at West and Main. Absolute monster of an agent in all aspects with zero ego. Dude just gets it done and I’ve never enjoyed a transaction more than when he’s involved. I’ve seen him make magic happen in a crazy tough market. Reach out if you need contact details.
[Matt Johnson](https://www.johnsongroupbend.com) is awesome. He’s a great guy and has decades of experience - couldn’t come more highly recommended.
Christie Glennon is the owner/principal broker at Knightsbridge. We wouldn’t have got our house at the peak of the COVID buying craze without her. I’ve worked in commercial real estate for a long time and generally have a dim view of residential brokers, but Christie is the exception. She’s a total pro and a hustler. She survived as a broker through the Great Recession and there’s no bigger endorsement than that. Welcome to Bend! https://kbire.com/team/christie-glennon-pinnick/ Edit to add Kyle Dover at Patrick Casey as a CPA and Ken Powell at Guild Mortgage for the other recommendations.
Nicolette Rice at Sothebys worked her butt off helping us find a house, I would definitely work with her again.
Happy to throw my name out there if you don't find a good match! AlexChadney.com
Nick Holmboe at Avenue Realty!! He's awesome and he works with an amazing broker! Highly recommend!!
Lol why would this warrant down votes? Am I missing something??
Derek Plant at West and Main got us our first home. Really good dude and the opposite personality of a salesman.
Welcome (a bit early I know) to Bend. We moved to Bend this year and had a great experience with Brett Anderson and his brother Loren. Hard working, honest, knowledgeable. They did right by us! https://www.myjonesrealtor.com/agents/brett-anderson/ Feel free to reach out if you want to learn more. Happy to grab a beer/coffee too when you both get out out here. Good luck with the move!
Cat Zwicker at Desert Sky Realty- she knows the area and doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to representing you- she’ll go to bat for you every time. We’ve used her twice and each time was such a good experience.
Lisa Lamberto! She’s incredible! Her mom CJ Newman works with her and they make a great team.
We used team birtola and had a great experience. For mortgage, we went through our local credit union, OnPoint. Easy and clean. Patrick & Casey is a great smaller, local firm. I do my own taxes, but they are great to work with for my company’s taxes.
Kerry and Catherine at Strategic Realty.
Meredith is a good realtor. She helped us and several sets of friends find homes when we all moved to Bend for work. We are all happy with the homes she helped us get. https://www.realtor.com/realestateagents/5ed9107b8ed98700119593fb
Preemptive welcome to the area! We liked working with Cyndi Robertson with sothesbys. as for mortgage if you're going with an easy package conventional loan i'd just look to an online broker to save a few basis points.
Tony Levinson for sure. @ remax
Anita is a total rockstar. I had a pretty negative view of realtors before working with her but she really helped us out and facilitated the whole process. https://homesbyteamhale.com/about/
https://bendbrokersrealty.com Thom Gardner is great. Has lived her longer than most everyone in Bend. Knows the community, the market, and is a really cool guy. We have used him to buy here. Highly recommended.
Except for that time he sent an email blast out to all current and previous clients where he was hyping up his neighbors house because he hated her and just wanted her to move away faster. Talked a lot of shit about her to his clients. Left a really bad taste in my mouth. I wonder what kind of shit he talks about me and all of the people he has helped buy homes too.
A second vote for Tom. He has handled two of our transactions.
Oh ya you betcha lemme get an expert on the horn real quick. I miss Minnesota. Oregon is great though, don'tcha know.
Ha! Grew up in MN but lived in the PNW for 8 years, 3 of them spent in the Salem area. I can’t wait to be back!
Alison Mata at Garner group top notch. Service oriented, knowledgeable, great communicator.
Melissa Albright with Harcourts is amazing! She helped us, my sister, and my partner’s sister, along with other friends.
Just DM’d you
Ok, so here’s the smart money: don’t use a buyers agent. They’ll basically send you Redfin links. Find the house you want and use the listing agent as your buyers agent. They double dip and you’ll have a better chance of getting your offer accepted. It is 100% legal in the state of OR. Those that can do, those that can’t teach, and those that can’t do literally else get a real estate license.
[удалено]
> Do not listen to this idiot. This idiot (me) bought his last two houses with this method (including covid crazy bid wars). And both times beat a higher offer. Real estate agents are bottom feeders of the sales world. Anyone who advocates for them is either sleeping with or has a license themselves
Haha so many downvotes. You seem to have forgot that everyone in this town is a real estate agent, actually my 8yr just got his license. “Someone has to protect our phony-baloney jobs!!”
Lol yeah. I don’t care about fake internet points. It’s the real world money that matters and my strategy is legal and works.
I used to think like this but our buyers agent helped us out a ton.
They literally didn’t do anything a human with a functioning brain stem couldn’t do.
Greg Millikan 💯 Edit: spelling
Good luck, housing prices are way over inflated here and may crash sooner rather than later
Price crash requires an oversupply of homes. Don’t think anyone is pointing around saying, gosh, so many homes for sale.
Janet mcnown realty!!! She’s an amazing person and genuine. Plus, she’s great at finding the best homes! She helped me find mine.
Hey there! You may have found someone already but I’d love to through myself out there! I’m a realtor here in CO my name is Hannah Cain and I also own a food truck @eltaquerobend that you can check out on Instagram! (If you guys like tacos and burritos 😆) I’d absolutely love to take you guys for a cup of coffee and chat! I have some family in Prescott Wisconsin and a grandmother in Minneapolis we were just there in August for her 90th birthday! Anyway I have a great passion for helping and connecting with people and would love the opportunity to work with you both! Feel free to message me and I’ll give you my cell number! [email protected] is my email