You Shouldn’t Have to Become a Mortgage Expert to Finance a Home.

Bend Mortgage Brokers is an independent mortgage broker serving all of Oregon, Washington, and Colorado. As a broker we shop dozens of mortgage lenders and banks for you, which is how a small local mortgage company competes with anyone. Buying a house, getting a mortgage preapproval, refinancing, or comparing options as a first time home buyer, the process starts the same way.

If you’re the type who researches before you reach out, you’re in the right place. Write out your situation below and we’ll reply by email with a real answer, what’s possible, what isn’t, and what your next step is. Prefer to talk? Call anytime. Either way: no pressure, no phone tag, no drip campaign.

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Written replies come from Matt, Lauren, or Chandler, not a call center. We reply how you reached out.

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Loan Programs

Like to research before you reach out? Here you go. And whenever you’re ready to chat, we’ll still look at every option across all of these and tell you what we think fits your unique situation best. Between these programs we can finance almost any home, property, or income type in Oregon and Washington.

Conventional

A conventional loan is the home loan most buyers reach for, and a conventional mortgage is more flexible than you’d expect. No set minimum credit score, more than one way to qualify, and unique properties welcome: tiny homes, barndominiums, manufactured and modular homes, second homes and vacation properties, even jumbo loans above conforming limits. Tell us your situation.

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FHA

An FHA loan lets you buy a home with a low down payment and credit flexibility that reaches lower than most banks will tell you. If another lender quoted you a score cutoff or a bigger down payment than you expected, that was often their overlay, not FHA’s actual rule. FHA home loans have flexible debt-to-income guidelines and can often make a deal work when other programs are too tight. And FHA is not just a first time buyer program: you can use an FHA mortgage more than once over your lifetime, which makes it a great option for repeat buyers too.

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Farm and Ag

Farm loans and agricultural loans are designed for real working properties: ranches, equestrian setups, vineyards, and homes on large acreage that don’t fit standard suburban lending. We can often use parts of the farm operation to help qualify, handle land and lot loans, and give you alternatives to the single ag bank everyone else is told to use.

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First Time Home Buyers

Buying your first home is a huge step, and a first time home buyer has more help available than most people realize: first time home buyer programs, down payment assistance, gift funds, even a non-occupant co-borrower to strengthen the file. Not ready for pre-approval yet? We’ll help you get started at no cost or obligation.

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HELOCs and Second Mortgages

A home equity loan or home equity line of credit lets you tap your equity for projects, debt payoff, or future plans without touching your first mortgage. We shop HELOC rates and terms across lenders, offer fast digital HELOCs with soft credit pulls, and arrange fully underwritten fixed second mortgages for complex scenarios.

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Specialty Loan Programs

Non QM loans are built for people whose income is real but doesn’t fit the W-2 box: bank statement loans for a self employed mortgage without tax returns, 1099 mortgages for contractors, and asset depletion or asset based mortgages for high asset households and retirees. What people search as stated income or no income verification usually maps to these programs today, and we’ll show you which one fits.

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Oregon Flex Down Payment Assistance

Oregon Flex programs like FirstHome and NextStep pair a regular FHA, conventional, VA, or USDA loan with state backed down payment assistance that covers the required down payment. That means buyers hunting for a no down payment mortgage can get in sooner without years of saving toward a lump sum.

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Renovation

A renovation loan lets you purchase and remodel with a single loan, with the same down payment and credit requirements as its normal FHA, conventional, or VA counterpart. That includes the FHA 203k loan and the conventional HomeStyle loan, and approval is based on the future finished value of the home, not what it looks like today.

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USDA

A USDA home loan gives you no down payment financing in eligible rural and small town areas if you meet the income limits. If another lender told you your score was too low for USDA, we can often go lower than their cutoff. Next to VA, USDA is often the best priced loan available, but it comes with strict debt to income rules.

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VA Loans

A VA loan offers true no down payment financing for eligible veterans and service members, one of the only zero down home loans left, with some of the best rate and fee combinations in the market. A VA home loan has no monthly mortgage insurance, and veterans with a qualifying disability rating get the funding fee waived. Already have a VA mortgage? A VA streamline refinance, the IRRRL, can lower your rate with minimal paperwork. With direct access to the VA we can pull your paperwork for you.

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Refinancing, Lower Payments Or Tap Your Equity

Refinancing simply replaces your current mortgage with a new one: lower your payment, shorten your term, do a cash out refinance to pull cash from your equity, or restructure who is on the loan and title, including a divorce buyout that removes a spouse from the mortgage. The credit and income rules match the purchase version of each program.

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DSCR Loans

A DSCR loan is an investment property loan that qualifies on the property’s rental income instead of your personal W-2 income. If the rent covers the payment, you can often qualify, no tax returns, no pay stubs. Short term rental loans for Airbnb and VRBO, long term rental property loans, condotels, and multi-unit and multifamily properties in Oregon, Washington, and Colorado.

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Get a straight answer, your way

Tell us what you’re trying to do.

You do not need to know which loan is right yet. Buying, refinancing, getting preapproved, or just wanting a second opinion on a quote from another lender, tell us about your goals, the property, and where you are in the process. We’ll reply with which options may fit and what the next step should be.

The more you tell us, the better our answer. Two sentences or two paragraphs, both work. Straightforward or complicated, we’ll look it over and point you in the right direction.

What Our Clients Are Saying

Mortgage Questions

The questions we answer every week. Ask yours in the form above if it isn’t here.

What is the difference between a mortgage broker and a bank or direct lender?

A bank or direct lender can only offer you its own products and pricing. A mortgage broker works on the wholesale side and can compare mortgage rates, fees, and guidelines across dozens of lenders, then place your loan where it fits best. And worth knowing: many companies that call themselves brokers are actually correspondent lenders funding loans in their own name. We’re a true wholesale mortgage broker, and whatever you call the other side, mortgage bankers, home lenders, mortgage providers, or mortgage loan companies, the broker vs bank difference is the one that matters. Same loan programs, more places to shop them, one application.

Is a mortgage broker worth it, and what are mortgage broker fees?

Here’s a technicality worth knowing. True mortgage brokers are the only channel in lending with a hard cap on compensation, roughly 3 percent, set by federal rule. Retail banks, direct lenders, and correspondent lenders have no such cap on what they can build into the back end of your loan. We’re paid by the wholesale lender at closing, we disclose exactly how that works in writing, and you can draw your own conclusion about what a hard cap plus dozens of competing lenders does to pricing. And if you’re chasing today’s mortgage rates or the lowest mortgage rates you saw advertised, remember an advertised rate isn’t a quote for your file. We’ll show you real pricing for your actual scenario.

How do I get preapproved, and what documents do I need for a mortgage?

We just need a little info to see what’s possible. Sometimes we can pull your information digitally and send you a couple of things to click. Sometimes we need pay stubs, tax returns, bank statements, and ID. It all depends on your unique scenario, but we make it super simple, and when you’re ready to apply for a mortgage we’ll send you the exact document checklist for your situation so nothing is guesswork.

How long does it take to get a mortgage?

We can close in a couple of weeks when it counts, and if you get us your paperwork the same day, we can often have your preapproval done the same day. From application through underwriting, appraisal, and closing, speed mostly depends on how quickly documents come in, and we’ll give you a realistic timeline up front for your specific loan.

What credit score do I need to buy a house?

It depends on the program. Conventional loans have no set minimum score and use the whole file, and we’ve been seeing approvals lately at scores lower than most people would believe. FHA reaches lower than most banks will tell you, and every lender layers its own rules on top of the base program. If another lender quoted you a score cutoff, that was their overlay, not necessarily the program’s rule, so it’s worth a second opinion.

How much house can I afford?

Affordability comes down to your debt to income ratio, your down payment, and the program you use, not a single rule of thumb or an online mortgage calculator. A real preapproval answers it precisely, and it’s free. Not ready for a full preapproval? We can run some quick numbers to see where things stand, no documents needed yet.

Can I get a mortgage if I’m self employed, paid on 1099, or retired?

Yes. Self employed buyers and 1099 contractors can qualify with tax returns, bank statement loans, or asset based programs. Retirement income, Social Security, and SSDI all count as qualifying income, and if you’re of retirement age, even retirement assets themselves can qualify you through asset based programs. The right structure depends on how your income actually flows, which is exactly the conversation to have with us first.

Can I buy a house with a new job or a short work history?

Usually, yes. You do not need two years at the same job, and in many cases you don’t need two years of history at all. We wrote a full guide on buying a house with a new job that covers offer letters, job changes, and employment gaps.

What if I’ve had a bankruptcy or foreclosure?

There are set waiting periods after a bankruptcy or foreclosure, and they’re shorter than most people assume. In fact, with 12 months of on-time payments, FHA and VA can work while a Chapter 13 is still active. It’s much more accessible than people think, so tell us your dates and we’ll map exactly which programs are open to you.

What are closing costs, and can they be reduced?

Closing costs include lender, appraisal, title, and escrow fees plus prepaid items, and the prepaids, your taxes and insurance set up front, along with title fees usually make up the bulk of the number. They can often be offset with seller credits or lender credits, which is exactly what a no closing cost refinance means: the costs are covered through the loan’s structure rather than paid in cash. We’ll show you every option side by side.

What is an assumable loan?

An assumable loan lets a qualified buyer take over the seller’s existing mortgage instead of getting a brand new one, most commonly on FHA and VA loans. Whether an assumption actually pencils depends on the loan’s terms and the equity gap, and we can walk through the math with you before you chase one.

What is the easiest loan to get for a house?

Whether you call it a house loan, a home loan, or a home mortgage, there is no single easiest one, because easy depends on what’s holding you back. FHA is forgiving on credit, VA and USDA remove the down payment, and non QM programs solve income documentation. The easiest loan is the one matched to your specific obstacle, which is the whole point of working with a broker.

Do DSCR loans require 20 percent down?

Generally around 20 to 25 percent down, though it varies with the property’s rents and your credit profile. DSCR loans are for investment properties only, and because they qualify on rental income, strong rents can improve your terms. Details are on our DSCR loan page.

Do you do manufactured home, land, or construction loans?

Yes. Manufactured home loans are one of our deepest specialties, including older and twice-moved homes, and we handle land loans, lot loans, and construction financing as well. Start with the manufactured home loans guide or just describe the property in the form above.

What if a bank already said no?

Being denied a mortgage or turned down for a home loan by one lender usually means that lender’s rules didn’t fit, not that no loan exists. Because we shop many lenders, the file that failed one set of guidelines often passes another without changing anything about you. Tell us what the other lender said and we’ll tell you what we see.

Where do you lend?

We’re based in Bend and lend across all of Oregon, Washington, and Colorado. If you searched for a mortgage broker near me from Bend, Redmond, or anywhere in Central Oregon and Deschutes County, we’re local. In Colorado we work the whole state: Denver and Colorado Springs, the resort towns from Breckenridge and Vail to Steamboat, Salida, and Pagosa Springs, and the high country land markets like Park and Teller County where we finance manufactured homes and cabins on acreage. That includes Colorado first time home buyer programs and second home and short term rental purchases in resort areas. Everything we do works just as well by email and phone.

The Right Questions Lead to Better Decisions

Every homebuyer has different priorities, goals, and questions. That’s why every conversation starts with understanding your situation before we recommend a loan.

We’ll help you understand your options and explain the mortgage process clearly, every step to get a mortgage from preapproval through underwriting, appraisal, and closing. Whether you want a quick answer or a deeper understanding, you’ll have the knowledge and confidence to make informed decisions.

Clear Answers

Understand your mortgage options without confusing jargon. Debt to income ratio, PMI and mortgage insurance, rate locks, escrow, closing costs, we’ll explain every recommendation in plain English so you always know why it’s the right fit.

Better Questions. Better Solutions.

The best mortgage strategy starts with understanding your goals, not making assumptions. That’s why we listen first, and why a second opinion from us is free.

Guidance You Can Count On

From your first conversation through closing, you’ll always have experienced local mortgage specialists helping you navigate the process with confidence.

Meet the Team

Call us what you like: mortgage broker, mortgage advisor, mortgage consultant, loan officer, or just the local mortgage specialists who actually answer email. Matt, Lauren, and Chandler are licensed loan originators who work your file personally from first question to closing.

Matt Boytz

Branch Manager

NMLS 1294957

Strategic and quick thinking, Matt is a mortgage advisor committed to providing unique lending solutions to his clients and associates. Matt’s construction background and experience with fix and flips make him a strategic partner on construction loans, renovation loans, and FHA 203k and HomeStyle rehab projects.

(541) 359-7212 Matt@BendMortgageBrokers.com

Lauren Hatmaker

Owner/Mortgage Specialist

NMLS 409651

Intuitive and strategic, Lauren is a mortgage professional who has mastered the lending landscape. Lauren delivers a boutique banking experience and presents options for VA loans and veterans, DSCR and rental property loans for investors, second home and vacation home mortgages, and first time home buyer programs.

(541) 510-8428 Lauren@BendMortgageBrokers.com

Chandler Sawyer

Mortgage Specialist

NMLS 2507118

With five years of experience in the automotive industry, Chandler brings exceptional customer relationship skills to the mortgage world. Chandler helps buyers get preapproved and compare home loan options across FHA loans, USDA loans, and Oregon down payment assistance programs, and he covers two specialties most lenders skip: manufactured and mobile home loans and reverse mortgages. He keeps the mortgage process straightforward and transparent for every client.

(541) 729-1975 Chandler@BendMortgageBrokers.com