The process of becoming a homeowner is an exciting and often daunting one. The current economic climate has heightened the anticipation since, while it’s a scottsdale home soldwonderful time to buy a home. In fact, the government recently provided a tax credit to buyers (which is still available if you are a deployed service member). While the market is favorable and sellers are extremely motivated, many banks are tightening their lending requirements and loans can often seem hard to come by. Although USDA and VA loans may not be the first loans most potential home buyers normally consider when looking at home financing options, each can be a wonderful choice for a wide variety of lifestyles, budgets, and properties.

VA loans, which are backed by the US Department of…

1573 Views, 0 Comments

scottsdale homes for rent leaseWith money tight right now, as a landlord, you may be tempted to accept a late rent without charging a penalty to the tenant. After all, you are getting your rent money, and doing someone a favor, right? Actually, you may be starting a trend that could end in frustration, anger, and a long expensive legal battle. Here’s how to avoid all of that.

First, before the tenant signs on the dotted line, make it abundantly clear that you will not tolerate late rent payments, and that late rent is a very serious matter that will result in a certain financial penalty. Think of your 4th-grade teacher that seemed too strict during the first week, but you learned to love later. That teacher was setting the bar, laying down the rules, and putting fear in your heart –…

1306 Views, 0 Comments

watching scottsdale real estate on tvI caught a great "Buy Me" show on HGTV today that was shot in Chicago.  It was very interesting because one of the owners was a long-time veteran real estate agent that had her REALTOR® son list the home.

It was a very unique, custom-styled 3-story and although the homeowners seemed to acknowledge that they were looking for that special (needle-in-a-haystack) buyer, they were not cooperating with their son about staging the home and pricing it correctly.  And it kind of bothered me that as a real estate agent, the wife was one of the most difficult to convince.

She had a difficult time de-cluttering and kept items that her son tried to get her to store away.  And she wanted to try a very high price even after her son showed her comparables and tried…

1558 Views, 0 Comments

scottsdale home sellers

2016 Update: This was written in 2009 but most of it is true today.  Our market is better in 2016 than it was in 2009, so that's not as relevant, but the truth is, homes that aren't priced correctly for their condition can still sit on the market for a long time. Some of the items below can also thwart a sale.

I showed Scottsdale homes for sale over the weekend and also showed homes in Cave Creek. The first home was vacant new construction and the agent was holding an open house. She stayed out of our way and allowed me to show the home to my buyers, who know me and know I'm looking out for their best interests. One of these places was a nice home on a busy street.

The 2nd home showing was a whole different story. I was told the seller would be…

1589 Views, 0 Comments


downsizing your scottsdale homeWhen looking for a new place, there are many variables to take into account when finding your new home. Price, location, the school district, and the neighborhood upkeep are just some of the few things that a prospective buyer is looking out for. If price is a big factor for you, consider downsizing when temporarily relocating.

The money you can save is definitely an attractive reason to downsize on your home in Scottsdale. Before settling, make sure that saving that money is worth it. Would you have to live in a neighborhood that you’re uncomfortable in? Are the people there friendly? There are some costs that outweigh the benefits that you may get from downsizing.

Doing research and actually looking at the location where your future home is…

1774 Views, 0 Comments

What is Hypermiling?

There are many definitions of hypermiling and even distinctions on who can actually claim they are a hypermiler.  In easy terms, it is learning to drive in a new way real estate agents can save dollars in their gas tank by hypermilingto save as much gas usage as you can or to increase your MPG above the EPA as much as possible.  Fuel economy (FE) is the key.

I have read that some hypermilers get better gas mileage in their gas-guzzling SUV's than the guy down the street driving a Prius normally.  Hypermilers seem to be a new sub-culture with contests and hypermiler "rock stars."

With gas headed to $4.00/gallon this summer, the term hypermiling might become a household word.

You Have to Relearn How to Drive

The following are very simple hypermiling techniques:

  • Drive slooooooow -…

1630 Views, 0 Comments

happy scottsdale home buyersWe found the buyers for a Scottsdale single-family home. They were first-time buyers and we worked hard to get them a great price on their Scottsdale home for sale. We saved them $22,400 off of the list price, and this was not a short sale or foreclosure. We go to bat for our buyers and we've saved buyers thousands of dollars over the years.

Buyers - if you're looking for a property in the Scottsdale area we're your team. Judy Orr has 29 years of experience and her husband, James Herter, is her teammate. We are full-time agents and we fully represent you and your best interests in what could be the biggest financial decision you've ever made. We educate first-time buyers and try to make purchasing a home as fun and stress-free as possible.

Sellers -…

1292 Views, 0 Comments

earnest money explanation for scottsdale real estate

There are some great tools for webmasters to check what web surfers are really searching for.  With the busy spring season for Scottsdale real estate ahead of us, it seems like buyers and sellers are wondering what constitutes a low earnest money amount or if there is an average in the Valley area.

Because the Greater Phoenix area is so large there are really no earnest money rules.  Scottsdale real estate agents still write contracts with earnest money as low as $1,000.  This is usually for purchases in the $100,000's.  Once a buyer purchases a more expensive property, the expected earnest money is higher.

When I lived in Illinois, I was surprised to find out that the average Chicago earnest money amount was around ten percent of the contract…

3134 Views, 0 Comments

man reading the judy orr team's scottsdale real estate newsletter

For the first time in a while, I feel optimistic for the upcoming year. We are busier than normal at this time of year, so I feel 2012 will be even better and might show a quicker start to the selling season. We have some new things coming up and I'd like to briefly go over them here.

There's a new team in town

I have already introduced my husband Jimmy Herter and my son Matt Orr. Jimmy got licensed last year and is now a Broker. My son Matt has helped us out on and off over the years and he has committed to giving us more time. Matt is our "new" photographer with his new camera. Our photos have always received compliments from happy sellers, but we've now kicked them up a notch.

We have a new newsletter

Every year I start out writing my…

1746 Views, 0 Comments

real estate agent setting appointments for Scottsdale real estate propertiesReal estate agents know that it can be fun and exciting viewing potential homes that you might be interested in purchasing. When you find a home online, in an automated e-mail, or driving down the street, you might want to see it right now. However, even if it is a vacant home, we still need to make an appointment with the listing office.

If you want to view several Scottsdale homes for sale, we need time to set up a logical route, put a viewing time on each one and then call each individual listing office. We need to be in our offices to print up the listing sheets before we can even work on setting up the appointments. Although we can use our smart phone, tablet or laptop on the road if necessary, it isn't that easy if there are multiple properties…

1200 Views, 0 Comments