Scottsdale Real Estate Blog

Bringin’ the 70’s to Arizona

When my parents moved to Mesa, Arizona, I could only try to imagine what kind of house they owned and what kind of subdivision it was in. Was it surrounded by desert? Did they see any scorpions or rattlesnakes? Why the heck did they decide to move to Arizona?!!!

They bought a newly constructed house in Mesa that had 3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, a formal dining room, a living room plus a family room, and an eat-in kitchen. There was an enclosed porch and a pool in the back.  We always had pools in Illinois, but they were above-ground.  My Dad loved the pool so I'm sure he loved having one built-in.

My daughter visited them by herself at the age of 10 or 11. My Mom sent me pictures of her by the pool. It looked nice and they also sent me a photo of the…

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No Spot FHA Approvals for Condos

FHA has once again removed the ability to do an FHA spot approval on condominium purchases.  They seem to have gone back and forth over the past year.  They took it away, brought it back and took it away again.

Here is one of the excerpts from a 2009 Mortgagee Letter from the Department of Housing and Urban Development:

"“Spot Loan” Approval Process
Mortgagee Letter 2009-46B eliminated the Spot Loan Approval Process as defined in Mortgagee Letter 1996-41 for all FHA case number assignments effective on or after December 7, 2009. However, to address concerns involving the volatility in the condominium market, the new effective date for the elimination of this practice is for all FHA case number assignments on or after February 1, 2010. FHA may…

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Follow Me and Be My Facebook Friend

I have been on Facebook for quite some time.  My Facebook Friends range from family, actual friends (some that I've grown up with), clients, people I've attracted through Facebook advertising, and other real estate-related people such as fellow agents, loan officers, etc.  I post almost daily.

You can search for homes on my business Facebook page.  I post personal pictures of me, the pets, friends, and family.  I post about local restaurants and happenings in the Carefree, Cave Creek, Scottsdale, and surrounding areas.  I like to share local small businesses.

Then of course I post real estate-related items.  But I also include general homeowner posts and tips.  I like to mix it up.  I post links to informational resources and I include my own…

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What Is Important to Buyers as Far as Where They Buy?

This is the 2nd post regarding the survey results from IAR, an association of REALTORS®.  The question asked was "In choosing your most recent home, other than price, which of the following was most important in deciding where you would buy?"

Like my first post about What Services Buyers Felt Were Most Helpful, I will add my comments after each result.
IAR HOMEBUYER BENCHMARK 2009
ALL RECENT HOMEBUYERS | n=1000, Margin of Error= 3.09%

PROXIMITY TO YOUR WORK ..............................................................22.8%

I am not surprised at this at all since I've always hated doing a daily commute, especially if it's far.  My first real job was working in an office in downtown Chicago and I hated wasting so much time driving to the train…

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What Services Do Buyers Feel Are the Most Helpful in Home Buying?

I recently read an interesting article from a state Realtor® association magazine.  I have added a couple of the survey responses
that I thought were pertinent.  This is the first in a series I'll be posting.

The survey results below are from the IAR Homebuyer Benchmark 2009 and comprise recent homebuyers with a 3.09% margin of error.  My thoughts are written below the heading for each item.

The survey question was: "Which one of these services did you find most helpful in your home buying?"

WORKING WITH A REALTOR® ....................................... 54.6%
I would have hoped "working with a REALTOR®" would have been higher than 54.6%, but it is the highest number, so that's good.  Of course, unless a buyer purchased a For Sale By Owner…

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The First Time Buyer Tax Credit Has Been Extended

This isn't really news by the time I'm posting this and most of you probably know it has been extended.

Well, everyone figured it would get extended - right?

There was word that it would get extended but until it was signed, sealed, and delivered, it was just "talk."  I had no idea if it would be extended or not.  And I certainly had no idea what the rules would be.

Details of the "Home Buyer" Credit

Notice I did not put "First Time" Buyer Credit, because now it isn't just for first-timers!  The credit is the same for first-time buyers as before but with a maximum earnings increase (up to $125,000 for an individual, $250,000 for a couple), allowing even more to qualify for the credit.  It is still 10% of the purchase price up to $8,000.

And…

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Will the First-time Buyer Credit be Extended?

I am hearing different things about the current First-time Buyer Credit that is set to expire at the end of November.  I’ve been told that an extension is in the works but we won’t know until it is officially announced that it was accepted and in force.  Will it remain the same – $8,000 and only for first-time buyers?

If you are waiting to purchase to see if there will be an extension and if it will be better, you are taking a gamble.  However, if you don’t already have a contract in the works you might not hit the current deadline to close your sale.

Has the credit helped the sagging Scottsdale real estate market?

I have heard different opinions and I guess it depends on where an agent works and what kind of market they work in.  Some agents…

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Driving in Arizona

One of the things I envisioned about Arizona was the idea that it was flooded with senior citizens driving the streets.  Now I am one.  People have that same idea for Florida since these are two popular retirement states.  It’s funny how I was actually worried a bit after being picked up at the airport during my first visit. I figured the drive to my parent’s house would be like trying to avoid a bumper car situation.

Now that we've moved to Arizona, I've noticed that people are speedsters out here at all ages.  Even if you drive over the speed limit, most drivers want to pass you up!

Visiting Mom with my son

My Dad was already gone. Mom was alone, so it was always nice when family and friends would visit her. My oldest son was almost as…

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My Dad's Final Destination - Arizona

I just noticed that the above banner of my Dad through his life has a name below it - John Reimer, 2002. That is my brother, who created the photo collage. My Dad's name was Harold John Reimer but everyone called him Bud.

I didn’t think I could ever handle the passing of my father. I was a Daddy’s Girl. As I mentioned in a previous post, he was a dream father, all my friends loved him. He was a hard worker and maintained our home lovingly. We weren’t even allowed to cut the grass because he needed it done perfectly.

Yet as much of a hard worker and perfectionist as he was, I truly considered him to also be very laid-back, funny, gentle, kind, friendly, and a whole lotta fun. He was popular at work and among his group of friends. He was one of…

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Arizona in Top Ten Foreclosure States

As you can see from the list below, Arizona is the 2nd out of the top ten states regarding foreclosures and it affects supply and demand which then affects prices.

For the first half of 2009, here are the state foreclosure stats:

1.  Nevada (1 property in every 16 is in foreclosure)

2.  Arizona (1 in 30)

3.  Florida (1 in 33 which surprises me as I thought Florida was faring worse than Arizona, although they're very close)

4.  California (1 in 34 - again a surprise as I thought California would be first)

5.  Utah (1 in 69)

6.  Georgia (1 in 70)

7.  Michigan (1 in 74 - again, I thought this would be higher based on bad news I've heard, but since this is the entire state, we're not just talking about hard-hit Detroit)

8. …

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