Scottsdale Real Estate Blog - Judy Orr

Home Buyer Tips for Searching Properties

This post will teach you how to save yourself time and money as a Scottsdale real estate buyer in today's huge inventory of properties up for sale. There might be 50 or more properties for sale in your price range, but you don't need to view all 50 to find your home. You can start your search online using my home search.  You can put multiple towns in, price range, and other amenities.

The very best way to search is to have me create an Automated E-mail Search that sends listings directly to your e-mail from the MLS.  This allows you to hone down to every amenity that is offered on our Arizona MLS (ARMLS).  OK, now you've got the listings in your price range and with the number of bedrooms, baths, etc., that you desire. Depending on how many listings…

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Save Money on A Home Purchase With a VA Home Loan

Save Money on A Home Purchase With a VA Home Loan

Home loans are presently at an all-time low. Currently, lenders are able to issue new purchase, refinance and FHA loans at rates that were previously unheard of. These rates are a result of the economic crash and housing market crash of 2008, and allow first-time homeowners, veterans and everybody else to purchase or refinance a home at prices and rates that have never before been seen.

While this is great news for those who are currently looking for a new home, home buying gets even better for those who have worked in the Armed Forces and have served to protect our country and its freedom. Those who have been in the Armed Forces are eligible to receive a VA Home Loan. This is a special loan that…

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Smoking in Your Home Can Derail Your Sale

It doesn't happen often lately, but once in a while, I will show a home in Scottsdale where the air is very heavy with old, rancid smelling cigarette smoke. It really hits you when you walk in the door, and personally, I can't wait to get out of those homes, and in most cases my buyers feel the same. I've had buyers that have been so turned off by this that they won't even consider the home, even though it might be very nice and otherwise fit them.

What most smokers don't realize is that the smoke stays with anyone that enters their home.  The smell gets absorbed by people's hair and clothing.  So a buyer can remember any heavy smells that stick with them and will cross that house off their list.

I always give feedback (when requested) regarding…

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Is Home Ownership Losing Popularity?

Everyone knows that prices continue dropping in many areas, including Scottsdale real estate.  But those low prices could be good enough for buyers to consider making a purchase this year.  An easy way of figuring out if it's worthwhile purchasing a home vs. renting is to figure out what your mortgage payment would be compared to current rental prices.  You also need to take into consideration tax deductions for mortgage interest and real estate taxes for homeowners, although they might not last forever.

There is More to it Than Just Monthly Payments

Even if your mortgage payment is more than a local rental, there is a completely different lifestyle in owning your own home vs. living in someone else's property and having to follow their rules. …

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Rethinking Remodeling with an Emphasis on Safety

Whether shopping for a new home in Scottsdale needing renovation or giving an old home a new look, several considerations need to take place. The most important consideration is, of course, safety.

Sure, home renovation can be an exciting process. We get to open up floor plans, replace fixtures and tear off faded wallpaper.

However, renovating an older home can present some unique challenges. Though details like wiring and structural integrity might need to be addressed, especially in Northern climates, other serious concerns need to be addressed. Older homes were not subject to current codes and building restrictions, so many precautions should be taken before you start to tear out walls and burrow through layers of linoleum.

Chemical awareness,…

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Will We Hit Bottom in 2011?

I just read an article in Inman News about a report put out by Altos Research.  Altos Research is a real estate data company and their prediction is that we should hit bottom in real estate pricing in 2011.

They feel we'll see our normal surge in the upcoming Spring selling season, but it won't mean prices will necessarily escalate.  In most areas the Valley, prices have been declining since 2005.  The spike in sales that usually occurs during our best months does not necessarily bring about price increases, just a clearing of inventory.

We will still have a glut of foreclosures and short sales

In my opinion, until the amount of distressed properties slows down there is going to be more inventory than available buyers.  Distressed properties…

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Reviewing 2010 Real Estate

It's been an interesting year and I'm looking forward to year-end Scottsdale real estate sales statistics this year more than any other.  We keep losing agents that can no longer earn a living selling real estate.  However, 2010 has been one of my best years.  It hasn't been easy and I've had to make some changes, but I've done well in a challenging market.

We Moved to a New Home

I'm glad I had my own home for sale as it helps me explain the market to my other sellers.  I sold my Scottsdale home for less than what we paid for it in 2003.  Add the new windows, two new bathrooms, remodeled family room, new carpet, hardwood floors, interior & exterior paint, etc., and we lost a lot of money.

However, we had happy times in that home for seven years…

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Search Tools for Scottsdale Real Estate

I receive many registrations daily from people who have found my website by using search terms such as Scottsdale real estate or Cave Creek homes, for example.  Sometimes, I wonder how some people find my site since their searches are not in areas I work in, but they found my website using some kind of search terms.

The visitors that register to use my MLS search (or IDX) are free to search in our very large multiple listing service that covers the Greater Phoenix area.  You can create multiple searches if you'd like and you can save them and get listings e-mailed to you.

I don't service all of the areas that are in my MLS.  I only work in a specific area of Maricopa communities.  Those are my main areas but I will also go to Fountain Hills and…

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Short Sales and Sellers

SHORT SALES AND SELLERS - AN EXPLANATION

Why would a seller want to do a short sale?  If they have attempted to get a loan modification (which rarely goes through), and want to hopefully be able to buy another home as soon as possible (could be as soon as two years after the short sale is closed) depending on down payment, attempting a short sale would probably be the way to go.  However, here is my disclaimer:  a seller needs to speak to their attorney and possibly a CPA to see what the best thing is for them to do.

OK, disclaimer aside, a seller does have other options.  If a seller cannot afford their current mortgage and cannot sell their property to cover the current mortgage balance along with closing costs and would not be able to rent…

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Have We Hit Bottom Yet?

Have we hit the bottom of low Scottsdale home price values?  The optimists keep saying we should see an improvement at the end of 2011 and into 2012.  They might be somewhat correct, let's face it, they're talking a year down the road.

Today's low interest rates are tempting

Others are saying that the current low interest rates are another government ploy to keep buyers in the market.  And they might be correct, depending on how low prices drop in the future.  At today's current rates, you'd be better off with 4.5% interest rates vs. a 10% reduction at 6% based on an average Scottsdale home price of around $300,000.

How low will prices go?

No one can say for sure, but some are predicting closer to 20% vs. 10%.  There are several reasons…

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