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 -…

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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…

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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…

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A buyer recently sent me a list of Scottsdale homes for sale that she wanted to view. When I started setting up appointments I was told that one of the homes just accepted an  sold home in scottsdaleoffer and there would be no further showings. I relayed this to my buyer, who was very upset because it was the top choice on her list.

This is a buyer who has been viewing properties online for a long time. They just started actually going out and viewing homes in Scottsdale, although they are not in a hurry. I have seen this happening with buyers more this and last year than ever before. These buyers are looking for homes part-time. Some go out once a month, some a little more, and some even less.

When you're sporadically looking for homes you can miss the best deals. Even in…

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scottsdale home for saleWe are in the worst market I have experienced since I started in the business in 1983. My welcome to real estate was interest rates that shot up to 18% and even higher. There was a lot of creative financing out there, and homes were still being purchased. The good news is that those high rates didn't last very long, and the market got back to normal much quicker than what we are experiencing today.

There are way too many homes up for sale than buyers that can qualify for a mortgage. The lower-priced homes are in competition with a slew of foreclosures and short sales so it's very hard to compete. If those sellers cannot sell their Scottsdale homes then they can't move up to the next home. It is a vicious circle, where you have to be priced really well…

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buyers searching scottsdale homes for sale on a computerThis 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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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.

brick home in scottsdale

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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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 prices for scottsdale homes for sale hitting the bottombottom 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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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 scottsdale home soldsellers.  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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searching for scottsdale homes for sale on a computerI 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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