college graduates hat and book purchasing first Scottsdale homeAre you a recent grad thinking about buying your first home? Tread carefully. Although the historically low rates for a home may give reason to salivate, you want to take a closer look. With the FED’s plans to slow down the “quantitative easing” (QE3) over the next year as announced last month, we may soon see long-term interest rates going up. It may seem like a good idea to jump on the low interest rates before they go up. However, if you have student loan debt, it is critical that you consolidate your loans now. With that said, here are some considerations to ponder before buying your first home.

LOW RATES DOES NOT EQUAL AFFORDABILITY

Just because rates are low, doesn’t mean you can afford it. You may not even qualify to receive a low…

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a scottsdale home for sale

Should You Buy New or Resale Scottsdale Real Estate?

Maybe your dream home in Scottsdale has Saltillo tile, a front porch with a beautiful water fountain, a tall palm tree in the back yard and an older saguaro in front, with an inground pool. You might need to look at existing homes vs. new ones because these few items can be very expensive additions to today’s new construction.

You might be surprised to learn that not everyone has a pool in the Valley. Most don’t want the upkeep, but personally, I couldn’t imagine not having one. That’s where I do my exercising.

Tall palm trees and saguaros aren’t going to be part of the landscaping you’ll get with new construction. Of course, you could spend the money to get established, grown plants, but…

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The Greater Phoenix area flyover area

Our main cities are listed below. Click on the links to access each village's main page that offers a list of that town's single-family homes for sale along with current village real estate data such as the number of properties currently for sale and average, high and low prices.  You'll also get information about the towns with helpful links to local information.

  • Carefree
  • Cave Creek
  • Fountain Hills
  • North Phoenix
  • North Scottsdale
  • Paradise Valley
  • Scottsdale

As a family team, we are able to go outside of these towns and cover almost any Greater Phoenix area, so please contact us if you're interested in a city not on this list.  Also check our full list of towns we work in by viewing the communities on the left navigation…

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I was laughing out loud at an article I read about an ABC News 20/20 interview with some real estate agents and their claim of "blowing the whistle on shady real estate tricks." I'm not saying this stuff is never done and there are bad apples in real estate like any other business.

woman interviewing scottsdale real estate agent

Here is my personal response to some of the so-called tricks based on interviews with 2 reality TV real estate agents, Ryan Serhant, the star of a Bravo reality show and Sandra Rinomato, the former host of Property Virgins on HGTV:

Bait and Switch

Serhant, an agent in New York City (which I've heard does not utilize an MLS like we do in Arizona and most other areas in the United States), states that agents keep listings up long after they've been sold.

My…

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happy woman with small scottsdale home in her handThe video below is a funny rap video put on by REALTOR® Brian Block, who works in Northern Virginia and Washington D.C. It has always seemed like the D.C. market was hot compared to other areas, even when it was cooling off during the recession. According to Brian, in his area 'houses gettin' sold!"

I network online with a lot of other real estate agents nationwide on different real estate groups. Someone in the group introduced this video that I think is hilarious. 

How Does Scottsdale Real Estate Compare?

In the lower price ranges, Scottsdale real estate is pretty hot. For instance, a search for Scottsdale homes for sale priced under $200,000 brings up two listings, both Contingent (this means there is an accepted offer waiting for…

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happy family in front of their new scottsdale home

Prices and sales have dropped substantially since the real estate bust. Some areas like much of Florida, Las Vegas, NV, and Phoenix, AZ were hit hard, with more than 50% decreases in home values.  The amount of annual sales has also decreased.

California showed decreases and popped back the quickest. Many areas in the state are back to a seller's market with decreased inventory and buyers wanting to still get a good price at low interest rates.

Low inventory across the nation is causing multiple offers on well-priced properties. Even in the Greater Phoenix area, we're seeing multiple offers in lower price ranges, and the best-priced homes in most any price range can sell quickly. Below is an infographic created by Active Rain (an online…

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petition to force Fannie Mae to act responsiblyAs a member of the real estate group Short Sale Superstars, I have been made aware that Fannie Mae is not being realistic about the list and sale prices of their short sale properties. I was the listing agent for a Scottsdale for sale that was a short sale.  We listed at fair market value according to recent comparable listings.  We received a contract and the response from the seller's bank was that they wanted a price that never would have appraised.  There was no chance of selling it short with this bank.

There are no guarantees with short sales but it seems like Fannie Mae would rather foreclose with their unrealistic counter-offers. They are countering above BPO's (Broker Price Opinions) they are receiving. Most of the buyers I work with are not…

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judy orr listed as 5-star real estate agent in chicago magazineI have been published more than the average Scottsdale REALTOR®. A story about one of my domain names was syndicated by The Wall Street Journal online and was all over the Internet. Because of that article, I was interviewed by the Chicago Tribune, The Southtown-Star (who even sent a photographer), and participated on a radio show.

I have been interviewed for quite a few real estate-related articles in the Southtown-Star. I'm not the only one in the family that has been published. My husband Jimmy Herter appeared in a full-page article in The Homer Horizon and my daughter's cat Keeper just appeared as Pet of the Week in the same publication.

I had been contacted by Chicago Magazine but I really didn't understand it. In fact, I truly thought they…

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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…

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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 –…

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