Real Estate Blog

Homes sales are BOOMING in the greater Phoenix area according to the Cromford.  June 30 there was a record number of closings, an ALL TIME high for a single day of sales.

Sales are up and inventory is down.  With my own clients, we are almost always in a multiple offer situation when making offers on homes that are lender owned or regular sales. (sometimes also with short sales, but not as often). Many homes are selling at or above asking price.

Here are some statistics of sales in the Greater Phoenix Area:

Monthly Sales: 11,141 is 13% higher than May 2011 and 21.7% higher than in June 2010, when sales numbers were still getting a boost from the government tax credit.

Pending Listings: 12,224 on July 1-up 16.1% compared with July 1, 2010.

Active Listings (aka Supply) down 8.0% from June 1 and down 30.0% compared with July 1, 2010.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

June 17 – July 9

I have a funny story to share with you all. The other day I was showing property and we ran into a very unfriendly little critter gurading the front door.  I almost steppe on him before I saw him.  

I walked up to the front door, which was on the side of the home.  I was reaching for the door knob when I heard a rattle sound at my feet.

Look down, scream, run (pretty much simultaneously). 

It was a Diamondback Rattlesnake. Just a young one, which is probably why I wasn't bitten. I did, however, feel it touch my leg.  I think my blood curling scream took about 5 years off my client's life! Sorry guys!

It was a good lesson learned, beware when showing homes. From now on, I will be very vigilent in watching for critters.

If you're on the fence about buying a home and wondering if you can afford it, take a look at the tax benefits you'll gain when you buy a home.  Some items like the interest on your mortgage, loan origination points (up front cost of  your mortgage paid when you buy the home), and other costs may even out the difference between your current rent and your possible mortgage payments.

DON'T ASK YOUR REALTOR OR MORTGAGE REP ABOUT TAXES.  Legally, we cannot give legal or tax advice, even if we think we know the answer.  Your best bet is to seek the advice of a tax expert. Also, I would advise that the only web site to go to for information on taxes is www.irs.gov, the IRS web site.  Information on blogs, forums, and other web sites may or may not be accurate and may or may not apply to your specific situation.   Here's the link to a great page on the IRS web site regarding some of these tax benfits: http://www.irs.gov/publications/p936/ar02.html#en_US_publink1000229936

That said, owning a home can have some great tax benefits, not to mention the benefit of just owning your own little piece of the pie.  If you've never owned your own home, including condos and townhomes, then you're in for a great feeling. There really is nothing like that feeling you get when you can finally call your home YOUR home. 

If you're a first time home buyer, finding an agent who will guide you through the process and take the necessary time to explain things to you is very important.  If you're looking for a home in Phoenix, Peoria, Glendale or the surrounding area and would like some more information, please feel free to call me anytime and I'd be happy to help.

Have a great day!

Many kids probably wonder what Santa does during the "off season."  Well, now we know, he lives in Sun City, Arizona. Yes, Santa is a snow bird?  How do I know this? I met him of course! Sun City is a wonderful retirement community with 7 recreational centers.  While swimming with my mother and son at the Marinette Rec Center in Sun City, we saw a man who looked very very familiar. Yes, it was Santa.   He posed for a few pictures with my son and then even gave him an autographed picture. 

If you are over age 55 and looking for a great place to live, consider Sun City. Many of the homes, which were mostly built in the 60s and 70s have been remodeled.  There are single family homes, townhomes (single level), condos, twin homes (duplexes), and apartments.  The people who live here are friendly and helpful; they really take care of one another.  I know this because my mother lives there. She loves it.  There are 7 rec centers with ammenities like heated pools (some shallow and some deep), bowling, billiards, art classes (painting, pottery, jewelry making, wood working, etc.), fitness centers, and various group activities, leagues, and day trips.  Sun City is truly a wonderful community in which to live and socialize with other active adults.  Oh, and for you golf fans, there are plenty of great golf courses! You can even drive your golf cars on the streets around town.

Sun City is close to shopping, restaurants, and various other activities.   Within 6 miles are the NFL Cardinals, NHL Coyotes, MLB spring training (Mariners - Padres—Rangers—Royals), Arrowhead Mall, Challenger Space Center, Wildlife World Zoo, Arizona State University-West, Rio Salado College, Lake Pleasant, Broadway Dinner Theater, and many other features.

If you'd like more information about living in Sun City, please call me anytime and I will gladly give you a "phone tour" of this wonderful community. Who knows, maybe if you visit, you'll also get to meet Santa!

Sincerely,
  Lisa (future Sun City resident)

To email Santa for guest appearances: santainarizona@yahoo.com or call (623) 293-0378.

It is a common belief that color can affect our mood, both mentally and physically. I'll go over each color and it's affects on our moods over the next few days. When choosing colors for your rooms, think about the mood you want to set and how you'd like to "feel" when you're in that room.

Today is BLUE: Great for bedrooms or reading areas.

Did you know that the color blue isn't just calming mentally? It actually lowers your heart rate and body temperature, making it the perfect color to paint a bedroom. 

For those who are trying to close on a home purchase, good news!  Congress has passed an extension of the Homebuyer Tax Credit closing deadline. The extension applies only to transactions that have signed contracts in place as of April 30, 2010 that have not yet closed. 

If you were already in escrow and just waiting to close but missed the original June 30 deadline, you now have some more time.

This will be especially great news for anyone who was waiting on short sale approval. If you have a signed contract and you receive the short sale approval before August 30 from the seller's lien holder, you should still be able to close by September 30.

Hi Everyone:

Many new home buyers ask me "How much house can I buy?"  Well, it's a good question, but the REAL question should be "How much house SHOULD I buy?"  The recession has been awful for many people, including myself, but I think it was a good wake-up call for our "consumer based" society.

I DON'T CARE ABOUT MY COMMISSION.  OK, that might sound crazy, but in a way it's true.  I do care about earning a commission so I can pay bills, I just don't care how much it will be.  I would much rather see my clients buy a home within their budget, keeping their payments low enough to pay off other debts, have some money to save, and have extra for "living life" and doing fun stuff. I will never ever pressure you to spend more than you want to.  I don't care what your budget is, if I am your real estate agent, I will give you all the attention I can, and we will find you a great house. There are many good homes in Peoria, Phoenix, Surprise, Anthem, Glendale, etc., in ALL price ranges.  Just be sure that your expectations are realistic for your budget. Any home can be great, it's all about YOU and your memories you create in your home.

I'd like to pass along a great "reader story" about a couple who bought less house than they could afford, and then paid it off.  Please check it out at

http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/, which is one of my favorite blog sites.

If you're thinking of buying a home (house, condo, townhome etc.), call a great mortgage person to see if you qualify for a loan, and then call me, YOUR FRIEND IN REAL ESTATE!   

   Have a great day everyone.

     lisa

FOR A GREAT MORTGAGE REP, CALL DAN!

Dan Beach
Mortgage Banker
V.I.P. Mortgage Inc.
(602) 561-8305

If you have hard surface floors and kids or pets, then you have dirt.  I'm not saying your house is dirty, but having kids and pets is synonomous with having dirt on the floors. Dirt tracked in from outside, pet hair, food crumbs, spilled snacks, etc.  Getting out the broom is a hassle, at least I think so. I HATE sweeping.  Lugging out a large, corded vacuum is also a hassel.  I found a great solution. I only recommend products in which I believe they offer a high value for the money and/or work great at solving a problem.

I have a 6-year old, 4 dogs, and 2 cats. I also have wood and tile floors. The dog fur alone is enough to drive me nuts. However, I can easily vacuum it all up with my handy, convenient, and light Hoover Lynx. It's a fairly new product from hoover. It has a rechargeable battery that sits in a charging bay when not in use. The battery only lasts about 15 minutes, but that is more than enough to do all my hard floors.  It even picks up kitty litter and dog food.

The best part is that the dog fur does NOT get clogged around the brush.  The dirt cup could be a little bigger, but it's not a big drawback at all.

I give the Hoover Lynx cordless stick vac 5 out of 5 stars.  It was $200 and worth every penny. You can find it at some department stores, such as Wal-Mart, Target, Bed and Bath and also on Amazon.com

   Lisa