1.  Visit the Arizona Science Center- One of our family favorites!  Hour of exhibits to see and things to do… all inside.  You kids will be having so much fun that they won’t even know they are learning!

2.  Visit the Children’s Museum of Phoenix- Not far from the Science Center and just as much fun, the Children’s Museum is geared toward the littlest ones in your family.  I promise that they will have tons of fun and be very ready for a nap by the time your have experienced it all!

3.  Visit the Super Saver Cinema 8- On a budget? Who isn’t in this economy?  Take a step back in time when you visit this unique and inexpensive movie theater.  Perfect time to catch up on the movies you missed at the other theaters!

4.  Visit the Stuffington Bear Factory-  Phoenix’s own version of making your own stuffed toy!  The only problem with this place is getting your kids to decide among the hundreds of toys, clothes and accessories!

5.  Go Salt River Tubing- Ok so not exactly out of the heat, but you will stay plenty cool.  This is more for the older kids.  Salt Water Tubing and Recreation is having lots of fun out there this weekend with their Stash It- Bag It event.  Clean up the river as you float and enjoy their live entertainment all day.  This is the last weekend to enjoy the river so go have fun!

6.  Visit a Public Library- Take the kids out and let them enjoy all that your local library has to offer.  Most have play areas, computers, crafts and then take home a few books or movies.  Free and fun… my kiddos love going to the library!

7.  Visit the Rio Visit Recreation Center-  For those of you that live in the west valley this is a place everyone in the family will LOVE!  From skate park to splash pad, workout area to park this has something for any age.  Yes it seems to hot for anything I just listed, but luckily they have a splash pad to run through and cool off in.

8.  Visit Mary Coyle- Cool off ol’ school at this famous valley diner.  Grab a bit to eat or just sample their oh so yummy ice cream!

Ok, I have given you many ideas for making this Labor Day fun for the whole family.  Have a great day off and enjoy your kiddos!

Are you shopping for a new home?  My name is Tiffany Pettit and I am the Peoria, Arizona Real Estate expert.  My husband, Eric, and I live and raise our two boys in this beautiful west Phoenix suburb.  We love everything about our little city and think you will too!  Please contact me anytime at 602-614-6493, toll free at 888-897-7821 x.132 or at tiffany@tiffanypettit.com.  Please check out my website, www.CometoPeoriaAZ.com, where you can perform an MLS search just like an agent would do.  I look forward to assisting you in finding your perfect Peoria, Arizona home!

What to do first:  Visit the Auction.com website and find out if you can submit a pre-auction bid or if you can bid online.  They only allow certain homes to sold in a pre-auction form or to be bid for online.  I an not sure how that is determined.  In both of my situations we either missed the pre-auction bid date or online bidding was not available.

Preparing for the Auction:  Lets just assume that you were unable to bid in the pre-auction.  If that is the case, you will need to do a couple of very important things before showing up to the actual Auction.com auction.  First, you need to understand that a home bought at auction is bought AS-IS with NO inspection period.  If you want a home inspection, you must do so before hand.  The listing agent is supposed to hold a few open houses in the weekends prior to the auction.  This is the time to have an inspector go in there look the place over.  Or better yet, if you are working with a good Real Estate Agent, they will insist that an inspection is conducted and they will arrange it and be there with you.

Ok, the inspection is complete and you feel that you can live with the condition of the home.  Now you need to register online at Auction.com.  If you are working with a Realtor and they have agreed to be there with you on auction day, you will need to ask them for their Real Estate license number because that will be required on the form.  PRINT THIS FORM!  That way, if you computer at check-in is saying that you have not yet registered, you will have all the info on the form that the check-in person will need to re-register you… Yes this has happened to me before!  If you do have a Real Estate Agent, they will also register ahead of time and they will need to bring along a copy of their RE license and a W-9.

What to bring on Auction Day:  This is IMPORTANT… If you do not bring the following items, you will not be able to bid on a home during that auction.  First, you must bring a $2500 cashiers check made payable to yourself.  You must also bring a personal check to pay the remainder of the balance for the required 5% earnest deposit.  These amounts change if you are planning to purchase mulitple homes.  See the webside for additional information.  Secondly, unless you are planning to acquire financing through available lenders at the action, you must bring a Pre-Qualification form from your chosen mortgage company.  If you would like to acquire financing at the auction you will need 2 years of tax returns, W-9s and 30 days of pay stubs. Finally, you will need a valid photo ID.

What to Know:  IMPORTANT IMPORTANT IMPORTANT… You must know about the required 5% premium charged by Auction.com.  This is howAuction.com makes their money.  Let the math do the explaining….

Your Winning Bid $200,000

Buyer’s Premium 5% = $10,000

Total Purchase Price = $210,000

5 % Earnest Money will look like this- $2,500 Cashiers Check and $7,500 personal check due on auction day.

What to Expect:  Expect competition!  You almost always will be bidding against an investor.  They have cash and they know what that house is worth to them.  Don’t expect a deal!  The investors are keeping it fair.  You may get the house below appraised value, but don’t expect go get a move-in ready single family-detached home for $20,000.  The investors want the quick flips or easy rentals and they will do their best to win the bid.  Ask your Realtor to run comparisons of the home and discuss what the home is worth and what it will appraise for.  If you were willing to make an offer on the home before you knew it was pre-auction, then make that offer price your highest bid (don’t forget to add in the buyer’s premium).  I would feel safe guessing that more then half the winning bids will go to the investors.  Be prepared to pay what the home is worth, then you will set yourself up to be pleasantly surprised if you get it for less!

If you do have the winning bid, a nice lady dressed in black will come get you and take you “behind the curtain.”  There you will pay your earnest money, sign your purchase contract and provide them with your lender information.  It is my understanding that all sells will be given a 30 day Close of Escrow.  Please talk to your lender about this before hand and be sure that they will be ready to close in 30 days.  For most this is doable but can be difficult if a holiday weekend falls in to that time frame.  They have a lot to get done in that short amount of time.

Okay, I believe I have covered the important stuff.  If you have questions… Auction.com has Live Chat agents available all the time to help you out.  They have walked me through the process a couple times.  Also, if you live in the Phoenix area and feel overwhelmed by the whole Auction.comprocess, please contact me at the phone number below and I will assist you through the whole process.  Good luck bidding!

Are you shopping for a new home?  My name is Tiffany Pettit and I am the Peoria, Arizona Real Estate expert.  My husband, Eric, and I live and raise our two boys in this beautiful west Phoenix suburb.  We love everything about our little city and think you will too!  Please contact me anytime at 602-614-6493, toll free at 888-897-7821 x.132 or at tiffany@tiffanypettit.com.  Please check out my website, www.CometoPeoriaAZ.com, where you can perform an MLS search just like an agent would do.  I look forward to assisting you in finding your perfect Peoria, Arizona home!

Fantastic home with new laminate wood flooring, new carpet, bay windows in the bedrooms, dining rooms and living room. Great room with HUGE fireplace, new kitchen with tons of storage and pull out shelving. Master walk-in is HUGE and both bathrooms offer double sinks!

The outside features a fenced play pool, large patio, big organic garden, RV gate and parking, a two car garage with tons of storage and work bench, plus a second detached garage. Shed for feed and one for the small animals, chain link fencing around horse area, five large stalls with automatic water. Could easily make it nine 12×12 stalls.  Tons of riding trails and an awesome view of the White Tanks!  MLS# 4620034

You will LOVE this listing!  Please call me at 602-614-6493 to schedule a showing!

Are you shopping for a new home?  My name is Tiffany Pettit and I am the Peoria, Arizona Real Estate expert.  My husband, Eric, and I live and raise our two boys in this beautiful west Phoenix suburb.  We love everything about our little city and think you will too!  Please contact me anytime at 602-614-6493, toll free at 888-897-7821 x.132 or at tiffany@tiffanypettit.com.  Please check out my website, www.CometoPeoriaAZ.com, where you can perform an MLS search just like an agent would do.  I look forward to assisting you in finding your perfect Peoria, Arizona home!

Date night last week consisted of sushi and then a Phoenix Suns basketball game.  We have our favorite sushi place here in the west valley, but because we were headed to the game, we decided to try someplace new.  Google helped us to find what I believe to be the only sushi spot downtown… Moira Sushi Bar and Kitchen.

Moira, set in the ground level of a condo development, is located right off McKinley and 3rd Street.  Some metered parking out front and an easy enough walk from the light rail.  The inside decor is modern industrial with an Asian flare.  A long bar down the middle with tables seating two or four on each side.  The perfect happy hour spot.

As far as sushi is concerned… we chose a couple of the specialty rolls.  Our favorite was called the Sun Devil… tuna, crab, tempura shrimp topped off with a slice of jalapeño.  Good enough to order a second before heading to the game.  Not one for sushi?  There is a hot menu and and some yummy salads.  Can’t tell you much about the drink menu because I stuck with a glass of wine but the specialty drinks were plentiful and pleasing to the eye.

Next time you are downtown for an event or a business meeting stop by and check out the happy hour or even the weekend reverse happy hour specials.  The cozy, fun atmosphere is perfect for date night or catching up with friends.  CLICK HERE for the Moira Sushi Bar and Kitchen website were you can find menu and more.

Are you shopping for a new home?  My name is Tiffany Pettit and I am the Peoria, Arizona Real Estate expert.  My husband, Eric, and I live and raise our two boys in this beautiful west Phoenix suburb.  We love everything about our little city and think you will too!  Please contact me anytime at 602-614-6493, toll free at 888-897-7821 x.132 or at tiffany@tiffanypettit.com.  Please check out my website, www.CometoPeoriaAZ.com, where you can perform an MLS search just like an agent would do.  I look forward to assisting you in finding your perfect Peoria, Arizona home!

After researching seasonal rental homes for a few of my “Snow Bird” clients, I have come to realize that vacation homes may prove to be a good investment for the right person.  I talked to a few property management agents that focus on vacation rentals and they are in agreement that even though there is a larger overhead, vacation rentals are the perfect investment for someone that wants to spend a couple months here during the off season and rent their home out during the high season.  Vacationers and Snow Birds usually start trickling in to the Phoenix area around the end of October and by December 1st you will be hard pressed to find an available furnished rental.  The high season usually starts dying down around April.  The overhead expenses that I referred to before include property maintenance, home furnishings and utilities.  Usually the owner will pay for all utilities such as cable, electric, water, waste ect.

Maybe you are someone that wants to come to the warm weather a couple times a year to golf or you may be retiring in the next few years and want to buy why the market is hot.  No matter the reason there is no other time to buy in the Phoenix area then now.

Are you shopping for a new home… an investment home… a vacation get away?  My name is Tiffany Pettit and I am the Peoria, Arizona Real Estate expert.  My husband, Eric, and I live and raise our two boys in this beautiful west Phoenix suburb.  We love everything about our little city and think you will too!  Please contact me anytime at 602-614-6493, toll free at 888-897-7821 x.132 or at tiffany@tiffanypettit.com.  Please check out my website,www.CometoPeoriaAZ.com, where you can perform an MLS search just like an agent would do.  I look forward to assisting you in finding your perfect Peoria, Arizona home!

The typical wait time for purchasing a home after a short sale or foreclosure is 3 years.  However, FHA issued a mortgagee letter in December 2009 allowing financing immediately or in less then 3 years for certain situations… very specific situations.  Although it would be hard to determine who is eligible without looking in to a buyer’s specific situation here are two things I know to be true…

1.  Borrower must have been current on ALL prior mortgage payments for up to 12 months before short sale occurred.

2.  The result of the borrowers short sale must have been due to extenuating circumstances such as transfer of job, death of primary wage earner, long term un-insured illness, ect.  Short selling due to declining market conditions or because you are way to upside down in your loan is not a valid circumstance.

Please watch this video to learn more…

That was my friend and trusted mortgage professional, Gina Chavez and we both really think that this is important information to get out to the public because there is a small population that could benefit from FHA exception rule.  If you are one of the MANY that have to wait out the 3 years, that is okay too.  Three years is probably what you need to get your credit and life prepared for buying again.

If you have been through a short sale and have questions about how it affected your credit or what to do now, the best piece of advice I have for you is to contact a Real Estate Professional that is skilled in this arena.  It is our job to counsel you on the short sale recovery process so that when your three year wait time is up, you will be ready to purchase again.

Gina and I are willing and happy to help you get on the right track to short sale recovery.  Please contact either one of us right away!

Tiffany Pettit, eXp Realty

Cell:  602-614-6493

Email:  tiffany@tiffanypettit.com

www.CometoPeoriaAZ.com

Gina Chavez, Cherry Creek Mortgage

Cell: 602-505-2688

Email: gchavez@ccmclending.com

www.ginachavez.com

Are you shopping for a new home?  My name is Tiffany Pettit and I am the Peoria, Arizona Real Estate expert.  My husband, Eric, and I live and raise our two boys in this beautiful west Phoenix suburb.  We love everything about our little city and think you will too!  Please contact me anytime at 602-614-6493, toll free at 888-897-7821 x.132 or at tiffany@tiffanypettit.com.  Please check out my website, www.CometoPeoriaAZ.com, where you can perform an MLS search just like an agent would do.  I look forward to assisting you in finding your perfect Peoria, Arizona home!

When I started as a real estate agent with eXp Realty I did not know the first thing about social media.  I jumped in full force taking classes, mimicking our more experience agents and learning as much as I could from the eXp “Magic People.”  They kept telling me to build my website and to blog, blog, blog.  I learned enough about WordPress to build a website and then started focusing on blogging.  The truth is, I did not believe that people would read my blogs or watch my videos.  I just knew two things… that my website needed content and that eXp Realty pays me to blog.  Now I know differently!

Blogging has helped to add content to my website and Yes! eXp Realty does pay me good money to blog… but blogging has done so much more.  For starters it has helped me to get to know my community.  My family and I have been out every weekend for months dining at different places, attending new events and introducing ourselves to great people.  All for the good of the blog.  I now stay current with my communities school information, current news and I can tell you anything about what is going on here in my hometown of Peoria, Arizona.

Not only that but I am getting actual leads from people reading my blogs!  I wrote a blog called Ask a Real Estate Agent to Help You Find a Rental Home on November 8, 2010.  That blog alone has gotten me FIVE LEADS!  Two that have already resulted in closed deals!  I posted another blog about a local Halloween haunted house called FEAR FARM on Oct 11, 2010 and this very simple video that I recorded and embedded in to a blog has already been viewed over 300 TIMES!  Every time some one views my video they are seeing my name as the Peoria, AZ Real Estate expert!

There is one other reason why blogging has really paid off for me.  Probably the biggest reason…  eXp Realty allows its agents to post blogs to their two very powerful, highly viewed local real estate websites.  This has given my blogs TONS OF EXPOSURE!  Which brings to mind two questions that I ask myself all the time.  1- why wouldn’t every eXp agent take advantage of blogging.  Like I said before…if for no other reason then our company pays us to do it!  And 2- why wouldn’t every real estate agent want to be an eXp agent?  CLICK HERE for more great reasons to become a part eXp Realty!

The bottom line is this… BLOG!  It has jump started my real estate business like I would have never imagined.  The housing market is slow right now.  Take advantage of this time  by learning how to boost your business with blogging and improving your website.  This is the future of real estate marketing and eXp Realty is leading the way!

Are you shopping for a new home?  My name is Tiffany Pettit and I am the Peoria, Arizona Real Estate expert.  My husband, Eric, and I live and raise our two boys in this beautiful west Phoenix suburb.  We love everything about our little city and think you will too!  Please contact me anytime at 602-614-6493, toll free at 888-897-7821 x.132 or at tiffany@tiffanypettit.com.  Please check out my website, www.CometoPeoriaAZ.com, where you can perform an MLS search just like an agent would do.  I look forward to assisting you in finding your perfect Peoria, Arizona home!