arizona real estate

Who will maintain my vacation property?

I have had so many clients ask me, “who will I have maintain my vacation property for 4 months while I am gone?”  With so many  vacant vacation properties here, I thought it would be an easy answer.  There has to be a company out there that maintains vacation properties, right??

  As I researched companies in the metro Phoenix area I found that most offer rental management services, not maintenance services.  A lot of people don’t want their property to become a rental while they are gone.  Some clients rented out their property, thinking it would bring in some money and come to find out the management company rented to people who made the house into a old folks home.

After one of my clients who purchased a home from me had pipes explode in their bathroom with thousands of dollars in damages, and other client horror stories of renting their home out, I decided to create a Property Maintenance Company.  I called it Diamond Desert Property Maintenance.  I am so excited to offer this service to the community.If you are interested in this service and want more information, please contact me today and take advantage of the amazing deals we will have for first time clients. 

Check out our website for prices and more information:

http://diamonddesert.com/

arizona real estate

Not a Short Sale..Not a Bank Owned, A Brand New Build For $500.00 Move-In!

No kidding. I know a builder who is competing with short sales and foreclosures and winning. You can get in for $500.00 with a PITI payment of only $903.87 per month, including HOA! A 1321 sqft single level home will cost $129,990. a 1767  sqft home only $137,900.  These  new homes are not dingers either. They are energy efficient, using Low E-Windows, 13 seer A/C units, Water-saving Plumbing Fixtures and Tile Roofs. 9′ ceilings, cultured marble vanity-tops, and raised panel interior doors are some of the upgrades included. Great kitchens include microwaves, deluxe dishwashers, spacious pantries and oak cabinets.

You get a large pool-sized lot, a covered patio, a door into the garage from the side, front and rear hose bibs. All the options you might want are already included. I only mentioned some of them.

Oh, did I mention that they come with a Side by Side Refer, Washer/Dryer and a 40″ LCD TV?

So, $5,000.00 in incentives, An $8,000.  tax credit, Side by Side Refer, Washer/Dryer and a new Big Screen TV. Low move-in (less the rent) and low monthly payment, again less the rent. What are you waiting for? Homes ready to move into now.

Michael Manning

EXP Realty, LLC

602-738-8236

arizona real estate

So Your Offer has Been Accepted: Action Steps Following Accepted Offer

Order your home inspection immediately. Per the contract there is a specific number of day inspection period which begins on the date the purchase offer is accepted. You and your agent will have pre-determined the inspection period and listed it in the purchase offer. I can give you the name of two different inspections companies that I have dealt with in the past.

HouseMaster 480-345-8570

Ecospec Home Inspections 602-332-7132

Home inspection companies will generally do an overview of the home. Making sure things work such as appliances, toilets, hot water heaters, fixtures, HVAC units etc. They are not specialty contractors.If you wish to have specialty inspections performed such as roofing, pool, lead based paint, radon gas etc. you will need to contact a specialty inspection company and/or a specialty contractor to have these types of inspections performed. Again remember to make arrangements for these inspections immediately following your offer being accepted and that they have been completed within your inspection period. I have an additional list of contractors and inspectors that I can provide you with if you wish, feel free to contact me anytime.

Contact your lender if the transaction is being financed and let them know that you have an accepted offer. Your agent will be sending them a copy of the executed contract. Also provide your lender with your homeowners insurance agents contact info. ( I have included several numbers below of agents I have used in the past.)  Make sure your lender has all the documentation they need to complete your loan such as paystubs, tax returns, financial statements etc.

Contact your homeowner’s insurance agent and inform them that you have an accepted offer and that you will be in need of a homeowner’s insurance policy to be effective by the close of escrow date.

Ken Stephens Allstate 480-948-8817

Toni Allen Farmers 602.324.4668

Be on the look out for information from the title company. They will be sending you a packet to get some information from you. It will also determine how you will take title to the property. Additionally they will include wiring instructions for any funds that need to be brought in at close of escrow. Certified funds are also acceptable.

You will also want to contact the local utility companies about ten days to two weeks prior to close of escrow and make arrangements for the utilities to be turned on and/or transferred into your name.

Salt River Project Electric       602-236-1889

Arizona Public Service            https://www.aps.com/customer/ratewizard/start.asp

Southwest Gas                        877-862-6020

City of Phoenix Water            602-262-6251

Please contact me with any questions or comments:

Tim Broderick

602-741-0862

arizona real estate

Are you an FHA buyer but still “on the fence” about buying?

There have been many rumors flying around regarding the expected adjustments to the FHA loans provided. Do you want to use FHA financing due to the lower down payment requirements, experiencing some credit issues and or wanting to ask the seller to contribute up to 6% concession? If you are and are counting on utilizing FHA loan products for the purchase of your new home, but aren’t quite ready to get off the fence…You may want to re-think your current position.
Per a recent article in the Chicago Tribune –
FHA-insured mortgages have become the loan of choice — realistically, the only option available since the private mortgage industry’s problems arose — for consumers who are eager to purchase a home but don’t have a significant down payment or stellar credit history. Currently, borrowers have to make at least a 3.5 percent down payment and have a minimum FICO credit score of 500, but most participating lenders require borrowers to have a score of 620 or higher.
Those lending requirements have meant a banner year for the FHA. It has insured almost 30 percent of home purchases — more than 75 percent of which are to first-time homebuyers — and 20 percent of mortgage refinancings. Just three years ago, the FHA’s share of the mortgage market was 3 percent.
Among the steps outlined by Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan in congressional testimony Wednesday were plans to increase the down payment and FICO score required. The agency also may ask Congress for permission to increase either the upfront mortgage insurance premium, the monthly premium or both. Details of the plan are expected next month.
“We have made the decision to exercise our authority to increase the upfront cash that a borrower has to bring to the table in an FHA-backed loan — to make sure that FHA borrowers have more ’skin in the game’ and a stronger equity position in their loans,” Donovan said in written testimony submitted to the House Financial Services Committee.
One detail Donovan did provide is that sellers would be able to help buyers with only 3 percent, rather than the current 6 percent, of “concessions” that help fund closing and loan-related fees.
The moves are part of a plan by the FHA to lessen risks to its portfolio; an independent actuarial study found the agency’s insurance fund reserves have fallen far below the congressionally mandated minimum. The agency also plans to take steps to increase FHA capital and to hold lenders more accountable for the quality of loans they write.
This may be the time to get off the fence..
Please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have. I will be happy to assist you in the purchase of your new home. I can be reached at Julie@phoenixpowersearch.com or 480 628 2967
I look forward to hearing from you!
Chicago Tribune Article

arizona real estate

$8,000 Credit Extended and much more offered!

So we got the extension everyone so desperately needed to dive into home ownership.  The $8,000 tax credit is now extended until the end of April 2010.  Great news for those buyers who have contracts on homes that are short sales and haven’t heard anything. 

 This will allow you to continue to work with the bank and hopefully close by April 2010 of next year.  Lets all keep our fingers crossed for that.

Also, a $6,500 tax credit will be given to existing home owners if they buy another home.  This too will expire at the end of April.  By offering this it will also help stimulate the economy so everyone has an incentive to buy now.

These incentives won’t last forever, so don’t wait to “cash in”.  If you are considering purchasing a short sale home and want to use the tax credit, it is highly recommended that you enter into a contract at least 3 months before the bill is set to expire.

If you are looking to purchase your first home, or your 50th, give me a call and lets find what you are looking for together.

Take a look at this website for more updated information:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hJJraNRE6DjWj2orF7SYJ12PADEAD9BPFFR01

Rachel J Anderson

480-309-7968

arizona real estate

Avoid Hibernation. Arizona Your Fall and Winter Paradise!

If you are tired of the sleet and snow and driving rain, if you are tired of gray skies and blistering winds then it is time to make your way to Arizona. The Phoenix/Scottsdale metro area is your home for some of the best weather around this time of year and more activities than you can shake a stick at.

Month	High Fahrenheit	High Celsius	Low Fahrenheit	Low Celsius
October	87.7	30.9	59.1	15.0
November	74.3	23.5	46.9	8.3
December	66.4	19.1	40.2	4.5
January	65.2	18.4	39.4	4.1
February	69.7	20.9	42.5	5.8
March	74.5	23.6	46.7	8.2
April	83.1	28.4	53.0	11.6

Information courtesy of PHX Shine On, the Official Travel Resource for Greater Phoenix

Just take a look at the temperatures that we average over the course of the next few months. The sunshine sets the stage to take part in all of the great activities here in the Valley of the Sun. Weather you are an avid golfer, tennis player, or just love to hike or bicycle; this is the place for you. The sunrises about 6 to 7ish in the morning depending on the month with plenty of day light to take in a winter league baseball game, a Arizona Cardinal football game, a Phoenix Coyote hockey game, or a Phoenix Suns basketball game.

Numerous hiking trails are available throughout the community for hikers. Check out all the hiking trails at this website: http://www.visitphoenix.com/visitor/index.cfm?action=trails

It is a great time to check out the lakes for the boating and fishing enthusiast. Following is a list of the different lakes in the area.

Bartlett Lake: http://www.bartlettlake.com/lakeInfo/about.php

Saguaro Lake:  http://www.saguarolakemarina.com/maps.html

Canyon Lake: http://www.canyonlakemarina.com/

Lake Pleasant: http://www.go-arizona.com/Lake-Pleasant-Arizona

Roosevelt Lake: http://www.americansouthwest.net/arizona/roosevelt_lake/index.html

Apache Lake: http://www.apachelake.com/

So if you are considering a move away from the cold and into the sunshine consider the Phoenix/Scottsdale area. I will be happy to assist you with a temporary housing rental and ultimately your new home purchase. Arizona is definitely the place to be. Please give me a call if I can be of service.

Tim Broderick 602-741-0862 or toll free: 888-481-4447 ext 126 or by email at tim@phoenixpowersearch.com

arizona real estate

List of items you will need to get your short sale closed quicker.

I know what you are going through, I feel your pain and I want you to know I am here to help you.

Are your mortgage payments at least 3 months behind?  Have you received that dreaded letter, Trustee Sale?

As a Realtor, I have sold many short sale homes, more on the buyers side, but also on the sellers side.  I know what you are going through and I can advice you what to do and help you list your home.

DO, keep your house clean and free of clutter

DO NOT, punch holes in walls

DO, keep up with your HOA payments as much as possible.

DO NOT, strip away any of the appliances

DO, get a hold of a Realtor (Rachel Anderson) and allow me to help you.

REMEMBER: Your Realtor will give you an estimated sales price based on the comps in the area, however it is ultimately up to the bank(s) to come up with a sales price.

Here is a list of some of the items you will need to get ready if you are considering a short sale before the foreclosure.

2 most recent pay stubs

2 years of the most recent tax returns

2 most recent bank statements

A hardship letter describing why you can no longer keep up with your payments. There are some other items you will need and some banks require specific paperwork, but this will get you started.

Get a hold of me today to get your house on the market before the foreclosure goes into affect.  Short sales are better on your credit then a foreclosure, and it doesn’t hurt to try.

Rachel Anderson 480-309-7968

arizona real estate

Arizona is Your Home for Baseball! Welcome Home!

What a Labor Day weekend it has been so far. My son just became a member of The Outlaws Baseball Club here locally and is playing in his first tournament at The Peoria Sports Complex.

There are teams from all over the valley playing. If you love baseball then Arizona is the place for you.

In addition to the Arizona Diamondbacks of the National League playing here during the regular season, we (the Phoenix Metro Area, Arizona) are host to Cactus League Spring Training for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians, Colorado Rockies, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland Athletics, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, and the Texas Rangers.

This weekend, local youth teams 18 years and younger have converged on Peoria Sports Complex to battle it out for top honors. The Peoria Sports Complex is the Spring Training home to the San Diego Padres and the Seattle Mariners. The kids are thrilled to be playing on the same fields that the big leaguers play on. Baseball Club Teams from as far away as Queen Creek, Chandler, and Ahwatukee made the trip across town to play in this Labor Day tournament. The since of community and family fun was at an all time high. You could just about here the lyrics to “Take Me Out to the Ballpark” resonating in the air. The kids had access to major league batting cages, bull pens and practice fields.

Please use the link below for more information on the Cactus League Spring Training. There are also links for individual ball parks around town. So chose your neighborhood based on your favorite team and after I have helped you close on your new home I’ll see you at the ballpark. By the way The Outlaws are in first place in this weekend’s 16 and under tournament bracket and will be playing for the championship on Monday. Shoot me an email and I will let you know how it turned out.

http://www.springtrainingonline.com/ includes both Cactus and Grapefruit League info.

Peoria Sports Complex http://www.peoriaaz.gov/sportscomplex/sportscomplex_main.asp

The Cubs play at Hohokam Stadium located in Mesa, Az http://hohokamstadium.com/Home.aspx

http://camelbackranchbaseball.com/ Home of the LA Dodgers located in Glendale, AZ

Brewers play at Maryvale Baseball park in Phoenix http://www.mlb.com/spring_training/ballpark.jsp?c_id=mil

The Oakland As play in Phoenix at the Phoenix Municipal Stadium http://mlb.mlb.com/spring_training/ballpark.jsp?c_id=oak

http://www.tempe.gov/diablo/ Tempe Diablo Stadium home to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

http://www.scottsdaleaz.gov/stadium/springtraining.asp Scottsdale Stadium home to the San Francisco Giants

If you have any additional questions please give me a call. For additional information on homes available in the Phoenix and Scottsdale Metro Area please call:

Tim Broderick @ 602-741-0862 or toll free @ 888-481-4447 ext. 126.

You can also reach me by email: tim@phoenixpowersearch.com.

arizona real estate

Canadian Buyers: Considerations and Preparation

Canadians love Arizona. As time goes on I have had the opportunity to be of service to more and more Canadians buying homes in the Valley. This is the first in a short series of blogs that will cover important information for Canadian Buyers to keep in mind. There are items for both cash buyers and those choosing to finance a property. A future blog will go into more detail regarding financed properties. The following information was graciously supplied by Penny Esparza of Great American Title.

First of all, when sending a wire transfer, even if in US Dollars, the wire will often times come in about $15 to $50 LESS than what you wired!  This is because both reserves may apply a fee when transferring the money, unbeknownst to you.  It is always a good idea to send a little more, just in case.  Title companies will refund whatever is left over, we promise!

Also, when depositing a Canadian check…if the check does not reference directly on the face of the check a US Bank, the check may be returned by the bank.  As well, if the check does not state the words “US Dollars” on the face of the check, it may deposit as Canadian funds, making your escrow short somewhere between $400 and $600!!  It is always best, in my opinion, to wire, even if those fees are withdrawn by the reserves.  That way you know immediately what the deposit is.  Whereas, a check may take sometimes several weeks to physically deposit.  This could cause a delay if the title company is unable to verify whether or not it will deposit as US dollars or Canadian dollars.

When delivering items over-night to Canada, plan on the delivery taking a minimum of two deliver days.  There are many “rural” areas in Canada where that delivery may take even longer.  Particularly if there is a loan, it is very important to ensure that the documents are sent out in plenty of time.  For Example:

Loan documents come in at 3pm, making it TOO LATE for the title company to prepare a HUD, have the lender approve it, and get a package out FedEx.  Now the package leaves the next day…Friday.  It doesn’t arrive until Tuesday because of the weekend.  The buyer signs very timely, but the package does not leave Canada until Wednesday and is delivered back to the title company on Friday.  Documents arrived at title Thursday a WEEK AGO!  AND, now the documents have to be sent over-night to a lender, arriving there on Monday.  The lender then takes 48 hours to review documents and funding takes place Wednesday, 9 business days from the day the documents arrived at escrow…Wow!  It is VERY important to communicate both with your escrow officer and your loan officer from the very beginning.

One last thing…I have learned that Canadian Credit Reports are not as readily available as credit reports are here in the US.  They can sometimes take two or three weeks to obtain.  This will have Quite an Affect on your loan approval time.  If your lender needs a Canadian credit report,  ask that they order it even if you don’t have an offer on a house yet.  That way if they need an update, they can order it at the time the offer is put in, and have it in time to draw docs.

When there is a loan involved, you may want to plan on that minimum 45 day escrow.

When there is no loan, allow the full 10 business days for the HOA (Home Owners Association) to respond to title, and from there docs go out…two days there…one day out…two days back.  So about 2 ½ weeks, maybe less, if the HOA is timely.

This has been a limited over view of items to take into consideration when planning on buying a home in Arizona. If you have any additional questions please give me a call. For additional information on homes available in the Phoenix and Scottsdale Metro Area please call:

Tim Broderick @ 602-741-0862 or toll free @ 888-481-4447 ext. 126.

You can also reach me by email: tim@phoenixpowersearch.com.

arizona real estate

As a buyer what are my out of Pocket expenses to my Realtor?

Diving into purchasing a new home is scary and at times very stressful.  There are a lot of questions you have and don’t know who to turn to for answers.  Will I look stupid and be taken advantage of?  If I don’t know the answer to this question, will the Realtor use it against me?

I remember looking for my first home in Washington, DC I found my Realtor by driving up to Real Estate company. I stopped into the office and said, ” I want to buy a house.” I trusted that someone who worked there could help me.  I was very young and knew very little about purchasing a home.

My first question, was how much does the Realtor want from me?  She is doing a lot for me, I must have to pay her something for all of this.  The answer to that question is, as a buyer you do not have to pay your Realtor’s commission.  It comes from the sale of the property and is the expense of the seller.  Now, some Realtors do require a retainer fee which is usually between $100-$500.  This retainer fee covers the Realtor’s expenses and is most of the time refunded to you at Close of Escrow.  The retainer fee is to help weed out the not so serious buyers from the serious buyers.

I was charged a $200 retainer fee, which I was happy to pay, because I knew that my Realtor was working hard for me and if I purchased a house it would be refunded to me anyway.  Even if I didn’t purchase a house it was partially refundable.  The $200 covered her gas, printing materials time and much more that I wasn’t aware of until I got into the industry.

You will see more and more retainer fees being charged by Realtors and their brokerages.  Don’t be afraid of the fee and automatically assume you are being taken advantage of. The money is paid to the brokerage, not directly to the Realtor.

If you speak to a Lawyer their time and efforts are not free, so why would you expect anything different from a licensed Realtor?

If you are in the market and want more information on this topic. Contact me Rachel Anderson 480-309-7968.  Or please feel free to leave your comments about Retainer fees.