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

Numerous upgrades have been completed throughout the home. Updated AC unit in 2004, laminated wood floors, ceiling fans, faux wood blinds throughout custom Venetian plaster, wireless alarmsystem, and energy efficient window treatments in front of home.

For more info and photos of this home please visit the Flex MLS link http://www.flexmls.com/link.html?rfq06yeiexi,12,1

This Villa Antigua home is located in the heart of Scottsdale. If your looking for golf your new home is located just minutes from numerous golf courses. Here are a list of just a few, and links (no pun intended) to the different clubs so you can arrange a tee time.

Continental Golf Course

http://www.continentalgc.com/layout9.asp?id=172&page=3239

Talking Stick Golf Club

http://www.talkingstickgolfclub.com/index.php

Camelback Country Club Golf Course http://www.camelbackinn.com/

The Orange Tree Golf Resort http://www.shellhospitality.com/hotels/orange_resort/?chebs=gl_otgr

McCormick Ranch Golf Club http://www.mccormichranchgolf.com

You say you prefer activities other than golf then check out the art galleries and art walk in Old Town Scottsdale. Villa Antigua is just minutes from fabulous art galleries along Marshall and 5th Ave.  Here are just a couple to preview, there are many more in the area.

The Legacy Gallery  http://www.legacygallery.com/index.html

Art One Gallery   http://www.artonegalleryinc.com/

Scottsdale is also rich with annual events such as the Barrett Jackson Classic Car Auction, The Annual Arabian Horse Show, the historic Parada Del Sol, and the Scottsdale Culinary Arts Festival. This Villa Antigua home puts you in the heart of luxury and culture. You can go for an energizing run or go out on the town in the evening for a fine meal.

For a tour of this home please give me a call.

Tim Broderick 602-741-0862 or email me at tim@phoenixpowersearch.com.

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

The way the old way would work, is the home had to wait a 90 day seasoning period to qualify for an FHA loan.  This would limit FHA buyers to homes that were in really bad shape or a short sale.  In this market that is the majority we see, so when a home comes on the market that has already gone through the flipping process it is nice because most home buyers want a “move in ready” home.  A lot of people can’t see past  holes in the walls, missing light fixtures and all of the appliances are gone. 

When Realtors see homes that are already “flipped” with all of the “must haves” we find there are a lot of other people interested as well.  I just closed a deal on a flipped property with a conventional loan with 10% down.  The listing Agent was sceptic that we could close a conventional loan with only 10% down, but it closed in 30 days.  So it’s nice now to see we can do FHA loans on flipped foreclosure properties without the 90 day seasoning period.

Below is more information on the new revision:

On Friday, FHA announced the suspension of the anti-Flipping 90-day waiting period.

Prior to September 14, 2009, FHA products were denied to buyers purchasing homes from investors that buy homes, rehab them, and sell them within a 90-day period. Previously, the only option to purchase these homes was through conventional financing (which requires a higher down payment) or a cash-only purchase.

This revision allows home buyers to expand their market when searching for a home and gives them the opportunity to secure a much lower down payment.  More investors and buyers will be encouraged to purchase homes due to this major change.
Take a look at the revision:

Section 203.37a(b)(2) of the FHA regulations, 24 CFR, is hereby waived for a period of one year, September 14, 2009 through September 13, 2010, with regard to sales of previously foreclosed or abandoned properties acquired and resold by for-profit and non-profit entities using funding from and performing under agreements with state and local government agencies under the NSP program. 

http://www.nls.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/waivpropflip.pdf

If you are in the market to purchase a home and want more information on this.  Please contact me today, Rachel Anderson 480-309-7968

It is very important for everyone, from potential first time buyers to Realtors, Lenders to New Home Builders to e-mail or call their Congressman. Tell them it is of the utmost importance that they work to extend this program. And the time is now! Let’s keep things going in the right direction. Please do it now. To make it simple, I have included Arizona Congress and Representatives web address’s and phone numbers. If you want me to write it for you just contact me with your info. I will be happy to help.

Michael Manning 602-738-8236

HomeSmart BuyerTours Team

michael.manning@phoenixpowersearch.com

michaelbmanning@cox.net

www.ourteamintegrity.com

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.

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.

75% 1^st + 22% 2^nd + 3% Down Payment = 100%

This program is for buyers of foreclosed properties only.

$20M available for purchase assistance.

The program does not limit closing cost paid by seller.

Must have 3% down, regardless of what mortgage product is used for the financing of the 1^st 75% (VA, USDA, Conventional, FHA, etc).

Income cannot be greater than 120% of median for household by county.

www.yourwayhomeaz.com Click on: Am I Eligible, to find out if you can qualify based on household income ( income is for ALL people over 18, regardless of them being on the loan application).

The purchase price of the home MUST be 1% less than appraised value.

Subsidy by the state is 22% of the purchase price.

The program only applies for a primary residence.

Consumers must complete 8 hours of homebuyer education program.

There are specific debt to income rations that apply for the program. All income from all household members over 18 are used in the calculations even if they are not on the 1^st mortgage loan application.

A 2 month Principal, Interest, Taxes, and Insurance reserve is required.

Single family residence, Condos, Townhomes, and Manufactured homes qualify.

Property must be vacant at the time it was listed.

The 2^nd is forgiven ( don’t have to ever pay it back) if the2nd mortgage loan amount is:

$15K or less and you live in the property for five plus years.

If more than $15K but less than $40K if you live in the property for ten plus years.

And if more than $40K if you live in the property for fifteen plus years.

The maximum qualification is based on FHA loan limits for the county the property is being purchase in.

The 1^st mortgage has to be 75% of the purchase price.

Three things will trigger repayment of 2^nd mortgage ( grant money)

Transfer of Ownership

Vacating the property

Refinancing the property (even if it is a rate and term refinance)

Can close with FHA 1^st mortgage with a 3% down payment not 3.5%, because that half percent would come from this grant program.

FHA 203K loans cannot be used with this program.

The minimum down payment is 3%, 1% must come from the borrower’s own funds, 2% can come from any approved source such as non-profit- if that works for the 1^st mortgage lender it should work for this program.

This information was graciously supplied by 1^st Rate Home Mortgage, Inc.

For more information on this program go to www.yourwayhomeaz.com

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.