We are wishing you Peace, Love and Joy this New Year
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Christmas Rainbow
December 27, 2008 By Leave a Comment
Christmas in Scottsdale this year was a drizzly day. Friends and family ran into our home between the raindrops. The fireplace was roaring, the tree lit up and a wonderful meal was enjoyed by everyone.
Sitting in the living room waiting for food to settle out the window there was the most beautiful double rainbow. We stood in awe. We don’t get many rainbows in Scottsdale, not enough rain. I ran for my camera and it was already fading away.
Wishing you joy and rainbows, Irene
State of the Phoenix Housing Market
December 23, 2008 By 1 Comment
The worst month for home sales in Maricopa County (the greater Phoenix area) was January 2008. There were a total of 2,912 homes that closed and sold. The lowest number in 8 years or more. From there the number of homes sold each month improved with our banner month in June. In June, 2008 (5,748 homes sold) we had more homes sold than June 2007 (5,438). That started a trend where month over month we have had more homes sold than in 2007. It has continued thru the rest of the year.
What does this mean? It means we have hit the lowest spot in our market and are starting to see recovery. Does this mean housing prices are headed up again? Not necessarily. We still have an inventory of 47,396 homes on the market, and 6,139 listings waiting to close. That is still a lot of competition.
There are currently 34,846 listings under 350k. This is important because it is the FHA loan limit. And the price point of most of the home sales. Of those properties priced under 350k, 10,231 are foreclosure properties. Just under 1/3. Foreclosures are driving the market and will continue to do so for a while.
The good news is our market is showing signs of recovery for the past 6 months.
Arizona Sunset
December 16, 2008 By 2 Comments
The other day while headed out to grab a bite of dinner the sun set was amazing. First the McDowell’s all turned a rosy pink. They were glowing. I attempted to get a shot of them while driving, and all the photos were a blur. So once I did stop I got this one.
It is rare that we have clouds like this in our sky. When we do the light show is beautiful.
The Foreclosure Transaction and what to know – part 3
October 29, 2008 By Leave a Comment
SPDS? Mashed potatoes?
No, SPDS are an acronym for Sellers Property Disclosure Statement.
A foreclosed property will not have SPDS available.
SPDS are like the personal diary of a home.
The seller of a home normally provides this. A normal seller will be co-operative and happy to give a buyer all the information possible. A foreclosure sale does not usually have a co-operative seller, but usually an unhappy angry one who definitely isn’t interested in helping the bank or the buyer.
The 7 pages of the SPDS cover questions from plumbing or electrical problems to the presence of scorpions & name of the gas company. The surrounding area information, such as the property being in the flight path for a nearby airport is also included. You can imagine the importance of such a document to answer so many questions…..”Is that stain from an old roof leak? Was it repaired?”. “Has this home had it’s HVAC system checked annually?” “Was this addition done with a permit? Did a licensed contractor do it? Who did it?” “Who has been taking care of this pool?” “When was this ………….. (fill in the blank) done?”
There are many sources to be checked for the answers to most of the questions asked on the SPDS, The Buyer Advisory by the Arizona Association of Realtors contains sources that a buyer may use for information about a property and the neighborhood itself.
We give all of our clients a copy of this important document.
The Foreclosure Transaction and what to know – part 2
October 26, 2008 By Leave a Comment
Why the lack of a CLUE insurance report in a bank owned property affects you.
A CLUE report is an insurance claims history issued by the insurance company of the home seller. It is normally provided by the seller of a home and given to the buyer during the first 5 days of the inspection period. It requires the Social Security Number of the home seller so only they can request it.
If a property has been recently foreclosed on, the bank has not had it insured but for a few weeks, if that, so they will not have one. It is important that the buyer contact their insurance agent during the inspection period. There is a central site that records all insurance claims on all homes, your insurance agent can access that site for an insurance history for you.
Why is that important to you? It will determine if you will be able to insure the property and what your rate will be. Your insurance company has 59 days from when you purchase a policy in which to cancel that policy!! They determine that cancellation based on the possibility of future claims of a similar type to those in the past. This is why you want your insurance company to access that history right up front, not in 59 days.
If the property has had severe water damage claims you will want to inspect those areas more carefully for mold. Mold is a big bad four letter word that terrifies insurance companies. If the property has had several break-ins, you might want to have a security system installed. Has the home had a major fire? There are all sorts of good reasons to know the insurance history of the property.
Also check out these posts:
The Foreclosure Transaction and what to know – part 1
The Foreclosure Transaction and what to know – part 3
a Sun Canyon foreclosure in Scottsdale’s McCormick Ranch
October 25, 2008 By Leave a Comment
This bank owned 2 bedroom 2 bath 1342 sq ft single level second floor apartment style town home with a one car garage is priced at $218,500. Located in the attractive community of Sun Canyon in McCormick Ranch , it has vaulted ceilings, a fireplace, lots of windows giving an abundance of light. The master suite has a large bathroom just calling out to be redesigned. . The kitchen has original cabinets painted white, tile countertops and all the appliances. The patio is a good size. The carpet 
might not clean up and have to be replaced, otherwise this is one foreclosure to be grabbed and run away with.
The closest comparable property, identical floor plan, also upstairs was priced at $275k. Others in the complex go up to $299k for the same floor plan
The one at $275k has oak cabinets & the same tile countertops as the foreclosure. It has very nice looking wood flooring in the kitchen. The carpet is aqua and
would probably have to go, so to me there is no way a wood floor and wood cabinets are worth $57k when the foreclosure is available. It would however look good without the foreclosure.
To find out more about this property or others give me a call on my toll free 1-877-579-7129
Renovations at the Scottsdale Pavilions
October 25, 2008 By Leave a Comment
The Scottsdale Pavilions shopping center is being renovated. YIPEE! It was purchased in January of this year by De Rito Partners Development and all it takes is a drive thru the center to see the changes being made. New paint, resurfacing of the parking lots, and a whole new look.
I recently received a post card asking for me to complete their web based survey. It takes about 10 min. The asked about different stores, events and changes I would like to see, as well as what businesses I currently use most often. I was happy to see they are going to address the dip in the intersection at Pima and Indian Bend as part of the update.
If you live in the neighborhood, take a few min, give your feedback, and as a bonus you will receive 2 movie tickets.
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"The Cat House"… or when a good home goes bad
October 24, 2008 By Leave a Comment
Posted by Claudina:
I purchased a home a few years ago that had a lot of cats living in it. I felt like I stole it the price was so low and I bought it “as is” with intention of doing a total remodel.. I have never owned a cat so I figured, no problem, tear out the carpets and use a little Clorox on the cement under it and we will be ready to go. Not so. The cats had sprayed, not just piddled. I didn’t know about cats spraying. They can spray up to 3 ft high. We tried scrubbing it down with Clorox…pool strength, we tried a magic ozone light, we tried every remedy suggested to us by our many helpful friends. They called it “The Cat House”
What did we do? Finally we tore out every single piece of wood trim, the door frames & baseboards, the cabinets , windowsills and even the doors. We then cut the wallboard off at the 4 ft mark, everywhere!!. We removed the insulation from the outside walls, washed the 2x4s with all sorts of deodorizing stuff. Mostly more Clorox, my cure all for smells. Eventually we ended up spraying many gallons of Kilz, my second step cure, on the 2 x 4s and in the spaces, put in new insulation and new wallboard. I got pretty good with tape, and a trowel that year. Even the electric outlets had to be changed they were all so corroded. We then tiled every square inch of the floors. Oh, we had to pull all the insulation out of the attic crawl space and replace all the ducting for the a/c! The little rascals had played up there too and ripped the ducts to shreds. For as long as I lived in that house when the humidity got high I swore I smelled cat urine. I did get even with the other agent, I got him to appear and pick up the cat urine soaked seller in his new Mercedes to go to the closing. He had refused to even step into the house after the listing was signed. I did my walk thru and he waited outside. He had to get it detailed after taking the seller for that ride and he reminded me of it every time we crossed paths.
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Foreclosure and Auction at Rancho Antigua Condominiums
October 23, 2008 By Leave a Comment
Located off Mountain View Rd just to the west of the 101, Rancho Antigua Condominiums are a conversion that didn’t get quite complete. The developer has 18 units going up for auction scheduled for November 6th, with prices from $200k to $395k. (check out the auction site)
The foreclosure located in Scottsdale’s Rancho Antigua is priced at $244,900 this 3 bedroom 1609 sq ft condo conversion doesn’t stand a chance of selling for a while. The developer has just placed all unsold units on the auction block. at an absolute sale. The list price on the developers units for this sq. ft. is $200k.
So here is another one that just doesn’t make the cut.
If you would like more information on these properties or any others contact me Irene@I-Hammond.com