Several times recently I’ve been in the position where I have either turned down listings or not “gotten” them because I’ve refused to list them too high.  While we may be in a bizarre competitive ”Buyer’s market” in much of the Phoenix market right now, buyers still aren’t willing or able (we’ll talk about appraisals later) to pay too much for a house.  Sometimes, I’ll if push comes to shove I’ll allow a seller to list the property higher than I think the market will allow for as long as we have an automatic price reduction in place.  Now, all you purest REALTORS who are up in arms that I just said that, I do know that the first couple of weeks is when we’ll get the most showings and activity and I make sure a seller is fully aware of that.  But if they still persist and I think more reason can be seen later I’ll allow for it.

So once the house is listed how do we tell if a house is over-priced?

That’s when I use what I call the Rule of Tens.

• If the house is on the market for 10 days with no calls or showings…it’s over-priced
• If the house has 10 showings and no offers…it’s over-priced

That’s it.

Plain and simple…my Rule of Tens.

On a totally personal note:  10 is my youngest daughter’s favorite number.  Her name is KiersTEN and this year she’ll be 10…on 10/10/10.

Here’s a quick snapshot of the Phoenix real estate Market as of today: 

Things to make note of include:

• The active listings – see how they are coming down, that means that houses are selling and/or expiring and not being replaced with new listings.
• The pending (under contract) listings – nearly twice as many as this time last year!  The buyers are getting it…
• Sales are up too!
• Months Supply of inventory is way down.  If no other houses came on the market at the rate things are selling it would take 4.3 months to deplete the inventory on the market.  

Things are a-changing…

Greatschools.net is a researching parent’s dream.  From public to charter to private schools, you can learn about everything from student and teacher statistics, spending per child, test scores (see Las Sendas Elementary 4th grade AIMS scores above), demographics, extra cirricular activities, parent & student reviews, and much more.  You can also compare schools or school districts.  

If you have something to say about a school your kids go to make sure to leave feedback for others there, too and then sign up to receive updates about your specific schools.  

Don’t miss Great School’s blog, too!

What is the definition of a first-time home buyer? 

The law defines “first-time home buyer” as a buyer who has not owned a principal residence during the three-year period prior to the purchase. For married taxpayers, the law tests the homeownership history of both the home buyer and his/her spouse. 

For example, if you have not owned a home in the past three years but your spouse has owned a principal residence, neither you nor your spouse qualifies for the first-time home buyer tax credit. However, unmarried joint purchasers may allocate the credit amount to any buyer who qualifies as a first-time buyer, such as may occur if a parent jointly purchases a home with a son or daughter. Ownership of a vacation home or rental property not used as a principal residence does not disqualify a buyer as a first-time home buyer.  (my emphasis)

Now is a great time to be a first time buyer.  If you know of anyone who should be taking advantage of the opportunity let me know.

The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced this morning at the National Association of Realtor’s (NAR) Midyear Conference that the Federal Housing and Administration (FHA) will allow it’s lenders to offer first time buyers the opportunity to use their $8,000 federal tax credit toward their down payment.  

This is HUGE!   

Now, if you qualify for the first time home buyer tax credit you don’t have to wait until you buy the house, close on it and then file or amend your taxes to get the $8,000.  The $8,000 will be offered in the form of a small bridge loan that will be paid back after you get your tax credit.  To find out more about the tax credit, check out this informative website. 

With the interest rates at historically low numbers, prices at 10-year lows and an $8,000 tax credit there has never been a better time to buy a home!  And I’m not just saying that because I get paid to.  

If I can help you with your dream of home ownership, please don’t hesitate to ask.

**(Some limitations and exclusions apply, yada, yada, yada…see your friendly loan officer or Realtor for specific details.)

(This was the view from the entryway)

(The “open” hallway)

(Note that you can see the kitchen through the brokenout door and hallway)

(You can also see the next room through the shower enclosure)

(The fact that they left the cabinets intact amazes me!)

 

(A green pool isn’t all that uncommon these days but it makes for a nasty picture!)

 

What do you think of this “right” that many seller’s claim as they are evicetd from their houses?

I used to go dumpster diving with my best friend when I was young.  Stacy and I found all sorts of treasures: an artificial Christmas tree (that my family used for years), office supplies, a wedding/honeymoon album with mementos from  Acapulco (I didn’t realize the implications of finding that in the dumpster until years later).  One person’s trash is another’s treasure, right?

Back to current times…we pulled up to look at a bank owned house and low and behold across the street there was another bank owned house (I know crazy, huh?) with a trashout going on.  A trashout is when the bank or listing agent hires a company (or their brother) to go in and remove the remaining belongings and debris of a foreclosed house prior to listing it for sale.  

There were two guys each with big trucks and a HUGE trailer with tall sides.  As I am trying to reach the listing agent on the phone (because the lockbox is a contractor’s lockbox with no code and no indication that I wouldn’t be able to use my normal lockbox key — that’s a rant for a different day) I hear Mrs. Buyer say, “Are they just going to throw that away?!”  When I get off the phone I find that Mrs. Buyer has approached the workers and inquired as to what they are doing.  She’s learned that they have to keep anything with a value over $50 but the rest is going to in the dumpster.  

Here’s where the fun begins.  She starts scurrying around grabbing things: an infant car seat, 2 bicycle helmets, a Boppy…I’m trying to find places to put things…my trunk is small (it’s a hybrid) and has a bunch of real estate and personal junk in it.  We all start picking through the “junk” cautiously at first and then not so much.  The guys are helping by bring out more and listing stuff off for us.  Mr. Seller and I wind up IN the trailer.  Then comes the bigger stuff…an ice chest, a wagon, a kids basketball stand & hoop, a small Fisher Price play set with slide.  (Now what to do with it?)  We decide to stuff this behind the gate of the initial house we went to look at and they’ll pick it up later.  

Want to see the treasure I ended up with?

Not a big ticket item but who can’t use some extra napkins around the house?  

The buyers keep commenting on it throughout the remainder of our time looking at other houses.  Why didn’t the homeowners take their hard earned stuff?  Why didn’t they sell it?  Why didn’t they donate it?  Why doesn’t the trashout company sell it, donate it, something other than send it to the dump where good stuff will take up precious space on our limited planet (I added that last bit)?  I don’t know the answers to this particular situation but it’s similar to those I see every day.  Maybe the time frame they needed to be out within, maybe denial, depression, laziness, apathy.  

I still don’t have a great place to put all these napkins, anyone have a spill?  

I look through all the listings this morning and notice that they are all vacant.  I make a small note mentally that one says to call for the gate code.  We arrive at Leisure world and (being the rule follower that I am) I pull to the left side (labeled for visitors) rather than breezing through the open gate on the right side.  We wait for the guard to finish his business with the cars ahead of us and I pull up with my MLS sheets (they’re called Planos) and introduce myself and indicate that I’m a REALTOR and I’ve got three houses to show in there.  Well, apparently this guard really enjoys the power bestowed upon him by the high and mighty Leisure World gods and is not about to let some terrorist REALTOR invade during his watch.  Here’s how the conversation went:

Me:  Hi, I’m Shar Rundio with Keller Williams Realty. I’m checking in and will be showing three houses that are for sale in your community (smile).

Guard:  Do you have the house numbers? (grumpy pants)

ME:  I sure do!  They are 555…55..

Guard:  SLOW DOWN!

Me:  Ohhhh, OK.  5…….5……5,     5……5……5,    5………5………5

Guard:  Do you have an appointment with the homeowners?

Me:  ummm…no, the houses are vacant.  (“estate sale” leads me to believe that at least one owner had an unavoidable appointment)

Guard:  Well you have to have an appointment! 

Me:  With whom?  The houses are vacant.  I have the lockbox key and permission from the listing agents to show them.

Guard:  Well you can’t just go trespassing on private property without an appointment!  You need to go down to the real estate office and make an appointment.

Me:  Seriously?  Are you kidding me?  You’re not going to let me in?

Guard:  You can make a u-turn ahead.

I seriously considered backing up and flying through the (still open) gate on the other side.  What was he going to do? Run me down in his golf cart?  He would have had to leave his post and that would have taken some time to get out from behind his glass window and besides, what other crazy REALTOR might have entered illegally?  But, I was trying to be good with clients in the car.  

So instead I call and speak with two of the three listing agents for the houses I want to show (one of whom was as befuddled as I) and one says that he’ll call and put my name on the secret list of allowed people for that morning.  We drive to the other entrance and arrive just in time for the call to come in allowing safe passage into the land of Leisure World.  We did break the rules and look at the other two (which I still didn’t have permission to “trespass” upon) and laughed the whole time that they were probably going to show up on their golf carts and have us removed.  

The events of this morning leave me pondering several things:

• While I wouldn’t call it trespassing, isn’t taking people into other people’s personal property what I do all day long?
• And isn’t that what the sellers want?
• What is so important about Leisure World that requires such stringent visitor rules?  Who do they think they are, Fort Knox?
• Does anyone really dress up in their REALTOR costume (complete with MLS lockbox key and planos) and take two elderly women and a 50-yr old daughter as a cover to invade Leisure World?
• Who could rob/vandalize/whatever a place where people are driving by on their golf carts waiving every 2 minutes?
• Who gets their kicks by being such a butthead?  (sorry it’s evening now and the pleasantries have left)

What are your thoughts?

  image: www.freeimages.co.uk

Is your house a ticking time-bomb?  Are you worried that your appliances are ready to bite the dust?  Have you considered a home warranty?  

One of the misconceptions that I often hear about home warranties is that most people think they are only for:

1.) new homes

2.) just purchased resale homes.  

I always try to dispel that rumor and encourage ANYONE to put a home warranty on their existing home (as well as any rental homes).  For a yearly investment of approximately $300-500 depending on whether you have a pool and what you want covered you are protected if something should break down.  I’ve never had anyone regret purchasing a home warranty BUT I have had people really frustrated that they didn’t.  In fact, I’ve been one of those people.  Several years ago, I let our home warranty lapse after the first year and didn’t renew it.  The $400 I spent on a new water heater would have more than paid for the home warranty AND I would have had a new water heater.  **NOTE TO SELF: Practice what you preach!**  I was talking to someone (okay, it was my mom…at least she follows my advice) the other day and she said, “The new washing machine is being delivered tomorrow.”  I thought/said “What are you talking about?”  Apparently, the washing machine croaked and she had upgraded her warranty to cover the washer/dryer/refrigerator (a REALLY good idea if your appliances are getting on the older side).  The repair man decided that it wasn’t able to be fixed and they delivered a new one of comparable quality.  Oh, and then there was another client’s air conditioner…but you get the idea.

So for a service call (@ $50), the home warranty will cover parts and labor on most of your major housing components.

If you’re interested in looking at some quality companies I’d be happy to send you some information on several companies that we have worked with.  Typically, I am able to negotiate better pricing for your initial investment and then a reduced renewal rate as well.  

Give me a call @ 480.560.7255 or an email @ info@SpeakingofPhoenixRealEstate.com if you are interested in protecting your home and I’ll be happy to help.