Tiffany's Arizona Blog

Relief for Haiti, another reason I am proud to be a REALTOR

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 19:15:51 GMT

On January 21, 2009 the National Association of REALTORS® announced they are contributing $550,000 to provide relief to Haiti earthquake victims. $500,000 dollars will be donated to the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, an organization that is providing immediate life saving assistance as well as long-term support in Haiti.

A $50,000 contribution has already been made to The Harvest For Haiti, founded by a 2007 winner of REALTOR® Magazine’s Good Neighbor Awards, Patrick Moore. Moore’s humanitarian outreach

program in Haiti supports orphans, delivers clean water and provides medical care to more than 3,500 people a year. Harvest For Haiti has distributed thousands of doses of antibiotics, installed more than 450 water filter systems and drilled two wells. More says, “In one village where we used to see huge amounts of malaria-associated anemia, we no longer see it,” Please watch the video to your left to see some of the outstanding work this REALTOR® and retired firefighter is doing in his ongoing service to the beautiful people of Haiti.

On a personal note….

I spent 2 months in Haiti as a teenager assisting in a medical clinic, and working on a building to house livestock for an ongoing food supply. One of the biggest struggles we had all summer was clean water. The infrastructure there was virtually non-existent; roads, hospitals, communication and yes – even clean water was not a staple of life there before the quake for a majority of the population. I can’t imagine what they are dealing with now adding the devastation of this earthquake.

It’s a long haul….

Do you remember how long (months) it took to clean up the debris from the Tragedy of 9/11? How long we were digging and looking for people? We had expert, heavy equipment, an organized, readily available work force that was fed and hydrated and trained for rescue, expert methods of communication to assist in organizing the efforts. We had roads, fully staffed hospitals. How long did it take us to recover from the devastation in New Orleans…? Did anyone ever how to stop and think, “will we be able to feed the victims?”, “will we have water for those that are searching?” The Haitians have virtually nothing of substance to deal with this historic tragedy. In fact, they have virtually nothing on top of lacking so many of the basic needs of life. Please remember to pray and give and support the people of Haiti and those people able to go and assist. If they don’t have us….what do they have?

Below are some ways to support the efforts of Haiti.

Red Cross Haiti Relief
Food For The Hungry
Matt Cutts has an excellent blog post, Ways To Help Haiti, that includes donation sites, google maps imagery, information articles, etc.
On twitter I follow: @wyclef @firesideint @AnnCurry

Here is an idea…

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 06:59:35 GMT

There is a lot of talk and debate in the real estate world about the difficulty surrounding the transactions involving banks. Somewhere along the line it has become common place during a transaction to have parties that don’t return phone calls, give abrupt or incomplete answers, string other parties along without giving full-disclosure.

Here is an idea...Let's all just be courteous to one another

It's simple.

It immediately diffuses a situation.

It empowers you.

It often empowers the one you are communicating with to reciprocate likewise.

It allows for solutions instead of adversity.

It allows you and others to sleep better at night.

It's free and the return is great.

think on it…

Rates Unraveled

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 03:45:25 GMT

Bill Chenier with iMortgage explains the mystery behind rate variations between borrowers . . .

I'm often asked why a rate is higher than the rates published in the news or various advertising. It's a good question and the short answer is that the rates you may read online or in publications are simply teaser rates and not the actual rate available to a particular borrower.

Information in news articles and rates posted on the internet can be very misleading because they rarely disclose the cost associated with the rate.

In 2008 Fannie and Freddie instituted risk based pricing and increased their loan level pricing (explanation below), which can have a big effect on a rate. I can safely assume that a so called "average" rate is actually the best financing available to highest FICO tier borrowers who are paying a 1% origination fee.

Risk Based pricing takes into an account 2 factors:

LTV (loan to value): That is the percentage of down payment the borrower is paying. The rate for someone putting 20% down is much lower than 5% down.

Credit score: The credit score tiers are as follows:

Over 740
720 to 739
700 to 719
680 to 699
660 to 679
640 to 659
620 to 639

Each tier has a hit to the rate and the rate may rise dramatically as the credit score drops.

Example:

Borrower A purchasing with a 740 score and 20% down would get the very best rate.

Borrower B with a 660 score and 10% down would borrow at a rate as much as .5% higher.

Loan Level pricing:

Each one of these 3 factors will have an effect on the rate:

Type of loan: Purchase, refinance or cash out refinance
Occupancy: Primary Residence, Second home or Investment
Loan Amount: Loans under $100,000

The rate on a LSR (Loan Status Report) is not a rate quote but instead it is a protection for the Borrower. As it states on the LSR: Interest Rate not to exceed ____. This gives the borrower protection from a change in rates between the time they make their offer to the time they have the opportunity to lock their loan.

You can reach Bill Chenier at 480.907.6745

Phoenix Metro Area Affordability Index for 2009

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 16:58:58 GMT

Below you will find a list of the 12 major cities and 17 secondary cities in the Greater Phoenix Metropolitan area.

The chart below offers a 1 year snapshot (Sept 2008 – Sept 2009) of affordability using price per square foot as indicator. Also included is the price per square foot from the year prior along with a percentage breakdown of change from 2008 to 2009.

Lowest percentage of 1 year decreases are in Sun City West, Sun Lakes and Wickenburg), while the highest percentage of decreases troubled Tonopah, Phoenix and New River. The average rate of decrease was 29.8%.

If you have any questions regarding where to live and purchase in Phoenix Metropolitan area please don’t hesitate to contact Julie@Julie-n-Tiff.com or Tiffany@Julie-n-Tiff.com.

Technorati Tags: Phoenix Metro,Phoenix Metropolitan Area,Phoenix,where to live in Arizona,Arizona real estate,arizona affordability,arizona,affordability index phoenix,real estate 2009,arizona realtors,phoenix area realtors,phoenix area homes,where to live in phoenix,phoenix real estate,arizona market trends

My Arizona Short Sale has just been approved by the bank - Now What?

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 00:22:14 GMT

Mr. Seller,

We started this short sale process quite awhile ago, It’s been almost 4 months since our first listing consultation. We have spent a great deal of time and effort focusing on the ‘almighty bank approval’ and now that we have received that approval I thought I should give you an idea of what to expect next.

What Happens Next?

Now that we have received approvals from both lien holders (banks) we will notify the buyers in writing of the banks approval. The Buyers will then start their ‘due diligence’, or inspection period. During this time, the buyers will most likely have an inspector that will perform a 2-3 hour general inspection of the property. The buyers also may elect to have additional specialized inspectors out (i.e. for roof, or pool, A/C, etc…). All of these inspections will usually occur during the 10-day inspection period which starts the first full day after we notify the buyers that we have bank approval from both lien holders.

Why the inspections if they agreed to take the property “AS-IS?”

Even though the buyer has agreed not to ask for the repairs they want to make sure they can live with the property in the condition that it currently is in. If they find the property needs more repairs than they are willing to undertake, then the buyers do have the right to cancel the contract and have their earnest money refunded. (Fortunately, you have maintained your property very well, and in the event that they did back out, we have plenty of other buyers that bid on your property that would be thrilled for another chance – so no worries for you here!). In addition to the inspection, the buyer’s lender will need to have their own appraisal completed to insure the property value warrants the loan they will be giving to the new buyers. This appraisal usually occurs after the inspections have been completed, but occasionally the buyers will elect to have this completed simultaneously.

When Do We Close Escrow?

There are a few things to consider when determining the date of your Close of Escrow (COE). The short sale addendum both parties signed with the contract stipulates that the buyer and seller will close 30 days from bank approval; however, a simple addendum to the contract signed by both parties can modify the close of escrow to better suit everyone’s needs. What CANNOT be easily modified (or modified at all in most cases) is the Banks expiration of their approval. The banks approval will have conditions and one of those is that the home/transaction closes no later than __<insert date>__. This expiration date from the bank will be our number 1 governing factor when it comes to choosing a close of escrow date. Normally the banks will give the buyer and seller about 45 days to get the property closed. As your Realtors, Julie and I will recommend trying to close at least a week before that bank deadline, just so that we have a little ‘wiggle-room’ in meeting the banks expiration date. Occasionally things get help up at the last minute (buyers loan being held up, paperwork needing to be re-signed, etc) and we don’t want the transaction to be in jeopardy because we didn’t have the foresight to allow a couple of days leeway.

Hope this helps and is not too confusing. Remember Julie and I will be here to walk you through the process and keep everybody on task!

Two Breaches Don't Make a Right...

Sat, 29 Aug 2009 19:46:19 GMT

We do a lot of transactions that involve buying or selling properties that are ‘distressed’ properties. The dictionary defines distress as: a state of extreme necessity or misfortune. A distressed property might be anything from a vacant, bank-owned home, a pre-foreclosure (or short sale) that involves tenants being forced to move, or a traditional sale where the sellers are forced to sell and must walk away from a large down payment that has been lost to them in a declining market. Currently, 60%-70% of all homes closing in the Phoenix Metropolitan area would fit into this category.

Distressed sales are never ideal for the sellers or residing tenants and can introduce a myriad of possible problems at close of escrow for a potential buyer. What happens if the property is damaged or ‘trashed’ before Close Of Escrow (COE)? What if the occupants leaving take appliances, fans, or fixtures that are supposed to convey or stay with the property? What if a vacant property has had vandalism that has altered the condition of the home?

What remedies do you have as a buyer of a home if one of the above problems arises shortly before close of escrow (COE) or recordation?

There is a short answer to this question and a long answer. Most people want to know if they can refuse to close until the property is ‘whole again’ or demand some kind of compensation for the damage before close of escrow. So here is the short answer: Just because the other party has breached the contract, doesn’t give you a legal right to breach it as well. How can you be breaching the contract by refusing to close escrow? You agreed in the contract to close on a specific date. Remember your mother telling you two wrongs don’t make a right? – Yep, it’s still true.

This post was originally 5x the current length it is now, because I started with the long answer. The long answer involves taking a detailed look at the purchase contract we use in Arizona to define what the parties have agreed to in terms of:

the condition of the property
the inspection periods
the seller warranties
the seller’s obligation to inform the buyer of changes in the property
remedies the non-breaching party has against the breaching party

Suffice it to say that there is much that can be discussed and a great deal of detail along with different ways to circumvent through the above mentioned items. It is imperative that your agent has extensive and skilled knowledge at trying to pro-actively address and protect you as much as possible. For instance, Julie and I feel it prudent to conduct 2 walk-thrus of the property before close of escrow. The first walk-thru should be completed about 6 or 7 days before close of escrow and then a second one done a day or so before the close of escrow, after any occupants have vacated the property. Will this earlier walk-thru guarantee discovery of a potential problem? - No, not necessarily (especially if the breach hasn’t occurred yet). Might it help you discover a problem before it’s too late to put into action some of the built-in remedies allowed for a breach of contract – specifically a 3 day cure notice delivered to the seller? – Absolutely!

Ultimately we will tell you this, when the property isn’t handed over in the same condition as it was when the contract was agreed upon, the solution is not as easy as the buyer refusing to close escrow and you could be forced to make some tuff decisions at the last minute. Make sure you are prepared for the possibilities and realize that this is one of the inherit risks of getting a great home at rock bottom prices.

Thanks for reading!

Etiquette and Manners for Purchasing Short Sales

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 20:25:10 GMT

Since Short Sales etiquette is not included in the Emily Post’s Etiquette Daily, I thought I might share a few things Julie and I have learned and observed the last 2 years that short sales has become a regular part of our real estate business.

Short Sale and Pre-Foreclosure are the same thing.
Make an extra effort to view a home advertised as ‘short’ or ‘pre-foreclosure’ when the occupants are not around. They don’t want to talk to you.
If you happen to run into owners or occupants/tenants while viewing a home advertised as a ‘short-sale’ Don’t ask them any questions. If it’s a tenant, they might not even know that the owner is selling short and the owner might not be ready for them to know that yet. If it’s an owner….they are losing their home, this is not the time or place to ask questions. Have your buyer’s agent discuss details with the owner’s listing agent. Don’t put the owner on the spot to discuss details of their uncomfortable position.
Just because someone is selling short, does not mean that they do not deserve the same curtsey when scheduling appointments, keeping appointments, locking up and leaving your business card.
When writing a contract, DO NOT ask for any of the owners personal property including appliances, furniture, lawn equipment, etc. Don’t add insult to injury – they are already losing their home don’t ask for the few personal items of value they DO get to take with them.

Do you have a right to ask questions and find out specifics about the situation of the homeowners' situation? If you are a consumer/buyer – you have the right to ask your agent. If you are an agent you better ask questions! Don’t ask the owner though, ask the co-operating agent. You need to find out some specifics regarding how many liens, amount and status of the liens, who holds them, at what stage the foreclosure is in, what documents have been sent to the bank etc…that is your job and you better do it – via the listing agent.

If you have additional items of etiquette for us to consider please leave a comment.

Thanks for reading.

Welcome Electronic Signatures

Sun, 02 Aug 2009 03:01:48 GMT

Welcome electronic signatures and DocuSign to the list of value-added features to help assist our clients and customers with their real estate transactions.

Electronic signatures have been legal and enforceable since October of 2000 when the Electronic Signatures in Global and International Commerce Act (ESGICA) was enacted. There are several great blogs and websites which go into the details of the technology involved in creating and validating signatures, here are a few if you are really interested in the technical side of electronic signatures: AZ Secretary of State, DircectoryM Articles, How Stuff Works

On a more practical side, Julie and I have been using DocuSign for several months now and have had nothing but positive feedback from our clients and other professionals we interface with.

Here are a few reasons We love working with electronic signatures...

Contracts are legible and easy to read

Let's face it, sometimes our real estate contracts would get faxed up to 8 times before they were considered fully executed. Then they need to be delivered to title, escrow and various brokers. It is very common to have to deliver not only the executed contract but 1 or 2 drafts of the contract before all terms were agreed to, just so that lenders and title could try to decipher what was on page 8 before it was faxed the 5th time.

Banks Like Contracts With Electronic Signatures better than Contracts With Faxed Signatures

If you are trying to purchase or sell a short sale or bank-owned home (foreclosed home) then you want to sign your documents electronically if at all possible. It is imperative to send over a complete and 'clean' package to the bank. We NEED to make things as simple and forthcoming for the overburdened negotiator with 200 other files on his desk.

If you had 200 files on your desk which of contracts would you want to tackle first?

Convenience

If you can access your email and the internet, then you can sign a document electronically. You can access your document online, view it, sign it, download it and save it AT YOUR LEISURE. No Realtors showing up at your house at 9pm to get signatures. No fax machines, or scanners to figure out.

Electronic signatures works great with:

· out of state buyers

· Signatures that need to be signed late at night

· couples getting separated or divorced that would like to sign separately of each other,

· people that work nights and sleep during the day or have non-traditional work schedules

· people going on vacation

· people on business trips

· people that write or respond to multiple offers at one time

· BUSY people

Electronic Signatures Save Time and Eliminate Steps

DocuSign facilitates almost instant communication. If you complete your signature while at work, you don't have to fax the document to your spouse at home to sign, docusign immediately delivers it to them as soon as you finish. Once your spouse has signed the document Julie and I are alerted within a minute or two that your document envelope is complete. Within minutes we can have the document forwarded to the co-operating agent, lawyer, title company, brokers and the bank. Time is always of the essence when putting together deals and getting the deals closed.

Electronic Signatures Are EASY

If you can do this, you can sign a document electronically:

Electronic Signatures Cost You Nothing

We believe in this concept and the value it adds to our service. As our clients, you pay nothing to sign the documents we send you with DocuSign. Our subscription covers you and allows you to sign for free.

Thanks for reading.

Tipping Point - Phoenix Housing Market 2009

Fri, 01 May 2009 16:04:02 GMT

The million dollar question for the last several years in the Phoenix Metropolitan area is "when will the housing market hit bottom?" This leads us to ask, "how does one define the 'bottom of the market'? " I am no statistician by any means, but you can only define "bottom" by looking backwards. One can't state that we are at the bottom now without knowing what will happen next month, the month after, etc. Usually when we talk about trends and defining trends in real estate, we want to see at least a four month consistency, or 'last quarter' type of stability. If March or April of 2009 is the bottom of the market price-wise, we won't know until mid to late summer. We can only look back to determine with any certainty what the data tells us in relation to the broader picture.

Having said that we are definitely at a tipping point in the greater-Phoenix housing market. Let's look at both ends of the supply and demand scale that impact our sales price.

Supply is the inventory of homes we have available for purchase. At our peak in October 2007 we had 58,334 homes available. To contrast this figure with the other market extreme of 2005/6 our inventory of homes was at a whopping 8,342 in April of 2005. (Normal inventory is about 32,000 active listings) Now let's look at the decrease in inventory over the last several months.

: Phoenix Housing Market Decline First Quarter 2009

Now lets take a look at the demand side of the Phoenix housing market. Pending sales are our most current indicator of the demand for homes. While closed sales are arguably a more accurate indicator, because not every pending sale ends in a closed sale; closed sales again are looking backwards. Pending sales are a more immediate picture of current demand. So what do the pending sales in the Greater Phoenix housing market tell us?

: Highest amount of Pending Home Sales than any other time in history in Phoenix Metro area

As the above chart indicates, our pending sales are through the roof. This chart is 2 weeks old, our pending sales are even higher now at over 14,000 units. We are currently several thousands units above what our previous high was which happended to be in the 2005 market. I don't know that we could have any clearer indicator of demand except what agents and buyers are experiencing out in the trenches right now.

Here is what I have heard from other agents in the last week. "I Can't believe there were 18 offers on that house", "2 of the 5 properties I was going to show my buyer went under contract last night" "The listing agent told me not to bother to write on homes if I was going to 'low-ball' - thing is, we only came in $5,000 under asking price - the listing agent told us we were the lowest price offer he had of 6."

Thanks for reading.

Conveying Title with 'Special Warranty Deed' on Foreclosed Home

Fri, 03 Apr 2009 09:14:11 GMT

When conveying title on a resale home in Arizona the seller will usually convey title with a ‘general warranty deed‘; an exception to this is when that resale home happens to be a foreclosed home. When purchasing a foreclosed home in Arizona, the seller (bank) will offer you a ‘Special Warranty Deed’ instead of a ‘General Warranty Deed’. So what is the difference and how does it effect the purchaser/buyer? Tiffany Malcom, branch manager at Grand Canyon Title in Gilbert, AZ explains what you need to know about a General vs Special Warranty Deed.

A general warranty deed is a promise to the buyer that the seller will warranty any prior problems with title, not just during the seller’s ownership, but back along the chain of ownership.

A special warranty deed, on the other hand, limits the seller’s promise (or warranty) to title problems that come up while the seller owned the property, but gives no warranty for problems prior to that point. They only owned the property long enough to build the homes so they aren’t willing to warrant buyers against something that happened to cloud title before they may have owned the land. Foreclosure property is another example where you often see special warranty deeds. The bank, like the builder, has no close relationship to the property and won’t bend over backwards to promise anything about the condition of title before they acquired the property through foreclosure.

These days, title insurance is the buyer’s best friend. Title insurance insures the buyer against past ownership problems, old liens, boundary issues, and so on. There may be exceptions in the title insurance policy, and owners should know what their exceptions are. For example, without a survey, a title company won’t insure against problems that a survey would have made known — encroachments, for example. That’s an exception and they won’t pay for problems that would have shown up with a survey. But unless there’s a specific exception, any other past title problems are covered.

For any other questions you might have on Title Insurance or Escrow procedures feel free to contact Tiffany Malcom @(480) 831-6066.

What kind of value does 'Expertise' add? Can you measure it?

Tue, 24 Mar 2009 18:10:48 GMT

I have a confession to make. It is sometimes a struggle for me to put into words the value that being a local full-time REALTOR can add to a transaction.

I can describe the process I go through with a seller for marketing their home, the method in which I communicate with them and others, and my business practices. I can analyze statistics, market share, days on market, average sales price list to sales price from public data to make sure we are competitive. I quite enjoy educating my clients in the mechanisms, steps we go through once an offer has been made on a home, accepted and escrow is opened . The items above are easy to put in an outline and describe to my clients in a clearly quantitative way. You can measure these things and ‘see’ them quite clearly.

If the public has so much information available to them and discount brokers and limited service real estate companies will put your home on the MLS for you….why do you need a avail yourself of a local full-time real estate agent professional to sell your home or represent you as a buyer’s agent?

The answer is: “Expertise”, and expertise is not as easily defined, measured or visible to the non-practiced or unknowing eye.

Expertise in Timing

One of the families in my neighborhood had their home for sale with another agent for about 9 months. (I only sell about 1/4 of the homes in my neighborhood as I have made an active decision not to market to my neighbors in any way. I want to be a neighbor and friend; not the pushy salesman that happens to live in the neighborhood that my neighbors run from every time they see). This particular seller had decided to take their home off the market for awhile and do some re-modeling of the Kitchen and Master Bath (which they asked me to come over and consult with them and I happily did). While the home was off the market with their real estate agent,who happened to live in a different town, they had put a “For Sale By Owner” sign up on their home. In the middle of November 2008 I ran into the wife and asked her how the work was coming on the kitchen. While we were chatting she told me they were planning on taking their For Sale By Owner Sign down since the holidays were coming and ‘people don’t really buy’ and the market is ‘so slow’ during November and December. I immediately started shaking my head “No" as I explained to her that while that may be true for the market in general, in the Mesa Groves area that we lived in, we actually get a burst of activity during the holidays and sell quite a lot of homes. The timing for our area of Mesa was different then the market in general. That neighbor showed the home in December of 2008 to someone that purchased it.

Expertise in Local Research

Do you know what Zillow is reporting as their own reliability for valuing homes in Arizona, right now? Zillow reports only 23% accuracy within a 5% sales price for the Phoenix Metro Area (see chart below). That means that the other 67% of homes they have estimates sell for a sales price AT LEAST 5% different then what they estimate the home is worth. Only 65% sell within 20% of their estimate! A starting point? - possibly, but by no means an expert authority on what a home is worth.

Do you know what the average ‘list to sales price’ is for the home you are making an offer on is? What is the average Days on Market (DOM) for your neighborhood in the last 6 months? How does your subdivision compare with the area or city average? How many of the closed sales in your neighborhood, area of town, or city were foreclosed homes versus non bank-owned homes (or traditional sales)? Does any of that matter? Possibly, possibly not. However, to find what is pertinent, I often have done much more research then is visible to my clients. Any of the clients I have worked with will tell you that my primary weapon in negotiating besides a level head is knowing more than the other party. I will attempt to analyze your position from every possible angle in order to be prepared ahead of time with market knowledge.

Where do I get my information from? I use information from the MLS, the county assessor's office, research outlets that I subscribe to, other agents, as well as my own knowledge of the market from experience. I believe in the value in having your homework done when it comes to trends and facts. My clients benefit from this involved local research and can’t learn this expertise themselves on the internet.

Expertise on the Contract

2006 –2008 I spent 80 hours in ‘official’ continuing education classes. I spent many more hours in ‘non-credit’ continuing education. A majority of that education is contract specific information. Add to this that I have been using the contract full-time, that I consult with other agents using the contract and you might guess I am pretty-well versed on what the standard AAR contract is about. If you are represented by yourself or an Uncle that works full-time at another job and ‘dallies’ with real estate part-time on the weekends are you going to have any expertise available to you when it comes to the nuts and bolts of the contract? Will you fully understand what you are signing? Will you recognize if the other party is trying to pull a fast one on you? There is a lot of money involved here, are you willing to ‘hope’ you have it right?

Expertise in Negotiating with Relevant Parties

Some of my clients are amazingly skilled at negotiating. While I absolutely love negotiating and get a ‘rush’ from the banter and back and forth of it all, I in no way have a “corner on the market”, so to say. While my clients are not experts on the contract we use and limited by that knowledge, some do quite well with the larger ideas and ‘net proceeds’ aspects of a contract. However, there is a lot more to negotiating then just finalizing the contract. On a listing, I start negotiating with the buyer’s agent from the very first phone call. I know what makes my house unique from others in the neighborhood because I have done my research. Every conversation I have with an agent, I am always pushing my client’s agenda and making my client’s case. This is important because those agents make recommendations to their client in writing up the offer to purchase. Often times, I have negotiated more money for you before the deal has even come across my fax machine. Valuable? Absolutely! Can I measure this and communicate this to you in a quantitative way….not so much – but the value is there nonetheless.

What about negotiating to keep the deal alive? I know the specific questions and dialogue to have with the other agent, the lender, and escrow agents during a transaction to identify possible problems and negotiate through them before they become deal killers. Having a business practice of consistently checking in with all parties involved during the transaction allows me to monitor and negotiate as needed.

What about negotiating the repairs during the inspection period? Negotiating with banks on foreclosed homes and short sales (could be another several blog post all to themselves)? There is a lot of value on expert negotiating in a transaction that I bring my clients.

Expertise in remaining a Detached Consultant

A home purchase or sale of a home can be, and often times does provide emotional turmoil at some point during the transaction. Very rarely are there zero ‘snags’ or obstacles that need to be navigated through. Often times, these can be trying for the buyer or seller who have an emotional stake in the outcome. Most often I have dealt with the particular obstacle, or a variation thereof, and can keep a level perspective. I want to provide the facts and alternatives to you in an unbiased way to assist you in accomplishing your goal.

Expertise in having access to Other Experts

The most common question I get as an agent is, “How is the market?”. The second most common question I get is, “Do you know someone that I can call about …..(fill in the blank)?” Clients and former clients know that I have had experience with all sorts of tradesman from housecleaning, handyman, roof repair, home inspectors as well as trade specific experts like lenders, escrow companies, real estate attorneys, property managers, etc….

Not only do I know of all sorts of people I can pass along for your own independent evaluation, but what about people I consult with during the transaction on your behalf that you might not even be aware of? For example, my managing broker, Trudy Moore, is only a phone call away. She is the managing broker for the largest real estate broker in the Southwest United States and is privy to all sorts of information that a smaller or independent broker might not have access to. In addition, my broker has real estate attorneys on retainer and access to the AZ Department of Real Estate legal hotline.

I also have access to the research department at my local preferred title company that can often pull tax information, deed information, lien information, parcel history etc that is not easy stuff to get a hold of. Often times I will have them pull information for me in my research and you might not ever know about it.

One of my clients works for Southwest Gas and has helped me get meters turned on at the last minute for inspections that otherwise would have caused days of delay. I have several clients that are custom home builders that I have some times called to consult with on a specific issue. I don’t overuse my connections with people, but I tend to become friends with my clients and we often have a reciprocal on-going relationship that last years after the transaction has ended. Sometimes I am able add value to my service because of these relationships.

While I hope to knock your socks off with my marketing plan, tools and cutting-edge use of technology, and those things are easily measurable; it is much harder to define the ‘expertise value’ that I bring to a transaction. This blog post is already well past the “ideal length” and I must let you get on with your day; but I hope I gave you some things to consider. Please don’t hesitate to call or email with any questions, comments or concerns; and as always, thanks for reading.

This information is copyrighted by Tiffany Cloud 2009

Why 7.1% Unemployment Rate in Arizona is 'Good'

Thu, 12 Mar 2009 14:07:03 GMT

Of the states hardest hit by the housing bubble, Arizona’s unemployment rate is by far the lowest. Historically Arizona has always benefited from a lower than average unemployment rate compared to the rest of the country. When looking at the last 10 years statistics we had several years of 3-4% unemployment and average about 5%. Yes, we are currently at a a decade high of 7.1% but that is still below the National average of 7.6% (Jan 2009), even though Arizona had the largest drop in home values in the nation for 2008 at 34%. Think about it, with THE LARGEST DECLINE of home values in the nation wouldn’t one expect our unemployment rate to be much higher?

Let’s compare Jan 2009 Unemployment Rates in AZ to a few of the other states hit hard by the housing bubble:

	Current Unemployment Rate For January 2009	Difference from National Average of 7.6%	Highest Monthly Unemployment Rate from 1985-2008
Arizona	7.1%	- .06%	7.7%
California	10.1	+ 2.5%	9.9%
Florida	8.6%	+ 1.0%	8.9%
Nevada	9.4%	+ 1.8%	8.4%

- data Bureau of Labor Statistics

Do I suspect that the Arizona unemployment rate might go higher? Sure, most likely; but let's keep the rate in perspective with the rest of the nation, the other 'bubble states' and the fact that we are #1 for housing decline in the nation. Unemployment is bad. 7.1% in this economy??....I can live with that.

Bubble States (andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com)

Mesa Historic Citrus Corridor Explained

Wed, 11 Mar 2009 20:17:42 GMT

You might hear it referred to as “Mesa Groves”, “Citrus Sub-Area”. "Citrus Corridor" or just “The Groves”, they all refer to a protected sub-area in North-East Mesa, Arizona where estate size housing lots abound in and around 80-year old Citrus Groves.

There are many unique things that set this area apart from any other area in Mesa or the Valley. According to the City of Mesa’s Citrus Sub-Area Plan, the purpose of the sub-area is, “to provide estate-type residential uses and characteristics associated with large lot residential development.” Approximately 89% percent of the roughly 3 square miles is zoned R-35, low-density single-family housing, with schools and parks making up another 5%. In addition to miles of large estate size lots, a double row of citrus trees line most of the arterial streets and are incorporated into many of the sub-divisions and private lots. Consequently, The Citrus Groves Corridor has it's own microclimate which can be 10-15 degrees cooler at night than the adjacent desert areas.

In order to protect and maintain the history of what remains of the once 1,000 + acre groves, developers are strongly encouraged to follow guidelines set forth in the Mesa Citrus Sub Area Plan.

Below are a sample of a few of the Guidelines of this Area Plan that promote a rural experience:

All Garages Should be side or real entry
All walls should be of solid masonry construction using natural stone, stone veneer, brick or decorative block in keeping with the rural theme.
Minimum lot size should be no less than 30,000 square feet.
Citrus Trees should be maintained with flood irrigation when possible.
In the Citrus Sub-Area, all new residential development should promote and encourage custom home development on R1-35 zoned lots.

You are going to see a lot of mature citrus, grass and beautiful custom homes in this area. While there is still evidence of a dessert, it is greatly muted by an abundance of green. From November to March is not uncommon to see an occasional John Deere tractor loaded with a trailer full of citrus driving down the street. People drive from all over the Valley to the few local citrus stands and stores that still remain in the area. In fact, Winter Visitors love to ship the fresh citrus to family and friends back east and beyond during the winter months. Several city parks, award-winning schools, a few churches and a couple of antique stores are also a part of this unique citrus sub-area. It is not a surprise, that The Phoenix Business Journal 2008 Book of List, states that Mesa’s wealthiest zip code, 85215, is a part of this unique area. The Groves are bordered by Loop 202 freeway on the North with easy access to Scottsdale and Tempe and less than 15 miles from Sky Harbor International Airport and Arizona State University.

As of March 4, 2009, ¾ acre lot homes in The Mesa Groves are listed from $339,900 to $3,150,000. The average list price per square foot is $263 and the average listing has 5688 sq/ft. If you would like more information on homes in this unique area, please give me a call 888.668.4629 or email me Tiffany@CloudHomes.com

A note to REALTORS, let's be honest.

Thu, 26 Feb 2009 04:19:39 GMT

Wow....That's a S-T-R-E-T-C-H (edit/delete)

I received an email today for a local agent in town today that I found very interesting.

This agent looked to have sent out an email ‘blast’ most likely purchasing a list of email addresses from one of the many companies selling such things. The email was titled “Touching Base”. The title and subject clearly inferd that I had a relationship with this agent, which I obviously do not, but it’s a hook to get you to open the email – breed familiarity. Salesmanship 101. I have no problem with that, although I don’t use those particular tactics myself, to each his own.

My problem came with the body of the email, it read as follows:

“I wanted to touch base to see if there is anything I can do for you. As your local real estate expert and economist, I am here as your resource for information and updates.”

“Economist”…..now THAT is interesting. I wonder what our Real Estate commissioner would think about that statement? In Arizona we are strongly encouraged not to advertise or work outside of our area of expertise. Clearly passing a real estate license exam does not constitute the expertise of an “economist”. Outside of our own local licensing laws in Arizona, this agent is a REALTOR and subject to NAR’s professional standards which holds a REALTOR to be honest and not mislead the public.

I just thought this was a stretch, and a poor one at that.

UPDATE: I checked this agents website just to make sure they did not hold a degree in economics and then I sent the agent involved an email as a professional courtesy to let her know that she might be advertising herself outside of her scope of expertise and to be cautious.

The response I got from the agent in it’s entirety was this: "The e-mail sent was from the Keller Williams 33-touch campaign, not something we ourselves wrote"

...And obviously not something they thought to proofread before sending out or feel a need to correct? Hmmmm.....

I know what a lot of you are thinking. “They are just trying to let there client’s know that they are on top of this crazy economic upheaval, stimulus incentives, etc… They are trying to be relevant to their sphere.” There is relevant and then there is overstating the facts, and let’s just say it, lying.

We have clients that are desperate for help right now, not just needy or curious, but actually desperate. Is it fair to communicate to those folks seeking professional advice that you have a higher degree of expertise than you have? Couldn’t an agent be taking advantage of an extremely volatile client? Maybe, maybe not….but why take the risk? Let’s hold ourselves to a higher standard of care to the public.

Thanks for reading.

2009 Home Stimulus Needs Response

Thu, 19 Feb 2009 13:25:39 GMT

Providing Incentives for the bank to modify loans with troubled borrowers is all good and well if the banks can respond.

The reality is that banks have been living with the necessity to deal more efficiently and effectively with the short sales and foreclosures for years and have not responded.

The phone is ringing and ringing and ringing......will the banks pick up?

2009 Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan for Arizona

Wed, 18 Feb 2009 22:55:02 GMT

2009 Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan for Arizona

President Obama outlined the housing portion of the stimulus plan in Mesa Arizona today. Mesa, Arizona with a Jan 08 - Jan 09 depreciation rate of 44%. Yes, that is 44% in the most recent 12 month period. You can imagine that as a full-time REALTOR living and working in Mesa Arizona I was very eager to hear what plans this housing portion of the stimulus plan might offer to help curb the downward spiral we are in. While specific details on the plan will not be available until March 4^th some major things were addressed today.

This is what I heard…

US Treasury is hoping to help as many as 3 to 4 million homeowners avoid foreclosure by providing mortgage lenders with financial incentives to modify existing first mortgages. New modified payments will not be allowed to exceed 31% of the borrower’s monthly gross income. (great news!)

Lender’s are NOT required to modify a loan

Let’s hope that financial incentive from the government to be announced March 4th is a good one because the last time the mortgage companies were offered the opportunity to modify loans on a volunteer basis the whole thing fell flat.

Through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac homeowners will be allowed to refinance their existing loans up to 105%. This will help those homeowners that would like to refinance to lower payments and take advantage of lower interest rates (especially those caught in unreasonable Adjustable Rate Mortgages) but have been unable to do so because they do not have 20% equity in their homes. Quite a lot of Arizona families might need to be giving this some serious consideration. Only first loans are eligible and the home must be an owner/occupied home to qualify – no investment properties.

First Time Home Buyer’s Tax Credit of $8,000 available for purchase made from January 1, 2009 – December 31, 2009.

This credit was changed quite a bit during those final days of negotiating in DC. The final credit resulted in a credit that need not be paid back if you reside in the home for at least 3 years.

FHA limits will return to the temporarily elevated ones of 2008

This means our current FHA loan limit of $271K will be elevated back to $346k. The FHA product is useful in getting the housing market moving again, because the FHA product offers buyers more flexibility.

[Here is the problem I always come back to when dealing with banks and distressed homeowners… Banks are effectively lame, dumb and blind when it comes to responding to the current workload they have. It takes them literally MONTHS (yes that is plural) to even assign someone to look at a homeowner’s case, let alone start processing it through layers and layers of reviews and approvals. How does this plan address or tackle that harsh reality?]

Is it a Credit or a Loan? 2009 Stimulus for Home Buyers

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 17:25:56 GMT

Stimulus help for homebuyers - Is it a credit? Is it a loan?

We are still waiting on final details of what Congress will turn out on the “$15K homebuyer tax credit”. Here is what we think we know right now:

· The $15,000 tax credit is more of an interest free loan from the government. You purchase a home and then are able to apply for this ‘credit’ when filing your tax return. You get $15k from government and repay the money to the government, interest free, in 15 equal installments via your annual taxes.

· The tax credit is non-refundable, which means that buyers can only claim the credit if they owe income taxes. (The Home Buyer’s credit of 2008 which was $7500 could be credited whether you owed/paid taxes or not)

· Buyers can claim the credit on two years of tax returns.

· No income limits

· Applies to people purchasing primary residences only

· If you sell the property before the 15 years has occurred, the entire balance is due from the proceeds of the sale. Not enough money from the proceeds? Government is out some money, you are off the hook.

· You DO NOT have to be a first-time home buyer to receive this credit.

· Credit is up to 10% of sales price up to $150,000 sales price. In our Greater Phoenix Housing Market, most buyers will be able to take the maximum amount of $15,000.

I don’t like the fact that Congress is calling this a “credit”. I think to more accurately describe this to the public it should be correctly identified as, “$15k interest free loan for home buyers”. Leave it to the government to say they are giving you a credit, but want it back. I am glad when my bank credits me something, I don't have to worry about them taking it back; or that my school teachers didn't take back their extra-credit that they gave me in school. If you have to pay it back, it's called a " L.O.A.N "

Now for the disclaimers: Please consult your qualified financial planner or CPA for more information and details on this program. This is information I have gathered from several different sources and is changing daily.

3.99% Financing on your next new home in the Phoenix Area!

Fri, 23 Jan 2009 18:18:06 GMT

How does 3.99% Fixed Interest Rate Sound for that New Home?

Many builders are offerering Interest rates below an already unbelievable 5% to entice buyers to purchase one of their homes.

Toll Brothers, a Valley leader in luxury homes, is offering an unbelievable 3.99% 30 year fixed rate loan with no origination fees on their inventory homes and will lock that rate for up to 60 days with no cost to the buyer. Toll Brothers features communities in Scottsdale, Phoenix, Cave Creek, Litchfield and Chandler.

Blandford Homes which boast Planned Community of the Year for 8 of the last 10 years for it’s Spectacular Las Sendas Communityin North East Mesa is offering tantalizing interest rates for it’s Mountain Bridge Community, another Resort Master Planned Community only a few miles from Las Sendas. Blandford is offering what we refer to as an ‘interest rate buy-down’ for the first couple of years of your mortgage. First year is 2.5% interest, Second year is 3.5% interest and your third and final interest rate for the remainder of your 30 year term is a fixed 4.5%! (Just a side note here, I will be doing another blog with pictures soon on Mountain Bridgeas it is my favorite new home community in the East Valley right now.)

Lennar and Centex are offering attractive interest rate ‘buy-downs’ right now and many other builders are bound to follow.

If you have any other questions regarding New Homesin the East Valley, please don’t hesitate to give me a call or shoot me a quick email.

Thanks for reading – Have a great day!

Mesa Public Schools Make the Grade in 2008!

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 11:05:55 GMT

Some good news for students and their families in Mesa School District:

America's Promise Alliance ranks Mesa Public School District Number 1 in graduation rates among the nation's 50 largest cities for 2008.
U.S. News and World Report lists Dobson, Mesa, Mountain View, Red Mountain and Skyline in it's "Best High Schools 2008 Search".
The class of 2009 is represented by 25 National Merit Semifinalist in Mesa Public Schools.
High school graduates in the class of 2008 were offered $45 million in scholarships.
The International Baccalaureate Programme, World Studies Academy, Health Schience High School and award-winning Biotechnology Academy provide a variety of choices for students.

For more information about this dynamic city visit the Mesa Chamber of Commerce.

50,000 and still counting down...

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 19:34:55 GMT

June 2008 brings us down to just over 50,000 active single-family listings in the Phoenix/Metro market. We are down about 7,000 since our peak. Good news right? Yes, our inventory is going down, but it still needs to decrease by at least 15,000 listings before we start to see our prices stabilize.

If you are wanting to sell, this is bad news.

If you are wanting to purchase - Hooray!, you still have time!

Tiffany's Arizona Blog

Relief for Haiti, another reason I am proud to be a REALTOR

On a personal note….

It’s a long haul….

Below are some ways to support the efforts of Haiti.

Here is an idea…

Here is an idea...Let's all just be courteous to one another

think on it…

Rates Unraveled

Phoenix Metro Area Affordability Index for 2009

My Arizona Short Sale has just been approved by the bank - Now What?

Two Breaches Don't Make a Right...

Etiquette and Manners for Purchasing Short Sales

Welcome Electronic Signatures

Convenience

Tipping Point - Phoenix Housing Market 2009

Conveying Title with 'Special Warranty Deed' on Foreclosed Home

What kind of value does 'Expertise' add? Can you measure it?

Expertise in Timing

Expertise in Local Research

Expertise on the Contract

Expertise in Negotiating with Relevant Parties

Expertise in remaining a Detached Consultant

Expertise in having access to Other Experts

Why 7.1% Unemployment Rate in Arizona is 'Good'

Current Unemployment Rate For January 2009

Difference from National Average of 7.6%

Highest Monthly Unemployment Rate from 1985-2008

Arizona

California

Florida

Nevada

Related articles by Zemanta

Mesa Historic Citrus Corridor Explained

A note to REALTORS, let's be honest.

Wow....That's a S-T-R-E-T-C-H (edit/delete)

2009 Home Stimulus Needs Response

2009 Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan for Arizona

Is it a Credit or a Loan? 2009 Stimulus for Home Buyers

3.99% Financing on your next new home in the Phoenix Area!

Mesa Public Schools Make the Grade in 2008!

50,000 and still counting down...