Kristin LaVanway - The Sunny Side of Phoenix Real Estate

Is This a Good Neighborhood? – The Answer at Last!

Kristin LaVanway — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 18:33:58 +0000

I get asked all the time: Is this a GOOD Neighborhood. My answer – How the Heck Should I Know? My idea of a “good” neighborhood is probably not the same as yours. Everyone has a different comfort and a different perspective on what makes a neighborhood feel like home.

So, instead of asking a question that only you can answer, do some research. Here are some great resources to help you:

Spot Crime
AZ Central
AZ Buyer’s Advisory (download)

And don’t stop there. Visit the neighborhood at different times and days. Chat with the neighbors. Really check it out. It’s a lot easier to change your mind before you move in!

You might be surprised what you find…some questionable neighborhoods may end to be awesome. And some dream neighborhoods might really be nightmares. Do your homework!

Phoenix Real Estate Investing – It Ain’t Rocket Science!

Kristin LaVanway — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 14:24:58 +0000

Fix and flips? Rental properties? Everybody dreams of success in real estate investing, right? But where to start?? It really boils down to three easy steps:

1. Plan your strategy – are you setting long term or short term goals? For long term goals you are looking for buy and hold opportunities – rental properties. For short term plans, you will be buying property then re-selling it right away. You need to know which way you are heading to you can develop a successful strategy.

2. Know your numbers – Depending on your strategy, you can use some simple rules to determine which properties are the best candidates. For fix and flips, yoiu will need a 25-30% margin – not easy to find in our current market. For buy and hold plans, rent rates determine the best buys. For lower priced properties, make sure monthly market rents are at least 2% of the purchase price. At higher price ranges, you will need at least 1.25% to make the numbers work.

3. Leverage – Can you stretch your cash by borrowing? Often you can make better profits by leveraging your cash through loans. Watch out how you borrow though – some mortgage types will limit the types of properties you can buy.

Let me know how I can help you achieve your real estate dreams!

What’s Happening in Phoenix Real Estate – April 2012

Kristin LaVanway — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 04:50:22 +0000

Are We Really Running Out Of Houses?

The real estate market in Phoenix continues to return to a more “normal state” whatever that means. Prices are edging up especially in price ranges below $250K, and inventory has dropped below the 2 month mark. Yikes!

Think the shadow inventory is going to replenish the market – don’t be so sure. However you look at it, we are going to be low on inventory for a while. Buyers: get over the fantasy that another big price drop is going to happen here in Phoenix. All signs point to higher prices.

Good luck buyers and welcome back sellers!!

Phoenix Real Estate Market Report – January 2012

Kristin LaVanway — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 04:38:46 +0000

For those folks waiting for the bottom of the Phoenix Real Estate market – it has come and gone. Here’s a little wake-up call from San Tan Valley that demonstrates what we can expect home prices to do in 2012.

Buyers, it’s really time to come down off the fence…seriously.

P.S. I told you!!!!

National Vlog Posting Month (a few days late)

Kristin LaVanway — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 04:47:06 +0000

Thx to YouTuber Clintus McGintus (visit his site at http://www.youtube.com/user/Clintus#p/u/2/Gk5vHoy3Agw) for the heads up on NaVloPoMo1. Shooting a vid a day for a month – super psyched…see them posted at my “fun site” at http://www.http://hereinphoenix.com/. It’s going to fun to play around for a month …posting a short video everyday with (little to) no editing.

Landlord! Take My House Please!

Kristin LaVanway — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 07:04:00 +0000

I hate moving! But the worst part of this move was not loading the moving van, packing, unpacking, or even the fact that it’s a hot Arizona summer (the season I always move). No, the worst part of this move is turning the house back over to the landlord and realizing that he is planning to squeeze me for that security deposit.

Despite the fact that we have spent over $700 cleaning and sprucing, the landlord’s representative, “Janet”, nit-picksevery little thing she can in the final walk-through inspection. Not only do I get to forfeit whatever “accounting” decides to deduct for dead light bulbs, a dead fly, a piece of paper that blew into the yard, and even water drops left by the approved carpet cleaner – yeah the one we were not only told to use but told we to produce a receipt to prove we used them.

Lucky me, I pay $50 for a “re-inspection” since the house didn’t pass muster and has to be re-inspected.

Please, Mr. Landlord, I just want to be done with this house. This place has bad karma.

Who Needs Cable When You’ve Got a Real Estate License

Kristin LaVanway — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 05:54:47 +0000

Trust me…the entertainment value of real estate is gravely underestimated!!

Short Sale Buyers – Special Forces

Kristin LaVanway — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 03:14:48 +0000

Buying a short sale is not for namby pambies

The East Valley Team is taking a stand. When a buyer submits an offer on a short sale – it is hazardous to everyone’s health (financially speaking) if they do not intent to execute that contract fully.

Gone are the days of putting lots of short sale offers in to see what sticks, Banks are digging and making the process much harder so the message from the East Valley Team is this: You better be serious if you put an offer in on one of our short sale listings.

Real Estate Negotiation 101

Kristin LaVanway — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 02:58:12 +0000

Negotiating real estate deals just ain’t the same anymore
Is it just me? It just doesn’t seem like it’s much fun any more to negotiate a real estate transaction. Short sales, REO’s and homeowners who have have watched all the equity drain from the homes have taken all the pleasure out of the process.

Remember the good old days, sitting around a table, playfully bantering counter offers around until everyone was happy? What do we have now?? Waiting months and months for that 50-50 chance that the short sale will be approved…working with the overworked REO lister, if you are lucky or the REO robot if you are not…or maybe it’s an equity sale with a seller that just saw the equity drain from his home faster than a pony keg at a frat party.

Welcome to Real Estate Negotiating 101.

Short Sales, Fiduciary Duty & Tea Parties

Kristin LaVanway — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 01:55:46 +0000

Why Honesty is the Best Policy, Even When the Truth Hurts

Dean’s latest rant about honesty by buyer’s agents when it comes to earnest money deposits on short sales got me thinking…what is our fiduciary duty to short sale buyers? Is to be weaselly and help them cheat the system or is to be brutally honest about whether a short sale is really the right transaction for them?

The truth is, short sales with their long lead time and unknown outcome, are just not right for some buyers. And the only way they will know that is if their agent is honest with them about the expectations.

Cheerio!