The Latest Issue In Phoenix

Foreclosed properties, or those now owned by the lender are still around, though not as many and most don't tend to stick around on the market once they are released for sale, which could be a few months to over a year after the house was vacated and foreclosed.

Here are a few questions to investigate about a home. 

1. How old is the home. Older homes tend to have certain issues that come about as a result of age and many of these are exacerbated during the former owners distressed period. Also certain times in the real estate market, like boom times, the quality of construction and materials is usually lower. Learn about the specific issues that can come up and address them as you do your inspection.

2. Has the home been vacant for long? REO…

On a rather hot January day, my bike went into the back of my TT - yes, it fits, and we drove down to one my properties in North Central Phoenix where the car was left. Instead of riding through the mountain preserve like I usually do I drove around it. The fact is that taking the same route over and over simply bores me after a while. That goes even from driving the same streets. That's usually a signal to move.

The weather was perfect and the sun blazing enough to drive people en masse to the local parks and the streets. I was surprised how busy it was.

(photo: Artur)

All downtown Phoenix parks were filled with people enjoying the city life, the weather, the dry summer grass that makes the parks look like wheat fields in the late…

The Phoenix Light Rail may seem new, but its really a rebirth of a mode of transportation which used to exist in Phoenix. Central Phoenix used to have an extensive trolley system which was removed with the advent of the automobile. It's too bad that that happened, but at lease some people had the foresight and fortitude to preserve what was left. This was done by The Phoenix Trolley project.

Phoenix is lucky to have so many active people looking after it and most of us are lucky to have them and the resulting beautiful city that Phoenix is becoming after so many decades of wrong. Unfortunately past residents destroyed what would have made this city truly cosmopolitan: for instance Japanese flower growers in south Phoenix or China down in the warehouse district or the dozens of magnificent historic homes and icons of modernism that have been liquidated.

None the less what is left is, for the most, part, being preserved and often re-purposed. Urban life in Phoenix compared to just a decade or two ago is much better. The boom helped. 

One of those gems is the magnificent Japanese Friendship garden in downtown Phoenix. It is a 3.5 acre…

1. What percentage of the condo units are owner occupied. The more renters the less stable the complex.

2. What are the CC&R’s Get a copy of the rules and regulations which can have an impact on your future value and lifestyele.

3. Copy of the association's financial and reserves. Are they stable, or in the red.

4. What are the current and past assessments and are they keeping up with inflation: is there enough to cover repairs now an those larger ones in the future.

5. What do they maintain. What is included in the fee and what do you have to pay.

6. What have been the special assessments over the last 5 years. You want to know what money has been collected and spent on.

7. What is the turnover. A high turnover may be a sign of…

I used to post lots of photos on Flickr mostly for hosting photos, but now I know that for seo purposes it's better to host your own images, so I have not been to flickr in a while.

Lately I've seen may photographers moving their online portfolios over to 500px, so I checked it out. 500px is simply awesome. The presentation is great, the quality of photos, overall, is awesome and it's easy to use and easy to search for photos. 

NPR connotes this as the 'Age of the Planets'

I don't know how many of you have pondered how significant this is. Forever, that we know of, we've know of stars. All those little spots in the sky are stars like or similar to our own sun, but they are not planets. Lately we've seen proof of planets beyond our solar system…

Fall in Central Phoenix is warm and beautiful with lots of colors from all sorts of trees. A drive on Central Avenue or a run under the canoppy of Ash trees along Murphy's Bridle Path is almost magical, so is the crinkle of leaves under the foot or bicycle tire and the smell of flora of fall.

Below is a short video of what you can see now while in Central Phoenix.

#fall-colors-video#

I like the music too. It's bursting and vibrant just like the colors: bassy, clean and inspiring.

Instead of watching the video, get on your bike and see these colors and leaves live, crunch them under you wheels and smell them as the aroma fills the air.

The historic district of Phoenix are really special as are the homes. We've put together a short video presentation of the types of historic homes you can view in some of the 35 district through out Central Phoenix. 

#historic-phoenix-homes-video#

With the fall season upon us Central Phoenix is in the midst of a beautiful colorful scene. Just a drive down Central Ave will perk up anyone's mood. The colors are extraordinary as the Ash trees loose their foliage. 

This is also the season to do some searious hiking. We're lucky here in Phoenix that even in the bustling central city area there is a huge mountain range, the Phoenix Mountains, that are home to miles upon miles of hiking trails with many tall peaks reaching into the sky and to those who venture up their rocky sizes and make it to the top, beautiful views and amazing sunsets.

I'm lucky to live next to the preserve and I make it a point to hike and run it alone or with my smooth fox terriers as often as I can, at least 3-4 times a…

For those having the deal with the market in the price range under $200,000 that state of the market is quite clear: it's very competitive, there are other buyers interested in the same properties, there are a lot of cash buyer and inventory is dwindling. 

At last look inventory is under 3 months for homes under $200,000 and often around 2 months for many price segments.

One such example of many is the tale of one client who has already put in 27 contracts with only 2 successfully landing in escrow. That is a paltry ratio. These are properties where our offer price is 0-15% above asking price, these are properties that are not under priced. Most are short sales and a few normal sales.

REO properties are virtually inaccessible since most have a…