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        <title>The Latest Issue In Phoenix</title>
        <link>http://www.inphoenix.com/blog/science-of-buying/</link>
        <description>The Latest Issue is not only a blog focusing on Central Phoenix, but also an exploration of the science of real estate, living and eating in urban Central Phoenix.</description>
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            <guid>http://www.inphoenix.com/blog/s.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.inphoenix.com/blog/s.html</link>
            <author>artur@inphoenix.com (Artur Ciesielski)</author>
            <title>Things To Lookout For When Buying REO Properties</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
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 homes can be vacant for many months or some have been vacant for 1-3 years and as most of us know, vacant home tend to deteriorate faster. Be sure to talk to neighbors who may know more about how long the home's been vacant and pay more attention to some of mechanical items that degrade when not used: like galvanized pipes in historic homes or sewer pipes.


3. What is missing? Some of REO properties have been vandalized either by former owners, vagrants or others who don't respect other's property. This is common. I've seen missing pipes and discreetly removed wiring. The key word in the last sentence is discretely. Sometimes what is missing is not apparent, like when a pipe was cut in attic and when the water was turned on the kitchen flooded.


4. How does the home look? What is missing or broken. Was is the deferred maintenance. Distressed properties don't, usually, get the attention they need and when paint starts peeling or the like the deterioration speeds up.
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            <pubDate>Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:59:48 -0700</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.inphoenix.com/blog/11-important-things-to-ask-an-hoa.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.inphoenix.com/blog/11-important-things-to-ask-an-hoa.html</link>
            <author>artur@inphoenix.com (Artur Ciesielski)</author>
            <title>11 Important Things to Ask An HOA</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
1. What percentage of the condo units are owner occupied. The more renters the less stable the complex.


2. What are the CC&amp;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 trouble.


8. Is the project in litigation?


9. Is the developer reputable. This is more important with newer complexes.


10. Is there more then one association. Some areas have a community hoa and master planned hoa and maybe others, each with their own rules and fees.


11. Are rentals allowed. Life changes and you don’t want to be caught of guard having to hold a vacant unit while you take a job in another state.
 ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Dec 2011 12:01:26 -0700</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.inphoenix.com/blog/is-the-short-sale-price-negotiable.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.inphoenix.com/blog/is-the-short-sale-price-negotiable.html</link>
            <author>artur@inphoenix.com (Artur Ciesielski)</author>
            <title>Is The Short Sale Price Negotiable</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
Q. Is the short sale purchase price negotiable?


A. The short answer is yes.


The purpose of a short sale is to sell the property, often to prevent foreclosure which is something both the owner and his/her lender would like to prevent. In order to sell the property has to meet the demands of the market just as any other property be it a normal sale or bank owned property. It will be the market place that determines what price is right. 


That does not mean that the bank will not stick their hands and ideas into the process. It depends on what program is being used to sell the property short. There are a few predefined programs like HAFA in which a sales price is set by someone other than the seller and or the seller agent, but for the most part if will be up to the seller and the seller's Realtor to determine the best marketing price. 


That price can't be to high nor too low and it will go through some checks and balances. It will be verified by third parties via a broker price opinion or an actual appraisal.
 ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Sat, 19 Nov 2011 16:39:29 -0700</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.inphoenix.com/blog/five-repair-items-to-watch-for-when-buying-a-phoenix-bank-owned-home-with-fha-financing.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.inphoenix.com/blog/five-repair-items-to-watch-for-when-buying-a-phoenix-bank-owned-home-with-fha-financing.html</link>
            <author>artur@inphoenix.com (Artur Ciesielski)</author>
            <title>Five Repair Items To Watch For When Buying A Phoenix Bank Owned Home With FHA Financing</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
FHA loans comprised a sizable part of the financing used to purchase homes in Greater Phoenix. During the last few years the government subsidized loan has allowed many people to get into home that otherwise would not have a chance. This not only provides an opportunity for these persons, but helps move properties along from distressed in the case of bank owned and short sale home into the hands of new owners, helping, at the same time, the Phoenix real estate market recover from its woes. Many of the homes are in different states of repair. It is common to find short sale and bank owned homes that need attention that are not move in ready. Many of these are not good candidates for buyers with an FHA loan. The FHA has its own guidelines by which the property being purchased has to abide.Many lenders offering the FHA loan will require that the home be move in ready. The reason is that most people getting an FHA loan don’t have extra money to go around making repairs, but there are other reasons as well. So here are a few of the many items that need to work for a buyer go obtain FHA financing.1. Hot water heater strapping - In Arizona hot water heaters installed in a closet must be properly secured so they will not fall over and start a fire and they need to have ample ventilation. More importantly the pressure release valve needs to exit to the exterior and there need to be proper ventilation.2. All utilities must be on and functioning so that the FHA appraiser can check if it all works. An FHA appraiser will not finalize an appraisal until the water, electric and heat are all working properly in a home. Some vacant bank owned properties will have these turned off, so it is important that listing agents turn them back on after escrow is opened, if they want an FHA buyer to buy the home.3. All appliances must be in good working order - An oven that is missing or not working will need to be installed or repaired to pass an FHA appraisal inspection. A refrigerator is not necessary.4. There must be a source for heat in good repair- Air conditioning and heating must work it it’s there and the heat especially must be operable.5. The Roof must be in good repair - The roof must look water proof and good enough that it does not need immediate repair or replacement.These are just some of the important factors a home must have in order to qualify for FHA financing.
 ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Sun, 25 Sep 2011 10:16:56 -0700</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.inphoenix.com/blog/central-phoenix-property-search-by-map.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.inphoenix.com/blog/central-phoenix-property-search-by-map.html</link>
            <author>artur@inphoenix.com (Artur Ciesielski)</author>
            <title>Central Phoenix Property Search By Map</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
The popular phoenix homes search by map has been recently improved with additional features and major tweaking of the code to speed things up, combine photos and map.  This is all to make it a better experience for you: we want you to hire us as your consultants in the Phoenix real estate transaction process, but we want to you have the information and tools so that you make a better decision. Making constant improvements helps us achieve that goal.  


So let's step into a quick overview of some of the features in this version.


1. Search by polygon: this search is an advanced search allowing you as the user complete control over the boundaries of the search. You can use this free form tool, in blue above, to freely draw the boundaries of the search within which the homes will show up. Use this alone of select other features to narrow down the search. What is this good for?  Avoid being too close to the freeway or a busy street, be within a particular area near a park etc. 


2. Search in bounds: this can be combined with the advanced search or not and simply shows listings withing the map that you're viewing. When you move the map more Phoenix listings will show.


3. Search by radius: this allows you to create a simply radius search at any particular distance you choose. If you want to be near a specific light rail station and be withing 2,500 feet of it then use this radius search to define the search.


Any of these are easy map functions to use and put you in greater control over your Phoenix homes search.
 ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Sat, 03 Sep 2011 19:32:58 -0700</pubDate>
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        <item>
            <guid>http://www.inphoenix.com/blog/find-a-home-in-central-phoenix.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.inphoenix.com/blog/find-a-home-in-central-phoenix.html</link>
            <author>artur@inphoenix.com (Artur Ciesielski)</author>
            <title>Find A Home In Central Phoenix</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
Searching for homes in Phoenix can be difficult because many of the areas don't have defined names by which to search and subdivisions are often quirky in name which does not come up in searches. This is especially true for places where the common name is different from the actual subdivision names. 

The Willo historic district is a good example. The name Willo is almost like a marketing name, a name by which people know what is actually a collection of 22 individual subdivisions build over many decades. 

The 'location search' on the Phoenix homes listings search page allows you to put in the name of a community or subdivision, zip code or city an mls number and get matching results, but if you put in a name that is shared by other communities then it will pull them up as well.


If someone does not know how to spell the community name it may not pull it up. Here is an example. An agent is marketing a home in the Willo historic district this way, "Live in the beautiful Willow Historic District..."  Notice Willo is spelled as Willow, which is a common mistake, but the wrong name none the less.


Free Form Polygon And Radius Homes Search





A popular and very accurate way to search for homes is by map. The advanced custom Phoenix homes search here at inphoenix allows you to search homes by radius or even better by free form polygon.


The polygon allows you to create a parameter of any size and shape to include and exclude any area on the map. You can even make it the shape of an elephant if you want. What's the benefit? When you hone in onto an area use the polygon home search to exclude homes major streets for instance.


Pre-made Central Phoenix Homes Searches


inPhoenix.com is primarily focused on Central Phoenix so we've created already made searches in spades , by the hundreds in fact. Get down and into the site and you'll see homes in specific areas like all the historic neighborhoods, or the greater areas like Biltmore, Arcadia, Uptown Phoenix: neighborhoods surrounding the Phoenix Mountains Preserve or along the light rail.


So if your interest is Central Phoenix, you won't find a more comprehsinves website allowing to to customize your homes search or use the hundreds of searches already make for you.


 


 
 ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Sun, 21 Aug 2011 11:38:11 -0700</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.inphoenix.com/blog/low-down-payments-mean-no-or-negative-equity-when-you-buy-a-home.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.inphoenix.com/blog/low-down-payments-mean-no-or-negative-equity-when-you-buy-a-home.html</link>
            <author>artur@inphoenix.com (Artur Ciesielski)</author>
            <title>Low Down Payments Mean No Or Negative Equity When You Buy A Home</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
Plenty of people are buying homes with 3% down HomePath, 3.5% down FHA or 5% down conventional loan. Often this is simply by choice. Rates are silly low righ now so it make sense to leverage as much as you can, but only if it's by choice.


Just as many people are barely scraping together that 3.5% down-payment to buy a home. If that's you then you probably should not be buying or at least wait until you have saved up some more money. 


You need to know that.


When you buy with a low down payment you are instantly upside down.


It cost money to buy and it cost money to sell. Besides your down-payment buying costs are about 3% and selling cost run around 7%.  In a normal market it takes about 2 years to recoup those cost before you break even.  Some of this can be mitigated by getting a good deal, but that often means putting in some sweat equity.


The reality is that with low-downs your upside down in and upside down market.


Owning a home is more than a mortgage payment.


Owning a home is different from renting. As a home owner you need to take care of the property and pay for all maintenance and repairs. Those cost are regular and they don't stop.  They can easily add 50-100% to what you pay for the mortgage. If you barely had enough money for the down-payment how are you going to handle the added expenses?


You need to have a reserve.


Stuff comes up all the time that need to be taken care of. You should not be buying a home if you don't have a size-able reserve, say 6 months to cover your expenses and excess repairs. They will come up.


Low down payment loans are great. You can leverage in a low interest rate environment. It's another tool, a way to finance properties, but it is not a good choice if you don't have money in the first place, if you have to scrape together the funds just to buy a home. If that's the case you should not be buying.  You should also probably not be buying if you won't be in the home for a minimum of 5 years. Remember in a 'normal market' it will take 2 years to break even and we are not even in a normal market. So it could be longer before you can sell and not have to bring in money to close.
 ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Thu, 11 Aug 2011 11:11:14 -0700</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.inphoenix.com/blog/how-do-i-find-out-if-there-are-any-houses-for-sale-in-the-neighborhood-of-royal-palm-in-north-centra.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.inphoenix.com/blog/how-do-i-find-out-if-there-are-any-houses-for-sale-in-the-neighborhood-of-royal-palm-in-north-centra.html</link>
            <author>artur@inphoenix.com (Artur Ciesielski)</author>
            <title>How do I find out if there are any houses for sale in the neighborhood of Royal Palm in North Central Phoenix?</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
Some neighborhoods are easy to search for and other's are not. The difference is often how the neighborhood is named and the source of the name. For instance, searching for homes in the Windsor Square historic neighborhood is easy since that's the official name while searching for homes in the Willo historic district is not easy since Willo is an arbitrary name for a conglomerate of many individual subdivisions. 


That's the same for the Royal Palm neighborhood in North Central Phoenix. An easy way to search for it is to find a website, like this one, that features that neighborhood with all the Royal Palm homes for sale.  Another way is to use one of the rate advanced Phoenix homes search based on custom map alogrithm allowing you to freely pick an area on a map to search.
 ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Sun, 07 Aug 2011 15:27:38 -0700</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.inphoenix.com/blog/august-2011-phoenix-homes-mortgage-update.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.inphoenix.com/blog/august-2011-phoenix-homes-mortgage-update.html</link>
            <author>artur@inphoenix.com (Artur Ciesielski)</author>
            <title>August 2011 Phoenix Homes Mortgage Update</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
Since financing is such an important factor in the home buying process we've asked several lenders to give us occasional updates on any interested changes.  Below is a succinct update by one of the lenders used by our clients.


1. Private Mortgage Insurance guidelines have loosened up lately.  Conventional loans for a Primary Residence now allow a 3% down payment with a 680 fico score. 


A buyer with a 620 credit score can get a Conventional loan with 5% down.  The maximum loan amount is $417k for Conventional loans. 


2. Smart Financial Mortgage is able to offer HomePath financing on Fannie Mae REO properties that have this designation.  The best part about HomePath is that Investors with a 660 fico (and 2nd/Vacation Home buyers) are able to buy with only a 10% down payment once the home has been on the market for 15 days. 


There is no Private Mortgage Insurance (even with a down payment of less than 20%), no appraisal required, and no condo certification required on condos. HomePath also allows a Primary Residence buyer to do a 3% down payment (with a 660 fico).  The interest rates and closing costs are higher than a traditional FHA or Conventional loan but in many cases the payment is lower due to the loan not having mortgage insurance. 


We are also seeing that Fannie Mae is selecting HomePath offers over higher priced offers utilizing FHA and regular Conventional financing (probably since they know that they will not have to deal with any appraisal issues).


inPhoenix Realty Partners note: There are nearly 1,500 HomePath properties on the market right now.


3. The minimum down payment for an FHA loan is now 3.5% down.  A borrower can get this down payment from their own funds, a gift from a family member or employer, or by borrowing from their 401k/IRA.  The maximum FHA loan amount is now at $346,250 and a 620 fico score is required.


4. FHA is allowing flips for the rest of 2011.  In the case of a 20% increase in price, FHA requires 2 appraisals as well as a Home Inspection.  Many lenders are still not allowing flips but Smart Financial Mortgage is able to do loans on flipped properties for FHA, VA, USDA, and Conventional loans.


5. 2nd/Vacation Home purchases are now allowed with a 10% down payment with a 680 fico score.


6. Investor loans now require a minimum 20% down payment.


7. Jumbo loans (greater than 417k) now require a minimum 20% down payment.


8. The only true 100% loan available in all of Maricopa County is a VA Loan.  VA loans have great rates and carry no monthly Private Mortgage Insurance even at 100% financing.


All statements need to be verified with the lender and as you should know are all subject to change.

Chris TimmickSmart Financial Mortgage

3131 E Camelback #224


Phoenix 85016


Office 602-889-2200


Cell 602-312-4312
 ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Tue, 02 Aug 2011 15:15:57 -0700</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.inphoenix.com/blog/seasonality-in-phoenix-home-sales.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.inphoenix.com/blog/seasonality-in-phoenix-home-sales.html</link>
            <author>artur@inphoenix.com (Artur Ciesielski)</author>
            <title>Seasonality In Phoenix Home Sales</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
If you're in the market for a house than the playground probably seems busy to you despite all the hoopla about the national market being slow. You're having to compete with other buyers for homes and each time something hits the market you have to move you tush and get there fast to see the home before someone else snatches it up.


The dark red thick line represents sales in Phoenix in 2011.  All the other lines are sales in the last few years, 2006-2007 excepting because these were odd markets, not following the common trends. 





[Graph: The Cromford Report modified by inPhoenix Realty Group ]


The vertical black line is the beginning of July and the highlighted yellow area represents the peak time for sale each year which begins in spring and ends around mid summer depending on the city and area. The top is Phoenix while the bottom is Scottsdale. They both follow the same trends, but peak is about one month later in Scottsdale. 


The market has been buys this year. It will be interesting to see data for the next two months, but sales can be hampered by low inventory, not only a decline in demand. 


Does this really have an affect on pricing? Not really. There are too many other factors to consider if your a seller besides seasonal demand peaks and lows.


Remember though that sales always show up later than demand because of the time it takes to close a transaction: some 30-45 days.


In the winter sales dip in mid January as a result of low demand during the December holidays.
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            <pubDate>Fri, 01 Jul 2011 13:47:18 -0700</pubDate>
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