It’s located at the Biltmore Estates golf course. Got a cool $7 million? All 18,000 square feet of this mansion can be yours. It’s only the market for 6 months, too, which in the land of luxury real estate is about 1/10th of a second.

Last December (was that a mere 10months ago?) it was listed for $12,500,000. Talk about market decline! That’s a drop of nearly 1/2 in 10months.

Here’s some pictures of the compound…

Her closet

His closet. And, his library … Clearly, the man who owns this home is A Very Serious Man who makes a lot of Very Serious Money.

The wine cellar (frankly, the way the photographer shot it, it looks more like an M.C. Escher drawing to me)

2 washers and 2 dryers. Because everyone knows the Very Wealthy have Very Dirty Clothes.

Apparently, the sheer weight of the former owners’ wealth bent the space-time continuum in the ceiling of the master bedroom…. I’m a little dizzy looking at it.

Enjoyed these photos? See more foreclosed homes of the formerly Super Wealthy, elsewhere on our blog. And if you’re actually shopping for a home in this exclusive price range, don’t hesitate to call me. I actually do have regular experience helping buyers in the luxury markets in metro Phoenix, Arizona. I promise to keep my mild snarking to myself when we’re home shopping.

Most expensive bank-owned home in Phoenix is a post written by The Phoenix Agents at Thompson's Realty. If you're reading this anywhere other than a feedreader (rss subscription) of ThePhoenixAgents.com, the site you're reading this on is guilty of copyright infringement.

Heather Barr is a Realtor and a happy workaholic. She eats more than someone her size ought to be able, and is a runner as a consequence. Her TiVo's full of spy thrillers, police procedurals and Whedonesque sci-fi.

Other posts you might like:

1. Bank owned home for $11,000?!
2. Buying Bank Owned Homes
3. Bank-owned Listings are like the Clearance Rack

Here it is, folks, the most expensive REO bank owned foreclosure home currently for sale in the metro Phoenix, Arizona MLS database. For a mere $18 million, this estate can be yours.

Seven bedrooms and 10 bathrooms, and over 17,000 square feet of living space. The home boasts two swimming pools, a billiard room, 3 family rooms, a theater room with actual movie-house projection system and seats that move with the movie action. Garage space for 21 cars. Home has an exercise room and a piano room, 2 libraries, and it’s own solar electric generating station.

The closets in this place will suit turn anyone into a clothes horse…

The house sits on 5 acres in Paradise Valley, on prestigious Mockingbird Lane.  Want to see it in person? Shown by appointment only; bank references required prior to showing. That’s Realtor-speak for “show me the money before I show you the house.”

And, proving that even the excessively wealthy have sense of humor, at the entrance to this home’s theater room, Zoltar from the movie Big.

Most expensive REO is a post written by The Phoenix Agents at Thompson's Realty. If you're reading this anywhere other than a feedreader (rss subscription) of ThePhoenixAgents.com, the site you're reading this on is guilty of copyright infringement.

Heather Barr is a Realtor and a happy workaholic. She eats more than someone her size ought to be able, and is a runner as a consequence. Her TiVo's full of spy thrillers, police procedurals and Whedonesque sci-fi.

Other posts you might like:

1. Peoria’s newest Harkins Theater opens this weekend
2. Having Low Credit Score is Expensive
3. Big Gulp – the most expensive product in history?

Metro Phoenix can be a real estate investor’s wonderland, or your worst nightmare. It’s all in whether you choose your residential investment property carefully. Or not.

From time to time, we here at The Phoenix Agents @ Thompson’s Realty like to point out those too-good-to-pass-up houses. Here’s one…it’s a complete fixer-upper but priced about $30,000 below area comparable sold properties!

THE SPECS

• $45,800 — bank owned
• 4 beds, 2 baths, 1450 square feet, built 1955
• 1 car carport — 7,500 square foot lot
• Area comps are $75,000-ish and about $950/month as a rental

Near 19th Avenue and Camelback Road in near-West Phoenix, this home is like a time capsule. It literally has not been touched since 1955: you can see the original curtains in the living room and kitchen.

This isn’t a house for the feint of heart or novice investors! It needs significant work – new roof, probably a new HVAC unit, tear down the back porch enclosure, re-tile the master shower, needs all the appliances, remove and replace window coverings, consider replacing the cabinets throughout the house and/or the linoleum floors.

This property needs a lot of TLC, but look at those comps! You can do the basic fundamentals and a few cosmetic remodels and re-sell it (fix and flip) or do the same and turn the home into a cash-flowing rental property.

Use our Foreclosure Search to browse all Phoenix-area foreclosure homes.

If you’re looking for something like this home to invest in, please contact me. I work frequently with novice and experienced investors. In addition to all of Phoenix, I cover territories from Tempe to Surprise, from Glendale to Goodyear. Colleagues in my office cover all of the East and Southeast Valley (Gilbert, Mesa, Chandler, and points east). We’ll all be happy to assist you with your real estate investing goals.

Standard Disclaimer – the property described in this article may not still be available when you read the article. The pricing and value advice offered in this article is meant as a guide only, and does not in any way create a guarantee or a client relationship with the Realtor author. In other words, I am a Realtor but I am not your Realtor… yet, and as such you are responsible for your own due diligence, investigations and negotiations, unless/until you hire me to assist you with same.

Phoenix foreclosure bargains #1 is a post written by The Phoenix Agents at Thompson's Realty. If you're reading this anywhere other than a feedreader (rss subscription) of ThePhoenixAgents.com, the site you're reading this on is guilty of copyright infringement.

Heather Barr is a Realtor and a happy workaholic. She eats more than someone her size ought to be able, and is a runner as a consequence. Her TiVo's full of spy thrillers, police procedurals and Whedonesque sci-fi.

Other posts you might like:

1. Are 70% of Phoenix homes at risk of foreclosure?
2. What happens at a foreclosure auction?
3. Wall Street Journal Quotes The Phoenix Agents

In a nod to the general bad economy and the extra-bad resale condo market in Metro Phoenix, the hi-rise known as 44 Monroe in downtown Phoenix will convert from condos to apartments.

Why? Many, many reasons. The economy continues to be sluggish. Condo financing has all but dried up. The condo rental market has been hurt too, by the easy availability of single family detached housing rentals. Condos always fare worse than detached housing in a real estate-led recession…

See the article in the Arizona Republic about the 44 Monroe condo-to-apartment conversion.

We have a good deal of experience helping buyers and sellers in the Metro Phoenix condo market here at The Phoenix Agents. If you need guidance condo-shopping or condo-selling in Phoenix, Scottsdale, Peoria or Glendale, contact us. Not quite ready to talk with a Realtor? Totally understandable. A, we’re not “salesy” and B, you can read what our clients think about us on our Tribe page.

44 Monroe converts to apartments is a post written by The Phoenix Agents at Thompson's Realty. If you're reading this anywhere other than a feedreader (rss subscription) of ThePhoenixAgents.com, the site you're reading this on is guilty of copyright infringement.

Heather Barr is a Realtor and a happy workaholic. She eats more than someone her size ought to be able, and is a runner as a consequence. Her TiVo's full of spy thrillers, police procedurals and Whedonesque sci-fi.

Other posts you might like:

1. Condo refinancing: tricky to impossible
2. Fannie Makes It Harder to Buy Condos?
3. Entire condo complex to walk away from their mortgages

A shocking number of dogs and cats have been rescued from local foreclosure and short sale homes where their owners have abandoned them, leaving them to starve to death.

Your donation of food and supplies will help to save the lives of these homeless pets who have been rescued by Lost Our Home Pet Foundation.

Can you even imagine the horror of this situation for the animals involved? I’m almost ashamed to be part of the human race when I think that some people can do this to their pets. You just close the door and walk away?! You can’t even be bothered to pay the small fee to surrender your pet at a shelter?  It’s sickening.

Contact Lost Our Home Pet Foundation

http://www.lostourhome.org/how-you-can-help/
or call 602-230-HELP(4357)

This organization is supported by the Arizona Regional Multiple Listing System. And also by Chris Butterworth and Heather Barr, The Phoenix Agents at Thompson’s Realty. And our broker, Jay & Francy Thompson. And about a bajillion other cool peeps in town.

Pet Food Drive Locations

• Wet or dry dog and cat food of any type
• Pet toys
• Cat Litter/litter pans
• Water or food dishes

This is an ongoing project with no end date in sight.

ARMLS Support Center: Phoenix
5033 N. 19th Ave. Suite 113
Phoenix, AZ 85015
Mon – Friday 8:30 – 5:00

ARMLS Support Center: SE Valley
1363 S. Vineyard
Mesa, AZ 85210
Mon – Friday 8:30 – 5:00

Scottsdale Area Association of REALTORS®
4221 N. Scottsdale Rd.
Scottsdale, AZ 85251
Phone: 480-945-2651
Mon – Friday 8:00 -5:00 EXCEPT Tuesday
which is 9:00 – 5:00

ARMLS Main Office : Tempe
130 S. Priest Dr. Suite 101
Tempe, AZ 85281
Mon – Friday 8:30 – 5:00

ARMLS Support Center: Glendale
17235 N. 75th Ave. Suite E-160
Glendale, AZ 85308
Mon – Friday 8:30 – 5:00

ARMLS Support Center: Scottsdale
7600 E. Redfield Rd. Suite 170
Scottsdale, AZ 85260
Mon – Friday 8:30 – 5:00

Pets abandoned in foreclosure homes is a post written by The Phoenix Agents at Thompson's Realty. If you're reading this anywhere other than a feedreader (rss subscription) of ThePhoenixAgents.com, the site you're reading this on is guilty of copyright infringement.

Heather Barr is a Realtor and a happy workaholic. She eats more than someone her size ought to be able, and is a runner as a consequence. Her TiVo's full of spy thrillers, police procedurals and Whedonesque sci-fi.

Other posts you might like:

1. Whole Foods coming to Chandler and Scottsdale
2. Household Quickie – Keep Pets Away From These Items
3. Banks “Hoarding” Foreclosed Homes?

(image credit to Stock Exchange user http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1280927; hat tip to Downtown Phoenix Voices.org for leading me to the survey)

The City of Phoenix is offering a survey on the usefulness or danger of their “reverse traffic lanes” on 7th Avenue and 7th Street.

I personally think these reverse lanes are an innovative method of handling Phoenix’s growing rush hour automobile congestion. Other people contend they’re dangerous and should be eliminated.  Go, cast your vote.

Vote on Phoenix’s reverse traffic lanes here.

Phoenix’s reverse traffic lanes: vote! is a post written by The Phoenix Agents at Thompson's Realty. If you're reading this anywhere other than a feedreader (rss subscription) of ThePhoenixAgents.com, the site you're reading this on is guilty of copyright infringement.

Heather Barr is a Realtor and a happy workaholic. She eats more than someone her size ought to be able, and is a runner as a consequence. Her TiVo's full of spy thrillers, police procedurals and Whedonesque sci-fi.

Other posts you might like:

1. Phoenix’s Reverse Lanes in Limbo
2. Phoenix’s Reversible Traffic Lanes
3. Vote, Arizona!

Recently a consumer visited our website to search the MLS and submitted an online question about a home she found there. I sent her our standard “thanks for visiting our site, let us know if we can help” email. This is the rest of the email exchange between she and I.

Thank you for getting back to me.

We do have a realtor but, he is a friend of ours so I like to look into things first before I get him involved. I would like to know the terms of the lease purchase. Money down, length of option, payments, etc. Could you please forward the information.

Thank you,
Looking in Desert Ridge

.

Hello Looking,

I’m sorry, I’d like to help but I can’t.  I am a Realtor. But I am not the seller’s Realtor.  Our website is like most, it shows ALL properties for sale/lease and not just the ones where we represent the seller/landlord.

The Realtor’s Ethics Code is pretty cut-and-dried: Realtors should not knowingly work with another Realtor’s client.

Your questions are totally legitimate. Most important, the answers to your questions will be part of the negotiation process. Help with negotiations is usually the number 1 reason consumers hire a Realtor. And talking to the seller/landlord’s Realtor on your own will probably weaken your bargaining position.

Presumably your Realtor friend will eventually earn a commission, so you shouldn’t feel badly asking him to help.

Thing is, this isn’t an isolated incident. We hear “I don’t want to bother my Realtor” a lot.

• “Yes, but my Realtor’s out of town and I can’t get in touch with him.”
• “I already have a Realtor but I don’t want to waste his time so I thought you could just show me this house.”
• “My Realtor lives on the other side of town and I don’t want to keep asking him to drive all over the place.”

I LOVE helping clients. My clients. I do not love helping other Realtor’s clients because I don’t ever get paid for that sort of thing. I’m a very helpful, compassionate sort of person, but I can’t pay my mortgage with compassion. And the IRS gets really cranky when I can’t pay my taxes because I was helping other Realtor’s clients and didn’t actually earn any commissions for my efforts.

Consumers, please – bother your Realtor.  Gathering information, answering questions, offering good counsel and negotiating on your behalf are the job description. If your Realtor is too busy to be bothered with your questions, you need a new Realtor.

Bother your Realtor. Please. is a post written by The Phoenix Agents at Thompson's Realty. If you're reading this anywhere other than a feedreader (rss subscription) of ThePhoenixAgents.com, the site you're reading this on is guilty of copyright infringement.

Heather Barr is a Realtor and a happy workaholic. She eats more than someone her size ought to be able, and is a runner as a consequence. Her TiVo's full of spy thrillers, police procedurals and Whedonesque sci-fi.

Other posts you might like:

1. How To Use A Realtor
2. Realtor Commmissions, Briefly
3. Is there a benefit in working with the seller’s Realtor when you buy a home?

Updated April 23  – Fantastic website launched by the EPA, HUD, the Ad Council and the Coalition to End Childhood Lead Poisoning. Get the facts about lead paint, prevention tips, and guidelines for Do It Yourself home renovations involving the potential to disturb lead paint. (LeadFreeKids.org)

As of April 22, 2010 federal laws regarding safe handling of lead based paint are changing. They’re becoming much more restrictive.

Though aimed mostly at contractors, who must now be EPA certified in safe lead based paint handling law, homeowners should take note. If you’ve ever done a renovation project you know that paint & plaster dust is everywhere! Even a simple project like hanging a new bookshelf can disturb quite a lot of plaster & paint dust.

Dust? I thought the problem was paint chips. . .

Federal law is changing because we’ve become increasingly aware that it’s not just  a matter of “don’t let your kids eat paint chips”. Rather, it’s the dust that renovations cause that is truly dangerous. “Even though lead-based paint was banned for use in the home in 1978, HUD estimates that approximately 24 million homes still have significant lead-based paint hazards today.”  (quote source). Further, some statistics taken in Maine showed that 60% of lead paint poisoning incidents were caused by renovation activities (Nat’l Assn of Realtors, via video link below).

The simple fact of the matter is that the older your home, the more likely it is to contain lead-based paint.

Check out the EPA’s homeowner’s guide to lead-based paint. Also, check the EPA’s online document designed to educate contractors on how to comply with the new rule. Frankly between you and me, it’s not a great document. However, the National Association of Realtors produced a series of nifty videos about the rule change. It’s aimed at Realtors but still way easier to digest than the EPA’s government-produced document aimed at contractors. Go figure.

Your rethinking my devotion to historic homes Realtor,

Heather Barr

Changes to lead paint rules is a post written by The Phoenix Agents at Thompson's Realty. If you're reading this anywhere other than a feedreader (rss subscription) of ThePhoenixAgents.com, the site you're reading this on is guilty of copyright infringement.

Heather Barr is a Realtor and a happy workaholic. She eats more than someone her size ought to be able, and is a runner as a consequence. Her TiVo's full of spy thrillers, police procedurals and Whedonesque sci-fi.

Other posts you might like:

1. What to do with extra paint around your house
2. Painting Your Home? Discounts On Paint
3. Paint Your Pool Electric Blue

I’ve heard about these things existing. They’re an urban legend, sort of. I knew they were out there but I’d never seen one in person.

Until now.

This is the text of the original CC&Rs on a property my buyer is purchasing at 24th St & Indian School in downtown Phoenix (the neighborhood was built between 1948 and 1958):

No lot or any portion thereof shall ever be sold, given, transferred, conveyed, let to, or occupied by any person who is, or whose spouse is of Negro, Mexican, Chinese, Japanese, Hindu, Turkish, Mongolian or Filipino descent, or of other than the Caucasian race; it being understood, however, that this provision shall not be interpreted to prevent the occupancy of such by domestic servants employed by a proper owner or tenant.

I’m actually a little sick to my stomach now.

It’s hard to imagine that only one generation ago racism was so accepted it was codified into neighborhood rules and regulations.

These kinds of legacy, racist deed restrictions are no longer enforceable. Federal Fair Housing Law swept away this sort of ugliness.

It’s been my experience that most home buyers don’t actually read the CC&Rs governing the homes they buy. So most homeowners in this neighborhood probably don’t even know this language existed, let alone agree with it.

Still, it’s a jaw-dropping reminder of how far we’ve come in just a few decades.

What should you do if your neighborhood has a rule like this in it’s governing documents? Federal Fair Housing law trumps these rules, so technically, you needn’t do anything. But if you want to, you can gather support from your neighbors to file a revision to your neighborhood’s CC&Rs. Knock on some doors and talk with your neighbors.  It might be a great opportunity to meet some of the folks the rules said you couldn’t live next to some 60 years ago.

(hat tip to our Tucson-area Realtor extraordinaire, Kelley Koehler, The Housechick who wrote about this in September 2009)

The way we were in the 1950s is a post written by The Phoenix Agents at Thompson's Realty. If you're reading this anywhere other than a feedreader (rss subscription) of ThePhoenixAgents.com, the site you're reading this on is guilty of copyright infringement.

Heather Barr is a Realtor and a happy workaholic. She eats more than someone her size ought to be able, and is a runner as a consequence. Her TiVo's full of spy thrillers, police procedurals and Whedonesque sci-fi.

No related posts.

I’m a little late getting out the ‘press release’ type post on this data, but I’ve been too busy selling condos. Actually that’s not meant to be a joke. I’ve been selling condos lately, but the buyers have been paying cash.

I have heard from my lenders that condo financing is scarce, so I take that as anecdotal, local evidence in support of the March 18 story run by the Wall Street Journal about Fannie’s new stricter condo financing rules. (the article link is just a stub, most of which is reprinted below)

Just as a flood of new condominiums are scheduled to hit the housing market this year, Fannie Mae has added restrictions making it more difficult for developers to sell their units.

The government-backed mortgage-finance company stopped guaranteeing mortgages in condo buildings where fewer than 70% of the units have been sold, up from 51%. In addition, the company won’t back loans for sales in buildings where 15% of current owners are delinquent on association fees or where more than 10% of units are owned by a single-entity.

It’s a shame that it’s getting harder to buy condos using a mortgage. Public opinion is already out on this rule change. One side says “lending on a condo where 15%+ of the owners are late in their HOA fees is a crappy idea and this rule change is correct.” The other side says “Fannie’s rule change makes it harder to buy condos just when the market needs looser lending standards in order to recover.” Call me Obama, but I see the sense in both sides of the argument.

What do I know for sure? I’ve seen some absurdly low pricing lately for metro Phoenix condos. The most silly-ridiculous low I’ve personally seen is about $40,000 for a giant sized (837 sf) 1 bedroom condo located a few hundred feet north of the intersection of 16th Street and Lincoln Drive/Glendale Avenue, at the Greenview Condos.

Locals will recognize this is a seriously decent neighborhood on the border of the Biltmore district, close to downtown Phoenix’s shopping, dining and sports complexes, and at the foot of the Piestewa Peak mountain preserve.  Plus the condos are located in the Madison Elementary School District. These schools consistently rank “excelling” which is as good as it gets.

Greenview are old apartments converted to condos sometime in 2006 or so. Countertops and cabinets were painted, and each unit seems to have received new flooring and paint, new fixtures and hardware. No, it’s not slab granite, but it’s very very nice. Plus, slab granite would be overkill in this price range.

If you’re interested, and you’ve got cash to spend, email me for a list of under $75,000 condos in metro Phoenix. Investors, take note: rents are about $750/mo but the $300/mo Homeowners Association fee that covers electric to the unit will kill your profit margin.

Fannie Makes It Harder to Buy Condos? is a post written by The Phoenix Agents at Thompson's Realty. If you're reading this anywhere other than a feedreader (rss subscription) of ThePhoenixAgents.com, the site you're reading this on is guilty of copyright infringement.

Heather Barr is a Realtor and a happy workaholic. She eats more than someone her size ought to be able, and is a runner as a consequence. Her TiVo's full of spy thrillers, police procedurals and Whedonesque sci-fi.

Other posts you might like:

1. 2 Downtown Hi Rise Condos Having Trouble
2. Desert Ridge Market Overview-Condos/Townhouses
3. Century Plaza Condos

To readers who found us via Realtor Heather Barr’s quote in today’s Wall Street Journal article “Bargain Hunters Descend, Cash in Hand”, welcome! We’re glad you’re here and hope you enjoy our blog content.

Long-time readers who aren’t Wall Street Journal subscribers might have missed our mention.  The story is behind the WSJ’s subscription firewall and I don’t want to tempt copyright lawyers by reprinting the entire article on this blog. You can read the article in its entirety here if you are an online subscriber or on page C10 if you get the print edition.

I talked with WSJ reporter Nick Timiraos about the growing number of cash buyers who see bargains amid the current housing price declines. Here’s the quote:

“Cash investors have come right out and said, ‘We can’t make a return on our money in stocks or bonds,’” says Heather Barr, a Realtor based in Gilbert, Ariz., a Phoenix suburb. “They think Phoenix has had such sharp price declines that we’ve got to be near the bottom and real estate will be a safe place to put their money.”

There are bargains to be had in the metro Phoenix real estate market. It’s increasingly easy to find properties in the suburbs that will cash flow immediately after installing a tenant. For those seeking a vacation home, houses are more affordable than they’ve been in years while mortgage rates are still near historic lows.

Looking for a bargain yourself?

We at The Phoenix Agents team have been working with bank owned properties and investors of all stripes lately so we’re familiar with the banks’ (often confusing) paperwork and requirements.

Click around and visit the various parts of our blog. We’ve got tons of great content, MLS searching with no registration required, and are ready to help you find the perfect property when you’re ready to talk with an agent.

Browse properties listings.

• At the Phoenix Agents: the whole MLS or click here to search only Phoenix-area foreclosures
• At the Phoenix Real Estate Guy blog:  property search (The Phx RE Guy is our broker and famous local blogger, Jay Thompson)
• All three links here search the same data source, the private Realtor’s Multiple Listing Service (MLS). We just present the data in slightly different ways on-screen.

When you feel like you’ve browsed enough and done the homework you wanted to, give us a call. We’ll help you negotiate the best possible deal we always provide world-class customer service from start to finish, and beyond.

Let the bargain hunting begin!

Related Posts

1. Inman.com quotes Jay Thompson, “the Phoenix Real Estate Guy”
2. USA Today quotes Heather Barr on recent changes in mortgage industry
3. Chris Butterworth interviewed by Phoenix’s own Channel 3 TV about foreclosures

Wall Street Journal Quotes The Phoenix Agents is a post written by The Phoenix Agents at Thompson's Realty. If you're reading this anywhere other than a feedreader (rss subscription) of ThePhoenixAgents.com, the site you're reading this on is guilty of copyright infringement.

Heather Barr is a Realtor and a happy workaholic. She eats more than someone her size ought to be able, and is a runner as a consequence. Her TiVo's full of spy thrillers, police procedurals and Whedonesque sci-fi.

Other posts you might like:

1. 2130 E. Taylor Street, 85006
2. Glendale Updating Street Light Technology
3. Buying near a Busy Street