General Musings

How many Realtors in Arizona?

by Heather on July 24, 2010

in General Musings

According to the Arizona Department of Real Estate, at this moment in time there are 39,682 people in Maricopa County with active real estate licenses.


heather

Heather Barr is a Realtor. She's a chow hound, a gym rat, and a political junkie and a happy workaholic.

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More Bad MLS Photos

by Heather on March 18, 2010

in General Musings

are you trying to take a pic of the stuff on the counter

Wow! You mean that stuff on the counter comes with the house? Cool!


heather

Heather Barr is a Realtor. She's a chow hound, a gym rat, and a political junkie and a happy workaholic.

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Fun with FICO

by Heather March 12, 2010 General Musings

Isn’t this a set of interesting statistics? In 2005, 46% of consumers who opened a new mortgage had a FICO score less than 700. In 2008 this percentage had dropped to 25% . Fair Isaac (creators of the FICO score) reports that borrowers in the Northeast continually present the least amount of default risk nationally [...]

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Real Estate Funnies

by Heather July 8, 2009 General Musings

Sometimes my job makes me giggle. Today was one of those days. Received a fax today from a seller’s agent in response to an offer my buyers clients made. List Price $695,000                                Buyer’s Offer $660,000 Note: Sold comps in the past 60 days are $685,000 and $669,000 with a recent low of $625,000 and a [...]

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But It’s A Dry Heat

by Heather June 22, 2009 General Musings

“It’s a dry heat” is a ubiquitous phrase in Phoenix every summer. Like most stereotypes, it’s ever present because it’s true. To a point. “It’s a dry heat” works for me personally up to about 103 or 104. After that, it just feels hot no matter what, and my stock reply to “dry heat” is [...]

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the shrinking middle class

by Chris Butterworth April 24, 2009 General Musings

I was talking with my neighbor last night about the current state of the market/economy (as if anybody talks about anything else nowadays).  He made a comment I found interesting: "Half the people we know are losing their homes and cars, and the other half are buying up property for $60,000 a home.  We feel [...]

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Rainbows and Sunshine

by Heather April 22, 2009 General Musings

Today I’m attending an MLS sponsored real estate technology fair, and running into a lot of colleagues I haven’t seen in a while, as you usually do at these industry seminars. One Jonathan Dalton jokingly told me I’ve sounded waaaay too negative here on The Phoenix Agents lately.  It was meant as a joke and [...]

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Triple Digit Phoenix Facts

by Chris Butterworth April 21, 2009 General Musings

It looks like today’s going to be the first 100 degree day of the year. In honor of the occasion, I pulled together a list of facts about our hot "but it’s a dry heat" city. Highest Temperatures ever recorded in Phoenix: 122 – June 26, 1990 121 – July 28, 1995 120 – June [...]

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I Am Not Hiding Good Deals!

by Heather April 18, 2009 General Musings

Recently I’ve had some interactions on the phone with a prospective client who wanted a bargain on Scottsdale condo. After the end of the final phone conversation with this person, I was left screaming obscenities, whipping towels at the bathroom counters, cursing myself for not being firmer from the get-go, and generally scaring my cat. [...]

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FedEx drops the ball

by Chris Butterworth April 13, 2009 General Musings

My package’s saga ended this weekend, capped off by being delivered to the wrong address.  That, along with the lack of customer support or a proactive response, fueled my desire to share the shipper’s name with you.  Here’s the scorecard: 11 – # of days it took FedEx to deliver a package 300 miles. 6 [...]

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the Right reaction to being Wrong

by Chris Butterworth April 10, 2009 General Musings

We’ve all made mistakes.  goofed up.  dropped the ball. The real difference is what happens next. Some people make excuses, blame others, become argumentative, and fall back on "company policy". These people are short-sighted, and are usually underachievers. Other people readily admit their mistakes and jump through hoops to fix the error.  They might even [...]

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Phoenix Visitor Seeking Real Estate Deals?

by Heather April 8, 2009 Buyer Help

“I want a great house, a great neighborhood and a great price.” I hear that at least twice a week lately. Federal Fair Housing law doesn’t let me talk much about good neighborhoods and bad neighborhoods. Without opening myself up for a lawsuit, let me just say this: Think of your hometown. There are parts [...]

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