Investors

The Shiny

First Time Buyers

Real life observation: women who go to the gym in a full face of makeup with their hair done just so. . . . they crack me up. This has nothing at all to do with real estate. Or. . . does it? Many of the buyers we’ve worked with in the past 2 years [...]

27 June 2010 Read the full article →

Thinking about being a landlord?

Investors

If you’re thinking about becoming a landlord, The Landlord Protection Agency website is a great resource for you. Besides offering a chat forum, advice and free legal forms, they even have a funny Excuse of The Day feature where website members post their tenants’ most ridiculous excuses for not paying the rent on time. RentingAuthority.com [...]

21 June 2010 Read the full article →

90 Day Fix and Flip Rule

Buyer Help

You know how fix and flipping works in a cynical world, right? Basically. . . . investors buy a craptacular house at foreclosure auction or elsewhere and do no substantive repairs. They slap a thick coat of paint on everything and install cheap new carpet, then resell it as “Remodeled!” with a seriously  jacked up [...]

1 April 2010 Read the full article →

FHA and Fix ‘n Flip Do Not Mix

First Time Buyers

This is a phrase you’re seeing a lot lately in the MLS listings on entry-level housing in metro Phoenix: This is a property acquired at trustee sale in the past 30 days and will not qualify for FHA due to the cure period requirements. Will qualify for VA or conventional. Well, actually what you typically [...]

29 November 2009 Read the full article →

New Listing, Golf Course Getaway

Investors

27617 N Makena Place Peoria AZ 85382 Located in the Active Adult Community of Trilogy at Vistancia Offered At $449,000 Specification, Features and Finishes 2 beds, 2 baths, plus den 2,193 square feet on a golf course lot Sits at the top of the 16th tee: beautiful course views, no golf balls in the yard [...]

12 October 2009 Read the full article →

Wrong On So Many Levels

First Time Buyers

Another example of REO lunacy, about which I’ve written before. Our first time home buyer is being required to sign a document containing the following clauses. She must sign before the bank that owns the house will even look at her offer, which is one among many offers they received. These are the most heinous [...]

17 September 2009 Read the full article →

More Thoughts on REDC Auctions

Buyer Help

This is a follow up to yesterday’s post about the upcoming June 13-14 REDC auction of bank owned foreclosure homes. Most auction houses don’t use the Arizona Association of Realtors’ (AAR) purchase contract form. They’re national corporations; they use their own forms. REDC doesn’t publish their purchase contract online. However, I’ve seen other auction companies’ [...]

19 May 2009 Read the full article →

REDC Auction

Buyer Help

REDC is one of the biggest home auction houses in the country and they’re advertising their upcoming June 13-14 Phoenix area auction heavily on local cable TV channels. Here’s a few things you should know if you’re thinking about attending. Access and Inspections You can tour the homes and do inspections before the auction but [...]

18 May 2009 Read the full article →

Homes for Under $25,000 ??

Buyer Help

Buy a Valley home for under $25,000? (map courtesy of FlexMLS. Click to enlarge, use browser’s back button to return) The map above shows the homes (single family detached only) in the greater Phoenix area, with list prices of $25,000 or less, that sold between March 25 and April 25 of this year. Each blue [...]

29 April 2009 Read the full article →

Where’s The Bottom?

Investors

There’s a painful truth about a market where prices are falling. It looks like this: Every guy who buys pays less than the last guy who bought. That’s pretty much the classic definition of a declining market. If you’re a seller, it’s better to sell now than later. Later equals less money in your pocket. [...]

25 March 2009 Read the full article →

Wall Street Journal Quotes The Phoenix Agents

Buyer Help

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 [...]

25 February 2009 Read the full article →