From the category archives:

See Arizona

Just a Pretty Picture

by Heather on September 21, 2009

in See Arizona

Nothing more than a pretty picture here today. The world’s full to overbrimming with doom and gloom. I hope this will help.

Calle de los Arboles neighborhood 009

Taken in the Cave Creek neighborhood of Calle de los Arboles, spring 2009.

Click to view all Cave Creek homes for sale (or in any other neighborhood for that matter).

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heather

Heather Barr is a Realtor. She's a chow hound, a gym rat, and the only political junkie in the USA who can actually keep her political views to herself. Instead, she focuses on educating her clients about the often-confusing world of residential real estate.

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Photos Make a Huge Difference Too

by Heather on September 16, 2009

in See Arizona, Seller Help

I’m piling on to Chris’ post yesterday about how staging can determine whether buyers make offers or make tracks.

Pictures make a huge difference too. Buyers love LOTS of pictures. Quantity doesn’t substitute for quality however.

A word about the condo Chris wrote about yesterday, with the fabulous view. We both agreed it was one of the best, and possibly the best view we’d ever seen. Between us we’ve been showing homes for 9 years so we’ve seen a lot of view variations.

I tell you, I was literally transfixed by the view from this condo; it stopped me in my tracks. Had I been shopping, I’d have whipped out my checkbook right there and offered the seller full list price. I don’t think Chris stressed enough that you could see all of these in a 180 degree panorama off the balcony:

  • The McDowells
  • Camelback Mountain
  • Mummy Mountain
  • Squaw Peak / Piestawa Peak
  • South Mountain
  • The Estrellas
  • North Mountain

This? Is the only view picture the listing shows:

Grayhawk blah condo only view pic

I don’t know about you, but all I see in that picture is some scrub desert and bird poop dripping down the balcony wall.

Sellers, make sure that if your property has a remarkable feature, it’s pictured prominently in the MLS listing your Realtor creates.

Buyers, looking for a drop dead view at bargain basement prices? This view on a luxury estate is easily worth $2 million. You can own the view and the cute 2 bedroom, 2 bath condo that surrounds it for $149,500. It’s bank owned and priced to move, so don’t dawdle.


heather

Heather Barr is a Realtor. She's a chow hound, a gym rat, and the only political junkie in the USA who can actually keep her political views to herself. Instead, she focuses on educating her clients about the often-confusing world of residential real estate.

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When Is It Monsoon Season in Phoenix?

by Heather June 30, 2009 Glossary Posts

A former client’s question prompted this post, so thanks Jon!
According to Wikipedia:

The North American Monsoon (NAM) occurs from late June or early July into September, originating over Mexico and spreading into the southwest United States by mid-July. It affects Mexico along the Sierra Madre Occidental as well as Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah,Colorado, West Texas, [...]

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Phoenix is a Big Grid

by Heather June 19, 2009 Phoenix By Area

Here’s a bit of handy introduction-to-the-Valley sort of info about Phoenix’s street system.
(click to enlarge/”back” to return)
Thoughtfully, our Phoenician forebears laid out our fair city on a big grid. Nearly every street is straight and major streets are 1 mile apart. Numbered streets go north & south, named streets go east-west.
Obviously the big yellow [...]

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Metro Phoenix Freeways Names

by Heather June 10, 2009 See Arizona

Where’s the Santan Freeway? And when does it become the Red Mountain Freeway? Why is the Loop 101 called the Pima Freeway and also called the Aqua Fria Freeway? What is it with Phoenicians changing the names of roads as they cross town anyway?
Where’s The Stack? Is it different from The Mini-Stack? Dreamy Draw? Are [...]

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Blogging From The Bus

by Heather May 14, 2009 See Arizona

I had to take the bus the other day. Various reasons why, and while not looking forward to it, I decided to make the most of it. Mobile blog post!

I walked about 1/4 mile from my house to the bus stop and hopped on the number 7 bus going north. North-South bus routes are often [...]

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Spring Blooms

by Chris Butterworth March 16, 2009 General Musings

This is a great time of year to be a Phoenician - warm days, cool nights, blue skies, and brilliant color everywhere you look.  Our desert vegetation is blooming, exploding in pink, purple, orange, red, yellow, and white.  I don’t often stop to smell roses, but I do make it a point to slow down [...]

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Valley Freeways

by Heather March 12, 2009 See Arizona

I snapped this photo some months ago on a trip to the East Valley to meet a client. If memory serves, it’s a picture of where the 202 passes over the 60.
I’m sort of an oddball – I love the Valley’s freeways for their looks. I love the sweeping space underneath the overpasses, and the [...]

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Spring in Phoenix

by Heather February 25, 2009 See Arizona

Spring has sprung, with a vengeance. We had a fairly mild and wet winter, so the mountainsides are awash in green. These snaps are from a quick hike this morning through North Mountain.
I’m working on the followup to my Feb 23 post about part 1 of President Obama’s Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan. Part 2 [...]

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Walk-able shopping centers

by Chris Butterworth January 20, 2009 Northwest Valley

Heather once wrote a post about some neighborhoods being more “walkable” than others - she even found a website which can assign a WalkScore to any address, showing how easy it is  to get around without a car.
I live in the suburbs, where walking might be great for exercise, but it’s not a very practical [...]

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Phoenix in Winter

by Heather December 20, 2008 See Arizona

Yes, Virginia, there is winter in Phoenix. People living in the Northeast and Midwest call it “fall.”  This is a picture of it.
I took this photo earlier this week, on Central Avenue between Bethany Home and Northern, just a few dozen feet south of Maryland Avenue.
Google Maps Street View has a nice summertime picture of [...]

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Fresh and Easy in Phoenix

by Heather December 17, 2008 Lifestyle

There’s been a mini-explosion of new construction in the metro Phoenix area, in the form of about 2 dozen new Fresh and Easy food markets.
Think of them like a cross between Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s - quality food at discount prices.
There are 3 new F&E markets within a 10 minute drive of my home [...]

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