Psst… I found a really outstanding blog and an excellent craftsman who does home remodeling projects in the Greater Phoenix area: The RemodGeek. I can’t say enough good stuff about him, but his resume actually speaks for itself:
…spent years in construction, residential and commercial, and remodeling from foundation to punch list. I have been a Union Carpenter, (both wood and steel stud), Remodeling Contractor, Crew Foreman, Superintendent, Project Manager, Cabinet Maker, (both custom and production) Professional Drywaller, (from single family houses, and commercial drywall, including fire safety renovations, multi-hour drywall assemblies, elevator shafts, lead-lined radiation rooms, and fire rated partitions. If it can be covered in drywall, I have probably done it, multiple times.
I worked in the auto recycling (junkyards) and bodyshop business for 9 years. When I am not remodeling, I build websites, specialty computers, and networks for my internet clients.
That’s his blog masthead; it’s him reflected in a shiny engine block. It’s a good example of the creative level of photography the RemodGeek posts. In the funny way of the Internet, RemodGeek and I haven’t met in person, yet. We’ve emailed, and his blog’s in my feed reader.
No matter. The high level of quality craftsmanship he puts into his remodeling projects is crystal clear. If you need remodeling work done around the house, or just need advice on your next Do It Yourself project, check out his site. <link : http://www.lemurzone.com/rfg/>
Note: Author was given nothing of value other than goodwill in consideration for writing & posting this piece. Whenever you’re hiring people to do work on/in your home, do your homework: references, licenses, Better Business Bureau, Registrar of Contractors, etc. ThePhoenixAgents recommends vendors from time to time because we were impressed by them, not because we guarantee their work.
Heather Barr is a Realtor. She's a chow hound, a gym rat, and a political junkie and a happy workaholic.
Tagged as:
Central Phoenix,
North Phoenix,
Northeast Valley,
Northwest Valley,
Southeast Valley,
Southwest Valley
A periodic series about the highest and lowest priced homes in the local MLS. Properties must be:
- single family, detached homes
- bank owned
- currently Active in the ARMLS (Ariz. Regional Multiple Listing Service)
- located in the Greater Phoenix area (Wickenburg, Florence, Coolidge, etc are excluded; Surprise, Buckeye, Queen Creek, etc are included)
1 House, 2 Lots, $14,840
Property is a 624 sq.ft. home with 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, a family room and a kitchen. House sits on 2 lots in the Valencia subdivision of Buckeye with a total of 13,500 sq.ft. Owned by Fannie Mae and Fannie’s Realtor says the property is eligible for Fannie Mae HomePath Renovation Financing.
(click to enlarge map)
See it there on the far West side, in Buckeye . . . that little black & white star? That’s the location. I sold a home next door to this subdivision, in 2006. I say from personal experience that the surrounding homes are mid-1990s and newer with stucco exteriors and tile roofs. This home is probably the sore thumb in the neighborhood, and almost certainly needs to be just knocked down.
6 Flat Acres in Paradise Valley, $4,850,000
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7,595 square foot house
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4 bedrooms, 4-1/2 bathrooms, 4 car garage, pool
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originally built in 1972
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a self-contained 500 square foot guest house with full kitchen
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located on 5.75 acres (250,266 sf)
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property taxes are $23,616 annually for tax year 2009
The grounds have a pitch & putt golf course, tennis court and gazebo. Located near Lincoln Drive and Invergordon Road.
The former owners tried to sell this home & land for over 3 years before the bank finally took it back via foreclosure. Originally listed for sale at $14,000,000 in January 2006. Later the owners tried to rent it out for Super Bowl Week January 30th to February 4th, 2008 for $100,000. A hundred grand for a week. Mind blowing! Finally in July 2009 the home was foreclosed on. In September 2009 the bank listed it for sale at $5,250,000.
As near as I can tell by zooming in on the satellite photo and Google maps, the house is round. Well, not round round, but built around this central courtyard.
In all the time it’s spent on the local MLS, there are only 3 interior photos of the home, which one Realtor described as “the most romantic estate in Arizona” and another described as “magical.” Magical? One hopes the bank removed the fairies and elves before listing the home for sale. Or at least got rid of the orcs. Nasty, those orcs.
Kitchen
Living/Family (?) Room
Dining Room
At first I thought, “I can’t believe that’s not sold; 6 flat acres in Paradise Valley is easily worth more than the asking price.” But jumbo loans are wicked hard to get these days, and the tax assessor has the property valued at only $3,610,800. Plus the buyer would have to love the ‘look’ of the home, which I call Old Spanish Trail House in my head. I’ve seen this type of decor done extremely well, and it’s beautiful when well executed. But it’s undeniably not popular these days, and it’s difficult to change the look & feel of this decor to anything else without investing huge bucketloads of cash.
That’s it for today’s Highs and Lows. View other posts in this series. Thanks for reading! Call, email or text us if you’d like help finding your bank-owned bargain.
Heather, 602.999.8831
Chris, 623.570.9940
Heather Barr is a Realtor. She's a chow hound, a gym rat, and a political junkie and a happy workaholic.
Tagged as:
Northeast Valley,
REO/Bank Owned,
Southwest Valley
