Google Search From Your Cell Phone

Here is something handy that I learned this year. You can send a text message to Google from your cell phone to do a Google search. For example you can send "BBQ Gilbert AZ" to 46645 (GOOGL). You will get a text message or two back. Here is what I got.

• Arizona Fireplaces & BBQ's 1150 S Gilbert Rd #101 Gilbert 85296 480-635-1227


• Ohana Hawaiian Barbeque 865 N Gilbert Rd #105 Gilbert 85234 480-315-6888

This can be very handy when you are out and about and want to find a particular type of store or restaurant nearby. For example, I might be in Gilbert and want to eat at Joe's Real BBQ Restaurant which serves great barbeque but not remember the address. I can text "BBQ Dining Gilbert AZ' to GOOGL and get

• Joe' Real Barbecue 301 N Gilbert Rd Gilbert 85234 480-503-3805

in addition to Ohana Hawaiian Barbeque listed above.

Whatever your carrier charges you for text messages will apply. There is currently no charge from Google.

Does It Exist?

Lines 28 and 29 on the Arizona Association of REALTORS Residential Resale purchase contract states, "Fixtures and Personal Property: Seller agrees that all existing fixtures on the Premises, and any existing personal property specified herein, shall be included in the sale, including the following:" Lines 30-39 go on to list many items that are disputed the most. What most people don't read is the word 'existing'. For instance, towel rods should be left. But, if the towel rod was missing at the time the buyer looked at the property and made an offer, than it does not have to appear at closing. It didn't exist. Now, if it was there and the seller took it with him or replaced it with a cheap alternative, then the seller has breached the contract.

The one item I see causing problems these days is the 'garage door openers and controls'. People lose remotes or their cars are programmed to open the GDO's without the use of a remote. They forget this detail, sell the house and then the buyer asks for the remotes. If the seller didn't have a remote when the buyer looked at the home, then the remote doesn't exist and the buyer needs to buy their own remote.

I'm sure you could ask four different people and get four different interpretations. The easiest solution? If you're the buyer's agent is to write on line 43 that the seller is to provide two (2) garage door remotes at close of escrow.

Update (January/2008):

This is from the Arizona Association of REALTORS.

Seller not required to purchase garage door openers

The Seller has used the garage for storage, and parks his car in the driveway. Although the garage door works properly, the Seller states that the garage door openers have been missing for more than a year. The Buyer is demanding that the Seller purchase new garage door openers. Does the Seller have to purchase new garage door openers?

Answer: No. Under Lines 19-27 of the Contract the Seller is only required to furnish to the Buyer any garage door openers “existing” at the time of the Contract. If the garage door openers were missing at the time of the Contract, the Seller is under no obligation to purchase new garage door openers.

Arizona REALTOR® Digest August 2004

Fireplace Memories

Certain events can stir memories of different places in the home. For me, Christmas always brings up the image of the fireplace in the house where I grew up. It was brick that was painted white and it had a walnut mantel. We always rigged a string just under the mantel to hang our stockings on. That way we didn’t have to put nail holes or some other fastener into the mantel. We frequently set out the Christmas greeting cards we had received across the mantel. We always had a fire in the fireplace on Christmas Eve and on Christmas morning when we were opening our presents.
One of my favorite types of fireplace is the see through kind. We lived in a home for about a year and a half that had a fireplace in the wall between the family room and the living room. If there was a fire going, it could be enjoyed from either room. Pretty cool!
If you are wondering, yes many homes in Arizona do have fireplaces. It does get cold enough in the winter to have a fire in the evening. Also, many people chose to have outdoor fireplaces, either chimneias or fire pits.
Do you have a memory of a great fireplace? Share it with us by clicking on "comment" below.

What is Happening with Home Loans?

You may be wondering, with all the talk in the news about the home loan market, what it means to you. If you have good credit and a job, it is very likely that you can get a loan and at a fairly good rate. The loans that are difficult to get and that are causing problems for the lenders are subprime loans, loans to people who represent a higher risk due to their credit or job history or other circumstances. The lenders knew that they were taking additional risk with these loans and now some of these loans are defaulting and the lenders and borrowers are paying the price. The lenders should not be suprised, they knew what they were doing. Unfortunately not all borrows clearly understood the terms of their mortgage.

When you are taking out a loan, of any type, you need to read the documents before you sign them. You might consider asking the lender for a blank copy in advance of your meeting to sign with him or her so that you have time to read the loan document and prepare questions. Don't rely on the lender to tell you everything you need to know. The lender may not even know which points are most important for you. Things to look for:

• Prepayment penalties - fees charged if you pay off the loan early, for example by refiancing
• Adjustments to Interest Rate - will the interest rate change, how often, and how much

Additionally, you need to determine how much you can afford for a monthly payment. The lender can tell you how much you qualify for but it is up to you to evaluate your personal financial situation. If you want a monthly payment which is less than the lender is telling you that you qualify for - let the lender know. Ask the lender to translate the monthly payment into the price of a house you can afford. Don't forget that taxes and home owner's insurance premiums are usually rolled into your mortgage payment in addition to interest and principle. Also consider other additional monthly costs to owning a home such as HOA fees, garbage collection, and utilities when you are planning your budget.

Rates are at historically good levels, there have been many years in the past when rates were much higher. There are a lot of good lenders available to help you. If you would like us to recomment a lender to you, give us a call.

If you would like to know more about what is happening with mortgage regulation, click on the link below. Note, the article indicates that the Fed's changes to do not take affect right away and they have to under go review.

New York Times Article - In Reversal, Fed Approves Plan to Curb Risky Lending

FTC's Do Not Call List

The original plan when the do not call list was created was that consumers would have to renew every five years. It is now looking like we won't have to do that and that our registered phone numbers will stay on the list. For more information, click on the link below to read the full article at the Federal Trade Comissions website.

FTC Pledges Not to Drop Any Numbers From Do Not Call Registry, Pending Final Congressional or Agency Action on Whether to Make Registration Permanent

If you would like to register your home phone number of cell phone number. You can do so on-line at http://www.donotcall.gov/. You can also verify whether or not your current phone number has been registered. Other information can be obtained by clicking on the link below.

Questions & Answers Regarding the Do Not Call Registry

What's Our Market?

If you're not familiar with where Arizona is in the United States, click the map above. We are in the southwest part of our country. It's warmer, dryer and a beautiful place to call home.

In Arizona, we live in the greater Phoenix area. In a part called the East Valley. The East Valley is Chandler, Tempe, Mesa and Gilbert. Scottsdale is just north of us and Phoenix is to the west. You can see the green arrow (click the photo to get a larger map), it's home to us. We serve most of the Phoenix area.

Chandler Interactive map on Google

HOAs, Flags, and Signs

The AZ State Legislature passed SB 1062 which went into effect on September 19, 2007. This law affects people living in condominium and planned community HOA's. Here is a summary:

• The association may not prohibit the outdoor display of the American Flag. An HOA may adopt reasonable rules regarding the placement and manner of display of the American Flag. It may not prohibit the installation of a flagpole but may regulate the placement and size of the flagpole.



• The association may not prohibit the indoor or outdoor display of political signs by a home owner on his or her property. They may create some rules regarding the size and number of signs. There may be date restrictions in that signs may only be displayed prior to an election.



• The association may not prohibit the indoor or outdoor display of a for sale sign and a sign rider if the home owner is offering the property for sale. The sign shall not exceed 18 by 24 inches, the industry standard.

Complete language of SB 1062

Please note this information is indended to provided general information and not legal advice. We recommend that you consult an attorney if you want details of SB 1062 or need legal advice regarding this or other HOA regulations.

Home Inspections?

Every once in awhile a client of ours will say they'll pass on the home inspection. They do it to save the $250-$500 for the inspection. Often times, it's because it's a newly built home. Their reasoning - "the city inspects the property, don't they?".

Yes, they do. However, they have way too many homes to inspect for each inspector. The inspectors are overworked and they don't take the time to do a great job like a good quality independent inspector will.

I mention this because I just read another real estate agents blog about a home built poorly and the inspection that saved her client from getting a lemon. The blog is from the self named, Housechick down in Tucson, AZ. Check it out and if you are buying real estate in southern Arizona, you might want to give her a call.

If you need an inspector anywhere in the US, I'd suggest asking your REALTOR or visiting the American Society of Home Inspectors. There you can search for an inspector on your own.

Of course, if you need an inspector here in the greater Phoenix area, call me - I can refer you to a few good ones.

Forks, Plates, or TP?

Today when we drove out of our neighborhood we saw a lawn covered with paper plates stuck upright in the lawn. This is a new one. When I was growing up in the midwest high schoolers TP'd a house by drapping the trees with toilet paper before a big game, or in my case before a big debate tournament. Every now and then we see a yard here that has been TP'd but it is rare. Some people do have trees in their front yard but many people do not. I don't even want to think about trying to clean up a cactus that has been TP'd! A few months ago our front yard, which has desert landscaping, was forked. Usually plastic forks are stuck upright throughout the lawn. In our case they were just thrown on the lawn. Apparently this "forking" is not just an Arizona phenonmenon as I saw a news article from somewhere else about it. Amazingly enough someone has progressed to decorative paper plates. Somehow they were attached to posts and stuck into the grass lawn. I didn't get close enough to see if they were birthday plates or for some other type of celebration. So, what is next??

Rain

You know you are living in Arizona when the biggest story on the front page of the newspaper is about the fact that it rained yesterday. I believe that we have gotten more rain this month so far than we have gotten all year. We really needed the rain and the snow. Yes, it does snow in Arizona. Up in the mountains there is snow and there are even ski resorts! The snow and the rain are both very important for our water supply.

Another sign that you are in the East Valley is that rain on the streets is pretty much handled by draining the water into green belts and landscaped water basins. It is a good use for the water because it not only removes it from the streets but also waters the plants. In many neighborhoods these green belts also serve as places for kids to play and people to walk their dogs, when it is not raining.

Open Houses? Yeah, we do that.

You've heard it from other real estate agents before. We don't do open houses because no one comes to them. We don't advertise your listing, because no one calls on the ad. We don't take interior pictures, because then they don't need to call us to see the inside.

In other words, we don't do work, because it is hard.

Selling houses is sort of like eating at the company holiday party. One shrimp or one cookie or one meatball doesn't hurt your diet much. But, at the end of the night you've consumed 3000 calories and your diet is shot.

Professional Realtors know that a good marketing plan is a bunch of solid programs added together that help to bring in more buyers and other Realtors than any one program could do on their own.

That is why, open houses can work. As long as they are advertised on the 'net, promoted on the street (signs) and held often. We have a new open house blog that makes "Holding an Open House" good business sense. Visit Today's Open House to see which homes are being marketed right.

Will the HOA allow that?

I came across a paragraph on an HOA website. It reads:

RV’s, Boats, etc. Many associations do not allow RV’s, boats, etc. to be parked where visible. This includes behind “RV gates”. Just because the house is listed with an RV gate does not mean that you can park an RV behind it. Make sure that you read your associations CC&R’s prior to purchasing.

This shows you the importance of reading the HOA documents. The title company can't read it for you. The lender can't read it for you. The real estate agent can't read it for you. You, the buyer need to read it. I know it's 30, 40, 50 or more pages long and can be quite boring. We can't summarize it for you because, we don't know which points in the HOA rules and regulations are important to you.

Don't let this happen to you. Sam didn't read the HOA rules & regulations. He moved in and parked his RV that was 2 feet higher than the fence and was told he couldn't park his RV there. His neighbor has a pop up trailer and it can't be seen from the street, even though it's 10 feet from Sam's RV and it can stay. Who's to blame? Sam's to blame for not reading the HOA documents himself. (Please note Sam is a fictitious character used for this example.)

Another thing you might read in the HOA documents when purchasing a home is that you cannot leave your garage door up. Yeah, some HOA's won't allow you to leave the door up, unless you are doing yard work in the front. And where can you park your car? Not on the street, not on the driveway, but in the garage with the door closed.

And if your neighbors garage is this messy, you might appreciate the rule.

This is why it's important to read all the documents at closing time.

Date Pinwheel Cookies

Yesterday I made date pinwheel cookies. I had never made them before and they took some time as the dough had to be refrigerated at two different times. They turned out great. I decided to make them because The Baker's Catalogue e-letter included the recipe. My grandmother used to send us a box of cookies every year at Christmas time and these cookies were always in the box. It is amazing how much a certain type of food can trigger memories of people and places.

The editor who submitted the recipe had similar memories about the cookies. She wrote ... (just click on her note below to read her whole story and get the recipe)

"My own memories include the soft brown dough, the dates bubbling on the stove, the tricky process of rolling the filling inside the dough, and the magical way the refrigerator would make the sticky mass solid and sliceable. And the taste! ...

A Different Type of Screen

For those of you have never lived in Arizona, you probably don't know about sunscreens. When we lived in midwest, we had screens on the windows to keep the bugs out. Here in Arizona flying bugs are far and few between. We put screens on our windows during the summer to reduce the amount of heat entering the house. Sunscreens are one way to reduce cooling bills in the summer. When it gets cold, not very often, you can take the sun screens off the windows to take advantage of the suns heat. We have also found that it is not too difficult to replace the fabric in the screens yourself when it gets worn out. It just takes an inexpensive tool that can be found at the hardware stores along with the fabric and replacement rubber tubing if needed.

There's No Place Like Home

Watching Tin Man last night made me think that there is no better place to start a real estate blog than with thoughts of home. What do you think of when you hear the word home? Is it the house you grew up in, the place you live now, the place your parents live now, or someplace else? Is it more than just a building, perhaps a neighborhood or a city? Maybe it is all those things. I think that the cliched "Home is where the heart is" may be one of the best definitions of home. That is certainly what Dorothy learned in the original movie.



So what about Tin Man? Tin Man is a mini-series that just premiered on the Sci-Fi Channel. It is not The Wizard of Oz redone (like The Wiz) or a musical. It is a new story from the Land of Oz that tips it hat to the original stories. For those of you who don't know, there are many books about Oz written by L. Frank Baum not just the first book which was turned into the movie. This is more a separate story as is Wicked written by Gregory Maquire. There is not as much of Baum's punny humor as in the book or the original movie but there is at least a tip of the hat there with the reference to the "scarecrow" as a "head case". I don't want to say much more and give away to much in case some of you are still planning to watch it. I believe it is on again this weekend.

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