Photography Workshops to be held at Arboretum

For those of you who live out of state you might be surprised to learn that Arizona has an arboretum. Even in the desert there are a few trees that grow. Boyce Thompson Arboretum is located east of Phoenix. Maggie Leef who is a nature photographer will be offering three photography workshops at the Arboretum. The cost to register is $22.50 for non-members and $15.00 for members. The classes are as follows:

Beginners Photography Class, Nov. 2 from 9:00am to Noon

Fall Color Photography Class Nov. 16 from 9:00am to Noon and Nov. 29 from 9:00am to Noon

Class sizes are limited so you do need to call in advance to enroll. Call the Arboretum at 520-689-2723. To see some of Maggie's pictures click here.

There a number of other special events at the Arboretum that you might enjoy. Or you might enjoy just visiting the Arboretum and going for a nature walk on the trail.

First Time Buyer Tax Credit

There has been a lot of talk in the press about the first time home buyer tax credit but not a lot of detailed information. I was unable to find detailed information at the IRS site at this time but the National Association of Home Builders has put a lot of information together at their site FederalHousingCreditTaxCredit.com. The credit is available for people who buy a home between 4/9/08 and 7/1/09. The home can be a resale or a new build. The tax credit acts as an interest free loan and must be repaid over 15 years. As always, we recommend that you talk with your accountant to get specific information about how the credit will benefit you.

September Home Sales Are Up!

First the good news! Buyers are starting to respond to the good prices and sales were up considerably in September. Total ARMLS sales for September 2008 were 6,150 compared with 3,377 in September of last year.

Above is a slide show of graphs for each city showing the number of active listings, the number of new listings, and the number of solds by month for the last 12 months. It is encouraging to see that in some cities the number of active listings has decreased in the past few months. However, with the number of new listings being added each month it will be a while before the market comes back into balance. Foreclosures have become a big factor in the market. No one can predict how many more foreclosure properties will be added to the active listings in coming months.

This data is supplied by the Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service. ARMLS, West USA, and Pat & Amy Monahan do not guarantee the accuracy of the data.

Consider a Credit Union

If you are not a member of a credit union, you might want to consider joining one. They typically offer lower rates on auto and home loans and often have higher rates on CDs than some banks. Deposits are still FDIC insured up to the allowed amount. You do have to qualify to join a credit union but the criteria is often broad and it is likely that you will qualify for at least one credit union in your community. For example, Desert Schools Federal Credit Union has this statement on their website with regards to who qualifies for membership - "Persons who live, work, worship or attend school, including businesses and other legal entities, in Gila, Maricopa and Pinal Counties"

Here are some resources for more information:

US News audio commentary on the benefits of credit unions

America's Credit Unions - Credit Union Locator

Rebates Available for Appliance Purchases

If you are an SRP customer and considering buying a new clothes washer or dishwasher before the end of the year, then you should check the rebate offers available by clicking on the following link. To qualify, purchases must meet the defined energy ratings.

SRP Appliance Rebate

I couldn't find a similar program for APS customers; but, if someone knows about one, please leave a comment.

AZ Foreclosure Data

The AZ Republic had an interesting article about local foreclosures in today's paper - Data show how foreclosures pull down Valley home values. We have certainly been seeing and selling homes that have been foreclosed upon. While these can be good deals for buyers, depending upon the condition of the property, they are probably contributing to the decrease in home values (as the article indicates). These bank owned properties on average are selling for less than those owned by sellers. In some cases these bank owned properties are not in as good of condition as the seller owned properties which is a contributing factor to the lower price. Additionally, the majority of banks will only sell the proprety "as is" and will not do any repairs to the property. The number of foreclosures and sales of foreclosures varies widely by zip code. The AZ Republic site has a link - Bank Owned Sales Prices by Zip - where you can input a zip code and get sales data. An example of the data provided for zip code 85226 in Chandler and zip code 85206 in Mesa follows.


ZIP code - 85226 (Chandler)
Resale median - $259,000
Traditional resale median -$260,000
Foreclosure resale median - $230,000
Resales - 259
Traditional resales - 232
Foreclosure resales - 27

ZIP code - 85206 (Mesa)
Resale median - $202,500
Traditional resale median - $205,500
Foreclosure resale median - $185,000
Resales - 274
Traditional resales - 246
Foreclosure resales - 28

Check Out a Fall League Baseball Game

Did you know that Arizona hosts some MLB fall league baseball games? Minor league players representing the major league teams play ball in the valley. So if you want to relax and enjoy the weather while watching a game, check the links below.

AZ Republic article - AZ Fall League Helps Families Save Money

AZ Republic article - Fall League Teams

MLB AZ Fall League Site

MLB AZ Fall League Schedule

Blog Problems

Last week around mid-week we started having problems accessing our blog. So, if any of you were trying to read our blog and couldn't get to it, we are sorry. After some time consuming and frustrating time spent reading Google Blogger Help, we seem to have worked through the problems. I think the problem was with our custom domain registered at GoDaddy and how it pointed to Blogger. So, we'll keep our fingers crossed and hope that the problem does not recur.

Working for Your Downpayment

An article in the AZ Republic indicates that Trend Homes is offering a program where buyers can do some of the painting for their new home and apply this towards their down payment. For more information:

Will Work For Down Payment - article

Trend Homes Website

How to Use Less Water and Save a Little Money

SRP's website has some water saving ideas. It indicates that toilets are the biggest water users in the house. So, if you need to replace a toilet consider getting one that is high efficiency. We switched to a water saving shower head at the beginning of the year and have been happy with it. The difference was not real noticeable and after a shower or two it seemed perfectly normal. If you have a water saving idea - share it here by leaving a comment. I'd particularly like to hear from someone who is using a smart irrigation controller to see if they are happy with it.

John McCain's House

No, not this one. I got an invitation to a Realtor only open house for the one that our Senator and his wife, Cindy are selling here in Arizona. You can take a virtual tour of it, if you'd like.

It's stunning! (click here)

Chandler Veterans Benefits Expo

The City of Chandler and the AZ Department of Veterans' Services will host a Benefits Expo for military veterans, Saturday, Oct. 18, from 8:00 am to 1:00 pm at the American Legion Branch No. 35, located at 2240 W Chandler Blvd. Veterans and their families can attend to obtain information on benefits and services available for military veterans including: health care, retirement, vocational assistance, educational opportunities, mortgage funding options and more. For more information call 480-558-2052.

Information obtained from Chandler City Scope.

Information on Veterans Administration Home Loans.

What Style is Your House?

The National Association of REALTORS® has a web page that describes all of the common architectural styles of homes in the United States. While the page is meant for real estate professionals, it is also assessable for the public. Styles discussed include: Pueblo, Contemporary, Ranch, Prairie, and many more.

NAR Residential Styles

A Chance to Be Christine

The AZ Republic today had an article about a contest the Phoenix Symphony is running for girls ages 8 to 18. They are looking for one girl to play the role of Christine for one song from Phantom of the Opera - "All I Ask of You". The winner will sing a duet with Broadway star Franc D'Ambrosio at the Symphony's New Year's Eve gala. She will also win some other prizes. Deadline for entry is October 8. For more information, click on the links below:

Phoenix Symphony - Call For Christine

AZ Republic Article

Schnepf Farms corn mazes

As hard as it may be for some people to believe, corn is grown in some parts of Arizona. Schnepf Farms in Queen Creek has been growing a corn maze for a number of years. This year's maze features Muhammad Ali. Below is a link to a slide show of this year's corn maze plus some from past years courtesy of azcentral.com. There are lots of things to do at Schnepf Farms, so check out their website to see all of the options.

Corn Maze Slide Show