History Repeating Itself?

I was glancing through the May issue of REALTOR magazine which had an article and a timeline regarding Home ownership in America. Here are a few items I noticed on the time line, does any of this look familiar?

1997 - 1979 The Energy Crisis
1980 With inflation running at 13 percent and unemployment near 8 percent, single-family home sales plunge 22 percent from a year earlier.
1981 By September, mortgage rates surpass 18 percent and end the year around 17 percent.
1987 A 32 percent decline stock values between Oct. 13 and Oct. 19 exceeds the magnitude of the 1929 stock market crash.
1989 The failure of nearly 1,000 savings and loan associations lead to passage of the Financial Institutions Reform, Recover and Enforcement Act and creation of the Resolution Trust Corp.
1991 Mortgage interest rates dip below 10 percent for the first time in 12 years.
1995 President Bill Clinton unveils a National Home ownership Strategy with a goal of raising the nation's home ownership rate to 67.5 percent by 2000. This goal is reached.
2000 Stocks begin a downward plunge in March, marking the end of the dot-com boom.
2003 Residential mortgage rates dip below 6 percent in January.

Source - May 2008 Issue REALTOR Magazine

Earning Airline Miles without Flying

Like many people we fly occasionally but not frequently. We still like to earn and use our frequent flyer miles. It used to be that those miles could just sit out there without expiring. Well, those days seem to be gone. With U.S. Airways/America West, one of the major carriers out of Phoenix, in order for miles to remain usable you have to earn some at least every eighteen months. Usually this is not a problem for us but sometimes it is. We don't want to get every airlines credit card in order to earn miles. So, we've started using their Dining Dividend Miles program. We recently tried a new restaurant for lunch that was on the program called Sandstone Cafe. It is a small place that is locally owned located at the intersection of Ray and Rural in Chandler (near the Hollywood Video). The food was good and reasonably priced.

Daily Photo of the East Valley

Do you like to see pictures? City Blogs is a network of bloggers that post a daily picture of their city. If you like Paris, you can see a blogger's daily view of that city. Cincinnati? That city too.

We have some here in the valley too. Mesa? Chandler? Phoenix? Tempe?

I just started the Chandler Daily Photo blog. Every day, 365 days a year, I'll have a picture from Arizona on the blog. Not all are Chandler, but all will have an Arizona theme to them. If you'd like to contribute a picture, I'd be more than willing to consider it. Just email it to me with a brief story behind it.

Do you recognize the building above? It's in Tempe on the campus of Arizona State University.

NAR Information on the Bailout

There are lots of articles out there on the proposed bailout of Wall Street, so I know you have a lot of potential reading. However, I thought some of you might be interested in the following.

9/22 NAR Economists Commentary - $700 for What?

9/23 - NAR Letter to Senator Dodd

Real Estate Market Outlook

Here is the National Associations of REALTORS® President's podcast. It is directed towards REALTORS® but has good information for the public as well.

Win a Free Year of Lightrail Rides

There is contest to develop a new safety slogan for the Metro light rail which will be opening in a few months. The winner will receive a free year of rides. Entries are due by September 30. Email your slogan to casey.newton@arizonarepublic.com with "light rail slogan" in the subject line. The second article below explains how the winning slogan will be selected.

AZ Republic Article 09/23 -Metro-safety slogan sought

More From AZ Republic - How to Win a Year of Free Light-Rail Rides

Free Star Gazing

ASU has free Astronomy Open Houses scheduled throughout the school year. The next one is September 26 from 8:00pm to 10:00pm. This is a chance to stand on the roof of one of the buildings and look at the night sky through a more powerful telescope than someone would normally have in their home. Check their website for more information regarding a talk and other activities.

How Much Will I Get When I Sell My House?

It is important to understand when you sell your house that there will be costs associated with selling. You will net the amount of the agreed upon purchase price minus the costs to sell. The following are types of costs which may apply to your sale:

• Outstanding balance and interest owed on your home loan


• Any real estate taxes still owed (annual taxes are typically prorated between the buyer and seller based upon the sale date)


• Any outstanding home owners association fees or assessments due plus home owners association transfer fees


• Title Insurance


• Closing fees charged by the escrow company


• Recording fees, transfer fees, or other government registration fees


• VA or other loan fees required to be paid by seller, if applicable


• Survey fee, if applicable


• Home Warranty, if agreed as part of sale contract


• Any outstanding liens, if any, against the property


• If an attorney is utilized, attorney fees


• Brokerage commission

In addition to these costs, some seller's agree to pay a portion of the buyer's cost as part of the negotiated contract for sale. Additionally, you may owe federal, state, or local income tax on the proceeds of your sale depending upon your situation. Consult your accountant or the IRS to determine if you will owe taxes.

Changes to Tax Rules for Second Homes

Tax rules on second homes will be changing beginning with 2009. If you own a second home, you will want to discuss these upcoming changes with your accountant.

Kiplinger.com has an article explaining the changes - Tax Crackdown on Second Homes

Good Places to Buy Used Books

The Chandler Public Library is having a used book sale Sept. 19 through Sept. 21. The downtown location will have the biggest selection. On Sunday, all books left will be 5 for a $1. Proceeds go to library programs. I shopped at this sale at the Downtown branch at the beginning of the summer and got a whole box full of books for about $20. They have this sale several times a year.

Another great place to buy used books is Bookmans. I really like the Mesa store. It is huge and filled with all kinds of books, not just fiction, plus dvds, books on cd, music cds, and more. You can take in books, magazines, dvds, etc. that you are done with and trade them in for store credit or cash. If you trade for store credit, you get more than you would for cash. The way this works is that you leave your box of books for them to review, usually takes about 20 minutes, and they tell you which ones they want and how much they will give you for them. What to do with the leftovers - donate them to the public library for their book sale or a charity like Goodwill.

Another fun store is Changing Hands in Tempe. They sell used and new books plus greeting cards and some gift items. They have a great children's book section.

I have also found that some of the Goodwill Stores have a fairly large selection of used books at good prices. They also have some 50% off sales.

Buying a new PC without Vista

I have been putting off replacing my "old" desktop computer because I didn't want to buy a new one with Vista on it. I have heard so much negative feedback about Vista, that I would like Microsoft to iron some more of the bugs out before I start using it. I have found two on-line sources for PCs without Vista. There are probably more. Dell has some small business desktops that come with a Vista downgrade to XP. You get XP installed and the ability to upgrade to Vista when you are ready. The other is AVADirect which will build you a desktop with XP.

Federal Take Over of Fannie Mae & Freddic Mac

The federal government has taken over conservatorship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. It is believed that this will lead to more stability for these companies and the financial markets and economy in general. It may lead to low interest rates for mortgages. There is a lot of information available about this and I've provided links to some articles below for those of you who would like to be more informed.



Mortgage Industry Welcomes Federal Fix - Sept. 9 - AZ Republic



A Primer on Fannie and Freddie: What the Bailout Means - Sept. 8 - U.S. News & World Report



Fannie and Freddie: What You Should Know - Sept. 8 - U.S. News & World Report

New Ice Skating Rink for East Valley

Polar Ice is opening a new location in Gilbert. It is currently scheduled to be opened on September 13. There is an information trailer currently open to the public to obtain information. There will be youth and adult hockey leagues available, as well as skating classes, and open skating times. This can be a fun way to get some exercise and cool off during the hot summer months. They are located at Crossroads Park on Greenfield Road in between Ray Rd. and Warner Rd. in Gilbert. There are also currently Polar Ice locations in Chandler and Peoria. Click on one of the links below to get more information.

Polar Ice - Gilbert

Polar Ice - Chandler

Polar Ice - Peoria

Planning Your Move

We have added a button "Moving Checklist" which is just below the "Condo Search" button. This will link you to a Moving Time Table and a Moving Checklist. You can print either or both out for your use in planning your move. A few more tips are listed below.

Packing Considerations
· When obtaining boxes look for medium size ones that will be easy to lift when full.
· Compartmentalized containers (with cardboard dividers) are great for packing glassware and other small fragile items.
· Don’t use newspapers to wrap items that could be damaged if the ink rubbed off. Use tissue paper or plain paper designed for packing. Towels and linens can also be used for wrapping items.
· Empty and clean your refrigerator prior to the move.
· Be careful packing any containers of liquids that could easily leak. Seal them tightly with tape and place in plastic bags.

Small Bits & Parts
Whenever you dismantle an item for the move. Place small pieces, screws, and wires in a zip lock bag labeled with the item. Tape bag to item or place all such zip lock bags in one clearly marked box.

$1 Billion Resort- Convention Complex Announced for Mesa

Thursday's AZ Republic had an article regarding the announcement of a new hotel and conference center that will be build in Mesa at the site now occupied by the General Motors Desert Proving Ground just east of the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport. This is near the intersection of Elliot Rd and Ellsworth Rd. The article indicates the development will include a hotel with at least 1,250 rooms, retail stores, restaurants, and a championship golf course. They are expected to break group in the summer of 2009 after GM moves it car testing operations to Yuma.

Articles to read for more information:

Gateway: How Hotel Deal Came Together

Megaresort May Help Jump start AZ Tourism

Market Statistics for August 2008

With the new flexmls system we are able to pull data much sooner. Above is a graph which compares the number of months of inventory for the East Valley cities, Phoenix, and Scottsdale with the full MLS for the area. Below 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 24 months. It is encouraging to see that in a number of cities the number of active listings has decreased in the past few 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.

Chandler E-Newsletters

The City of Chandler has an e-newsletter service. You can sign up to receive a variety of e-newsletters including the new ones Chandler Recreation Update and Chandler Special Events Bulletin. There are also bulletins for road construction, the library, and City Council Agendas. Just take your pick and sign up for the ones you want.

Chandler E-Newsletter Sign-up