Mortgage Rates at 52 year low

Mortgage rates have come down this year to levels not seen since 1956. This makes it a good time to refinance or to buy a home.

Read more about it at CNN/Money.com - Home Mortgage Rates at 52 Year Low

Fix a Leak Week

Did you know that this is Fix a Leak Week? The EPA launched its program with a demonstration in Phoenix. They set up two demonstration toilets, 2 facuets, and a shower head in a Phoenix residents driveway to demonstrate how much water can be wasted from leaks.

Fix a Leak Week in Phoenix

The EPA's Watersense site has lots of information on how to save water including information to consider if you are purchasing new toilets, faucets, or showerheads.

Does Your Dog Need a License?

If you live in Maricopa County and your dog is at least three months old, it needs a license and it must be vaccinated against rabies. If you fail to license your dog, you can be fined and charged with a misdemeanor. When purchasing a license for your dog you must present a certificate of rabies vaccination. It costs less to license a dog which has been spayed or neutered.

• Altered Dog (Spayed/Neutered) = $16.00 (Note - "altered" is the county's term not mine)
• Unaltered Dog = $40.00
• Senior Citizen Household (Altered Dog/limited two dogs) = $6

Maricopa County Animal Care & Control offers programs with low cost for vaccinations and to assist with the care of your dog. For more information: http://www.pets.maricopa.gov/.

To apply online for a dog license - Maricopa Dog Licensing

How Does the East Valley Stand Up?

Those of us who live here know that the East Valley cities are a great place to live. Some other people agree with us. Click on a city name to get more information about the city and ranking information.

CNN/Money Rankings of Best Places to Live in 2008:

Gilbert, AZ - 28
Chandler, AZ - 30
Scottsdale, AZ - 47

Sustainability Rankings 2008:

Mesa, AZ - 50

Best Sports Cities Ranking - Sporting News 2008:

Phoenix/Tempe - 6

Features Buyers Want

Here are the five kitchen and bath features buyers want the most:
36% want a separate shower enclosure in the master bath
31% want an eat-in kitchen
24% want high-end appliances
23% want granite counter tops
21% want a kitchen island

Source February 2009 issue of REALTOR® Magazine - Source: NAR 2007 Profile of Buyers' Home Feature Preferences

Impove Your Odds of Getting Your Home Sold

When you are selling your home what it looks like on the inside matters. Buyers will look at photos of the inside of your home on the Internet and will decide based upon these photos whether or not they want to see your home. Don't think that if the inside of your home is a mess that you can still get buyers by not having interior photos of your home posted on the MLS. Many buyers browse only those homes that have multiple photos.

Once you get them interested enough to come view your home, it is important that the home look clean and clutter free when they arrive to view it. Potential buyers should be able to picture themselves living in your home. This means that you need to pack up or give away items that are cluttering up your home. To get an idea of what this means, look at a few model homes in new built subdivisions and see how they are decorated. Look in some home decorating magazines and count how many personal items are displayed. Limit yourself to a similar number. Homes with clean and spacious (uncluttered) interiors tend to sell faster.

For more information - Realty Times article - Clutter Free Helps Sell Homes

Insulate for Savings

According to SimplyInsulate.org 60%of homes in the United States are under insulated. Their website contains information on determining the correct amount of insulation for your home, how to calculate potential energy savings, how to install insulation yourself, and how to hire a contractor.

Click here to learn about financial incentives available for installing insulation in Arizona.

A New Year - A Fresh Start

The Federal Housing Administration has a new website page full of information that will help you get your financial house in order. The page is titled My Money, My Home, My Future. This is for anyone wanted to review their finances and finacial plans not just home owners.

FHA - My Money, My Home, My Future

Help for Homeowners with a Federal Tax Lien

There was an article in Wednesday's AZ Republic about steps the IRS is taking to help homeowners who are attempting to refinance or obtain a loan modification but have a federal tax lien on their home. If this applies to you, you'll want to read the article. Just click on the link below.

AZ Republic Article - IRS Helps Homeowners Deal with Federal Tax Lien

Value of Home Remodeling

The 2008 Cost versus Value Report for home remodeling projects is now available. It ranks various home remodeling projects based upon the expected percentage of the projects cost that could be recouped when the home is sold. Keep in mind that these are national averages. Some of these figures would not be the same in Arizona. For example, it lists the addition of a deck to a home. In most Phoenix area homes there is a patio not a deck. A covered patio is much more valuable that a patio without shade. Costs for adding a patio would be different than costs to add a deck. Features included in the patio such as a built in cooking area would also affect value.

There are many factors which will affect how much you will recoup on remodeling. If you are planning on selling within a year, consult a real estate agent before engaging in any remodeling projects. The agent can advise you as to which projects will most help the sale of your home. If you are planning on living in the home for many more years, you should not expect to recoup the same percentage as if you sold your house within a year of the remodel.

2008 Cost vs Value Report

Savings on Holiday Lights

One of the great things about living in Arizona, is that you don't have to battle bad weather if you want to put up holiday lights on your home. If you need to purchase new lights here are some ways to save money:

SRP - Save Up to $5 on Holiday LED Light Sets (LED lights use up to 98% less electricity than the conventional incandescent strands - from SRP Contact newsletter).

Michael's - Weekly Ad & Joann's - Weekly Ad These two stores frequently have lights on sale and often have a coupon in their newspaper ad.

Other places to check ads are home improvement stores like Lowe's and Home Depot, plus Target, and Costco.

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.

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

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

ASHI Client Bill of Rights

The American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI) has created a Client Bill of Rights. Before ordering a home inspection it is a good idea to visit their site and read the Client Bill of Rights along with some of the other information they provide. There is information for home buyers as well as home sellers and home owners. You can even take a Virtual Home Inspection Tour.

ADRE Posts List of Builders in Financial Trouble

The Arizona Department of Real Estate has announced that they have posted a list of builders which are experiencing financial trouble on their website. It lists the builder/developer and the community/development they are building. If you are considering buying a property in a new development, you should check this list first. You do not want to give a down payment to a builder without an understanding of their financial ability to complete the home for you.

Arizona Home Builders in Financial Trouble

ADRE also recommends that you read Commissioner's Advisory Number 2 which gives information to home buyers and others that will be impacted by a builder discontinuing operations.

Please note that most home builders are meeting their obligations to their buyer's. ADRE provides this information as a service to Arizona's home buyers.

You should also know that you can have a real estate agent represent you when you purchase a home from a builder. However, that agent must go with you the first time you visit the community. An agent can help you understand the contract and to negotiate the home purchase with the builder.

Why no one is looking at your home for sale.

Click on picture for a larger image.

Showing homes to potential buyers start these days at the computer. Agents search for homes using criteria that is given to them by the buyer. It has to be in a certain city or it has to have four bedrooms. If you've bought anything, you've been through this process.

Realtors input this information into the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). What most of them fail to realize is that each input is a possible connection with the buyer. The more you input, the greater the chance that the buyer's agent will find it in the MLS. If you put in a typo that the price is $3,500,000, instead of the correct price of $350,000 (one extra zero), than no one is going to see your home. If you leave a field blank, than it might limit the showings as well.

Here's an example. I have a client that needs a ground level unit that is one level. She's disabled and she cannot do stairs. I found 37 properties in the area she wanted to live in that were single level. Now, you can have a single level home on the 2nd floor. I then narrowed it to how many were ground level and found five. Now, I thought the number would be higher. So, I went back to the first search and manually looked at each listing. Sure enough, I found about 15 properties that were ground level, but wasn't listed as such. 15 agents that left the field blank and 15 agents that are getting less showings because of it. Look at the picture, there's other boxes that might need to be checked. All in all, there are hundreds of places for agents to mess up on.

If your home is listed for sale and you are not getting enough showings, I'd check your MLS listing to make sure it is accurate. If you are in the process of interviewing your next agent, ask him or her for an audit of your current listing.

Here's the five top things I'd check for:

1. Is the location correct in the MLS map? I was looking at a Queen Creek property the other day. When I clicked on location, the map showed dozens of properties pinpointed far from Queen Creek. One, was in Salt Lake City, Utah.

2. Can you get to the home with the written directions?

3. If you live in a condo/townhome is the level, shared walls, unit style correct?

4.Under features and room details is everything possible listed?

5.Are there pictures and virtual tours attached to your listing? Did you know that agents can choose to send only listing with these items. I've seen properties on the MLS for over a year and no picture of the home.

Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008

President Bush signed into law the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008. The link below provides a good summary of the act (provided by the National Association of REALTORS®). You should read this if you are considering purchasing a home, selling a home, or feel that you need to refinance an existing home loan.

Summary of Provisions

Have Fissures? Can You Lower Your Property Taxes?

Here is a link to an East Valley Tribune article about a woman living in Pinal County who successfully worked with the County Assessor's office to have her property value lowered due to the fissure under her home.

Assessment Shows Affects of Fissure

I hope none of you have this problem; but, if you do or know someone who does you might want to direct them to this article.

For more information on Arizona earth fissures in general you can download A Homeowner's Guide Online Guide to Geological Hazards in Arizona from the Arizona Geological Survey website. This information is useful for homeowners and those considering purchasing property in Arizona. You can also access fissure maps at their site.

New Law Requiring Liscenses for Mortgage Originators

We received notification from the Arizona Department of Real Estate that the Governor, Janet Napolitano, has signed the legislation to require licensing of loan originators. The new law will go into effect in January of 2010. This bill has been supported by many in the lending and real estate industry. It marks a positive step forward for Arizona. It will require loan officers and mortgage originators to pass a test, pay a fee, meet continuing education requirements, and notify the Arizona Department of Financial Institutions where they are working.

Information from: Catherine Reagor's Real Estate Blog (AZ Central), ABC15.com, and ADRE