West Valley Realtor

Thursday, January 30, 2014

Phoenix is a Buyer's Market

What?! Prices have been going up! Fewer homes for sale! Nothing under $100,000!

True, but... For the past 5 months, more homes have been coming on the market, and the number of days a listing has been on the market has gone up too.

So, we have a market with more homes, more time to choose, prices have gone flat and about the same number of buyers.

Right now presents a good opportunity to get in the housing market. Demand will pick up again, and the number of buyers will increase. When that happens, the prices will go up again. This is a cyclical type of situation that repeats itself.

Take a look at the charts below and see if you don't agree...

Avondale Real Estate, Goodyear Real Estate, Buckeye Real Estate, Glendale, Real Estate, Phoenix Real Estate, Surprise Real Estate, Peoria Real Estate, Tolleson Real Estate, Laveen Real Estate, Waddell Real Estate, Wittman Real Estate 3 bedroom 2 bath single family home

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Inspection Apprehension

When Selling a home, inspections can cause all sorts of emotions to surface. Homes are complex things, and who knows what an inspector might find as he is crawling through the attic or otherwise shining a bright light where none has shown before? What will it cost to fix it? If the Buyer finds out that something needs repairs, how can I do it the cheapest way?

As a Buyer, when Buying a home, you might believe that an inspection poses as an opportunity to hammer the seller for another couple hundred dollars off the price of the home or closing costs. After all, to repair the thing-a-ma-jig that isn't working (and that you don't care about) would cost at least $1000 if it is done by a professional. You, however, will take a $500 credit towards your closing costs and the Seller won't have to worry about it.

Remember, the Seller might have a relative or close friend "fix" things with duct tape and wire. As long as whatever is fixed is in working condition at the close, a Buyer doesn't have any recourse.

If you don't like the way the repair was made, but the repair causes the defective item to work, you are stuck with it!

So, be careful what you ask for when repairs are required!

Avondale Real Estate, Goodyear Real Estate, Buckeye Real Estate, Glendale, Real Estate, Phoenix Real Estate, Surprise Real Estate, Peoria Real Estate, Tolleson Real Estate, Laveen Real Estate, Waddell Real Estate, Wittman Real Estate 3 bedroom 2 bath single family home

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Divorce Financing - before, during and after

If you are in that situation in life where you have decided to call it quits with your spouse and need to find a home, here are some financing options for you. You can qualify for these loans whether you are done with the divorce or not.

3.5% Down FHA

If the breakup is amicable, you may want to consider this option - it has the lowest down payment, which makes it easier to qualify for a loan, but it also has slightly higher payments. Also, your ex must play nice because they have to sign a quit-claim deed to the property you are purchasing. In Arizona, since it is a community property state, any debts that either of you owe are counted against your income. This may run the Debt-to-Income ratio too high. Also, since FHA changed the rules a little while ago, the Mortgage Insurance Payment does not expire during the term of the loan. You must re-finance into a different loan to get rid of the MIP.

5% Down Conventional

With this loan, it doesn't matter if your spouse is Atilla the Hun, or Lizzy Borden. If you can amass 5% towards a down payment, you can wind up with lower payments (because the MIP is less), the MIP goes away automatically when you reach 80% of the loan value, your spouses debts do not count against your income (resulting in a higher Debt-to-Income ratio, so you can buy more house). If you close before your divorce is final, your ex will still have to sign a quit-claim deed. Also, you will have to count any debt that has your name on it.

If you have any questions, please feel free to call me at 623.341.5382 or send an email to Tim.Lass@ZipRealty.com.

Here is the sunrise from my drive this morning:

Monday, January 27, 2014

Only 4 areas with $100,000 homes now.

If you are wondering if like priced homes are grouped together, the answer is: yes and no. If you have a look at the map, you'll see the there are very few properties that are under $100,000, and that they are clustered in 4 distinct map areas. If you are considering an investment and don't have lots of liquid funds, now might be the time to get into the rental market!

Friday, January 24, 2014

When Good Agents Go Bad

Arizona Realtors are supposed to get 24 hours of education every 2 years. Boring Topic, I know, but shouldn't you know that your Realtor has at least the minimum amount of education to do the job? You should know that each Real Estate Agent in Arizona must have a minimum of 24 hours of approved education every two years.

Of course, that doesn't mean that the education sticks with some of them...

The educational requirement of holding a license in Arizona is supposed to keep an agent from getting themselves or their clients into trouble, but it doesn't always work that way. Consider the actions of the following agents. This report is just one page from the current bulletin, which is available to the public. CP means Civil Penalty (fine), PL means Provisional License, PM means Practice Monitor (someone monitors all your activity - Like Neil Caffrey on "White Collar").

Thursday, January 23, 2014

Fannie Mae Homes - Fantastic Bargains or Fandango Flops?

Buying a home from Fannie Mae is an interesting procedure. All the documents have to be filled out twice, the time period between offer acceptance and getting the keys is longer, the inspection period is ill defined and nobody has any specific authority to do anything.

However, they are currently fantastic bargains. I just helped a client get a Fannie Mae home in an upscale neighborhood for about $20,000 under market value! There are many homes like this in the Phoenix area now.

How does this work? Well, the new home owner is going to have to make repairs of about $1000 to the home after it becomes theirs. It seems that most people who want to own a home now also want a "turn-key" home that they can just move into and live in without being bothered by repairs.

These homes are not expected to last long. If you are not particular about where you live and don't mind putting in a little "elbow grease" or at least hiring a handyman for a day, you might want to check into a home like this.

Make sure your Realtor is Fannie Mae qualified - ask them how many Fannie Mae homes they have done in the past year. There is a lot of faith required in a Fannie Mae purchase.

Good Luck,

Uncle Tim

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

2013 Average Sale Prices Growth for Avondale, Glendale, Peoria, Surprise, LItchfield Park, Goodyear

Nearly 50 for an overnight low last night...

Last year saw some of the biggest increases in value ever. Here is the combined average for homes in the southwest valley. Avondale, Glendale, Goodyear, Peoria, Surprise, Litchfield Park and Waddell are included in this graph.

Note how the graph seems to go up and down near the end of the year. This reflects the "doldrums" that appear to have gripped the Phoenix market late last year. For no apparent reason, prices just hit a "ceiling" as demand fell off and more homes were added to the market.

If you would like to know this information for a particular city, please let me know, and I would be happy to provide it for you.

Avondale Real Estate, Goodyear Real Estate, Buckeye Real Estate, Glendale, Real Estate, Phoenix Real Estate, Surprise Real Estate, Peoria Real Estate, Tolleson Real Estate, Waddell Real Estate, Wittman Real Estate