Chuck Willman, Arizona Realtor® 480.292.0600

The Okvath family was facing difficulty. With their daughter fighting cancer, the Exteme Makeover team, with the help of Disney animators showed up at the hospital to give it a good fix-up. It was the selfless request of a simple eight year old... a wish to benefit her fellow patients.

The family didn't know, while they were assisting in the hospital makeover, their own home was also undergoing a change. It was another feel good great moment from a show that has made quite a few dreams come true.

Now the home is for sale.

Asking Price $1.8m. Here are the Details:

• 5,346 sq ft

• Six bedrooms / Six bathrooms

• Granite Counters / Huge Pantry

• Two fridges under Island

• 28 x 23 Living room

• Home Theater 26 x 14

• Every room prewired

• Fireplace Great Rm & Master

• Master w/Sitting Area

• Courtyard w/Fireplace

• Covered Children's Play Area

I'm not the listing agent. If you'd like details, email me at chuck@AZvest.com and I'll send you the full listing information.

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Episode Synopsis: http://www.locatetv.com/tv/extreme-makeover--home-edition/season-2/1988013

Would you intentionally freeze your credit?

Much in the same way one would want to stop a check or put a temporary block on a personal credit card- consumers may find a need to freeze all personal credit. In most states this is possible. In Arizona, it will be.

On September 1, Arizona citizens will join 44 states in being able to take the most extreme ID Theft protection measure out there. It will become possible to prevent access to credit files at all three credit bureaus. By so doing, the consumer will be able to prevent others from adding lines of credit or open accounts without authorization.

The consumer can unfreeze the accounts temporarily and then lock them again once new lines have been successfully established.

Consumer's Union, the people who publish Consumer's Report, have a full report.

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For those who want more information about ID theft and how to contact credit bureaus, visit one of my older posts here: "My Brief Unintended Marriage- A Tale of ID Theft Prevention and Recovery"

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Chuck Willman - Gentry Realty - 480.292.0600

-----ActiveRain Real Estate Network

Photo Credit montage includes a) "card payment" by Steve Woods b) "ice cube" by Dominik Gwarek

Home Sales in the Phoenix area are increasing... and so is the inventory. Investors are cashing in on these buying opportunities as there are many homes priced well below the median. Among the most aggressively priced homes are those owned by banks.

I've created a link that allows the more sophisticated user to be able to search through the bank owned inventory. The reason I say sophisticated user is because this link has a few features that are database-specific. This, in essence, is the same database that a real estate agent uses to find you properties. Some of the fields that we see are not a part of this search but many of them are.

It's not the most user-friendly interface, but it's what the MLS system offers and I'm simply taking what they give me. Also... this system is new to the Phoenix area. Sometimes it runs slower than I'd like AND it may take a while to load. The systems operators are working out the bugs and tinkering with the functionality quite a bit. I keep telling myself, "Patience is a Virtue." :-)

Here's the link: Bank Owned Property in and around Phoenix Arizona

I created the link as a general search of bank-owned properties ($50k and above) that are single family homes with at least two bedrooms. They're sorted from most expensive to least expensive. You can click on the blue underlined column header titles to sort by each click-able characteristic. I sorted the list below by price (lowest to highest). Feel free to do the same for any of the categories.

Bank Owned in Phoenix- The List View

Bank Owned in Phoenix- The Map View

You may find it helpful to look at the map tab to zero in on certain areas (specific neighborhoods for instance). The little tools below the map allow you to zoom in, take measurements, center the map, etc. With a little experimentation you'll find these tools to be invaluable.

This link does not include pre-foreclosed short sales... I'll be creating that link later. Short sales tend to have a longer bid offer/response time. The bank owned homes tend to move more quickly- in part because there are no second mortgages that require further negotiation. I will be creating a similar "portal" for short sales in the not-so-distant future.

Are You a Power Searcher?

If you want to be really adventurous, click on the edit search tab. You can change quite a bit of the criteria to make this work more specifically... such as narrowing pricing or changing cities, bed and bath qty, square footage and more. The cool thing about this link is that it will always produce new information no matter which day you click on it. The list updates every 24 hours so the information tends to stay pretty fresh.

Other Features:

Some of the other options are pretty self-explanatory. As you select a property you're able to look at the details by using the detail tab. Photos are found by selecting the photos tab. Send me a message about a property (or a general message) by using the message tab. I'll receive an email regarding your request.

Feel free to pass this on to anyone who is in the market for a bank owned property or ask me to create a more narrowly focused search link. Include what type of home you're looking for and include characteristics that are important to you. The customization process is not difficult.

I hope you find this useful, Chuck Willman - Gentry Realty - 480.292.0600

The Ship Builder: A friend of a friend built a ship. It was like a larger-than-average houseboat. People admired his one-of-a-kind creation and asked where he bought it. Discovering this was a custom creation, someone wanted him to build another.

Life Change: He turned his back pasture into a makeshift shipyard. Then another request came in. Soon he was a yacht builder. It was an accidental job change that was turning into a lucrative endeavor. He couldn't be happier with the new direction his life had taken. He had become an artist and master-craftsman and loved every minute of it. He had achieved bliss.

The Project: He decided to build a super-yacht. This one had everything anyone could hope for. This yacht took quite a while to finish. His buyer could hardly wait to launch it.

Big problem: The ship was too large for the highway. It was too heavy to be airlifted. It couldn't be economically broken down and reassembled. The ship was landlocked. Now it's a fancy "second home" that is ship-shaped.

Land and Sea: A country that does not have access to the open waters is said to be landlocked. In real estate we use the term landlocked also... but it has a different meaning. When we tell you the city is landlocked, what we agents are saying is that there's very little vacant land upon which to build new homes. Let's discuss what this means in market terms.

Density in the City: Pick a thriving downtown in an established metropolitan area. The price of land will be very high compared to land on the outskirts. This is scarcity at the most extreme. Land will be marketed at a premium. In Japan, it's not uncommon to buy property by the square inch.

Infill: In the Phoenix metro area there are a few cities that are considered to be landlocked. In these cities you won't find massive subdivisions with low-priced homes. At best you'll find very small subdivisions with a few homes that are being built on land that previously had some other form of construction that had to be demolished before the new buildings went up. This is called infill... and there is a cost to this. The new homes in an infill community will tend to be as expensive (or more expensive) than the existing older homes in the immediate vicinity.

The changing Landscape: When a city becomes landlocked the real estate features change. Rather than growing horizontally, builders will "go vertical". They'll build two and three story homes, condos, town-homes, high-rises and other such properties that make the most use out of the smaller geographical footprint. Such dwellings tend to have a higher cost per square foot than dwellings on the outskirts of town or neighboring cities.

The Future?: Though prices are falling in the outskirts of Phoenix and the immediate neighboring cities, the scarcity factor is still at work. It stands to reason that an increase in population will cause these homes to increase in value. We can't build more land... we can only use up more sky.

For a report on how this phenomena works, check out this article in the article on AZCentral "Chandler plans for job growth, high-density housing". It deals with how the City of Chandler is gearing up for the demands of their future residents. That's right, Chandler is no longer a sleepy farm town. It's landlocked.

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Chuck Willman is a real estate agent based in the Phoenix metro area. He helps people find and sell residences in Mesa, Tempe, Chandler, Gilbert, Phoenix, Scottsdale and Queen Creek.

Gentry Realty - www.AZvest.com - 480.292.0600

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photo credit: "Fort McMurray" by the very talented, Richard Faulder

"How's the Market?"

I'm asked this question all the time. Since the market is varied, the answer is different depending on the sector. If we were to take the pulse of the market right now here are a few trends we'd notice:

New Homes: It's not a great time to be a builder. Profit margins are down- and it will probably stay that way for a while. This is good news for the buyer. The selection is phenomenal. New home starts are down to a 17 year low nationwide. This is bound to happen. The builder inventory is still high... not at an all time high but high enough to keep the prices low for the time being. New home buyers should select an agent who stays on top of this sector. There are hundreds of floor plans to choose from and dozens and dozens of builders. It's nice to have an advisor who does the homework and knows this sector inside-out.

Short Sales: We're going to see more of these. First, what is a short sale? If someone owns a home but the market conditions are such that the house is worth less than the owner's current loan amount there is a gap. The owner is "short" the amount of money that is owed to the bank. As a pre-foreclosure strategy the owner attempts to sell the home for less than is owed. The bank will consider offers and weigh them in lieu taking the expensive step of foreclosure proceedings. Not all short sales are successful and may end up in foreclosure, where the bank becomes the new "owner." These homes are sold "as is." If someone wishes to purchase a short sale they could be in for a long wait. The bank becomes more negotiable as the foreclosure date becomes approaches. Buyers who have their finances in order may be able to find bargains among the short sale market- especially with those that have a few weeks remaining until foreclosure.

Bank Owned Properties: These are homes that the bank owns. Typically they result from foreclosure. If a home is not sold short it may come back into possession of the bank. The banks tend not to broadcast their presence. Why? There is probably a little bit of face-saving going on. No bank wants to advertise that they own a lot of non-income producing notes. Instead they'll select agents to list the homes at a competitive price. They are also sold "as is". In the Phoenix area there exists and ever-increasing quantity of homes owned by banks. As is typical of short sales, many agents shy away from this arena as homes that are sold without warranties and full seller participation tend to be fraught with peril. It's definitely a "shop at your own risk" market but many bargains can be found. Rule of thumb: If you're looking at short sales or bank owned property check for the following:

a) are there new homes near the short sale or bank owned property? If so is the price competitive? If the pricing is competitive consider that the newer home will have a warranty and will usually be in a more pristine condition. Also, down payment assistance and incentives may make the new home a better "deal"... of course, attractive financing may also be available for the bank owned properties.

b) factor in the cost of updating. Some of these homes will need major repairs or remodeling. Such costs may turn that bargain into a money pit. Always do the math. Sometimes the bargain is costly.

Existing Homes: Unlike new homes, these communities are easier to research. The established neighborhoods simply have more public data. The schools have a longer track record. The neighborhood may have mature landscaping and other amenities that can be seen in their full glory (as opposed to an artist rendering). Also, buyers can perform inspections before closing on the home. If anything is amiss the buyer is in the driver's seat. Some neighborhoods in the Phoenix metro area are currently selling quickly and at increasing prices. Your agent will be able to perform a comparative market analysis that will show the trends. This is a free service. It's nice to know where things are headed in the neighborhood.

Rentals: With credit requirements tightening over the past few months, some people find themselves unable to purchase a home. This creates a larger pool of renters. Also, some investors and homeowners are waiting for a market correction before deciding to sell their homes. This creates a larger supply of rental properties. One new wrinkle in the rental trend is this: some families who have hit hard times are moving back in with the parents. It's not a large piece of the rental puzzle but it is a new factor.

Business Condos: Businesses either rent or own their property. Some builders specialize in selling properties at a cost below, or competive with, rent. These types of properties may exist in a cluster of buildings with similar looks. They're commonly called business condos because they share many of the same characteristics as residential condos. This market is being heralded by some as the new wave of business ownership. It's also being treated with a skeptical eye by those who feel the market is becoming too saturated with inventory. I feel it's more a question of location, affordability and traffic.

Land: Land is cheap. I realize that's a blanket statement. However, in general, land is being transacted at prices well below peak. This is, in part, due to the reluctance of lenders to write loans on dirt. It's much easier to speculate about the value of an income producing property. It's more of a stretch to ask a lender to see your vision. For the time being- land is, in large part, the domain of people who have plenty of cash. Since there are fewer buyers and an increasing inventory land is, in my opinion, nicely priced... especially for those with deep pockets who can hold on for a market correction.

There you have it, the market pulse for the Phoenix metro area. These views are based on a snapshot of August 2008. With the ever-changing marketplace, some of these conditions will change mildly or wildly. I tend to keep track of these areas constantly. If you have further questions about any of these market sectors feel free to contact me. We can speak in breadth or depth on any one topic.

Chuck Willman - Gentry Realty - www.AZvest.com - 480.292.0600