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Josh & Dawn McKinley

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Mm... sushi! Squid Ink Sushi in Peoria, AZ

05-20-11
Josh & Dawn McKinley

Surf & Turf Roll

As you get to know us, you'll find that one of the things we love most is food. Eating it, cooking it, pairing it with various drinks... if it's food-related... we're there! Therefore, I was overjoyed when I heard that someone was opening a sushi restaurant near my Terramar home in Peoria. Well, Squid Ink Sushi has been open for a little under a year now, and not only has it become one of my favorite places to eat, it's also a great place to listen to live music and enjoy local artist displays.

We normally go to Squid Ink for lunch, since it's on the way home from the Long Realty offices in Surprise. While we don't get the music or art at that time of day, I can still get their kick-ass sushi lunch special, consisting of a soup or salad and a mix of spicy crab roll & assorted nigiri (the lower plate in the picture below.) Josh gets a bit more adventurous, instead opting for some of their house rolls, like the Buffalo Chicken Roll (shown on the plate above my lunch special) or their Surf & Turf Roll (in the first picture).

Sushi Plates

For those not partial to sushi, Squid Ink also has a full menu of non-fishy items, as well as a kid's menu (the chicken teriyaki bowl was devoured by my cousin's two year old son.) Throw in their TWO happy hours and all their special events, and you've got a wonderful addition to the Peoria restaurant scene.

Squid Ink Sushi is located at 9947 W. Happy Valley Rd., Peoria, AZ 85383. They also have a pretty cool Facebook page.

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The weekend in review...

05-02-11
Josh & Dawn McKinley

Wow! What an insane weekend this has been! I got to participate in tons of activities in north and central Phoenix, and spend some time with my family to boot!

On Friday, I volunteered at the Phoenix Zoo Rock the Zoo event.

On Saturday, I spent the morning up at the Vistancia Pink Trail to Awareness Walk, which benefited the Susan G. Komen 3-Day team I walk with (Team W.I.S.H. Arizona) and then took some well-deserved "me" time and wandered down to Arizona Women's Expo, where I managed to find the *perfect" mother's day present for my mom... shhhh, don't tell her!

Sunday was family day, when we went down to Chase Field to watch the Diamondbacks vs the Cubs, and then went to the restaurant that our roommate works at. I also attempted to get my first tomato plants into their new home... that probably didn't go as well as I would have liked it to.

Well, at least my busy weekend has assured me of one thing... I'll have plenty to write about this week!

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Vistancia Pink Trail to Awareness - April 30, 2011

04-25-11
Josh & Dawn McKinley

It's spring in Peoria, AZ! If you're looking for something to do out in the beautiful weather (and do some good, too!) come on out to the Vistancia Pink Trail to Awareness walk on April 30, 2011. Walk the beautiful Discovery Trail in Vistancia, while honoring breast cancer survivors and raising awareness about the disease. Proceeds benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

Vistancia Pink Trail to Awareness

I'm walking 60 miles to help end breast cancer! If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation (or even if you don't), please go to my Komen 3-Day Walk page.Thank you!

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Are you risking your client's dream home?

04-14-11
Josh & Dawn McKinley

Reading paperwork.. or, please read the contracts your clients are signing.

As a Phoenix real estate agent, you will do a LOT to make sure that your buyers get into the home they want.

Drive around for hours looking at vacant homes, hopped up on Starbucks and gum? Check!

Fill out contract after contract hoping that THIS will be the one that isn't undercut by an all-cash buyer with a no-inspections-needed 10-day close? Check!

Finally getting a contract accepted on that foreclosure where you can only hope that the listing agent isn't so overloaded that they don't forget you exist until the day before closing? Check!

The appraisal is done (you're not "overpaying," yay!) and the inspection period outlined by the contract has expired. There's just a couple little things that the appraiser noted that needed to be replaced before your buyer's loan can be funded - outlet covers. Tiny things, really, that you decide that you will take care of for your client, rather than bother the REO agent with the request. So, you use your lockbox key to let the contractor who will do the work into the house, and all is well. Right?

WRONG! Guess what... you might have just allowed your buyer to be in breach of the purchase contract they signed!

How can this be? You were just trying to help... how can a deal fall apart over a couple of $2 outlet covers? And how'd the listing agent find out about it, anyway? Maybe it was the phone call your contractor made asking for access to the house the other day, for which he was promptly and adamantly denied... nah...

ContractA quick review of the purchase contract your buyer signed gives you the answer - the contract specifically states that if any alterations (yes, even "improvements") are made to the property by the buyer before they take possession of the property (recordations, keys, the whole nine yards) they are in breach of contract, and the bank has the right to not sell the house to your client!

There's a whole bunch of other conditions in that same paragraph, including the request not to have the buyer move in before they actually have their names on the title, but the pertinent fact remains - those little fixes that you did to help your client may have possibly caused them to lose the house they want so much.

Truth be told, real estate agents work hard to make sure that the REO property that you are buying is in the same condition when you get the keys as when you offered to buy it. This includes full prelisting reviews of the property, constant communications with the bank asset managers, and weekly property checks. They are the agents for the seller, who in this case, would be the bank, and owe a fiduciary duty to them. If there is a problem, let them know, as you would any other listing agent - they are not your enemies just because their seller is a bank!

So please, make sure you know what's in the contracts that your clients sign. It really could make a difference.

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My take on REBarCamp Phoenix

04-12-11
Josh & Dawn McKinley

RE BarCamp PhoenixAnother Real Estate BarCamp (REBarCamp) has come and gone in Phoenix, and I have to say that it was a really great event! Networking, learning, and even a little controversy... what else can you ask for?

For those who are unfamiliar, a BarCamp is what's referred to as an "unconference," a gathering of people who want to learn and share in an open, free-thinking environment. There is no set agenda; the participants are the ones who suggest topics and lead discussions.

My top three thoughts about #REBCPHX (the twitter hashtag for the event - search on it and check out some of the tweets!):

  1. There are some smart people in the Phoenix real estate business. I mean scary smart. Whether we were talking about how to prospect for business, how we're changing our listing presentations to adapt to today's consumer, how and what kind of video to add to our websites, or the new MARS regulations, I could always count on getting some fresh takes on old subjects. It wasn't all about the tech, though there was a lot of discussions surrounding tech, and how it can be used to grow our real estate businesses. Never mind that there are some pretty damn cool people out there, too, with lots to say about all things non-real estate, as well. As far as networking for real estate goes - REBarCamp has to be the place to be.

  2. The argument of the day was "reputation management" in today's social-media intense world - what should you say, how you should say it, and how you should react to it. I have to admit that I had a lot more fun watching the group's reactions to what was being said than I was having listening to what was being said by some of the speakers. There were a lot of differing opinions, however, the question I had at the end of the session was "when does reputation management cease to be 'management' and start becoming censorship?" The line is very fine, and I'm very afraid of what might happen if we spend too much time managing and not enough time interacting.

  3. Even the most experienced agents are starting to venture out of their comfort zone. They're realizing that the same old way of running their business doesn't seem to be getting the results they expect anymore, and, more importantly, are willing to take a chance on the "new stuff" that's out there. For example, I had one man who was studying the agenda board ask me what SEO meant (search engine optimization), and I'm pretty sure it was a serious question. Congrats to him for feeling that an event like REBarCamp Phoenix was worth his time and effort - and I'm sure that other participants probably could have learned something from his experience, as well.
All in all, REBarCamp was a smashing sucess, and I can't wait until REBarCamp #4! Thanks to all the sponsors and of course the hard-working volunteers that put on such a wonderful day!
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