Gina McKinley, ABR, CDPE, CRS ~ Chandler, Gilbert, & Mesa's #1 Expert

This last Wednesday, the Senate has approved an extended and expanded tax credit for home buyers. The First Time Home Buyer Tax credit has been seen as a huge success in Arizona home sales and nationwide real estate. Its expiration on November 30 has had many in the AZ real estate industry feeling nervous about what its end would mean.

Those fears can now be put aside. While the bill still has to pass through the House, which it is expected to do next week, is was overwhelmingly approved by the Senate in a 98-0 vote.

What is new and improved with the extended and expanded tax credit? The new and improved tax credit is still for first time home buyers but will also include home buyers who haveowned their current home for 5 years or more. The credit is up to for $6,500 for these current homeowners and remains at up to $8,000 for First time home buyers or home buyerswho have not owned a home for the past three years. The tax credit is income restricted, as an individual cannot make more that $125,000 annually and a couple cannot make morethan $225,000 jointly.

A home must be a primary residence and valued at $800,000 or less. Buyers must have an Arizona property under contract to purchase by April 30, 2010,and the AZ property must close by June 30, 2010.

The passing of this extended, expanded tax credit is good news on the Arizona home sales front and is expected to be the last taxcredit offered for a long time to come.

Gina McKinley, a Arizona real estate agent, can help you find your perfect Chandler AZ home, Gilbert AZ home, Mesa AZ home, Scottsdale AZ home, or Phoenix AZ home to take advantage of the new and expanded tax credit for home buyers.. Gina McKinley can be reached at (480) 355-8645, by email, or on her Arizona real estate website.

Arizona foreclosures are expected to subside in the coming year. The latest data released by UFA L.L.C., a firm located in Ann Arbor Michigan that researches mortgage activity, states that foreclosures in Arizona and nationwide are expected to decrease in the next year.

After four years on the rise there is no doubt that it will be nice to see Arizona foreclosures start to subside. Improvements in the AZ and nation wide foreclosure arena are seen linked to tighter lending practices, home prices stabilizing, and an improving economy.

The one element working against foreclosures is the increasing unemployment which will leave some without the ability to make their Arizona mortgage payments. The onslaught of no-doc loans and inflated home prices led to four years of increasing foreclosures in Arizona and around the country.

The decline of Arizona real estate values is largely attributed to an elevated rate of Arizona foreclosures. A decrease in Arizona foreclosures will be a welcome sign for the Arizona real estate market in the coming future.

Gina McKinley, a Arizona real estate agent, can help you find Arizona foreclosed properties to buy. Gina McKinley can be reached at (480) 355-8645 or on her Arizona real estate website.

Thanks to the Internet, becoming a Chandler AZ landlord can be easier than you think. Many people are holding on to their Chandler AZ real estate these days, some by choice, and others because they are waiting for a stronger market. Those that simply cannot sell their homes, offering their home as a Chandler AZ rental may be an option.

Essentially there are becoming more and more first time landlords, and this job can seem a bit daunting, especially if you don't live near your property. Sometimes collecting the rent every month can be easy, but many landlords have a more difficult time chasing down rent, making repairs, and having to constantly oversee their tenants and properties.

Thanks to a new Internet business, PayYourRent.com, renting your Chandler AZ home can be much easier. This website business helps Chandler AZ landlords collect rent, track repairs, help tenants set up the utilities, and more. Utilizing an Internet service like www.PayYourRent.com, can help communication between landlord and tenant and att the very least, this Internet business and other like it, can help Chandler AZ rentals achieve and keep rental success for both the Chandler AZ landlord and the Chandler AZ tenants.

Gina McKinley, a Chandler AZ real estate agent, can help you find your perfect Chandler AZ rental unit or list your Chandler rental home. Gina McKinley can be reached at (480) 355-8645 or on her Chandler AZ real estate website.

The biggest question hovering around these days is, have we hit bottom? Whether this question be a general question regarding the recession or the real estate market, we have to ask - does it matter? Whether we hit bottom a couple of months ago or are going to hit it a couple of months from now, we can all agree that we have had better times, and better times are in our future. Whether we have hit bottom or not, there is no mistake that it is still one of the most excellent buyer's market of Phoenix AZ real estate.

That being said, if we haven't hit bottom then the bottom must be close. Wouldn't it be better to buy near the bottom than miss it entirely? Nationwide there are real estate markets that are on their way down, real estate markets that have stabilized and real estate markets that are on their way back up. Whether the market hit bottom a couple of months ago, is at the bottom now, or will hit the bottom in a couple of months, the top of the market is far away.

In Phoenix AZ it is a buyer's market out there. Whether you are looking for a Phoenix AZ primary residence or a Phoenix AZ second home, now is a great time to invest in Phoenix AZ real estate. Property values are lower than they have been in years, interest rates are still hovering at 30 year lows and some tax incentives make buying Phoenix AZ real estate today more affordable than it has been in years. For all we know the real estate market might be more affordable today than it will be for many years to come.

Gina McKinley, a Phoenix AZ real estate agent, can help you find your perfect Phoenix AZ property. Gina McKinley can be reached at 480-355-8645 or by email.

All ghosts, goblins, ghouls, creatures, princesses, cartoon characters and superheroes are invited to Chandler's Halloween Spooktacular, a family-friendly, safe alternative to trick or treating.
The annual event is from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Fri., Oct. 30 at the downtown Chandler Library plaza, 125 E. Commonwealth Ave. In the event of inclement weather, the festivities will be held next door inside the Community Center.

Festivities include games, arts and crafts, costume contests, souvenir photos and a haunted house. Candy is provided at all activities, and there will be fun foods to eat.

Everyone is welcome to wear a costume and enter the costume contest and parade at 6:30 p.m. Contest categories are: Scariest, Best Group/Family, Best Superhero, Best Cartoon Character and Best Princess.

The cost to attend the Halloween Spooktacular, which is presented by the Chandler Recreation Division with support from the Chandler Lions Club, is $2 for attendees 15 years of age and younger.

A complete list of upcoming special events in Chandler is available online at www.chandleraz.gov/special-events or by calling the City's Special Event Hotline at 480-782-2735.