Heather Rankin Lake Powell Real Estate

This morning the federal government released a new plan aimed at lowering mortgage rates as well as monthly payments in a effort to stem the bleeding in the housing market.

The new plan is aptly named the "Making Home Affordable" initiative. To be considered for the program borrowers will have to show last years tax returns as well as 2 current pay check stubs, along with a "affidavit of financial hardship". Loans can only be modified one time.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said "It is imperative that we continue to move with speed to help make housing more affordable and help arrest the damaging spiral in our housing markets".

What does not qualify

• Loans made on or before Jan 1, 2009

• Single family properties worth ove $729,750.

4 million people are expected to qualify in this program, as well as another 5 million should be allowed to refinance though Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The bill for the program is a whopping 75 Billion and runs through 2012.

While I don't live in Page, AZ, I do work there and it is the center of activity for the Lake Powell area. Shopping, doctors, restaurants and entertainment are all based in Page.

For the past several months I've been doing a considerable amount of floor time at our Burton Brokerage real estate office, have acquired a couple of beautiful home listings and have been driving around the residential communities daily.

I've noticed over the past 17 years the amount of For Sale By Owner signs in Page but it was not until a few weeks ago I really started to mull over the WHY behind the daunting amount of them.

One Realtor told me last week "the residents don't think they need us". Another one said "they don't trust us". And finally a broker I respect said "they think they can do it easier without us". Wow.

I've written before on the isolated nature of Page and once again, I think this shows up as a symptom of the geographic isolation. Maybe the FISBO folks just feel like there has not been enough choice in Page or maybe they have had bad Realtor experiences. My bet is tho, that most with a FISBO sign in the yard have talked to someone who has had a bad experience. In a small community a bad experience spreads like wild fire.

I've not marketed to the FISBO community yet as I've been getting my feet wet and finding my bearings. Last night it occured to me what a sad state of affairs this is.

My hope moving forward is that the Lake Powell Real Estate Blog will become not only a place to find real estate information but a trusted community forum. Maybe with trust some of the FISBO's will decide Realtor's are not so bad after all.

The East Valley Tribune newspaper in Phoenix ran a excellent article on Lake Powell last week and I would encourage everyone to follow the link to read the entire piece.

The article appeared under their Life and Leisure section called Explore Arizona. Lake Powell is unique in so many ways and Byron Marlowe gets several of them right out of the gate.

I particularly like this opening statement "Nowhere else are you able to find an area with this amazing beauty, culture and recreation"

Beginning with a brief description of the Navajo Nation he moves quickly to the history and foundation of Page, Arizona, as a man-camp for the building of Glen Canyon Dam. The article goes on to describe his boat trip up-lake to Rainbow Bridge, his hike in Antelope Canyon and being able to relax at the Quality Inn and gaze out at Lake Powell.

Of Page, Arizona, he writes, "Page has the most magnificent “backyard” any recreationist could want — Lake Powell."

I wholeheartedly agree, Bryon!

Search for Lake Powell Homes for Sale

With two large storm fronts moving through the area last week, things were a bit hectic around here. Between the two storms Big Water, Utah received 8.5 inches of snow. Keeping in mind our average rainfall here is around ten inches, this was a big deal. Usually it snows around Lake Powell four or five times a year, but the snow is usually melted by noon. Not this time. At almost a week later, we still have a couple of inches on the ground in the places not in direct sunlight.

Enjoy the photos!

Path to Big Water School nice and snow packed!

Snow on the fruit trees and two large Sage bushes covered.

North to the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument

Over at the Lake Powell Real Estate Blog I am doing a series on current area developments.

Tuscany, a Basic Development project, headed up by Boyd Docksteader, is well underway and looking wonderful.

There are five models to choose from which are reasonably priced from $229,000 to $325,000. The quality of workmanship is noticable walking through not only the completed homes, but also touring the homes still under construction.

Clicking the above photo will take you to a more detailed article on the Tuscany Development at Page Lake Powell.

Today we got the five floorplans posted which can be viewed here

TUSCANY FLOOR PLANS

Tuscany is a beautiful development and is worth stopping by to see what is going on in the Page Lake Powell Real Estate market.

Tuscany Map

Page Lake Powell Homes and Properties For Sale