Calling all Chandler families - Mark Saturday, October 18th on your calendar to come to Tumbleweed Park for a day of FUN. This is an event for the entire family. Chandler's Day of Play is from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Day of Play is a celebration of Chandler being named one of the top 100 Communities for Young People by the America's Promise Alliance for the third time.
The day begins with the Chandler Challenge, a 5km-10km run or walk for the whole family which will benefit the CUSD Student Crisis Fund (An emergency fund for students facing serious, life-altering illness or injury). The cost is $20 for early registration before October 4th, $25 through October 17th, and $30 on the day of the event, October 18th. You can register online at www.4peaksracing.com.
Other activities throughout the morning include: informational booths, games, bouncies, old-fashioned potato-sack races, giant hopscotch and double-dutch jump rope. Children of all ages will be able to compete in several of the activities for prizes.
There will also be a drawing at the end for additional prizes for Chandler residents who participated. Mayor Boyd W. Dunn will also be in attendance to speak about Chandler's commitment to the Five Promises and the health and wellness of Chandler residents.
You are also welcome to stick around for the 2008 Fall Rhythm Fest presented by SRP in Tumbleweed park from 5:30 to 9 p.m also October 18th. It is a FREE event for the entire family that features Valley bands, food and beverage vendors, interactive amusements for children, and a grand finale fireworks display!
Calling all you bike enthusiasts! This year more than 1,500 bicyclists are expected to participate in the Tour De Tempe Community Bike Ride. The event will start and end at Kiwanis Park. The ride itself is about a 12-14 mile ride through some of the most distinct bikeways in Arizona. This event is FREE, and is a fun, non-competitive ride that runs through downtown Tempe. The ride begins at 8:30am, and registration starts at 7:00am.
Riders will receive free breakfast snacks, and T-shirts will be distributed to the first 800 registrants. For safety reasons, helmets are required by all riders.
THE EVENT TAKES PLACE SUNDAY, OCTOBER 26th. COME OUT, GET SOME EXERCISE, AND ENJOY YOUR LOCAL NEIGHBORHOODS.
Tempe has more than 165 miles of dedicated bikeways and is designated a Bicycle Friendly Community by the League of American Cities. For more information on the Tour De Tempe, please call 480-350-2775.
Good news for those of us living in the Southeast Valley of the Phoenix Metropolitan area of Arizona. July and August showed some increase in home sales, and a more stable median sales price than other areas of the Valley such as Maricopa and Queen Creek. At the same time, foreclosures also showed a slight increase, but are tapering off from the larger increases from previous months. Here is a breakdown of foreclosures vs. traditional sales, and the median prices of each in several East Valley Cities. The source for the statistics is from several articles in the Arizona Republic
Mesa -
315 Foreclosures and a $160,000 median sales price.
485 Traditional Home Sales and a $179,000 median sales price.
July 2007 median sales price $246,400.
Chandler -
120 Foreclosures and a $198,405 median sales price.
320 Traditional Home Sales and a $239,750 median sales price.
July 2007 median sales price $310,000.
Tempe -
15 Foreclosures and a $213,560 median sales price.
100 Traditional Home Sales and a $248,750 median sales price.
July 2007 median sales price $284,725.
Gilbert -
170 Foreclosures and a $231,000 median sales price.
345 Traditional Home Sales and a $240,000 median sales price.
July 2007 median sales price $315,000.
******************************************************************************** Contact Troy and Mia Erickson, Realtors®, Terra Solis Realty, LLC. Licensed Realtors® in Arizona at 602-295-6807 to list your property for sale or to purchase a property in Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa, Tempe, Queen Creek, and the rest of Maricopa County, Arizona. Contact us by email if you prefer by clicking on email me on the right side of this page under our profile. We are accepting referrals.
To view all the Chandler and East Valley Homes For Sale Click here and then click on the Search MLS Listings or Featured Listings tab. We know Maricopa County and the East Valley.
Disclaimer:The information provided herein is supplied by several sources and is subject to change without notice. Troy and Mia's Blog does not guarantee or is any way responsible for its accuracy, and provides said information without warranties of any kind, either express or implied. Entries on Troy and Mia's Blog represent the opinions and ideas of the author(s). Troy and Mia's Blog does not express the views of Terra Solis Realty, LLC or those of the broker.
There is a new place in Chandler where people can go to cool off during the summer heat. The Mesquite Groves Aquatic Center opened July 19th, and was at capacity within an hour and a half. The facility is adjacent to Basha High School near Val Vista Drive and Riggs Road. This is Chandler's sixth public aquatics facility. You can see all of the Chandler aquatics facilities by clicking here.
The Mesquite Groves Aquatic Center features two slides, one is open and one is closed. It also features a lazy river feeding into the play pool, a spray pad with water buckets for children, and an eight lane competition pool and two diving boards.
Now that school is in session, hours are 9am - noon, and 4pm - 7pm weekdays for the children's pool. The entire facility is open Saturday and Sunday from noon - 5pm until September 1st. The cost is only 50 cents for children ages 2 - 17, adults 18 - 54 are $1.50, and seniors 55 and older are 75 cents.
The Mesquite Groves Aquatic Center is phase 1 of a three phase project that will include an urban fishing lake, a dog park, a recreation center, softball fields, and volleyball courts. Just another way for everyone to enjoy the City of Chandler, and all it has to offer.
Chandler Arizona was recently ranked as number 30 on Money Magazine's "Best Places To Live" list. Being a Chandler resident for the past 12 years, I am very proud that our city has reached that designation. The study used education, crime, weather, housing, job growth, and quality of life as their determining factors. Some of the great things I have discovered about Chandler are as follows:
EDUCATION:
Chandler/Gilbert Community College - CJCC has been named for the second year in a row to the U.S. President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll. Only 68 community colleges received this reward, out of the nation's 1100 community colleges. Chandler-Gilbert Community College was one of only four colleges nationwide to receive the 2007 Campus Sustainability Leadership Award in the category of two year institutions. The award recognizes institutions that have demonstrated an outstanding overall commitment to sustainability. In the 2006-2007 school year, the Coyotes also produced five NJCAA All Americans, and five Academic All Americans in their athletic programs.
Chandler Unified School District also has one of the best academic and athletic programs in the state. The studends test scores are constantly above the state and national averages, and there have been many state champions in Football, Baseball and other sports.
Some parts of Chandler also include the Kyrene School District for kindergarden through 8th grade. Out of their 25 total schools, 22 were rated as "Excelling" and 3 "Highly Performing" Schools using the State labeling system. All schools meet or exceed the state goals.
SHOPPING:
The Chandler Fashion Center is the second largest mall in the Phoenix area, and with over 180 stores, a plethera of restaurants to choose from, and a 20-Plex Harkins Theatres, it is a shoppers paradise.
RECREATION & ENTERTAINMENT:
Chandler is well known for it's Ostrich Festival, and the Christmas Parade and Tumbleweed Christmas Tree Celebration. Snediger park (the former home of the Milwaukee Brewers spring training) is also a large multi-use park for soccer, baseball, and softball enthousiasts, and also has a skatepark. Desert Breeze Park is a great park for picnics and young children, as it has a lake, playground, water fountains, carousel, and railroad.
WEATHER:
Chandler climate is hot during the summer, when temperatures tend to be in the 90's and cool during winter when temperatures tend to be in the 50's. Average temperatures during the warmest month of the summer tend to be in the low 100's, but it's a dry heat (We consider it our winter in comparison to other parts of the country). During the winter, we still experience temperatures in the 60's and 70's, but sometimes cools to below freezing at night. The average rainfall is a little over 9 inches, and we have over 300 days of blue skies.
HOUSING:
The median home price in Chandler is $270k. Up until 2004, that was probably as low as $180k, but Chandler, like most of the rest of the country, experienced a housing boom. This year prices have dropped about 15% from last year. Homes are still very affordable.
JOB GROWTH/EMPLOYMENT:
Chandler is known as the silicon valley of the desert. There are many hi-tech businesses that have sprung up here over the past 20 years. Some of the most well known are Intel, Microchip Technology, Orbital Sciences, and Freescale Semiconductor. Some of the other largest employers in Chandler, not including The City of Chandler and the Chandler Unified School District, are Countrywide, Wells Fargo, Verizon, and Chandler Regional Hospital. Job growth from 2000-2007 rose 37.58%.
According to the study, the median annual income for Chandler is $79,411. Chandler also has its own municipal airport, and Chandler Regional Hospital that serve the area. Overall, Chandler is a great place to live, work, and raise a family. It is very well located to neighboring cities of Tempe, Gilbert, and has two major freeways for great access throughout the Phoenix Metropolitan area.
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It's all about quality service with us. We specialize in working with buyers and sellers in Chandler, Gilbert, Queen Creek, Phoenix & East Valley. We are here to help, advise, and answer questions.
Mia and I have lived in Chandler for 12 fantastic years. We have 2 wonderful children who make life worth living. Our daughter is 22, and is still trying to figure out what she wants to be in life. She has been going to Chandler/Gilbert Community College, and is in the process of applying for beauty school. She has been singing in Choir since I don't know when, and was singing with the Chandler/Gilbert Choi
r the past two years. Our son is 9, going on 25. He wears a men's size 9 shoe! He is your typical boy who loves to be active. He has tried everything from Gymnastics, to BMX biking, to flag football, and he is currently trying out Club Soccer to bring out the competitive side of him. We just recently had a new addition to our family, a boxer puppy. We named her Gracie. We got her this past Easter, and we love her to death.
Prior to moving to Arizona, I lived in many states throughout the country, as well as Okinawa. My father was in the military, and we lived in Florida, Idaho, and Kansas (to name a few places), before moving back to Oregon when I was in the fifth grade. I guess you could say I knew a lot about being the new kid in school. Mia had lived in Oregon her whole life. Her father was an educator, and her mother worked for the post office before they both retired. She, however, had traveled extensively, including trips to Japan and Costa Rica. We both come from households with great work ethic and good family values.
In our spare time, we love activities, whether it is riding quads or jet skiing in 
Lake Havasu, attending Broadway shows and sporting events, or visiting new places like Bisbee and Jerome, AZ. We enjoy spending time with our families, and try to get together as often as possible. I especially like to play softball, as I am too old to participate in just about any other sport (The knees are giving out on me). Mia loves to create things, as she designs her own jewelry, and can be very artistic when she has the time. She can also create a meal out of nothing in less than 10 minutes, and that's an art all in itself. Mia is also fluent in Spanish, which has come in very handy with our trips to Ensenada, Costa Rica, and Cabo San Lucas.
We are very civic minded individuals as well, and at one time or another have both worked for County and/or City Government. Mia has also been on the Board for the school PTO, as well as a volunteer for the Special Olympics, and Hands Across The Border. I have been a youth sports coach and official for so many years, I can't remember how many. We have also served on Youth Councils, the Little League Board, volunteered for the United Way and the City of Chandler Youth Enhancement Program. We believe in giving back to our community, and that it really does take a village to raise great children.
We are Residential Real Estate experts in the East Valley, and we focus on neighborhoods in Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa, Queen Creek, Tempe, Scottsdale, as well as other cities within Maricopa County. My wife and I have been in Real Estate for over 7 years, and we enjoy the opportunity we have to work together to help others. Whether it is buying your first home, investing, or helping you sell your home so you can move, we are here to help, and available 24/7.
I have an additional 15 years experience in finance and accounting (including 3 years as a Loan Officer), and Mia has 10 years in corporate business, and another 10 in the public sector. Mia, at an earlier time in her life was an EMT4, riding around in Ambulances saving people's lives. Mia is fluent in Spanish as mentioned above. We are all about service, and together our experience and skill set are second to none.
We got into the Real Estate industry to help people. There have been many ups and downs in the real estate market (as to be expected), and we have stayed true to ourselves and our clients. Whether it is a buyers market or a sellers market, we do what's best for our clients, and we always offer our dedication, expertise, and full service.
Mia and I hold memberships with NAR, National Association of REALTORS®, AAR, Arizona Association of REALTORS®, and SEVRAR, South East Valley Association of REALTORS®, and are members of the Chandler Chamber of Commerce. Please visit our websites at http://troyandmiaerickson.point2agent.com and www.arizonarealestatehometeam.com. We are in the process of enhancing our websites, so please stay tuned.
Sheila Kofahl is our Designated Broker for Terra Solis Realty, LLC. She has over 13 years in the industry, is part of our team, and she holds the prestigious CRS, Certified Residential Specialist, the GRI, Graduate REALTOR® Institute, the ABR, Accredited Buyer Representative designation, and the e-PRO certification.
In addition to this, we only work with the best in the industry when it comes to home inspectors, lenders, appraisers, title companies, and home warranty companies. We want to work only with businesses that have the same integrity, values and morals that we have, and people who are the best at what they do.
Just a note of thanks for all of your hard work and patience. I know that it wasn't easy to get us into a house, but your efforts have made us feel that you care about what's best for us and not your respective careers. If you continue to do your jobs this way - there is no doubt you will find great success. Thanks Again! - Mark & Elaine Foster
Troy Erickson handled my mortgage refinance loan and provided very good service. Upon learning of my desires to refinance, he kept me posted on interest rate levels. I compared his rates against a few other banks and mortgage brokers, and found them to be quite competitive. Troy made himself available at all times to answer my questions and was very quick to follow up. He is an extremely honest individual whom I can trust, and he goes to great length to deliver good service. - Shari Fujii
Hello we are Daniel Maples and Brianna Joyner. Let us start out by saying that we love our new home and you could too! We were desperate to find a house in less than a month and received a number through a close friend. Our friend had told us these guys were great, just give them a call. This number that was given to us was the number for Troy and Mia Erickson. We needed a house fast, so we called them and they told us they could get it done. We gave them our criteria for what we were looking for in our new house. They were very thorough in their search for our perfect home! We were given a list of homes to pick what we would like to go and look at with them. We made a selection and shortly after we went to look at them....and found this big beauty. It was exactly what were wanted and so much more. We were told that Troy and Mia were great realtors, and now we can say that they are GREAT realtors! You can rely and trust them in the stressful situations while moving. You have plenty of things that you need to worry about when moving, let them help you by taking the most important thing off your shoulders...finding your new home! - Daniel Maples & Brianna Joyner
More references and testimonials available upon request.
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