AARP has a Tax-Aide program for residents with a low to moderate income. They are able to receive help preparing their federal and state tax returns FREE.
What to bring: just bring last year’s return, the amount of stimulus payment received (did you know you had to pay taxes on that payment?), and documentation of the real estate taxes paid in 2008.
Where to go: Granite Reef Senior Center, 1700 North Granite Reef Road, Scottsdale – 480.312-1700; Via Linda Senior Center, 10440 East Via Linda – Scottsdale, 480.312-5810; Paiute Neighborhood Center, 6535 East Osborn Road – Scottsdale, 480.312-2529.
In addition, the City of Phoenix has partnered with the Internal Revenue Service to help low-income individuals and families file their 2008 federal taxes so they can claim the Earned Income Tax Credit.
Nineteen sites are available where eligible residents can receive free tax preparation services and financial education information. Individuals who earned less than $12,880 and couples who earned less than $41,646 may be entitled to receive from $438 to $4,824 under the tax credit program.
For the locations and other information, call: 602.263-8856.
Mesa, Arizona Real Estate. Call me at: 480.216-3334 for information on purchasing or selling a home in Mesa, Arizona or surrounding towns. OR email me: Teri@TeriEllis.com. Feel free to visit one of my websites: HomesAzRE.com, MoveToMesaAz.com or MoveToSunnyAz.com. Or stop by my blogs at: MesaAzRealEstateVoice; or Phoenix Valley Real Estate Blog
Whenever we relocate to a new area, one of the first things we search for (after the closest mall and our favorite restaurant) is where the hospitals are located. There are quite a few renown hospitals in the Phoenix Valley, and I’ve provided a list below – along with the link to the hospital’s website:
Banner Health: Banner Health is the largest medical system in the valley and includes a heart hospital and a children’s hospital. I’ve included a few of Banner’s specialized hospitals and medical clinics in the Phoenix Valley:
Banner Residences & Senior Center
Mesa, Arizona Real Estate. Call me at: 480.216-3334 for information on purchasing or selling a home in Mesa, Arizona or surrounding towns. OR email me: Teri@TeriEllis.com. Feel free to visit one of my websites: HomesAzRE.com, MoveToMesaAz.com or MoveToSunnyAz.com. Or stop by my blogs at: MesaAzRealEstateVoice; or Phoenix Valley Real Estate Blog
Do you find yourself being stress-free when you are prepared? How about being prepared financially? How about food and water? As we can now look back and see, the economy can change and life can change. People lose jobs, become ill, and any group of problems can and will occur. As the oldest of eight, my dad had a nervous breakdown and couldn't work for a year. We lived on our food supply - and with the help of friends and family. We canned, we baked bread, we did what we needed to do through that difficult time. I don't even remember it being difficult, but I suspect my parents did.
How stress-free we would all be with the knowledge that we had plenty of food, water and a financial reserve. Ideally, each family SHOULD stock up a three-month supply of food that they eat and that they like and which is already a part of their normal daily diet.
Food: This can be done by purchasing a few extra items 
each week to build a one-week supply of food. Then you can gradually increase your supply until it is sufficient for three months. These items should be rotated regularly to avoid spoilage.
This could include peanut butter, tuna, chicken, and other foods that your family will eat.
Water: Store drinking water for circumstances in which the water supply may be polluted or disrupted.
Store water in sturdy, leak-proof, breakage-resistant containers. Consider using those plastic bottles commonly
used for juices and soda. If the water comes directly from a good, pretreated source, then no additional purification is needed; otherwise pretreat water before use. Keep the containers away from heat sources and direct sunlight.
Financial Reserves: Establish a financial reserve by saving a little money each week and gradually increasing it to a reasonable amount.
Bottom line: Be and STAY prepared! For more, detailed information, visit: Provident Living!
Mesa, Arizona Real Estate. Call me at: 480.216-3334 for information on purchasing or selling a home in Mesa, Arizona or surrounding towns. OR email me: Teri@TeriEllis.com. Feel free to visit one of my websites: HomesAzRE.com, MoveToMesaAz.com or MoveToSunnyAz.com. Or stop by my blogs at: MesaAzRealEstateVoice; or Phoenix Valley Real Estate Blog
I’m already starting to see that the information for the Mesa Temple Easter Pageant is needed. Though I prepared much of this post last year, I’m updating it here. The Easter Pageant information is as follows: English: April 1-2 and 7-11 at 8:00 p.m. Spanish: April 2-4 at 8:00 p.m. The Pageant lasts about an hour. Be sure to allow time to tour the Visitor’s Center as well - very special! For more information about the Temple, about the Pageant, or about Mesa and what it offers to the homeowner, just give me a call at: 480.216-3334.
The Mesa Arizona Temple (formerly the Arizona Temple) was the seventh operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Located in the city of Mesa, Arizona, it is the first of two LDS temples built in the state.
The LDS temple in Mesa was one of the first to be constructed by the church. Announced in 1919, only a few short years after Arizona had achieved statehood, it was one of 3 temples announced and constructed to serve outlying Mormon settlements in the early part of the century, the others being constructed in Laie, Hawaii and Cardston, Alberta. While neither of the three settlements were particularly large in their own right, they were considered thriving centers of largely Mormon populations. The long and arduous trip to existing temples located in the state of Utah would prove costly and even dangerous for the faithful of the era, and temple attendance was (and is) an important part of the faith, and as such it was seen as necessary to construct temples in their communities.
Numerous colonies had been set up in Arizona by the Mormons during the last half of the nineteenth century, 
and plans had been discussed for a temple in the area as early as 1908, but the start of World War I stopped these for a while. Plans to build a temple in Mesa, Arizona were finally announced on October 3, 1919 and a 20-acre site was selected and bought in 1921. The site was dedicated shortly after on November 28, 1921 and on April 25, 1922 the groundbreaking ceremony took place. President Heber J. Grant conducted the ceremony.
Following the earlier traditions set forth in the building of temples such as the Salt Lake Temple, the new structure in Mesa was a centerpiece of an organized and planned community for the faithful that lived nearby. Upon its completion in 1927 it was the third largest temple in use by the church and the largest outside of Utah, and remains among the largest temples constructed to this day.
In a departure from the style of temples constructed prior, the Mesa temple (along with the temples in Laie and Cardston) was built in a style suggestive of the Temple in Jerusalem, lacking the spires that have become a mainstay of temples built since then, and was in fact the last LDS temple constructed without a spire. On the outside walls are depictions of the gathering of God’s people in the Old and New world and on the Pacific Islands. The temple design is similar to ancient buildings found in the Southern U.S. and South America.
When construction was finished on the temple, the public was able to take tours through the temple. Two hundred thousand people were able to take a tour through the Mesa Temple. The temple was dedicated on October 23, 1927 by Heber J. Grant. By that afternoon, the temple was being put to use.
The Mesa Arizona Temple was renovated and rededicated on April 16, 1975 by Spencer W. Kimball. In 1945, the temple was distinguished by becoming the first to offer temple ordinances in Spanish, the first time in a language other than English.
Mesa, Arizona Real Estate. Call me at: 480.216-3334 for information on purchasing or selling a home in Mesa, Arizona or surrounding towns. OR email me: Teri@TeriEllis.com. Feel free to visit one of my websites: HomesAzRE.com, MoveToMesaAz.com or MoveToSunnyAz.com. Or stop by my blogs at: MesaAzRealEstateVoice; or Phoenix Valley Real Estate Blog
Yes, our Phoenix Valley and Mesa do have areas that can AND will flood!
Arizona Homeowners - Do you need flood insurance? Do you 
know if you live in a flood hazard area?
Years ago, before the newer communities began setting up those
retention basins - you know - the ones that fill with water during the monsoon or rainy seasons, the water would flood homes and backyards, etc. As a child growing up in Phoenix, I knew the monsoons were here when the wind would blow and the dust would smell like rain. Fortunately, the home I lived in was not in a flood area. We had berms around our property, and my dad irrigated our yards, and we had no flooding problems!
BUT, certain areas of our valley are still in a flood zone. The water has to go somewhere, and since we are so flat, it runs from the higher areas down to the lower areas. Just a FEW tips for those who DO live in a flood zone:
If you are not sure, and/or you now live in an older area of Phoenix or Mesa, call the Street Transportation Department's flood plain management section at: 602.262-4960. If you do live in a flood zone, you will need to make sure you have flood insurance!
Mesa, Arizona Real Estate. Call me at: 480.216-3334 for information on purchasing or selling a home in Mesa, Arizona or surrounding towns. OR email me: Teri@TeriEllis.com. Feel free to visit one of my websites: HomesAzRE.com, MoveToMesaAz.com or MoveToSunnyAz.com. Or stop by my blogs at: MesaAzRealEstateVoice; or Phoenix Valley Real Estate Blog
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In this or in any market, sellers and buyers are in need of a Realtor who is there to assist them through the process. I am here to help in any way that I can. Call me with questions at 480.216-3334
If you are a buyer or a seller looking for a home in our beautiful Phoenix Valley in Sunny Arizona, I can help. My specific areas include: Mesa, Gilbert, Chandler, Gold Canyon and Queen Creek. Since I am familiar with the builders, whether it's a new home or a resale home, I am familiar with most. What are you looking for? New? resale? More rural? Urban? All three of my websites offer different experiences. www.MoveToSunnyAz.com is my "showiest" website with lots of red. I have links to new home construction, multiple listing service and floorplans and more. And then there's www.MoveToMesaAz.com featuring Mesa homes and more. www.HomesArizonaRealEstate.com (or) www.TeriEllis.com, is my main website, which is literally filled with information about communities, areas, etc. It also contains links to new homes and the multiple listing service (MLS).
If education and experience and personality are important, then be sure to consider me for your Realtor. I continue to add to my educational armour on a frequent basis including achieving my Broker's license in 2007. I am the proud holder of the CRS (Certified Residential Specialist) which is a designation held by fewer than 5% of the Realtors across the country. Additionally, due to my continuing education, I was the first one in the Southeast Valley to achieve the MRE or Masters of Real Estate certification offered by the state of Arizona. That certification is only awarded to those Realtors who hold two designations plus 52+ hours of continuing education every two years. I have maintained that achievement for the past three two-year periods. The additional designations that I have earned are the GRI - Graduate of Real Estate Institute and the ABR - Accredited Buyer Representative. I have added the Commercial collection of classes to my list, and plan to take the Land Sales collection this year.
I work well with people, have a good sense of humor, and have developed the "art of Listening." I often find homes that my buyers want within five homes. As for my sellers, they love what I do for them. No matter the price, they each are treated with a virtual tour, a Home Book for their countertop, colored sign rider with photos of their home, colored flyers to place in their homes, weekly CMA's for their community, and they can reach me by phone 95% of the time for answers to questions or concerns they may have. In additon, listings are placed on Craig's List, on Realtor.com, Homes.com and a plethora of other sites like this one.
I was raised in the Phoenix Valley, and I am acutely aware of the neighborhoods, and of Phoenix in general including Mesa, Gilbert, Chandler, Queen Creek, Gold Canyon, Phoenix Valley and Scottsdale. Those towns just ran together in the old days, and now they are separate communities. I love working with first time home buyers because they get so excited, and it's fun to make their dreams come true. Kinda reminds me of my first home purchase. It was like a dream. Almost as much fun and enthusastic are the move-up and second home buyers. They are a little more savvy about what they are looking for and many of them are relocating from other states so I walk them through what Arizona is all about. I am a Realtor who actually "listens" to what my clients want and then I can take them to places that work best for them.
Listing homes, whether they be a high end luxury home or an entry level home, is one of my specialties. Each of the sellers are treated equally with a virtual tour, a Home Book, colored flyers, colored sign riders, and quick responses to emails and/or phone calls. I love to track information, and my sellers are treated to an "update" on a regular basis of visitors to their virtual tour online, or to the listing on any of my websites. Additionally, their home is marketed wherever I can market them. In the malls, in the RE Book, on Craig's List, Zillow, Homes.com and Realtor.com. I have a great knowledge of the ins and the outs of real estate and buying and selling homes. I enjoy working - equally - with buyers or sellers and typically enjoy an ongoing relationship with them all.
'Life is good for the ** right now. Thanks for all you have done. We are really working on our other sister to move to the Phoenix area also and have suggested she call YOU when she decides.'
'Our home finally closed and we moved in this past weekend. We would like to thank you first for your help we love our home!!' 
'We love our house - you did a super job in finding it for us. You're the expert . . ' 
'We were very happy with the services of Teri. Finding a home was actually a pleasurable experience.' 
'Teri helped us immensely! She worked with us by email in Nebraska, worked her scheduled around ours and found us the home we love.' 
'Teri we just want to thank you for all of your help in finding our first home. You were wonderful. Without you this would not have happened. Thanks soooo much.' 
'Teri is awesome!!!' 
'I would highly recommend Teri Ellis.' 
'Teri was very helpful and very nice. More like a friend than a Realtor. Her help was greatly appreciated.' 
'Teri did an outstanding job. She was just wonderful.' 
'Teri Ellis was the best agent I've every used. Period.' 
'Teri was very professional with us, and always kept us informed and advised regardless of my 'demanding nature.' Thanks Teri!!' 
'Thank you for helping us get this home and for all of your help. We will remember you!!' 
'Teri, thank you for all the work you did on our behalf. You ran us ragged, and because of you we found just what we were looking for. You're great!' 
'Had it not been for Teri's expertise and amazing tenacity and untiring efforts on our behalf, the sale of our home and the purchase of anew home would have been unsuccessful. She successfully `made it happen' in a timely and professional way. We would highly recommend her as a Realtor to anyone that would be looking to purchase or sell a home.' 
'Our real estate agent, Teri Ellis, did a wonderful job of helping us find the right home with the features we wanted. Teri was always prompt, courteous and professional. We give Teri Ellis our highest recommendation.' 
'I would recommend Teri and already have.' 
Thanks Teri! You are the best! I am so glad I found you as my realtor for life for Arizona :) Thank you so much! I really appreciate it. I love the house :)
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