Just stuff

Buyers today are looking at more than a few houses before finding the perfect home to buy.  Some homes will invariably stand out more than others, but this is not necessarily a good thing.  Houses with not-so-positive features often end up with some very creative nicknames by some very creative buyers.  After all, the home seeking adventure should be fun, right?

Take for instance the home with the most indescribable odor that became known to my buyers as “Stinky Cheese House“.  

Then there was the “Wally P” ~ the house where every wall was covered in a different collage of wallpaper…including the ceilings. 

“Little Egypt” ~ a home that featured a backyard reminiscent of an archaeological dig.

“Creature from the Black Lagoon” ~ I don’t have to build you a word picture of the pool at this house. 

“The House that Time Forgot” ~ picture avocado green shag carpeting & harvest gold appliances.  

“House of Wax” ~ where so many candles were burning that our eyes began to water and we soon had to rush outside for oxygen.  

“Chatty Kathy’s House” ~  the reason sellers are asked to be gone during showings.

…and don’t forget “The Ashtray” & “Bugs R’ Us” ~ both which also had us all bolting for the door.

Interesting to note that homes that make the “favorites’ short list are usually remembered by the home’s street name or some outstanding feature like “the house with the huge yard and great pool” or “the house with the incredible kitchen” and rarely by a cheeky nickname.

So, if your home is for sale and you happen to overhear a buyer referring to it as “The Louvre”, don’t assume they’re referring to your exquisite artistic displays.  It may just mean that it’s time to remove that 24×36 photo of the Aunt Drusilla hanging over the fireplace.

Probably one of the most frequently asked questions I receive from sellers contemplating selling their homes is “when is the best time to sell a house in Arizona?”  The flippant answer would be “um…yesterday”.

But let’s contemplate this as we roll into the upcoming holiday season…which I might add seems to come earlier every year.  Truly a contradiction to my senses as I stroll the Halloween candy aisle basking in the glow of decorated Christmas trees and the tinkling sound of Christmas carols playing one aisle over….but I digress.

Is there a “better” time to sell a home in Arizona?  Well, historically the first 3 months of the year are considered our “high” season.  Most folks want to wait to make their real estate decisions until the holidays are over which accounts for the steep rise in new listings right after January 1.  But, just because there are more listings…doesn’t mean that’s the best time to sell.  Obviously, more listings means more competition for a seller.

April-June is our second most active real estate period.  Temps are still moderate and relocation opportunities typically coincide with school summer vacation.

July-September ranks #3 in real estate activity.  Why?  It’s HOT.  Driving from property to property wearing oven mitts isn’t my idea of a good time and the same holds true for most buyers.  Sellers typically see a slowing of showings during the heat of our desert summers and it’s no surprise.

Finally the holiday season of October-December.  Slowest real estate season of the year.  BUT…that doesn’t mean homes don’t sell.  There are usually fewer homes on the market during the holidays.  So if you have an awesome house to sell, chances are even greater that it will stand high above limited competition.

With our current market however, my answer to the question “When is the best time to sell a house in Arizona” is…”As soon as you can…but only if you have to”.  Our prices are still trending downward which means waiting even 3 months to put your home on the market can mean a significant net loss.  Now, if you decide to sell your home and it happens to be December 18th…I would suggest waiting till after January 1.  Why add the 2 weeks to your total days on market?  The dates right around Christmas and the New Year are probably the worst time to try to sell a home…in any part of the country.

Even though our market is leaning heavily towards buyers right now, sellers should not be discouraged.  Many of my listings have sold in under a month and my last 3 listings sold in just a few days. 

So the real answer to the question is “price it well and it will sell”…anytime of the year.

Sun Lakes, Arizona is one of the premiere Active Adult communities in the Southeast Valley.  20% of the residents can be under the age of 55 (but no younger than 40).  It boasts several championship golf courses, tennis courts, swimming pools, multi-million dollar club houses and restaurants.  3 of the communities within Sun Lakes are gated.  With it’s proximity to the Sky Harbor airport in Phoenix (about 20 minutes away), it remains one of the most desirable retirement and vacation home communities in the valley.

A search of the Arizona MLS today for site built single family homes in Sun Lakes shows a wide range of pricing.  The lowest priced home in Sun Lakes today is listed at $145,000 for a 2 bedroom, 2 bath 1116sf single story with a 2 car garage and listed by Sun Lakes Homeowners Realty.

On the other end of the price range, the most expensive home listed is a 4 bedroom, 3.5 bath, 4061 sf 2 story Lexia model, situated on a premium golf course lot in the gated Ironwood Subdivision and priced at $649,000 and listed by RE/Max Elite.

While I’m at it I have to mention my very special listing in Sun Lakes gated Oakwood Country Club.  Listed at $459,000, this beautiful 3 bedroom, 3 bath highly upgraded home with guest house is absolutely beautiful.  Check it out here!

Where can you buy a 430 square foot site-built home for under $24,000?  Mesa, Arizona.  Where can you buy a 9168 square foot mansion for $4,000,000?  Mesa, Arizona.

That’s Mesa, a city with opportunities for all types of home buyers.  The lowest priced single family home in Mesa listed today on the Arizona Regional MLS happens to be that 430 square foot “casita” (that’s Spanish for “little house” in case you didn’t know) that has 1 bedroom, 1 bath, kitchen and living room, oh yes…and a bathroom.  Located in Whispering Winds at Elsworth and Broadway and listed at $23,999 by Quest Investment Real Estate.

On the other end of the spectrum and holding the title of most expensive home in Mesa on the Arizona Regional MLS, is a 9168 square foot “casa grande” (that’s Spanish for “big house” in case you didn’t know).  Featuring 4 Bedrooms and 7 Baths, resort pool and 4 car garage listed by Coldwell Banker.  Situated on 1.03 acres on the preserve in Las Sendas at Power and Thomas. 

On a budget or not…Mesa will probably have just the home you’re looking for.

I’ve long ago given up thinking I know exactly what my buyers are looking for before I take them out for the first time to look at homes.  It’s a lot like picking out clothes for friend.  You may it will fit them to a “T”, but until they try it on…you just don’t know.

I remember the day when I first starting selling real estate and I walked into a home with my buyer in tow.  The house was a wreck and it smelled bad too.  The first words out of my mouth were “Wow, what a dump”.  Much to my chagrin, my buyer’s loved the house and ended up writing buying it.  Little hard for me to get the foot out of my mouth on that one.

As a rule, most buyers are looking for the home that looks like a model home….just like most teenage boys want a girlfriend who looks like Barbie.  I do my best to find my buyer just that…a house that has some “wow” factor (Not..”wow..what a dump” of course). 

But, when it comes right down to it, it’s more than beauty.  The home has to fit the buyer and the buyer’s lifestyle.  A home will generally speak to a buyer the minute they walk in the door.  I’ve said it over and over again… “Mr & Mrs Buyer, you won’t have to talk yourself into a home when you find the right one.  You’ll know it immediately.”  And it’s true. 

Just like trying on the perfect jeans…your butt will look just right… the minute you walk in the door.

Sellers today feel more in need of a miracle than ever when trying to sell their homes.   A plastic St. Joseph statue is the “miracle magnet” of choice for many. 

The custom of burying a St. Joseph statue when trying to sell a home dates back to at least 1984 in the U.S. but it gained more popularity in 1990’s when Realtors started buying mass quantities of the plastic saint, giving instructions to sellers to bury the little guy (can I call a Saint a “little guy”…hmmm maybe not) upside down in the front yard facing away from the home.  I guess burying St. Joseph upside down makes him all the more desperate to get out of the dirt and back into the home?  I’m not sure.

Why St. Joseph?  Why not St. Jude, the Patron Saint of Desperate Causes? Or, St. Isadore of Seville, the Patron  Saint of the Internet (did you know there was a Patron Saint of the Internet?)

Joseph was the carpenter father of Jesus Christ and is therefore linked to hearth and home.  The practice of calling on St. Joseph’s real estate help has many reputed origins.  Some say it started when some European nuns buried a St. Joseph medal in their quest for a convent. Others cite German carpenters who used to bury St. Joseph medals in the foundation of homes they were building as they prayed to St. Joseph.  One of the most renowned stories dates back to the 1800s when Brother Andre Bessett of Montreal wanted to buy some land to construct a small chapel.  Brother Andre buried St. Joseph medals all over the land he wanted when the owners refused to sell.  Voila! In 1896, the owners finally agreed to sell the land to Brother Andre and the chapel was built.

The “rules” for burying the St. Joseph statue vary.  I say, play it safe and try them all.

• Upside down and near the for sale sign
• Right side up
• EXACTLY 12 inches deep
• Facing the house
• Facing away from the house
• 3 feet from the rear of the house
• Lying on its back and pointing towards the house like a divine arrow
• In the rear yard…preferably in a flower bed

You can find St. Joseph statues easily on the Internet. One site www.stjosephstatue.com offers 2 sizes.  There’s the 4″ St. Joseph and the 8″ St. Joseph which I guess will sell your home twice as fast?  One guy has even written a 120 page book called St. Joseph My Real Estate Agent. 

I had clients who, with a little help from St. Joseph and a little help from me, sold their home.  They buried 4 St. Joseph statues in their yard because they couldn’t find him when they wanted to reposition him.

You do have to be careful, however.  Don’t underestimate the power of the statue.  You should dig it up when you sell and close on your home, or rumor has it the home will continue to change owners frequently. 

There’s also the story of the guy who got impatient when his home didn’t sell.  He harvested his St. Joseph statue and tossed it in the trash. A few days later, imagine his surprise at the headline “Local Dump Sold”

Somehow I just don’t think Jesus’s earthly father ever intended to be a Real Estate Agent.  As Joseph was walking through Bethlehem pulling along his donkey upon which sat his very pregnant wife, Mary.  As they knocked on doors and were eventually led to the stable where the Savior of the world would be born.  I somehow have difficulty imagining Joseph saying “Just think, Mary, some day my likeness will be rendered in plastic by the tens of thousands to be buried forgotten in the dirt all over the US…so that I, Joseph the carpenter, can get those homes sold”.  

There are, however, folks who are convinced the little statue sold their home and who am I to argue?  I think twice before stepping on a crack. I avoid walking under ladders. I cringe when a black cat crosses the road in front of me and sometimes….just sometimes…I think there really is a Santa Claus.

I’ve been contacted by Discovery’s Channel’s Verminators who also produce the other job related shows “Deadliest Catch”, “Ax Men”, “Ice Road Truckers” and “America’s Toughest Jobs”.

The new season of “Verminators” is ready to begin production and they are currently looking for “victims” of pest infestation in California, Arizona, Ohio, Texas and Florida who are experiencing problems with infestations of spiders and scorpions and snakes …”oh my!”

The show is primarily presented to viewers in order to document the job itself…how exterminators work together, what type of equipment they use, what kind of problems they can run into on a job, how they get rid of the pest and how they interact with their clients, etc.  The purpose of the show is not to make the client look bad, but rather quite the opposite.

If you are selected to participate on Verminators, their pest eradicators will come in to remedy the problem…at no cost to you (double bonus!) Producers assure me that their purpose is not to make the “victim” look bad and will not disclose names or places if that is a concern to the participant.  Of course, it can’t hurt if the participant is “fun and interesting!”.  Oh yes, that would be me…fun and interesting.  Almost makes me wish I had a pest problem….almost.

If you are experiencing problems with snakes, spiders, scorpion or even lizards and live in one of the states mentioned AND would like to be considered for the show, you can contact the producers at verminators@gmail.com .  Include your name, location and an explanation of your problem.  Or..log on to www.discovery.com/verminators.

Let me know if you’re selected ~ I’d love to tune in!!

The housing foreclosure epidemic is breeding another voiceless victim.  Last week a home in the Seville community in Gilbert fell into foreclosure.  When the owners vacated they left behind 8 adult dogs and 15 newborn puppies.  The owners were “kind” enough to dump a bag of dog food into an open drawer in the kitchen and left the gate to the pool open so the dogs could get a drink…of the swampy green pool water.

On Monday night the Gilbert Police assisted LostOurHome Rescue to remove the dogs from this vacant home.  The puppies will be ready for adoption in about 8 weeks and the other dogs need forever homes too.  I encourage you to contact LostOurHome.org if you are interested in adopting a pet or making a donation to this worthy cause. 

LostOurHome.org is a worthy organization comprised of Realtors and Lenders who have gotten together to help other realtors with the issues we face when working in the market where desperate people make bad decisions about their pets.

If you’re a homeowner who is losing a home or if you simply can no longer afford to care for your pet,  there are organizations that can help you.  Please don’t leave your furry friends behind.

More and more builders are feeling the real estate crunch.  I recently stopped by one of those builder communities in Gilbert.  Randall Martin’s Sandalwood community located at Warner & Higley just off the 202 is truly a comment on today’s economy. 

I never thought I could feel sorry for a big ol’ builder…but I have to admit, I did feel a little sad when I walked through this overgrown neighborhood.  The few homes that have been built have been vandalized and the playground sits waiting for children that aren’t there.

I’m sure another builder will someday come along and start to rebuild this project but until then it’s just another case of when the builder goes under, the weeds come up…  Queue the spooky music and check out the tour…