Pre-Market Listing: Arcadia Horse Property

Completely renovated, this 4,000(+) sq ft, Contemporary French Country estate will leave you breathless. Located in the very sought after “Arcadia” neighborhood, this horse property is in the heart of the city. It is surrounded by numerous golf courses, fine dining establishments, shopping, resort destinations, and has mountain views.

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5 Benefits of Living in Phoenix During Summer

1. We don’t have to pay for a sauna.


Photo by JPott

Just step outside for 5 minutes. You get an instant tan and loose weight by just standing. Who needs the spa… think of the savings… Go green!!!

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10 Favorite Lunch Places in the Biltmore Area

Our office is located in the Biltmore area and there are times when we get stuck on picking a place when it comes to going out for lunch.  Now, I’m not a professional critic by any means but this list may help some of you: here are our top picks for lunch in the Biltmore Area.

1. The Parlor

The Parlor is located close to 20th street and Camelback. When you first enter, there is a small herb garden that makes you feel like everything you’re eating here is garden-fresh, and the rest of the place has a cool urban atmosphere. You may also enjoy the patio once the summer heat is over. My personal favorite is their steak salad – it is absolutely delicious! The pizza is excellent as well.

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Pre-Market Listing: Luxury Scottsdale Estate for $1,298,560

We’re kicking off our notification of exclusive pre-market notifications with this exceptional property located in the exclusive Desert Highlands community in North Scottsdale, Arizona. To stay on top of upcoming properties before they are MLS listed, be sure to check our blog’s real estate listings category on a regular basis.

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Senator John McCain’s Former Home in Foreclosure & Short Sale Pending – Full Sale History Since 2006

Well, it looks like Senator John McCain’s former home at 7110 N Central Ave in Phoenix is in foreclosure with a scheduled date of August 15 and there is currently a short sale pending with a current listing price of $2.5 million. Unfortunately, we don’t know what the pending offer is, but if it is accepted that will be something we can find out at the date of the sale. The current servicer for the loan is Bank of America.

We’re thinking the current $2.5 million asking price isn’t that far off the actual property value. Zillow’s estimate comes in pretty close to that mark also, at $2,537,200.

Full Sale History of the former McCain Home

McCain sells in 2006

The home has had a rocky listing history for years, starting with the McCain’s attempt to sell it in 2005 for $4.25 million and finally closing for $3.2 million at the end of 2006 after 411 days on the market, in what most people would call a seller’s market.

$12 Million listing during Presidential campaign after $900k cash out refinance

Whether the purchaser knew that Senator McCain was planning a presidential run in the future and bought the property on speculation, we don’t know, but they did seem to want to take advantage of Senator McCain’s time in the spotlight by listing the property for a ridiculously overpriced $12 million on 05/30/2008 after a refinance loan of $4.3 million (that’s not a bad cash-out, almost a cool million dollars) in 2007.

After waiting until the end of the year and dropping the price to a bargain $10 million by December of 2008, the owners took a break for a year before re-listing for a paltry $5.9 million in December 2009.

Can’t sell, so try renting for $15,000 per mo in 2010

When they finally realized that no one was going to pay even a moderately inflated price for the Presidential candidate’s previous home in May of 2010 they also and tried to rent the property for $15,000 per month starting in August 2010 while still having it for sale for $5.9 million. It appears like they caved an accepted a $9000 per month rent offer in January of 2011 which was short lived since it was back for rent on 5/21/11 for $9000 per month.

Back on market for $4.9 million in 2011

Perhaps the renters got sick of too many fake buyers touring the property since it went back on the market at $4.1 million while they were in there in February 2011 only to have a price increase of 19.5% the day after the initial listing to $4.9 million – perhaps someone’s real estate agent made a boo-boo.

Finally dropped to $2.5 million which got an offer on the table

In the most recent history, the current owners, Dick & Jane Popple dropped the price to $4.7 million on 4/12/11 while still trying to rent it for $9000 starting in May 2011 while it was also listed for sale. They then dropped the price to $3 million on 6/6/11 and finally to a more realistic $2.5 million on 6/29/11 finally accepting the offer on 7/19/11.

What do you think? Is Senator McCain’s former residence worth $2.5 million to you?

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North Scottsdale Farmers Market Delivery Service

North Scottsdale Farmers Market has launched a delivery service where you can order your items online and have them delivered to your door for a very reasonable delivery fee of $3 if you live within 10 miles of the farmers market. If you live outside that radius, a delivery may still be possible for an additional fee and you should contact the market for more details.

I love this idea, because I love having fresh local produce and bake goods, but seem to not be able to make the time to go to the market and pick them up myself. Our office is only slightly outside their delivery area, so perhaps we will get a group of together and have them deliver to the office since there’s almost always someone here Saturday.


Photo by Get directly down

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Is Now a Good Time To Sell? Take The 60 Second Quiz

It seems that there is something on the news about real estate market statistics on a daily basis. If I were to summarize what the media says over the course of a week, it would probably sound something like this: “The market is rebounding, no, the market is falling, no it’s rebounding again. Tune in at 6 for full coverage.” 

In reality, it may not matter what the market is doing this minute. What matters is whether your own situation puts you in a position to sell, negotiate a short sale, or whether you should wait for a couple years for the market to improve.

This quiz will help you determine whether or not you are a good candidate for selling your home in this market. It is very important to consider whether holding on a home is the right course of action. Things that you need to consider include when you plan to sell and how the home is affecting finances. This quiz will help you determine whether or not you should consider selling now, short selling your home or holding and not selling at all. Please take the quiz and find out if your current decision to hold, sell or short sell is the right decision for your life.

You don’t have to be in the Phoenix area to use this quiz. It should work for just about any location. If you are in the Phoenix metro area, and want to find out more about current market conditions or get a home value report, we’d be thrilled to help.

Disclaimer: This quiz is not intended to offer financial or legal advice. Homeowners are encouraged to consult with a real estate professional, their financial advisors and attorneys to determine their proper course of action.

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Phoenix: #9 In The Next Boom Towns

Joel Kotkin at Forbes recently published their list of the next boom towns in the US, and we’d like to think our blog post about 10 reasons to move to Phoenix might have influenced him some. That is, if he actually saw the article.

He makes good points about Phoenix having been hit hard by the recession but also credits the job growth since 2000, showing that the 10 year growth cycle for jobs in Phoenix is trending upwards.

Also, it seems he’s been paying attention to the family values of Phoenix, and seeing how we’ve been shifting from being a “retirement haven” to a family friendly city.

Of course how could he miss mentioning the warm weather and – especially right now – super affordable housing continuing to influence peoples’ decision to move to Phoenix.

Where else can you buy a million dollar home for half the price?

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Friday Time Waster: 4th Of July Edition

Too much to do, but can’t get your mind off the upcoming weekend? Here’s some random things I found online to help you procrastinate the last couple hours before heading home for the 3 day weekend. Click the titles to get more details and go to the site I found them on.

Best Recipe Idea for 4th of July Potluck: Watermelon Beer Popsicle

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4 Must-Do’s When Selling Your Home

This is a very tough market with foreclosures and short sales hitting the market every day. There are 4 key things that you can do to get your home noticed if it is a regular sale or short sale.

These 4 steps will help your home stand out and increase your chances of success in a difficult market. Feel free to contact us or leave a comment below if you have questions. We’re happy to help.

1. Clean Your House


Photo by tachyondecay

While this sounds like a no-brainer to some, for others it seems to not make any difference. Make sure the home is clean! A clean home looks much bigger, and more desirable than a cluttered or dirty one. On a few occasions I’ve taken clients to view a home that was messy and dirty. The home looked small, and cluttered. 9 out of 10 buyers can’t get past the mess to see the true potential of the home. It is very important to make sure the home is clean and organized.

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