Arizona Real Estate

There is quite a bit of real estate available in Arizona, because new homes are being built constantly. If you’ve ever been to Arizona, you may be surprised by its vast open spaces – and even the new developments that spring up don’t seem to take anything away from all of that wide open space. In fact, all of that beautiful space is what attracts many people to the Arizona real estate market!

Many people buy real estate from a distance, sight unseen. While this practice can be used to scam people out of their hard-earned money, if you follow certain guidelines you and your money should be relatively safe. Start by understanding what documents you should see throughout the sale process.

The first thing you should see is the MLS printout. MLS stands for Multiple Listing Service. The MLS printout is a copy of the listing that was sent out by the service. It contains a description of the property, and there may be statements made in the MLS that need to be verified for accuracy. If the property or home is in a new sub-division, you need to ask for the Public Report as well.

Other important documents that you should request include the Seller’s Property Disclosure Statement (SPDS), Covenants, Conditions, & Restrictions (CC&Rs), governing documents from the Home Owner’s Association, HOA Disclosures, the Title Report, the Home Warranty Policy, an Affidavit of Disclosure, Lead-Based Paint Disclosure, County Assessors Records, and a Professional Home Inspection Report. Make sure that you get a copy of all of these documents, for your own protection. It is a good idea to have your lawyer look at these documents as well.

There is quite a bit of information that you need to learn about a property in the state of Arizona before making a purchase. For instance, some places in the state may be infested with scorpions, which are quite common in Arizona and are hard to get rid of. Some areas of Arizona contain soil and groundwater that has been contaminated by improper disposal methods. All of this information can be found at the Arizona Department of Real

Estate (http://www.re.state.az.us/). You should use the various online maps that are available to stay away from less desirable properties.

3 Tips to Staging the Outside of Your Home Like a Pro

Are you considering putting your house up for sale, but not sure where to start? Afraid it will take too long to sell, or that you won’t get the price you want? Think about “staging” your home, or in other words, setting the scene for immediate buyer interest in your property.

To be really effective, you need to look at both the outside and the inside of your home. Here are 3 tips to get you started with the outside of your home:

1. Go stand on the street to see what clients see when driving up to the house. Be aware that any negative impressions they get outside the house (landscaping not maintained or non-existent, peeling paint, etc.) is just going to make them think that the house itself has not been well taken care of. So even if you have spent the time and money to fix up the interior, it would all be wasted if the clients get a bad first impression as they drive up to the house.

2. Next, step outside your front door and close the door; then stand on the stoop and look around for 5 minutes. While the realtor fumbles for keys and tries to figure out how to open the door, the clients are standing behind and looking around. So what are they seeing? Dead plants, old Halloween decorations in the middle of January, cobwebs?  Again, not a good first impression!

It’s definitely worth it to take some time and clean it up. Want to go a step further? Try a new coat of paint or some new furniture or accessories.

3. Don’t forget the backyard. While that might not be part of the potential buyers’ first impression experience, you still should make sure it’s in the best condition possible. Pull up weeds, water plants, do some sweeping (if that’s applicable in your case) and maybe even purchase new furniture or accessories (plant pots, bird houses, etc.)

And the biggest tip of all? Imagine yourself as a potential buyer looking at your property for the very first time. What impressions are you getting? Would YOU buy your house? What would you like to see changed before you put an offer on your house?

And don’t worry about spending several thousand dollars to get your house ready to sell – you’ll get it all back when your house sells. Proper staging helps you sell your house in a shorter time and at the price you want.

3 Tips to Staging the Inside of Your Home Like a Pro

Are you considering putting your house up for sale, but not sure where to start? Afraid it will take too long to sell, or that you won’t get the price you want? Think about “staging” your home, or in other words, setting the scene for immediate buyer interest in your property.

To be really effective, you need to look at both the outside and the inside of your home. Here are 3 tips to get you started with the inside of your home:

1. De-clutter. This is one of the most important things you can do. It might be easier to think of de-cluttering like this – you’re moving anyway, so why not start packing now?

Pack up everything you don’t need and store the boxes out of sight in the garage (or consider temporarily renting a small storage locker).

2. Organize your closets - put similar colors together, pants together, skirts together, shirts together etc. Why? Because it will make the closets look bigger. (Really.) An organized closet appears bigger, and you want your closets to look as spacious as possible.

3. Make your home look like a model. You want to de-personalize as much as possible so potential buyers can imagine themselves and their own belongings occupying the space in your house. That means minimizing – putting away everything you don’t need or use. Clear off kitchen counters as much as possible – stash all those appliances you don’t use, and put miscellaneous small clutter in a few attractive baskets or boxes

And the biggest tip of all? Imagine yourself as a potential buyer looking at your property for the very first time. What impressions are you getting? Would YOU buy your house? What would you like to see changed before you put an offer on your house?

And don’t worry about spending several thousand dollars to get your house ready to sell – you’ll get it all back when your house sells. Proper staging helps you sell your house in a shorter time and at the price you want.

Arizona Real Estate - A Good Buying Opportunity?

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If you're looking to move to a new state, Arizona real estate is definitely worth a look. Following is a primer of the state and the FSBO Arizona real estate market.

Phoenix

Phoenix is by far the largest city in Arizona and it is growing fast. The sixth largest city in the United States, Phoenix is the official and economic capital of Arizona. The city is growing at such a high rate that it has engulfed the accompanying towns of Scottsdale and Tempe. Phoenix has a perpetual new feeling to it, which leads to criticisms that it has no inherent culture or roots.

If you want to attend sporting events, Phoenix has a nice selection. The city has professional baseball, basketball and football teams. Phoenix even has a professional ice hockey team, the Phoenix Coyotes. Only in America could a city in the middle of the desert have an NHL team!

If you're looking for warm weather, Phoenix is the place. During the summer, average temperatures are usually above the 100 degree mark without much humidity to speak of. Evenings can get cool during the winter, but day time temperatures remain in the 70's.

Flagstaff

Unlike Phoenix, Flagstaff is a town that reeks of the more historic Wild West. Sitting on the famous Route 66, Flagstaff is a college town because of Arizona State University. The University, better known as "ASU", has over 30,000 students who more or less dominate Flagstaff. If you like the feel of a college town, skip Phoenix and consider Flagstaff for your real estate needs.

Arizona Real Estate

Arizona real estate is very reasonably priced compared to other states. The average home price in Phoenix is in the low $300,000s. Arizona has, however, become a hot real estate market with home values appreciating over 25% in the last 12 months.

Arizona is a take it or leave it state because of the heat index. If you prefer hot, sunny days, Arizona real estate may be a very good investment.