Phoenix Homes Misrepresented.
June 23rd, 2008 categories: Edits, Phoenix real estate
That will be important for buyers who are looking on their own, with or without Realtor’s representation. There are currently ads on Craigslist. com now, put up by agent advertising homes for sale, stating, that the address of the property will be released to you after the advertiser received from you a signed “loyalty agreement”. “No Buyer Realtors allowed!” Nice, isn’t it. So in order to get details about the property you have to first sign a “loyalty agreement” this is most likely buyer broker agreement. That’s fine to en extent, but even with this there are issues. These could be exclusive listings, but the are not. It all goes bad from here.
For any Realtor, it will take just a minute, maximum, to identify the property on MLS, who its listed by, is it exclusive or not and its entire history, but a buyer shopper does not have that luxury. So here is the deal with these listing. They are being advertised by agents who are not the listing agent of the properties being advertised. Not only that but the listing agent do not know about this and did not authorize it. It’s wrong to advertise someone’s else listing as yours especially if you are forcing a prospective buyer to sign away to see details readily available else where. This is not like other sites where you see lots of properties form multiple agents; these disclose who the broker is.
This argues with standard of practice 12-10 of NAR’s code of ethics.
What is a “nice” way to share listings? IDX search. You may find it on many Realtors websites and I see more and more people using i.e http://realestateconfluence.com/phoenix-home-search
The IDX Program permits MLS Participants to grant and receive permission to display each other’s active listings on certain public Internet websites. Unless they opt out.
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DIY TV series - not for everybody
June 22nd, 2008 categories: Edits, What Not To Do
A client was really excited to see the house close to Kierland Commons in North Scottsdale with a huge lot and a fabulous garden; it had an elegant interior as well, all looked spectacular on the pictures…
I looked at the pricing archives of the property and found out that the price was already reduced $150k since 2007 and the home has been on the market for more than 300 days. In such an attractive area, this was suspicious; even in this market.
A clarification to our question was revealed as soon as we opened the door…
The first thing you could see in the immense space filled with soft light filtered through a row of windows just under the ceiling, was the travertine floor where every other tile had high corners. In other words the person whom put down the tile did not keep them level. See the picture below.
Though everybody sees what is wrong, the reaction is: “what is that??” asking one through another.
Next comes the kitchen… here a number of ‘onmygoshings’ did not indicate any feelings of desire toward this new and shinny kitchen.
The details of the do-it-yourself job stood out as would a polar bear on Phoenix. Really good quality cabinets were put in by someone who never saw a level in their life. These are not mistakes you have too look for; there are obvious gaps between cabinets. Who ever worked on this kitchen, did not have a possibility of noticing even 5 mm deficiency. The black granite counter top had rough cuts in the places where you would never expect to see roughness, like the joints. So lets call it a “misunderstanding”.
Next is the fireplace, made of faux rough stone. In this case the picture is truly all that is needed.
The result: the buyer, like most buyers, do not want to do a remodeling. They want a move in ready home.
The Reaction: thought this is a remodeled home with good materials like travertine floors and granite counter tops and wood kitchen cabinets it has the opposite effect that it should. The finish will leave a buyer in awe at the truly bad installation job. The cabinets can be corrected. That’s not a big cost. The granite counter top must go. Then the travertine floor must go as well. In total this will be very expensive to repair and it’s probably one of the main reason this home has been lingering on the market.
The other thing is, potential buyers will question themselves, “what else has been remodeled in such a shoddy way, maybe the electrical work, maybe plumbing?”
At a distance this is a wonderful home and it presents itself well, until you get closer, walk up the crooked pavers and enter the door and see the rest of the bad details inside.
This is still a great house to buy, for someone who wants to do some remodeling to a newly remodeled home but remember corrections are often more difficult and expensive then doing it right in the beginning.
Maybe, in some cases, the DIY TV series are not that helpful after all!
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Second Day of Summer or Is It.
June 22nd, 2008 categories: Edits, Local Color
Today (yesterday was the 1st day actually but I started to write yesterday) is the official start of the summer season but is sure started earlier for many people, school kids amongst them, for whom summer is the the end of school. Often it’s the warmer temperatures that signal the summer. This is how I remember the starts of summer when I lived in the higher latitudes; warm weather equals summer. But of course this was a long time and go.
I have been in Arizona for over 20 years and summer here starts when the temperatures go above 85. which is basically the bulk of the year. Then there are just greater and lesser summers. If you think about when were in the midst of the summer here its like the winters in many other places. Extreme weather, lack of mobility due to atmospheric condition, it’s bloody blazing hot when it’s 115 like it was yesterday and will be many more times this year.
It’s the kind of heat that hurts so it’s extreme and dangerous. Even the water in the pools is starting to get too warm for comfort. A splash in the pool should be a relief. Each year I try to prepare for the summer but its always difficult just as harsh winters are elsewhere. So when you see a photo of a young couple having a picnic under a lush green tree on a flower covered meadow, to represent summer days, this does not apply to Phoenix. Here is a list of things you can do during the Phoenix summer heat.
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Who Has Faith In Downtown Phoenix!
June 8th, 2008 categories: Edits, Phoenix Downtown
On another real estate portal a website visitor asked if Downtown Phoenix will get cleaned up since despite the attractive condo and loft projects there are slums surrounding them.
I think it best to speak with the people already living there, how they feel about the lifestyle and how they are affected by the present, but disappearing slums. The thing is, you can actually meet residents in the streets, in the cafes and parks unlike in suburbia where you’re more likely to get honked at by your neighbor or maybe you’ll meet them sometime while both of you are getting the mail.
Faith? I don’t think you need faith to see what downtown Phoenix will become. The money is coming and more is on its way. Remember that the downtown renaissance is in its infancy. Each time I go there, there are more places to eat and to be with friends and I have no fear walking the streets at nights in most areas. Even 10 years ago and less I had no reason to go there. It was an office wasteland, but now its drawing me in, so much so that we’re moving to Midtown soon.
We have been investing in real estate in downtown/midtown and so have many of our clients. Add to this the rising cost of energy and the increasing distaste for suburbia then follow the money, follow it to downtown and midtown Phoenix. I encourage you to take a bike and ride the streets on a weekend morning then go at night to all those old little houses, many of which now are galleries or places to have a good beer.
Its also not a gamble as some propose to live and invest in Downtown Phoenix. I really don’t think downtown Phoenix is a gamble but a rational decision and plan, that will take time to fully mature. The planning has been going on for a long time. Take a look at what a light rail type system did in other major cities similar to Phoenix, sprawling cities like Phoenix, and the gamble becomes an educated guess, then look at what the population is doing and it becomes a natural progression.
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Real Estate Confluence Redirected.
May 27th, 2008 categories: Edits
The focus but not the intent of real estate confluence is changing before it really started. We have been working out a few technical kinks. Furthermore we felt that the way we had started real estate confluence would be too close of a match for Phoenix Market 
Trends.
We have been exploring Phoenix quite a bit lately and these explorations are more and more pulling us toward Phoenix Downtown, Midtown and Uptown.
It’s this pull that will mould Real Estate Confluence into a blog-site that focuses on what is emerging into a vibrant, exciting and authentic part of Phoenix.
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Crisis in the Phoenix real estate market.
May 10th, 2008 categories: Edits
I was reading a book by Dr. Robert Anthony and in one of the chapters he states, “All problems are really opportunities in disguise. The Chinese realized this. Their symbol for crisis is made up of two symbols: one for problem, and one for opportunity.
Can you see how this relates to real estate and the current market?
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What is real estate investing about?
April 24th, 2008 categories: Edits
This picture exemplifies the benefits of real estate investing. The key word is cash flow. It is cash flow that will allow you to be just like Rupik, this mad minded lazy and food picky smooth fox terrier. 
Cash flow will give you the freedom to do what you want, whether it’s travel, good cars, bigger donations to NPR or lazying on a Sunday afternoon. Learn more about cash flow strategies in Phoenix real estate at PhoenixMarketTrends.com our more serious blog.
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Welcome to Real Estate Confluence.
April 8th, 2008 categories: Edits
We may not always realize it… but no matter where we live, no matter where we work, shop, eat, go for vacations, we can’t avoid it - it is always there : real estate. (yes, except when we are in wilderness..) “without (real estate) architecture there would be no history, no point of reference” says Daniel Libeskind.
The home, school, office, hotel, warehouse, restaurant, mall, welcome center (to enter wilderness area) - the way it is built, designed, the solutions applied, materials used, color, light chosen, scale it has, the elements of surprise that we suddenly discover about exterior and interior alike, the floor-plan, the way it interacts with the outdoors…. Doesn’t it all affect the way we live, feel, perform, connect with others, the level of stress or contentment we develop while there, etc? I say: YES! At least… this is the way I see it.
From this perspective it is hard for me to find any area that does not relate somehow to real estate - I am choosing only few topics that do, that matter to me. Architecture, Design, Responsible living, Local color. Hopefully these topics will flow together harmoniously and make this site fun and informative place; fun is the key. Then there is the Attic. (currently Edits) From an attic we may have a broader view of the area. It is in the attic that you will find opinions, replies, thoughts, quotes and reviews. A sort of lapidarium.
Real Estate Confluence will deal with the multiple streams of living in Phoenix and how they all relate to real estate in general but more specifically how life is in Phoenix.We invite you to be a guest writer, if you have insight on any development happening or existing in the Central, North/ Central, East Phoenix or Scottsdale, if you are a designer, help to create new solutions- in design or that are easy on the environment, know about events others should know about, if you want to tell us about independent enterprises, we want to hear from you. Let us know - how you see it!
Joanna Zajusz
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