by Paul Slaybaugh | Apr 30, 2009 | Home Buying, Scottsdale, Scottsdale Neighborhoods
Lake Margherite in McCormick Ranch
Water is a precious commodity in the desert. Dependent upon the CAP (Central Arizona Project) and SRP canal systems to fill our taps and water our lawns with the liquid gold of the Colorado and Salt Rivers, we do not squander our lifeblood frivolously … with the notable exception of Slip-N-Slide Saturdays, of course. Given the grand total of naturally occurring lakes in the Valley of the Sun stands at exactly zero, we denizens of the creosote jungle are drawn to a droplet of water like mercury to the top of a Sonoran thermometer. We weekend at Saguaro Lake or Lake Pleasant. We make semi-annual pilgrimages to the sandy beaches of southern California. We float the Salt River amongst a throng of Memorial Day humanity that is equal parts Coppertone and the AC/DC Back in Black album. We secretly adore the rains that the summer monsoons bring.
Given our propensity to flock to that which is scarce, waterfront communities are highly desirable locales in the greater Scottsdale area. There are few communities within the boundaries of the West’s purportedly Most Western Town that boast lakes on the list of amenities, and there is a reason for that.
When McCormick Ranch was originally developed in the 1970s, it was to be the first master planned community in Scottsdale. Believe it or not, the Hayden and Indian Bend Rd intersection (where initial development of McCormick Ranch began) was considered North Scottsdale at the time. There was really nothing else around. To lure skeptical home buyers away from the downtown Scottsdale area (what we now refer to as “Old Town”), developers threw the entire kitchen sink at them: parks, greenbelts, walking paths, golf course and lakes. Including Lake Angela, Lake Nino and the crown jewel, Lake Margherite, the community is a veritable desert oasis.
When Scottsdale Ranch was developed a decade later, planners adhered to many of the same guiding principles. East of McCormick Ranch, it was built around a lake system, walking paths and parks in much the same fashion. Once again, developers knew they needed to give people a reason to venture a little off the beaten path to buy their product. They were selling a lifestyle as much as housing. That lifestyle revolved around a meandering 42 acre waterway by the name of Lake Serena.
Flash forward a couple of decades and developers, by and large, stopped providing such extravagant amenities. The area had become well established and new residents came in droves. Land values shot through the figurative roof and builders saw no literal need to plop a man-made lake down on a parcel of land that could instead be used to build and sell another 100 or so more houses.
As such, there are relatively few waterfront options in Scottsdale outside of these two master planned communities. They just don’t build’em like they used to. While properties along the water in both developments are typically quite expensive, there are patio home and condo options that fit less extravagant budgets. To help you get started with your waterfront search, following is a compilation of lake subdivisions located within McCormick Ranch and Scottsdale Ranch.
*You may wish to bookmark this page as each subdivision name will eventually include a link to detailed descriptions and current active listings. It’s a work in progress.
McCormick Ranch
Vista Del Lago
Island At McCormick Ranch
Palo Viento 1
Heritage Village
Las Palomas
Scottsdale Ranch
Landings at Scottsdale Ranch
Las Brisas
Lake Serena Estates
The Bay Club
Lakeview Estates
Bayview Estates
Waterfront
Monterey Point
Charter Front
For less costly options that are near the water, but not necessarily located right on it, there are a few older neighborhoods further South (closer to Old Town) that abut Chaparral Park. While the homes (and townhomes) in the area are far removed from the luxury market, it is a great option for those more concerned with location and amenities on a shoestring budget. For high end townhomes, there is the Scottsdale Waterfront option along the canal banks in downtown Scottsdale (Old Town). Pages dedicated to these neighborhoods will be added to the site over the coming weeks as well.
The right Scottsdale waterfront property is out there. We’ll help you find it.
Contact Ray & Paul Slaybaugh today to start the search for your Scottsdale AZ waterfront home!
(480) 220-2337 | paul@scottsdalepropertyshop.com
by Paul Slaybaugh | Apr 17, 2009 | Home Buying, Scottsdale Real Estate
Times were you looked at a few houses, found one you liked and made an offer to the current owner. After a bit of haggling, you settled on a price that both parties could live with and away you went. Easy as pie.
In the current landscape, however, buying a home is not always that simple. Due to the prevalence of foreclosure properties and upside down sellers in today’s market, a buyer is often in the dark as to the nuances that may vary from one property to the next. To that end, there are certain rules of thumb that a buyer should keep in mind as he or she navigates the 2009 Scottsdale Real Estate market.
1. The Short Sale Property
"Upside down, boy you turn me, inside out ..."
You’ve read about them in the paper, heard about them on the news and know somebody who attempted one, but still may not know exactly what a short sale is. First off, I would be remiss if I didn’t make the requisite quip that short sales are anything but short. By and large, they are loooooooooooooooooooooong.
The term “short sale” is derived from the seller’s lack of equity in the property. In fact, the seller is upside down to the point that the market value of the home is less than what is owed on the mortgage(s). With a short sale, the seller must convince the bank to take a loss by agreeing to the sale. There are numerous pitfalls, including waiting for weeks or months for the lienholder’s response and low success rates (less than 10% of short sales are successful). One particular difficulty lies in ascertaining whether a seller even qualifies for a short sale at any price. Each institution has its own unique standards, but sellers must adequately demonstrate hardship (job loss, etc), provide up to date financial statements and pay stubs, document where all funds for a line of credit have gone (the lender in 2nd position will disallow a short sale if the funds went anywhere except back into the house (kitchen remodel, pool, etc). The biggest saboteur of a short sale, other than an incompetent listing agent, is the presence of a second loan. Multiply the difficulty exponentially if the loans are held by different institutions.
If it sounds like a lengthy, treacherous process, that is because it often is. Short sales, in this agent’s humble opinion, only make sense for the buyer with no real time table. Investors, specifically, are primed to take a stab at one if the purported price (the price listed in the MLS is really just a moving target when you don’t know what the bank will ultimately deem acceptable) is attractive enough. If you don’t plan to live in it, and won’t be devastated if it doesn’t pan out, have at it.
2. The Foreclosure Property
I'll take a single-family home and $20 cash back, please
If 2009 could be summed up by initials, they would be “REO.” Real Estate Owned properties, or foreclosures, are all the rage this season, and for good reason. Banks are awash in foreclosed homes at present and have effectively set the market. Eager to rid themselves of bloated inventories, the various institutions have well-earned reputations for bargain basement pricing. By the time a bank takes a property back from an owner in default via a Trustee’s Sale, I find they are often ready to deal. If the short sale process can feel like a rudderless vessel as your offer drifts from file to file in the bank’s loss mitigation department, there is actually a captain at the helm by the time the bank ultimately rejects the offer(s) and opts to foreclose instead. Now an asset manager is responsible for offloading the acquired property. Just the titles alone speak volumes as to the motivational forces at play:
loss mitigation VS asset management
More often than not, a property that is taken back by the bank will reemerge as an REO property at an even lower price than the listed price of the failed short sale attempt. Does it make sense? Not really, but that’s what often happens. And the price is no longer a moving target. With the bank now the principal, they set the list price and will negotiate more like a typical seller (albeit at a slightly slower and more aloof pace). Expect to wait up to a week for a response and the possibility of fighting off multiple offers due to the low pricing, but it sure beats waiting months for an all too often unreasonable response.
The negatives of dealing in bank-owned property are primarily rooted in lack of disclosure about the home and the penchant for selling property “as is.” You can be sure that something will be missing from the home. Either vandals have cannibalized the A/C for copper or the former owner yanked all of the appliances and the hall bath towel rack out of the home on the way out, but rest assured, some component of the house is FUBAR. Complete with heavy handed addenda that favors the seller, the trade off for the great price on a bank property is an often uncared for home with no disclosed history of damage/repair and no one to repair the defects you find during the course of your due diligence period.
Yes, you do get the opportunity to inspect even though the bank will require an “as is” addendum. If you ever see language in a contract or addendum disallowing your right to inspect the property … run!
3. The Resale Home
Quick, Marge, get the camera ... real people!
Ah, a home actually owned and sold by a real, unencumbered person. I must confess, finding such a specimen in the modern Real Estate jungle has been a rarity. At least finding one that can compete with the pricing of bank-owned homes, that is. As more and more sellers become realistic about the erosion that has taken place in Valley home values, though, I am starting to see the gap close ever so slightly. Obviously, anyone who bought a home in 2005 or later is not in a position to competitively price it for today’s market without attempting a short sale due to the subsequent swan dive in prices, but those who have been in their homes for a decade or longer are finally getting the memo and positioning themselves to compete with the banks. With prices still trending downwards, the smart seller is getting out in front of the curve and pricing his/her home to sell before any further price degradation can occur. When you find such a home with a seller still capable of maintaining, disclosing and repairing the property’s condition, and priced in line with the foreclosure market … buy it!
So there is a (not so) brief synopsis. Don’t limit yourselves unnecessarily when shopping for a home. Allow your agent to explore all available avenues, just be aware of what you might be signing up for with the entanglements that come with each option.
Most importantly, remember this: A low price in the absence of value is meaningless.
by Paul Slaybaugh | Mar 29, 2009 | Home Selling, Scottsdale Real Estate
You’ve been married so long that you’ve forgotten how to be single. Your t-shirts all have holes in them, you don’t shave on the weekends, and you haven’t consumed a “Diet” anything in years.
While your spouse may love you despite the fact that you have completely let yourself go, you are in for a rude awakening if you ever find yourself back on the market. Flaws are only endearing to loved ones, not strangers. Before you hit those nightspots, you’ll need a new wardrobe with the latest fashions. You’ll need to cut that hair and clean underneath those fingernails. Don’t even get me started on the unibrow. You need to put your best face forward if you are to attract one of those cute, little minx.
But what about when it’s your house that you are divorcing?
You look at your home, and you know that things just aren’t working out. Either you have lost that loving feeling or it’s simply time for a change. It may be amicable or there may be irreconcilable differences. Maybe you’ve always known that this house was only “Mr. Right Now.” Regardless of the reasons for your split, it’s time to move on. All of those things that you have lived with over the years? The creaky front door hinges? The balky A/C unit? The old, pale yellow linoleum that you originally detested, but grew to loathe? It’s all gotta be gussied up.
Now you can’t take every middle-aged home and turn it into a supermodel overnight, and that’s okay. You don’t necessarily have to be the best looking house on the planet, just the hottest little number in the club.
When you are elbow to elbow with competing properties, you don’t want your fly to be down. That’s not how you drag home a buyer of which your mother would approve. No, that’s how you pick up that other kind of buyer. You know the type. Offers you a hundred thousand off of list price and demands umpteen thousand dollars to repair things that cost a couple hundred. That is one coyote ugly buyer. Keep such buck-toothed, cross-eyed suitors at bay by using the right bait.
Trolling for a trophy buyer? Change out those tired carpets, paint those grimy walls, oil those squeaks.
Fishing for carp? Throw a big wad of Velveeta around your hook and toss it out there.
We have all heard the reports about the overwhelming levels of housing inventory. Vastly more homes for sale than qualified buyers. It can be quite discouraging to a seller. I have been through a great many of these properties, however, and the poor showing condition many of them display never ceases to amaze me. There may be a glut of houses for sale, but in my own myopic view, there is a whole lotta rough for every diamond. If I had to speculate, and I will, I’d hazard that many sellers have either given up hope or refuse to spend any money that they don’t expect to recoup in full.
Don’t fall victim to this mindset. Now, more than ever, you need to get your home standing tall if you plan to sell it any time soon. I know that these are lean times, but if you can afford to carry a non-selling house for months on end, you can afford to stage it properly to expedite the process of finding a new beau. After all, the sooner you find the next Mr. or Mrs. Right for your home, the sooner you can stop writing those alimony checks.
by Paul Slaybaugh | Mar 29, 2009 | Home Buying, Scottsdale Real Estate
It is an inevitable starting point for many buyers right now. Before I can finish saying hello, I am bombarded with requests to see bank-owned and short sale housing. Frankly, were we to change places, I would most likely do the very same. I am aware enough of the opportunities this market has created in the foreclosure arena to dedicate a more or less weekly post to bank-owned property spotlights, after all.
However, there are values everywhere right now. Resale homes have been dragged inexorably closer to the shallow end of the pool by the bank properties, and builders have been forced to sell off their inventory homes at even deeper discounts than usual. There is no part of the market that isn’t coughing up a bit of water.
Ah, brand new construction at foreclosure pricing … can it be?
In some cases, yes, it can.
Builder spec homes just might provide the alternative to bank-owned property that Phoenix area value hunters seek. A spec home is either one which the builder constructed without a waiting buyer in the wings or one in which the original buyer bailed out on the transaction after construction commenced. These homes make great options for buyers who prefer brand new construction, but don’t want the lengthy wait involved in having their new home built from scratch. A buyer can typically move into a completed spec home within 30 days. Of course, if construction is complete, the new buyer will not be able to make any cosmetic choices in regards to flooring, cabinetry, etc. The big discounts, however, are often very persuasive arguments for that sacrifice.
Eager to dump existing inventory in the best of times, builders are even more anxious to get their specs off the books in this market. As evidenced by the near standstill in new permits being pulled by builders for new projects, it is cut and run time for many. I am seeing completed spec homes with significant levels of upgrading being advertised for sale well below base price. In other words, if you signed a contract to build from scratch, you would pay more for a home with absolutely no upgrades than you would for the completed home with cherry cabinets, slab granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, premium culdesac lot, etc.
Another advantage that a builder can offer a prospective buyer right now is tough to beat in-house financing. Not usually a fan of running my loan through the same guy who is selling me something, any conflict of interest concern tends to melt away when they disclose the cheap rate blocks they have purchased for their customers. In addition to the low sales prices, I have isolated several builders who are paying up to the maximum allowable buyer closing costs. A recent client is getting a fixed rate in the 4’s with an additional buydown for the first two years. At no out of pocket cost. All he has to show up to closing with is a downpayment. Not too shabby. *
You have to be careful, however. As I mentioned in a previous post, there are many struggling builders throughout Maricopa County. While a little financial pinch works in the buyer’s favor, too much can lead to unfinished subdivisions, mechanic’s liens and other fun stuff. You want to do your research (or better yet, work with a knowledgeable Realtor 😉 to ensure you are not walking into a doomed project. I recommend national builders with ample working capital and developments that are nearing close-out.
You don’t want to get stuck in a ghost town.
Bear in mind that you may have to venture a bit further from your desired location if brand new construction is your bent. Scottsdale is largely landlocked, with only the valuable land in the North remaining open to development. There is infill construction in central Phoenix, but the majority of new home projects are located in South Phoenix (Baseline corridor), North Phoenix (I-17 corridor) and pushing ever Westward towards LA. For those in the Southeast Valley (Mesa, Gilbert, Chandler, Tempe, Queen Creek), there are still plenty of options.
I spent the last week looking at a fair amount of them, as a matter of fact.
I had one of those purported foreclosure buyers who ended up buying a brand new spec home from a quality home builder instead of any of the bank-owned homes in the same price range that needed work, had no available warranty and disclosure information and no special financing incentives.
The moral of the story is not to rule anything out. Look less at the property label (bank-owned, resale, new) and more at the property itself. You just might be surprised at the unexpected bargains that are available to be had across the full color spectrum of the 2009 Real Estate market.
Give me a call if you want to find just the right shade of perfect.
* I always advise speaking with a reputable outside lender to compare programs/costs
by Paul Slaybaugh | Mar 29, 2009 | Scottsdale Neighborhoods, Unique Architecture Series
In the land of stucco and tile, there are a few scattered pockets of homes that break the architectural norms of Scottsdale, Arizona.While many would never consider living in the Southwest in anything other than a Southwestern style home, there are those who tire of street after street of Spanish/Territorial style housing.New residents from other parts of the country may love the Arizona lifestyle, but pine for the architecture they left behind.With the buyers who yearn for something a bit different in mind, I am launching a series of posts devoted to those subdivisions which feature unique design.From mid-century modern to quaint Victorian, there are alternatives out there for those who know where to look.In this first installment, the spotlight shines on a hidden treasure known as Hayden Estates.
Hayden Estates is one of those subdivisions that people pass by every day without ever knowing it was there.Just south of McCormick Ranch and the Silverado Golf Course, this community of 128 homes is just Northeast of the Hayden/Lincoln Road intersection.The homes on the perimeter of the subdivision are noteworthy in only the fact that they resemble construction of surrounding neighborhoods.Built in the late 1970s by NuWest (a spinoff of the more famous Hallcraft brand), these homes are single-level slump block construction.What these homes hide, though, is an interior development built by Coventry Homes in the early 1980s.
A great departure from the standards of the time, these Coventry Homes remain virtually the only pocket of Victorian style architecture in central Scottsdale.For those without the means to afford the Victorian beauties that have appeared in the Arcadia area (multi-million dollar range), Hayden Estates provides a terrific alternative at a fraction of the price.Phoenix Magazine once named the subdivision amongst its “Top 10 Neighborhoods”.
If you miss the charm of the east coast, this just might be the neighborhood for you.With the dramatic rooflines and beautiful tree-lined streets, you might just forget you are in the desert.
Ready to find your own Scottsdale Victorian?
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