Tag Archive: home buying

The Placeholder House

It wasn’t your first choice. It wasn’t your second either. In fact, the short sale you wrote the offer on was likely more a product of attrition than anything else. Short sales take time. Like most astute 2012 home buyers, you are all too aware that the offer you submit on an upside-down property will…

The Referral Responsibility: Are You a Man Or a Mollusk?

Classic risk aversion for the liability-phobic mandates that an agent make no actual referral to an auxiliary service provider in the course of a Real Estate transaction. Need a lender? Here are the names of three professionals. Need a home inspector? Sift through this stack of business cards and let me know who you choose…

Follow you on Facebook? Sure! Wait … why?

"Follow you where, exactly?"

I must confess, most solicitations to follow a local business on Twitter, Facebook or any other recently-sprouted head of the social media hydra are met with the same level of enthusiasm I once harbored for an extra trip to the orthodontist. Sure, I’ll “like” your fanpage! And maybe later we can head over to Dr….

New Construction Homes in and Around Scottsdale

New Construction Homes in McCormick Ranch

Looking for new construction homes in Scottsdale and the greater Phoenix area? You’ve come to the right place. Find your city of choice below and follow the links to a full list of all new homes currently listed for sale in the Arizona Regional MLS. ———————————————————————————————- New Homes in Scottsdale New Homes in Paradise Valley…

Somewhere on an Online Real Estate Forum …

Q & A: Home Buying in 85258 I want to buy a home that is for sale in McCormick Ranch for $495,000. I’ve heard I can get a better deal if I don’t use an agent, is this true? Also, what is the normal amount to take off the list price for an offer? Need…

Feedback

Damon’s cell phone buzzed in his pocket as he stepped out of the stately house and into the warmth of late April in Scottsdale, Arizona. Checking the display, he recognized the number from the four previous calls he’d let roll to voicemail. Whoever it was, his mystery caller was pretty keen on speaking with him…

What Do You Mean It’s Under Contract? The Listing Says “Active”

Realtorsaywhat?

That is the G rated version. The working title was initially more along the lines of: “What the &^%$ Do You Mean the &^%$#&^ House Is Under &^%$^&# Contract? The &^%$#$@ Listing Says It Is &^%^&#%$ Active!” There is little more frustrating to the do-it-yourself consumer than outdated data. It’s hard enough to navigate unfamiliar…

Paradise Lost

“You mean, it’s ours? It’s really ours?” They were so excited. Even after I handed them the keys, they were slow to believe that the modest Spanish bungalow was now in their adoptive custody. Over the course of four exasperating months, we must have seen and dismissed close to a hundred homes. This one needed…

The Interest Rate Boogeyman: Today’s Buyer Must Think Like Tomorrow’s Seller

So you have 20% to put down for a single family home in Scottsdale AZ.  Your FICO scores are higher than Willie Nelson on Bob Marley Day in Montego Bay.  You have been gainfully employed in the same W2 position with the same company for years.  The American Express card with a $124 balance and…

Scottsdale, AZ Relocation Guide

Lake Margherite in McCormick Ranch

Despite an uneasy economy at large, Scottsdale, Arizona maintains its stranglehold on a coveted relocation address. Official population counts from the end of 2009 put our grown-up resort town at 230,000+ residents and climbing (projections of nearly 250,000 total residents by 2014).  For those of you keeping score back in Delaware, that’s a 10% increase…