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Arizona Real Estate Blog Archives: November 2007 « October 2007 | Main | December 2007 » Thursday, November 15, 2007Is Your AZ Realtor® a CRS, SRES, ABR, GRI, ALC or CIPS?November is Realtor® Designation Awareness Month... I know, I know - as if anybody really cares! But I have actually received emails in the past from home buyers and sellers who've asked me, "What does the ABR after a REALTOR's name mean?". So I thought it might be interesting to blog about the different designations and certifications Realtors® can earn. There are many different designations and certifications awarded by the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) and its nine affiliated Institutes, Societies and Councils. Surprisingly, not all Realtor® designations and certifications are for Realtors® - some are for appraisers, brokerage managers and even office assistants. Here's a summary:
The Arizona Association of Realtors® also recently introduced a program to earn the Certified Risk Management Specialist (CRMS) certification. In addition to the national and local Realtor® associations, there are also other organizations that offer designations and/or certifications for real estate professionals. For example, RealtyU.com offers the following designations:
Some real estate agents and brokers take Realtor® designations very seriously, and are determined to earn as many as possible. Other real estate agents and brokers never earn any. So, should you choose a Realtor® based on their designations and certifications? It certainly doesn't hurt, but I wouldn't make a decision solely on their designations. I've known many extremely knowledgable and experienced real estate agents with no designations at all. On the other hand, I've known some very inexperienced agents with many certifications and designations. Anybody can take a class and pass a test, but there are some tough and important lessons that can only be learned through experience. So if you're impressed by your real estate agent's designations and certifications, be sure to look at what they actually mean. Some designations and certifications are very easy to earn by simply paying a fee and taking a class/test, while others are only awarded to those with significant relevant experience. Now that you understand the meaning of all those 'letters' after your real estate agent's name, I'm sure you'll sleep much better at night ... I know I will!
Posted by Shannon Hubbard, Arizona Real Estate Agent on November 15, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack Friday, November 09, 2007About Your Home's Drinking WaterHere are some interesting notes you may not know about water quality and your home's drinking water:
A Brief Survey of Federal Action
The Source Of Drinking Water. The world contains 326 trillion gallons of water. The amount doesn't change, only its form changes. Half the drinking water in the U.S. is surface water (from rivers and streams). The other half is groundwater. These reserves of water under the surface of the earth are known as aquifers. How Water Becomes Contaminated... Today, industry and agriculture use over 70,000 toxic chemicals. About 1,000 more toxic chemicals are introduced each year. Contamination of water by man commonly occurs when:
There are four major categories of contaminants:
The higher the concentration of the contaminant, the greater health risk it posses. Age will affect one's susceptibility to a contaminate, and so will the amount of water you drink (children drink twice the amount of water per body weight as do adults, indoor people drink more water, etc). The EPA set two standards for water. The more important one is the "primary drinking water standards", which consists of enforceable maximum contaminant levels (MCL) set by the EPA for all contaminants which are considered harmful. The less important "secondary drinking water standards" are for aesthetic reasons such as color, smell and taste of water. Secondary drinking water standards also measure Copper, Ph, Chloride (put in the water to kill bacteria), and Hardness (total dissolved solids, mainly magnesium & calcium, in the water). Primary Drinking Water Standards: How MCL's Are Measured. Contaminants are measured in different ways:
MICROBIOLOGICAL CONTAMINANTS. Bacteria is responsible for more deaths than any other contaminant in water. Most bacteria are not harmful. The harmful bacteria are called pathogens:
INORGANIC CHEMICALS include minerals such as mercury, silver and zinc that do not have a structure or characteristics of living organisms. Lead is one of the most common and can leach into water from lead pipes or lead solder. Nitrates in fertilizers can run off into surface or ground water.
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS. In the early 1980's, the EPA sponsored the Groundwater Supply Survey (GWSS) to determine the dimensions of the problem of groundwater contamination in the U.S. All fifty states were surveyed and tested for 34 volatile organics. The study concluded that if you live near a dump site, in a community of more than 10,000 people, your chances of having organic contaminated water are higher than if you live in the country.
RADIONUCLIDE. Radon is the most frequent in this class. Radon is the decay product of radium 226, which is the decay product of uranium. How Safe Is Your Water? If you are one of 40 million people with a private well, your water is not regulated and you, for the most part, are responsible for it. You should test it regularly. If your home has city water, you should find out what contaminants your water is tested for. To do your own water testing, you can ask for a recommendation to a local laboratory or call a Home Inspector! Water Treatment & Filtration
For more information about water in Arizona, contact the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) or the Arizona Department of Water Resources.
Posted by Martin Spilo on November 9, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack Wednesday, November 07, 2007AZ Real Estate Blog has its Perks!Okay, I'll tell you up front that this post has absolutely nothing to do with Arizona or real estate. And in Dodge and Matchstick are doing a 'word of mouth' marketing campaign for the 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan. They selected fifty "influential moms" in the Phoenix area to test drive a fully loaded 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan for a week (and I mean FULLY loaded!). I'm not sure how I qualified as an "influential mom" when my own kids won't even listen to me. But for a free tank of gas and the opportunity to put a week's worth of mileage on someone else's vehicle, I'll let Dodge think whatever they want! So they brought me a brand new, fully loaded 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan all gassed up and ready to go. It had just under 500 miles on it when delivered (luckily it was past the break-in period so I could really test drive it!). I got to keep it for a week, and they encouraged me to drive it as much as possible. They even said I could let other people take it for a day or so (as long as they were 21 years old with a valid AZ driver's license). It was fully insured by Dodge's insurance, not mine. They showed me how to use all the features and gave me a list of phone numbers to call in case I had any questions or problems (of course it came complete with roadside assistance). They even left me a camera to take pictures of my adventures, and a list of games for kids to play in the car! All they asked is that I write a blog post about my experience afterwards. As a business owner myself, I have to give Dodge a great deal of credit. Asking me to write about my experience before they knew whether it was a good or bad experience was pretty gutsy. They're obviously very confident they have a great product. And why wouldn't they be confident. This van has everything you can think of. It has all the usual goodies - AM/FM stereo with CD, cruise control, tilt wheel, 3-zone AC/heater, alarm with door remote. And of course it has power everything - you can even open the back (hatchback) door and two side sliding doors with the alarm remote, or by using buttons located inside the van. You can also use the remote to start the van from a distance, to get it warmed up or cooled off ahead of time. From the driver's seat, I have complete control over every door, every window and basically every feature in the van. It has an awesome sound system, satellite radio, satellite TV, GPS navigation with voice recognition, two DVD/CD players and two TVs (both with video game hookups and wireless headsets), rear back-up video camera, a touch screen console, and my teenager's favorite feature - it's IPOD compatible! (complete with USB port for downloading music and pictures to the vehicle's 20GB hard drive). There are music controls on the side of the steering wheel, which makes it easy to change the song or turn up the volume without taking your eyes off the road. The power seats adjust in every way possible. It has sliding doors on both sides, which is much more convenient than the traditional vans that just have a sliding door on one side. It even has good drink holders! One feature that I hadn't seen before which is pretty cool is the power adjustable foot pedals. That's right, not only can you adjust the seat, but if you have longer or shorter legs than usual, you can move the foot pedals back or forward to allow total comfort while driving. And speaking of driving, this van drives great. Of course, most new vehicles drive great. But this van doesn't feel like a van at all. It handles like a much sportier vehicle. It corners well and has more than adequate get-up-n-go. In fact, my husband and I bet on the engine size. I said it must have a V8 as quick as it is, but he said it probably has a V6. I lost that bet - it's a very fast V6. I can't really comment on the gas mileage since I drove it like I stole it (just kidding Dodge!). Actually, I don't know how big the gas tank is, but the computer readout on the dashboard said I was averaging 14.2 miles per gallon. This van also has a very nice turning radius. It's very easy to park even in somewhat tight spaces, and it can make a U-turn just about anywhere. I really enjoyed driving it. But anybody who wants to impress me with a car definitely has their work cut out for them. Since I spend quite a bit of time in my car, I'm accustomed to driving some pretty decent vehicles. To be fair to Dodge, I should give a little background information about the vehicles to which I was comparing this van. I currently drive a newer model Lexus SUV, and sometimes I drive my company's Hummer for business purposes. My last car was a new BMW 528i. Before that I had a lightly used BMW 525i. Before that, I had a lightly used Nissan Maxima. Not only do I generally buy foreign cars, but I've also never really considered myself a minivan type person (although I would consider a van, and I did drive a Toyota minivan several years ago). My husband, on the other hand, has always driven a truck and Dodge is his favorite. We've owned several Chevrolets and Dodges, and the Dodge trucks we've owned have always been more comfortable and more reliable than Chevrolet trucks. But the new Dodge Grand Caravan takes comfort to a totally different level. In fact, if I had to summarize the Dodge Grand Caravan in 2 words, they would be: comfortable and functional. It's not just the features that make this van great, but the way in which they're organized. It has two captain's chairs in the middle row, and a 3-seat bench in the back (all leather and power, of course). The middle and back row seats can be re-arranged in every which way possible. You can turn them towards each other and put a table (included) in between (so it's kind of like sitting in a booth in back). You can fold & stow away the third row of seats, or I think you can even take them out altogether to haul stuff (but I didn't try). You can even reverse the third row seat so that it faces backward for tail-gating. There are lights and AC vents for each passenger, so everybody can get comfortable. There are even several regular 110V outlets like in your house. So the teenage daughter can finish curling her hair on the way if you're running late! Each window has a sunscreen that you can pull up to block the sun (very necessary in Arizona - my kids loved that feature). When not in use, they retract back into the door where they aren't really visible. This vehicle is extremely well organized, and again, very comfortable for the whole family. I took some pictures of the van's interior, but they didn't turn out nearly as well as the pictures on Dodge's website, so I'm not posting them! Dodge targeted moms with this campaign, but I would also suggest another target audience - real estate agents. This van is perfect for driving clients around town. You can fit seven people very comfortably, you have GPS navigation to find your way around, and the two TVs can have two different movies or video games playing at once to keep the kids happy. With all the technology and features, this van could easily be an office on wheels. And even the pickiest client would be happy to go house hunting in this van. In short, Dodge's 2008 Grand Caravan is the perfect real estate agent vehicle! The only complaint I can think of with this van is that there are too many features and buttons (not really a complaint, more of an observation!). Most of the features were very user friendly and easy to use, but there were a few things I couldn't figure out. I'm sure it was user error and in time, I would learn to use them (so Dodge, how about one more week with the van? Or heck, how about a free year with it - I'll even write another post!). Both of my kids loved it and didn't want to give it back. My (almost 16-year old) daughter even asked if I would buy her a van like it. Surprised at my somewhat spoiled teenager, I responded, "You'd want to drive a mom-mobile? Your friends would make fun of you if you drove a minivan." And she said, "Yeah they would, until they saw the inside. Then they'd say, let's take Sara's van!"
Posted by Shannon Hubbard, Arizona Real Estate Agent on November 7, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack Tuesday, November 06, 2007Vote Yes on Prop 300 - Bring the Waveyard to Mesa!Today is Special Election day around the Valley - various cities including Mesa, Gilbert and Queen Creek Mesa's Proposition 300 is about bringing the Waveyard to Mesa. Most Mesa residents have probably seen the commercials or received mailings regarding the Waveyard by now. If approved, the Waveyard will be a world class resort which emphasizes water sports. It will be perfectly located in northwest Mesa, close to the airport, Phoenix and ASU. Voters are being asked to approve the sale of Riverview golf course and four nearby softball fields, to the Waveyard developers. The Waveyard developers would pay $30 million for the land - $10 million up front in cash and the remaining $20 million will be paid over 24 years, with interest, in the form of tax receipts from the property. Additionally, Mesa would reimburse the Waveyard developers for up to $1.5 million in public infrastructure costs. Earlier this year, I was invited to an informational event where Mesa city officials and the people behind Waveyard briefed the real estate community on what Waveyard is about. It's not just another water park at all. It's going to have a whitewater rafting river, a king size wave pool, a deep scuba lagoon and other sports venues. The wave pool is not what you think of when you think of Big Surf or other Valley water parks. This is a serious wave pool, with huge surf-able waves.
Officially, everybody seems to be supporting the Waveyard. I haven't really seen any organized opposition to Proposition 300, but there are people out there who are against it. Here are some of the arguments I've heard against the Waveyard:
As a city in financial crisis, Mesa NEEDS the Waveyard. I personally can't see why any Mesa resident would vote no on Proposition 300. VOTE YES ON PROPOSITION 300 and BRING THE WAVEYARD TO MESA! 11/7/06 UPDATE: Looks like Mesa has approved the Waveyard!! All three of Gilbert's propositions were also passed by Gilbert residents. Here are the election results.
Posted by Shannon Hubbard, Arizona Real Estate Agent on November 6, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack |
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