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Arizona Real Estate Blog Archives: December 2007 « November 2007 | Main | January 2008 » Friday, December 14, 2007Phoenix, Arizona's Baseline Killer SentencedThe Phoenix area has really been in the national news headlines today - mostly law enforcement stories like the Sheriff Joe DUI chain gang story I posted earlier. Likewise, here's an update on the Baseline Killer story. Earlier today, Mark Goudeau (aka the Baseline Killer) was sentenced to 438 years in prison... that's right - four hundred thirty eight years - and that's just for the sexual assault charges he was convicted of last September. He still faces the death penalty in about 9 murder cases. Here's more info on today's sentence for the Phoenix Baseline Killer.
Posted by Shannon Hubbard, Arizona Real Estate Agent on December 14, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack Maricopa County Sheriff Has New DUI Chain GangArizona's favorite Sheriff, also known as America's Toughest Sheriff, is making national headlines again. This time, Sheriff Joe Arpaio is being criticized for his DUI chain gang. Much like Sheriff Joe's other chain gangs, his DUI chain gang cleans up streets and performs other community services while wearing eye-catching outfits. The DUI chain gang wears bright pink shirts which say, "Sheriff D.U.I. Chain Gang" on the back, and "Clean (ing) and Sober" on the front. According to Sheriff Joe, "Maybe this will warn people — knock it off, don't drink and drive. You'll end up in pink underwear on the chain gang". While critics have always denounced Sheriff Joe's pink attire, the services performed by this new chain gang have critics especially upset... -- because the chain gang performs burial services for homeless alcoholics at an indigent cemetery. However, it's important to note that all of the members of the DUI chain gang are volunteers who want to participate. And homeless alcoholics need to be buried too, right, so what's the problem? Sheriff Joe is getting even tougher on Arizona's drunk drivers because last year, Arizona had a 15% increase in alcohol-related fatalities from the previous year (according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration records). This increase made Arizona number six in the entire nation for alcohol-related deaths. Sheriff Joe is also known for having the nation's first female chain gang. And apparently, the DUI Chain Gang is the first ever 'crime-specific' chain gang. Of course, Sheriff Joe is already planning to extend the idea, possibly creating chain gangs for those convicted of auto theft and identity theft. According to Sheriff Joe, "Hey, it's unlimited what we can put on a shirt". I say go Sheriff Joe, and thank you for at least trying to keep Maricopa County safe! Sheriff Joe is dealing with a serious problem in a creative, yet common sense way. He's getting community services performed for free by people who owe a debt to society. In the process, they're learning an important lesson about the consequences of their actions, while also making a statement to the community about the dangers and consequences of driving drunk. Even if you haven't seen the chain gangs, you've heard about them on the news. In fact, just about every national news channel had a story today about Sheriff Joe's new chain gang "digging graves" for homeless alcoholics. So not only is Sheriff Joe's getting work done in the community, he's got everybody talking about the serious problem of drinking and driving - without spending any taxpayer dollars! He's a marketing genius if you ask me! I'm sure other government agencies could spend millions of dollars to form a committee and do a study, and issue a report, and come up with a plan and blah, blah, blah... Meanwhile, the DUI chain gang is getting work done while also sending a very clear and effective message to the public: Drink and drive and you too could end up dead, homeless or on a chain gang. This is possibly the most common sense and efficient use of tax dollars I've ever seen! Too bad we don't have more leaders like Sheriff Joe. Related posts from the past:
Posted by Shannon Hubbard, Arizona Real Estate Agent on December 14, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack Thursday, December 13, 2007HGTV Looking for Phoenix Real Estate Agents & First-Time Home Buyers!Here's something that might be kind of fun (or not!). I received an email today (see below) from Cole Schneider who's currently casting for an HGTV show called "My First Place". He's looking for first-time Phoenix home buyers and their real estate agents. 'My First Place" is an HGTV reality-type show about the trials and tribulations faced by first-time home buyers. If you know somebody who might be interested in appearing on this show, please pass this information on to them. Here's the email...
HGTV's hit series 'My First Place' is seeking first-time homebuyers (and their agents!) in the Phoenix area! NOTE: Agents! This is an EXCELLENT opportunity for exposure! Don't miss out! My First Place airs at 8:30 PM Mountain Time on Sunday and Tuesday nights. Even if you're not interested in appearing on the show, it should be fun to tune in and watch anyway. I know I look forward to watching Season 4 of "My First Place"!
Posted by Shannon Hubbard, Arizona Real Estate Agent on December 13, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack Wednesday, December 12, 2007Fed Lowers Interest Rates Again - Investors UpsetThe Federal Reserve met yesterday and lowered its benchmark interest rate again, in hopes of alleviating some of the economic pain caused by the current mortgage crisis and slow housing market. The federal funds rate was lowered by a quarter point (to 4.25%), and the discount rate was also cut by a quarter point (to 4.75%). The discount rate is the cost of direct loans from the central bank. The federal funds rate is now at its lowest level since January 2006. But apparently the rate cut was not enough to satisfy some Wall Street investors. Since most stock market investors had hoped for a .50% rate cut, many were disappointed by the .25% rate cut. As a result, the Dow Jones dropped about 300 points after the rate cut was announced. Today however, investors seem to have gotten over it since the Dow, NASDAQ and S&P500 are all up quite a bit (so far). Perhaps investors are comforted by the fact that the Fed also indicated a willingness to make additional future rate cuts if necessary. I think Bernanke is just being cautious after seeing his predecessor, Alan Greenspan, criticized for dropping rates too much, too fast. Besides, the most immediate positive effect of a rate cut is not lower mortgage rates, it's the boost it gives to consumer confidence. Therefore, maybe making smaller rate cuts more frequently is a better strategy than making bigger rate cuts all at once. Only time will tell!
Related articles: Posted by Shannon Hubbard, Arizona Real Estate Agent on December 12, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack Saturday, December 08, 2007Indoor Air Quality & Pollutants in Your HomeDuring the last 20 years, many homes have been made tighter to conserve energy, to decrease the amount of heated air that leaves the house in winter, and likewise, decrease the amount of cooled air that escapes in the summer. At the same time, of course, there is less fresh, cold air getting into the house in the winter and less fresh hot air entering the house in summer. This may seem like a good idea; it isn't. Because the air inside your house is in an enclosed space, the concentration or level of pollutants can be much greater in the air inside than outside. A tighter house has a lower ventilation rate. As a result of ventilation decreases, the concentration of pollutants inside the home increases. Indoor air pollutants pose the greatest risk to people who are at home the most; babies, children, the elderly and chronically ill. Ironically, these are the very same people who are most susceptible to pollution in the air. Some indoor air pollutants like radon and asbestos are life threatening. While others may not be life threatening, they can make your life miserable causing eye, nose & throat irritation, shortness of breath, dizziness, lethargy, fever and digestive problems to name a few. There are three basic ways to reduce and alleviate indoor air pollution:
There are many different types of indoor air pollutants: the by-products of combustion, including environmental tobacco smoke; respirable suspended particles; carbon monoxide; nitrogen dioxide; volatile organic compounds (VOC's); biologicals; and electromagnetic fields (EMF's). Carbon Monoxide (CO) is a colorless, odorless, tasteless and nonirritating gas that can interfere with the supply of oxygen to the body tissues. Its sources can include unvented kerosene & gas heaters, leaking chimneys & furnaces, car exhaust, gas stoves and tobacco smoke. Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC's) refer to a large number of organic vapors that contaminate the air. It's common for VOC levels to shoot up temporarily, during and following new construction, renovation or refurbishing. Therefore, it's important to increase ventilation as much as possible during and following any renovation. Some VOC's are carcinogenic and there are numerous sources of VOC's including: household products (paints, paint strippers & other solvents); new carpeting, drapes & furnishings; wood preservatives; aerosol sprays; cleansers & disinfectants; moth repellents & air fresheners; stored fuels & car supplies; hobby supplies; dry cleaned clothing; and environmental tobacco smoke. When present indoors, tobacco smoke can be a major source, or significant part of indoor air pollution. Biologicals include things like fungi, molds and dust mites. Higher levels of humidity tend to encourage their growth. The two major actions to control biologicals are controlling the moisture and keeping your home as clean as possible. Electromagnetic Fields (EMF's) are a combination of electric fields and magnetic fields that radiate from electric cables, wires, fixtures and appliances. They include any appliance that either: uses electric bulbs; has an electric motor, such as a refrigerator, freezer, clothes washer, hair dryer, shaver, food mixer, blender, vacuum, etc.; or has an electric heating element, such as a clothes dryer, iron, electric blanket, stove/oven. The data is not conclusive regarding EMF health hazards. It seems to indicate that the most likely health effects of exposure to EMF's would be in the areas of cancer and reproduction. While a cause and effect relationship has yet to be established, a statistical association has emerged between exposure to EMF and cancer risks and reproduction malfunctions.
Here's one (probably unknown) step to control and mitigate EMF in your home: If you have an electric blanket, use it to warm the bed and turn it off before you get into the bed!
Posted by Martin Spilo on December 8, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack Friday, December 07, 2007Subprime Mortgage Interest Rate Freeze - Private Sector Solution or Government Bailout?Yesterday, President Bush announced a plan to address the current mortgage crisis. The plan, which includes a 5-year freeze on certain subprime mortgage interest rates, was a result of the Hope Now Alliance. According to the President, "Hope Now is an example of government bringing together members of the private sector to voluntarily address a national challenge without government subsidies and without government mandates". The freeze is not a government mandate - it's an agreement by many mortgage industry leaders to freeze the interest rates on certain subprime mortgages for 5 years. The hope is that during those 5 years, real estate sales and values will increase allowing these borrowers to sell or refinance their homes. Not all mortgage companies are onboard, but many of the major players in the industry are involved. And not all distressed borrowers will benefit from the program. In order to qualify, the borrower must meet the following minimum criteria:
But there's more to the plan than just a subprime rate freeze for a few lucky borrowers. Bush also announced:
Many criticize the President's plan as a "bailout", but the President insists his plan is a private-sector solution. I agree this freeze on interest rates is not a government bailout. And although I'm a real estate agent, I can even applaud the idea of tighter lending standards and a more transparent mortgage industry (but personally I think the 20+ pages of disclosures already given to borrowers is quite sufficient as long as they read them - and adding more disclosures would probably make borrowers even LESS likely to read the fine print). But the FHA Secure program has me totally baffled. I just don't get how helping (risky) borrowers to refinance loans they couldn't afford to begin with is going to help anybody...except the subprime lenders who get to pass these risky loans off to the taxpayers. You see, when these loans get refinanced as FHA loans, they'll be government insured and then the taxpayers will eat the losses when these borrowers foreclose. And many of these borrowers will foreclose eventually - FHA Secure will simply prolong the agony and shift the financial burden of these foreclosures from the subprime lender, to the American taxpayer. I'm especially confused by the idea that FHA Secure is supposed to "enable FHA to be more flexible in how to offset the refinancing". So in other words, our government is planning to help these borrowers by using the very same type of "creative financing" that got these borrowers into trouble in the first place? At least the lenders who originally made these risky loans stood some chance of making a profit. But what do American taxpayers get in return for guaranteeing these risky loans? We get nothing, except possibly higher taxes to pay for the bureaucracy and resulting foreclosures. As far as "reforming FHA" goes, does that mean changing the rules so the government can guarantee even more risky loans? I can definitely agree that maximum FHA loan amounts need to be modernized after the recent run up of real estate prices, but I'm very skeptical of other potential FHA reforms. I also totally disagree that these borrowers who get out of paying part of their mortgage should also get out of paying taxes on the forgiven amounts. If someone gives you free money, the least you can do is pay the taxes on it. If nothing else, these borrowers should be paying a fee to the government for negotiating them such a good deal. And if these borrowers who benefit from the plan are getting tax breaks, who's going to pay for the cost of this mess? Should the 98.5% of American homeowners who are NOT in foreclosure be the ones to pay? Life is not fair, and we have to take the good with the bad. So I guess the term, "lesser of two evils" comes to mind here. I don't feel it's the government's responsibility to help homeowners escape loan payments they agreed to pay, nor is it the government's job to help homeowners keep real estate they can't afford. But I also don't believe in cutting off my nose to spite my face. If the problem is ignored, the mortgage fallout and its affects on both real estate and Wall Street could put the entire U.S. economy into a recession. Obviously, then we would all suffer. I'm generally leery of any government interference in the free market, but the President has negotiated a voluntary plan with leaders of the mortgage industry who realize it's better to get paid less interest on a loan, than to have the loan foreclose and get nothing at all. Quite frankly, I haven't heard any better ideas and while I disagree with parts of the plan, I'm optimistic it will help some borrowers. But more importantly, I think it will improve consumer confidence in both the mortgage industry and the real estate market. The President acknowledges "there is no perfect solution" to the mortgage problem, and this problem will require a multi-faceted solution. I definitely give the President credit for taking action and attempting to resolve the subprime meltdown, especially during this extremely political season when President Bush is being attacked from every direction, for everything he does or says. On a lighter note, when announcing this plan, the President accidentally gave out the wrong phone number for the mortgage help hotline - he even repeated the wrong number twice! You gotta love a guy who has good intentions, but constantly gets tripped up on the little details! The incorrect phone number announced by the President actually belongs to the Freedom Christian Academy in Texas, who were apparently good sports about the mix up! Hopefully, BlogArizona readers don't need to call the mortgage help hotline, but just in case, the correct number is 1-888-995-HOPE.
Related article from August 31, 2007: "President Says Reform FHA & Fannie Mae - Is there a Mortgage Bailout Coming?" Posted by Shannon Hubbard, Arizona Real Estate Agent on December 7, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack |
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