Friday, August 30, 2013

Sign on Front Door of San Tan Valley, AZ House

This San Tan Valley homeowner has a humorous way of saying, "No thank you" to solicitors!

Written By: Scott Hubbard Certified Home Inspector, ASHI® Member Homewerx Home Inspections Office: (480) 503-2611 Toll Free: 1-888-THE-WERX Schedule a Home Inspection Online!

Posted by Scott Hubbard, Arizona Home Inspector on August 30, 2013 | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Phoenix, Arizona Has Great Weather... and Snow?!

It's snowing in the Valley!  This picture was taken in Mesa, but several cities in the Phoenix-metro area got snow today.  I hereby declare tomorrow a snow day :)

Posted by Shannon Hubbard, AZ Realtor & Computer Guru on February 20, 2013 | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Saturday, August 18, 2012

Is There Really a Market For This Business?

I was driving through Chandler today and this business caught my eye.  Is the economy really so bad that people have to rent tires?  I can't imagine a single situation that would make me want to rent a tire.  Even if you need new tires really bad but can't afford them, there are many used tire places around the Valley that sell decent used tires for half the price of a new tire (or less).  

Since I'm a very curious person (or weird, however you want to look at it), I couldn't stop wondering what would make somebody rent a tire.  So I googled this place.  Their website claims that they're the "largest Rent-To-Own Custom Wheel and Tire Retailer in the nation".  I'm sure they probably are because I think they may be the ONLY Rent-To-Own Custom Wheel and Tire Retailer in the nation!  But here's what surprised me... their website says they have over 86 stores across 11 states, and the company is the 7th largest independent tire dealer in the country.

Seriously, who rents tires?  Apparently not many people.  Although, the store was open and they had a "Sale" sign out front, there wasn't a single car in the parking lot.

Posted by Shannon Hubbard, AZ Realtor & Computer Guru on August 18, 2012 | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack

Saturday, August 14, 2010

AZ Homeowner Needs a New Landscaper

One of these things is not like the others... two of these things are kind of the same!

Posted by Shannon Hubbard, AZ Realtor & Computer Guru on August 14, 2010 | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Friday, November 06, 2009

They're Back... Zip Codes Come Back to AZ MLS!

The Zip Codes Are Back!  Thank you nice folks at Arizona Regional MLS (ARMLS®)!!

Zip codes disappeared from AZ MLS sheets sometime in the past few weeks.  I don't know for sure when the zip codes returned, but I noticed it yesterday, (ironically) right after I finished talking on the phone with another real estate agent who mentioned the missing zip codes!  He was giving me an address and didn't have the zip code because it wasn't on his MLS printout!  But now I'm happy to say that MLS looks like this again...

 

Just to be sure, I looked up some of my old MLS printouts that had no zip codes, and MLS shows all their zip codes now.  So thank you again ARMLS®!!

Written By: Shannon Hubbard Realtor®-Investor Great American Realty, Inc. Cell: (480) 695-6672 Email me

Posted by Shannon Hubbard, AZ Realtor & Computer Guru on November 6, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (10) | TrackBack

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Zip Codes Missing from Arizona MLS

Dear nice folks at Arizona Regional MLS (ARMLS®),

What happened to the zip code?  It used to be prominently displayed at the very top of the MLS printout (after the city & state where it belongs!).  It looked like this...

 

But the zip code is not there anymore, and I can't find it listed anywhere else on the MLS printout either.  Here's how it looks now...

 

Did you intentionally remove the zip code, and if so, why on earth would you do this?  If not, when will the zip code be returned to it's proper location?

It just disappeared in the past couple of weeks, so hopefully it won't be too hard for you to find it.  I know you're usually very good about informing Realtors® when you make changes to MLS.  So perhaps you did send out an email informing Realtors® the zip code would be disappearing soon.  Unfortunately, I didn't get the memo.  So here I sit wondering, what the heck happened to the zip codes?

Please help.  Thank you!

Written By: Shannon Hubbard Realtor®-Investor Great American Realty, Inc. Cell: (480) 695-6672 Email me

Posted by Shannon Hubbard, AZ Realtor & Computer Guru on October 29, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Real Estate Scam Involving Foreclosures, Short Sales & Vacant Homes For Sale

Here's a recent "Scam Alert"sent out by ARMLS®.  Realtors® and anybody who owns a vacant home should beware:

SCAM ALERT: Check Your Vacant Listings
 
A recent scam reported to ARMLS® involves tenants moving into a pending short sale listing. The surprised listing agent contacted the owner who had not rented the property to anyone. The tenants (two women with two children) were physically moving in and had turned on utilities in their name. The sign and the lock box were removed, and all locks were re-keyed. 

The tenants responded to a For Rent sign in the yard. They gave someone $1,800 as rent and signed a lease. While the short sale was able to close, the unfortunate victims of this scam were out $1,800 with no place to live.
 
This down economy encourages some people to take advantage of others.  Listing agents should check their vacant listings regularly and provide neighbors their contact information in case they observe any suspicious activity.

So sellers - keep an eye on your vacant homes and/or ask your neighbors to watch for suspicious activity.  Realtors® - check your vacant listings.  And renters - verify the owner/history of the property you're renting, and check out your potential landlord!

Written By: Shannon Hubbard Realtor®-Investor Great American Realty, Inc. Cell: (480) 695-6672 Email me

Posted by Shannon Hubbard, AZ Realtor & Computer Guru on October 29, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (13) | TrackBack

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Arizona Home Inspector Meets Big Swifty the Tortoise!

As a Home Inspector, I come across all kinds of pets in the homes that I inspect.  Some pets love me, some pets hate me, some want to eat me, others just follow me around and supervise.  In recent months, I've been inspecting more occupied homes, but for awhile there it was mostly vacant houses with no animal friends.  Over the years, I've had all types of animals follow me around during inspections.  Afterall, I'm in their territory so I don't mind.  But I never expected to be followed by a tortoise!

I don't know his real name, but I called this guy, "Big Swifty".  He totally followed me around the backyard as I inspected this house.  He'd start walking towards me and as soon as I moved, he'd turn and follow me.  Sorry if the picture's a little blurry, he was really bookin' for a tortoise!

Written By: Scott Hubbard Certified Home Inspector, ASHI® Member Homewerx Home Inspections Office: (480) 503-2611 Toll Free: 1-888-THE-WERX Email me or Schedule a Home Inspection Online!

Posted by Scott Hubbard, Arizona Home Inspector on October 20, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBack

Monday, October 19, 2009

Extending or Expanding Tax Credit for First Time Homebuyers: Good for the Real Estate Market?

Knowing that I'm a Realtor® and that much of my income is dependant upon the real estate market, you might be surprised as you read my opinion on extending and/or expanding the Homebuyer Tax Credit.  For starters, I'll say that I believe the free market can almost always solve problems better without government involvement.  Unfortunately, the real estate market has not been allowed to operate without government interference for some time.  I'll even go one step further and say that government interference caused the real estate market bubble and resulting crash, and the same idiots who created the problem should not be trusted to fix it.

Politicians, who wanted to buy votes by forcing banks to give loans to people who could not afford to pay them back, are the primary cause of the real estate bubble and ultimate crash (which I believe also caused the current recession).  This effort was driven by bleeding-heart liberal Democrats, but many of the so-called conservative Republicans shamefully went along with it for many years and many administrations.  We all know what happens when banks are forced to lend money to people who can't afford to pay it back... eventually they don't pay it back and the banks lose money.  The banks then have to make up these losses somewhere else: either by charging good customers more, or by (the new trend of) getting billions in bailout dollars from taxpayers.  So either way, hard-working taxpayers lose when government forces businesses to make bad bets.

But instead of recognizing that government is the problem, our brilliant bureaucrats instantly (and without any real thought) decided that more government is the answer.  So they offered $8,000 refundable tax credits (aka govt handouts) aimed at first time homebuyers who otherwise could not afford to buy a house.  HELLO?  These are the people whose loans are currently foreclosing at astronomical rates.  Incentivizing people who can't really afford a house into buying one anyway isn't going to fix the real estate market or the banking situation.  This is what caused the problem!  Repeating the same mistake will only prolong the agony and further stress the financial institutions that finance these properties.  Not to mention the fact that it's inherently unfair to ask some taxpayers to pay higher taxes so the government can give their money to others for a down-payment on a new house they can't really afford.  And then add insult to injury by forcing those same taxpayers to bail out the banks when these loans foreclose, as if it were not foreseeable (right!).

So like cash-for-clunkers, I believe the First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit was a stupid idea, and therefore extending or expanding it will ultimately do more harm than good to the real estate market.  It may cause a short-lived spike in sales like cash-for-clunkers did (at the cost of future sales, by the way).  But do we really want manic ups and downs in the real estate market, or do we want a slower but sustainable growth?  I think anyone who owns real estate or works in the real estate industry would agree that a slow, sustained growth is better for all of us in the long run.  Some lawmakers and various Realtor® associations are pushing to increase the tax credit to $15,000 and extend it to more than just first time homebuyers, with a higher limit on the buyer's income.  To me, this is just the same dumb idea with longer lines of people taking the handout, and with a much higher price tag.

So when will the real estate market start to recover if government stops interfering?  It's already started to recover, in Arizona at least.  Keep in mind that national statistics quoted in the news may not be applicable to Arizona's real estate market.  Real estate is local.  Arizona was one of the first and hardest hit areas of the country when the real estate bubble started to burst (for lack of a better term!).  And I think Arizona was also one of the first to start recovering, because Arizona real estate prices were driven down faster and lower than other areas.  And lower prices is what makes buyers start coming out.

Don't get me wrong, the Arizona real estate market is not all sunshine and lolli-pops.  Not at all.  There are still tough times ahead, but people are buying despite the fact that banks aren't really lending like they should be (I guess it's more profitable for banks not to lend, and suck up taxpayer bailouts instead!).  But if the government just stays out of the way, the market will slowly recover on its own - without unnecessary, artificial government stimulation that really just wastes billions in taxpayer's money.

Written By: Shannon Hubbard Realtor®-Investor Great American Realty, Inc. Cell: (480) 695-6672 Email me

Posted by Shannon Hubbard, AZ Realtor & Computer Guru on October 19, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (8)

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Wells Fargo Sues Itself In Mortgage Foreclosure Case

Okay, just when you thought things in the mortgage industry couldn't get any more insane... Wells Fargo files a lawsuit against itself.  That's right, Wells Fargo Bank NA v. Wells Fargo Bank NA.

Apparently, the lawsuit is related to a mortgage foreclosure case in Hillsborough County, Florida.  Wells Fargo spokesman, Kevin Waetke reportedly said, "The primary reason is to clear title and ownership interest in a property to prepare it for sale".

Personally, I've never found it necessary to sue myself in order to prepare a property for sale.  But then I've also never been dumb enough to give both a first mortgage and second mortgage to the same person on the same house either.  So I guess it makes perfect sense if you're a "too big to fail" lending institution like Wells Fargo.  You know, the kind where the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing so they end up hiring lawyers to sue themselves, and then have to hire lawyers to defend themselves too.  Who knows, it might be a brilliant legal strategy because even if Wells Fargo loses, they also win!  But then even if they win, they also lose. 

The biggest losers here are the taxpayers who bailed this company out thinking it was "too big to fail".  Sometimes stupidity needs to be allowed to fail.  If Wells Fargo has nothing better to do with the BILLIONS of taxpayer dollars they received under the recent government bailout (TARP), why don't they just pay it all back?

Written By: Shannon Hubbard Realtor®-Investor Great American Realty, Inc. Cell: (480) 695-6672 Email me

Posted by Shannon Hubbard, AZ Realtor & Computer Guru on July 15, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (17)