Living in The East Valley

CNN/Money indicates that the government loan modification program has been changed to allow home owners whose loans are for up to 125% of their homes current value to participate.  Previously it had been at 105% which was a significant limitation to participation particularly in the Phoenix area.

For more information – Obama widens mortgage refi program CNNMoney.com 7/1

Some area cities are getting on the Twitter bandwagon.  You can sign up to receive tweets from your city to get updates and information about your city.  Just click on the link below to see the Twitter page for your city.  (Note if you are not a member of Twitter, you may have to join.  It is free.)  The airport also has a Twitter feed for passengers wanting up to date information on what is happening at the airport.

Chandler, AZ – The Official City of Chandler, AZ Government Twitter

Mesa, AZ – Official Web site of the City of Mesa, Arizona municipality

Tempe, AZ – Tempe Gov

Phoenix Public Transit – Phoenix Metro Bus 

Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport

Channel 8, PBS, will be airing a show, Ask a Mortgage Expert,  on Wednesday, June 17 at 7:30pm.  It will include a panel of experts to offer advice to Arizonans facing mortgage crisis.  There will also be a phone bank available with nonprofit mortgage counselors and housing experts that you can call to ask your own individual question – 888-329-7088 on June 17 between 5:30pm and 9:00pm.

Watching the Tonys the other night reminded me of how great it can be to see a live play.  There is something about a live performance whether it be a play or a concert that creates something special making it different and most of the time even better than a movie, TV, or CD.  There are a lot of different places to see plays locally and the tickets come in a wide variety of prices.  Here is a list of popular places to catch a play:

Gammage Auditorium , ASU Tempe Campus - hosts a Broadway series as well as numerous other performances

Hale Theater , Gilbert - hosts children’s theater as well as family and adult plays.

Broadway Palm Dinner Theater , Mesa – where you can eat dinner and see a show

Tempe Center for the Arts, Tempe – hosts a variety of programs including the well know Childsplay productions, dance productions, and a variety of other plays and programs

Mesa Center for the Arts, Mesa – see Southwest Shakespeare Company, East Valley Children’s Theater, Ballet Etudes, Symphony of the Southwest, and more

Chandler Center for the Arts, Chandler – hosts a free summer concert series and a variety of performances throughout the year

Scottsdale Center for the Arts, Scottsdale – see the popular “Late Night Catechism” or any of the other great program

Phoenix Theater, Phoenix – hosts a season of popular plays

Great Arizona Puppet Theater, Phoenix – presents great puppet shows geared mainly towards elementary age children.  They also offer a Puppet Slam program for adults.

Actors Theater, Phoenix – present a variety of plays mostly geared towards adult audiences

Sales for the Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service (ARMLS) were 9,321 homes in May of this year versus 5,590 in May of last year.  Inventory is down to a 4.5 month supply versus a 10.6 month supply at the same time last year.  A 6 month supply is considered a normal market.  So for Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa, Queen Creek, and Phoenix inventory levels are actually low for the level of sales we are experiencing.   Tempe has a 6.3 month supply and Scottsdale has a 10.8 month supply.    Additionally, the average price per square foot in most of the cities in the area has been fairly level for the past two months.  This all points towards the bottoming out of the real estate market locally.  Many real estate agents are reporting multiple offers on homes priced below $150,000.

The primary unknown is foreclosures.  The number of foreclosure notices was up in the second quarter in part to due to a hold on notices placed by many banks during the first quarter.  It is unknown how many of these will actually go to foreclosure.  Banks seem to be more willing than they were to approve short sales and there are more programs for renegotiating  loans.

All things together, it appears to be a good time to buy a home.  Prices are lowest they have been in years.  Interest rates are still very good.  And, if you haven’t owned your principle residence in the last three years, you may qualify for the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit of up to $8,000.

This data is supplied by the Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service. ARMLS, West USA, and Pat & Amy Monahan do not guarantee the accuracy of the data.

Having grown up and lived in the Midwest for a number of years, one of the adjustments we had to make when we moved to Arizona was figuring out how to take care of the yard.  Many people who don’t live here, think it is easy – just have some plants and a lot of rock in your yard and only water the plants.  Not so….

Differences Between Gardening in Arizona versus the Midwest and other areas

1. Yard and Garden care must be done year round.  There is no dormant period during the winter or summer.
2. Weeds find ways to grow in the rocks and hard soil regardless of the heat or rain.  You’ll have to decide if you will pull them by hand or spray.  Many people chose to spray.
3. Planting times are different.  If you have a vegetable garden, some plants should be put in during the fall, some in January, and there are a few that may make it over the summer.
4. Citrus is the zuchinni of Arizona.  Many people have way too many oranges, grapefruits, and lemons.  They’ll bring it in to work, try to give it neighborhoods, put it in a box marked free in front of their house, you name it.
5. I miss having flowering bulbs come up in the spring.  We do have some other nice spring flowers.  I particularly like the California Poppies that many people have masses of in their yards.
6. A bonus is that there are no squirrels to steal your tomatoes.  As a side note, I think there are squirrels at higher elevations in Arizona.
7. A surprise to me was that roses do well here and some people have very nice rose gardens.
8. I’ve had fairly good luck with herbs in a garden or in pots – at least during the winter.  It is too hot for some to survive the summer.  I’ve had good luck with lavender being outside year round.

I’m hoping that some of you will add to this list.  I’m not a master gardener and would be interested in other peoples insight into yard care and gardening here in Phoenix area.

The Phoenix housing market is starting to get a lot of media attention both in Phoenix and in other areas.  Here are links to some recent articles that may be of interest to you.  The AZ Republic is even reporting some price increases for homes in the area.

Amid Housing Bust, Phoenix Begins a New Frenzy - New York Times, May 23, 2009

First-time buyers grab foreclosures - AZ Republic, May 27, 2009

Phoenix’s housing bust goes boom - LA Times, May 18, 2009

Good news as far as April results for the Phoenix area real estate market.  Sales through ARMLS for April were 8580 homes a 78% increase over April of last year.   What we are hearing from other real estate agents and finding ourselves is that buyers have come back into the market.  Prices are really good and some properties, particularly those under $150,000, are getting multiple offers.   The ARMLS inventory is down to 5.5 months versus 12.5 months in April of last year.  There is still a variance by location.  Generally a six month inventory is considered a “normal” market.  The red line in the graphs above is the number of active listings by month for each community.

Months of Inventory (April 2009/April 2008)

ARMLS                              5.5/12.5

Chandler                          6.4/9.5

Gilbert                              5.3/9.5

Mesa                                  5.3/10.9

Phoenix                            4.4/14.8

Queen Creek                    3.1/7.9

Scottsdale                        12.3/15.0

Tempe                               10.7/10.0

This data is supplied by the Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service. ARMLS, West USA, and Pat & Amy Monahan do not guarantee the accuracy of the data.

If you are having trouble paying your mortgage, the first person you should talk with is your current lender.  See if you can negotiate some type of loan modification so that you can keep your house and have affordable payments.  Listed below are two numbers that you can call for free to discuss your situation and possible options for you.  Be very careful about agreeing to work with people who will charge you money to assist you with foreclosure rescue or prevention or loan modification.  There are qualified people providing this service but there are also scam artists.  The Arizona Attorney General has a document – Top Ten Consumer Scams that has a very good chapter on Foreclosure Rescue Scams.

Arizona Mortgage Trouble Assistance line:  877-448-1211

Homeowners Hope Hotline:  888-995-HOPE

Additionally, the Obama Administration has implemented a Making Home Affordable program.  This program will also provide assistance to homeowners who are having trouble making their payments.