Scottsdale Realtor Technology Symposium

Today was the Scottsdale Area Association of Realtors Technology Symposium. There were over 130 people registered, and it was a great turn out. There were 4 breakout sessions, Websites, Blogging, Lead Generation, and Flex MLS. I was invited to be on the Lead Generation panel. It was an honor and a treat. D. Patrick Lewis of John Hall & Associates was the moderator of our segment and did a great job. John Wake with Home Smart Realty and Amy Geddes of Clareity Security

Not the greatest photo, that is me in the middle.

Get your XP while they last

Dell, and have been busy migrating, making sure things are working and cleaning up files.  Phew, glad I am mostly complete with that task!

While choosing what direction to take, one of the sales persons let me know that Windows XP would not be being sold in a couple of months.  Since so many programs still have issues with Vista, I choose to jump on getting my XP’s while they lasted.  Many of the programs I use daily are not compatable with Vista.  I know everyone has their favorites, I am looking forward to shifting over to Mac one of these days, just not today.  So if you are considering getting a computer soon, and would prefer to keep XP then consider taking action sooner rather than later.

Snake Season

< ![CDATA[The Arizona Republic has been writing about it and the news reports have been talking about it.  Snake Season.  Did you even know there was such a thing?  Rattlers are in the desert, and guess what, so are we.  With the warming temps they are coming out of hibernation and are being seen.  Not all snakes are poisonous, and they do serve a purpose.  Snakes feast on rodents, and with the abundance of fruit trees, we have roof rats (that is a subject to save for another time). What is your best course of action to keep them away from your home?  Clear debris from around your home, eliminating possible nesting areas.  Clear the fruit off your trees, eliminating the food for the rodents, and thus food for the snakes.  Watch where you are walking, and when hiking be alert.  And if you do see a snake, keep your distance, no bravery please.  If you or someone you know is bitten, call 911 immmediately and for more info contact the Scottsdale Fire Department at (480) 312-FIRE (3473)

I have only seen one rattler near a home, the home was surrounded by desert, and new construction had just begun across the street.  It was happily sunning itself on the walk way to the home.  Nope, they didn’t buy that one.    Even though we don’t see them, they are still around.  Please be full of care when out doors.]]>

JP Pancakes

This morning I had breakfast at one of my favorite McCormick Ranch breakfast spots; JP Pancakes. Located in the Mountain View shopping plaza on the south east corner of Mountain View and Hayden Rd. It is a tiny spot, only 11 tables, and if you are looking to get in and out fast on a Sunday morning be there before 9am or plan on waiting. (the wait is worth it!) It is a no frills place, no fancy linens, just good food. The menu is not huge, and they only serve breakfast. A favorite of my family’s is the baked pancake, at least I think that is what they call it. I get the Banana Pecan. It is a cross between a pancake and a souffle. (yummy) It takes about 20 min to cook, so don’t dawdle when putting your order in, the coffee flows while you wait so bring good company and prepare to feast. If there are too many people ahead of you on the wait list, place your order and take it to go. Yup, breakfast to go. If you live too far just take the feast over to Mountain View Park, and have a picnic.

March Statistics for McCormick Ranch, and 85258 zip code

It is the beginning of April, time to take a look at March’s numbers.  The total number of listings is up a little more than 2%.  The great news is the number of pending contracts is staying at the level of last month.  With an increase of closed properties as is expected with the increase of pending contracts last month.  I am looking forward to seeing this trend continue…

The average price of the single family homes that sold is just over $760,000, with the patio home/ town home/ gemini homes averaging $440,000 down from last month.  The average on apartment styled properties was just over $170,000 up from last month.

 

	2-Jan-08	1-Feb-08	3-Mar-08	4-Apr-08
Total Active Listings	523	578	556	572
Single Family Homes	246	277	279	287
Patio/Town/Gemini Homes	153	157	150	167
Apartment style Homes	124	144	127	118
Total Pending Listings	36	57	72	70
Single Family Homes	19	36	33	39
Patio/Town/Gemini Homes	11	17	22	17
Apartment style Homes	6	4	17	14
	Dec	Jan	Feb	March
Total Sold	38	29	42	55
Single Family Homes	17	14	21	19
Patio/Town/Gemini Homes	11	11	17	21
Apartment style Homes	10	4	4	15

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Foreclosures and your HOA

I have been thinking of writing about how foreclosures in a community hurt the HOA, and yesterday the paper had an article on the same subject.  Couldn’t find it today on their site. 

When a community has foreclosures, the home owner has stopped paying their mortgage, and their HOA. Some times the HOA has not been paid for months before the homeowner is late on their mortgage.  Think about it, if you were running short on money, would you pay your electric bill or your HOA bill?  You get my picture. 

So many times the homeowner has not paid their HOA fees in months, and months, when the property does get foreclosed on, one of the last to be reimbursed thru the sale of the property is the HOA.  Making many HOA’s hit hard by the reduction of income.  The community I live in has had to raise the HOA fees, to cover all of their costs.  Some HOA’s have cut back on what services they are offering.

The Arizona Republic article talked about how some of the HOA’s are negotiating with the landscapers, pest control services, pool companies etc.  The Leadership Center at Chandler-Gilbert Community College is bringing in legal and financial experts for a special public session “Preserving Your Neighborhood in a Challenging Economy“. 

One more thing to consider when purchasing a home.

Scottsdale Public Library

I love the Library.  I know, it is a bit ‘old school’, all those dusty books and all; but the library is embracing technology and is a whole new place.  The Scottsdale Library has way more than just books these days.  You can check out Movies (lessening your dependence on Netflix and Blockbuster), books on tape/cd, music, language programs, down-loadable books (as part of the Greater Phoenix Digital Library) and so much more.  Come and use their computers and Internet, or bring your own computer and access the web using their free WiFi.  There are several different sizes of rooms available for meetings for residence and non residences as well.  They also offer lots of Computer Classes.  Oh, and they still have books you can check out as well!With 4 branches of the 

Scottsdale Public Library, the closest to McCormick Ranch is the Mustang Branch, on 90th Street.  Be sure to get your card, and log into the site, request your media and get an email when it has arrived to the branch of your choosing, also get email alerts when your materials are due back, or subscribe to their feeds on new items of interest.  See the library does has a new look.  They are still offering

youth programs, story times, after school homework help, literacy programs, and Arts and Culture programs.  Be sure to check it out!