Real Estate News

Downtown Phoenix Real Estate Update

As we move into September we thought it would be a good time to write a real estate update for downtown and mid-town Phoenix.

In general, the downtown region is fairing better than most other parts of the valley, especially zip code 85006.  On the good side of the equation, 39 properties sold in the downtown region in August and we have 75 properties in escrow waiting to close soon. The big winners in the condo market are One Lexington, Landmark Towers and The Pierre.

Speaking of One Lexington, they have 34 people who now call One Lexington home. This means they have sold 40% of the units as they move into Fall, a stronger selling period compared to Summer. In addition to One Lexington, Landmark Towers and The Pierre on 5th Avenue showed good sales. We have new posts on these two developments if you want to know more.

The link below will take you to our full market analysis for the downtown and central/north Phoenix market. The report is the work of famed Phoenix market analyst Mike Orr of the Cromford Report. We consider his work to be the finest and most accurate available and are happy we can share it with our readers.

Just to prepare you, Mike’s report is not very favorable; To quote him… “almost all indicators point to a severe deterioration in the residential resale market in the city of Phoenix.”

However, a few downtown and N. Central zip codes are on his good list. Please note too that Mike only evaluates the single family home market. Thus, the downtown condo/loft market in not included.

The Phoenix Real Estate Market Update for August 2010 and Fall Forecast

Best to you and let us know if we can answer any of your specific questions, help you sell your place, explain short sales or other other real estate oriented concerns.

Gene Urban and Ron Urban
The Urban Connection Real Estate Team
602-234-5777

The Pierre Condos on 5th Avenue Downtown Phoenix

As I was writing an update on the downtown real estate market the Pierre Condos on 5th Avenue showed great sales this summer. They have had great sales this summer and I wanted to know why since most condo projects outside of One Lexington and Landmark Towers have been pretty quiet.

The Pierre is an apartment conversion project in the Mid-Century style. Nice brickwork sets the tone for what is a pleasing development… in both features and price. No wonder 80% of the project is already sold out including all the 1 and 3 bedroom models. However, there are still a number of 2 bedroom units to be had.

As you can see from the pictures, the developer did a fine job of updating while maintaining the mid-century feel. Unlike many condos, the living room and bedrooms feel pretty darn spacious and they have balconies. Those who have been reading my posts for a while know I am a big fan of balconies… they just seem essential to an urban setting.

Below are some of the high points from my perspective:

• Two Bedroom Units priced in the low $120,000’s.
• Secure lobby with elevators and stairs to the 3 floors.
• Filled concrete block construction and concrete floors keep things quiet.
• Just 25 units so you don’t get lost in a condo jungle.
• Well appointed interiors with nice tile, contemporary cabinets, well thought lighting.
• Every 2nd or 3rd floor unit has 1-2 or 3 balconies.
• Fully remodeled pool and hang out area.
• Secured covered parking adjacent to building.
• Pet friendly project… Fred the dog approves.
• 5% down Freddie Mac financing available!!

 

If you would like to take a look at The Pierre on 5th, let me know. I think you’ll see why we put this project on our “good to buy” list.

Gene Urban
The Urban Connection Team
602-234-5777

Chateaux on Central Now Chateau on Central

We received a lot of email about Chateaux on Central, now known as Chateau on Central. People want to know what the prices will be, when it will open for sales and more. In answer to your questions, here is our early August 2010 update on Chateau on Central in downtown Phoenix, AZ.

In late May the new owners of Chateau on Central, MSI Investments, announced they had selected Rowland Luxury Homes as the General Contractor to finish building out the 21 brownstone project. Rowland is recognized as a superior luxury builder with several national and regional awards including the Best In American Living Award and a #1 Ranking Arizona standing as Best Luxury Home Builder in Phoenix.

Added to the mix is EST EST, a top interior design firm with loads of experience in the luxury market. Their client list is a who’s who in the resort and building world including projects at the Biltmore, Aviano, Desert Highlands and more. According to information from the builders, future owners at Chateau on Central will be afforded the opportunity to custom tailor their homes.

Rowland is currently finishing construction and updates on the 21 units in anticipation of bringing Chateau on Central to market in the near future. The big question is when is the near future? I can’t say for sure, however, I’d be getting my financing ducks in a row, as well as selecting the agent you want representing you in the purchase. That means I think we getting pretty close to seeing units come to market… my crystal ball says within 45 to 60 days of this post.

I just need to make a statement here about buying a home from a builder. The builder at Chateau on Central has hired a real estate brokerage to represent them in the sale of homes. You can work directly with the builder’s agent or you can hire someone who will represent only your interests verses the builder’s. To me it is a no brainer. It costs you nothing to have your own agent represent you and help negotiate terms and upgrades. They can help you resolve problems that come up, help keep costs down on upgrades, help review the results of inspections & walk-th roughs, plus answer questions about financing, escrow and more. They will do this with your interests in mind verses the builder’s.

CONCLUSIONS:

We should see Chateau on Central opening their doors to the public in the near future… Mid-September to early October is my best guess. The prices will be much lower than those offered by the original developer, yet one must remember this is a luxury project with homes in the 5000+ square foot range.  That said, we’d rather not guess on price at this time. We’d prefer to wait until be have something real and concrete to tell you.

We expect to get updates in the next couple weeks and well keep you informed and up-to-date about what is happening at Chateau On Central in downtown Phoenix, AZ. If you would like us to put you on our mailing list and keep you informed, just sign up using the button near the top right of the site.

Best to you,

Gene Urban & Ron Urban
The Urban Connection Team
602-234-5777

connecting people to the perfect space in downtown Phoenix

Urban Team Offers Short Sale Negotiating in Phoenix

The big buzz word in real estate is short-sales. Since so many people are upside down in their homes, short sales are one of few options for selling a home these days. The number of short sales is staggering. Nearly 1/3 of all homes currently for sale in Greater Phoenix are short sales and well over 1/2 of the homes under contract are short sales.

Short sales are viable, but negotiating with a home owners lender is the big challenge. Even the most skilled real estate agents are ill equipped to navigate these waters. The rules, time-lines, lender lies, guidelines and daily policy changes are unreal. It is no wonder home owners get frustrated and give up and most agents fail in the process.

Your Urban Connection Team is very happy to announce we’ve partnered with a firm whose sole function is negotiating short sales with lenders. The team is headed up by one of the top minds in the short sale business and supported by a team of former lenders who know the system and how to get short sales done.

We feel this is a perfect marriage of skills. We get to do what we do best… market your home or condo and find a qualified buyer. We’ve been doing that for over 20 years and are really good at it. With addition of expert bank negotiators we can provide a level of service and safety that is fantastic for our clients.

If you are facing foreclosure and want to explore a short sale, we are here for you. Our success rate is already high and we are excited knowing it will be even better now that we have an incredibly talented team of negotiators.

Many of you already know we have a site dedicated to the short sale process. If you have questions, many answers are on the site. Otherwise, feel free to give us a shout and we’ll get you answers. Your comfort and safety is paramount to us.

Best to you,

Gene Urban & Ron Urban
The Urban Connection Team
602-234-5777

connecting people to the perfect space in downtown phoenix

Cherry Lynn Historic District History and Home Tour

Cherry Lynn is one of our favorite historic subdivisions in midtown Phoenix. It has a strong mix of 1920’s and 1930’s period revivals with an emphasis on English, Spanish and Monterey styles.

We just added an article on our sister site, www.urbanteamaz.com, looking at the history, architecture and homes of Cherry Lynn Historic district.

Rather than rewrite the article and post it here (duplicate content is a blogging no no) we are simply giving you a link to the original article that includes the history of Cherry Lynn, a look at homes currently for sale in Cherry Lynn and a virtual tours of the historic homes. We hope you enjoy. While you are there, we have a number of articles we’ve written on other historic districts in the Phoenix area.

Cherry Lynn Historic District, History, Homes for Sale in Cherry Lynn and a Home Tour.

Gene Urban & Ron Urban
The Urban Connection Realty Team
602-234-5777

connecting people to the perfect space

Short Sales and Bankruptcies Can Affect Each Other

Seems like we’ve been writing a lot of articles about short sales in downtown Phoenix these days. The fact is, a lot of the homes for sale in downtown, midtown and north Phoenix. Also, many who want to sell their home have to do a short sale since they owe more than the place is worth.

As part of our short sale education program we found an interesting and scary article on the subject of short sales and bankruptcy. Even if you are not in this situation, the information is worth reading. Knowledge is a good thing.

The article comes from our fiends at Thomson Law Group. They provide a lot of good short sale info these days and helps us, as real estate guys, informed. We send special thanks to Doug Farnham for his valuable knowledge and willingness to share it with us and the readers of Urban Connection Realty. Below is Doug’s latest article:

How Bankruptcy Affects Short Sales & Vice Versa

By now, most Realtors are aware of many of the risks associated with short sales.  Either they know someone that has faced litigation or have read about problems that can arise from homeowners that either faced an unexpected foreclosure or who did not understand their deficiency or tax liability.

Recently we have seen a new issue arise for some homeowners that completed a short sale before filing for bankruptcy.  The issue of concern is that a homeowner may no longer qualify for bankruptcy because the sale of their home lowered their debt ratio and, thus they became ineligible under the means test 11 U.S. C. 707. The means test compares the income against the expenses or debts of a homeowner and determines whether a homeowner is eligible to seek relief to discharge debt obligations under a Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceeding.

Residential mortgage debts are an expense which can be included in the means test. By including the residential mortgage debt in the analysis, the probability that a homeowner can qualify for bankruptcy is increased. By excluding or eliminating that debt, the probability of the homeowner to qualify for bankruptcy is decreased or, in some instances, eliminated altogether. So, if a homeowner intends to file for bankruptcy, a review of the homeowners eligibility under the means test should be completed by a qualified bankruptcy attorney before a homeowner is encouraged to complete a short sale.

Another concern arises when a homeowner completes a short sale and then files for bankruptcy some years later.  Since the lender has up to six years after the close of escrow to file a deficiency lawsuit, it is possible that the lawsuit could come after the homeowner has been discharged from bankruptcy.  A bankruptcy attorney may not include the mortgage loan(s) that was involved with a completed short sale if a 1099 has been filed by the lender or if the homeowner fails to tell the attorney of the loans.  However, since the legal effect of a 1099 filing upon a homeowner’s deficiency liability is still in dispute under Arizona law, it is recommended that all loans from previously completed short sale transactions be included when filing bankruptcy, even if the short sale was completed several years prior (at least until the 1099 issue has been clearly settled by the courts).

Short sales are on the increase which means that it is a market segment that Realtors cannot ignore.  We hope this information helps you to avoid the pitfalls and makes you better prepared to handle these issues.

For questions and answers on this subject and many other related topics please visit our blog at: http://blog.MortgageMediationGroup.com

For more info on short sales in Arizona, we have a site dedicated to the subject. Short Sale Phoenix.com

Gene Urban and Ron Urban
The Urban Connection Realty Team
602-234-5777

connecting you to the perfect space

Short Sales and Bank Owned Homes Offer Sweet Downtown Historic Deals

Have you thought about buying a historic home in downtown Phoenix. In years past the prices made this impossible for many. Now, however, short sales and bank owned historic homes have made ownership possible for many more people.

I just ran a search of homes in the downtown region built prior to 1945 and a number of short sale or bank owned homes were among the offerings. FQ Story has a couple homes in the $150,000 range and there was one in Palmcroft for $295,000 or about the same price it sold for in 2003.

There are positives and negatives to buying short sales and bank owned homes. Probably the most significant is these homes are generally sold in AS-IS condition. As Is, in most cases, means the owner of the home will not be making any repairs to the home prior to the buyer taking possession. This is not the case when buying from a traditional home seller who often expects to make some repairs. We have a page on this site that takes a more in depth look at what AS IS means and you may want to take a look at the post and accompanying YouTube video on buying a home in as is condition.

Lender owned homes, most of the time, do not have many other complications outside of the AS IS issue. That can not be said for short sales though. Short sales can be so complex we actually created a web site devoted to the subject of short sales. For information about buying a short sale in downtown Phoenix please visit www.short-sale-phoenix.com.

That’s probably enough for this post. If you want to search for historic homes currently on the market in the downtown Phoenix area, we have a killer home search tool on the site. Here is a link to the search for downtown homes page.

Best to you,

Gene Urban and Ron Urban
The Urban Connection Realty Team
602-234-5777

connecting people to the perfect space

Buying Downtown Phoenix Homes in As Is Condition

Several of our Urban Connection readers have asked us what AS IS means when buying a home or condo in the downtown Phoenix area. This comes up often when people are buying bank owned homes or short sales.

Lender owned homes seldom offer the option of having repairs made to the home and the majority of people selling their home as a “short sale” simply don’t have the money to make repairs. Therefore, as a home buyer, you will be asked to sign an addendum to the contract that explains what is expected of you and the seller when selling a home in “AS IS” condition.

Your Urban Connection Team has created a little YouTube video that gives offers an overview of the AS IS addendum created by the Arizona Association of Realtors. Below is the video:

Obviously, this is simply an overview of the Short Sale Addendum and does not go into all the nuances and implications of the document.  However, we hope it gives you a broader understanding of what as is means when buying a home or condo in downtown Phoenix, AZ.

Gene Urban & Ron Urban
The Urban Connection Realty Team
602-234-5777

Information About HAFA and Short Sales in Phoenix

Short sales are big news in the real estate industry these days. With a large number of people owning more on their home/condo than its worth, folks are pondering a short sale as one of their options. This is evident in the downtown region with about 1/4th of all active listings being short sales.

The US Government, for better or worse, has adopted a program called HAFA (Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternative) to help streamline the short sale process. Some of our readers have emailed asking: What is the HAFA program?  We are here today to answer that question.

In case you don’t know. the Urban Connection team launched a site dedicated to information about short sales last Fall. We have well over 100 pages of short sale articles, short sale news, an FAQ section and much more. We just added a page describing the HAFA program and its guidelines. Below is a link to that piece so you can be an expert on the HAFA program and impress your friends and coworkers with your in depth knowledge on the subject.

What is the HAFA Program for short sales in AZ?

If you know someone who needs more information about short sales, please know we are there for them. Short sales are not for everyone and there are legal and tax issues that need to be explored before moving forward with this option. We would be delighted to help navigate the short sale waters.

Gene Urban & Ron Urban
The Urban Connection Team
602-234-5777
Gene@UrbanTeamAZ.com

connecting people to the perfect space

Lenders Use Deception to Get Promissory Note Signed

Many of our readers know we are very involved with people trying to sell their home by short sale. We have a dedicated short sale site, Short-Sale-Phoenix.com and have written dozens of articles on the subject including our newest about how some lenders and PMI companies use lies, mistruths and threats to intimidate homeowners into signing promissory notes. I know you are shocked a bank would do such a thing… Not.

Anyway, we just posted a real world example of the email one of our clients received from their lender. Our clients are ideal short sale candidates… they both lost their jobs, the husband’s new job pay 40% less and is 30 miles from their house, they can no longer afford their house payments, they had just one loan and they did not refinance and take money out.

We listed their home last January and  a well qualified buyer was brought in by an agent. The short sale package was professionally put together by a law firm who handled the conversations between the lender and the homeowner. Five months later we finally get conditional short sale approval from the lender.

Check out what the bank had to offer after 5 months of lender red tape on our sister site, UrbanLIfe Blog.com.

Lenders and PMI Companies Use Mistruths and Intimidation

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