John Hall & Associates - Phoenix Real Estate Brokerage

SECURITY ALERT

Agents are alerted to be on the lookout for a couple with a baby that robbed an open house yesterday.  The couple was described as medium build, clean cut, pleasant, well dressed, female in her late 20’s, male in his middle 30’s with a gap in his teeth, child chubby with curly blondish hair.  They robbed an open house on the northwest side of Phoenix Sunday when the “mother” and toddler distracted the REALTOR while the “father” rifled the owners desk taking a laptop computer and other personal items.  If you encounter such a couple with child, please notify the Phoenix Police Department.  And as always, we encourage you to always be alert when showing property or holding an open house.  Your personal safety is of the utmost importance.

Dru showed us her blog post that highlights this really cool graph on the NY times website… 

Is it better to rent or buy? 

Well, that depends on lots!  But a few of the variables this graph takes into consideration are…

          ◊  What’s the cost of the home?

          ◊  How much are you paying for rent?

          ◊  Are homes in the area appreciating or depreciating?  

          ◊  How long do you plan on staying put?

          ◊  Are rents going up or down?

          ◊  What’s the interest rate on your mortgage?

          ◊  How much is your down payment?  

          ◊  How much are the property taxes?

Pass this along to your buyers that are having trouble answering this question for themselves!  

I gotta start off by saying Max Pigman (VP of REALTOR.com) and Dave Beson (National speaker and author of LetterWriter) are excellent presenters.  Max did a great job of presenting the REALTOR.com enhanced stuff and Dave Beson is hilarious with his different gestures and voices. 

The presentation was held at the Westin Hotel where I got to sit next to a few John Hall agents and saw others around the room.  The total number of attendees was 312.  

Just in case you’re interested, here are some of the slides from Max’s presentation.  There are some good numbers in there about internet consumers.

Here are some of the websites they mentioned…

Digital Photography-

•  Wondering about the best real estate camera?

•  There are magnetic wide-angle lenses available for most digital cameras.

•  Last but not least  - the NAR field guide to digital photography

Then there were a few cool tech sites…

•  Is Microsoft going to turn your desk or coffee table into a touch-screen computer?  Yes please! 

•  Shopping for a tech-tool?  Check out cnet.com.

And then the just for fun site…

•  Are you a right-brain or left-brain thinker? - watch out for all the sponsors!

Congratulations to Duane Fouts and Matt Widdows!

Duane Fouts worked out a deal to sell Dan Schwartz Realty to Matt Widdows who is the owner of HomeSmart.  HomeSmart is now the largest real estate brokerage in AZ with 3,300 agents!  3,300!  Holy smokes - that makes our family of 750 agents seem so small… no complex here! 

Also, congratulations to Kyle Fouts.  He is taking over as Designated Broker for Dan Schwartz while the transition is completed.  Duane will now have time to get even more hot and heavy with his industry involvement at both the state and national levels.

I feel like a broken record… and that’s a good thing!

Dru Bloomfield makes the local newscast for her use of technology in her real estate business.  Dru, who has been with John Hall since Dec. of 2003 has been interviewed a few times lately!  It’s good to see her new school technology bringing her old school publicity!

Congratulations … again!!! 

I just got this email from L&G Mortgagebanc, a local company that allows REALTORS to be compensated for originating loans.  For more information hit me up!      

Arizona, Nevada, California, and Florida are currently classified as Extreme Declining Markets by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. As a result of this new classification, FNMA and FHLMC will require the following on all appraisals (this only applies to declining market areas):

1.  The most recent and similar comparable sales available as part of the sales comparison approach must be used. Any change in market conditions from the date the contract of sale was signed and date of the appraisal must be considered.
2.  Verification of comparable sales with a reliable party that is not associated with the subject property or the subject property’s development, and at least two comparables must be verifiable through the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) as Arms-Length transactions.
3.  Two of the comparable sales must have closed within the last 90 days.
4.  At least one current listing or pending sale must be provided.
5.  Comparable sales must be mapped in the appraisal.
6.  Days-on-market for subject and comparable sales must be provided, if applicable. The average days-on-market for the comparable sales must not exceed the “Marketing Time” box marked by the appraiser.
7.  If the appraiser is unable to meet any of the above requirements, the appraiser must provide a detailed explanation as to why the requirements were not met, and if it resulted in making an adjustment to the property value.

Recommended Practice
If the subject property is an REO, or if the subject is located in an area where there are a substantial number of REO properties, the appraiser must identify this fact and discuss its impact on the subject’s property value. In addition, REO comparables should be considered if the appraiser believes that such comparables are legitimate competing properties.

Additional Requirements for New Projects and Developments
1.  The appraiser must use at least one current sale from the subject builder/developer in the project, and either:
2.  One current sale from a competing builder/developer or
3.  A resale from within the subject property’s development that has closed within the last 30 days.
4.  If the appraiser is unable to provide a competing comparable sale or resale within the subject property development that closed within the specified time period, a detailed explanation of why the requirement was not met is required.

Purchase Transaction Requirements
As a reminder, in accordance with agency guidelines for purchase money transactions, the appraiser must be provided with a copy of the Purchase Contract so he can take into account any unusual or excessive sales contributions or concessions.

Age of Appraisals

Conforming Loan Programs
If the appraisal report is more than 120 days old (180 days if the transaction involves construction completed after the loan application), either a new appraisal or a Form 1004D is required. If a Form 1004D is being used, it must include:

A determination on whether or not the property value has declined.
• Note: If the appraiser determines that the value has declined, a new appraisal is required and the loan must be re-underwritten using the new value. An indication there has been an exterior inspection of the property.
Comments on any market changes.

It’s title is “Ignore the Headlines” - D. Patrick Lewis (Scottsdale associate) wrote a blog post on ActiveRain about it - check it out…

Thanks D. Patrick for bringing it to our attention!

Did you see the article?  It was on the frontpage Tuesday morning.  Catherine Reagor quoted Mr. Jim Sexton. 

“We are still bumping along the bottom, but the Valley’s housing market is starting to gain some traction,” said Jim Sexton, president of Phoenix-based real-estate firm John Hall & Associates. “Sellers are getting more motivated. Prices are coming down, and there’s a lot of activity from first-time home buyers again.”

While there continues to be a level of hesitancy in our real estate market, Arizona’s Department of Real Estate remains committed to protecting Arizona’s consumers and the good reputation of our industry.  I believe the most effective means of preventing harm is to educate the Public, Industry and Department staff of our rights and responsibilities during a real estate transaction.  Thank you for taking a moment to read Dialog and continuing to educate yourself.

I frequently mention the Real Estate Recovery Fund while speaking with groups and discover that there are few, if any, in the audience who are familiar with it.  Consequently, I want to highlight it and educate our readers about this resource.

The Real Estate Recovery Fund was established July 2, 1963.  It benefits consumers who are financially harmed due to the actions of a real estate licensee during a purchase, sale or lease of real estate in Arizona (including a cemetery plot) , or from a property management transaction executed by a licensee on the applicant’s Arizona property.  New sales agents and brokers deposit $10.00 and $20.00 into the Fund, respectively.  Should the fund balance drop below $600,000.00, a contribution would be expanded to renewing agents and brokers until the minimum balance is reach.  As of March 1st, 2008, the fund balance is $890,717.83.

How to File:
An “Application for Payment from the Real Estate Recovery Fund” is available at www.azre.gov or by calling the Customer Assistance Team at 602-771-7730.  It must be submitted with:

1. A court order awarding payment and recorded by an Arizona County Recorder.
2. Documentation showing the applicant exhausted all efforts to collect the money from the defendants/respondents.
3. The court order must be against a person licensed at the time of the transaction.
4. It must also find the person’s conduct violated duties under the real estate statutes (Title 32, Chapter 20) or Rules of the Commissioner (ACC R4-28-101 thru R4-28-1313).

The Fund may pay up to $30,000 per transaction with a $90,000 cap per licensee.  For example, approximately $365,000 in losses were suffered by former clients of Russell Bosworth of Arizona High Performance Realty (AHPR) as a result of his misuse of client funds. The fund can pay only up to $90,000 of potential claims.  This means that $275,000 would be ineligible for payment from the fund.

Eligible losses include:

• • Misappropriated earnest money, down payment, security deposit, rent income, or money fraudulently withheld that was intended for a mortgage or other expense on property managed by a licensee
• • Repair costs for defects or transaction losses where the licensee misrepresented the condition of a property or actively misrepresented the financial condition of the parties or the property.
• • Reasonable attorney fees and court costs awarded by the court.

Ineligible losses consist of:

• • Lost profits, speculative losses, investments in notes, mortgages, limited partnerships or other securities where the applicant did not engage the services of the licensee
• • Repair costs for defects when the purchaser was aware of, or notified about, the defect
• • Punitive damages, post-judgment interest, undocumented transactions or losses
• • Money spent on lodging, meals, travel, photocopies or phone calls, and losses exceeding out-of-pocket losses.

In 2006, 4 applications to the Recovery Fund were received and 2 obtained payment for a total of $36,652.80.  During 2007, 18 applications were received and 10 obtained payments for a total of $240,862.59.  3 applications from 2007 are still pending. I anticipate receiving more applications in 2008 as the public gains more awareness of this resource.

The Real Estate Recovery Fund can help make consumers whole when financially harmed.  It exists because the Public, Industry and Department worked together in 1963 to establish it as a consumer resource.  In 2007, all three Entities worked together again to establish the Condominium Recovery Fund.  For more information on this new fund, please visit www.AZRE.gov.  Whether you are a consumer or a licensee, the Arizona Department of Real Estate and I are always willing to help and look forward to serving your needs.

The Commissioner can be reached at commissioner@azre.gov.  ADRE does not monitor comments or questions on this blog.

Well, just in case click the picture for his bio!

We are happy to announce that Sam Wercinski - Commissioner of the Arizona Department of Real Estate - is now a contributor to our blog!  His first post is immediately following…