Michael Reyes is a fighter, thus “Pinche the Warrior.” After a bout with a potentially cancerous medical issue, (which after surgery left him without a food truck), Reyes is now rising up again. Pinche Taco truck will be partnering with Bar Smith and serving the community just like before.

Many of us remember spending long nights on the Paz Cantina patio, laughing with friends, eating those damn delicious tacos. Then after development, we’d flock to fill the picnic tables outside his food truck.

Michael is a warrior, and his weapon isn’t an arrow, nor an axe, it’s not even a hammer. Michael’s weapon of choice is food. This is the one constant that any Anthropologist will tell you “connects every human together”, food is culture’s glue. By wielding his weapon, he continues to bring us all together.

Like any warrior, Reyes’ battle ground may change, but his passion and purpose never falter. From his food truck, Reyes and his team served over 30,000 tacos and burritos to the homeless. Now, his step one in the plan is to bring a brand-new food truck, Pinche Tacos, to the streets that will serve the customers at Bar Smith, and spend off times serving at rallies and First Fridays. As he puts it, “This truck will be on the streets when it’s scheduled to and when it has a purpose.” With the city and downtown-devotees help, Michael hopes to open a new brick-and-mortar in December.

“This is my Phoenix,” Reyes said. “We all have more passion than we do money. But we’re dedicated to this, to this street. This is our home, our world. Between ‘the sevens.’ That’s what we fight for. That’s why we cry, and that’s why we fight, and that’s why we hurt.”

As Michael has always put it, “I will be back, delivering burritos to my people.”

Join us in celebrating Michael Reyes, Pinche Truck and the passion and purpose again in Downtown Phoenix. Celebration at Bar Smith, see event details below.

When: Thursday, April 20^th from 5:30PM – 7:30PM
Where: Outside of Bar Smith: 130 Washington St, Phoenix, AZ 85004
Note: Free raffle ticket for all those that attend!
RSVP: Click here
Check out the Facebook invite here.

The March Get Your PHX with “F.U.N” story telling is a first for us, and we are pretty excited to bring it to you.

But, first, let’s get this out of the way. “F.U.N” is an acronym that we can’t really spell out on a G-rated website. It stands for f***-Up Nights. (Go ask your parents to explain.)

“F.U.N.” Phoenix, made its debut October 13 (The International Day For Failure). It is part of a global movement where stories of failed business and projects are told, questioned and celebrated. “F.U.N.” began in Mexico City in September 2012, and now as many as 200 cities in 70 countries participate in sharing the failure.

It has become an event where entrepreneurs, soon-to-be “f***-upreneurs” and others gather to listen to three or four stories about failure. It is something between a party and a casual business conference. The purpose of the event is to break free from the stigmas surrounding failure and to see it as a positive step everyone must overcome on the road to success. Especially since the majority of professionals don’t create the project of the year in their first attempt. Moreover, we can learn more from stories of failure than from stories of success.

We ask you to sign up for this even for a free “ticket” via this link, so we can have a reliable RSVP list. Watch for updates on our Facebook event page.

Where: Trunk Space. 1124 n 3rd st, Phoenix, Arizona 85004
When: March 23rd starting at 5:30.

Interest rates are on the way up!

We’ve been hearing talk of it for a while, but now its probably going to be a reality — not once, but maybe three times in the next 18 months.

So, what does this do to the price of a home? As you can guess, a lot!

For instance, if you buy a $200,000 house at 4.5% interest with a 5% down payment, your monthly payment (before taxes and insurance) would be $962. The same house at 5% interest would cost $1,019 per month.

That extra $57 per month difference may not seem like much. However, that is $684 per year or $20,520 over the life of the loan!

I don’t know about you, but I can think of a few things that I could do with that money. There are a few countries on my bucket list that I’d like to visit and I don’t want interest rates to keep me from going.

Another way to look at it is that in order to have the same payment every month that you had at 4.5% interest, you could only afford a house that costs $189,000 at 5% interest.

So, what does this mean? It means that you want to consider getting in to the market before interest rates go up.

It also means that you probably want to act before both prices and interest rates go up, which they are doing now. That is to be avoided!

Further, we’ve been hearing news stories that the Federal Reserve bank may be thinking of raising interest rates multiple times in the next 18 months or so. If prices in Phoenix continue to go up at the same time these interest rates are going, that could be a problem for you.

What’s the take-away? If you can buy now, you might want to make it happen.

Give me a call. I’m more than happy to help you navigate the market: 602-456-9388.

News from the City of Phoenix:

General Contact:
Ed Lebow
Phone Number:
602-495-0197

Spring is almost upon us and for a lot of folks that means time to organize and freshen up their home after a long winter. Now, before you start breaking out all your cleaning supplies, let me give you several reasons why switching to green cleaning products is the way to go this spring!

1. Healthy Home – Chemicals will no longer absorb into the skin or be breathed in. No longer breathing in harsh chemical cocktails from your typical household cleaners can reduce the risk of asthma, which is one of the most common chronic illnesses.
2. Pure Environment – Using greener methods to clean, reduces the pollutants released into the environment. This means less contaminated water and air. Most green cleaning solutions are made from recyclable packaging which also reduces waste.
3. Safe Products – Typical household cleaners pose the risk of chemical burns to skin and eyes. Green cleaning products are non corrosive and have stricter standards regarding toxicity, combustibility, and skin absorption.
4. Better Air Quality – Strong chemical cocktails come with a strong chemical odors. Green products usually include soft, pleasant smells, often from natural essential oils.
5. Less Expensive – Most green cleaning methods can be made right at home from ingredients you already have in your pantry. Why go out and buy expensive products when you have what you need at home?
6. Knowledge of Ingredients – Government regulations do not require ingredients be listed on cleaning products. When you’re making your own green cleaners at home, you know exactly what you’re using.

These are just a few of the many reasons people are switching to green cleaners. Not only is it better for the environment, but for your and your family’s health! So, before you start checking things off your spring cleaning checklist this season, consider cleaning GREEN!

I should also ad that it’s kinda fun to make your own products to clean around the house. I never even thought about it, but it kinda is!

We love and use our friends at Going Green House for their good work and their tips. We use them for our clients, too!

Its that time of month when we remember to check our fire alarm batteries, we clean out the gutters after all the rain and, oh yeah, we check in with our friends at the Cromford Report.

Around mid-month, they saw a sales $/SF of $147.97 averaged for all areas and types across the ARMLS database. This is up a very strong 2.0% from the $145.07 we now measure for January 15.

They caution, however, “This may sound like a big difference but the monthly average $/SF can change quite a bit over a short period. For example between January 16 and January 21 it rose from $144.88 to $147.00, a change of 1.5% in just 6 days.”

This seems to track (in the very short term, at least) with a small down-tick in “month’s supply of homes.” In other words, if no more homes came on the market today, how many months would it take us to exhaust the inventory? Supply goes down, prices go up.

In the CenPho market, we are seeing a small up-tick in days-on-market. I think this is probably still reflects those folks who listed around the holidays and just accumulated days-on-market, while everybody else ate Thanksgiving dinner and celebrated the New Year, nary a thought of buying a home.

Anecdotally, we are still seeing strong interest from people who want to sell their homes and we are constantly getting calls from new buyers. Over-all right about where we would expect to be this time of year.

See below for the monthly info-graphic from the Cromford Report Folks.

If you are looking for more statistical information for your home sale or purchase, hit us up at 602-456-9388.

Your February Market update indicates a continued strong market with sellers having the advantage as we go in to the busiest time of year.

Here’s what our friends at the Cromford Report have to say:

“New listings have been arriving at a slower rate than last year, adding to the problems faced by buyers. Although the overall number of active listings excluding UCB increased by 2.4% during the month, this is an unusually low growth for January and many areas have experienced an unexpected decline in listings over the past 31 days.

This imbalance between supply and demand is true throughout most of the low and mid price ranges, but is less of a factor in the higher price areas, particularly in the outer locations. While this imbalance persists, it is likely to lead to further price rises. We saw a substantial 1.1% rise in the average price per sq. ft. during last month, but the median sales price remained flat for the second month. The average price per sq. ft. is a better reflection of what is going on.”

Anecdotally in CenPho and the historic neighborhoods, we are continuing to see a strong seller’s market, as well as new listings. There is a little dip in prices in the chart below, but it is yet to be seen as to whether this is the hold-over from the end of the year. I would guess that it is more of a blip because the contract ratios are still moving upward, as we would expect this time of year.

In short, if you are looking purchase, you will want to either get on it now or wait for at least a year.

If you are thinking of selling, 2017 is definitely the time to do it.

By the way, we also work in other areas of town. We do this analysis for CenPho and the historic neighborhoods because we get most requests for that analysis.

If you would like us to analyze the market for you in any other area of Maricopa county, please give us a call at 602-456-9388.

Handy-dandy charts for your February Market Update are below:

The market analysis shows a small shift in prices, but probably not significant.

The seller’s advantage continues upward as the year begins.

The number of listings continues to climb. Will that eventually put a downward pressure on prices?

Contract Ratios -the ratio of homes that close in any given month, of all of those on the market of any status

The new Recyclebank innovation from the City of Phoenix allows you to get credits at local businesses for recycling your trash.

Recyclebank, Phoenix’s new partner in waste diversion and sustainability, invites Phoenix residents and other members of the community to a family-friendly event 5 to 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 31, at the Arizona Science Center, 600 E. Washington St. The goal of the event to introduce the Phoenix community to a new rewards program that educates participants on how to divert more waste from the landfill while earning redeemable points.

The rewards program works by going to recyclebank.com, where participants can easily sign up to activate their account. The website offers several sustainability articles and waste diversion tips participants can read and then earn points that will be added to their account. The site also has videos, recycling tips, craft ideas using recyclable materials, as well as opportunities to enroll in any of Phoenix’s solid waste programs, all of which allow participants to earn points.

Points can be redeemed for savings at local businesses and national chains, such as Bunky Boutique, AMC Theatres and Target.

For mobile device users, the Recyclebank app can be downloaded for free.

At the free, family-friendly community event, guests can enjoy activities that help them understand the importance of sustainability through hands-on demonstrations presented by the Arizona Science Center staff. In the Urban Heat Island demonstration, guests will explore ways to change landscapes to adapt to hot environments and conserve water; the Plarn demonstration, guests learn how to make yarn out of the world’s most thrown-out objects; and in the Water Roll demonstration, guests become a sustainability scientist and learn about water conservation.

There is no cost to attend the event, but RSVPs are strongly encouraged at Eventbrite.

Recyclebank’s rewards program is part of the city’s effort to educate the community about recycling more, recycling right and other waste diversion programs. Under the Reimagine Phoenix initiative, Phoenix strives to reach its goal of a 40 percent waste diversion rate by 2020 through enhanced solid waste programs, public-private partnerships and expansion of its community and educational outreach.

The Green Cleaning Tip for February from our friends at GoingGreenHouse.com is particularly useful if you have any stainless steel in your home and you don’t want to use poisonous chemicals.

Many of our major household appliances are stainless steel. If you’ve owned one for long enough, though, you know it’s not exactly “stainless”.  Greasy fingerprints and water stains are all too common on refrigerators, dishwashers, and stoves—and it definitely doesn’t look pretty. Luckily, there is an amazing, all natural way to clean the unsightly mess from your stainless appliances. All you need is olive oil and vinegar.

You’ll need:

• Spray bottle
• 1 part vinegar and 1 part water mixture
• Microfiber cloth
• Olive oil

1. Start by cleaning your appliance with the vinegar and water mixture. Be generous. Use paper towel or cloth to wipe clean in the direction of the grain. This should remove the basic debris, like stuck on food or sticky fingerprints.
2. Dip your microfiber cloth in a small bit of olive oil. You can always dip again if you need more.
3. Polish the appliance in the direction of the grain. The fingerprints and water marks should start to disappear.
4. Buff out any streaks, and BAM! Now you’ve got a shiny appliance again!

It really is as simple as that. If you’ve used this natural magic to clean all your stainless appliances, and are bummed you have nothing left to make shiny, you can also do something similar to your stainless steel sink! Yep, that’s right!

Now, obviously the sink gets a lot more use than the other appliances, so olive oil would not be used for this, but hang on to that vinegar and water mixture!

You’ll need:

• Spray bottle
• 1 part vinegar 1 part water mixture
• Baking soda
• Water
• Microfiber towels

1. Spray the vinegar and water mixture all over the sink to clean the initial mess. For added shine (and fresh, citrusy goodness) cut a lemon in half and rub all over sink and faucet.
2. Mix baking soda and water together until it forms a paste.
3. Scrub the sink with the paste. For extra tough stains or spots, let it sit for 20 mins. Then rinse clean.
4. Dry with microfiber cloth.

All this heavenly shine from just a few ingredients you probably already have lying around the house! So, if you’re tired of your dull, messy stainless steel appliances, give this a try! It’s amazing!

Green Cleaning Tip for February

Our January Get Your PHX will be at JoBot….the reincarnated Jobot, that is.

And we want to take this opportunity to start a conversation with you about how you see the future of Roosevelt Row.

When Jobot announced that they were closing their doors on 5^th and Roosevelt Streets, I think we can agree that a shock a shock ran through our downtown community. It wasn’t just that we were losing another local business, or that 5^th Street was changing faster than we were ready for. No, it was that we felt the fate of the Roosevelt Row’s future was sealed because a giant had been brought down.

For many, Jobot represented a haven. Stories flooded the comments section of owner John Sagasta’s post about when they first came to Jobot. How it was the only place they felt they fit and that it represented a community of artists, welcomed resident ‘derelicts’ and changemakers alike… it was the hub for people who love Phoenix and are Roosevelt Row lifers, for better or worse.

The future seemed grim indeed…

But the storm has now cleared and Jobot has made a triumphant return. Now in its new location at the 3^rd Street split inside the Roosevelt Point high-rise, John Sagasta and his crew have retained the feel of Jobot in the industrial space with high-ceiling space. Behind the counter is an enormous art piece of the view from the patio of the former location taken from a photo by a fan. The new patio features the tilted red and white striped umbrellas we all know to be a Jobot exclusive.

The new location at the corner of a row of retailers inside Roosevelt Point’s ground level is also triumphant. The longtime success of Roosevelt Row is arguably due to the funky uniqueness created by the galleries, restaurants, bars, bike shops, tattoo shops, etc. In a word it has been the businesses that have created the community and will keep the community thriving.

So raise your pint with us this month as we congratulate John Sagasta and toast to their long future on RoRo!

When: Thursday, January 19^th from 5:30-7:30PM
Where: Jobot: 333 E. Roosevelt St.
Details: Free raffle ticket for each attendee, more to be announced!
RSVP: Click here and see our Facebook invite here.