I see it more and more everyday. The housing inventory in Phoenix is shrinking and buyers are looking to make offers and get approved as quickly as possible. But for new or first time home buyers the steps to approval can be foreign and slow down the process, which is the last thing you want in this market.

But have no fear! Jeannie’s here!

It’s important as a home buyer to get pre-approval to expedite the process. In short: you want to have a pre-approval letter in hand before you even step foot in a potential home.

Now don’t get confused between pre-qualification and pre-approval.

A mortgage loan pre-qualification is simply an estimate of how much house you can afford and how much money a lender would be willing to loan you. This can be done over the phone in 10-15 minutes by providing information on your income, assets, debts, and a potential down payment amount.

A pre-approval takes more time, but can be just as easy. Getting pre-approved means that you have a tentative commitment from a specific lender for mortgage funding. You provide a home loan lender  with all that fun financial information you probably keep in a drawer in your house (tax returns, pay stubs, assets, debts, etc.) They will run a credit check and work to verify all your employment and financial information. Jeannie can take care of this with you in about an hour in her office.

In the house-buying process, the benefit of being pre-qualified or pre-approved is twofold. Not only do you have the added comfort of knowing what you can afford, the seller may also accept your offer over another if you are pre-approved and the other party is not.

So what are you waiting for?! Please call Jeannie Bolger, Sr. Loan Officer for more information.

Or call me for more information about the market: 602-456-9388.

These piñatas are for viewing not for whacking. Let’s just get that out of the way first.

Otherwise, attention artists, non-artist, children, adults, people who love candy, and community members at large! The annual Mutant Piñata Show is back and I encourage all of you to enter your best piñata for the ultimate grand prize of having your work displayed to the local Phoenix community to view. The Bragg’s Pie Factory is hosting the ever so popular annul Mutant Piñata Show for the 5^th year now.

This exhibit is to display the creativity that lies within Phoenix; the exhibit will be comprised of whimsical and wacky piñatas created by locals. If your work is sold, you will receive 70% of the purchase price. Come down to the Bragg’s Pie Factory the first and third Friday of March and April to see this vivid spectacle for yourself, the best part is there is absolutely no entry cost so the more the merrier. Last year there were over 100 entries and the Bragg’s Pie Factory is hoping to exceed that number this year.

All entries must be in by March 1^st, 2012 so start getting in touch with your inner piñata artist and spreading the word to your friends and family.

We all know how important downtown growth is for our economy. As you can probably tell from this blog, I’m a big fan of Green Vendors and sustainable growth downtown (even if the term “green” has been around more than Kim Kardashian).

This image is from 2010 Green Build Conference. I just wanted to show off that I met Ed Begley Jr. Yep, I'm a total renewable energy dork.

Well, if your a pro-environment, sustainable vendor in the city of Phoenix, Green Team is pleased to present the Green Vendor Showcase of Opportunities on Feb. 9

This event is a chance for vendors to work with the city’s EPP Program as well as get one-on-one interaction with some of the city’s department big wigs and discuss new opportunities for the city to make greener choices. And better yet, there’s no cost to participate! But you have to work fast. Vendors need to register but January 31st, (as in tomorrow!) by the end of business hours at the office of Environmental Programs. You can Call 602-256-5669 to register and ask any questions.

Want to just stop by and see whats new in the world of sustainability? Well, you can check out the first annual “We Love Green Vendors” showcase on 2/9 from 9:30-11:30 am in the atrium of Phoenix City Hall, 200 W. Washington St.  The event is free!

Mix 60% road race and 40% Joseph’s Technicolor Dream Coat (minus Donny Osmond) and what do you get?

The Color Run!

This weekend, just a hop and a skip from downtown phoenix,  the annual Color Run 5k will be happening in Tempe.

Don’t worry non-runners, the 5k is a fun run for all levels of athleticism. Runners will receive custom Color Run race shirts, a bag of Color, race number, “Color Runner” finisher sweat band, donation to local charity, and Sponsor Goodies. There’s only one rule, wear white. Why? Oh because you get covered in paint along the way! Each kilometer of the event has a designated color.   As the runners/walkers hit the KILOMETER COLOR ZONE, they will be dusted with COLOR.

Don’t worry, it’s for a good cause. All the proceeds from the 5k go to Cardon Children’s Medical Center in Mesa. After you cross the finish line you be invited to a post-5k party with bands, food, and more. Non-runners can join too, but be warned, there’s a good chance of walking away covered in paint dust.

The annual Color Run is going down at Tempe Beach Park in Tempe, Arizona on Saturday, 28 January 2012.

Insert “woe is me moment”: I’m soooo bummed I can’t run this. I’m still nursing an injury from my Grand Canyon run in November!

For those of you who feel that you need a little more inspiration and international intrigue in your lives, or those of you  Pakistani history buffs, we’ve got great news!

Emerge Arizona will be hosting a screening of Bhutto this weekend at Film Bar. Who’s Bhutto? Benazir Bhutto was a two time prime minister of Pakistan as well as the first female Prime Minister for the country, and a great figure in political history. If that isn’t enough of a reason, the director, Duane Baughman will be  at the event for a meet and greet.

And the Best Part? The screening with be at our local favorite, FilmBar! Local Bar/independent theater has a great selection of films and drinks to keep your night going strong. The screening will be at 2pm this Saturday.

Good News for home owners in distress!

And by “Good News” I don’t mean some shady scheme to short sell your house to an off-shore corporation in the Caymen Islands.

Fannie Mae is introducing an Unemployment Forbearance program which provides assistance to borrowers dealing with unemployment.

These loans will allow the borrower to receive a reduction or suspension of their monthly mortgage payment for a specific period of time and will prohibit services from foreclosing on your property.

A mortgage loan is eligible for an Unemployment Forbearance if all the following criteria are met:

• The property cannot be vacant, condemned, or abandoned.
• The mortgage loan cannot be an FHA, VA, or Rural Housing mortgage loan.
• The property must be a principal residence. Second homes and investment properties are not eligible.
• The borrower may be either delinquent or default is reasonably foreseeable.
• The borrower must have a financial hardship due to unemployment.

The Forbearance will be canceled if:

• Any of the eligibility criteria and terms stated above are no longer met.
• The borrower advises the servicer that he or she has become employed or is no longer actively seeking employment.

If you need more information contact Jeannie Bolger with Nova Home loans.

For those of you unable to attend last nights sustainability event downtown, you missed out on a panel of exceptional experts, conversation, and ideas to benefit our city.

The George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center was filled with almost 400 community members. The forum was filled with heated debate but after all was said an done, the panelists encourages more community and individual involvement to reach solutions.

So What can you do? Well here are a few ideas:

• Install Solar panels – A great way to take advantage of the Arizona Sun and cut down on energy usage. This can be a pricey investment, but with incentive programs and leasing options, it is worth it in the end and may add value to your home.
• Green Remodeling and Demolition – looking to fix that fixer upper? A local green demo and remodeling service for residential homes can be a great way to make a green friendly decision.
• Green Landscaping – You don’t need to be a botanist to know your lawn needs water to survive in Arizona. Choose plants that thrive in our climate or find an ecofriendly landscaper to find them for you.
• Use a Paperless system at your business – If every U.S. home received and paid its bills online, annual greenhouse gas emissions would drop by 2.1 tons. Seriously
• Unplug electronics, battery chargers and other equipment when not in use – Taken together, these small items can use as much power as your refrigerator.
• Bring reusable bags to do your grocery shopping. – Or bring your old plastic bags to the store, they’re not helping anyone under your sink. Some stores even give you 10 cents off your groceries for every bag you bring.

So get started today! And check out the Environmental Sustainability Programs Phoenix had developed to help us become one of the country’s leaders in sustainability!

Derek Slife at the Downtown Public Market

So, I’ve been a member of a food co-op for about 4 years now. Great idea, you know. You skip the grocery store and just pick up an order of fruits and veggies.

Interestingly enough, the biggest drawback was also the biggest opportunity. Each order consists of just what the co-op organizers happen to get in bulk that week. That’s a pain if you don’t know what to do with 50 Russian Babushka Radishes. But I found that getting an order of food that was unfamiliar pushed me to cook with things that I thought I would never use.

As a result, I’m a master chef….. just ask my dog.

But another drawback I’ve noticed is that the food I get with Bountiful Baskets is not grown locally. Although, you can order organic options, much of food comes from California.

Enter Chow Locally, stage left.

Founders Christopher Wharton and Derek Slife believe that we do just as much for our country by sourcing food locally, reducing carbon emissions and keeping money in our community.

To that end, they have a business model that is really quite unique. Using their website you can choose what you want during the week and pick it up on Saturday or Sunday from any one of several farmers’ markets. Check out this link to see how it works.

Warton and Slife actually won the Arizona’s Next Great Business award by National Bank of Arizona for this model. Ordering ahead of time certainly does solve the problem of getting little food surprises in your order, like Scandanavian Dwarf Bananas.

Each box comes with useful recipes, etc.

Now, if you are worried about cost, I would not be. I compared both food co-ops. While Chow Locally is a couple dollars ($19) more than Bountiful Baskets ($16.50) and you get only about 80% of what comes in a Bountiful Baskets order, it is still much more than you could buy at Safeway for the same amount of money. Either way, you still get enough food to last for two weeks.

I enjoyed trying this and I enjoy having the excuse to visit the public market every other Saturday (twist my arm).

Give it a shot and let me know what you think.

Many people recognize this upcoming Monday, as a day off from work. But really its a celebration of Martin Luther King Jr., a man who did great things for our country.

If you want to celebrate the right way, HandsOn can help. HandsOn Greater Phoenix is a great NonProfit in Downtown Phoenix that serves the community at large. Every month, HandsOn offers more than 60  diverse, high-impact, one-time community service projects. Martin Luther King Day is a large-scale special days of service for them.

This Monday at 2 p.m. you can head to Fair Trade Cafe & Gallery at Civic Space Park for Eat, Dream, Share. There will be music, poems, songs, laughter, ideas, food and to share personal expressions of how Martin Luther King Jr. impacted your life. And it’s like a pot luck. Participants are asked to bring a dessert to share. If you’re bringing the kids (who have the day off too!) There’s an  spoken word and musical performances by Queen of Queen’s Band Project, Miouo Nance the poet & The Positive Vibes from 6:30 PM-9:30 PM at the A.E. England Building Civic Space Park.

If you’d like to get a jump start on your weekend, HandsOn with also be hosting a 16+ Mural Revitalization this Saturday from 8-12 updating a 1998 mural on 16th Street.

Spots fill quickly, so contact them today and celebrate.

In celebration of our great state, groups across Arizona are working to commemorate 100 years of growth. One of those fine groups is the  The City of Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture who is opening The Gallery @ City Hall. The gallery will premier “Desert View: A Centennial of Art in Phoenix,” featuring paintings, prints, and photographs that highlight the landscape-inspired visions of artists working in the West.

In collaboration with the Phoenix Community Alliance, this new space will be “devoted to rotating exhibitions drawn from the city’s historic collection of 1,000 artworks, and be supported exclusively with private contributions.”

Phoenix’s Art scene has been the heart of the cities economic growth for years. Supporting the community is a vital part of our future. If you want to be one of those supporter, you can a send check made out to Phoenix Community Alliance at 234 N. Central Avenue, Suite M1100, Phoenix, AZ 8500 or visit the website and make a PayPal donation.

The Gallery will be opening  Mid-February. A meeting will be held downtown at the end of this week to finalize their official opening dates, so check with them  or watch our facebook Page for more information.