FHA financing for condominium projects is about to come to a complete standstill on October 1, 2009.  That’s when HUD and FHA will apply new federal guidelines as announced in the HUD Mortgagee Letter 2009-19.

But what does that mean?  Basically, you cannot get an FHA loan on a condominium after October 1 unless FHA approved the condominium project within the past year.  FHA approves condo projects for financing if they meet certain conditions (e.g., livable conditions, HOA solvency, low % of investors, high % of owner-occupied units).

October 1 is the big deadline.

All current condominium project approvals will be invalid on that date and all projects must be re-approved under the new options available.   Going forward, all projects will also require recertification every two years.

A one-time “spot approval” process for previously unapproved condominium projects is also eliminated.

Getting projects back on the approved list will be a long and slow process.  And until a project is approved, FHA financing is not an option.

If you want more nitty-gritty details, please download this two-page document that my colleague Leif Swanson put together.

So, what does this mean if you are selling a condo? Basically, if you want a chance to sell to FHA buyers, you need to sell right now, before October 1st.

So, what does this mean if you are buying a condo? You can still purchase before October 1st.  But you just need to be certain the condo you buy is currently approved by FHA or can qualify for a spot approval.  Does it have a high number of rentals?  Was it a condo conversion after about 2005?  Is it now renting out unsold units?

If so, you’ll need to get an offer accepted by late August.  If no, you’ll need to consider conventional financing.  Well, at least you have the $8,000 tax credit on your side!

Talk with your REALTOR® and mortgage broker about your options.

The Parlor
1916 E. Camelback Road

I admit it. I have a crush on The Parlor. I’ve been three times since it opened early last month.

You know, The Parlor proves that you can put almost anything on pizza and have a hit if the crust is good. I had the Yukon Gold once, which was pizza with potatoes and an egg right in the middle. I also tried the truffle oil and mushroom pizza and the sausage pizza. All incredible.

Perhaps my review is not complete. I never tried their salads or other nosh. But I’m a pizza snob. So sue me.

Still, the ambiance is fantastic and the service was good, with the exception of one waiter who seemed to forget we were there once. I look forward to cooler days when I can sit out on the patio area among the fresh growing vegetables that they actually use in the restaurant.

Much of the internal décor came from reclaimed wood and metal from the short-lived Bahama Breeze, which was torn down across the street. Kudos for the re-use. However, I do respect the criticism that The Parlor looks way too much like The Vig, just with pizza.

The Good: Sitting at the bar, watching the pizza being made in the stone oven.

The Bad: The Parking

The Ugly:  None

My broker, John Hall & Associates helps its agents, like me, get the broadest reach possible on your listings.

I just uploaded Internet Marketing Sites that shows most of the places where your property will show, if listed with me.

This way, people thinking of moving to AZ can go to their local television affiliate site, for instance, in some other state to see your property.

Yeah. It’s a perk of working with me.

My colleague Leif Swanson sent me this.

You would be surprised how many people take almost no action whatsoever to get ready to sell their home.

This is a cute video that lays out the most important things to do to get ready to get the most money out of your home sale.

Friday night was Night Rail, a last-minute, all social network-driven, flash mob-style effort to show support for later light rail hours.

See the Thursday post for all of the great organizers of this event.

By Midnight, we had almost 60 people standing at the Roosevelt and Central Metro station, with more on the way.

My close friends and I started at Monti’s in Tempe. Nick Bastain of Rail Life was there, along with about 20 others. Michael Monti of Monti’s was with us and laid out the long and sometimes sordid history of Monti’s. (Did you know it used to be a brothel?)

We worked our way back to Central. Unfortunately, Portland’s was not open by the time we got there. I think they would have had some good business, had they been open. After our rally, we all dispersed, ending up at the Roosevelt, Carly’s and other places in-between.

In the future, we will communicate more with businesses along the light rail to encourage them to get involved. In the end, this was a test. It was only a test. We now know that we have the ability to get the word out about Night Rail. Our next phase will be to grow the event through business participation, live music and the help of people like you!

The number of short sales in Phoenix has gone up, relative to the number of foreclosures. But that is because the number of foreclosures has gone down while the number of short sales stays relatively the same.

Source: www.cromfordreport.com

But what, exactly, is a short sale? Basically, it is when a bank gives you permission to sell your home for whatever you can get and you walk away from the home with (some think) less of a hit on your credit than you would get with a foreclosure. See a more formal definition here.

Problem: that is not necessarily true. You can take a large hit on your credit score and the bank may still come after you for the balance between what you owe on the house and what you sold the house for.

The problem for buyers is time. If you are looking at a short sale as a purchase, you are looking at a house where two things have happened. 1) A listing agent and owner have set the price in order to attract buyers. 2) The bank may not necessarily have already approved that price.

So, you will wait for possibly months while the bank decides whether they like that price and the rest of the market passes you buy. If you have that kind of time to risk, then short sales can be a great option. Otherwise, they are an increased risk.

Check out the article here for more information. Or give me a call.

If you have not heard already, a bunch of groups downtown, including Get Your PHX, are collaborating in support of the new light rail hours. We are encouraging y’all to come out on Friday night the 31st.

Start anywhere and go anywhere, but stop by the Roosevelt and Central stop at midnight to show your support for late rail hours. We need to raise awareness that the city made a very controversial decision to run the rail later and we need to support that.

My understanding is that the press will be there.

Here are the super-fantastic organizations that are supporting the effort:

Howdee all,

I’ve finally got it together! The Get Your PHX Website and blog. So, here is what it’s all about:

My goal goal is to be the anti-blog, the anti-tweet. Stories will be a little longer and less frequent, but I hope to bring you views and opinions that you won’t get elsewhere. The good folks over at Downtown Phoenix Journal and Rail Life have done a stellar job of getting you up-to the minute news. Call me old fashioned, but my goal is to get in to some deep analysis of events and policies that affect our lives.

GetYourPHX.com is divided in to two parts: Life and Live.

Under “Life”, I’m going to post the same kind of quality detritus that that you’ve been able to find in the Clark Report: commentary on state and local issues, restaurant reviews, cool stuff that makes Central Phoenix special. Look also for guest bloggers and inside scoops.

It’s like the New Yorker, but without all the cool panel cartoons and ads for homes in the Hamtons.

On the “Live” side of the site you can keep an eye on the Central Phoenix real estate market. I’ll post market analysis and tips tailored to what you are looking for, whether you are a first time home buyer, you are selling or investing.

Folks, I love my work as a Realtor, but I don’t want a site that screams “Buy! Sell! Now!.” So, please check out the “Live” side of the site and let me know what you think.

Over-all, I look forward to your thoughts and comments. I’m just getting started here, so please check in here or through the RSS feed. I am committed to make Get Your PHX a great source of information and commentary.

A special thanks to Derek Welte at HalfManHalfMachine for the design on this site. Also thanks to James Day at NetSysInteractive.com for the work they did to help us get the site together.

So, for now, I’ve posted all of my old restaurant reviews from the Clark Report because folks keep asking about them.

1301 NW Grand Avenue

I remember walking along Grand Ave. years ago when I saw the corner property that is now Sapna Cafe. It was an oddly shaped space, just a cake slice of a building. I figured it would be perfect for a little coffee bar or restaurant.

I have not heard much talk on the street about Sapna, although it’s been open for three months. After trying it, I really want to give it a better review than I can (at least for right now).

I went three. Once just to test out the coffee and Wifi and the twice to grab a sandwich. The Wifi did not work. The shape and orientation of the building with it’s tall windowed sides meant that the only time the sun was not over-heating the restaurant was the three hours it was directly overhead.

They couldn’t do much to cool the place, despite extra fans.

The staff were all pleasant and conversational. But from what I had on my first visit, the food was not what I expected. Sapna was given its name from a nickname that owner Ana Borrajo was given while traveling overseas.

I had a chicken panini and a salad. The salad dressing was quite unique, but the panini was nothing to write home about.

However, the second visit -for lunch- helped me see the light. I had the pasta with ratatouille. It was unique and flavorful.

I also want to encourage you to support a little restaurant that is taking a chance on Grand Ave., despite the unfortunate solar heating features.

The Good: Aesthetically a really cool place to eat. Go for the non-traditional items over the sandwiches.

The Bad: It’s bloody hot outside!

The Ugly: East and west-facing windows in a little space make for a warm experience!

4700 North Central Ave.

The founder of Lux and Lola Tapas, Daniel Wayne, has re-entered the coffee trade (he sold Lux several years ago).

The new Lola Café is just north of Lux at Highland and Central. I can’t figure out why he is so close to Lux and why he did not start this new venture near my office. Clearly, he forgot the rule about checking with Ken before making major business decisions.

Daniel made a breakthrough in coffee when he opened Lux 8 years ago. He made a cup of coffee which had a high level of craftsmanship to it. You simply could not find that downtown back then. He put a lot of thought in to what goes in to his drinks, for instance Ghirardelli chocolate and whipped cream made on the spot with vanilla and a shot of espresso.

Lola Café has everything that Lux used to have: great coffee, fantastic atmosphere, incredible pastries, etc. Not that Lux doesn’t have that, but the drawback to Lux nowadays is the crowd and the noise.

So, until Lola Café gets to be as crowded as Lux (I give them two weeks), I may favor Lola over Lux for meetings, work and the odd occasional book reading.

The Good: The consistently incredible coffee and food.

The Bad: Not too far in the future, it will be too crowded and noisy for this old curmudgeon.

The Ugly:  None