I’m very proud to announce a new listing that I have at the widely-coveted Villa del Coronado.

Please see this link for the listing information.

These condos, built in 1958 are one of the few quintessential examples of Mid-Century Modern design left in Phoenix. Did you know that one of our previous governors used to own a property here?

I use the word “coveted”, above because this community is absolutely pristine and sought-after by Mid-Century Modern buffs.

The owner of this property has renovated the bathrooms with beautiful modern features, opened up the great room. The Villa de Coronado community has two salt water pools, with one heated. It is also one of the few properties downtown with individual garage parking.

The community takes care of everything, even some maintenance for each unit. That way you can get out and explore, wether you are going across the street to the Phoenix Art Museum or to the light rail stop about 300 feet away.

These properties are co-operative condos, a rare breed in Phoenix. As such, the properties are kept in immaculate condition by people who are very particular about the type of property they own. It means that if you own one, you actually own a portion of a corporation. As such, all of your taxes, electricity, gas and other usual HOA fees are paid out of one monthly fee. It also means that these properties can only change hands by paying cash, with one exception –“seller carrybacks”. Financing is not an option.

To put it another way, because you are buying in to a corporation a lender is not likely to give you a loan.

What is a “seller carryback,” you ask? Check out this post from way back in 2010 about seller carrybacks and how they work. Basically, you can buy it directly from the owner through installments.

If you want more information about this unique opportunity, please give me a call at 602-456-9388.

My clients have just listed their new property for rent at 7th St. and Portland.

These townhouses were built in 2007, have all the latest modern features, secure garage space and pool access.

You can walk to First Fridays, or any number of great downtown activities.

Only $1,400 per month for a 2br/2ba 1,548 square foot townhouse!

Please contact me at ken@getyourphx.com or 602-456-9388 for more information.

Dog Lovers Unite!

If your and your pooch have been begging (pun intended) for an escape from your usual routine, The Hance Park Steering Committee has recently recommended that the redesign of Hance Park include an off-leash dog park facility. You may remember in early March when plans for a temporary dog park at Margaret T Hance Park were approved. There are currently two locations being scouted for a permanent dog park.

So as you and your pooch start to enjoy the dog days of summer (teehee), think about how dog parks provide a safe, friendly, positive community experience for their users. Not only would this neighborhood addition be a welcome fun spot for, you know, Spot!, but would be an asset to the community at large in the form of a safe, well lit park where neighbors can meet.

Community involvement is just as important as the park itself.  So if you are licking your chops for a dog park  (seriously, I can’t stop) you’re invited to attend the Parks Board hearing on Thursday, April 26^th at 5:00p @ PHX City Council Chambers, 200 W. Jefferson.

We also encourage you to write an email of support to the following:

Our councilman:  Councilman Nowakowski at (602) 262-7492 or council.district.7@phoenix.gov

The Chair of the Parks Subcommittee: Councilman Simplot at (602) 262-7447 or council.district.4@phoenix.gov

Phoenix Actiing Parks Director: Jim Burke at james.burke@phoenix.gov or (602) 262-4986

Chair of the Parks Board:  Delia Ortega-Nowakowski at deliao-n@cox.net

SAMPLE copy for email:

I am a homeowner that resides in the downtown neighborhood (you can add your neighborhood here).

I encourage the Parks Board to move forward with the identified temporary location for a dog park in Hance Park between 3^rd & 5^th Avenues.

I believe this dog park will bring a much needed new energy to Hance Park, attract park users, while giving property owners a new amenity to tout for the area.  In addition, this new park use will attract responsible dog owners to Hance Park, giving more eyes on the park in deterring crime and the transient population, while building community.  The dog park will also increase safety for dogs, and non-dog owners as well.

Please move forward on this ideal location for a new downtown dog park and thank you for supporting this new park amenity downtown.

—Thanks to Kate Kunberger for tipping us off to this little treat.

We’ve reached a critical point as a city. Now in our hundredth year, the city of Phoenix has a terrible habit of demolishing it’s own history. Most of our historic properties are gone. As a city we need to constantly work to preserve historic properties in Phoenix.

The Lugo Bakery and W.L. Bobo House are two historic sites, built between 1910 and 1920 looking for investors to save the structures from disrepair. Written assessments have been done on both structures, but they need willing buyers to rescue them.

The Luis Lugo Bakery known originally as the La Pantellera was constructed in 1917. It’s a 2,000 square foot commercial structure, complete with a basement, 1,300 square foot addition, and vacant lot for possible parking. Overall, the Lugo Bakery is in poor condition.

Poor design, haphazard construction techniques,weathering, neglect, and unsympathetic renovations have not been kind to certain exterior building elements which require immediate attention to prevent further deterioration and/or lost of historic fabric. This building is in need of some serious TLC, ranging just under $400,000 according to the Building Condition Assessment Report.

The building has strong potential as an office, art gallery, sandwich/coffee shop, or bakery (duh). The bakery and grocery store was in continuous use for
nearly 50 years. The Luis Lugo Bakery is a rare example of an early Hispanic commercial
property in downtown Phoenix and should be saved

The property has a two story private residence attached, which is also in disrepair. This update is estimated around $170,000

The W.L. Bobo House  is in the McKinley Park subdivision. The W. L. Bobo House, a charming Craftsman bungalow at the southwest corner of 13th & Roosevelt Streets, is threatened with demolition.  It’s on a double lot and has a porte cochere on the 13th Street side and a detached garage at the rear. The house has numerous architectural features that set it apart as an unique design. Character-defining features include:

• Medium-pitched intersecting gable roofs
• Gables with decoratively cut wood shingle siding
• Broad porch on stuccoed brick piers, supported on massive, tapered cobblestone bases
• Cobblestone foundation wall at porch, and battered cobblestone chimney mass
•  Trellised porte-cochere
• Double-hung and casement wood windows, some with leaded and beveled glass

It’s a true fixer upper, but the building is in pretty good shape considering it’s from 1912. The house needs new roofing, the foundation needs repair, and some window fixes and a fresh coat of paint would do it some good. The interior needs all new plumbing, heating, electric, and replacement woodwork. Most of the fixes are minor, and according to the  Building Condition Assessment Report the total updates would cost approximately $143,240.  This residence could have a future at a single family home or a business/art gallery depending on the buyer.

Despite the cost , rehabilitating the residence would undoubtedly broaden the historical setting of the Lugo Bakery and Bobo House and add charm to the street scape. Historic Properties like these are priceless to our community’s history and future.

I am a bit intense about recycling. I pick up batteries on the ground when I see them. I drive my recycling to my friends houses because my misguided HOA board refuses to make that a priority.

Most Phoenix resident receive  a recycling bin with their house for all their recyclables. (It is a shame that the city does not recycle for condos, apartments and businesses, but that is something we need to work on.)

But what about all those items you can’t recycle in the regular blue bin?

Light bulbs, car batteries, foam packing peanuts, bubble wrap; none of these items go in the blue can. But throwing them away isn’t an option either. So what do you do? Well, there are recycling options all over the valley for items like these and you can find out where at the click of a button. Earth911 finds recycling options in your area, no matter where youare in the country.

Many of us use compact Flouresent Lightbulbs. Making this change will help to use less electricity at home and prevent greenhouse gas emissions that lead to global climate change. But what do you do when the bulb, which contains mercury, burns out? The EPA recommends that consumers take advantage of available local recycling options for compact fluorescent light bulbs. EPA is working with CFL manufacturers and major U.S. retailers to expand recycling and disposal options.

Keep Phoenix Beautiful has been in Phoenix since 1982 to promote the preservation and protection of our environment through cling initiatives and education, litter reduction, beautification, and community improvement activities. You can keep up with them for news and events about your area.

Have pride in your neighborhood! Keep it clean and safe!

Short sales sound worse than they are.

Two years ago they took a lot longer and confused many more people (agents and lenders, alike). Now the systems are in place to make these transactions close more smoothly.

Even more important, if you qualify for the HAFA Program, you could get up to $4,500 for short selling your home!

A short sale is where the seller owes the bank more than than the property is worth. The term “short sale” literally means that the property is being sold “short” of what the seller owes the bank. In a short sale transaction the bank must agree to accept less money than what the seller owes and agree to release all liens on the property so that the property can be sold.

If you’re thinking about short selling your home there are a few short steps to the process:

1. Find an Attorney to speak to about your short sale. This shouldn’t cost you a lot of money. You can usually get an initial consultation for about $250. You DON’T need to have an attorney negotiate with the bank for you. If you have a tax attorney or CPA, speak with him or her, too!

2. Get your Property Listed. Listing your property with a seller with short sale knowledge is key to a smooth transaction. This is where I come in.

3. Find a Buyer. You should know that the average “days on market” are much, much lower now than they were even six months ago. This really should not take us long.

4. Send a contract to your lender along with proper documentation. We’ll work with you to make sure all the paperwork is in order for quicker approval. This is the part of the process that takes the longest. But I can take much of the pain out of this.

5. Get Approval and Close Escrow. This part goes largely the way normal sales go –inspection, appraisal, close of escrow.

This weekend marks the 11th annual M7 Street Fair. The fair and  classic car show features indie crafts, live music, food, cool cars, shopping, vintage trailers and fun for kids in Downtown Phoenix.

Every street fair that we have, every open market goes to building a better downtown. You just don’t get this sense of community in pre-planned developments. I’m just sayin’.

The first fair was 11 years ago, when local vendors partnered up with the School of Architecture at ASU to revitalize phoenix and a deteriorating Melrose Curve. The merchants received grant money from the City of Phoenix Neighborhood Fight Back Program and with the support of the surrounding neighborhoods, the Melrose District began to rebound.  One year after the Seventh Avenue Merchants Association incorporated, they held a “street fair” to commemorate the building of the first lighted canopies on Seventh Avenue.

Just over a decade later, what started as a 6 vendor street fair has grown into a highly anticipated family event with over 140 booths, food, live music, over 200 classic cars, and almost 18,000+ visitors

Its happening this weekend, March 3, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 7th and W. Glenrosa Avenues

We’ll you there! I’ll be out there with Ru visiting the booths and all that fun stuff.

Did you know 40% of single family and condo sales in Greater Phoenix in January were cash purchases. Now, I’m not talking about sacks or briefcases full of cash, but people are buying homes outright and their are some benefits.

• Psychologically,  there is a big benefit in knowing that you own your house free and clear. You also free up quite a bit of income because you will have no rent or mortgage.
• Buying a house with cash means that if the value of the home goes down by 10% then the money you put in also goes down by 10%. The most you can lose is the amount of money you put in. In the case of a 20% down mortgage, if the house’s value goes down 10% then you lose 50% of the money you put in because of leverage.
• When you have the cash to pay for the full amount of a house, it means that there will be no contingencies on getting a loan and the amount of time needed to close a deal is shorter. This generally gives you the buyer more negotiating power for a discount on the price of the home, and with the number of homes on the market quickly drops timing is everything.

But is it for you? Well there’s no tax advantage. But if the amount of cash you spend does not consist of a significant portion of your liquid assets and the amount of savings you get from an all cash deal versus a loan deal is significant, cash might be for you. In other words, you might be earning more money on your investment in a house than other investments.

Now, I’m not a financial advisor and I suggest you speak with one before you purchase a home. But if you want to know more about the market, please give me a call at 602-456-9388.