Well, yes we’re well on our way to 100 years old, and as Arizonans we need to admire the past while we look towards the future.

Over the last 50 years, Phoenix has grown exponentially bringing on many economic, environmental, and social challenges. To cope with our growth, we need to constantly be looking for ways to innovate, maximizing resources and minimizing waste, while making the city more livable. Lower Grand Avenue is brimming with potential and possibilities

The City of Phoenix Parks and Recreation department along with several other government groups and community organizations, including the Grand Avenue Merchants Association, has been chosen by the  U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Greening America’s Capital program are  to develop a revitalization concept for Lower Grand Avenue. And you’re invited!

A local consultant group, Plan-et has been hired and will hold a three day design workshop with the community to help re-imagine I-10 overpass to Van Buren Street/7th Avenue. Lyssa Hall, Landscape Architect for the Parks and Recreation Department, said that the “architectural assets of grand ave” make the area a perfect spot to incorporate “realistic revitalization goals, working with whats already there, so people can enjoy Grand Ave.”

The 3 day workshop will include strong community involvement to find short and long term reachable goals for the area.

Lyssa expects between 50-70 members of the community to join them for the event, but she wants you ALL there in hopes of inviting political and partnership interest.  The event is February 28th, 29th, March 1st so mark your calenders and look out for more info from the city of Phoenix.

Kick off Meeting: 6 – 8 p.m. on Feb. 28
Public Open Houses: 6 – 8 p.m. on Feb. 29
Open Studio: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Feb 28 through March 1

Y’all might remember my listing at 90 West Virginia. It is the 1930s Fairhope School, newly renovated to a 4,100 square foot home. This is the flagship property in the famous Willo Historic Neighborhood.

Here is the original blog post about it.

Well, the price has just dropped to $750,000! This is an incredible price for a luxury home of this historic significance and quality. This home was awarded best historic restoration of 2009 by the Phoenix New Times.

Stay tuned for notices about open houses. We don’t open this house to the public often, so please drop by to see it!

Our friend Jeanie Bolger, Sr. Loan Officer at Nova Home Loans sent us over some valuable information we thought we’d share with you on steps to pay off debt collection.

We all know that in tough economic times it can be hard to make ends meet. If your bills have gone to collection is can severely affect your credit score. You can improve your credit score by deleting collection accounts. When banks have trouble collecting payment from debtors, they hire a debt collector (those are the people who call you at home or at work). When you pay off your debt, it’s important to work with the collector to pay off your loan and improve your credit score. And you have many options.

Your best case scenario is to have the account deleted from your credit report in exchange for payment. You will need to request the removal through a pay for delete letter to the collector offering a settlement payment if the collector deletes the account from your credit reports. You can also contact them by phone, but you’ll want the agreement in writing before taking action. Most collectors will want payment in full rather than the settlement payment, but will delete the account when full payment is collected.

If you cannot have the entry completely removed, offer a settlement payment to have it updated as “Paid in full”. Another option is to have the Account marked “Paid. Settled.” This will not boost your credit as much as a “Paid in Full” would, but may be your only option if you are unable to pay in full.

Make sure your keep a record of all your conversations, agreements, and proof of payment. Monitor your credit report to make sure the collector updates the account as paid. If the collector does not update the account, dispute the account with the credit bureau, providing proof of payment if necessary. The only unacceptable scenario is to pay the collection without having having fact reflected in your credit report.

Of course, always consult your CPA, tax attorney or whomever you trust like that.

Stay Tuned for more from Jeannie Bolger, Sr. Loan Officer – Nova Home Loans.

No, we’re not talking about your lovely Christmas trees.

Arizona State University’s Downtown Phoenix campus recently installed solar panels on the roof of  the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. These new solar panels are the first of their kind at the Downtown campus. The project cost approximately $815,000 and includes 322 panels which will produce 122,335-kilowatt hours of energy, not to mention are super cool. This is just one of many ways in which the schools plan to two conserve 20 megawatts of power every year by 2014.

And Why not? Sun is Arizona’s most bountiful resource. Those of you who have driven past the VA, Couldn’t help but notice their energy efficient parking structure. This past august, Duke Energy Renewables, purchased the Ajo Solar Project, in Pima County and The Bagdad Solar Project, located in Yavapai County, which collectively generate 20MW every year. More recently , Big Wigs from Greater Phoenix Economic Council  met with Senators Kyl and McCain in a lobbying effort for the growing industry. All just pieces in the bigger solar powered future of Arizona.  What does that mean for you? Recently, APS announced that customers could expect a 21% decrease in their bills thanks to their renewable energy programs, like partnering with Duke Energy Renewable.

ASU will of course be reaping in these benefits along with federal and state tax credits. The Downtown solar panels are just one of many ways in which the schools plan to conserve 20 megawatts of power every year by 2014.

Good news on the Home loan front. President Barack Obama has signed HR 2112! Oh, you don’t know what that means? Trust me it’s exciting.

Here, let me quote you!!

FHA maximum Loan Limits effective October 1, 2011 through December 31, 2012 – Mortgagee Letter 2011-39

 FHA Loan Limits that were in effect from January 1, 2011 through September 30, 2011, as announced in ML 10-40, shall apply for case numbers assigned from November 18, 2011 through December 31, 2011 – Maricopa County $346,250

 FHA Loan Limits with case numbers assigned on or after January 1, 2012 through December 31, 2012 will remain the same as those that were in effect from January 1, 2011 through September 30, 2011 – Maricopa County $346,250

 FHA Loan limits with case numbers assigned before November 18, 2011 are subject to the LOWER limits that were in effect from October 1, 2011 through November 17, 2011 (some exceptions apply) – Maricopa County $271,050

So what does all of that mean?

Moral of the story is:  FHA Case #’s assigned Jan 1, 2011 through September 30, 2011 maximum loan limit for Maricopa County was $346,250 –

Case numbers assigned October 1, 2011 thru November 17^th, 2011 are subject to the REDUCED loan limits of $271,050 for Maricopa County – And yet another change FHA Case numbers assigned November 18^th, 2011 thru December 31, 2011 will jump back up to $346,250

Basically, you can borrow more under FHA….

Don’t you love how long it took them to say what I said in seven words?

Stay Tuned for more FHA changes.  Please call Jeannie Bolger, Sr. Loan Officer – Nova Home Loans if you have questions. 

Exciting Right?

Its that time of year again, when Christmas decorations come out of dusty boxes and you can really tell who’s in the holiday spirit. We separate the meek from the jolly. Downtown leader Jim McPherson is organizing an effort to decorate Central Ave where the City can’t due to budget restrictions.

This weekend marks the 25th  APS Fiesta of Light Electric Light Parade here in Phoenix. In lieu of a lovely post-Thanksgiving snowfall, this long standing tradition announces the true beginning of the Christmas season downtown.

The parade start its march at 7pm this Saturday on Central Avenue at Montebello heading south, or you can catch the official judging tonight starting at 5. Does anyone know the official criteria for float judging? Is it based on lumens?

In addition to lighting up the night, APS will once again collect canned goods along the parade route for donation to St. Mary’s Food Bank. And of course Santa will be there, taking suggestions from good little girls and boys and keeping everything jolly.

Events like these are what make the downtown Phoenix community great. According to Jim McPherson, “Celebrating milestones and occasions helps to build community. Many residents, neighborhoods, arts and cultural institutions, businesses, and city officials are all working to foster that sense of community as more and more people move downtown and tourists visit our city.” Jim is just one of a group of people working to decorate Central Avenue for the season to help promote patronage and general Christmas cheer. Over time, Central Avenue became the primary place to hold such major parades and holiday events. According to Jim, the Central Avenue decorations that have gone up this year were first installed in 2002. But the holiday’s don’t just end with lights. CityScape has installed an ice rink and Christmas tree downtown for everyone to enjoy.

Not only is it a time for visitors to see our developing downtown, but the community comes together to celebrate a wonderful holiday season around their favorite local businesses.

I’m thrilled and honored to be listing 90 West Virginia, historically the Fairhope School.

This 4,183 square foot Spanish Revival home is THE flagship Willo Neighborhood property, sitting on just about 3/4 of an acre. There is no other parcel of this size in Willo, as this home was once the Fairhope School.

This recently-renovated 4-bedroom, 3.5 bath property includes a guest house, pool and incredible features, which you must see to believe.

Owning this property is like owning a piece of Phoenix history.  Built in 1930, the Fairhope school was a private academy for young ladies. It was billed as a modern marvel because it had the amenities to actually heat lunches for the children to eat.

In 1949, the school was remodeled in to a bed and breakfast called the Yum Yum Tree. It stayed that way until the 1970s when it was traded to a local attorney named Neal Roberts. Who is Neal Roberts you might ask? Well, this is where the history gets truly amazing.

He was one of the individuals implicated in the famous assassination of Arizona Republic journalist, Don Bolles at the Clarendon Hotel in June of 1976. Roberts owned the property and lived and worked there.

Sad history, yes, but this is the stuff that lovers of historic homes live for.

Later still, there were attempts to make it a bed and breakfast again. In fact, you can still see it listed on Trip Advisor.

The current owner and his wife lived at the Yum Yum tree for a short time in the early 1990s. So inspired by the history of the building and their memories, they bought the property and renovated it in 2008 with the help of well-known Phoenix Architect, Jerry Cook. Their work earned them the 2009 Phoenix New Times “Best Historic Renovation” honor.

I will have more “before and after” photos for you soon. For now, enjoy the “now” photos, below.

This is the kind of property that a true lover of history and architecture will naturally seek out. Viewings of this home are by appointment only. Please contact me at 602-456-9388 for more information.

Some features include: solar panels, bamboo flooring & tankless water heaters, fully restored 1950’s O’keefe & Merritt stove, Paperstone counters, walk-in pantry and an 800-bottle wine room.

Beautiful glassed gate doors attach structures to make one seamless property.

The veranda is classic Spanish Revival.

How did the know this was my dream kitchen?

Now, kids, repeat after me, "O'Keefe & Merritt stove."

They put the "master" in bathroom.

Naturally-lit master bedroom.

This is living!

The way a Phoenix pool SHOULD look.

Christmas has come early! Statistics and Graphs galore! If you’re looking for a home here in Phoenix, here is a trend that you might want to know about.

As a general rule, fewer  people buy houses between October and February. With the beautiful winter weather here in the valley, you would think sales would rise. But, most home buyers move in the late spring and summer in order to change schools. So, what does that mean for real estate agents….other than that we should probably go out and get second jobs waiting tables or pre-stocking for Black Friday?

What does it mean for you? Well, it’s great news if you’re a soon to be home buyer. As you can see by the graphs, sales per month is down between October and February while the monthly supply stays relatively the same. Aren’t graphs amazing?

Continue for more witty comments, below the graphs.

So, follow me here. If the sales per month are down and the inventory stays largely the same that is great for you if you are a buyer. It means that sellers are more desperate to sell. Not only are you going to have a greater selection, you might have an opportunity to negotiate the price!

So, get out into the beautiful weather and buy! If  you have any questions I’d be happy to help, just give me a call 602-456-9388

For anyone looking to live downtown knows, safe and affordable housing is a commodity. As downtown Phoenix experiences a renewed interest and cultural growth, we as a community need to think about ways to pursue reasonably priced housing options for the increasingly diverse population. Native American Connections has come up with a great housing option, that maybe you didn’t even know existed.

For over 40 years, Native American Connections has built community for our growing, city-dwelling Native American populations. In January, they will be opening mixed-use, mixed-income apartments, Devine Legacy, just across from the Campbell & Central light rail station.

For those of you who don’t know, mixed-income and mixed-use housing is pretty common place across major US cities, but is a fairly recent development in Phoenix.  So what does it mean? Mixed income housing is the idea that increasing diversity of the residents will improve the overall standard of living for the community. In Phoenix, we’re probably more familiar with mixed-use housing which is simply property which is used for both commercial and residential use. Commercial uses can help subsidize projects to allow for affordable or low-income housing.

One of the biggest problems facing mixed-use projects, both nationally and locally, is they require significant public subsidies. Through an IRS program and Arizona Department of Housing allocations, Devine Legacy has been funded through a unique low income tax credit system which allows support from the public as well as the government. This is only one of many projects Native American Connections is pursuing in Phoenix.

Devine Legacy, in addition to it 12000 square foot commercial space, will feature 65 units, ranging from studio apartments to town homes and lofts.   The Apartment includes  artist elements from local artists Randy Kemp and David Montour, high end appliances, ground floor parking, and a public court yard fully equipped with a sound system for community events, not to mention convenient access to the light rail.  The complex is also a part of the LEED Platinum community, which means Devine Legacy homes are  beautiful and safe at an affordable price.

If you’re interested in learning more about the project or units available you can visit their website. Applications are now being accepted for January and February move-ins.

You’ve probably noticed by now that I am a huge fan of reuse and re-purposing in Phoenix. With all the available space downtown, why not?

The Cathedral Town homes are a great example of adaptive reuse. This building, which used to be owned by the church across the street as rental property, has transformed in to elegant and (actually spacious) urban condos.

The developer, Metro West Development,  took an historic 1913 building and converted it into four modern townhouse-style condo’s ranging in size from 1,674 to 1,886 square feet. Located about 200 feet away from the Arts District light rail stop, the condos are just a short walk from dozens of local restaurants, markets, large entertainment venues, as well as Hance and the Downtown Civic Space Parks.  And though the neighborhood surrounding is great, it’s what’s inside that really gets me excited.

Metro West Development has a history of great work in downtown renovations. The Cathedral Townhomes have been stripped to the bone and rebuilt.  While these homes have been updated, the developer has gone the extra mile to maintaining a historical feel. Homes come with new Kohler fixtures, quartz kitchen countertops, double hung windows (many original that have been restored), and historically accurate high baseboards.

Through the years, I’ve seen many renovations and I’m genuinely impressed by this one. Three of the units are still available. The condos are currently priced in the $200s with a 140/mo HOA fee.

I don’t represent these homes, but I’m happy to show you. Please contact me at 602-456-9388

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