Many people think “I’ll make an offer on a home and figure out later how I’ll pay for it.” But if you want your offer to be taken seriously and if you want to avoid complications when you close on the home, you must get pre-qualified before you start looking.”

See the image below of the form, below.

Pre-qualification quick but very important as you get ready to make offers. And in this market, where houses are selling in days, you can’t NOT have that pre-qualification form ready.

Why? Because there are 3 people who will benefit from your preapproval: You, your Agent, and the seller from whom you eventually buy a home.

Prequalification serves two primary purposes:

• It demonstrates to both you (and to sellers) how much house you can afford.
• It gives you the purchasing power to make a legitimate offer. (In fact, many financial institutions will not accept an offer on a house without a pre-qualification letter.)

But the benefits continue.

A mortgage loan prequalification is simply an estimate of how much house you can afford and how much money a lender would be willing to loan you. The best time to get a prequalification is right at the beginning of your home buying process, before you even start looking at houses. Realtors also prefer that you have a prequalification letter before they start showing houses so they know the price range you have qualified for.

And, in the event you’re competing with multiple offers on your dream home, most sellers will consider offers with prequalification letters before those without. In this market, that’s extra handy. Last year at this time there were about 6,000 active properties, today their are only about 2,000.

The Prequalification process involves either sitting down with a lender or talking with one on the phone, and providing information on your income, assets, debts, and a potential down payment amount. The lender would then provide you with a ballpark figure in writing of how much he thinks you could afford to pay for a monthly mortgage. There is no cost involved and there is no commitment on either side. This estimate is just helpful in helping you figure out if buying a home is a viable option, and if so, what your price range would probably be.

So if you’re thinking of buying a home in downtown phoenix, Call Jeannie! She’ll help you with the whole process.

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

The following is an Op Ed piece from Kimber Lanning Published in the Downtown Phoenix Journal.

I really encourage y’all to read this and share it. Kimber is leading the discussion about how we need to protect our local businesses and how we need to reform our out-dated tax structure. The more we let on-line retailers get away without paying their fair share, the more we shift the tax burden to you and me.

Please read and share!!

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We are surrounded by small businesses in Downtown Phoenix, and we know much of Downtown’s success rests on the shoulders of these business owners. As we survey the current economic climate, it is critical to understand the impact a national retailer can have on the health of our local economy. Kimber Lanning, founder and executive director of Local First Arizona, provides insight on the ramifications of the current sales tax impasse between the State of Arizona and Amazon.

Last week at the Arizona State Senate subcommittee hearing Don Isaacson, the lead attorney for Amazon, took the podium to make the case that economies change over time. “We all remember the days of mom and pops,” he said, “and then there were the days of the big box retailers….” I surmise this to be a very honest glimpse into the world vision Amazon holds, but what does it mean for Arizona?

For the moment, let’s forget the fact that there are over 40,000 independent businesses operating in Arizona today, with a payroll of around 21 billion per year, and let’s focus on our state’s economy and what would be left of it if Amazon’s vision becomes reality.

Read the rest of the story here.

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