16th Street Should Not Be Ignored

That is the message of Por Vida Gallery. Our January 2011 Get Your PHX was a celebration of 16th St. and we are going back to see what’s new.

Por Vida owners Pablo Luna, Thomas “Breeze” Marcus, and Lalo Cota have a foothold and a new statement that they want to share with you.

Lalo Cota tells us that 16th is the next logical step in art in Phoenix. First Friday, he says, can’t be about just 3rd and Roosevelt anymore. He tells us that space has become too much about food and artists are struggling. So it is time to expand.

Come see if the leading edge of art in Phoenix truly is making a move east and see Douglas Miles’ transfixing =Apacheria= show in which Miles challenges cliché images of Native American life through mixed media.

This will be the most engaging Get Your PHX that we’ve hosted for some time. So, don’t miss it!

Special sponsors to be announced soon!

Please join us and RSVP at our Facebook Fan Page.

March Get Your PHX
Thursday, March 22nd from 5:30 to 7:30pm.
2800 N. 16th St
Phoenix, AZ 85006 Map Here

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.

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

This just in from the desk of my friend Jeannie Bolger, of Nova Home Loans:

There were some changes other than weather as of October 1^st this year. For those of your looking to buy a home, there were several mortgage changes effective last Saturday.

For those looking into FHA (Federal Housing Administration) loans the maximum loan has been reduced state wide. As you may recall, in 2008 a temporary boost to Federal Housing Administration-guaranteed loan was passed. That boost expired October 1^st and

In Maricopa County new loan limits are:

Anyone looking into VA Funding has noticed a decrease, sometime more than a full % for purchases, on funding fees.  Across the board these are positive changes, as the VA loan is already perhaps the best loan option available for today’s veterans and active duty service men and women.

Regular Military Funding:

Reserves and National Guard:

Beginning October 1, 2011, USDA Rural Loans have annual mortgage insurance (3%, paid monthly) and reduced the upfront guarantee fee on purchases from 3.5% to 2%. Unlike FHA insured loans, USDA’s annual insurance fee is for the lifetime of the loan, which is definitely something to think about when considering loans.

Loans can be complicated, but they don’t have to be. Contact Jeannie at (602) 385-4812 today for help.

And, of course, give me a call at 602-456-9388 for property questions.

It was nice to see this article in the Arizona Republic yesterday talking about a “rebound” in the condo market in Phoenix.

I don’t know if I would go so far as to call it a rebound. In fact, several of the projects the article talks about are still not sold –they turned in to apartment buildings instead.

However, the article does point out something that I’ve been saying for a while: an increasing number of people want that dense, urban experience. That is why 44 Monroe, for example, filled up with renters so quickly.

So, while you can still get a great condo downtown and in CenPho right now for much, much less than you could in 2006, and while the market for condos has not completely righted itself it is true that the inventory of condos in CenPho has dropped sharply over the past year. They are being gobbled up!

This demand should be an indicator to anybody, whether buying a house or a condo, that urban centers are going to be in great demand once the market stabilizes. If you are holding on to your house to sell later, have hope. If you are thinking about getting in to CenPho, now is a good time because it will be more expensive a year from now.

I’ve made the jump from John Hall to HomeSmart. I’m sure this means nearly nothing to most of you. But I want to explain to you why and what this means.

I chose to work with my former broker, John Hall & Associates, because they were locally owned. Re/Max, Realty Executives, Century 21 –these are all nation-wide broker and really, really big companies.

But, like many of you, I believe that we need to keep our dollars in our local economy. The fees that brokers take from agents could go to some corporate headquarters somewhere in Ohio, or they could stay here and add to our economy. This is why I am a member of Local First Arizona and I support locally-owned businesses.

Well, John Hall sold itself to a company called Realty One Group, out of Nevada. It did not take me long to realize that this was in opposition to what I believe.

I was happy to learn, however, that HomeSmart is locally owned and originates in Arizona. They have well over 1,000 agents and a very effective system for processing transactions.

This means little or nothing to you, the buyer or seller. But I want you to know that, even in decisions like this, I am committed to CenPho and my state.

I appreciate your business.