Arizona Real Estate Notebook

We’re generating a lot of interest (18 comments and counting) on this post, “Past due HOA fees wiped out in foreclosure but…“. From link in Comment 15 from Carpenter Hazelwood. Under state law, an association ’s assessment lien is extinguished when a first position lender (first mortgage) sells property pursuant to the terms of the [...]

What happens to the Arizona real estate market if the feds pull the punch bowl away just when the party’s getting started? Here’s Dr. Shiller’s gloomy take on the U.S. home market. Shiller: The main factor is the world economic crisis and the efforts of governments around the world to stimulate the economy. Parts of [...]

From Calculated Risk (click graphic).

Fannie Mae raising lending criteria to minimum 620 credit score which will cut demand for housing because fewer people will be able to borrow money to buy homes. On the other hand, the effect will be dampened in some areas due to huge declines in home prices and huge increases in home sales. So, the [...]

Here’s another example from the Arizona real estate Industry Partners Conference detailing a real earnest money dispute between an Arizona home buyer and REO seller Fannie Mae. The twist in this case is the “Verbal Acknowledgement Date” which is a quirk of the Fannie Mae REO Addendum. It isn’t entirely “verbal” because the “Verbal Acknowledgement [...]

“The Foreclosure Pain May Drag on for Years” Well, for the banks the foreclosure pain will last for years for sure. But not everyone is feeling gloomy. Glenn Boyd, head of U.S. asset-backed securities research at Barclays Capital, recently reduced his estimate of how many foreclosed homes will hit the market based on improvements in [...]

John Burns’s remark in the Wall Street Journal is talking nationally, “we’re going to see another leg down” because so much of 2010′s demand was pulled into 2009. I didn’t see that coming. If it happens, it may not happen in Arizona given our very low prices in some areas. We’ll see. John Burns, president [...]

This article about HOAs in the Arizona Republic reminded me of what I heard at the real estate Industry Partners Conference last week. When a home is foreclosed on, all junior liens are wiped out, including liens for unpaid HOA fees. However, title company reps said some HOA’s are leaning on the new homeowners to [...]

In a previous life, I worked as an agricultural economist at the Foreign Agricultural Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington D.C. I started work in an international economic analysis section and became a bit of a star in the section, probably the only time in my life I’ve been a star. Eventually, [...]

My friend Philip Rosenberg of ValleyWide Property Services, who specializes in property management and Arizona investment properties, sent me a link to this article on lower Phoenix rents in the Arizona Republic. Philip’s email added; I’ve checked rent rates in two zip codes, one in Ahwatukee and one in Chandler. Ahwatukee went from $0.71 a [...]

A few days ago I posted, “Could interest rates increase 0.75% in January?” on what might happen if the Fed’s mortgage buying program ends on December 31 as scheduled. Recently, Calculated Risk looked at the impact of Fed buying mortgage backed securities on mortgage rates. They estimated that the program lowered interest rates about 0.35%. [...]

Okay, I’m getting comments that it was obvious there was no inspection period in the previous post, “Can the Buyer cancel and receive a refund of the $1,000 earnest money?.” Well, I did search for an simple example from the Industry Partners Conference. To be fair, it’s easy for me to see how a real [...]

Many folks in the general public think Realtors just show homes and cash checks. Showing homes is the fun part of helping home buyers, unfortunately, it’s not the only part. The other parts can be… er, less fun. In fact, representing home buyers can be incredibly complex. I was thinking about this because on Tuesday [...]

The Scottsdale Area Association of Realtors, Community Outreach and Awareness Committee (of which I’m Vice-Chair) is sponsoring the “Rock & Roll Paint A Thon” to help a needy resident in our area to fix up their home. Rock & Roll Paint A Thon Friday, October 23 (Prep for painting) 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM Saturday, [...]