This story is told by my wife and Real Estate partner.

I have been in real estate nearly half of my professional life. I started way back in 2000 and worked my way through corporate real estate and then moved to residential after I had my little guy a few years back. For the longest time, I LOVED my job. I had the opportunity to find or sell a home for someone and it was my job to ensure their best interest. It was satisfying work. When the transaction was over, everyone was happy... everyone got what they wanted. Well.... times have changed.

I was recently blessed with new out of state buyers. Great people! Kind, friendly, outgoing, fun. People you could have in your car for nearly 20 hours over a 48 hour period and enjoy their company. AND, they were serious buyers - they found a home! Hooray!!

So, the listing agent tells us what we need to do to ensure the deal and we not only do it, but we exceed it a little for good measure. This was Thursday. The agent told me Friday morning she was presenting it to the owners and the lender (this is a short sale, by the way) and we would be on our way. This particular deal already has lender approval. I left a message for the listing agent late Friday and had not heard back from her, so I assumed she was busy for the weekend... yep, she was busy - she was busy negotiating other offers on the home we were assured was ours.

On Saturday, my clients decided to drive by the house for a final look before returning home and there was a Realtor (not the listing agent) holding an open house. He proceeds to tell my clients that there were several offers and nothing had been submitted to the bank at that time.

Long story short, the homeowners are selling personal property and they are *only* considering offers from buyers who are willing to purchase their $900 fridge and $2000 spa, and by Saturday they added $1400 for a washer/dryer set.

So, basically, my clients are being bullied into buying their personal property in order to earn the opportunity to be the one offer sent to the bank for approval. I do not have words for how unethical and immoral this behavior is. I am embarrassed to be part of a profession that allows sellers to bully people into buying personal property so they can walk away with cash in their pockets. It is not my buyers fault you are losing your home. It is not my buyers fault you are too lazy to put your shit on Craigslist. And, it is surely not my buyers fault you have zero class. I digress...

What have we become? People are losing their homes and values are dropping to historic lows. Thanks to short-sales and foreclosure-sales people who are paying their mortgage are being punished with dwindling home values. Now, we have sellers that are losing their homes thinking it is ok to swindle buyers? So now, you not only have to buy the home, but you have to buy their clothes and dirty dishes, too? WTF? I am so disappointed. I am thinking real estate is no longer a good fit for me. I cannot be in a profession that grants me zero opportunity to protect my clients from the unreasonable behaviors permeating the real estate market.

If you are a seller and you are losing your home, PLEASE, I beg you, do it with dignity. DON'T take advantage of honest buyers. It is really an ugly, ugly thing to do.

All of you know someone that has had a Wireless Telecommunications company install antennas, monopole or a stealth installation on their property.  Wireless companies offer an excellent source of reliable income on a property that can install in unused rooftop space or ground space.  If the lease or license is crafted properly these deals can be very lucrative.  My company offers 15 years of Wireless experience managing real estate negotiations and installations on properties throughout the Southwest.  With over 400 acquisitions and installations you can count on JG Realty.  

AT&T, Verizon, Sprint/Nextel, Alltel, T-Mobile and more may be looking in your area to install facilities.  JG Realty can market and establish agreements for one or several carriers to install on your property.  

JG Realty offers turnkey services including:

A         Property Marketing to all the carriers in the market.

B         Lease/License negotiations.

C         Site design including:

1       Establish lease area location (Site Audit).

2       Manage Architectural and Electrical design (Design Solutions).

3       Structural Analysis for rooftop installations

4       Establish safety program (OSHA compliant)

D         EME Studies (electro-magnetic emissions)

E         RF studies for interference.

F         Existing Lease Audits.

G         Title review.

H         Zoning Review.

If you are interested in finding out more about the potential of your property for installation by a Wireless carrier please review the basic criteria below and contact for more information.  JG Realty is the only Property Management Company and Rooftop Management Company offering exclusive services to Arizona with intimate local knowledge and network affiliations. 

Criteria:

•·         Must be located in Arizona.

•·         If you have property located in Arizona you should have zoning equal to Industrial, Commercial, Agricultural, Rural 43, or Agricultural. 

•·         Property should be fee-simple.

•·         Property and ownership should be in good-standing.

I look forward to talking to you about opportunities on your property.

Respectfully,

Rob Jones, pllc

Designated Broker

JG Realty LLC

Rob@jonesgroupaz.com

Far too many times lately I am seeing landlords being foreclosed upon and the Landlord Tenant Act has no protection for the tanant. The tenant is given 72 hours notice to move out of the home or they are evicted.  They also are losing all their deposits they gave the owner upon rental.   Make sure you deal with a reputable party when renting a home and try to use a property manager that can further assist you with knowing your rights.  JG Realty, llc checks their landlords to make sure that they are in a strong equity position before they will even take a listing for property management.

In Arizona there are approximately 55,000 homes listed in the Greater Phoenix Metropolitan area and of those 25% are vacant.  Investors are trying to sell, lease and option their homes so they can continue to pay their mortgage and not be foreclosed on the property.  When you or your clients are looking for a rental or lease make sure the landlord can pay their mortgage!  With all the adjustable rate mortgages (ARM's) they may be able to afford the payments when you rent the home but that may change shortly after you rent the home.

For more on the Arizona Landlord Tenant Act click on the picture below.

A couple of items:

• Don't let your client or anyone you know rent (lease) a home that may be behind in payments.  (do your research...ask questions.)
• Get a copy of the Landlord Tenant Act (ALTA)...Know your rights!
• Deal with a Property Management firm that knows the Landlord Tenant Act.

Presently in the Phoenix Metropolitan area there are more than 57,000 active listings.  How do you compete?

In markets like this you have to think outside the box and try anything to sell your clients home and lessen the impact on your sellers.  What other options are there?

1. Seller Carryback
2. Lease Purchase Contracts
3. Lease Option
4. Any Others?

Depending on your clients situation and equity base some of the options may be attractive and allow the seller to make some additional money to cover their mortgage and even eventually sell their home.  The value of homes is still decreasing and were not sure when we will level off.  Put you best foot forward.  Price the home properly and try to think outside the box to market and work on behalf of your sellers!

More than 1/3 of the properties listed on the market are Vacant.  Why not offer them up as leases, lease options or a lease purchase?  Lease options and Lease Purchases allow the seller to charge additional monies to help pay their mortgage.  Usually these are done if the tenant really likes a property but has less than perfect credit to purchase the home.  It allows the tenant time to improve their credit and hopefully qualify by the time their contract is due.

JG Realty is a full service Broker offering Residential Purchases, Sales, Leasing, and Property Management

Reverse Offers?  How does that works?

Reverse offers are the sellers offering the property to a buyer that may have shown interest in the property.  The agent fills out the purchase contract as normal and then sends the offer for the buyer to look at and hopefully sign or negotiate a deal.

What a creative way to spur interest in a property.  If you submit the offer to the buyer, contractually he/she has to present the offer.  It gets your home in front of the buyer again.  And, if you are agressive enough maybe you can sell your home!

How many people do you know are doing reverse offers?  Are any successful?