What could be more fun than a small town Fourth of July celebration?
Payson offers a great fireworks celebration down by the main Green Valley lake, family fun during the day, this year the town is adding a free-to-enter parade (more about the celebrations coming soon).
Some Payson people are also starting up a Farmer's Market. beginning on the Fourth at 8 a.m. till noon, and continuing every Saturday until October. The Market will be held at Community Presbyterian Church, on West Main Street, near the lakes. Vendor fees are $5 plus 2%, and co-ops are welcome for smaller vendors. The organizers aer hoping for many local vendors, as well as vendors from other parts of Arizona; and are hoping to offer fruits and vegetables, goat cheese, fudge, jams and jellies and fruit butters, and ice cream.
Now, I'm a gardener, and I LOVE that they are starting a Market. I will be a customer (looking for vegetables I don't have room for), and hopefully, if the harvest for some things is good enough, maybe occassionally a vendor.
Payson has four distinct seasons.If you are familiar with the Arizona deserts, you'll know that the desert basically has TWO seasons, warm and hot. But Payson, at 5,000 ft. elevation, truly has FOUR.
Winter: Nights get cold, with 20s, and even teens not unusual.We may get rain, sleet, hail, or snow. But there are also a LOT of sunny days. Even in the middle of Winter, if it is sunny, it isn't unusual for the daytime temperatures to be in the 50s. We are now at the end of February, and they are predicting 72 degrees, we've had an unusually warm and mild Winter so far. About Payson snow: Payson has the best snow in the world- it falls, it looks beautiful, and mostly it melts before it gets to be a problem. Most of our snow falls in the Spring- I've seen two feet over Spring Break, but usually it is inches, not feet.
Spring: Payson goes back and forth from Winter to Spring through March, April, and sometimes even May.Last year it was in the 30s at night on Memorial day and I couldn't put tomatoes out in my garden until early June. While the unpredictable weather may play havoc with gardens, most of Spring is very pleasant. Spring flowers and shrubs pop up, fruit trees blossom, lilacs are all over town.
Summer: Some years May is warm as Summer, and June is always warm. Often there are dry winds. Just before the Monsoon (the rainy season in July and August) the humidity may creep up and make days uncomfortable, but once the sun goes down the evenings cool off nicely. Monsoons storms may bring high winds, thunder and lightning, and rain by afternoon from July through August, and often into September.
Fall: When the Monsoon dries up Payson has lots of lovely sunny days, with cool enough nights to start the leaves changing by October. The great weather may last into November. Cool days, crisp nights, beautiful leaves, what more could you want.
If you can't tell, I LOVE Payson weather. I like changes in the weather, and I like storms. While mostly sunny, Payson has enough of both changes and storms to suit me just fine. Payson is ideal for a four season climate without extreme conditions, not TOO cold or TOO hot.
It is an hour to two hours drive to various parts of the Phoenix metro area. That means one can drive down to shop, for business, for entertainment, or anything else available , and can drive back to Payson when finished. Imagine a shopping or business trip when the temperature in Phoenix is 110 and traffic is awful- that road back to Payson looks extremely good.
It is about the same driving time to ski areas at either Snowbowl or Sunrise. If you ski (or snowboard) you can drive up for the day and still be home that evening.
The picture is looking out over the town from a new homesite off Airport Road.
Payson is not as hot as the Phoenix area and not as cold as Flagstaff or Pinetop, so we can enjoy both areas without suffering the temperature extremes, breathing the Phoenix "brown cloud" of smog, or sliding on snow and ice all winter at the higher elevations. (Another post will come about our great climate and clear, blue skies).
Payson is about an hour's drive from many beautiful lakes on the Mogollan Rim, it is also close to Roosevelt Lake for those colder months. Hiking, hunting, camping, boating; outdoor activities are always available and popular.
California, and the Las Vegas areas are convenient driving distance; so are the Grand Canyon, the Painted Desert, and other tourist destinations.
Payson is located just about in the center of Arizona, and is the center for all kinds of activities.
Example, take a home that is priced at $100,000 and the interest rates are at 5% for a 30 year loan. The monthly payment would be $536.82.
Now let's say they wait and the housing market drops another 10%. (good) The home is now $90,000, but the interest rate go up to 6%( bad). The new monthly payments are now $540 per month.
With the volatile market that we live in, waiting isn't always the best option. Why pay more when you can start making your dream of home ownership a reality today while interest rate are historically low and homes are on sale?
If you don't watch the Today Show you may not have seen their "real estate guru", Barbara Corcoran They have her on ever so often. I don't always agree with her, but this morning she actually made a lot of points which we've been trying to make to people.
The link above takes you to the text (printable version available) and to a video of the segment. I didn't embed it because you have to wait through 30 seconds of commercial, and I just don't have the patience. I figured a lot of you don't either.
Basically, it put up 5 myths that Buyers believe, and 5 for Sellers, and then she proceeded to dispel them. Well, GOOD! I've been trying to dispel some of these with everyone I talk to!
Points she made: -Just because the house has a high "days on market" doesn't necessarily mean you can steal it. -Not every Seller is desperate. -You DON'T have to put 20% down to buy. -You DON'T have to have stellar credit to buy. -You can't necessarily predict the bottom, so you may not want to wait. -This is NOT necessarily the worst time to sell, and you will be buying at lower prices. -You should counter back on a low offer. -The first offer MAY be the best. -Put your best price out there now, not later. -If you want to re-fi, go to a lender you know.
The point that got me excited was in reference to whether or not it is "the worst time to sell".We all know the phrase "real estate is local". Her comments included the following:"It depends on where you live. Many of the worst hit markets, like Las Vegas, Phoenix, or San Diego, are already beginning to turn around."
Those are markets which feed buyers to my small town (Payson, AZ).People sell in Las Vegas or Phoenix or San Diego, and because they used to be able to sell for very good prices they could come here and buy a very nice home. Now, that is somewhat reversed. Prices here have NOT dropped as badly as in those areas (see above- NOT every Seller is desperate), but there ARE some bargains available. If people can sell THERE for at least reasonable prices, then they can buy HERE. WE saw the poor market coming by watching those markets, and we will see the better market coming by watching them.
If you live in those area, do you agree that they have turned around?
We tell Owners that rentals in Payson are really NOT seasonal except for the holidays. Thanksgiving through Christmas is always slow. This year the rentals have been FROZEN! I've been telling people that it was too early to tell if it was just the season, or if it was the economy.
Well, it seems that most of it was the season. We have signed four leases in the last week, we have a bunch of applications to process, and we're back to showing houses several times a day, every day. We HAVE had several tenants give notice to move, as well. They are either looking for something less expensive, or in some cases looking to move out of Payson completely. This isn't unusual in January- people make moves with the new year. We find the increase in activity heartening.
The picture to the right is a home we have currently available. It is 3 bedroom, 2 bath, with a garage, and in a newer subdivision, for $1200 a month.
If you own rental property in the Payson area, or if you are looking for a rental, we invite you to visit our web site for rentals RentInPayson.com We have our currently available rentals there with descriptions and pictures, we also have our rental applications available on the site.
This web site is a tremendous advantage for our business. We get calls every day from people looking at the site and considering moving to Payson. A prospective tenant can email an application to us right from the site. We deal with people by internet, email, fax, phone, and (if we have to) by mail. I'm constantly amazed by how many people know about Payson.
Call us for any real estate needs in the Payson area!
Today, in Payson, it is 60 degrees! In January! It is SO warm that it has me thinking garden, even though I know that Spring has NOT sprung, we WILL have snow, the temperatures won't stay reliably warm until at LEAST April, and probably May. Payson has rather unpredictable weather. I have, several times, seen a foot or two of snow in April, but I have NEVER seen it this warm in January.
I wanted a White CHristmas- but the closest I got was the pictures, below.
This is the view, in December, from the hill near the airport in Payson. Several times before Christmas we had rain all day, turning to snow in the evening. Rain again, in the night, melted it off before morning.
The trees looked flocked, the wind was blowing, and it was COLD! Note the pieces of snow on the camera lens- the wind was blowing it almost sideways.
If you like CHANGEABLE weather, Payson is the place for you. It has 4 mild seasons, not as cold as Flagstaff in the Winter, not as hot as Phoenix in the Summer, and Fall and Spring are just gorgeous!
We think Payson is just a great place to live, and we're SURE that there are still a lot of people who want to move here. Unfortunately, the number of them who actually DID move here last year was fairly small
These statistics are for the city of Payson, not any outlying areas. It is for properties which were listed through our MLS system.
In Payson, FOR ALL OF 2008, only 186 site-built houses sold. The majority of these (131) were in Payson NE or NW. Sales prices ranged from $45,000 to over 2 million.
Average Days on the Market was 182 (but varied considerably), and the selling price was generally lower than the asking price by 10% to 20% or more.
There were also 37 manufactureds homes sold in Payson, as well as a few mobiles (9), kit homes (3), condos (12), and new construction (11).
Our whole MLS encompasses many small towns and subdivisions, and includes some properties from Christopher Creek, Heber/Overgaard, and even Show Low. It also includes properties North and South of Payson. In the entire MLS sysytem, for 2008, there were 551 properties sold.'
I've been in real estate for 19 1/2 years (I always know exactly, because I got my license right before my second son was born) and my husband has a couple of years on me. We've taken many a training class, and talked to a great many people about real estate over the years. The best advice we've ever received came when we first started real estate. It isn't about marketing, or SEO, or how to close a deal. It is really very, very simple
Do a good job for people, and the money will follow.
Our first Broker used to say that. My husband says she got it from a real estate investor she worked with. It has been our unofficial motto since we've been in business. I know how hard it is when you really NEED that commission to focus, not on closing the deal, but on really helping your clients. But it IS the best way. We look at it as solving people's problems- "How can I help you today".
The money HAS followed, for us. And I believe it will for anyone who truly does a good job for people.
Here's wishing us all a prosperous 2009!
Graphics are from a large collection site- no copyright listed.
Until now, when the renter's landlord failed to pay the mortgage, and the home was foreclosed on, the renter was just plain out of luck - facing eviction even if they had been paying their rent. Single family homes, and multi unit investment complexes would see the renters forced to move out. In the case of multi unit properties, this lack of cash flow clearly makes it more difficult for the property to sell later.
Going into effect on January 9, 2009, Fannie Mae will begin acting as landlord, and will sign new leases for thousands of renters living in foreclosed upon properties. (An estimated 4,000 renters)
As a part of the 700 billion dollar Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, both Fannie and Freddie were required to allow tenants to stay in their homes, as long as they were paying their rent, until their leases ran out. Apparently, they were having some trouble following those guidelines, but Fannie at least, has changed their policy. To date, Freddie has not, nor have any in the banking industry.
In November, according to Realty Trac, there were nearly 260,000 foreclosure filings. We've all been hearing alot about the home owners in trouble, but what about the renters? Imagine paying your rent on time, being a responsible tenant, and evicted just the same?
Fannie Mae's decision will affect the 4000 renters under their books, but what about the thousands more, with landlords having different types of loans, going into foreclosure?
Yes, I think it's time renters' rights were respected as well. I hope the other financial institutions will follow suit, and soon.
Prudential Professional REALTORS, ASP REALTOR, Woodland Park Real Estate, Woodland Park Colorado 80863 – Serving the City of Woodland Park, Teller County, Ute Pass, and Park County since 1997.
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
What could be more fun than a small town Fourth of July celebration?
Winter: 
Pictures by ME- isn't Payson pretty?
Well, it seems that most of it was the season. We have signed four leases in the last week, we have a bunch of applications to process, and we're back to showing houses several times a day, every day. We HAVE had several tenants give notice to move, as well. They are either looking for something less expensive, or in some cases looking to move out of Payson completely. This isn't unusual in January- people make moves with the new year. We find the increase in activity heartening.
These statistics are for the city of Payson, not any outlying areas. It is for properties which were listed through our MLS system.
living in foreclosed upon properties. (An estimated 4,000 renters)
;)
;)
