Phoenix Real Estate of Affairs: Strategic Mortgage Defaults - 01/29/10 02:52 PM
I’ve been blogging about strategic mortgage defaults (which are particularly common in the Phoenix real estate market) since April 2008 – long before “it was cool.” In fact, my one and only Featured Blog here on Active Rain was on that very topic: Phoenix Real Estate Blog: 26% of Mortgage Defaults Are “Strategic.”
The topic of strategic mortgage defaults – when a homeowner who can afford to continue to pay his mortgage chooses to walk away (either by selling the home short or by letting the lender foreclose or, in some states, doing a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure) – has shot … (0 comments)

REALTOR.com® Featured Blog on the Value of Homeownership - 01/28/10 11:48 AM
On Tuesday REALTOR.com® featured a blog post I wrote called “Beyond Motherhood and Apple Pie: The Value of Homeownership.” With all the talk of people choosing to walk away from their homes because they owe more than the homes are worth (“strategic defaults,” which I’ve written a lot about) I got to thinking about the underlying value of homeownership.
Might it make more sense to avoid the risk of 30%+ drops in Phoenix home values and just rent forever? The answer, I realized as I wrote the blog, is “probably not.” Of course, homeownership doesn’t always make sense for everyone. But … (0 comments)

Phoenix Real Estate Blog: Rent-to-Own Agreements 101 - 01/27/10 04:11 PM
It seems like the ideal situation: you can’t afford to buy right now (when prices are at the bottom) and/or you can’t qualify for a mortgage. So you sign an agreement that allows you to rent for, say, 1-3 years (which you’d have to do anyway) and then buy the home you’ve been renting at today’s price. It’s not too good to be true, it’s called a rent-to-own agreement.
Clearly, a rent-to-own agreement is good for renters/buyers in a market like today’s Phoenix real estate market. But it can be good for sellers, too – if they can’t sell their home … (0 comments)

Phoenix Real Estate Blog: Phoenix Home Prices Up for 5th Straight Month - 01/25/10 11:15 AM
It’s no surprise that we’re all waiting (me included) with baited breath to see if the economic and real estate recoveries are for-good, or if we fall into a double dip. Yet by many measures (including the widely used S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index, last released on December 29), the housing market – in Phoenix and around the country – continues to improve.
Some highlights from the report:
Home prices have been rising for a while in a number of cities, including San Francisco (7 months in a row), San Diego (6 months in a row), and Los Angeles and Phoenix (5 … (0 comments)

Phoenix Real Estate Market Forecasts - 01/20/10 08:50 AM
If you’re a regular reader of the MyPhoenixMLS.com blog, you know that I write often about the Phoenix real estate market – what has happened, what is happening, and what is likely to happen in the future. If you like that kind of thing, there are two upcoming Phoenix real estate market forecast conferences this week. One is a webinar, so you don’t even have to leave the house! Check out this week’s Phoenix real estate market conferences!
… (1 comments)

What You Need to Know About Phoenix Short Sales and FHA Loans - 01/11/10 01:53 PM
You know the adage, “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is?” Well, with the new FHA short sale guidelines announced in December strategic mortgage defaults may well be too good to be true.
When I blogged about Phoenix homeowners who could afford to pay their mortgages but were walking away anyway (or selling the home short) because they were so upside down (i.e. owed more than the home was worth) I talked to a number of experts, including a Phoenix Arizona real estate attorney and Scottsdale Arizona mortgage banker who told me that the FHA was guaranteeing … (0 comments)

4 New Year’s Resolutions - 01/05/10 11:52 AM
As they say, those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. I see a lot of mistakes that we all made in the real estate year we’d all like to forget. In the spirit of the Janus, the Roman god of beginnings for whom this first month is named, I’ve made a short list of 4 things we should all learn from last year and resolve to do better in 2010.
1. Improve your credit score. Credit’s tight -- even if you have a high score. If you don’t, you might not get approved for a loan, … (3 comments)

 
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Bob Stahl

Phoenix, AZ

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Keller Williams Arizona Realty

Address: Scottsdale, AZ, 85258

Office Phone: (480) 767-3000

Cell Phone: (602) 318-1114

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Knowledge is power. In that spirit, the MyPhoenixMLS Phoenix Real Estate Blog covers everything that's Phoenix-area real estate, with the goal of helping buyers and sellers navigate the market.


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