az: Dearing Park, Prescott Arizona's Hidden Secret
- 07/01/11 11:25 AM
For me, Prescott Arizona's Dearing Park was only a rumor for the first few years after I moved to Prescott. Located 3 miles West of Thumb Butte, Dearing Park is a little slice of what Prescott must have been like a hundred years ago. Because the elevation is 6,000 feet, the Ponderosa pines blanket this beautiful neighborhood. And since it is surrounded by Prescott National Forest, there is very little traffic, but plenty of wildlife and scenic beauty. Deer, javalina, and coyotes are everyday neighbors.
Dearing Park and neighboring Highland Pines hold roughly 200 homes so the neighbors tend … (1 comments)
az: Acker Music Night in Prescott Arizona
- 12/13/10 02:12 PM
The Acker Music Night in Prescott Arizona is my favorite event all year. The event promotes musical culture in the Prescott community. Benefactor James S. Acker wrote, "All the residue of my estate...I give to the City of Prescott to be used for parks and for promotion of music, particularly for children" J.S. Acker 1865-1955
It consists of over 100 Prescott, Arizona downtown businesses featuring a variety of musicians performing in their place of business and on the Courthouse Plaza. One of the goals is to increase funding for local youth performing arts programs. This annual event traditionally happens on … (1 comments)
az: The Dark Side of "Green" Light Bulbs
- 12/06/10 01:48 PM
The following is from my friend Matt Ackerman of Catalyst Architecture, Prescott, AZ info@catalystarchitecture.com Everyone's familiar with the latest in energy-efficient 'green' light bulbs -- the Compact Fluorescent Light, or CFL. But there is new research that's shining a light on the potentially 'dark side' of this relatively new technology for consumer lighting. On the positive side, once installed, CFL's produce about 70 percent less heat than their incandescent predecessors- which is a real benefit in climates that require much in the way of cooling. In use, CFL's consume two-thirds less energy when compared to a incandescent light fixture, while lasting … (4 comments)
az: Buy A Prescott AZ Home For $1000 Down
- 10/05/10 11:37 AM
Yes you can buy a home anywhere in Yavapai County Arizona for just $1000 down. I am excited to share with you this new program offered by The Arizona Housing Finance Authority. The program is called the MRB PLUS Program. --From the website-- The Finance Authority's MRB Plus program combines the attractive first mortgage interest rate of the Mortgage Revenue Bond loan (30-year fixed rate) with downpayment and closing cost assistance. MRB Plus offers 5% of the purchase price to be used toward a downpayment or closing costs of the loan. The program is available in all areas of Arizona … (0 comments)
az: The Best Bagels in Prescott AZ
- 10/01/10 12:20 PM
The Best Bagels we have found in Prescott AZ can be found at The Bagel Cafe, (formerly NY Bagels) at 212 E Gurley St.
Owner Melanie Gurvits has found a really cozy and comfortable spot in the Day Octagon building just down the street from Whiskey Row. She has also found a way to get fresh New York bagels to Prescott almost daily. Her speciality is a bagel with lox and cream cheese, but my personal favorite is the veggie, which for me is a toasted poppy seep bagel, hummus and avocodo, lettuce and grilled red peppers. This along … (1 comments)
az: Why I Love Selling HUD Homes:)
- 09/10/10 09:55 AM
In Prescott Arizona, HUD or the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development sells houses. I love selling these houses for several reasons. Primarily its the lack of competition. You see, to sell a HUD home requires that your Realtor buy a special HUD Home key and learn how to navigate HUD's system. Also the brokerage must be registered with HUD. These are some relatively minor hurdles to overcome, but most Prescott AZ Realtors don't want to learn new skills. In fact I have found that a large majority of real estate professionals tend to travel the familiar path. But in … (0 comments)
az: Short Sales Are Changing in Arizona
- 08/01/10 04:22 PM
Here is the split for June 2010 showing what percentage of retail, REO and Short sales are closing.
In May, we had only 19 short sales and REO beat out retail sales by about 5%. The shift from REO being the dominant type of sale in the Prescott AZ real estate market is beginning to happen. As you may know I am very active in the bank owned part of the market. My REO listing agent contacts are telling me that the banks are beginning to make some major changes in the way they handle short sales. The following … (0 comments)
az: Why I am a Realtor Part 2
- 07/11/10 02:42 PM
A few weeks ago I wrote a blog post about a little old lady who I have been helping. Here is a link to that post. After nearly 6 months and offers on 6 different properties with 3 offers going into escrow we finally closed one:) The hoops we had to jump through to get a home to qualify for the USDA low income loan were difficult and many. However in the end it was well and truely worth it. I may have earned $1.49 per hour for this transaction, but I helped this lady reach a goal which did more … (2 comments)
az: Why I am a Realtor
- 02/26/10 03:21 PM
During the last few weeks I have been really busy. Mostly with Prescott area REO buyers looking for great deals. This one lady I have been working with has given me reason to examine my motivation for doing what I do. We spent weeks looking for a home for her that would fit her very modest budget. The home also had to fit her very specific financing ability. We finally identified a home that was in much need of cleaning. Not the kind of cleaning you do with a mop and a broom, but rather the kind you do with explosives, … (5 comments)
az: Short Sales, Trustee Sales, and Foreclosure
- 02/16/10 03:49 AM
For the past year I have been working with a client who's property is going through the foreclosure process. And for many people this process runs in a similar pattern. First upon realizing that they can no longer make the mortgage payments they seek a short sale. A short sale package is submitted to the lender(s) and then we wait and wait and wait. Finally after three months or so, a notice of trustee's sale is issued to the borrower. This is notification that the lender is going to try to collect the debt with a sale on the courthouse steps. … (0 comments)
az: Prescott Lakes Patio Home, Priced like and REO
- 02/08/10 03:57 AM
This well maintained home features an extra large back yard which is a Gardener's Delight! Clean and vacant, easy to show. … (0 comments)
az: Most Affordable Home in Granville, REO
- 02/03/10 12:17 AM
Just on the market today, cozy newer home in ready-to-occupy condition. Walking distance from the park. Being the lowest priced home in the neighborhood means it will go fast! … (0 comments)
az: Buying Prescott AZ Bank Owned Homes
- 02/01/10 01:23 PM
(edit/delete) How often has this happened to you?... After much market research, driving around and conversations with your agent (and often many others) you find the bank owned home you were looking for. Its only been on the market one day and you know its priced below the market and within your approved budget. Your agent calls the listing agent only to find out there aleady 3 offers and the bank is asking for "highest and best" to see who gets it. This has been my experience way too often in the last few months so I found a creative way … (0 comments)
az: New Testimonial
- 01/29/10 03:39 AM
Hi Dave! Bill and I are starting to feel settled in and very at home in our new abode. I just wanted to take a minute to say that you made buying our first home so wonderfully easy! I was a little scared because we didn't know all the ins and outs, but you not only helped us learn as we went but never once made us feel like our questions were silly. I felt like we were your top priority! I will tell anybody interested to give you a call if they want a great experience. Thank you again Dave. … (1 comments)
az: Granite Oaks Best Deal gets even Better!
- 01/29/10 03:17 AM
Now priced a stunning $120,000 below the next highest priced home in Granite Oaks. This custom log home boasts 3+ garage, 1.6 acres, views of Granite Mountain and a fresh coat of log home protector. … (2 comments)
az: How to Win in REO Offers
- 01/09/10 11:01 AM
Last week I was asked to help a buyer purchase a bank owned home in Talking Rock Ranch. This is a high end gated golf community about 20 miles north of Prescott. Because many of these golf course properties were purchased at the height of the market in 2005 an 2006 as second homes, they were particularly hard hit by the declining market. Now we have about 80% of the listings made up of REO homes. One home in particular had been priced far below the rest and made it amazingly afordable, (priced about 35% of its original sale price in … (5 comments)
az: Short Sale Pricing
- 12/24/09 06:16 AM
There are many ways listing agents choose pricing on their short sale listings. All too often the method involves pullling a price out of nowhere. Rather than doing careful research or a broker price opinion. Certainly listing a home at below market value will get buyers looking at it, but the gap between the list price and market value still needs to be bridged for the lender to agree to the sale. One of the biggest challenges when working with buyers on a short sale is trying to convince them that the list price is not related to the market value. … (3 comments)
az: The Learned vs. the Learners - What did you learn today?
- 12/17/09 03:13 PM
As the use of the Internet in the U.S. grows past 80% the speed of change accelerates. In real estate the amount of new information available to us is amazing. Because of the incredible amount of new information available to us in our small town Prescott Arizona market we are seeing a widening knowledge gap between the Realtors who "already know it all" and what I like to call the "Learners". The speed of new information is so great that an agent who goes even one year without making significant educational progress will miss a huge amount of technological progress in … (1 comments)
For me, Prescott Arizona's Dearing Park was only a rumor for the first few years after I moved to Prescott. 
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