Winter Camp, Football, and a Complicated Lease Purchase

Many of you know that my husband and I volunteer as High School mentors and leaders with our home church here in Gilbert, Arizona. We've attended Redemption Church since 2005 and have been working with our High School groups for the past two years now. Our annual Winter Camp is at Lost Canyon in Williams, Arizona which is just to the West of Flagstaff. This year it fell over the weekend of January 22nd - January 24th. There is not usually a lot of snow on the ground at Lost Canyon around this time, however, this year was very different.

A large rain and snow storm had made it's way through Arizona a few weeks prior to our arrival leaving several inches of snow blanketing the entire area. It was a fun and exhausting weekend. I had twelve girls make it up to Winter Camp this year and Josh had 7 boys in his group attend. The days and nights were full of meetings, free time, snowball fights, hiking, and plenty of other activities for the kids to enjoy. Here is a picture of Josh and I at the summit of a small mountain just behind the camp that we hike as a group each year:

Coming back down to the Valley last Sunday only to watch my home football team, the Cardinals, be crushed in the NFC Championship game was bitter sweet to say the least. Monday arrived all too quickly and found me working all week long on a very complicated lease/purchase contract in which the buyer is using an unconventional financing option. On top of all that, I had two new agents sign on to my brokerage(which I'll be blogging about soon), and I taught three classes at the Arizona Academy of Real Estate. It's been a long, busy, productive week. The Spring buying season will be upon us before we know it and it will soon seem like there aren't enough hours in the day!

Animals of the MLS

In this week's edition of Animals of the MLS we have a happy hound who's delighted to take center stage. These mid-sized dogs are usually the upbeat and energetic type who will bounce up and down the second their owner comes through the door after a long day at work. I bet this guy will wear you out on a trip to the park to play endless hours of fetch. There's also a good chance he likes to cuddle up on the couch with his owners for some late night movie watching in hopes of getting a few hand fed treats! 

These medium sized dogs generally pack a lot of energy which can mean bad things when it comes to preparing a home to be placed up for sale. First of all, these spirited and active tail-waggers are routinely known to be jumpers. If the animal is not removed or kenneled for showings a potential buyer could be turned off or distracted by the enthusiastic creature vying for their attention by jumping up on them. Secondly, a lively breed such as this can also be known for digging whether that be at the carpet inside, or the grass and gravel outside. A good agent would be prepared to give the homeowner a thorough and honest property evaluation to determine what, if any, repairs need to be done because of damaged caused by their beloved family pet. 

As for the picture of the room itself there are quite a few corrections I would have made aside from removing the precious pooch. You can see from the darkness through the windows that this photo shoot was done at night. Lack of natural light makes this space seem dark and uninviting. Having home pictures taken during daytime hours allows the ability to open up the window treatments and curtains to let the sun shine through which not only helps in enlarging spaces but giving a brighter feel to home shoppers. The second issue I have is the furniture. It's big, bulky, and taking up most of the room. Again, I'd venture to guess this front living area is much larger than the picture makes it seem but the over sized couches, and large coffee table don't do it justice. Hiring a professional stager to reconfigure this room would have done wonders in opening up the area to show it's true potential. 

If you're selling your home in Gilbert, Arizona or the East Valley let the experts at Zion Realty help you. We take professional photos and put together a perfect marketing strategy to sell your property. Contact us aToday!

Infill lots & Raw Land for Sale in Gilbert, AZ - Update December 2015

Purchasing land can seem like a monumental task to those who have never ventured down that road. There are many different laws and regulations that accompany land transactions that you never have to deal with or even think about when buying a traditional home. A few questions that you need to first consider are whether or not you want to buy a plot of land in an already subdivided location or would you rather purchase your parcel far away from the city limits? 

What is the difference between an infill lot and raw land? An infill lot is a parcel of land that is located in an already developed subdivision. The surveys have been done, the land has been leveled and graded, and the parcel sizes have been marked and divided. In most cases utilities have already been run to the lots and roads and sidewalks have been paved. Also most infill lots are located in developed neighborhoods that have an established Home Owners Association which will have it's own rules and guidelines you must follow if you wish to be a homeowner in that subdivision. Your HOA dues will also go towards maintaining the common areas of the neighborhood and the cost of street repairs and other community fixes that will need to be done. Due to the fact that infill lots are ready to be built upon and are usually located closer in to a major city a buyer will pay a much higher cost to purchase a lot of this sort. 

Raw land is just that. It's a piece of land that is still in it's natural, undeveloped state. The owner of the lot should have a copy of a survey showing boundary markers and perhaps has already had utilities run to the property but it isn't a guarantee. If you purchase a piece of raw land, most likely you will incur the cost of leveling and grading the land, obtaining a new survey if needed, and paying for utilities to be run to the property. Because of these extra expenses and due to the fact that raw land is generally a great distance away from a largely populated area, it is not as expensive as buying an infill lot. Raw land is almost never located in an area with a Home Owners Association meaning you usually will not have amenities such as sidewalks, street lights, or paved roads leading to your property. Raw land almost never has access to city water and sewer services so septic tanks and wells must be dug and installed at your expense. 

Gilbert, Arizona has seen steady increases in land and property values since 2012. Those families and individuals wanting to escape the confines of traditional new build or resale homes are branching out to have their own custom home made to their exact specifications.

Sales information for Gilbert, Arizona Land Lots December 2015:

Total Land Lots Sold: 1

Average List price: $280,000

Average Sold price: $270,000

Approximate Total Acreage: 1

Average Days on Market: 213

Click Here for a list of current Land Lots for sale in Gilbert, Arizona.

There is quite a wide range of lots and locations available in Gilbert. Purchasing land does not have to be a scary proposition. Let the Gilbert, Arizona real estate experts at Zion Realty help you through the process of determining whether purchasing land is right for you. Contact us Today! 

The Most Expensive Home sold in Gilbert, Arizona last week

The most expensive home that sold in Arizona last week was a $4 Million dollar new build in the popular Scottsdale subdivision of Silverleaf. Unfortunately, there wasn't much information to be had or pictures to be viewed of the property. I write this weekly blog as an information piece for my followers and I want it to be entertaining and educational. Since there was not a lot data to share about the actual most expensive home that sold in Arizona last week, I decided to write this week's blog about the most expensive home sold last week specifically in my area of Gilbert. There are two communities in Gilbert, Arizona that have a man-made lake created to allow for water skiing; Playa Del Rey and Crystal Point Estates. I've written blog posts about both of these communities in the past (Water Ski Lake Communities in Gilbert, Arizona) and as luck would have it, the most expensive home that sold in Gilbert, Arizona last week was located in Playa Del Rey. 

Gilbert, Arizona isn't specifically known for our luxury home market, however, there are a number of subdivisions that carry high price tags if you wish to become a resident. This home in Playa Del Rey may not seem like a high-end, affluent property, but try convincing a boat lover of that. If you own a boat in Gilbert and enjoy recreational water activities the nearest lake is almost an hour away. The process of getting your watercraft hitched and prepared for the drive, waiting in line at the loading zone to get in the water, then re-hitching and driving home can be a nuisance even for the most avid water enthusiast. Owning a home in Playa Del Rey eliminates the need for all of that hassle. It's hard to put a price on that sort of convenience. I'm positive the new owner of this home is already dreaming of those hot Summer days that are soon to be in their future, and their ability to jump in their boat to enjoy a new found freedom out on their private water ski lake. Click on the picture below for the full MLS listing:

Location: Gilbert

Size: 3,553 sqft

Bedrooms: 4

Bathrooms: 2.5

Lot size: 9,933 sqft

If you are in the luxury home market and want a list of luxury homes available in Arizona, contact us Today! We'd love to help you find your dream home!

How long will it take to sell my Gilbert, AZ home? - December 2015

The amount of time it's taking to sell a home in Gilbert, Arizona saw another increase in the month of December. This makes four out of the last five months in which a home is taking longer to sell. On average in the month of December 2015, a home in Gilbert took 71 days on the market before finding a buyer. This number is still better than December of 2014 when it was taking an average of 80 days to sell a home in Gilbert. Going back to July of 2015 when it was only taking 60 days for a home to sell in Gilbert, you can see the seasonal shift during the Winter months as it's now taking almost two additional weeks to sell a home. There are still some homes in price ranges around $200,000 which are selling almost as fast as they are being placed up for sale, and yet some other homes in higher price ranges are taking longer than the average to sell. 

Homes for sale in Gilbert started off the year 2015 taking 94.8 days on average before finding a buyer so we have definitely seen a vast improvement in this figure to date. The most competitive price range in Gilbert, Arizona currently is that of the first time home buyer between $200,000 and $250,000. Homes in that price range are being bought up the quickest and some are receiving multiple offers within the first few weeks of being listed for sale.

As we get further entrenched in to the Winter slow down, historically it will begin taking longer to sell a property as there are less buyers during this time of year. We may have ended 2015 on a low note but year-over-year numbers show that we are still in a healthy market. If you're a buyer, you want to see the Days on Market increase because for you that means you have more time to think about a home before needing to make an offer. If you're a seller you want to list your house sooner rather than later before it begins to take more time to sell your home. Armed with a little knowledge and a hard-working real estate agent from Zion Realty buying or selling a home will be a little less stressful!

If you need more information on homes for sale in Arizona or to find out what your current home is worth contact us Today! 

Animals of the MLS

We've got best friends doing some hard time behind bars in this week's edition of Animals of the MLS. I doubt these two were given a proper trial before being relegated to their separate cages. A quick knock at the door from the agent who was there to photograph their domain and it was an immediate trip to the stony lonesome. Although I'm sure their sentence was shortened due to good behavior, it's hard not to feel a bit sorry for them as they wonder exactly what it was they did to cause their exile. I'm also assuming that during their incarceration there was plenty of whining and pleading for leniency and perhaps even a plot or two was concocted between them to spring them from their coops.

All joking aside, this is actually a great example of what should be done with pets or animals to create a proper showing environment for potential buyers. Some would suggest completely removing the pets from the home because dogs can still create noise and be a distraction even when kenneled. Also, there are a fair amount of individuals who have a legitimate fear of dogs and having them caged or removed will go a long way in helping them feel safe viewing the property.  

Now as for the assessment of the photo itself, there is a lot to be critiqued. This dining space is small and narrow. It would have been a tremendous help to have the window shades fully opened to allow the natural light in. Clearing away the clutter in the corner and adding a mirror would have also gone a long way in helping enlarge the space and brighten the room. The heavy chair and table covers also make this dining area seem bulky and uninviting. This is a perfect illustration to show that with just a few minor changes the homeowners could have highlighted this space to seem far more appealing than this photo demonstrates. 

If you're selling your home in Gilbert, Arizona or the East Valley let the experts at Zion Realty help you. We take professional photos and put together a perfect marketing strategy to sell your property. Contact us Today!