Please excuse the mess. I’m working on making some changes to AZHomeBuyersGuide so things might seem a little out of place over the next few days. It has been along time since I’ve code web pages so it is taking a lot of trial and error.

Please except my apologies for the inconvenience.

According to to AZCentral.com, Woodside Homes has been forced into Chapter 11 bankruptcy by it’s creditors.

I tried to access their website this evening and it was down.  Woodside has communities in Mesa, Tempe, Chandler, Queen Creek, Litchfield Park, and Phoenix.  The Arizona Dept. of Real Estate (ADRE) has put out a list of Arizona homebuilders that are in financial trouble.  If you are currently under contract with Woodside it would be wise to contact the sale of office of the community you purchased at as well as the ADRE. 

Unfortunately, this is a sign of the times. Some many homebuilders are struggling to stay afloat.  If you are planning on buying a new home in the I highly recommend checking with the ADRE to see if the builder is financial sound or not. 

 Update:  From AZCentral.com

Woodside Homes will continue building houses and paying employees as it works through a bankruptcy reorganization initiated by the company’s creditors, a spokeswoman for the builder said Friday.

Sales offices will remain open and homes will continue to be built inside Woodside’s nine Valley subdivisions, as in all the privately held builder’s communities nationwide, spokeswoman Jennifer Mercer said.

“We have plenty of cash in the bank to continue our operations,” she said.

Everyone knows that traffic in the Valley can be a nightmare at times.  And with the price of gas almost $4 per gallon it makes sense to choose a neighborhood close to your work and places you frequent often.  The other important consideration is the value of your time; after all every minute you spend in traffic is one less minute you have to spend with your family. 

Here are some tips to help you determine if the neighborhood you are considering will fit your lifestyle and the way you move around the valley.

• Use Google Maps or one of the other online mapping websites to check the distance and drive times from your perspective new home to work, family, church, and other places you will frequent after you move.
• Consider doing a test run to get a feel for traffic conditions in the area.  Try to do it during the same time you would normally being driving to work in the morning and evening, that way you’ll get a feel for the real traffic conditions you will encounter once you begin commuting from your new home.
• Look into the public tranportation available in the area.  Phoenix’s bus system, Valley Metro, has routes all over the valley and soon light rail will be available as well.
• Find out if any of your co-workers live in the area.  If so, there may be a possibility they will be willing to carpool with you, or they may be able to give you some insight into the best routes and times to travel.
• Is the home close to your favorite restaurants, places to shop, and entertainment spots.  Think about the places you visit frequently and check the drive time it will take to get there from your new home.
• Consider how far, or in some cases how close, family and friends will be from your new home?  If you visit loved ones frequently, more than a few extra miles of distance can add up to big dent in your wallet.

Think of it this way:

20 extra miles of driving per day over 5 days a week equals 100 miles per week.  If your car gets 20 miles per gallon that translates into 5 extra gallons per week.  5 extra gallons per week times 4 weeks per month equals 20 extra gallons per month.  20 extra gallons per month times $3.60 per gallon equals $72 per month spent on gas to cover the extra distance commuting to work. 

That $72 per month would probably be better in your pocket than the gas companies or even applied to your mortgage payment, possibly even allowing you to afford a higher mortgage payment.

Pretty common sense stuff but often over looked.

Surprise, surprise! Gilbert AZ has been one of the 10 fastest growing cities in the nation, again.

From the East Valley Tribune - The U.S. Census Bureau reported Thursday that Gilbert was the eighth-fastest-growing city with a population larger than 100,000 in the United States from July 2006 to July 2007, gaining 11,308 or 5.8 percent. The only other Arizona city that made the top 25 on this percentage-based list was Peoria, No. 23 at 3 percent.

I have to admit I am a little surprised. Given the current state of the economy and the lackluster Arizona real estate market (particularly for sellers) I would not have guessed that any Arizona city would make the Top 10.

On the other hand Gilbert has good schools, quick access to freeways, loads of shopping and dinning venues, low crime rates and overall is a great place to live, so maybe it shouldn’t be such a surprise. In my opinion some of the best communities in the east valley are in Gilbert. Neighborhoods like Power Ranch, Seville, and Val Vista Lakes to name a few.

Some more good news is that there has been an increase in then number of new housing permits issued in Gilbert.

From the East Valley Tribune - officials saw a substantial jump in the number of single-family housing permits pulled in recent months: 170 in May and 156 in June, compared to 87 in April and 43 in January.

Also of late, the bank owned foreclosure homes in Gilbert have been moving fast. Banks are pricing their foreclosure properties low and getting multiple offers in just a few days. Buyers have to move fast to catch the good deals.

Could this be a sign that the housing market is going to pick up? Hard to say at this point but it is good news.

Is it 2005 all over again? It sure fells like it when it comes to the Phoenix’s real estate foreclosure properties for sale.

From AZCentral.com - Lenders stung by the housing bust are slashing prices dramatically to rid themselves of an unprecedented number of foreclosed properties, sparking bidding wars in some places that harken back to the market’s go-go years and may signal the bottom is near.

Just today I visited a bank owned home in Gilbert, AZ with a client that had been on the market for two days. The home had a very attractive list price and I knew it would get alot of activity from interested buyers. A short time later I found out that there were already 8 offers on the home. A few years ago it was the norm for a newly listed home to have multiple offers in a day, sometimes even hours.

This isn’t the first time I’ve run into this feeding frenzy on bank owned homes and I am sure it wont be the last. Many lenders are using what I like to call the eBay pricing strategy. Start it low and let the buyers bid it up, in some cases paying more for the home then other recent sales in the neighborhood. Phoenix area foreclosed homes are being listed at very low prices and buyers jumping to get in on the action.

A word of advise; Don’t get caught up in the bidding fenzy.

Be sure to review the recent comparable sales for the area and set your offer price accordingly. If you miss out because some other buyer was willing to pay more don’t worry another opportunity will come along shortly.

Keys to success

• Get to the home as soon as it is listed.  I have had success putting in an offer for a client before anyone else does and getting it accepted by the bank. If you can be the first to the table there might be a chance to lock the home up and get it off the market before anyones else has a chance to see it.
• Have your financing lined up.  Having your ducks in a row when it comes to being pre-qualified for a mortgage will allow you to get your offer in quickly. The last thing you want to have happen when you find a really good deal is to be waiting for a lender to pre-qualify you so you can write an offer. Remember, the clock is ticking and every minute wasted gives the competition the opportunity to submit their offer for the home.

If anyone is interested in buying a foreclosure/bank owned home I can setup you with a list of available homes and notify you as soon as new foreclosures come on the market.  Just drop me a line (use the contact form on the right side of the page) and let me know what area you are interested in and specifics (# of bedrooms, minimum square footage, max. price, etc.) about the homes you would like to see.