Temperatures are moderate, we have a gentle rain, not a monsoon gully-washer, buyer activity is picking up and the snowbirds aren't even here yet. What does it all mean? Fall may be falling, won't that be great!!! It has been a relatively mild summer, starting late, but all in the Sun City neighborhood look forward to the fall change. Cooler (mid 80's) weather is always welcome after the summer. Jim Little, your Sun City REALTOR® Please visit my Web Site, suncityneighborhood.com where you can search the MLS with no registration for free.   09/08/2008

               That is the second most popular phrase from today's home shoppers. It is only second to "I have to sell my home to buy a new one."                Here are some solution suggestions for dealing with either of these issues.                Are you a prospective buyer who doesn't like the kitchen, carpet or...? Just get a buyer's agent who has the mortgage contacts to help you get a Renovation Loan like         FHA's 203K program, or a conventional lender's similar program.                If you buy an eligible home using a renovation loan, you don't have to settle for an outdated, inefficient floor plan, ugly carpet, or a home with a great location but not enough space.                Renovation loans can be used for almost any remodel or improvement that will ADD VALUE to t... 08/21/2008

There are lots of busy little beavers in Sun City.  Volunteers are scurrying about labeling merchandise, resetting shelves, hanging pictures and moving furniture.  Eve's Treasures is will be open for business in a new Sun City location on August 15th. It is over 8,000 sq ft and is set up as a thrift store style boutique. The proceeds of Eve's Treasures are used to support Eve's Place.  So what's so special about Eve's place?  Eve's Place is a domestic violence shelter located somewhere in the Northwest Valley of Arizona. Eve's Place is the brain child and was founded by fellow Sun City Grand Ken Meade Realtor, Marge Clark.  Barbara Levy, a Sun City Ken Meade Realtor, is the fundraising chairperson.  Both ladies have spent countless hours making Eve's Place a reality. Eve's Place is one ... 08/12/2008

The Arizona Republic reported today (7/20/09) in an interview with Bob Bemis of the Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service (ARMLS) That only 28,000 of ARMLS' 36,000 former members renewed their dues for the 2008-2009 period. Even though ARMLS expects 3,000 late renewals, the anticipated net decline represents 20% fewer agents than last year. It is presumed that the agents not renewing are either agents who are retiring, were part-time, or who had licenses during the boom times and are not willing to put the time and effort into competing in today's market. I hope that the remaining agents are the professional level, active agents with a commitment to the real estate industry, and to the clients and customers. I also hope that this will lead to a higher level of professionalism and cl... 07/20/2008

                                                     Sun City, AZ                                        Active listings  739          Pending    72 (City-Sun City, Subdivision-Sun City)             Sun City West, AZ                                  Active           524        Pending   74       (City-Sun City West)                                   Sun City Grand, AZ                                Active         238          Pending   32 (City-Surprise, Subdivision-Sun City Grand)   07/06/2008

With approximately 9500 homes making up its community, Sun City has become the largest retirement community in the entire country. Even though it is not an incorporated town, Sun City is completely self-contained and even has its own Sun City Fire District. However, it is dependent upon the county for services such as law enforcement, street repairs and zoning protection. Sun City real estate provides all the amenities an active adult could want: tennis, swimming, fishing, a day spa, walking trails, pet park and, of course, golf. There are 11 golf courses to choose from in the Sun City community alone. With so much fun at your fingertips, you can't go wrong in choosing Sun City for retirement. For more information on the Sun City area, please contact me. 06/18/2008

Why is now the time? There are real reasons to believe the market is no longer declining, but is now in a trough. There is less inventory available. Inventory levels have been decreasing since the first of the year. Wait much longer and your choices will be limited. Greater sales. Demand is starting to increase, and while the number of foreclosures is steady, the number of new delinquencies is decreasing. Additionally, we are seeing more than one offer on foreclosed properties. Mortgage are readily available now. The mortgage shakeout seems to be subsiding. FHA & VA Mortgages are available. These give the qualified borrower no or low down payment loans. In the case of FHA, down payment gift programs and family gifts are allowed. Interest rates are now in the low 6% range, but are foreca... 06/06/2008

3rd (Third) Avenue Lofts 480-227-3311    FOR PRICING & AVAILABILITY CALL MATT HORTON 480-227-3311 For a Free Custom Lofts/Urban Search, go to www.AZLOFTS.com !Third Avenue Lofts (3rd Avenue Lofts)- Downtown ScottsdaleThe first residential Mid-Rise in Downtown Scottsdale! Third avenue has a unique true loft feeling and a perfect location to everything! 3rd Avenue lofts has been recognized for it's architechture and design. http://www.azlofts.com/ reccommends this project as one of the best growth opportunities for value long term!Fill out the form below or contact me direct about this project! 480-227-3311 04/02/2008

I've been working with a couple different buyers looking to purchase a home in the Sun City (Arizona) area.  One couple currently own in Sun City and they want to purchase a second property; the other, currently leasing in Sun City West, would be purchasing a home in Sun City for the very first time.  As each buyer has a different set of circumstances, it is important to understand the mandatory fees required by the City.  The "Sun City" fees that are required to be paid upon close of escrow are:  The Recreation Center (Rec Center) fee and transfer fee.  As of April 1, 2008, the Rec Center fee will be increasing to $396.00; the transfer fee remains the same, $300.  The Rec Center fee covers one household providing two membership passes which provide membership to the seven Rec Centers i... 03/18/2008

2007 Sun Cities Market Report Sun CityAbsorption RateTotal Listings1052Under Contract580Sold99412.7Sun City WestTotal Listings415Under Contract42Sold5219.6Sun City GrandTotal Listings374Under Contract30Sold38211.7All Sun CitiesTotal Listings1551Under Contract97Sold180210.3Absorption Rate is the total number of listings Divided by the monthly rate of sales.Absorption Rate tells how long it will take at the current rate of sales to sell all of the current inventory if no new homes are listed.As you can see, it was not all doom and gloom. I would be lying to imply this is the greatest year ever, but we did sell a lot of homesin spite of the media and mortgage meltdown.Jim Little, your Sun City REALTOR® Please visit my Web Site, suncityneighborhood.com where you can search the MLS with no r... 01/18/2008

This post is inspired by 2 others on this forum. Lenn Harley's MORTGAGE FRAUD THRIVES - THE PLAYERS ARE THE SAME and Broker Bryant's You want my buyer to do what?Both of these posts touch on the Buyer's agent responsibility in the procurement of a home loan. I am just adding some of my thoughts to theirs.Many problems in today's real estate market have been caused by FRAUD! Often guided by the lending officer, who feels pressured to make the deal at any cost. Since most states do not require the lending officer to have a fiduciary responsibility to the lender, fraud may easily occur.Buyer's agents DO have a fiduciary responsibility to the buyer. It is their highest duty when representing the buyer. Why don't they stop the fraud? Here are a few reasons.Accepting a buyer provided lender. ... 10/06/2007

Innman Real Estate News asked this question today. The answer was, yes for some.The conclusions were that a bailout was in order for those who were defrauded, but not for those who were foolish or careless. Unfortunately, many of the foolish and careless are also part of the economy. Letting them fall by the wayside will blight the neighborhoods they live in, cause more economic chaos, and delay the recovery of the housing market indefinetly.The author felt that a bailout for these people unjustly rewards them for their actions. No argument, but why stop there. We don't have to bail them out, but creating a mechanism for a just work out of the loan would still hold them responsible without damaging the neighborhood, community, state and country.In addition, lawmakers were asleep at the ... 09/25/2007

Now that I have your attention, I learned early on that there is no such thing as a FREE LUNCH.Why do I bother to write about free lunches? Because, living and working in Sun City AZ, it is rare that a week goes by without my mail including an invitation to a FREE LUNCH.Yes, there is a catch. You have to listen to a high pressure pitch for investments and financial products. All who offer this are suspect, even if they aren't all bad. The problem has become so serious that the Securities and Exchange commission has started to investigate the practice. The FREE LUNCH people target the older segment of our community, hoping to get ahold of their retirement funds. Be careful: Who you entrust your retirement nest egg to, Don't believe what you hear without independant investigation.Don't bu... 09/24/2007

Fall is here!It may be only for a few days, but this first day of fall was glorious! I'm sure we will have some more triple digit days before Halloween, but today was great.The people who live in the New England area, upper Midwest, and even in Arizona's mountains mark the change of seasons by the changing colors of the leaves in the trees. Those of us who live in the Sun City and Sun City West of Arizona's Sonoran desert mark the change by the changing colors of the license plates on the cars in front of us. I particularly like the blue of Minnesota, and the red of Wisconsin, but all snowbirds are welcome.And now for a joke. Seen on a bumper sticker... So many snowbirds, so little freezer space! Joke folks, just a joke.Jim Little, Your Sun City Realtorhttp://jclittle.com/Ken Meade Real... 09/23/2007

Have you visited, either in person or on-line, Sun City, Arizona lately? The community that originally defined affordable retirement with the best amenities, and golf, has again resurfaced as a potential "Boomer" destination. The homes were built to last and have the added benefit of being very easy to remodel if you so desire. The interior walls of most models are not suppose to be load bearing walls and can be altered or removed if desired. The neighborhoods are neat and clean and very inviting. The golf has just gotten better and better with the maturity of the courses and the expert maintenance. The medical facilities have always been some of the best in the nation. And now, we have the Phoenix Cardinals Stadium, called The University of Phoenix Stadium, the Phoenix Coyotes hockey s... 09/21/2007

While the home resale market declined in August Sun City was a bit of a bright spot. Recordings in Sun City for August 2007 units sold were the same as August 2006. Median prices were down somewhat, but the difference may be accounted for by the higher percentage of condos for sale vs. houses for sale.Sun City West and Surprise units sold were down between 10 and 12%, fairing very well when compared to Peoria and Glendale AZ. Glendale was the biggest loser with a decline in units sold of almost 33%.September should show some slight gains because of the recent actions by the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates and restore confidence. Sun City and Sun City West, as retirement communities traditionally have a slow summer, with interest and activity picking up in the fall when the snowb... 09/19/2007

Good news for home buyers and sellers in Sun City, Surprise, Peoria AZ, Glendale and the West Maricopa county. Today, the Federal Reserve Board of Governors lowered the federal funds rate by 1/2%. Since many, if not most analysts predicted no more the 1/4, this is good news indeed.This is the first reduction of this key interest rate in 4 1/2 years, clearly saying the Fed is serious about stabilizing the financial markets and stimulating economic growth in all areas of the economy.As the financial world digests this, I hope to see a little loosening of credit, more liquidity, and far less doom and gloom about the housing market.Thanks, Mr. Bernanke.Jim Little, Your Sun City Realtorhttp://jclittle.com/Ken Meade Realty17001 N Del Webb BlvdSun City AZ 85373800-877-1776623-977-1776By the wa... 09/18/2007

Many residents and buyers of homes in Sun City may be unaware of one of Sun City's finest volunteer services.Do you have grandchildren visiting? You can borrow extra beds, cribs, playpens for free from Sunshine Services if you are a Sun City resident.Did you sprain an ankle or break a leg? You can borrow crutches, walkers, wheelchairs and more from Sunshine Services.The facilities and loan items are spotless, the people are wonderful, living up to Sun City's slogan, "A community of volunteers"To visit the Sunshine Services web site and see more about their services, just click here.Jim Little, Your Sun City Realtorhttp://jclittle.com/Ken Meade Realty17001 N Del Webb BlvdSun City AZ 85373800-877-1776623-977-1776By the way...if you know someone who is interested in buying or selling real ... 09/18/2007

It is hard to believe I have written 100 articles on this platform, and I thought I would write about how I got here.A couple of years ago, I read about blogging as a valuable tool for REALTORS® AND THOUGHT I would try it. I started on Blogger in November 2005. I wasn't successful for a couple of reasons. Writer's Block, and not keeping at it.In August, 2006, I joined Active Rain. At the time it was a bulletin board platform, and I just checked in occasionally to see what was being discussed. It had some value, but was not yet a blogging platform as we know it today.Eventually, AR became a blog site. I still did not know what to do with it. I was even a little annoyed at the change, but I started to lurk, and just watch what was going on. Eventually, I got the message, this is VALUABLE!... 09/15/2007

Here are some websites people who are interested in buying a home in Arizona might find helpful. It is far from being a comprehensive list, but I hope it will be helpful.My web site                                          http://www.suncityneighborhood.com/My Other Blog                                                       http://suncityneighborhood.typepad.com Sun City Recreation Association                         http://sunaz.com Sun City West Recreation Association           http://www.rcsw.com/ Sun City Grand                                           http://www.grandinfo.com/Glendale AZ                                            http://www.glendaleaz.com/ Peoria AZ                                                 http://www.peoriaaz.com/ Surprise AZ                                 ... 09/14/2007