real estate jungle out there, stuff I didn't understand and now do (Phoenix: sales, foreclosure)

[MN-Born-n-Raised]

Originally Posted by khuntrevor

85014 is an excellent Zipcode; 4% black, and more than half White.

Am I the only one who cringed when I read this?

[rjrcm]

Originally Posted by MN-Born-n-Raised

Am I the only one who cringed when I read this?

No.

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by MN-Born-n-Raised

Am I the only one who cringed when I read this?

I did too. Ethnic makeup is an unreliable predictor of neighborhood quality around here. The breakdown he gives is pretty typical for many areas of Phoenix metro. Some are good and some are bad. A much better indicator is median family income. Even that breaks down in the larger and often highly heterogeneous ZIP code areas of the outlying burbs, though. It is often street by street.

[Captain Bill]

Originally Posted by annie7

after we close on our home we will have approximately 140k to put down on a home. Do you think it's best for us to borrow from retirement than a lender??? We want to live in Ahwatukee close to our kids, but we're open to other areas near there. What do you think?

I recommend you consult with a professional financial advisor about how to utilize your funds.

Ahwatukee is nice and so are Gilbert and Chandler. If you rent for awhile then you'll be able to determine where it's best for you to live.

When we moved here, our daughter and family lived in Power Ranch, and we elected to buy in Val Vista Lakes. At that time it was about a 25 minute drive. We chose the area that best fit our life style, and still be reasonably close to the family.

[observer53]

Originally Posted by MN-Born-n-Raised

Am I the only one who cringed when I read this?

Most certainly not.

[Captain Bill]

Originally Posted by Zippyman

It's truly amusing that one of the banks doing the robo-signing, who stands accused of forging documents to process foreclosures - would insist on a wet-ink signature.

If it were my client, I'd refuse ... and come back in a couple of months with a wet-ink offer ... for $15-20k less.

The addendums and "mandatory" counter-offers from some of these banks are truly silly, and allowing a client to sign one without compensation (like a hefty price drop) seems contrary to a Realtor's fiduciary responsibility.

I believe the terms of the sale can affect the value considerably - and some of these addendums shift all of that risk to the buyer.

Zippyman, you may have misread my post. The addendum was to extend the close of escrow for a few days because the buyers lender needed a few more days. It was a simple extension addendum, and the buyer had no choice. Had they not signed the addendum with the wet signature, the bank would have closed the file, and the buyer would have lost their escrow deposit.

The inspection period had passed, the appraisal was complete and the loan was approved and the underwriter was working on getting the final docs together. There were no contingencies left at this point to allow the buyer an out.

I was the listing agent, and I would have fought to have my seller retain the earnest money because the buyer would have been in breach. It's a little more complicated than this, however, by failing to close escrow on the agreed on date, (by refusing to sign an extension addendum) the buyer would have been in breach.

You may not understand fiduciary duties. Many don't. The Realtor cannot make decisions for their client. The Realtor provides information, counsel and advice, and the client makes all the decisions. We have to follow all the clients legal instructions.

The Realtors duty in the case of bank addendums that you mention, is to help the buyer understand the addendum, and provide guidance so they can make an educated decision.

Depending on what is in the addendum, once the buyer understands it, then it is up to the buyer to counter, accept, or reject and walk away.

Their decision will be made based on many factors, including but not limited to:

• Will the addendum be a negative factor

• How badly they want the house
• how long they've waited
• how soon they need to be in a home
• the availability of other homes meeting their criteria,
• the negotiated price
• the risk of losing the house after the bank has said that this is their bottom line.
• what the market is doing

Once a bank states their approved price, and the buyer walks, the listing agent will place it back on market with a note that the listed price is the banks approved price.

If it's at the market value for that type property, it may get sold pretty quickly at that point to a new buyer who won't have to wait for months for an answer.

[annie7]

Originally Posted by khuntrevor

Small house, large lot (7200+ sf). 85014 is an excellent Zipcode; 4% black, and more than half White.

Damn! Well, if I move there then i"ll bring values down, I'm jewish. Obviously not a zip for my "kind".

[EnicAZ]

Be careful in our current market of falling prices. According to the live statistics system, Phoenix home values have fallen more than 8% since August.

The future pending price index shows that contracts are on their way to an $18,000 average prices decline in the next 4 months alone.

I don't want you to catch a falling knife, and things have gotten bad out there, especially with the foreclosure legal problems.

[annie7]

EnicAZ...I am very slow and am not sure what you're saying, I apologize upfront for that! But what are you saying to people like me who want to just buy a home and settle down for the rest of her life?

[rjrcm]

Originally Posted by annie7

EnicAZ...I am very slow and am not sure what you're saying, I apologize upfront for that! But what are you saying to people like me who want to just buy a home and settle down for the rest of her life?

EnicAZ has been promoting that anyone considering a home purchase not do so until housing prices stabilize. We are in a declining market, so postponing a purchase may result in a better price. It may also result in higher interest rates, so no one strategy is perfect.

You need to decide if you're OK with buying a house now with the potential for value to decline, or with waiting some undetermined time to buy. The decline that EnicAZ discusses is based on the average Phoenix market value trends. Some areas will do better than others, but there are no guarantees.

Some people are less concerned with future value changes than finding a good home now for the long term, as long as the price is good relative to other recent sales, with good financing terms.

Everyone should consider their own circumstances to decide if a purchase makes sense or not. You are moving to AZ from out of state, so renting may be a good option until you understand the pros/cons of different areas before buying.