Sonoran City News

Facing Foreclosure and Not Giving Up

This morning before 5:00AM, my husband left a message on my voicemail letting me know his flight home might be delayed. You see, he was in London and there was a bomb scare. This evening I received a photograph of my Brother-in-Law, Doug, in his uniform in a bunker in Iraq. In a very strange and very real way their lives collided today.

Anyway, the balance of the day was spent helping a dear friend and client try to not lose her home. She has found herself in a challenging financial situation. Her profession is connected to the housing industry and since the market has gone soft so has her bank account. She has fallen 60 days behind on her mortgage and is in quite a bind.

Life has a funny way of sneaking up on you and kicking you when you are down and least prepared for it. The sad reality is when you are down you are least equipped to handle what feels like a never-ending stream of problems. The last thing you want to do is get on a phone and try to get a total stranger to help you climb out of the hole you find yourself in.

My friend was in a hole today. Thankfully she had the presence of mind to ask for help. She might not have been able to call her lender herself but she knew it had to be done. So I helped her do it and I was surprised at the result.

Her lender was more then understanding. The lender asked a series of questions about her current financial situation and her monthly bills and developed a plan for her to get caught up over the next six months. I was honestly floored by how kind the lender was to her. They did explain that had she waited another week, her home would have fallen into foreclosure.

So for those of you reading this who are struggling financially, call your lender. I know I say this once or twice a week, but this is the first time I've had the opportunity to watch someone go through the process and I can't stress enough how willing her lender was to work with her. Of course, I know the Phoenix real estate market and I cannot imagine any lender wanting to take on another foreclosure or short-sale so I can't say I am surprised they were willing to help. I'm just surprised how well they handled it.

Once we got the stressful situation taken care of my friend sat down, had a good long cry and decided to view today as the first day of a fresh start. I'm proud of her for not letting the situation spin out of control and I'm exceptionally proud of her for having the guts to admit she needed help.

At the end of the day, my husband returned safely from London. It has been 9 years since he retired from the Air Force but I still get nervous when he goes overseas. I suppose bomb threats are a good reason to get nervous. Bomb threats and bunkers in Iraq also serve to remind me that no matter how stressful I think my day has been, I am fortunate and ultimately grateful to those who are so willing to sacrifice so I can live in Phoenix and sell real estate.

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Forbes Ranks Phoenix One of the Best Cities for Jobs

The Phoenix-Scottsdale-Mesa metropolitan area ranked second on Forbes Best Cities for Jobs list. Comparing unemployment rate, job growth, income growth, median household income, and cost of living in the 100 largest metropolitan areas. The list only analyzes statistics not career fields. At the bottom of the list were such notables as Chicago (No. 82), Los Angeles (No. 88), San Francisco (No. 86) and Boston (No. 83).

Complete Rankings

Federated Corporate Services to Open Goodyear Facility

Macy's parent company, Federated Corporate Services announced it will open a Western region distribution center in Goodyear, AZ. The 603,000 square foot center will be located at the corner of Cotton lane and MC85.

Construction sales tax will be rebated to Federated from the City of Goodyear for the first phase of the project. A total of 875 jobs will be created with 500 being full-time. Federated will invest approximately $100 million into the Goodyear facility.

Grand Canyon Skywalk

Fear of Falling. Fear of breaking various body parts that I am fond of. This is what I think of when I see this... 

This is the Grand Canyon Skywalk, built on the Hualapai Indian Reservation just west of Grand Canyon Village. It is a glass walkway that juts out 70 feet over the canyon, 4000 feet above the Colorado River. March 28, 2007 is the official public opening date of The Skywalk. Tours will cost $25 in addition to the admission to Grand Canyon West. In addition to the Skywalk, the facility will feature a 6000 square foot, three-level visitors center offering a gift shop, restaurants and bars among other amenities. A bar...because drinking alcohol just makes sense when you are standing 4000 feet above the Colorado River.

For years the Hualapai have been trying to attract tourists to their reservation (located about 120 miles from Las Vegas) and not create a casino based revenue stream. The tribe decided three years ago to open a one-of-a-kind development at the rim of the Grand Canyon.

The project is not without controversy. Some members of the tribe are uncomfortable with the development. The roads leading the the Skywalk are unpaved and water must be trucked in. Tribe members, who face 20 to 70 percent unemployment rates, desperately need the economic base but have concerns about the environmental impact the bridge and tourist traffic will have on their reservation.

It remains to be seen if the Hualapai will be able to overcome these obstacles. There is no doubt they are succeeding in building a one-of-a-kind attraction.

If You Need Another Reason to Dislike Ron Artest

This has little to do with real estate other then noting Ron Artest lives in a house in a gated community and his neighbors did the right thing.

After numerous complaints from neighbors, Ron Artest's Great Dane 'Socks' has been removed from his home by Placer County animal services officers. The reason... the dog was starving. Ron Artest plays for the Sacramento Kings and will earn $7.15 million this year.

Apparently a Great Dane must eat a lot of food for a man who makes $7.15 million not to be able to feed it.

I hope the Sacramento Kings and the NBA take strong action. Should they run out of ideas for punishment might I suggest he donate his entire salary to the A.S.P.C.A and spend the remainder of the NBA season confined to a dog cage.

Colorado and Texas lead in Foreclosures

For the month of December 2006, Colorado recorded the highest rate of foreclosure in the country according to RealtyTrac. Texas led the nation in numbers of foreclosures with 14,000 in some stage of the foreclosure process.

Arizona experienced a 7.54 percent twelve month increase in foreclosures with 2525 filings for the month of December 2006. Experts attribute the increase in filings to the slowing real estate market, resetting adjustable rate mortgages and relaxing standards in the mortgage industry.

If you or someone you know is facing foreclosure, please visit my earlier post on resources available to you. Don't delay. Many lenders want to work with you to find a solution to your situation.

Bouncing for Food

Saturday February 10 from 11:00 am until 3:00 pm at the K-Mart at 67th Ave. and Bell, Everybody's Place 2 Play will partner with St. Mary's/Westside Foodbank Alliance to restock the food bank after holiday season demands.

Kids and families are invited to play and enjoy snacks. Admission is one can of food per person (more then one would probably be really appreciated). With your admission you will receive entry to a raffle for a free bouncer rental for a future party.

The Food Bank distributes nearly 60 million pounds of food each year. The first quarter of the year is typically the slowest time for the Food Bank and they struggle to provide for all in need. Even if you are not a bouncy-type person (I know I am not) stop by and drop off a can of food. You can make a difference in someones life.

Real Estate Agents and Mortgage Fraud

As a real estate agent, rarely a day goes by when I don't hear a story about the 'bad agent' who is only out for their commission. I chose a profession which is subject to a lot of hate and loathing from the general public. While I tend to believe there are 2 sides to every story and not all agents are 'bad', I have a hard time making a case for my profession when I read something like this.

The Southbend Tribune has a very, very long story on real estate agents gone bad. The agents from Trinity Century 21 cooked up quite a scam. The co-owners of the agency, Steve Gertzas and Erik Ivanovich, along with appraisers, title company employees and lenders allegedly created a cash-back at close scheme that conned many out of their hard-earned money.

Gertzas and Ivanovich allegedly convinced unsuspecting buyers to purchase properties for way over market value. They would then have appraisers inflate the value. Gertzas and Ivanovich would have the lender cut checks for 'repairs' to fictitious companies for the difference.

Employees for Trinity Century 21 claim 'intimidation, threats and fear of losing their jobs' caused them to participate in the scheme. Some employees were pressured to place mortgages in their own names. Many were new to the real estate business and desperate for money.

The story is much more involved then this but you get the point. Unethical, trolling real estate agents took advantage on innocent unsuspecting people. Innocent, unsuspecting people overlooked some obvious signs of fraud because they wanted to become real estate investors just like the people they see on TV.

Just another reason people hate real estate agents...

Global Warming is Impacting Your Insurance?

Global Warming. This is a subject on which I need to further educate myself before offering an opinion. So I won't. What I will do is bring to your attention the trend of insurance companies to cancel insurance citing global warming.

According to Newsweek, hundreds of policy holders along the Eastern Seaboard are being dropped by their insurers. Others are being faced with massive increases in their deductibles and premiums. Allstate won't renew 30,000 policies in and around New York City.

Insurers are citing 'extreme weather events' as the reason for the cancellations and increases. Insurers claim global warming as the cause. Weather related claims have increased from $1 billion in the 1970's to $71 billion in 2005.  Scientists and modelers have determined that increasing temperatures in the Atlantic could cause a major storm with catastrophic financial losses. A Category 5 storm could exceed the capacity of the entire insurance industry.

Fifty-four percent of the US population lives within 50 miles of a coast. If this cancellation trend continues, how many will find themselves without coverage?

Appraisers Feeling Pressure

True story...years ago, before I became a real estate agent, my husband and I purchased a home for $1000 over the list price. We were 'in love' with the house and didn't want anyone else to get it. Prior to beginning our home search we were pre-approved for a mortgage $30,000 more then price of the home we bought. You can imagine how shocked we were when the lender called us one week before closing to tell us the home did not appraise and we would need an additional $10,000 cash to close.

Somehow the lender had informed the appraiser that the purchase price of the home was the amount we had been pre-approved for. The home actually appraised for $19,000 more then what we paid for it. Once we got this straighted out, everything was fine. It was something that has stuck with me ever since. I could not understand how a mistake like that could happen. I do now.

Kenneth R. Harney of the Washington Post has written a very interesting (though not remotely surprising) article on the pressure appraisers are feeling to inflate values. According to Harney, recent appraisal industry surveys indicate 90% of appraisers have been pressured to inflate the value of a property. Seventy-five percent felt there would be negative consequences if they did not cooperate.

Even more disturbing, 68 percent report losing the client and and 45 percent reported not receiving payment for their appraisal if the failed to inflate the numbers. Real estate agents were reported as a source of pressure 56% of the time.

Sadly, appraisers find themselves in the same slowing market as lenders and real estate agents. They also find themselves with a glut of new appraisers (again just like lending and real estate) who joined the field at the height of the market. Now that there is less work, some fear losing business if they don't comply with the inflated appraisal request.

With the growing scrutiny of the lending industry, I have seen some of the larger lenders requiring appraisal reviews. It is unfortunate that individuals such as Casey Serin have taken advantage of the system and caused this to happen. 

Hopefully when all of the dust settles from this 'market adjustment' new regulation with be instituted for the entire real estate industry to prevent these type of pressure tactics.