Arizona’s Painted Desert – A Day Trip from Mesa, Az

17. June 2009 by Teri Ellis.

I frequently share points of interest within a day’s ride from Mesa, Arizona. I promised to share some of the photos of the Painted Desert in Northern Arizona.

Located just about four hours north and east of Mesa, Arizona, the Painted Desert can be reached from the I-40 east of Holbrook, Arizona. As you enter the Park from the North end, you will be treated to panoramic views of amazing colors and shapes. Seriously, the scenery is literally a huge canvas of multiple colors, shadows, and light.

Well worth the trip. Feel free to call or email me with any other information I can provide.

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Beautiful Four bedroom home available for rent in East Mesa - $1200

7. June 2009 by Teri Ellis.

This home is situated in the heart of east Mesa. Close to shopping, hospitals and all of the happenings. Located in the Gilbert School District and in the Villages of Eastridge, this rental never stays on the market for more than a week. Call me at: 480.216-3334 with any questions or for a viewing, or stop by Homes Arizona Real Estate to view more photos.

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4 Bedroom Home for Rent in Queen Creek, Az - Circle Cross - $995

5. June 2009 by Teri Ellis.

This home is a beauty. Agent owned and maintained. Call me at: 480.216-3334 for questions, or log on to HomesAzRealEstate.com

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Where are we? What happened? The Housing Market in Phoenix and Mesa, Arizona and Surrounding Areas!

26. May 2009 by Teri Ellis.

The real estate market in the Phoenix, Arizona and Mesa, Arizona valley is going through more twists and turns as foreclosed homes come onto the market.

Unfortunately, many buyers are competing against cash buyers – and losing.  The old saying, “cash is king” is true in this competitive  real estate market.

Recently one of my buyers made an offer on a foreclosed property. Over asking price, very clean, and a desirable offer to any potential seller. However, the buyer lost out to a cash buyer even though the cash buyer offered less. Even the REO agent wanted my buyer to get the home, but has no say!

Why? You ask? Would the bank accept a lower offer? In our market, appraisals are all over the place. As of May 1, in order to “fix” or “remedy” the problem, a new federal Home Valuation Code of Conduct  was placed into effect. No longer are the lenders allowed to speak with the appraisers – nor are they allowed to “choose” the appraisers that will be appraising a home “they” are lending on. Bottom line? It’s a mess!

The left doesn’t know what the right is doing, homes are not appraising, and there are multiple bids on the most desirable homes.

Despite the issues we face, Realtors will continue to push through the paperwork, the difficult appraisals, and we will write two, three, four and more offers in order to get our buyers a home. Ridiculous? Yes!! BUT, this, too, shall pass!

For more insight and understanding about what’s going on, click on the links here and here.

 

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Phishing Schemes Purporting to be the IRS

3. May 2009 by Teri Ellis.

This is an email I received today – purportedly from the IRS! Ask yourself: would you respond? Should you respond? The answer is a resounding NO!!! Did you notice the misspellings? How about “u” instead of “you?”

Technorati Tags: IRS phishing schemes

I have reported this by emailing this to phishing@irs.gov.   Be very, very careful at being lured into thinking the IRS emails you – they state on their website that they DO not email you. Please be careful….and be careful of emails from your bank, from paypal, or any other questionable source. There are lots of scamming crooks ready to take your money!

“After the last annual calculations of your fiscal activity we have determined that you are eligible to receive a tax refund under section 501(c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Tax refund value is $189.60. Please submit the tax refund request and allow us 6-9 days in order to IWP the data received.If u don’t receive your refund within 9 business days from the original IRS mailing date shown, you can start a refund trace online.

If you distribute funds to other organization, your records must show wether they are exempt under section 497 (c) (15). In cases where the recipient org. is not exempt under section 497 (c) (15), you must have evidence the funds will be used for section 497 (c) (15) purposes. If you distribute fund to individuals, you should keep case histories showing the recipient’s name and address; the purpose of the award; the maner of section; and the realtionship of the recipient to any of your officers, directors,trustees, members, or major contributors.

To access the form for your tax refund, please click here

This notification has been sent by the Internal Revenue Service, a bureau of the Department of the Treasury.

Sincerely Yours,
John Stewart
Director, Exempt. Organization
Rulings and Agreements Letter
Internal Revenue Service”

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Phoenix, Arizona - Hazardous Waste Collections Scheduled

3. May 2009 by Teri Ellis.

I always appreciate knowing this information, so let’s clean out our garages, our storage sheds and take the “stuff” to the appropriate places for disposal.

Common hazardous waste and other items can be disposed:

from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., May 14, 15 and 16 at Desert West Park, 6602 West Encanto Boulevard, and

from 7 a.m. to noon on June 18, 19, 20 at Los Olivos Park, 2802 East Devonshire Avenue.

Accepted items include: batteries, oil, up to five gallons of paint, antifreeze, pesticides, pool chemicals, computers, five road tires per household and household appliances that use refrigerants, including refrigerators, freezers, air conditioners and heat pumps. Commercial loads will not be accepted.

The city will also pick up household appliances at your home for a fee. Call for a collection appointment.

For information, send an email to:

pwserve@phoenix.gov, or

visit phoenix.gov/publicworks, or

call 602.262-7251.

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Phoenix Public Library Reduces Hours!

1. May 2009 by Teri Ellis.

Budget cuts due to the slowdown in the national and local economies have created the necessity of reducing library hours at 15 locations as follows:

11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

Eight libraries – Burton Barr Central, Cesar Chavez, Cholla, Ironwood, Juniper, Mesquite, Palo Verde and Saguaro – are open from 1-5 p.m. on Sundays.

For more information, call 602.262-4636 or visit Phoenix Public Library

Mesa, Arizona Real Estate. Call me at: 480.216-3334 for information on purchasing or selling a home in Mesa, Arizona or surrounding towns. OR email me: Teri@TeriEllis.com. Feel free to visit one of my websites: HomesAzRE.com, ServingMesaArizona, MoveToMesaAz.com or MoveToSunnyAz.com. Or stop by my blogs at: MesaAzRealEstateVoice; or Phoenix Valley Real Estate Blog

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Phoenix, Arizona - Replacing Your Older Air Conditioning Unit – SRP Offering rebates!

22. April 2009 by Teri Ellis.

Those of us living in the Valley of the Sun –  it reached 100 degrees today – know how much we rely on our air conditioners to keep us cool in the summer.

SRP is offering rebates ranging from $200 to $400 for customers who replace existing heat pumps or air conditioners with “qualifying”  high-efficiency central cooling systems. The rebate starts May 1, 2009.

In addition, qualifying new systems placed in service from January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2010, may be eligible for a federal energy efficiency tax credit of up to $1,500.

Rebate applications are due by October 31, 2009. As always, for more details regarding SRP’s rebate or the federal tax credit, log on to www.srpnet.com/coolcash, or call: 602.236-9644.

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Remembering Easter Sunday!

11. April 2009 by Teri Ellis.

Easter will be here on April 12 - tomorrow! Hard to believe we’re already into Spring, and soon to drive head on into summer.

As I was contemplating my memories of Easter, I suppose some of my favorites included the coloring of Easter eggs, searching for them in the grass, trees, or wherever my dad would hide them, and then later on, hiding them for my children. Loved hiding them in hard to find spots, like in trees, etc., and  then helping and guiding them along. It’s fun to be a mom.

As a family, we always gathered together to attend church to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, donning our new Easter dresses (that was always a favorite of mine) and new shoes for summer. This, of course was always AFTER the Easter Bunny had visited.

Do you know why there is no “fixed” day for Easter – like for Christmas, New Year’s, etc.?

Some interesting information I located on Wikipedia: “Easter is a moveable feast, meaning it is not fixed in relation to the civil calendar. Easter falls at some point between late March and late April each year (early April to early May in Eastern Christianity), following the cycle  of the Moon. After several centuries of disagreement, all churches accepted the computation of the Alexandrian Church (now the Coptic Church) that Easter is the first Sunday after the Paschal Full Moon, which is the first moon whose 14th day (the ecclesiastic “full moon”) is on or after March 21 (the ecclesiastic “vernal equinox“). Now, we’ll all know what to look for, right?

Continuing with Wikipedia: “Easter is linked to the Jewish Passover not only for much of its symbolism but also for its position in the calendar.

Cultural elements, such as the Easter Bunny and Easter egg hunts, have become part of the holiday’s modern celebrations, and those aspects are often celebrated by many Christians and non-Christians alike. There are also some Christian denominations which do not celebrate Easter.”

Bottom line? Easter is for everyone! I LOVE Easter and all that it represents to me! I wanted to use the Easter colors in the fonts, but as you all know they are very pastel – and don’t show up too well.

My wish for all of you would be to Have a  wonderful Easter!

 

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Phoenix, Arizona Valley MLS Stats – Friday, April 29, 2009

10. April 2009 by Teri Ellis.

It appears as though our Phoenix, Arizona market is adjusting. I’ve been keeping track since January 1, 2009 (and before), and posting updates regularly.  If you will recall, in January, we were up to almost 60,000 active listings. Things are changing.  Inventory stats of all listings in our MLS are as follows:

March 19

Active: 48,837

Pending: 10,869

April 3

Active:  45,694

Pending: 11,896

April 10

Active:  44,348

Pending:  12,963

April 17

Active:  42,907

Pending:  13,403

April 29

Active:  40,437

Pending:  14,226

Listed below are the comparisons for the cities and for the zip codes indicated. Note that I am only including Single Family Residences and not townhomes, apartment homes, etc.

CITY

ACTIVE

PENDING

 

As of:  April 3, 2009

City of Phoenix	10,082	3,173
City of Mesa	3,679	1,005
City of Gilbert	1,872	590
City of Gold Canyon	334	46
City of Apache Junction	488	129
City of Queen Creek
Zip Code - 85242	651	268
Zip Code - 85243	407	255

 

CITY

ACTIVE

PENDING

As of:  April 10, 2009

City of Phoenix	10,397	3,481
City of Mesa	3,627	1,051
City of Gilbert	1,872	624
City of Gold Canyon	335	46
City of Apache Junction	483	127
City of Queen Creek
Zip Code - 85242	633	313
Zip Code - 85243	402	259

 

CITY

ACTIVE

PENDING

As of:  April 17, 2009

City of Phoenix	7,513	3,145
City of Mesa	2,554	949
City of Gilbert	1,665	635
City of Gold Canyon	287	39
City of Apache Junction	348	122
City of Queen Creek
Zip Code - 85242	541	327
Zip Code - 85243	369	256

 

CITY

ACTIVE

PENDING

As of:  April 29, 2009

City of Phoenix	6,889	3,791
City of Mesa	2,344	949
City of Gilbert	1,665	1,004
City of Gold Canyon	289	36
City of Apache Junction	335	118
City of Queen Creek
Zip Code - 85242	518	315
Zip Code - 85243	322	264

 

Mesa, Arizona Real Estate. Call me at: 480.216-3334 for information on purchasing or selling a home in Mesa, Arizona or surrounding towns. OR email me: Teri@TeriEllis.com. Feel free to visit one of my websites: HomesAzRE.com, ServingMesaArizona, MoveToMesaAz.com or MoveToSunnyAz.com. Or stop by my blogs at: MesaAzRealEstateVoice; or Phoenix Valley Real Estate Blog

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