Low Ball Offers are a Fact of Life!  Work with them or move on! I just read a post on a forum about an agent who was very upset by the seller’s reaction to a low ball offer.  The seller received the offer within a couple days of the home hitting the market.  Instead of just rejecting it outright or countering, the sellers got very upset about it.  Their reaction was to instruct the agent to raise the price 50K.  Sellers, every buyer out there is going to try and get a better price on your home. I have been listing and selling real estate for almost seventeen years.  I can count on one hand the number of times a buyer has made a full price offer.  It isn’t personal, it isn’t an insult, it is simply a buyer trying to get the best deal they can on your property.  They don’t know you they ... 06/29/2014

    Understanding the Emotions Associated with Selling the Family Home. Selling the family home is an emotional experience for Sellers.  As Real Estate Agents I think we sometimes get so caught up in the daily work associated with the sale of a home that we don’t pay enough attention to the emotional ties that people have to their homes.  This is especially true if the sellers have lived in the home for a long time.  I don’t mean to imply that we are insensitive to this but rather that we just don’t take it in to consideration as much as we should.    I listed a home about two months ago for a family here in the White Mountains and I was thrilled to get the listing.  The home was absolutely charming although a little different than most of the homes in this area. I wasn’t at all sure h... 06/20/2014

    Think it is 2007?  Think Again!   Ah, the good old days, 2007, when you could make your retirement nest egg in one fell swoop.  Well, it isn’t 2007 and unfortunately wishful thinking won’t make it so.  Prices have leveled off in the White Mountains, and there have been gains since we hit bottom in 2011, but it isn’t 2007.  That does not stop many sellers from thinking they can ask those big prices and get them.  Surely there is a buyer out there somewhere who will simply fall in love with the property and be willing to pay above market to own it.   When you decide to list your house you need to ask yourself one question; “Do I want to own it or do I want to sell it?” There is no magic in today’s market. There are no buyers out there who are so ignorant of market trends that they wi... 05/29/2014

  Putting Things in Perspective!   Nothing puts things in perspective better than a crisis.  I have been fortunate all my life in terms of health concerns for myself or those I love.  My father passed away quite a few years ago now, but he lived a long good life, worked hard all his life, and passed quietly in his sleep at 87 years of age. My mother is still living and in good health considering her age, 95, and I know there are not a lot of people who can say they have had a parent so late in to their life.    However, this past week things hit close to home.  My husband was suddenly taken ill, running a very high temperature and having difficulty breathing.  We rushed off to the Doctor and he was immediately admitted to the hospital with a diagnosis of very low blood oxygen and pneum... 05/18/2014

Everyone should come out a Winner!     Real Estate is not a competition, it is about one person selling a property and another person buying the property.  Buying a property or selling a property is a process.  It is about a Buyer and a Seller working together to pull a transaction together so everyone benefits.  It is not about Winning or Losing.  Too often transactions fail to get off the table because one or the other of the parties feels they have to “one up” the other half of the transaction.      I just went through this with one of my transactions.   After a couple of days of back and forth we finally came to an agreement but it came down to a difference of just a few hundred dollars to pull it together.  The seller was firm, he wasn’t going to budge, the buyer really wanted tha... 04/10/2014

Repairs vs Improvements! Home Inspectors need to clarify so Buyers Know the Difference!     So it begins again.  An accepted offer and we’re off on another week of agonizing over the results of an Inspection report.   As seems to be the case more often than not, the inevitable happens, a difference of opinion between the Home Buyer and the Home Seller regarding the report.    Home Inspection Reports generally include an “Items of Concern” list of repairs, and an “Items of Notation” for suggested improvements.  The purpose of the reports is to provide the Buyers with a list of deficiencies in the home so they know what they are buying.  There are certain items that our Arizona Purchase Contract includes at the time the offer is made that the seller agrees will be in working order at clo... 04/04/2014

  In Pinetop, Arizona homes for sale are far fewer than they have been in a long time.  I am always somewhat surprised myself to see how few homes are available that meet a particular client’s price point, desired location, with the features they are looking for.  When I start a search, instead of finding 20 or 30 homes that might work, I consider it good fortune if I find 10. The REO’s fading away, and Short Sales are practically non-existent.  These are all indicators that the market in the White Mountains and the Pinetop area is recovering.      The outcome of the fading inventory is too often disappointed buyers who haven’t realized that the market conditions are far different than they were in the past.  If a highly desirable property hits the market  it is going to sell quickly. ... 03/06/2014

         2700 S White Mountain Road 824 Show Low, AZ 85901 Your Mountain to Valley Connection SPECIAL FEATURES Price:                      $58,900   MLS Number:                 5007608Bedrooms:                         2   Bathrooms:                        2Approx. Sq. Ft.:                757 DESCRIPTION Clean and pristine. Ready to move into. From fresh paint to new carpet and a new kitchen floor. Designer lighting fixtures and new decorative ceiling fans. This unit is in the back of the complex nestled in the ponderosa pines with a feeling of privacy. The quaint porch is perfect to enjoy the outdoors. Living room is cozy with wood burning fireplace and breakfast bar is perfect for entertaining. There is a split bedroom floor plan also. There is a wonderful clubhouse with grill. Move in... 03/02/2014

When should I buy a home in Pinetop, Arizona?  Is one time of year better than another?    Good Sunday Morning Everyone,    As I was responding to an inquiry I received this morning I got to thinking about what time of year is the best time to buy.  How should I advise my prospects?  I think it probably depends a lot on the market you serve.  In my market, in the White Mountains of Arizona, probably late fall, winter, or early Spring, would be my answer.  We are a second home/resort market and summers are our high season for buyer traffic.  As a consequence of this, most sellers are very optimistic in the Spring of the year with high hopes that an unwary buyer will come looking for their getaway cabin and be willing to pay a higher price for it.  2013 was especially bad for this kind of... 02/02/2014

    Good Morning Everyone,   Today's post is a rant, but one I believe has been too long in coming! Perhaps this is common in second home/resort communities. If so than perhaps there are others out there who will appreciate this post.  I am sure there are others who will not, the responses, if I get any, should be interesting to say the least.   I want to address an issue we deal with a lot, agents working outside their areas of expertise.  Agents who do not belong to our local Real Estate Association and have no ties to our area except the fact that we are in the same State.  These agents are usually from one of the big metro areas to the south who have clients in their area who want to buy a second home in our area.  Agents who do not in any way support our local economy and are takin... 01/18/2014

  The Perils of Over-improving a Property.   Good Evening Everyone,    Several times in the past year I have been contacted to evaluate properties for a possible sale.  In all the cases they properties had been purchased at the height of the market as fixer uppers, and the sellers had invested thousands in improvements and upgrades in the homes.  All were beautifully done, virtual show places.  However, no matter how nice the homes were, for the type of properties they were and their locations, their values were far below the amounts the homeowners had invested in the improvements.    Needless to say, none of these potential sellers were happy with the figures I gave them when I evaluated the properties. One practically threw me out of the house.  Another decided that they would wait u... 01/10/2014

The Last Day of 2013!  Well, here we are on the last day of another year and what a year it has been too.  It has been a year filled with controversy, tragedy, political turmoil, and another major shift in the real estate world.   The year started out with a shortage of inventory.  With the slowing of the foreclosure and short sale market, and signs of a return to a more “normal” market, new issues were evident.  The shift created a disconnect between the Sellers and Buyers expectations in the market.  Sellers thought because housing was in demand they could command high prices for their homes.  The buyers who entered the market were often not really aware of the shift and were disappointed to discover prices were far higher than they expected.    The higher prices also created issues w... 12/31/2013

Good Afternoon Everyone, Happy two days after Christmas.  Hope everyone had a wonderful Holiday.   It was a bright and sunny Christmas Morning and the phone rang.  On the other end of the line was an agent wanting to know if it is okay to show one of my listings that day.  My first thought was, it's Christmas!  Why would you be making appointments to show on Christmas  Day? My next thought was, this agent has a buyer who wants to buy and they want to show my listing.  Why not!  The property is vacant so they won't be bothering anyone so I told them, do it and bring me an offer on it. I've worked on Holidays before, not frequently, and not on Christmas as I recall, but it happens.  As the saying goes, you have to make hay while the sun shines.   Today that property went in to escrow.  M... 12/27/2013

  MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM SANDRA PAULOW   THE WHITE MOUNTAINS OF ARIZONA PINETOP, ARIZONA! 12/25/2013

  Seller Concessions in Contracts. Let’s start by defining Seller concessions.  Seller concessions are generally a financial contribution from the seller to be applied to some of the pre-paids and closing costs for a buyer who is acquiring a loan to purchase property.   In recent years this has been a common practice, particularly for buyers who were purchasing foreclosure property.  The banks were willing to contribute a certain percentage to those costs to facilitate a quick sale and disposition of the asset. Lenders who were originating loans for buyers encouraged them to ask for those contributions and understandably, since they knew the banks were willing to pay them.  However, with the foreclosure market drying up, buyers are now making offers on properties that are privately own... 11/21/2013

Good Morning Everyone,   First let me apologize for the length of this article, but please, if you are one of the many who’s listing expired without an offer this fall, it is worth a read.   With the beginning of November comes the unofficial end to the summer buying season.  As a result many listings for properties expire at the end of October every year.  Most were listed in the spring, to target the summer buyers.  What is sad is that they expired at all.  They didn’t sell this year and considering the high number of those that expired I did some research.  I pulled a few of them just to see why that number was so high.  What I found really didn’t surprise me but it made me feel bad for those sellers because those listings were “bought” by the agents who listed them six months ago. ... 11/13/2013

    Good Morning Everyone,   I was reading my daily update of featured AR blogs this morning and I notice to the side was a big syndication site ad stating that 83% of all homebuyers don't have an agent.  Well, I'm not sure how accurate that statistic is, but I can say a good many of them don't have an agent, and they don't want one apparently. I can't tell you how many calls I get from people inquiring about property who don't want an agent to help them and state clearly they only want to work with the listing agent.  I have yet to figure out why that is.  Do they think by working with the listing agent they can negotiate a better deal.  Are they so sure of themselves that they don't feel they need representation?  Or forbid, if they actually had an buyer's agent working on their beha... 10/02/2013

  The Market Has Shifted, Again! Let’s Strive for Balance, not a Win Lose Scenario!     There has been a dramatic shift in the market this year, one that buyers are having a hard time accepting.  The sellers are in control of their property values once again and desperation no longer rules the marketplace.     I have had two buyers recently lose out on a home they really wanted because they were determined not to pay full-price or in one case a fair price for a property.  One was a Short Sale which was already priced below market to spur offers.  The other was an older home in need of some renovation but was overall in really good shape.  While the listing price was a bit high considering the dated décor of the second property, it was not horribly overpriced.  Both of the buyers ended u... 09/17/2013

Sky Hi Retreat 144 Bonanza, Pinetop, AZ Wow, cabin in the woods. This is all you need. The towering ponderosa pines encompass your cabin. The large front deck is perfect. Quaint and cozy.Eat inkitchen. Fireplace in living room. The master is large with walk in closet and sliding door to back deck. Even a storage shed. Great community with views of meadow and Pat Mullen Mtn. You will love this   Details Asking Price: $149,900 MLS: 119741 Sq. Feet: 967 Bedrooms: 2 Bathrooms: 1 # of Floors: 1 Subdivision: Sky Hi Retreat Property Amenities - Range/Oven - Full Refrigerator - Microwave - Deck - Walk-in closet       Contact Info Ed OlivaDir 480-980-3032Email | Website     All information is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed. 09/15/2013

Good Afternoon Everyone,   As you will note from my header I am referring to those Real Estate Junkies out there who spend all their time online and calling the listing or preferred agents who are paying for premium placement on the syndication sites.  These sites do a horrible injustice because many time the "internet cruisers" are not seeing all there is to see.  What they are seeing is those listings that someone is paying to have front and center.  It causes so much confusion, they don't understand that unless they connect with one agent they are not going to see all that is out there.  What brought this to light was a conversation I had with young buyers the other day who had found themselves in an bad situation.  About a month and half ago they contacted a listing agent about a pr... 08/07/2013