Good Morning Surprise- as you have probaly heard the first phase of city voting has ended and in District 3 we have a run-off between :Doc Sullivan and John Williams.  It is about as close as it can be.  I was actually surprised at the low turnout.  Verify that you are registered, if you are and did not receive a mail ballot, did you change your address with the registry?It is your right to vote and I am urging everyone to register to vote and mail your ballot in.  This is our community and we actually have a choice on who leads us.  Take advantage of that.     Danny Dimas 09/21/2007

The bustling neighborhood community of Ashton Ranch is located just South of the Surprise Recreation Campus spring training complex, home to the Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals Major League baseball teams. The 1217 homes between Greenway on the north, Waddell on the south, and Bullard on the east is close to all the action in Surprise. The community sports three sparkling pools and hot tubs, two parks for kids and a number of grassy retention areas for families and pets to play in the beautiful weather. Ashton Ranch is close to shopping, golf and the Surprise Library is within 1 mile walking distance. If you are looking for  wonderful family community - look to Ashton Ranch. 09/20/2007

Are you looking for a community that cares about you and your family? The Surprise Community and Recreation Services Department has a season full of fun and competitive activities planned for every age and gender. Try these on for size; Performance in the Park on September 22nd is a free evening of live music and entertainment. How about the Fall Carnival September 27th through the 30th with rides and games. Don't miss the free movie night on Friday October 19th at the Surprise Stadium.If sports is your thing sign up now for tennis lessons, flag football, lap swimming, tot and youth hockey, or belly dancing, just to name a few offerings. All the activities are presented through the City of Surprise and you can obtain more information by calling 623-222-2000 or email me at gthornton@jrob... 09/15/2007

Did you know that the City of Surprise was named by Homer Ludden whose home town was Surprise, Nebraska? Surprise was incorporated December 12, 1960 and had a population of 1,000. Surprise is now a vibrant and fast growing community in the Northwest Salt River Valley in "Valley of the Sun" with over 100,000 residents.45 minutes from downtown Phoenix, Surprise is surrounded by mountain park lands, the White Tank Mountains, a regional lake and the beautiful Sonoran desert. Residents have a large choice of activities including, water fun at the Aquatic Center, with waterfalls and slides, attending or playing on the fields at the new Dream Catcher Park, the city's first all-access sports facility, hike or bike in the White Tank Mountains, or hit the links on one of the eight beautifully gro... 09/15/2007

Yes!If you meet the reasonable credit and downpayment standards of the "Conforming" Loan. These loans include:VA with a maximum loan value of $359,650FHA maximum loan value of $263,160Conventional maximum loan value of $417,000In six of the west Maricopa county area alone, there are 4085 homes for sale today that meet the criteria of one or more of these programs.Homes for sale in:El Mirage       483Glendale      2216Peoria          1558Sun City         735Sun City West 276Surprise        2044Call me today for help in buying a home in one of these fine communities.See also my companion post http://activerain.com/blogsview/176795/Buying-a-Home-YouJim Little, Your Sun City Realtorhttp://jclittle.com/Ken Meade Realty17001 N Del Webb BlvdSun City AZ 85373800-877-1776623-977-1776By the way..... 08/17/2007

Suprise Tennis and Racquet Complex:  14469 W Paradise Lane, Surprise AZThe state of the art Surprise Tennis and Racquet Complex had a soft opening on Monday. It features 25 courts, one of which will seat up to 5,000 spectators. The grand opening is scheduled for September 8, 2007. 17 of the courts will be lit for night-time play, something very important in Arizona's heat.Plans for the use of the complex include lessons and tournaments for the young players, including some smaller courts, up to hopes to get USTA sanctioned and senior matches. The complex is part of the Surprise Recreation Campus. This jewel in the city's crown includes Cactus League playing fields for the Texas Rangers and the Kansas City Royals, as well as the main library and a wonderful water park. For more info on p... 08/09/2007

For those of you who wait in those long lines at the PO, now know why.  Surprise was named the #3 fastest growing suburb in the US by FORBES magazine.  here is the link:http://www.forbes.com/realestate/2007/07/16/suburbs-growth-housing-forbeslife-cx_mw_0716realestate.html We will continue to grow as a city in a positive way.  Yesterday I drove through the new city center and it is coming along just fine.  I also walked the grounds at the new tennis facility and Dreamcatcher Park.  If you have not had the chance, go check it out.  It is impressive.   08/09/2007

I am glad July is coming to an end.  So far the slowest month in a while.  I hope to see a serge before school starts.  Speaking of school starting, the new school in Surpirse Farms (Canyon Ridge) will be opening this fall.  It is located in phase 2 of Surprise Farms.  All children in phase 2 will attend as well as GATE students from around the district.  The entire curriculem will be catered to the GATE students.  So far no park has been started yet.....  The run for mayor and city council has begun.  Surprise Farms is in district 3 and  we have a couple candidates running.   Please be sure and vote, it will be a mail election so no excuses.  Lots of monsoon weather.... we need the rain, so be careful driving in those flood waters.  Did you hear who is replacing Bob Barker on the price... 07/30/2007

  SURPRISE, AZ, SUN CITY WEST, SUNCITY WEST, AZ. NEW HOMES IN SURPRISE, SPRING TRAINING BASEBALL IN SURPRISE, ARIZONA WITH THE TEXAX RANGERS AND KANSAS CITY ROYALS IS THE ENVY OF EVERYONE WITH THE NEW STATE OF ART PRACTICE FIELDS AND BALL FIELD IN SURPRIZE, AZ.HOLIDAY IN EXPRESS WILL OPEN  WITH 117 ROOMS NEXT TO THE BALL PARK AS WELL AS THE MARRIOT RESIDENCE INN WILL PROVIDE THE SECOND HOTEL WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE TO THE TWO BALL STADIUMS IN SURPRISE, ARIZONA. THESE HOTELS ALONG WITH THE RESTURANTS, OFFICE COMPLEX'S, RETAIL STORES PLUS NEW HOMES IN SURPRISE MAKES THIS THE PLACE TO LIVE. ALL THESE UNITS WILL TIE IN WITH THE GLENDALE FOOT BALL STADIUM, COYOTE HOCKEY RINK, AND ALSO THE SOFTBALL, BASEBALL, AND TENNIS TOURNAMENTS. SAM RATLIFFRE/MAX INTEGRITY REALTORSWEB: SAMUELRATLIFF.COMCE... 07/28/2007

Want to Buy a Foreclosure? Think about it first.Many buyers are coming to me with the intent to buy a foreclosure property. Why? They think they will save a lot of money. After looking at many, most decide not to do so. They find the costs to be much more than they expected.Reasons are:The former owner couldn't pay the house payment. Do you really believe they did any repairs?The first thing a lender does when foreclosing is to stop any maintenance, and turn off the uitilities, including often the water. With the water turned off, what do you think happens to the landscape? Do you want to buy a house and have to completely re-do the landscape?Lenders are reluctant to sell below what is owed them. They are turning down low offers, and are increasingly willing to hold the home on the mark... 07/28/2007

Crescent Crown Distributing has announce that it will build a regional headquarters an distribution facility at the Surprise Pointe commericial park.Crescent expects to employ 250 people initially, growing to 600 jobs in the near future. The company also has a distribution center in Phoenix, which it will keep open. That facility employs nearly 600 people.Crescent is a beer distributor, representing many high end brands such as Heineken, Miller, Labatt and others. The company expects to sell more than 16,000,000 cases of beer in Arizona in 2007.Surprise City Councilman Joe Johnson said. "This brings real jobs the average citizens of Surprise can Get."The Surprise Pointe development is expected to bring as many as 6,000 new jobs to Surprise. The positive aspects of this include shorter c... 07/26/2007

Growing, Growing Grown!Forbes.com reports that Surprise Arizona is the third-fastest-growing suburb in America according the the Arizona Republic. In the same article, the Republic says that Money magazine rated Surprise AZ as first in the nation for the rate of new job growth.Four of the top ten fast growing suburbs were in the West Maricopa County area. The other three were Buckeye, Avondale and Goodyear.Most Family Friendly!Surprise was also the city with the highest percentage of married couples in the U.S. with 69% of the households comprised of married couples. Source: socialexplorer.comSurprise is also only 10 minutes from Luke Air Force Base, making Surprise a popular city for many of the base personnelFor more information about Surprise, click hereTo learn more about homes and ... 07/21/2007

Surprise is the growth center of the northwest valley, located west of Glendale, Peoria, Sun City and Sun City West.The town was a small, one-mile square village when it started in 1937. It has since become Arizona's fastest growing city 4 years out of the last 5. The population is now over 100,000. For more about the population growth in Surprise, see my earlier article. click hereSurprise has a healthy mix of resident ages. There are many family oriented developments such as Marley Park Kingswood Park, West Point, Mountain Vista Ranch, Greenway Parc and others too many to mention. Homes for sale include many resales, as well as new homes that are being built daily.In addition to the family developments, Surprise also includes Del Webb's Sun City Grand. This is a priemie acctive adult ... 07/18/2007

Countrywide Financial, one of the largest mortgage originators reported that They made 45 Billion dollars in mortage loans in June. This is a 4% increase over June of 2006. The company accomplished this in spite of vastly reduced activity in the sub-prime and adjustable rate mortgages.The company still finds the housing market soft, but a 4% increase in same month production is nothing to sneeze at.In addition to the higher volume of loans, the company is also hiring new people, adding 830 new jobs since May. This in a time many lenders have cut their work force.Thoughts on Today's Real Estate News (7/15/07) In today's Arizona Republic, Cathrine Reagor reports a few things of interest to home buyers and home sellers.New home building continues to slow. Condo sales are bucking the trend.... 07/16/2007

The first article, Development remakes Sun Valley Parkway, from the Arizona Republic, reports that Tartesso, Buckeye's third largest master-planned community is spurring growth along the Sun Valley Parkway west of the White Tank Mountains. About 900 of the planned 50,000 homes in Tartesso's nearly 13,000 acres have been finished. The development may take 15 years to finish, but at build-out, it could have 100,000 to 150,000 residents. Phase 1 of Tartesso will have 3,000 homes, commercial areas and parks. The entire project includes five phases on the west side of the Sun Valley Parkway and seven on the east side. Once there are enough rooftops, developers will move forward with the planned Tartesso Town Center on Interstate 10 and the Sun Valley Parkway. Definitely a housing hot spot in... 07/12/2007

 SUN CITY WEST, SUN CITY WEST HOMES, SUN CITY, SUN CITY HOMES, SUN CITY GRAND, SURPRISE NEW HOMES THE TALK GOING AROUND TOWN IS THE NEW 17 MEDICAL LAB'S OR MEDICAL BUSINESS THAT WILL BE OPEN BY 2009 IN PHOENIX, ARIZONA.  WOW, WHAT A CLEAN BUSINESS FOR OUR ENVIROMENT TO HELP WITH THE QUALITY OF AIR. THIS TYPE BUSINESS WILL OPEN UP MANY MORE BACK-UP UNITS TO HELP THEM AND WILL KEEP PHOENIX, ARIZONA ON TOP OF THE MAP FOR GROWTH. NOW IS THE TIME TO CONSIDER LIVING IN THE BEAUTIFUL SOUTHWEST WITH ALL OUR GOLF COURSES, CARDINAL FOOT BALL STADIUM, COYOTE HOCKEY RINK, SUN'S BASKET BALL TEAM AND ALL THE SPRING BASEBALL LEAGUES PLUS THE PHOENIX GOLF PGA TOURNAMENTS FOR MEN AND WOMEN.  WE HAVE THE SPORTS FOR ANYONE TO ENJOY. LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING YOU BEFORE 2009. SAM RATLIFFSRAT4116@COX.NET  07/08/2007

   SUN CITY WEST HOMES, SURPRISE HOMES, SURPRISE NEW HOMES, PEORIA NEW HOMES, SUN CITY GRAND.From MSNBC.com, reports that rates on 30 year mortgages dipped slightly this week, the second decline after five weeks of increases. Freddie Mac reported Thursday that rates on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.67 percent this week, compared with 6.69 percent last week. A year ago, rates on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages stood at 6.78 percent. Analysts attributed the decline to developments in the bond markets and to the worsening state of the housing market. "This week we saw further effects of the current housing recession," said Frank Nothaft, chief economist at Freddie Mac. He noted that existing home sales dipped to the slowest pace in four years while the number of unsold homes on th... 07/08/2007

Sun City Grand AZ Arizona Active Adult Community  sun city grand az - sun city grand arizona - sun city grand real estate  http://www.samuelratliff.com Located in Surprise, Sun City Grand Arizona. Sun City Grand real estate is a resort style community than previous Arizona active adult communities Sun City Arizona real estate & Sun City West Arizona homes. When you drive through Sun City Grand AZ Neighborhoods there is no mistaken how they arrived with the name Sun City Grand Arizona with its stunning views of The White Tank Mountains, lush green golf course fairways, waterfalls & lakes. Sun City Grand real estate Arizona active adults offers Condos, Casitas and single family homes. Sun City Grand AZ is loaded with resort style amenities for Arizona active adults. Exclusive New Home Se... 07/05/2007

Surprise az new homes Cambridge at Marley Parksurprise az new homes - new homes surprise - surprise real estatehttp://samuelratliff.com where tree-lined streets, sidewalks, classic-style architecture and uniquely themed parks provide a charming, personable place to live new homes in surprise, arizona. Enjoy amenities at surprise new homes including nine parks featuring a variety of sports courts, gardens, playgrounds, interactive water features, open-air amphitheatre and Marley Park Elementary School new homes in arizona. Nearby attractions include Arrowhead Towne Center, the new Cardinals and Coyotes stadiums, Lake Pleasant Regional Park and White Tank Regional Park in surprise arizona. Come home to surprise, arizona, one of our 4 unique home new homes in surprise home designs featurin... 07/04/2007

Folklore has it that Surprise Arizona gets its name because an early resident was supposed to have said that if a city grew here, it would be a Surprise.Surprise! A city did grow here. And a fast growing city it is also. Recent figures released by the U.S. Census Bureau say that between the year 2000 census, and the 2006 revised estimate that Surprise grew over 177%, from 30,918 people to 85,914. John Hagen of the cities economic development department estimates that population is now over 100,000. He also states that the city leads the country in job growth.Opportunities abound in Surprise, whether you are looking for a home to raise a family, or a place to start a business.For more information on Surprise, contact me or visit the city website HERE.For more information on homes and con... 06/29/2007