Homes Are More Affordable Now in Phoenix

 

Buying power has just gone up in Maricopa County. Tom Ross is here with the latest news.

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I’m back once again with my preferred lender, Tom Ross of Bay Equity, to give you guys some important new information about mortgage loan limits here in Phoenix. Some big changes have come out this last week and we wanted to explain what was going on to you guys.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have both raised their loan limits for conventional financing to $453,100 in Maricopa County. What this means is that you can essentially buy a $477,000 home with only 5% down. 

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Your buying power has increased as a result.

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It’s a big assist to the buying power of anybody who is looking to buy a home with conventional financing. It opens up the market a bit more as well.

If you have any interest in buying a home or just want to know more about these loan increases, give us a call or send us an email. We would love to hear from you.

How TRID Makes an Easier Process for Buyers

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Today I'm here with Tom Ross from Nova Home Loans, and we are going to discuss a massive change in the lending world. It's called TRID, which stands for Truth in Lending RESPA Integrated Disclosure. TRID is designed to simplify the lending process for the consumer. How will the new TRID law affect you?  

Right now when you close a loan, there are three essential pieces of paperwork: the good faith estimate, the truth in lending statement, and a settlement. The problem is that those three pieces don't seem to fit together. It is simply a counter-intuitive process that causes stress and confusion for the buyer. 

The new TRID law essentially compiles those three pieces of paperwork together. Instead of the good faith estimate, you will get something called a loan estimate. It will look similar to the good faith estimate, but it will also have information that usually goes on the truth in lending statement. When you go to close, instead of getting a settlement, you will get a form called a closing disclosure. The closing disclosure looks exactly like the loan estimate. This way, your initial documents will look like your final documents, which creates less confusion. 

Another change is that our consumers will now have a mandatory three day waiting period before they can sign their final loan documents. The waiting period eliminates rushing around to assemble all the papers  you need in order to close the next day, which is phenomenal for our consumers. 

Overall, the TRID law will probably add about 15 days to the escrow process, which is currently 30 days. The new 45 day escrow process is really aimed to protect the client, as it allows more time for things like inspections and assembling paperwork. 

If you have any questions, you can contact Tom at 602-791-5861, or email him at Tom.Ross@NovahomeLoans.com. As always, if you have any questions about real estate, call us or send us an email. We'd love to hear from you!

Why You Should Hire a Buyers Agent

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Today, I'm here with my buyer specialist, Holly Huntimer. We're going to discuss the many benefits of hiring a buyer's agent.

First of all, by hiring a buyer's agent, you know you're going to get fair representation. In the past, there was just one agent. Now, you have a listing agent to represent the seller's best interests and a buyer's agent will invest all of their time in helping you meet your home buying goals.

What sets the Monique Walker team apart from the rest are our skills and our experience. Holly is a certified negotiation expert. She helps the MIke Ferry organization with a buyer specialist training program. As for experience, our team did over 100 deals last year, and over 80 deals this year, so we certainly know our way around the process.

A good buyer's agent will tell you that it's very important to be committed to the buying process. Get pre-qualified before you even start looking for a home and sit down and do the buyer consultation so we can figure out what you're looking for. Our goal is to save our clients time and money, so we need to know what your goals are.

We give our clients an edge simply by communicating with everybody in the transaction. It's very important to continue communication with the lender and the seller's agent. That way we can make your offer more appealing, because we know what the seller needs and can get you the home without necessarily raising the price.

To see the reviews on Zillow, click here. 

Even if you're buying new construction, you should have a real estate agent to represent your needs. People forget that the builder's agents are essentially salespeople, and they work with the builder's interests at heart.

If you are a buyer and have question for Holly, you can call her at 623-451-8494 or email Holly@MoniqueSells.com. As always, if you have any questions for me, give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you.

What Phoenix Lender Should You Choose?

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Our team has been able to help 70 clients this year already, and the market is doing great. Unfortunately, we have experienced a couple of contracts that have blown up. This had nothing to do with us or the house, but the lender. When we aren't working with Tom Ross, we have bad experiences. Why is that?

Well, there are a million different ways for a transaction to blow up. What's different about Tom and his team is their experience. Between him and 3 of his associates, they have over 50 years of experience! They are great at asking the right questions to determine if something is serious or not, and they can eliminate 95% of your headaches that come with getting approved for a loan. 

Once you remove the lending part from the equation, all you have to worry about is the appraisal and title issues. This is much more comfortable than having to constantly deal with your loan. Tom and his team have such a wealth of knowledge, they simply make the process easier and smoother, which will get you into your new home the fastest. 

If you have any questions for us or for Tom or are looking to buy or sell a home here in Phoenix, give us a call or send us an email. We would love to help you out!

Have You Seen This Property in Arcadia?

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Today we are excited to join azluxurytour.com to talk about one of our latest sold properties in the Arcadia market. Arcadia is expanding. The boundaries now sit from 40th st. all the way to Scottsdale Rd, and from a little north of Camelback all the way to Thomas. There are a ton of great homes here, and the homes were built on citrus grove lands, so there are a lot of mature trees as well.

The Arcadia market has always been a very stable one, even in the downturn. In today's video, we are very excited to share one of our latest SOLD listings and to tell you about all the features it offers.

The listing we are talking about is a unique property that sits on an acreage in Arcadia for $925,000. When you enter the property, you'll notice it's gated with a lot of yard space and grassy areas. When you walk into the house, there are soaring 12-14 foot ceilings, an 8-person bar area with full granite and a 400 gallon salt water aquarium looking through into the gourmet kitchen with all the works. The master bed and bath are expansive, and include a jetted tub and shower with a large, formal office between the rooms.
 
If you have any questions about finding the home of your dreams like this one, give us a call or send us a quick email. We look forward to talking to you soon!

Why Should You Consider Moving to Arcadia?

There are many great Phoenix area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a Market Analysis so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (602) 413-8195 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions. 

Today we would like to talk about an area in Phoenix that we love. It's centrally located, with countless entertainment options, and is truly a great place to live. We are talking about Arcadia and why we think it's one of the best places to live in Phoenix. Here are 5 reasons why we love this area so much:

Location
Arcadia is located just about 10 minutes from Sky Harbor Airport, making it easy for you if you travel a lot for work, or live out of state.

Shopping
The shopping in Arcadia is fantastic. The Biltmore Fashion Mall, as well as the Scottsdale Fashion Mall, are great places to spend the day, or weekend.

Food
There are a ton of great, locally-owned restaurants in this area. We'll just talk to you about a few today. Chelsea's focuses on true Arizona food and is located right above the canal. North is also located above the canal and is known for its delicious, authentic North Italian cuisine. For dessert, we recommend checking out the French bakery, Essence, where you can get some delicious macaroons.

Entertainment
Arcadia is just 10 minutes away from Oldtown Scottsdale, which has plenty of entertainment options. You're close to Chase Field and the U.S. Airways Center if you want to check out a Diamondbacks or Suns game, and you're also within 10 minutes of two great hiking destinations, Camelback and Squaw mountains.

Real Estate
The real estate in Arcadia is beautiful and diverse. There is a wide range of homes, from humble single-family abodes to large million-dollar mansions.

If you'd like to take a look at some homes in Arcadia, or if you have any questions, be sure to give us a call or send us an email. We can't wait to hear from you!