White Mountains AZ Real Estate Blog

Cheaper to Buy than Rent - 2011

2011-01-30T13:27:00.000-08:00

We've all heard the old mantra, "Renting is like throwing money down a rat-hole", or something similar to that. But in today's real estate market, it may very well be "It's cheaper to buy than to rent". At least that's what recent statistics show.

Why is that? Well, increased demand for rental properties has driven the cost of home ownership down, drastically, by supply and demand. The greater the demand for rental properties, the higher the rents go. Coupled with extremely low interest rates and a huge inventory of affordable and low-priced REO/foreclosure properties, and it's apparent that buying a home may be cheaper than renting.

Also factoring in is that the low-priced REO/foreclosure properties require less income to qualify for a loan. Prospective home buyers of the past several years were largely shut out by bloated housing prices. Realistically speaking. Of course there were many who were charmed by exotic lending instruments that seemingly didn't take into account an income insufficient to repay the loan. That's changed! But even with tighter lending requirements, there are still plenty of loan programs that many may qualify for more easily in view of the depressed prices.

For the White Mountains of Arizona market, including Show Low, Pinetop, Lakeside, White Mountain Lakes, Snowflake, Taylor, Vernon, Heber-Overgaard, there are never-seen bargains available in the local housing market, AND in the vacation-2nd home market. Renters, move-up buyers, and vacation home buyers are buying homes and cabins in the White Mountains of Arizona they never thought they'd be able to buy.

So, if you've been thinking about buying in the White Mountains, it's time to get started looking! We can help you find financing to get started looking. We also can send all foreclosure listings in the White Mountains so that you can see the prices for yourself! And, most importantly, we specialize in REO/foreclosure and bank-owned properties and can tell you that they're easy to buy when you work with experienced Realtors like Bruce & Pam. Knowledgeable and experienced Realtors make all the difference when you're wading into the foreclosure/REO market. We're comfortable and experienced in dealing with banks and asset management companies-- and we work with most of them, too. Relationships are important when there's a job to do!

Here's a link where you can sign up to receive foreclosure/REO listings in the White Mountains of Arizona: White Mountains Arizona REO/Foreclosure Listings Just drop us a note and we'll send listings of your preference, or we'll just send them all.

It's a never-before seen opportunity for home ownership in the beautiful White Mountains of Arizona. Hope to see you here soon!

Navajo County Arizona REO & Foreclosure Agents

2010-10-30T12:32:00.000-07:00

If you're an REO asset manager or pre-marketer looking for superior service to list and sell REO, Bank-Owned, Foreclosure assets in Navajo county Arizona, consider this:

Do you want to work with agents who deliver qualified buyers, well-constructed hassle-free offers, have extensive experience listing and selling REO assets, work with all the major outsourcers and directs or an unknown quantity? Working with Bruce and Pam Wachter assures you of the best possible service AND superior results. Every time.

"You are fabulous to work with! I cannot believe the level of service you provide. Thank you so much!" ~ M.W. Asset Mgr.

The REO industry is over-saturated with agents and brokers, many of whom lack the resources, technology, market-share, education and experience to handle their assignments. But by the time an asset manager has invested time and resources into an REO listing with an under-qualified agent, the process is kicked down the road another 90 days. Valuable time lost!

Pam and Bruce Wachter of Russ Lyon Sotheby's Int'l Realty and their diverse field services, in-house support, extensive marketing technology and just plain hard work and attention to detail maximize your results. Pleasant to work with, knowledgeable, but sensitive to the needs of pressured asset managers-- working with Pam and Bruce can make a tough and demanding job much easier. And you will love the results!

Pam is a licensed Real Estate Broker holding the NAR (National Association of Realtors) Short Sale Foreclosure Resource (SFR) designation. ResNet, Equator, and other platforms certified. Fannie Mae asset specialist. See Pam's professional profile here: Pam Wachter, Assoc. Broker SFR - REO Proflile

Take a look at the services we provide and contact us: Navajo County REO Broker Services

List and sell REO, Foreclosure in Navajo County Arizona, Show Low, Pinetop-Lakeside, Heber, Overgaard, Vernon.

Houses and Diamonds - A Theoretical Comparison of "Value"

2010-10-30T11:05:00.000-07:00

Being a real estate broker and an admirer of diamonds, (but constantly under-supplied), I got to thinking about the "value" of diamonds versus the "value" of real estate-i.e., how much you pay for both and what you can actually sell them for on the open market. And with real estate, especially now.

After reading that many millions of homeowners are "upside down" or "underwater" on their loans, that is, owe more than the property is worth, I thought, "Well, so what? Is the house less desirable-bricks and mortar-wise? Does it no longer keep the rain from falling on your head? Can you no longer lock the doors? Has it really changed essentially from the day you moved in? Are the rosebushes less beautiful? Are the trees less green?" Now understand, my house is "worth" about $100K less than it was "worth" two years ago. So, no Marie Antoinette here.

On to the diamond/real estate comparison. If we can all agree that generally the purchase of a home is one driven by emotions (and not all of them good-sometimes greed is involved), we can agree that buying diamonds is also fueled by emotions, and many times, similar emotions that surface when buying a home. Nobody really NEEDS to buy diamonds, and mostly nobody really NEEDS to buy a home-despite what the NAR says. Both the NAR and DeBeers and their employees and down-line retailers (sales people) will tell you basically the same thing. That buying a home, or buying a diamond puts you in a higher status category-possibly gives you more respect, possibly more universal acceptance, and admiration. You will have "arrived"! You can drive up to your new home and be very proud and happy and secure, and feel that you have a little more prestige. You can flash your diamonds and feel basically the same way. However, more than likely, both the home and the diamonds were paid for with borrowed money. Doesn't seem to make them any less yours, right? You have all the cache, and the use of both. So pretty much, they're "yours". And, many jewelers will also tell you that you've made an "investment" by buying a diamond. Many real estate professionals will tell you the same thing about buying a home.

DeBeers likes to say that a nice diamond will cost maybe two paychecks. At least they used to, but they've been real quiet lately. Most people, however, will have to finance a diamond. Most people will have to finance a home. Now, along with your diamond, you'll get a beautiful "appraisal" document. It'll have all fancy script, and curly-cues, and a picture or two of the gem. More than likely the appraisal will be for what you paid. Maybe sometimes a little more. Similarly, along with your home purchase, you will have an appraisal-no fancy script, but you will have pictures. That is, if the bank gives you a copy of it, peasant. They may, they may not. But, somewhere there is an official document stating what your home is worth.

So, you've got a $10K diamond, say, according to the appraisal and what you paid-and that feels good, and it looks darn good, and you get many compliments from the un-diamonded. You feel good. You have, in addition to getting compliments and feeling really good about yourself, an "asset", something of value, something you can sell. If you have to, or if you feel like it. You may want to "trade up" sometime! Parlay the value. You've added to your worldly estate! Possibly you were given that diamond as a token of love, or maybe you just gave it to yourself because you deserve it. So, love and romance and dreams and accomplishments are all wrapped up in that velvet box, too, in addition to monetary "value". It makes you feel good, loved, and pretty wonderful. Just like a nice new home does.

So, you're sporting money on your hand, or in your ear(s), or around your neck. $10K worth. You think, "Heck, I could sell this thing if I needed to. Maybe if I held on to it for a little while, it'd increase in value". This isn't a crazy idea. Diamonds get more and more expensive to buy as years go by. You know that. It's just a fact. You could sell it to a jeweler, right? Good place to start. You've got your appraisal in hand, the diamond in a velvet box in the other, and you tell the jeweler you'd like to sell it just to see what he says. He looks at it through his loupe and says, "Well, I can give you $6500 for it". What on earth? The guy's a thief, clearly. You try another jeweler and get a similar offer. You cast about for other potential buyers and think of the pawn shop. Pawnbroker tells you "$4500". What in the world? You're in hock for this diamond for maybe $7500K (or more), and you can't even get that for it?

But have you forgotten the pleasure the diamond gives you? All the intangible good things that were reflected in the sparkle? Does the sun not turn it into fire anymore? Do you not remember why you bought it or why it was given to you? Why are you looking at it for just the monetary value? To me, it's the same thing with a home. A home is not a piggy-bank (do NOT ever, ever listen to the NAR again), it's not an "investment" (repeat prior caveat), it's your place to live, love, laugh, cook, bake, read, play, and hopefully lock the doors and be safe in. It offers you a refuge. It lives and breathes right along with you. It is an "asset" right now, and always will be in so many ways more than the monetary value-if you look at it for all the things that a home is and can be. And was when you bought it and made it your own. What "home" really means.

And, if you absolutely HAVE to sell it, you've lost your job, there's illness or death that forces you to sell it, you have a horrible loss that cannot be calculated in dollars. And if dollars are lost because you cannot get what you paid for it, or even what you owe on it-that, I concede willingly, triples, quadruples the emotional loss-added cruelties. If you have to sell diamonds to buy diapers and milk, the pain and humiliation is very similar. A great personal loss.

But, if you are fortunate and don't have to sell your home, even though you're "upside down", continue to try to keep the faith with the home you fell in love with, the life it represents. Don't abandon it-- protect it fiercely and proudly. It's your land, it's your home. Keep it and forget about anything called "the market". Shut your front door on all that and rather listen to the peaceful and comforting sounds of your house breathing with you. Like a diamond, your home is a gem, one of a kind, because it's yours.

~~Pam Wachter, Associate Broker SFR

The New Realties New Homes Must Meet

2010-09-19T17:35:00.000-07:00

Across the United States, it seems that “McMansions” are out and smaller homes with higher-end features are in. Wine cellars, home theaters, dual master bedroom suites, special function rooms, twin libraries, etc., are largely out of fashion. First-floor master suites and “green” living details, provided they don’t drive the price through the roof, are desirable.

Maximizing usable space is what today’s homebuyers are aiming for. And that includes both indoor and outdoor living spaces.

1. Small is the new big. Smaller and better designed homes are already making there way into new market preferences. Home sizes are definitely trending downwards with an eye towards maximizing room size. Open floor plans still dominate buyer preferences with kitchens still serving as a focal point, flowing into the dining area and family room area. Buyers still like the idea of entertaining family and friends with this open viewing area. And, as the economy tightens, many families look to enhancing their stay at home experience for themselves and for entertaining friends. More open living spaces support that trend.

2. Dual home offices. Many families now have two income-earners working from home, or working out of home offices. Hence there is increased demand for home designs that accommodate not only one office, but two. Or, larger bedrooms that can accommodate work stations integrated into the suite. Even retirement-age buyers are very interested in a dedicated home office that doesn’t sacrifice a bedroom for that purpose.

3. “Green” details. Affordable, eco-friendly home details is becoming increasing popular, especially among younger home buyers. These may include concrete counter tops; tankless water heaters; and recycling bins built into kitchen cabinets. Energy-efficiency is still topping out as desirable for these buyers who are also looking for improved and thoughtful home insulation techniques and extra insulation in the attic.

4. Taking the indoors outside. Another trend is that buyers truly want to be able to make full use of their entire living spaces, including the outdoor areas. Fire pits, outdoor kitchens, or even outdoor sleeping areas, are gaining in popularity. Buyers want to actively use as much of their property as possible—and not in older traditional ways. Creativity that brings enhanced enjoyment beyond a swing and a barbecue outdoors is what many buyers are looking for.

What is also crystal cleat is that today’s buyers are far less likely to risk investing hard-earned dollars in a huge home that might not grow in value as quickly as in years gone by. Rather, they want well-designed, fully functional/versatile space, less expensive to maintain—but designed to reflect and match how they live now.