Archives for November 2016

Mortgage Rates Spike to End 2016 By Joe Szabo, Scottsdale Real Estate Team

November 29, 2016 Joe Szabo

Exterior Backyard

By Joe Szabo, Scottsdale Real Estate Team

Mortgage rates have spiked 0.5 percent since the U.S. presidential election earlier this month. On a 30-year fixed loan of $300,000, this increases your monthly payment by $85.

If you were waiting to refinance, this is a wake up call, and if you plan to buy a home, it’s time to reevaluate your budget — because rates are unlikely to drop.

Let’s review what happened, and where we go from here.

Why rates are rising

Rates rose after Donald Trump became president-elect because market participants believe his proposed policies — infrastructure spending, tax cuts, and trade tariffs — will be inflationary if enacted.

Rates are tied to bonds, because bonds pay a rate of return to investors each year. If policymaking fuels inflation, a bond investor’s rate of return will be worth less in the future. Investors sell bonds on inflation fears, and rates rise when bond prices drop in a selloff.

This is exactly what has happened. Since the election, bond selling has led to the biggest bond losses in 26 years.

Thirty-year mortgages have jumped into the low 4-percent range from the mid 3-percent range at record speed.

This dramatic rate spike might level off near-term, but don’t count on a reversal back to record lows.

Where we might go from here

Jeffrey Gundlach, one of the world’s most respected bond investors, thinks we’ve seen about 80 percent of a post election rate spike ahead of the Federal Reserve meeting on December 14.

This means rates could rise a bit more in the coming weeks, then the next catalyst will be Fed policy. The Fed has two main policy influences on rates.

First, they control an overnight bank-to-bank lending rate that serves as a benchmark for overall rate levels in the economy. In December 2015, they hiked this rate 0.25 percent after keeping it near zero since December 2008, when the financial crisis was at its worst.

There’s almost 100% probability of a rate hike at the Fed’s December 14 policy meeting. If the Fed does hike, this will reinforce inflationary expectations, driving higher rates. It will also increase rates on home equity line of credit (HELOC) second mortgages.

Second, the Fed has helped to keep rates low since January 2009 by buying bonds that directly impact mortgage rates — rates have dropped (or stayed low) on this Fed buying. Rising rates will hurt the Fed’s ability to buy enough bonds to continue holding rates down.

All of this means the Fed won’t be as rate-friendly as we’ve become accustomed to since 2008. This is why it’s very unlikely rates will drop from here, and may rise instead.

Nobody knows how much more until we get policy clarity from the first 100 days of a Trump administration, and the corresponding Fed reactions February 1, March 15, and May 3.

Implications for home buyers and owners

Below are some things you should be aware of as you evaluate your options in a rising rate environment. These predictions incorporate the latest available economic estimates (from November 16) from the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Last call to refinance. Rates are still low historically, but if you’ve been waiting to refinance — for a lower rate/payment or to take cash out of your home — look at your options immediately, before rates rise further.
HELOC rates will spike next. If you have a HELOC second mortgage, it’s tied to the Prime rate, which will rise in lock step with the Fed rate noted above. The Prime rate is expected to rise .25 percent in December, then rise steadily to be a full 1 percent higher than today by late 2017. Talk to your loan adviser about refinancing your HELOC into a fixed rate second mortgage so your rate can’t rise.
Homeowners, re-calculate your budget. If you’ve been pre-approved to buy a home, that pre-approval was done using a debt-to-income ratio, which will increase with rising rates. Ask your lender to refresh your pre-approval with current rates to see what your budget looks like, and to ensure you still qualify for your target home price.
Home prices shouldn’t spike. Rising rates may help keep home prices from rising too quickly. Median existing home prices are expected to go from $233,300 in 2016 to $244,100 in 2017, and median new home prices are expected to go from $305,900 to $311,500 in the same period.

Healthy home-buying market in 2017. Total home purchase loans made will increase from $990 billion in 2016 to $1.1 trillion in 2017, while refinances will plummet from $901 billion in 2016 to $484 billion in 2017. Existing home sales will increase from 5.4 million in 2016 to 5.7 million in 2017, and new home sales will increase from 575,000 in 2016 to 649,000 in 2017.

Please note that this Scottsdale Real Estate Blog is for informational purposes and not intended to take the place of a licensed Scottsdale Real Estate Agent. The Szabo Group offers first class real estate services to clients in the Scottsdale Greater Phoenix Metropolitan Area in the buying and selling of Luxury homes in Arizona. Award winning Realtors and Re/MAX top producers and best real estate agent for Luxury Homes in Scottsdale, The Szabo group delivers experience, knowledge, dedication and proven results. Contact Joe Szabo at 480.688.2020, [email protected] or visit www.scottsdalerealestateteam.com to find out more about Scottsdale Homes for Sale and Estates for Sale in Scottsdale and to search the Scottsdale MLS for Scottsdale Home Listings.

Festive Porch Decorations That Go From Fall to Winter By Joe Szabo, Scottsdale Real Estate Team

November 25, 2016 Joe Szabo

By Joe Szabo, Scottsdale Real Estate Team

If you delight in decorating your home for the season or the holidays, make sure you’re extending that festive feeling to the exterior, too. Specifically, your front porch. It’s the gateway to your home, after all.

“[Front porch decor] adds a homey touch,” says Whitney Johnson, the home editor for online retailer jane.com. “It’s really welcoming, and shows people your personal style.”

Here are some go-to tricks home decor experts use to jazz up their own porches during the transition from fall to the winter holidays.

Accessorize base pieces

Transitioning into a new season doesn’t mean you have to overhaul your whole porch design. You can make a fall look move seamlessly into winter.

One of the best ways to do this is to use staple pieces that you can accessorize. For example, one of Johnson’s favorite tricks is filling oversized iron lanterns with seasonal items like leaves in the fall and switching to colorful ornaments in the winter.

You can keep a simple olive branch wreath on the door all year, and dress it up with a seasonally appropriate ribbon. Fill planter boxes with gourds and pumpkins or corn, then replace them with pinecones and evergreen or holly in the winter.

If you don’t have a large front porch, that doesn’t mean you can’t still make use of it. Chantal Lamers, the home editor for Sunset Magazine, suggests adding a rustic ladder where you can hang wreaths, garland, seasonal greeting signs, or string lights.

Similarly, a vertical wall garden is a trendy way to add greenery without taking up much floor space. Of course, simply using the sides of porch steps as decorative shelving is another option.

Pumpkins, post-Halloween

Pumpkins are a staple of fall decor, but you don’t have to leave them in the dust after Halloween (unless you carved them).

Leave out variously shaped and colored gourds and pumpkins through November. Johnson recommends decorating in odd numbers for visual interest and asymmetry.

Another creative way to use a pumpkin is to create a planter out of it by hollowing it out and inserting a flower pot inside (mums are a popular flower for fall). You can also poke round holes all over the pumpkin to create a non-Halloween lantern. But keep in mind that the pumpkin will start to deteriorate once you cut into it.

White pumpkins are a natural way to get a winter look. For a more glamorous feel, spray-paint pumpkins and gourds a metallic color.

Fall and winter plants

Design experts agree that adding some greenery to your porch is a must. Container gardens are an easy way to go.

“For fall, I like incorporating flowers because it’s the last chance,” says Justin Hancock, plant expert at Costa Farms.
A beautiful container garden that’s ready for winter and fits even a small front door area. Image courtesy of Dunn Gardens.

Hancock’s go-to frost-tolerant plants include:

Flowering kale. This hardy, showy cabbage can survive even into the 20-degree range. It looks like a flower and comes in a range of colors, including lavender, rose, white, yellow, and green.
Croton. A low-maintenance fall favorite, it has dark green, orange, red, and yellow leaves that are thick and leathery, so they hold up well in drought conditions (read: they’re good for people who forget to water their plants).
Ajuga. An herbaceous plant in the mint family that blooms tiny periwinkle flowers, it’s durable and great for containers.
Pansies and violas. These delicate-looking flowers can survive temps as low as 30 degrees.

If you don’t feel like dealing with live plants, Johnson says fake greenery is just fine. “I love artificial wreaths because I don’t have to buy a new wreath every season, and no one knows the difference.”

Found items

Some of the best design tools for fall and winter are totally free: tree branches and twigs — or “wintry scraps,” as Lamers calls them.

In the fall, he adds branches to container gardens to add structure; in the winter, he jazzes up the look by tying on ribbons or spray-painting them, or adding evergreen branches.

Red twig dogwood is also a favorite for its purple/red color. “They provide color without having to spray paint, and the color looks really striking in snow,” Hancock says.

Pine cones are another versatile found item. Hancock suggests baking them in the oven, which causes natural resins to leak out so they look glazed.

Birch logs also add a traditional holiday look.
Incorporate evergreen branches, birch logs, and spray-painted twigs into your porch decor. Courtesy of Zillow Digs.

Money-saving hacks

Beyond using branches and other found items, there are plenty of other ways to shave some dollars and cents off your decorating scheme.

Choose a decorating theme first, Johnson says, so you’re not buying “random things” you won’t end up using.

Check flea markets and Etsy for cheaper versions of items you love in pricier stores, advises Lamers.

Put your creativity to work, and you can create charming and festive porch decor to take you all the way through to spring.

Don’t Let Your Feast Go Up in Flames: Preventing Thanksgiving Fires By Joe Szabo, Scottsdale Real Estate Team

November 22, 2016 Joe Szabo

By Joe Szabo, Scottsdale Real Estate Team

The countdown to turkey, stuffing and pumpkin pie has begun. Thanksgiving’s arrival means many of us are scouring the closet for pants with stretchy waistbands so we can prepare to feast.

The holiday is all about giving thanks and spending a day with loved ones. But cooking the festive Thanksgiving meal can lead to fires. And fires can lead to injuries, deaths, or property loss, so make sure to follow some safety suggestions for this holiday.

Check the stats

Thanksgiving Day is the pinnacle of home-cooking fires, accounting for about three times as many fires as any other day of the year, according to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).

Each year between 2011 and 2013, Thanksgiving Day produced an average of 2,100 residential building fires, resulting in $28 million in property damage, 50 injuries, and 10 deaths, according to a report produced by the U.S. Fire Administration.

What causes most Thanksgiving fires? More than 71 percent of fires were attributed to cooking, and the highest percentage of fires (24.6 percent) occurred between noon and 3 p.m., the report said.

Eyes on the prize

Er, turkey. Leaving food unattended while it was cooking was the leading cause of Thanksgiving cooking fires, according to the NFPA. You’ll want to visit with your guests during this holiday, but it’s far more important to pay attention to what’s in the oven or on the stovetop so that you don’t become a statistic.

Also, assign guests items to bring for the meal. Having a potluck-style Thanksgiving dinner will prevent you from doing all the cooking, so you won’t be trying to cook multiple dishes at once. Giving your undivided attention to one dish at a time will help to keep food from burning and starting fires.

And when you want to chat with your guests while you’re cooking, call them into the kitchen with you. Leaving the room while food is in the oven or on the burners is a risky move that makes your home insurance provider sweat.

Don’t wear loose clothing while cooking

Let’s set the scene: You’re wearing a baggy sweater while sauteing vegetables in oil, and you divert your attention to talk to a family member. A fire ignites, and, in a panic, you attempt to move the pan to the sink to run water over it. When you move the pan, your loose sleeve connects with the flames and, in a flash, your entire arm is on fire.

There are several things wrong with this scenario. The first is that you should avoid wearing loose-fitting clothes while cooking, as it puts you at an increased risk to catch fire and get injured.

Secondly, never move a pot that’s on fire, or try to put out a grease or oil fire with water. It’s best to put a lid on top of the pot to smother the fire, leave the pot where it is, and turn the heat off when the fire has been tamed.

And we won’t even mention getting distracted while cooking.

Keep fire hazards away from the stove

Just like ill-fitting clothing is a hazard that can easily ignite, so are things like potholders, wooden utensils, towels, and flowers. Keep these items away from burners and the oven to reduce the chances of having a kitchen fire.

It’s also important to keep pets out of the kitchen. Say you just turned off the burner, but Fido comes sniffing around, puts his paws up on the counter, and accidentally slides a towel on top of the still-hot burner without you noticing, causing it to be engulfed in flames. Avoid this type of scenario by keeping the dog in a gated room and by keeping other hazards at bay.

Know the biggest risks

Frying puts you at the greatest risk for home fires. So if you’re deep-frying the turkey this year, take extra precautions.

Keep the fryer away from the house and on even ground. The fryer should be set up more than 10 feet away from the home, and on level ground to keep the oil even.
Completely thaw and dry the turkey first. Only fry a turkey after it has been fully thawed and dried off to reduce the possibility of splattering grease, which can ignite fires.
Keep children and pets away, and have a fire extinguisher nearby. The last thing you want on Thanksgiving Day is for a child or pet to knock over the fryer and get injured.

If you experience a Thanksgiving Day fire

The majority of non-fatal Thanksgiving Day fire injuries occurred when people tried to fight the fires themselves. If your home catches fire when you’re preparing Thanksgiving dinner, and you don’t have a fire extinguisher on hand, just get everyone out of the house.

Keep yourself, your family, and your guests safe. You can call 911 when everyone has evacuated.

The good news is that property damage and liability coverage for incidents involving fires are typically eligible for coverage under standard home insurance policies. That’s something to be thankful for.

5 Home Repairs to Make Before You Host a Holiday Gathering By Joe Szabo, Scottsdale Real Estate Team

November 15, 2016 Joe Szabo

Gourmet Kitchen

By Joe Szabo, Scottsdale Real Estate Team

Hosting a holiday gathering can be a lot of fun, but perhaps a bit intimidating, too. You want your house to look its best, but now isn’t the time to undertake any major updates.

Chances are, you’re busy enough just preparing for the event. So, focus on just the areas of your house where your guests will spend time.

Whether you’re a first-time party host with a few jitters, or an old pro looking for some new ideas, these tips will help you ensure that your home is ready for any gathering.

Light the way

The sun sets early this time of year, so it’s important to make sure the entrance to your home is clean and well-lit.

If you have a large front yard, try to focus on just the front entryway and the path leading up to it. Install porch lights, or replace the bulbs on existing lighting. Cut back any shrubbery that is obstructing the walkway.

On the day of your party, open the blinds on the front windows so your guests can see into your warm, festive-looking home as they approach. It’s a great way to create a sense of welcoming anticipation.

Pro tip: The easiest possible way to create instant lighting for walkways and paths is with the solar lights that you just stick into the ground. The sun does the rest of the work!

Take care of the bottom line

Our mothers used to say this, and it’s true: If your floors are spotless, they make your whole house look cleaner.

Even if you’re unable to do an in-depth house cleaning before your gathering, you will certainly want to make sure that all floors have been cleaned before that first guest steps over the threshold.

Pro tip: If you have carpeting, clean the carpets a minimum of three days ahead of your affair to make sure they have dried fully.

Brighten up your bathroom

If you’re bothered by grimy-looking grout in your bathroom, try this easy, inexpensive, and non-toxic method to get rid of it nearly instantly: Just spray on some full-strength hydrogen peroxide, let it sit for 10 minutes, and then wipe clean. That’s it!

Next, add some flowers, holiday decorations, or pictures on the wall to further spiff up your powder room, and it will be ready for your guests.

Pro tip: Instantly de-clog a slow-moving sink drain with a Zip-It. This inexpensive tool looks like a giant zip-tie. You just work it down into the drain to pull up hair clogs — all the other gunky stuff will come up with it.

Tune up kitchen appliances

Your kitchen appliances will be the workhorses of your holiday party, whether you’re hosting a full family dinner or a cocktail party. You want them to be fully functioning and ready for action.

Make sure all stove burners are working. Now’s the time to clean the oven if you haven’t done that for a while.

Clean out the refrigerator, and make sure that both the fridge and freezer are running at their optimal temperatures.

Make sure your dishwasher is in good working order. You can clean it easily with a dishwasher cleaner that you run through a cycle.

Pro tip: Sharp knives will make easy work of preparing the big meal. Make sure all your kitchen knives are newly sharpened, and also check the batteries in your electric carving knife, if you have one.

Make your space kid-friendly

If you make your home welcoming for children, you will ensure that their parents have a great time as well.

If you happen to have kids that are the same ages as your young guests, you’re in luck. But if not, consider adding some considerate touches that will make parents more comfortable, and alleviate kid boredom.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

Turn a spare room or an upstairs bedroom into a private nursing/changing area for a new mom.
Toddlers and younger children will want to be near their parents, so a good idea for them is to set up a corner of your living or dining room with toys, books, a tablet for watching cartoons, and some comfy pillows or throws.
One of our favorite strategies for older kids is to turn the dessert course into an activity. For instance, you could bake a huge batch of sugar cookies in holiday shapes, and then put out different colors of icing to let kids (and adults) go to town with decorating their own cookies.

Pro tip: If you don’t already have children, or if yours are older, don’t forget to kid-proof your space. Put away anything expensive, breakable, or unstable. Do some baby-proofing, if necessary. This way you and the parents can relax and not have to worry about safety hazards.

Hopefully these ideas will take some of the worry out of holiday entertaining, and ensure that you and your guests can relax and enjoy each other’s company this season.

Get Your Home Guest-Ready (Without Losing Your Mind) By Joe Szabo, Scottsdale Real Estate Team

November 11, 2016 Joe Szabo

Formal Living Rm II

By Joe Szabo, Scottsdale Real Estate Team

Just once, wouldn’t it be wonderful to enjoy entertaining your friends and family rather than focusing on the clean up and preparation?

You can! All you have to do is adopt a foolproof pre-entertaining organization method: the “GO” approach.

Often, we prepare for events focusing on details that our guests will never really notice. The truth is, you can do far less preparing than you think.

The “GO” approach is all about “guest observation.” In other words, to get your house pre-organized for a party or the holidays, think about what your guests will observe, rather than all the things you think you ought to do.

Guests adhere to a particular pattern when they enter your home. Usually they stop in four locations, and in a specific order: the front door, the kitchen, the bedroom, and the bathroom.

Focus your efforts on these four locations using the GO approach so you can lighten your workload and increase your time spent enjoying the holidays.

Start at the front door

The front door is where you can set the first impression for how you manage the “look and feel” of your organized home.

Just tackle a few key tasks:

Shake out the outdoor mat and sweep.
Place a flowering plant outside on a table at the front door (even if you have a small apartment or bungalow).
Write a little note saying, “I’m/We’re seriously thankful you’re here. Welcome!” The note transforms your guests’ frustration from traffic or family upsets while in the car to feeling appreciated. It also sets the tone of care and kindness before they even enter your home.

The kitchen

Typically, guests come to the kitchen first to drop off a pie, salad, or bottle of wine. Now, the turkey in the oven usually provides the yummy aroma, but how do you handle those first visual impressions, including having the proper tools and space for cleaning up after the meal?

These high-impact tasks will help:

Clear the clutter from the counters. Remove small appliances, bottles of vitamins, piles of paper, phone chargers, and put it all in a box labeled “stuff from kitchen counter.” Place it in the garage or even the trunk of your car, if you’re short on storage space.
No time to clean the oven? Line it with tin foil to give it a clean and shiny look inside.
Break out a fresh sponge for doing dishes. Place a notecard above the sink that says “I’m thankful for your help with my dishes. I appreciate you.” Guaranteed your guests will smile and pitch in. If you wind up stuck doing the dishes on your own, that little note you wrote will surely remind you of your self-worth, and those dishes won’t seem like such a chore.

The bedroom

Next, your guests will need to put their coats and bags somewhere; the usual spot is in a bedroom.

How do you hide the mess and clutter? Try my “dim some” lighting method. That means dim most of the lighting in the room with some lighting on an accent piece. If you don’t have a dimmer switch, change out your light bulb to a lower wattage, or change the bulb to a colored bulb of your choice.

You can also change the lamp shade to one that is orange or yellow to give the room a warmer hue. If you have a pretty picture or photo, put an accent light on that piece to divert attention away from messy areas.

The bathroom

The key here is to keep your guests’ embarrassment level to a minimum and their impression of you at a high. An overflowing toilet is something guests will remember (especially if it happens to them). If you minimize the possibility of mayhem before it starts, you’re golden.

If the toilet is a little wonky, help out your guests with a cute sign that says “Hold handle down for 10 seconds” or “Jiggle handle to flush.”
Have a plunger nearby.
Put a spray deodorizer on top of the tank.
Keep lots of extra toilet paper stored in an obvious location.
Embroidered or white guest towels can be intimidating for folks to use for fear of ruining them. Use paper towels with a holiday design and place the trash can in a visible spot.
Finally, a small bunch of beautiful flowers (such as an orchid or sweet-smelling roses) will serve you more here than a centerpiece on the table.

Eliminate obvious stains and odors

While making beds and putting away laundry are definite pre-hosting, don’t forget to focus on the obvious — stains and odors — before your guests do!

Here are a few last-minute tips that will leave you proud and your guests impressed:

Hang scented pine cones near key hooks and plants, inside closets, at the front door, above litter boxes, or on door handles in the bathroom.
Rustle up some vanilla extract from your spice rack and dab it on light bulbs around the house. As the bulb heats, the pleasant vanilla scent lingers.
Most of us have little stains in our carpet. If you do, too, spray shaving cream on the stain to bring the dirt to the surface. Pat with a paper towel and vacuum. (Note: Always test new stain treatments in a remote area of the carpet or rug first.)
If you have a scratch or nick in your wood table or other wood furniture, try rubbing a walnut on it to make it less noticeable.

And remember, whatever you do, don’t sweat the small stuff. Your guests will remember the tone your attitude sets more than anything else.

October 2016 Scottsdale Arizona Real Estate Market Market Update

November 10, 2016 szabogroup

Winter is here and the holidays are upon us! Whether you’re going to buy or sell a property, it is always good to have an understanding of seasonal trends in the local market. Taking a look at how the real estate market faired in October 2016 please see the graph below. It shows that new listings are up 11.4% from September with a total of 1,113 new listings vs. 999 in September. New contracts are up by 3.5% and closed sales are down by 4.2%. However, the median sale price is up from $394,000 in September to $396,000 in October, though that is .3% drop from what we saw last year. During these up and down activity months it is more important than ever to consult a real estate professional that knows the Scottsdale market. It is essential to get the right advice on how to protect your investment.

If you’re considering to purchase or sell a property in Scottsdale we invite you to reach out to Joe and Linda Szabo with The Szabo Group – The Scottsdale Real Estate Experts! They and their team are more than happy to assist you with any of your real estate needs.

We hope that you enjoy reading and analyzing the Scottsdale Luxury Home Report and should you have any questions or comments, please feel free to Contact Joe Szabo at 480.688.2020 or email him directly at [email protected]. You can also visit https://scottsdalerealestateteam.com to find out more about Scottsdale Homes for Sale and Estates for Sale in Scottsdale and to search the Scottsdale MLS for Scottsdale Home Listings.

October 2016 Paradise Valley Arizona Real Estate Market Update

November 10, 2016 szabogroup

Winter is here and the holidays are upon us! Whether you’re going to buy or sell a property, it is always good to have an understanding of the seasonal trends in the local market. The graph above allows us to take a look at how the real estate market faired in October 2016. We see that new listings are down -11.3% from September with a total of 71 new listings vs. 80 in September. New contracts were down by -22.7% though closed sales are up 31.0% from September. The median sale also went up from $1,200,000 in September to $1,215,000 in October. During these up and down activity months it is more important than ever to consult a real estate professional that knows the Paradise Valley market. It is essential to get the right advice on how to protect your investment.

We hope that you enjoy reading and analyzing the Paradise Valley Luxury Home Report and should you have any questions or comments, please feel free to Contact Joe Szabo at 480.688.2020 or email him directly at [email protected] or [email protected]. You can also visit https://www.AZLuxuryHomes.com or https://scottsdalerealestateteam.com to find out more about Paradise Valley Homes for Sale and Estates for Sale in Paradise Valley and to search the Paradise Valley MLS for Scottsdale Home Listings.

Please note that this Paradise Valley Real Estate Blog is for informational purposes and not intended to take the place of a licensed Paradise Valley Real Estate Agent. The Szabo Group offers first class real estate services to clients in the Scottsdale and Paradise Valley Greater Phoenix Metropolitan Area in the buying and selling of Luxury homes in Arizona. Award winning Realtors and Re/MAX top producers and best real estate agent for Luxury Homes in Paradise Valley, The Szabo group delivers experience, knowledge, dedication and proven results.

3 Things to Do When Your Neighbors List Their Home for Sale By Joe Szabo, Scottsdale Real Estate Team

November 8, 2016 Joe Szabo

By Joe Szabo, Scottsdale Real Estate Team

Most people think their real estate concerns end once they’ve closed on and moved into their new homes. But given the constant access to information and the changing nature of society today, smart homeowners know that their real estate awareness should continue after the closing.

When a neighbor’s house goes on the market, there can be some important implications for you. Here are some tips for staying real estate aware.

Document important disclosure items

For the most part, good fences make good neighbors. But sometimes the folks on the other side of the fence don’t cooperate, and unresolved neighbor conflicts tend to arise when one of the homes goes on the market.

Have a property line dispute or an issue with a broken fence and want to make sure that the new buyer knows about it? While sellers in most states have a duty to disclose issues to potential buyers, not all areas require this.

Do your new neighbor-to-be a favor and alert the seller’s agent to anything the buyer needs to know about your neighbor’s property.

See things differently

Open houses allow buyers to spend some time exploring a home, but these events also present you with a chance to see your home from your neighbor’s perspective.

Once, at a busy open house in San Francisco’s Noe Valley neighborhood, an open house visitor made a somewhat obvious beeline for the back of the house. He immediately got on the phone, and was clearly communicating with someone about where he was standing, and giving orders to move left and right. It turned out this visitor lived in the home behind, and was checking to see the neighbor’s view into his home.

The open house is your chance to check your home’s paint job from the neighbor’s yard or simply to see your home from a different perspective.

Know and learn the market in real time

Typical sellers claim and save their home online, but also keep searches going after the fact. Why? To keep tabs on the market, see the comps and have a real-time sense of what’s happening nearby.

Just like when you were a buyer, knowing about the area and types of homes in the market is a good move for any homeowner. Take a neighboring home for sale as an opportunity to see what the market bears. You can also learn about the latest trends in home design.

Speaking to a real estate agent can help inform you of changes to property taxes, or how assessments are changing in your town. A smart real estate agent, working their listing, will be an incredible resource to would-be clients down the road. Leverage their experience when your neighbor sells.

Take note when your neighbor goes to sell their home. It’s not just a time to nose around, but to document, inspect or learn from the home sale. Some homes get listed once in a lifetime. Take advantage of the opportunity.

The Magic of Division By Joe Szabo, Scottsdale Real Estate Team

November 4, 2016 Joe Szabo

By Joe Szabo, Scottsdale Real Estate Team

Division is one of the coolest magic tricks a gardener can pull off.

It involves digging up a single plant, breaking it into two or more pieces, and replanting them to multiply all by themselves — until you decide to divide again.

So, really, plant division is multiplication. (Mind blown.)

Why and what to divide

Dividing a plant not only creates “new” plants, it also rejuvenates old, congested plants, and allows you to pull out any diseased portions or weed roots in the process.

Best of all, making new plants from your existing landscape plantings will save you a lot of money, especially if the plants in question are expensive or hard to find.

Any perennials, grasses, bulbs, or suckering shrubs are good choices for dividing, as long as each division has a sturdy, rooted base that can grow independently.

However, there is a handful of plants that don’t like to have their roots disturbed, including lupine, poppy, false indigo, butterfly weed, peony, and sea holly to name a few. A good rule of thumb is to avoid dividing plants with a taproot (a downward-pointing root that resembles a carrot).

When to divide

Some gardeners (the author of this article included) choose to divide whenever it’s convenient.

For example, if you’re digging up plants while rejuvenating a garden bed, you might as well divide them before replanting. If you’re repotting an overgrown houseplant, it makes sense to break it up into smaller plants while it’s out of the pot.

Generally speaking, the best seasons to divide are in spring or fall. If you’re dividing a hardy plant, do so in fall so the roots have plenty of time to grow, giving the divisions a hearty head start.

Divide tropical plants in summer when they’re most active, but do it when rain is in the forecast so that they’ll become better established. Divide cold-sensitive plants in spring, especially if you live in a particularly cold climate.

Divide plants on overcast days if possible, or wait until the late afternoon so that the newly exposed divisions won’t be scorched by direct sunlight.

How to divide plants

Start with a plan for your divisions so that they can go right into the ground without drying out. Proper preparation will allow the new divisions to become established and thrive.

Prepare the new planting site by pulling all weed roots, removing spent mulch, fluffing up the soil with a cultivator, and adding some well-rotted compost and topsoil.

Now it’s time to remove the “mother” plant. Cut a circle around its dripline (the soil beneath the outermost leaves) to loosen up the soil. A small transplanting shovel is ideal for most perennials, but a full-sized shovel will also work.

Gently lift the entire plant out of the soil by rocking your shovel like a lever at different points around the plant. Remove the plant with your hands and place it in a shady spot to begin dividing.

Dividing is often as easy as loosening up the soil and pulling apart the plant with your hands, but some plants require more effort. Pull apart the uprooted plants with the tines of a cultivator and slice right through the roots with a clean, serrated knife, in a sawing motion. You may also cut through the root ball with a sharp shovel.

To prevent moisture loss and help the new divisions get started, cut off the upper two-thirds of their leaf growth. New growth will quickly return, and the plants will fill out entirely within a year.

Planting divisions

To plant, lay out the divisions in the new planting site, giving them ample room for a few years’ growth.

Dig a hole for each division, leaving a small mound of soil in the center of each hole. Hold the divisions over the mound so that their crowns (where the plant originally emerged from the ground) line up level with the surrounding soil, and fan out the roots over the mound.

Replace the soil with a hand trowel, and use the back of the trowel to pack the soil in place. Finally, water the divisions deeply to ensure there are no air pockets that will dry out the roots.

Once you’ve planted each of your divisions, add a 1.5-inch layer of mulch to your bed to keep the soil moist and prevent weeds while you wait for the plantings to fill in.

This is the important part: Water newly planted divisions regularly until they’re firmly rooted and self-sufficient. A tell-tale sign that a plant needs water is when the leaves start to wilt or dry out.

Buyers Can Expect More Fixer-Upper Homes For Sale Than in Years Past By Joe Szabo, Scottsdale Real Estate Team

November 1, 2016 Joe Szabo

By Joe Szabo, Scottsdale Real Estate Team

Rising home prices and tough buyer competition may be giving sellers more flexibility to list their home for sale “as-is” without needing to fix it up. A new Zillow analysis shows there are 12 percent more fixer-uppers for sale now than five years ago.

Zillow identified the number of fixer-upper homes listed for sale beginning in 2011 and ending in 2015, and compared them to overall for-sale inventory trends.

To identify fixer-uppers, Zillow mined historical listing descriptions for phrases like “fixer-upper,” “TLC” and “needs work.”

Nationally, expensive fixer-uppers, or those priced within the top third of their markets, saw the biggest surge in inventory over the past five years, rising nearly 35 percent.

Conversely, affordably priced fixer-uppers, or those valued within the bottom tier, increased less than 3 percent.

So what’s happening?

There aren’t enough homes on the market to accommodate buyer demand in many U.S. metros. As a result, sellers have the luxury to list their home for sale “as-is” because they know it will likely still sell, even if it needs a little TLC.

For example, in Seattle, one of the nation’s hottest housing markets, for-sale inventory has decreased 10 percent over the past five years; however, fixer-upper listings increased 33 percent over the same time period.

“Across the country, homes are selling fast and for high prices,” says Svenja Gudell, Zillow’s chief economist. “Sellers are in the driver’s seat, with the freedom to list their home for sale ‘as-is’ without worrying about price cuts or the home sitting on the market. And without sufficient new construction, the housing stock has aged, so home buyers are finding more and more homes on the market in need of a little TLC.”