http://www.myeagleridgehome.com/blog01/ Real Estate News EXCLUSIVLY FOR Eagle Ridge Residents EN
FHA loans also provide added flexibility when it comes to closing costs and the down payment. Many of the closing costs can be incorporated into the loan, and a down payment of less than 3% of the purchase price is required. The down payment may be obtained as a gift from a family member or through a down-payment assistance program.

FHA loans are processed just like any other loan, and they provide a wonderful opportunity for consumers who are seeking to achieve home ownership!

This information was brought to you from Paul Wakefield at Security Mortgage (602-697-7147).]]> 5/13/2008 9:04:00 PM http://www.myeagleridgehome.com/blog01/?view=plink&id=154 154
While the median home price in Greater Phoenix decreased the median square footage increased from 1,700 to 1,800 in January 2008. As a result the price per square foot decreased from $152.9 to $127.8, a 16.4% drop.

Condos and Townhomes dropped only 1.2% from $157.7 per square foot to $155.8. The median square footage last year was 1,120 while in January 2008 it was 1,110.]]> 5/5/2008 8:10:00 PM http://www.myeagleridgehome.com/blog01/?view=plink&id=151 151
1. Start with Statistics It's now possible to get valuable neighborhood statistics online. Crime statistics, school scores and demographic information are all readily available. Want to feel right at home? Let your Realtor, Troy Elston show you neighborhoods that are most like your current one. Or you can set your own criteria and search according to your preferences, and find the right neighborhood for you. This means that you don't have to depend on anecdotal information to learn about crime or the quality of the schools.

2. Check with City Hall You can get any kind of town planning document from your town or county's zoning and/or planning authorities. If you want to be sure that the rural hideaway you just bought stays rural, check with these officials. They start planning large projects like major road construction years from the actual start date. WARNING: Before you buy If you can't investigate a neighborhood before you make an offer, include an inspection contingency in your purchase contract that covers both neighborhood and house. It may state that the offer is dependent upon the buyer's satisfactory inspection of both the property and neighborhood. You can write more specific contingencies into the contract, too. For example, your offer may be contingent upon confirmation that a restaurant cannot be built next door.

3. Research the Resale Potential The quality of the neighborhood will play a big role in your home's resale value—whether you live in the least or most expensive house on the block. Get a list of homes for sale in the neighborhood from Troy Elston to determine how many days they've been on the market. If properties haven't been selling quickly, find out whether the market is slow or if there are neighborhood issues that may make resale difficult.

4.Finding Neighborhoods on the Rise Start looking for tomorrow's hot neighborhoods right on the edge of today's most desirable, well-established neighborhoods. These tangential neighborhoods are frequently next in line to experience a surge in prices.

Look for these signs of increasing popularity:

* Multiple offers on homes for sale

* An increase in the number of buyers moving in from other areas

* An increase in the number of local residents trading up within the neighborhood

* A decrease in the percentage of renters

* Signs of remodeling

5. Get to Know the Community It may sound like a cliché, but nobody knows a neighborhood like the people who live and work there every day. Visit a neighborhood on your own at different times of day and night. Talk to neighbors. Visit nearby schools and local businesses. Subscribe to the local paper. Small local papers can be chock-full of information that gives you a feel for the neighborhood or community. If you depend on public transportation, find out how accessible it is in this area. Drive to and from the house from several different directions, so you see both the scenic and not-so-scenic routes.]]> 5/4/2008 10:01:00 PM http://www.myeagleridgehome.com/blog01/?view=plink&id=149 149
The city of Peoria is beginning construction to connect Happy Valley from 67th Avenue (where it currently ends traveling west bound) through 91st avenue. This will help everyone with their commute. It should especially reduce the amount of traffic for our neighbors that live on 91st avenue north of Deer Valley road once completed.

The current plan is to start blasting east of 91st Avenue (in mid February so it should be starting any day) to make the ground level in preparation for construction. The project will be built in phases with the first section finished between 83rd and 67th avenues in the winter of 2008, and then the remaining section west of 83rd avenue completed in the fall of 2009.

It is a long way off, but it will be nice once we no longer have to drive out of our way just to get to the other side of a patch of desert.]]> 4/30/2008 10:40:00 PM http://www.myeagleridgehome.com/blog01/?view=plink&id=147 147