May 29th, 2008 by Michael Oliver

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Being an agent, I see many odd things happen. Even the best-structured deals sometimes fall apart for a buyer or seller client. I think most people have no idea of the chain reaction that has to occur in order for a deal to more or less close on time. In this post, I will try to help potential buyers and sellers understand where most of the hitches occur. The following is a very quick rundown of all the items and people involved in just a normal sale. (This is a “regular sale” process.)

May 18th, 2008 by Michael Oliver

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For those who don’t know, I like to play cards (a lot) and can often be found on Pokerstars. If you’ve never played poker, its basically just a negotiation game centered around guessing whose hand “seems” to be the best based on bets and other factors. Many times the winner is determined before all the cards have even been played. What does this have to do with real estate? Well, nothing directly, BUT home negotiation — negotiating anything really — is played the exact same way. The following tips are what I think are among the most important.

May 13th, 2008 by Michael Oliver

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Something many new home buyers neglect to consider at time of purchase is the builder’s plan for the neighborhood. How many homes will be built? What size homes will be built? What else is scheduled for the neighborhood? All of these are important questions to ask if you are having a home built because many features such as parks will not have been constructed yet. The overall community has a lot to do with the ultimate value of your home.

May 12th, 2008 by Michael Oliver

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On paper, the real estate market in Tucson looks bad. Well, on paper, it is! However, activity is way up, listings are down, and new listings are down. These are the telltale signs of a market bottoming out. There is no guarantee the Tucson area will see strength in prices for a while, but the number of listings on a steady downtrend tells me the bottom is being found. (We still need this number to be around the 5000’s and pending contracts up over 27%.) I have seen quite an increase in activity on my own listings since the beginning of April over what it has been for a while. There are more phone calls coming in regarding my listings. It’s taking less time for them to go under contract. There is now more general interest from buyers than in months past. In my opinion, buyers may be seeing the lowest prices they are going to see in Tucson for a while. That “bottom” may not be today, but I do expect Tucson to touch it over the next 2-3 months. In 6-8 months from that point, most people will realize that the real estate market in Tucson is gaining strength and is not as soft as it had been for the previous two and a half years. So, what opportunities are there now?

May 11th, 2008 by Michael Oliver

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The newest listing in northwest Tucson’s very desirable, active-adult community, Sunflower, is 1296 square feet, 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, on a corner lot. This home features an extra large screened-in patio (grandfathered in as these are no longer allowed in Sunflower), high ceilings, new carpeting, new paint, window coverings, and water softener. The flagstone front patio area, complete with low stucco wall, gives the home dramatic curb appeal few homes in Sunflower attain. At least one of the residents of a home in Continental Ranch’s Sunflower active-adult community must be at least 50 years of age. Residents of the close-knit, master-planned Sunflower community can enjoy full access to the clubhouse that houses a fitness center, community pool area, spa, game areas (think cards and other games), tennis courts, botchy ball, horseshoes, and many other activities. In addition, many residents are involved in clubs and groups that meet regularly. If you’re looking for the advantages of an active-adult neighborhood, Tucson’s Sunflower Community in Continental Ranch on Tucson’s northwest side is almost impossible to beat. This home is priced to sell at $219,900. If you would like additional information, please feel free to let me know. This property should be very attractive to potential buyers in the marketplace. For more details and photos, please click here.

May 8th, 2008 by Michael Oliver

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People constantly ask me, ‘Which builder gives the most for the money?” My answer is, “Depends.” In this post, I’m only going to discuss the largest production builders selling homes in Tucson. For a discussion of semi-custom builders, please refer to the previous post, Which Builder Builds the Best Quality.

May 6th, 2008 by Michael Oliver

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Every buyer client I have ever taken on always asks the same question, “Which homebuilder builds the best quality?” I will try to explain the differences and quality issues as I see them. First off, unless you’re talking about a full-blown custom home, there’s not a significant difference in quality for most homes under $500k. The municipalities govern the homes being built through building codes and plan approvals. They ferret out a lot of bad building practices from the onset. However, the municipalities are not working for you, the customer, in any way. They are just making sure homebuilders are abiding by the ordinances and building codes. If they are, then they do nothing to point out better practices or the way something should be done but isn’t by the builder.

May 3rd, 2008 by Michael Oliver

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For foreign buyers — especially from Canada — purchasing real estate in the United States can be fairly simple. With the U.S. dollar falling in value against many foreign currencies, American real estate markets are inexpensive now compared with 5 to 10 years ago. The current U.S. real estate recession means homes can be purchased for 50-60 cents on the dollar when considering dollar depreciation. A Canadian buyer can purchase a nice home with amazing views in Tucson AZ for $250k. Ten years ago, with their currency devalued and home prices up, the same homes would cost 120%-130% of what they cost now. Essentially, homes are now on sale for 50% off! This is why interest in American properties is rapidly growing. So how do you obtain a home in the United States?