Michael and Cheron's Blog

We Have Moved!

Michael Lange — 2010-02-16T23:05:00Z

We have decided to move our blog site to a Wordpress blog rather than a quickblog as we have outgrown this blog site. We have combined our website and blog to make things easier for everyone. The new website is http://www.phoenixareaspecialists.com and our slogan is Your Phoenix Area Home Specialists, we are still using Let Our Family Help Yours but it just didn't say what we did and led to some confusion.

We love the new site with a brand new IDX MLS Search Engine that is really nice. We have a Chat button now that will let you speak to us anytime with any questions. We are adding many new areas as well, like a dedicated photography area that we area really excited about using. We are still helping you to buy and sell homes in the Phoenix, Arizona area including Chandler, Tempe, Gilbert, Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, Ahwatukee and Laveen. Our goal is to give you all to tools you need to make an informed decision on your next home purchase, or sale. Please give us an opportunity to show you what it is like to have an enjoyable home buying/selling experience in Phoenix, Arizona.

Again, please check out our new website at http://www.phoenixareaspecialists.com and see the difference for yourself.

Changed Blog Site

Michael Lange — 2008-06-07T04:55:00Z

Cheron and I have decided that it's time that we move our blog to a better home, blog.letourfamilyhelpyours.com so that we can keep things a little more streamline than having multiple sites. Please visit our blog here and re-register, we are sorry for the inconvenience. Again, the blog site is http://blog.letourfamilyhelpyours.com.

WSJ - Buy one Home, Get another one Free

Michael Lange — 2008-06-04T00:42:00Z

Great article from the WSJ Buy one Home, Get another one FREE

A developer in Southern California, offering buyers of million-dollar homes another house for free. According to the blog post: "Michael Crews Development is offering new, 2,000-square foot...row-homes worth $400,000 in Escondido for free - if you buy one Royal View Estate home in San Pasqual Valley starting at $1.6 million."

What will they think of next.........

When looking to buy and/or sell, or know of anyone that is, please Let Our Family Help Yours . If you would to visit our website please visit us at www.LetOurFamilyHelpYours.com where we have a wealth of information and tools to help you find the home of your dreams.

C. Lange

Invite us to LinkedIn: Michael & Cheron Lange

Downtown Scottsdale is a Summer Hot Spot on the NY Times List

Michael Lange — 2008-06-03T21:28:00Z

Downtown Scottsdale made the New York Times list of 31 Places to go this Summer.

At #9 despite the summer being the valley's off-season, this will provide a boost to the state's tourism industry.

The Times states: "Downtown Scottsdale is turning into a desert version of Miami's South Beach. No ocean of course, but plenty of late-night partying and a buzzing hotel scene."

Also making the list at #12 - Monument Valley and # 22 Lake Powell.

Also Phoenix Magazine has a great article of Summer getaways - Chill out by 20 of the state's most spectacular summer waterfalls. I bought the magazine and wow, they weren't kidding what spectacular pictures. Our family has a summer home in Payson and we plan on visiting a few of the waterfalls that are on the list.

Arizona is a great place to visit and travel anytime of the year, please visit our website
Let Our Family Help Yours.com or call us and we will provide you with great family places to travel here in the valley of the sun.

C. Lange

Arizona Desert Botanical Garden

Michael Lange — 2008-06-03T18:01:00Z

Today is the day to post about the Arizona Desert Botanical Gardens. I've been wanting to this post for a month or two, but "stuff" has just been getting in the way.

This was my husbands and my first time to the Desert Botanical Garden in Arizona. Sad thing is my husband is a native of 40 years and I've been here for 15 years. It took my sons first field trip to get us there. Wow, what and experience...4 classes of 25 first graders. The best part was the kids were more excited about the bus ride then the field trip.

Here are some of our pictures.....

The Butterfly Pavillion exhibit...absolutely beautiful!

The Butterfly Pavillion exhibit...there were so many.

And my sweet 7 year old Konrad with his buddy Sydney...oh to be young with no worries but looking at butterflies. :0)

We truly had an enjoyable time, visit their web-site Desert Botanical Gardens there is so much information, events and activities that are listed for the whole family to do. One thing that we are planning is to do the "Flashlight Tour" with both kids over the summer.

When looking to buy and/or sell, or know of anyone that is, please Let Our Family Help Yours . If you would to visit our website please visit us at www.LetOurFamilyHelpYours.com where we have a wealth of information and tools to help you find the home of your dreams.

C. Lange

More Positive News for Real Estate

Michael Lange — 2008-06-03T05:02:00Z

Don't you love just have the internet at the tip of your hands? I sure do the wealth of information is incredible! Especially when there is POSITIVE NEWS for the Real Estate industry.

Great article from Leon d'Ancona, president of IMS Inc. and positive news for Arizona. For example: Chandler, AZ - 11.3 % gain on homes sold - number of units, also for Arizona, another surprise at the number of units sold was Avondale, Arizona with a 64.1 % increase. Check out this site Happy Real Estate News. Good news for the United States!

Personality Insights

Michael Lange — 2008-05-30T00:32:00Z

This afternoon was quite interesting, not only did my husband and I get a wild idea like rearrange our office, but a dear sweet friend of ours Teresa Lindquist came over to show us - "The Ultimate Discovery System." Teresa's a Business Coach with a true passion for helping your business grow. Her personal goals are, "Helping you clarify and leverage your natural talents for success!"

We spent about 2 hours going over details of how to get our business to grow, we needed fresh ideas for today's market and she definitely gave us great pointers. And then we went over Personality Insights through the Ultimate Discovery System. During our first session you could definitely see that this system delivers: Results, Recognition, Relationship and Reason. These are four Simple Steps for Success in all fields. I learned to read different personalities, which is a must in this industry. I can't tell you how many times over the years how I have read an individual wrong or could not make sense of there personality and this training with Teresa opened my eyes to a pattern that is among my personal life and the people I work with and for.

I invite you to check out Personality Insights and see what they have to offer to enhance your professional life and personal. You can also contact Teresa Lindquist at 480-570-5876 or Teresa@ClearSolutionsCoaching.com. For more information visit Clear Solutions Coaching.

9000 listings pending

Michael Lange — 2008-05-20T01:54:00Z

For those "Sitting on the Fence" waiting for the market to bottom out you might be late if you don't jump in soon. We just hit 9000 pending listings in the Phoenix area, so the time to jump on the fence is upon you before you miss the chance to get a low interest rate and a home at rock bottom prices.

One of my fellow John Hall & Associates agents, Leif Swanson, posted the numbers on our John Hall blog. Here is a taste of what he said,

"We just hit 7554 pendings and 1446 awc’s for a grand total of 9000 listings under contract.
It’s the highest # of pendings for 2008 so far."

Read the rest here.....

This is great news for us, it means that things are starting to turn around for us in Arizona. Don't be fooled by the media that keeps foretelling doom and gloom in the housing market nation wide, we are still doing well compared to most other areas.

Mountain Bridge

Michael Lange — 2008-05-19T22:04:00Z

For those that haven't heard of the Mountain Bridge community in the foothills of North Mesa, it's worth taking a look. The builder had people camping in their RV's and cars for days waiting for Saturday's grand opening with special pricing, which was good for Saturday only. I've got to hand it to the builder, they fed the campers three meals a day and added more available lots to meet the demand, when I left just before closing they had sold 101 lots that day. The setting is picturesque and beautiful with the mountains to the north and city lights to the south and west. My clients are very interested in this area and they fell in love immediately.

Blandford Homes has 16 models built that are finished beautifully, the builder went all out with cobblestone streets and beautiful landscaping. The floor plans range from 1483 sq. ft to 5332 sq. ft. and a price range from $240,000 to $790,000 before upgrades. I have to give this community 5 out of 5 stars for the beautiful scenery, floor plans and future community centers. I'm not sure what the new pricing is going to be, but I will be going there again soon and will get a new price list.

Here are some pictures of the models. It's definitely worth driving out and looking at!

The Wall Street Journal - The Housing Crisis is Over

Michael Lange — 2008-05-13T01:11:00Z

I have been out of the loop for the last few days, my sweet children gave me the "stomach flu" that has been going around school. Now granted we have a family of 4, 3 of us have taken the toll of stomach flu hell! Needless to say, Mother's Day was spent in bed. LOL

Now I'm glad to be back at work and blogging...I've missed out on the current and local events. There's so much to chat about.

I think that out of all the articles I've read this past week, blogs, RSS feeds, local newspapers, you name it, I've read it all, this article from the Wall Street Journal was refreshing to read.

The Housing Crisis is Over The Wall Street Journal

With all of the negative news in the press, a little positive news was greatly appreciated. My husband and I sent this article to all of our data base.

When looking to buy or sell, or know of anyone that is, please Let Our Family Help Yours or would like to read more of our blog articles visit The Lange's online.

C. Lange

The First $2 Billion Dollar Home

Michael Lange — 2008-05-05T14:48:00Z

I was reading through some of my RSS feeds today and saw this article on a home that Mukesh Ambani, the fifth richest man in the world, is building. The home is going to be built in Mumbai, India and is slated to be finished in January. I found another article with designs and pictures of this place that will around 400,000 square feet. You really should take a look at this link, it's going to be amazing to say the least.

I pulled the link from Mumbai News and can be a bit slow to pull up, but take a look here...

Earth Day Pledge

Michael Lange — 2008-05-01T22:59:00Z

The celebration of Earth Day is gone for another year, but not gone from the Elementary and hunior-high-school students.

My son came home from school and handed me a letter from his teacher. It was the Earth Day Pledge. What a great idea...what was even better was having my 7 year old sign it with out asking but knew it was for a good cause.

His Pledge is to recycle, conserve energy and save water to protect Arizona's resources. Pretty cool huh?! Then he read his pledge that his class (fellow students) and he had pledged to....recycle, turn off water when brushing my teeth, turn off the lights when I'm not in a room or when leaving a room, and always when my kids get a new toy, we donate a old toy for the kids that don't have as much as they do. His favorite is not to litter and when we drive down the road and see someone litter, the question is "Why would someone want to ruin God's creation?" Good question for a 7 yr old.

Needless to say he signed his pledge and so far he's sticking to it!

Commission Rebates

Michael Lange — 2008-05-01T22:52:00Z

Source: Jim Sexton, Broker - John Hall & Associates

Today I was reading our John Hall & Associates Interactive Broker Update and our Broker Jim Sexton had a simple reminder on Commission Rebates...

"Just a reminder concerning recent law changes and the impact on the previously acceptable practices regarding commission rebates. While in the past it was alright to pay the buyer a "rebate"/commission reduction after closing, with last year’s Mortgage Fraud legislation this practice is no longer acceptable. It can still be done as long as it meets certain conditions:

1. It must be on the contract.
2. The lender must be aware of it.
3. It must be on the HUD 1.

This applies to any reductions that an agent makes.

Good reminder.................

RL Brown Housing Report

Michael Lange — 2008-04-28T16:26:00Z

I was reading the John Hall blog site and they have a report from RL Brown about the housing market on the Phoenix Metro area. It's good news, something that we haven't had much of lately. RL Brown is seen by many as the premier source for housing market data in the Phoenix area. I would recommend reading the blog over at the John Hall site, it's worth it.

You can find the article here....

How to Boost Your Credit Score

Michael Lange — 2008-04-28T15:34:00Z

I've talked to a lot of people lately that have credit issues and wonder how to fix their FICO score. I mentioned this to a friend of mine over at GMAC Mortgage and she said she had a great article on this topic. I emailed this out to everyone that I have in my database and also thought I would put it in my blog for those not yet in my database. If you would like to get newsletters and emails from me on the market please email me at michael@lofhy.com and I will put you on the list (you can unsubscribe at any time).

_________________________________________________

Years ago your credit score was a big secret, known only to a select few such as your mortgage and credit card companies. In 2000, Fair, Isaac Co., the major supplier of credit scoring software, announced they would begin sharing credit scores, also known as FICO scores, with consumers.

What is a credit score? A credit score is a tool used by credit grantors to determine your ability to repay your debts. The information in your credit report is compared and evaluated against tens of millions of other consumer credit reports which gives you a credit score or number ranging from 350 (highest credit risk) up to 800 (lowest credit risk). A higher score means you are less likely to make late payments or default on the credit extended to you. Your credit score will change as the information in your credit report changes over time.

Here is overview of the categories that determine your credit score and some guidelines for scoring higher.

Payment History (35 percent)

Paying your current bills on time is the single most important factor in obtaining a high credit score. This category includes credit cards, retail accounts, installment loans such as those for a car, loans from finance companies, and mortgages. Also included in this category are matters of public record such as bankruptcies, liens, wage garnishments, and collection accounts. The key to a higher score: Pay your bills on time!

How Much Debt You Carry (30 percent)

This category considers the amount of debt you owe on your various credit accounts. If you've "maxed out" your available credit, this could indicate that you are overextended financially and won't be able to make your payments on time or repay your debts completely. This category also examines how many of your accounts carry balances and how much money you've already repaid. Closing accounts with a zero balance does not generally improve your score in this area. The key to a higher score: Keep your balances low.

Length of Established Credit (15 percent)

The longer you've had credit accounts the higher you will score in this area. The age of your oldest account and the average age of all your accounts are used in determining your score. Old accounts that have gone unused are also considered. The key to a higher score: Establish good credit and keep accounts active.

Applications for New Credit (10 percent)

Opening multiple credit accounts within a short period of time represents a greater risk of becoming overextended. Each time you apply for credit an inquiry is made into your credit history and these inquiries show up in your credit report. A high number of credit inquiries will lower your score.

Some inquiries are not considered in your score like requests by you for your credit report, inquiries from companies for pre-approved offers or companies that already do business with you, and inquiries from potential employers. Some requests are treated as a single inquiry especially when you are shopping for the best loan rate. The key to a higher score: Only apply for and open new credit accounts when you need them.

Your Credit Mix (10 percent)

This category examines the types of credit accounts you have and how many of each. Can a person have too many accounts? Yes and no. It really depends on whether you have an established credit history or no credit history at all. The key to a higher score: Open credit accounts only if you intend to use them.

Your credit score will change for better or worse depending on how well you understand and use these five keys to your advantage in planning your financial future.

By: James H. Dimmitt, www.allthingsfrugal.com

GRI Designation

Michael Lange — 2008-04-26T17:02:00Z

Well, after what seems like and eternity I have finally gotten my GRI (Graduate Realtor Institute) designation. I am very glad that I took the extra step for this designation as I really learned a lot that you don't get in school. This training goes in depth on many aspects of real estate that I think is crucial to being a good real estate agent. I would recommend that all realtors take this training to not only protect yourself, but more importantly to protect your clients.

-mlange

Hollywood Sign and Land For Sale

Michael Lange — 2008-04-20T15:38:00Z

Looks like the the Hollywood sign and land is for sale by the investment company that bought it from Howard Hughes. The property was purchased back in 2002 from Howard Hughes' estate for $1.7 million and is now for sale for $22 million.

I just assumed that the property was state owned, along with just about everyone else, but it appears that we were wrong. What's interesting is that the sign was originally placed there by a real estate developer as an advertisement back in the 1940's.

I'd hate to see the sign go, Hollywood just wouldn't be Hollywood without the sign.

Seller Offers Death Benefit

Michael Lange — 2008-04-05T19:56:00Z

Every day is a new day when reading articles in the newspaper. It amazes me how creative individuals are when seeling / listing their homes.

Friday, April 4, 2008 - The Arizona Republic had an article on "Seller Offers Death Benefit" - Home Buyer to collect on insurance policy. This article was written by Pam Louwagie - McClatchy Newspapers.

The article states: Whoever buys Bob Flanning's house will hope he dies (no pun intended), and Bob is okay with that. This gentlemen is trying to set his Wisconsin home from all other homes in the real estate glut. So, at 69 years old, this gentlemen has the oddest incentive: the buyer will be named a beneficiary of a ten (10) year $500,000 term-life-insurance policy. Of course the policy has parameters...he can't commit suicide, nor can they knock him off. And yes, he is married...his wife said that she is supportive of his entrepreneurial thinking.

My thinking is...Mr. Flanning is definitely thinking out of the box, creative and who knows will probably sell his house. At what price? Who knows...his idea caught my eye.

-clange

What in the World is IMAP?

Michael Lange — 2008-03-31T18:45:00Z

I thought that I would write a quick blog on what in the world is IMAP. I get people complaining that they can't remember which PC, or phone, they sent and email from if they forget to CC themselves. There is a simple solution and it's free.

So, my comment is, 'You should IMAP your devices'.....9 times out of 10 I get that open mouthed blank stare, followed by, 'huh?"

IMAP stands for Internet Message Access Protocol, which probably doesn't help explain what it is one bit. What it does though is save a bunch of time searching around trying to find an email. If you are like me and use Outlook on multiple machines and also a phone to send and receive emails, the standard POP that we use to receive emails is pretty much useless. Google offers this feature for free through it's gmail client, not to mention a calendar that can be shared with others and you can also sync with Outlook calendar.

When you use IMAP in Outlook with gmail it copies and syncs all of the folders in your gmail and your Outlook so that you have all of the same folders (gmail calls them 'labels'). This means that if you send an email with Outlook it shows up in the sent folders of both Outlook and gmail, the same goes for sending an email with the web based gmail client. You can do this with as many PC's as you have Outlook running on, so now it doesn't matter which machine you send the email, it shows up on all of your email clients.

Now, the really neat part is that some phones allow you to IMAP, I have the iPhone so now I can send and receive email from my phone and the email shows up in gmail and Outlook. The iPhone setup is so easy a caveman can do it; go to Settings, add account, press gmail, type in your username and password and it will do the rest.

If you are interested in trying this you can go to gmail and set up a free account with them. Then go to settings -> Forwarding and POP/IMAP, enable IMAP (enable POP so that you can use Outlook). There are very good instructions on how to setup your email clients in that area when you click on 'Configuration Instructions'. Another nice feature is that you can have gmail retrieve your email from most email hosting companies so that you have one central email rather than have multiple email addresses to setup in Outlook. I have 6 email addresses that gmail goes out and retrieves, it makes life a lot easier and you have over 6gb of storage so space won't be an issue.

I know this doesn't sound like it should be on a real estate blog, but I feel being able to send and receive email while walking through a house is as important as having a cell phone.

Phoenix Area is 3rd Fastest Growing in U.S.

Michael Lange — 2008-03-31T15:46:00Z

Realtor.org named three cities in the Phoenix area as the 3rd fastest growing in the U.S. Phoenix, Mesa and Scottsdale are swelling by as much as 132,513 new residents according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The strong local economies and housing prices as the major contributors to the growth.

This is good news for those of us in the Phoenix area, those people need to live somewhere and we have a lot of inventory. Below are the stats out of this article, if you would like to read the entire article you can do so here.

(Source: realtor.org - 3/27/08)
The 10 biggest gainers:

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas: 162,250
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Ga.: 151,063
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz.: 132,513
Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas: 120,544
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif.: 86,660
Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, N.C.-S.C.: 66,724
Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, Ill.-Ind.-Wis.: 66,231
Austin-Round Rock, Texas: 65,880
Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev.: 59,165
San Antonio, Texas: 53,925

The 10 fast-growing metro areas

Palm Coast, Fla.: 7.2 percent
St. George, Utah: 5.1 percent
Raleigh-Cary, N.C.: 4.7 percent
Gainesville, Ga.: 4.5 percent
Austin-Round Rock, Texas: 4.3 percent
Myrtle Beach-Conway-N.C.-Myrtle Beach, S.C.: 4.2 percent
Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, N.C.-S.C.: 4.2 percent
New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, La.: 4 percent
Grand Junction, Colo.: 3.7 percent
Clarksville, Tenn.-Ky.: 3.7 percent