Gayle Henderson's Blog by Gayle Henderson PC

A Q&A with Gayle Henderson PC : Relocating from Arizona but Upside Down on Your Mortgage?

Q: I bought my home in 2005 at a high point in the market. I need to sell my house in order to take a job in another state. The company that is hiring me doesn’t give relocation benefits and I am concerned that I can’t afford to sell. There isn’t enough equity to pay off the loan, let alone the cost of the sale. Do you have any suggestions for me? A: You are certainly not alone in your dilemma and yet there are several options, some easier than others. First, consider renting the home for enough to cover the mortgage and include the cost of landscape maintenance, pool maintenance and even housekeeping services every other week. These added services, which the rent might cover, will help give assurance that the property will be appropriately maintained during tenancy. Look into paying for a home warranty on the property. In the rental agreement, request the tenant will pay for the first ..(read more)

BUYERS! Learn About the FHA Streamline 203 (K) Limited Repair Loan

As part of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act, July 30th 2008, a new program was outlined called the FHA Streamline 203 (K) Limited Repair Loan. For those of you who have fallen in love with a home that may need some TLC, and are considering an FHA loan, this may be a perfect opportunity to get the home of your dreams! Buyers can finance up to $35,000 over the purchase price of their home for home improvements like flooring, paint, remodeling. They can receive these monies before they even move into the property. To learn details, visit the HUD information on the FHA Streamline 203 (K) Mortgage page. Talk to a lender familiar with the FHA loan requirements and various programs available. If you need a referral, give me a call! Gayle Henderson PC RE/MAX Excalibur 602-850-4335.

RE/MAX International CEO, Margaret Kelly appears on NBC Today Show

I wanted to share with my clients and friends this live interview at the NBC studios in New York for the NBC Today Show. The CEO of RE/MAX International, Margaret Kelly discussed two topics with Al Roker, "Selling a House in Today's Market" and "Existing Home Sales Data from the National Association of Realtors." Margaret Kelly reiterated what I have been consulting my sellers to do in this current real estate market and even used one of my long held phrases, "this real estate market is both a beauty contest and a price war". However, I always follow up that statement with.. you better be good at both! In fact, I brought up this topic during the RE/MAX International Convention in Las Vegas Spring 2008, while on a luxury home marketing expert panel with Laurie Moore Moore of the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing. The statement continues to hold true and for the sellers that truly ..(read more)

Is the Real Estate Market in Phoenix Going to Get Better this Fall?

That question is difficult to tackle as it almost forces the experts to look forward , as if they had a crystal ball and tell us what our future is going to look like. Yes, they can have opinions based on their vast experience, however you can find more diversity than consensus in the opinions you seek. The long hot days of summer are drawing to a close and with it many homeowners are looking for the magic answer to sell or not to sell, to try to buy or not to buy. Late July saw a rapid decrease in oil prices and the promise of more to come. This will certainly influence food and durable goods prices in the coming months which in turn will positively impact consumer confidence. In recent discussions with economic experts it was clarified that consumer confidence or lack thereof is considered a trailing indicator, not a leading indicator. The level of confidence rises and falls as a result of the economic factors that impact their daily ..(read more)

New MLS system is Rolled Out in Arizona Allowing Better Real Estate Service

Change is a natural process we go through in life and with the advances in technology, we seem to have to go through change more frequently. More often than not, change tends to not be a smooth transition from old to new, but usually well worth the pain and struggle! This week, our Arizona Multiple Listing Service changed new providers for our listing property database to FlexMLS. As a REALTOR, I am very excited to put the system into play with so many additional features and benefits that I can offer my clients; both sellers and buyers. For my buyers, I can now search by added fields like foreclosure and bank repo properties, more specific number of garages for my car enthusiasts, and no more tight 'area' criteria. Now, we can draw an area on a map and the system will pull up all the listings within the radius that I drew. For my sellers, I can easily conduct market analysis and neighborhood analysis searches that I was limited in doing before. I can showcase our ..(read more)

Attention Sellers! Are you in the Market or merely on the Market?

I was recently showing homes between $600,000-900,000 in several valley areas: Mesa, Chandler, and northeast Phoenix. Over a period of three weeks, the buyer and I spent two to three days per week exhaustively combing through the inventory. It didn’t really take much time to see which Sellers understood the current condition and which were still tied to expectations of an earlier heated market of several years ago. Those that were grossly overpriced really stood out and awkwardly so. Upon telephone inquiries to Listing Agents, we quickly saw that the Sellers Agents also had an uphill battle convincing the Seller that this is not a market to test or wait and see unless you want to wait and see prices level even more. Some areas are stabilizing and properties are selling in reasonable days on market. The ability of all agents to access an archive history of a property is very telling. Long days on market usually reflect unrealistic price ..(read more)

Summer is here and critters are near in our Desert Oasis!

As our temperature rises, it seems like we are seeing more and more of our desert critters emerge. Many of my clients come to me and ask what they can do to prevent an unwanted encounter with a scorpion or snake. My answer is always to call my good friends at "We Seal It". I have had them come out and 'seal' my homes over the years and they do an amazing job! They have a program known as "Desert Proofing the Home" where they go through your entire home inside and out and seal the property where insects might sneak in. This includes light fixtures, vents, screens, walls, pipes and more. If you want to learn more information, visit http://www.wesealit.net or call them at 602-866-3560. If you are like me, you love the desert but may not appreciate all the critters that go with it! Give "We Seal It" a call. Gayle Henderson PC RE/MAX Excalibur. 602-850-4335. (Gayle Henderson is in no way affiliated with the We Seal It company, and do not guarantee ..(read more)

Are you itching to buy a home in this great market but need your home sold first?

I hear from a lot of people these days that have their home on the market that they are anxious to take advantage of the prices on the buy side and are frustrated that their home has not sold. Remember this is a price war and a beauty contest and you need to be good at both. I say that often and I say it loud. I will assume you have done all those things to make your home shine and jump through hoops to make sure you are show ready whenever a prospective buyer wants to see your home. So, the only thing left is pricing. Have you asked your listing agent to take you out for an afternoon to look at your competition? And I don’t just mean you look at homes in your neighborhood. If your listing agent is also working with buyers in your price range they will know where buyers are looking besides your neighborhood. Take this task seriously and make your evaluation of which home represents the best value in the mind of the buyer. Ask ..(read more)

Shred the Past Party a Success!

Thank you for all coming to shred your old files and receipts at our office on Saturday! We had a great time catching up with everyone and hearing about your lives. If you didn't get a chance to come on by... we plan to make this a yearly event so feel free to plan on next year! I also want to thank you for your kind donations to our charities: Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, Habitat for Humanity, Children's Miracle Network and the Sentinels of Freedom Scholarship Foundation. We appreciate your support! Once again, thank you for coming! Gayle Henderson. RE/MAX Excalibur. gayle@azmovingplan.com

Sonoran Hills Beauty

Our 1st Annual Shred the Past Party is This Weekend!!

Reminding all of our clients and friends that our First Annual "Shred the Past" party is this Saturday, May 17th from 8:00am to 12:00pm. Bring your old tax files and receipts and shred away. Protect yourself from identity theft and clear up some needed storage space! The event is being sponsored by RE/MAX Excalibur at Shea and Fidelity National Title. Please look for the big balloon in our parking lot at 8510 East Shea Boulevard, Suite 100 and bring your invitation to the registration desk. This event is FREE to our clients and friends but we are taking voluntary donations for any one of the RE/MAX charities: Habitat for Humanity (www.habitataz.org) , Children's Miracle Network benefitting Phoenix Children's Hospital (www.cmn.org) , Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation (www.komen.org) or the Sentinels of Freedom Scholarship Foundation (www.sentinelsoffreedomaz.org . If you are unable to give at this time, please take a look at their websites to learn more about our ..(read more)

The Status of the Banks and the Arizona Real Estate Market

Earlier this spring, I had the pleasure an honor of speaking at both the RE/MAX International Conference and the Arizona Association of REALTORS, annual conference. At both events, the national and local economy was the hot topic. As I continue to tell all of my Sellers and Buyers, this market defies prediction. It is both a price war and a beauty contest and as a Seller, you had better be good at both. What that means, is that unless your home looks its very best for its price range, spit-polish clean, freshened up with a minor cosmetic and systems makeover, if necessary, it would be like showing up at the dance half dressed. It doesn’t make sense. Buyers continue to look for value, and when they see it, they step up to the plate and are willing to spend the money. At both of these annual conferences, some of the best national economists were present giving their perspective of current market conditions. I was particularly ..(read more)

Gayle Henderson's Weekly Scottsdale Real Estate Market Update

TuesdayAZ Republic headlines indicated February real estate sales are up for the first time in near record months. Those headlines certainly caused a flurry of activity, some buzz and a few offers. The contrary piece is that my sources indicate Open House traffic was painfully slow this week. As I continue to update the sales in various communities, I am starting to see sale pendings at higher list prices than the recent solds which should be encouraging to you Sellers. The Sunday morning news programs, such as Meet the Press and This Week in Washington continue to be dominated by the Presidential race and speculations about who will be the Democrat nominee. Very little media attention has been focused on how this election year may be impacting the housing market. My view is that we may begin to see real signs of recovery once the elections are over. You might suggest "isn't that going to be dependent upon who is elected?" In ..(read more)

Scottsdale Real Estate Update by Gayle Henderson REMAX Excalibur

Earlier this spring, I had the pleasure and honor of speaking at both the RE/MAX International Conference, and the Arizona Association of REALTORS® annual conference. At both events, the national and local economy was the hot topic. As I continue to tell all of my Sellers and Buyers, this market defies prediction. It is both a price war and a beauty contest and as a Seller, you had better be good at both. What that means, is that unless your home looks its very best for its price range, spit-polish clean and freshened up with minor cosmetic and systems makeover, if necessary, it would be like showing up at the dance half dressed. It doesn’t make sense. Buyers continue to look for value, and when they see it, they step up to the plate and are willing to spend the money. At both of these annual conferences, some of the best national economists were present giving their perspective of current market conditions. I was particularly ..(read more)

Phoenix real estate market weekly review by Gayle Henderson REMAX

I had the pleasure of speaking at the AAR (Arizona Assoc, of Realtors) annual state convention this past Thursday. Our first general session featured Jed Smith, an economist for the NAR (National Assoc. of Realtors), and John Tucillo, former chief economist for the NAR. Their look at the real estate market was both national as well as local. As we know Scottsdale is maintaining pace with last years sales, not in numbers but in pricing, with a 1% increase. With the margin of error we basically are flat, which is not bad, considering the rest of the country. The media is not doing us any favors as the continuing systemic financial institution problems remain a large concern, affecting Wall Street and the value of the dollar. From a local perspective, Arizona is not doing as badly as we might thiink. Of all the mortgages in the state approx. 9% are subprime, below nat'l averages. Foreclosures represent 2% of loans, also below ..(read more)