Cecilia Mulroy & Camile Solidum
My Home Group
Are you an our of State Buyer considering Arizona as a second home or Vacation Home? Or are you local trying to understand what areas give you the biggest bang for your buck?
The square foot index gives you an idea of each city and it’s average price per square foot. Courtesy of Michael Orr of the Cromford Report.
-Cecilia
Green building involves using certain materials and practices that are healthier for you and better for the environment as well. If you’re considering remodeling, you might want to consider going green for your new additions. You can easily complete an environmentally friendly project by following just a few simple guidelines.
1. Recycle as much as you can. You can help cut down on a lot of waste by choosing materials made from recycled products whenever possible. A lot of building materials can be reused and reinforced. This can help you cut down on costs as well as help the environment.
2. Use local materials for your construction project. By using materials from your local area, they don’t have to travel as far to get to you. This helps you cut down on transport costs and it consumes less fuel to move them. Also, since the materials are already adapted to your climate, they will be more durable in the long run, as they remain in their native environment. As an aside, you’re also helping local business grow by keeping your business in the neighborhood.
3. Think sustainable. Did you know that bamboo can grow as much as a meter a day? Bamboo has also been used in construction for centuries, so it’s already a time-tested building material, proven to be sturdy, flexible, and sustainable. Products made from materials like bamboo and cork are better for the environment because they break down easier and they’re natural materials so there are fewer, if any, chemicals involved. As an added bonus, because they’re so plentiful and easy to replace, they’re cheaper for you too, cutting down on your supply costs.
4. Find ways to cut back on water and power use. High efficiency washing machines, dual-flush or low-flow toilets, and other such appliances use less water than their traditional counterparts. This helps you save on water costs. If you have the budget, you might also want to consider installing a system for harvesting rainwater. Low-wattage light bulbs, energy saving power strips, and other devices can help conserve electricity, lowering your power bill as well as being more environmentally friendly. If your budget allows it, consider having solar panels installed, especially if you live in an area that gets plenty of sun. If you have enough of them, solar panels can not only ease your power burdens, but actually generate electricity that you can sometimes sell back to your local power company for profit!
5. Think before you throw away. You might be surprised what other people need. Before you throw anything away, be it building materials or appliances of any kind, make sure nobody else might be able use it. Put an ad up on Freecycle or Craigslist. By giving someone else the opportunity to use these things, you not only have avoided creating unnecessary waste, but you’ve helped somebody else out with their own remodeling project and probably made a little cash or a valuable trade as well. Everybody wins and it’s an environmentally friendly solution.
Home in 5 helps individuals and families who qualify obtain 5% assistance towards the purchase of a home. 5% that can go towards a down payment and/or closing costs. Qualified applicants would be able to obtain either a FHA, VA, or USDA-RD 30 year fixed rate loan is long as it is less than $271,000. With 5% assistance, that’s a savings of over $13,000 towards the purchase of a home! Of course, there are certain requirements and income limitations to taking advantage of this program, but if you qualify, you could be on your way to owning a home today! The assistance is non repayable, meaning you don need to pay it back! 
Requirements to taking advantage of Home in 5
For more info, don’t hesitate to call, text, or email us, or our preferred lender Tyler Arnaiz.
When listing a home, we like to consider the 4 Ps of Marketing; Product, Price, Place and Promotion. We take our marketing very seriously, and make sure the homes we list look it’s best, it priced aggressively and promote the home as if it were a Bettles concert. 🙂 It all starts with staging and professional Photography. These are complimentary services we provide for all sellers.
We then Flyer and walk the neighborhood, and surrounding neighborhoods to promote out first official event the Open House. There will be a future blog post about how we prepare for a week in advance for all open houses.
Once the Flyers and pictures are complete, we start our online advertising of the property, Trulia, Zillow, Realtor.com, and social sites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
We then proceed to over due signage, so the entire public and neighborhood can see and the Open House Event. We use a minimum of 50 signs at all major intersections and high traffic areas.
Once all the advertising is done, we let the party begin! We hold our Open Houses with Food, Music and Drinks, along with our preferred lender. Our preferred Lender Tyler Arnaiz of Prospect Mortgage sets up shop with us ready to answer any lending questions for buyers or take any loan applications. You come for the Open House, and stay for the accommodations 😉 All in all, the moral of this story is we had over 50 people and more than 7 Realtors® with clients come through. After our 8 hour Open House On Saturday the 21st, be had one Full Price offer on the table. We received 5 more offers at or above list price the following Sunday. If you are a home owner and you decide to sell your home, consider C&C Real Estate Group to get the job done right! 🙂
-Cecilia & Camile
Recession and Expansion
There are times when the economy is brisk and everyone feels confident about his or her prospects for the future. As a result, they spend money. People eat out more, buy new cars, and…
…they buy new homes.
Then, for one reason or another, the economy slows down. Companies lay off employees and consumers are more careful about where they spend money, perhaps saving more than usual. As a result, the economy decelerates even further. If it slows enough, we have a recession.
During such a time, fewer people are buying homes. Even so, some homeowners find themselves in a situation where they must sell. Families grow beyond the capacity of the home, employees get relocated, and some may even find themselves unable to make their mortgage payment – perhaps because of a layoff in the family.
Supply and Demand
When the supply of available houses is greater than the supply of buyers, appreciation may slow and prices may even fall, as happened in the early eighties and the early to mid-nineties.
If you are lucky enough to purchase a home during a slow period, you can be reasonably certain the economy will begin to show strength again. At times, real estate values may even surge drastically. In many regions of the country, this is precisely what occurred in the late eighties and nineties.
Should You Try to “Time the Market”?
One problem with attempting to time your purchase to the business cycle is that no one can accurately predict the future. Another challenge is that interest rates are generally higher during a depressed market and income may not be keeping up. For that reason, fewer people can qualify for a home purchase than in more prosperous times.
Why You Should Not Wait
Plus, this strategy generally works best for first-time buyers. People who already have a home usually need to sell it in order to buy their next one. If a “move-up” buyer wants to buy a home during a depressed market, that means they usually have to sell one during the slow market, too. If a seller wants to sell his home to take advantage of a “hot” market when prices are fairly high, they generally have to buy their next home during that same hot market.
It tends to equal out.
Finally, the business cycle can change over time. Since 1983, we have had two fairly long expansions with only a slight recession in between each. You would not want to wait nine years to buy a home, would you? You could miss out on a substantial amount of appreciation by waiting, and end up paying much higher prices.
