From Simple to Spectacular - There's a White Mountains AZ Vacation Home for Everyone!

No matter what your lifestyle or budget, the White Mountains of Arizona has a vacation or 2nd home you'll love!

A modest "base camp" headquarters or a cabin for big families, a cozy getaway for small families, or just you in a Park Model in tall pine-- we'll help you find your perfect cool mountain getaway here in the White Mountains!

The White Mountains of AZ is one of the Southwest's most popular 4-season regions. It's a big (but small) area, generally meandering along Highways 260 and 60 from Heber to Alpine for several miles on each side. So you need to know that you have many location choices! No matter where you are, you're always within striking range of beautiful lakes, golf, fishing, camping, hiking, ATV-ing, horseback riding, skiing. You name the adventure or sport and we have it!

All you want is a place of your own to make vacation memories. Big, small, or inbetween; bunk-beds in a loft, or huge master suites, wrap-around decks or small porches-- the White Mountains of AZ has your vacation or 2nd home waiting for you!

It Doesn't Matter Who or What Your Babies Are . . .

Skin, fur, feathers, scales, leaves-- it doesn't matter! They're all your babies. And they LOVE you!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Is Fear of Rejection Keeping You from Buying a Home?

Is worrying over the mortgage process keeping you from buying a new home? Is fear of rejection, or worries about how difficult you believe the process is, stopping you from moving forward? It's not as bad as you may think, and we can help you greatly.

Here are a couple of buyer misconceptions according to a survey by OmniTel on behalf of LoanDepot:

Most potential buyers overestimate the difficulty of qualifying for a mortgage. Only 18% say it's easier to get a mortgage today compared to a year ago, and 43% incorrectly say it's harder. The February 2014 Ellie Mae Origination Insight Report found today's average mortgage application approval rate is 55.3% compared to 49% in 2012!

Buyers are also confused about credit scores. 50% don't know what minimum FICO score is required to qualify for most loans; while 18% think they need a minimum FICO score of 680 to 770+ to qualify. Truth is 33% of closed loans in Feb 2014 had an average FICO score of less than 700.

Misconceptions aside, what can really help buyers calm their fears is to work with us on their next or new purchase. We've developed relationships with "trusted lenders". That means that WE trust them, and so can our clients. We've seen what they can do many times-- they're known quantities to us. Remember, we, as Realtors are valued customers of mortgage brokers/lenders. We are REPEAT BUSINESS. A borrower may do business ONCE with a mortgage broker/lender, but we do a lot of business with them-- they've got a proven "track record" with us. They want to make us AND our clients happy every time.

We have several lending resources available for our clients; ones that are tried and tested and have made the cut. Nice people, dedicated professionals who handle our clients with care and sensitivity, keeping us firmly in the loop. It makes all the difference in the world, and will banish your "fear of rejection" for good!

More Than Just "Curb Appeal" - The 360-Degree View!

From the "For What it's Worth" department: According to MSN, today's developers/builders in response to consumer preferences are realizing that ALL elevations of a new home must be appealing, not just the front elevation. So, they're working on the sides and the back views to achieve a pleasing 360-degree view.

But what about existing homes? According to MSN and Jim Wentling of James Wentling, Architects in Philadelphia, there are several things homeowners can do to enhance the 360-degree views:

• Add side or wrap-around porches, or both. Make sure if a house faces the street on two sides that both look good. You can wrap a front porch around to one or both sides of the house to create architectural interest depending on the style of your home and the amount of available space.
• Use the same siding materials on all elevations of the home. An attractive siding, cultured stone or brick veneer used not only on the front elevation but also on the sides and back of the home makes it look less like a movie set and more like a complete house.
• Create a pent roof on one side of the house. A pent, or shed roof, has a slant on only one side and is a great way to create architectural interest on an otherwise bland side of the house.
• Add a sunroom. It may seem like an interior improvement, but think, too, how a sunroom enhances the back or side of your home from the outside.
• Relocate or add replacement windows and exterior doors. Breaking through walls to add new windows and doors can get pricey. However, like a sunroom, a well-placed bay, bow or picture window — or a bank of windows — does more than just improve your indoor living space.
• Build a covered or screened-in back porch with a gabled roof. A back porch will certainly increase the size of your home's rear, but it's an elegant addition you won't be at all ashamed to show off.

Keep a few things in mind if you are thinking of these or other improvements for your home:
• When making additions, be sure the roof line is considered from all sides.
• If you have a house that faces the street on two sides, it needs curb appeal on both.
• Finally, consult with an expert designer and architect to make sure you can achieve the overall effect you expect.


Exerpts from MSN Real Estate

Top 10 Improvements Sellers Can Make That Add Value!

In the White Mountains AZ real estate market, #10 (a fireplace) is probably a lot higher on the list! In the White Mountains of AZ, our vacation and 2nd home buyers really, really want the mountain lifestyle feel that a crackling fire imparts. Whether it's wood-burning or gas, a fireplace adds important ambiance in our AZ mountain market!

But these Top Ten Improvements all are very useful food for thought for White Mountains AZ real estate sellers who want to maximize attractiveness AND sales $$. If you've already got a fireplace, think about pulling up that wall-to-wall carpeting and replace it with a hardwood floor! Looking at these guidelines as to what percentage of buyers think are important, and how much more they'll pay-- you'll find one or two ideas that you can manage!

And when you're ready to sell your White Mountains AZ home, we're excited to see it, list it and sell it!

Over-Pricing a Home Builds False Expectations - Dreams to Nightmare

We're not talking about "wiggle room", we're talking about crazy not in your lifetime pricing. Wild over-pricing by 10s of thousands of dollars, maybe even 100s of thousands. Not only does the home not sell on the first go-round, the sellers, having been convinced that SOMEONE will buy the home at the unsupportable price, get fixated on the number FOREVER. When the home doesn't sell, they may hear that "It's the market"; or "The market will come back". Which further serves to set the crazy price in their minds FOREVER.

So, they take the property off-market for a year in "reasonable" (in their minds) belief that during the interim the price-point somehow becomes supportable. They've been led to BELIEVE that. And they start calling around looking for another listing agent in the belief that a change could add to their success. Many listing agents will tell them the truth: Not possible. How crushing is that? It's horrible.

As real estate agents we want to "Make Dreams Come True". But the foundation for a dream has to be reality-based or it's fiction, a fairy-tale. A dream based on false hopes can turn into a nightmare.

5 Reasons to Buy White Mountains AZ Homes in the Spring!

Thinking about buying a White Mountains AZ home? Well, SPRING into action now and beat the crowds!

Spring is a smart time to start shopping and start buying homes and real estate in the White Mountains, so why wait? Everyday new listings are coming out and getting snapped up by smart buyers getting great deals. Transactions are moving fast, so you can be in your new White Mountains AZ home in plenty of time to enjoy our glorious summer months!

So, call us now and Get Moving Now!