When shopping for a new home, every potential buyer has a wish list.  "X" bedrooms, "Y" bathrooms, pool, maybe a big, open kitchen with granite countertops and a nice patch of lawn out back.  Price range is of critical import, though largely as an isolating factor.  Once the parameters are established, it's a matter of falling in love.

When it comes to financing, however, most borrowers go into cold, hard number-crunching mode.  Very few look past the curb appeal when shopping for a loan.  They don't particularly care who they give their business to, provided that the math looks the ...

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Multiple Offers?  Bidding Wars?  Cash Sales?  Oh My!

Surely I refer to the good ole days of 2005, right?  Not exactly.  Try 2008.

How do I know that we have either reached or are very near the nadir of the Great Phoenix Real Estate slump of 2007-2008?  Well, I don't.  Unlike the "experts" who like to think they can accurately forecast our market's health, I offer no promises as to the month, week, day and minute that we hit absolute rock bottom.  I am but a simple Realtor.  I do know one thing.  When it does happen, there will be ...

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Another byproduct of the foreclosure mess across our Valley of the Sun is burglary.  With every new headline that splashes across one of the local periodicals about the rise in foreclosed properties and vacant homes, it seems that the scavengers among us become more and more emboldened.

Targeting vacant houses is no new trick.  A home with no one living in it is often perceived as an easy mark for appliances, air conditioning components, copper (wiring/plumbing), ceiling fans, etc.  With the less desirable segment of our population reading the same papers and watching the same television reports, they simply know ...

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Another Sunday evening, another trip to the McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park for the latest performance in the summer concert series.  This one was special, however.

Treated to the musical stylings of "Furious George," whose name alone was enough to get my two year old excited about this excursion, I could not have asked for a better venue to spend Father's Day.  With Jack and Wyatt in tow, Brandi and I met my parents and my aunt for a relaxed family celebration.

The crowd was considerably sparser than the previous week's show, which was most likely attributable to the northward migration of mercury in ...<< MORE >>

How does one encapsulate the life of a father?  Can a fitting tribute really fit within the confines of a solitary blog post?  Maybe for some.

In a very literal sense, my old man is my best man.  Not only did he fulfill said role at my wedding, but the daily example that he is far exceeds the symbolic. 

 I will never measure up to my father.  Please don't contradict me, it's the truth.  Don't feel badly for me either, for I have yet to meet the man that does.  Most of us find reasons why we are not able to ...

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McCormick Ranch in Scottsdale is one of the largest and most diverse planned communities in Arizona. Featuring numerous builders, the architecture and values vary widely from subdivision to subdivision. Ranging from properties constructed in the 1970s with original components to brand new infill construction, the values can skew dramatically even within the same subdivision. As such, please reference the following data as a mere jumping off point rather than a definitive guide ...<< MORE >>

McCormick Ranch in Scottsdale is one of the largest and most diverse planned communities in Arizona.  Featuring numerous builders, the architecture and values vary widely from subdivision to subdivision.  Ranging from properties constructed in the 1970s with original components to brand new infill construction, the values can skew dramatically even within the same subdivision.  As such, please reference the following data as a mere jumping off point rather than a definitive guide to value. 

For further information about any available property, or to seek a professional opinion of value from a McCormick Ranch specialist, call Ray and ...

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As if my family needs another excuse to go to the Railroad Park.

The summer concert series is in full swing here in McCormick Ranch.  Held every Sunday (7:30-9PM) between the dates of May 11^th and July 13^th, this past week's band was a local favorite.  Rock Lobster indeed rocked covers of ‘80s standards by The Cars, Prince, Rick Springfield, etc.  Knowing better than to try to find parking in the lot, we found a spot one street over from the park.  Pulling Jack and Wyatt in their little red wagon, we were excited for Wyatt to attend his first concert.   Keeping ...

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