Another Reason to Love Cave Creek- It's Easy To Do

Here is another installment in an occasional series extolling the virtues of our little town Cave Creek. Our many and varied eateries have long made Cave Creek both a destination for tourists, and a haven for snow birders who return each winter. Recently, a new establishment has opened, garnering instant acclaim due to the hard work of its owner. Take a bow, Bryan's Black Mountain Barbecue.

We recently had the pleasure of taking lunch there with some out of town guests. I sampled the pulled pork sandwich, which was delicious and moist. My friend partook of the two meat combo, while the ladies each took a half slab of pork ribs. All were impressed with the preparation and taste. The ribs were smoky and tender and came out piping hot. My wife also had the baked potato salad, which to clarify, is a potato salad in which the spuds themselves are baked, so it is not a hot dish, it has amazing texture and spicing, in a word- Yum. Also, recommended is "our famous olive coleslaw". We had tried it with some friends at the recent "Taste of Cave Creek" festival. To admit, we had taken one bite and not really liked it. Boy, were we wrong! The second bite somehow drags you in and you quickly realize how scrumptious it is.

Located at 6130 East Cave Creek Road in Las Tiendas, they are closed on Sunday and Monday. And remember, it is freshly prepared so it will take a few minutes to arrive cos it ain't fast food, it's real food.

You're Welcome!

Cave Creek Gets A Boost From Walmart

The town of Cave Creek was recently involved in a minor kerfuffle regarding the re-zoning of a parcel of land on which Walmart were proposing to build a new store.

The town folk were overwhelmingly in favor of such a development, indeed the last council elections were a virtual referendum on the issue, with those for it being voted in, and those against being shown the door. In fact, four incumbents were defeated by four newcomers. Pretty decisive.

Naturally, this did not discourage the usual crew from central casting, including many non-residents, in mounting their knee-jerk reaction campaign to defeat the great Satan--- Walmart.

They succeeded in having the issue placed on the ballot in a special election and were resoundingly defeated, as expected. They did succeed in delaying the start of the project, therefore denying the town much needed revenue for another eleven months. Thankfully, cooler heads have prevailed and the tax revenue will prevent the need for a property tax, something for which we should all be grateful. Not only will the revenue derive from an estimated catchment area of 30,000 people from surrounding communities, thereby spreading the "load" but Walmart will also bring around 300 much needed new jobs to the area.

All in all, a good thing for our little town.

Another Good Reason To Make Cave Creek Your Home

Cave Creek, which I am proud to call home, is a great little western town with an eclectic mix of art stores, restaurants and bars, plus antiques and collectibles sprinkled throughout the town core. Add in the awesome Spur Cross Conservation Area with its many and varied hiking trails, and Cave Creek makes a great destination for a visitor on a day out. It also makes for a great place to live.

Many creekers are over-achievers and the latest incarnation of that trait is the monthly (first Saturday) "Thieves Market" situated for the most part in the parking lot behind Big Earl's Greasy Eats. It is an open-air market that brings together a mixture of both local merchants displaying their wares, plus vendors who come up for the day. All manner of arts, crafts, metal-works, vinyl records, clothing (both new and antique), BBQ equipment, jewelry, massage, bric-a-brac, concrete statues, antiques and Americana is on display. Grab a cup of coffee and stroll around. This week I even saw a WWII Japanese rifle. There is truly something for everyone. Come up for the shopping, then stay for lunch at one of our many great eating establishments. You could stay on site and enjoy one of Big Earl's legendary burgers. Or you could cross the street and eat at the newly-opened, and extremely popular, Bryan's Black Mountain Barbeque. (I'll be writing more about that eatery next time).

See you at the next Thieves Market on January 2nd, 2010, it is a blast. And maybe you'll fall in love with Cave Creek just like I did.

(Photo courtesy of Sonoran News)

Oh, Bank of America...Have You Met Customer Service? No, I Didn't Think So.

This is a story that despite being fraught with difficulties, has a happy ending. It is partially about the difficulties we sometimes experience with short sales; it is partially about the hoops one must go through to obtain a loan, but mostly it is a sorry tale of complete, absolute and total lack of customer service that a client of Bank of America can expect today.

Let's start at the beginning, shall we? We had out of state clients that were looking to buy a home in the Cave Creek area, having lived there previously. Naturally, we encouraged them to get pre-approved so that they would not be hampered, should we locate the perfect home. They were well-qualified, with a down payment of 20%, and they told us that they would contact Bank of America, an institution they had used previously, with success. We have long held reservations regarding BofA, which are beyond the scope of this article, but we had no choice but to allow them to proceed. So they called BofA. Again and again and again! That's right, they had to call three times before they were to receive the courtesy of a reply. Personally, I would have dumped them then and there on that basis alone. Unfortunately, the buyers' previous experiences had created a loyalty to BofA that was neither warranted nor deserved, as they would now confess today. As you are no doubt aware, the purchase contract in Arizona requires an addendum called the Loan Status Report (LSR) which, in part, informs the seller as to how far along the process of getting a loan the buyer is. Additionally, it requires that the lender respond to enquiries during the escrow period from the agents involved so that everyone is up to speed. BofA do not "DO" LSRs. Such is their arrogance that they choose to transact business in a state that requires such a form, whilst essentially thumbing their nose at the process. Instead, they give you a "Buyer Ready Approval Certificate" and promise to close the loan within 30 days, or...or, nothing, actually. They make the promise, but there is no penalty if they fail, so it is an empty one. Curiously, when we asked our clients if they had furnished all their tax returns, etc., they told us that BofA said not to bother, until they found a home. Hmm! In reality, they were only really pre-qualified, not pre-approved. The fact is that BofA do not care to perform the necessary work ahead of time, instead they prefer to have you jump through hoops, (hoops that could have been cleared weeks earlier) during the escrow period. It may delay your closing, but better that than have them do their due diligence ahead of time, after all, you are just the customer, right?

As an aside, we were in back-up position on a short sale at this time. Then, the phone call. The original buyers had backed out, so it was ours if we wanted it. We did. BofA swing into inaction. Their ability to return a call was non-existent. Their communication skills dreadful. The "personal banker" that had begun the ordeal would not speak to either the buyer or us, as the file had been forwarded to processing/underwriting. The phone messages on all contact numbers essentially said "The chances of us calling you back with 24 hours are so small as to be incalculable." They demanded all sorts of financial evidence (retirement accounts, IRAs, etc.) that should have been dealt with before we even found a property. They demanded roof repairs two days before we were scheduled to close escrow. They demanded ADEQ water records on the day we were scheduled to close escrow. Such reports normally take 7-10 days to process, although we were able to get them the next business day, due to a helpful contact. It appeared to us, that all these last minute demands were the result of an organization that did not even pick up the file until about the third week of escrow. Such is their contempt for the client, that they would much rather make you do the impossible, than start work on the file in a timely manner, in order to allow you to honor their requests. All the while, not returning calls or communication in any way. They promised to call back, they didn't. They promised loan docs by a certain deadline, three days in a row, and were unable to manage it even once. All without letting the client know. You see, they manage to communicate, the little that they do, through the "customer service" people who answer the telephones. These people cannot help you, they can only relay your messages of frustration via email to the actual person who CAN help you but you are not allowed to speak to on the phone. In all the days of our escrow the client spoke to the actual "loan officer" a total of- wait for it- four times. Meanwhile our clients spoke to the unhelpful drones at "customer service" everyday.

In the meantime, the short sale final approval, which was also handled by another worthless BofA department, was contingent on a HUD 1 being approved that reflected a certain minimum dollar amount. This was duly sent, and ignored. So we had the loan docs signed, were ready to fund, but we still could not close. Bank of America was preventing Bank of America from closing on the house. We knew the name of the individual who needed to approve the HUD 1, take a bow Kim Alexander, but the operator ran interference and could not be persuaded to allow us to speak to her. We were not authorized. The operator would not even explain the procedure or the process or the time frame usually needed to complete the authorization. She preferred to spend 20 minutes arguing about what she would not do, rather than spending 5 minutes on explaining the process. It was like dealing with the government. The listing agent, who WAS authorized to speak to Ms. Alexander, was also denied access. Unbelievably, due to the listing agent's tenacity, someone in the chain of command accidentally gave out the direct number of the short sale deadbeat. OPPS! Ms. Alexander told the lister that "I have had the HUD 1 since 9.30". The lister said, "You mean 9:30 this morning?" "No," she replied, "I mean 9/30 (Sept. 30th)." It was Oct. 5th! Wonderful, but it gets better. She eventually sent the approval to the title company. However, it was encrypted for "security reasons" (I have no idea why as it contained no secure info, like SSNs, for example). The title company was unable to open it, so they contacted Ms. Alexander. Guess what she did? She put them in contact with a techie in India or Pakistan, I am not kidding, who was also unable to open it. Could BofA have been more unhelpful? Why not just scan and email the approval? Too simple, I suppose.

Ultimately, we closed escrow around eight days late, which is not too tragic in the overall scale of things. Remember, though, that we had been in back-up position so I have no idea how long the original buyers had been mistreated before the deal fell in our laps. Maybe they died of old age. I have heard of some short sales taking up to 7 months to complete.

As I said at the outset, this is a story partly about short sales, but mostly about an epic failure in customer care. Not so long ago, when dealing with a buyer, their lender would often make a great effort to impress you in hopes of future business. BofA has made no such effort, and obviously believes it is too big to concern itself with peons like me. That is their right. However, it is probably no coincidence that they just posted a 3rd quarter loss of $2.2 Billion.

Anecdotally, other title officers and Realtors have said that generally banks no longer seem to care. In our area, it seems that BofA have the worst reputation, whilst of the big ones, Wells Fargo maybe has the best.

What do you think? I'd love to know.

How local should your real estate agent be?

We recently closed escrow on a home in the city of Buckeye that we helped a first-time buyer secure. They kindly sent a note thanking us for helping to make the experience as smooth as possible. They also stated how glad they were to have stuck with us, even as friend and colleagues were pressuring them to use a "local" agent. (We are based in Cave Creek, AZ) It got me to thinking "Is that a valid concern?"

As with many things in life, it depends. Information is so freely available in this hi-tech era, that it is relatively easy to garner information. In a previous life, when I lived in Los Angeles, it was not unusual to sell homes as far apart as Marina Del Rey to the west and back to Pasadena or Glendale to the east. In fact, I even sold one home that belonged to a friend in Palm Springs, some hundred miles away. Although some agents choose to concentrate on one particular area, it is not unusual for denizens of large metropolitan areas, such as Phoenix, to spread their wings a little. We have sold homes in areas as far north as Cave Creek and Anthem (and a vacant lot in Black Canyon City) to the home in Buckeye to the west, and houses in Gilbert and Mesa to the East. The only difference between Phoenix and Los Angeles is the commute time. From Cave Creek to Buckeye, a 70 mile trip, takes about an hour and a quarter. A journey of similar distance in L.A. would most likely take two or more hours.

The other important aspect in selecting my wife and I, is that we are very experienced agents. Between us, we have 25 years experience and therefore have run across, and solved, most problems you are likely to encounter in a transaction. We are experienced negotiators. We have many contacts. For example, we are currently representing a buyer on a home in Tonto Hills that has a private water company. A week before closing, the lender required a lot more information on the capabilities of that company. That info can only be obtained from the Arizona Dept. of Environmental Quality and would take 10 days to access. We got that information the very next business day.

So the question becomes. Are you better off with a "newbie" who lives in Buckeye, or an experienced pro who is willing to undertake a 140 mile round trip to show you properties? How about the Buckeye "pro" who was selling homes for $265K three years ago? The exact same home that you just bought today for $110K. How helpful was their advice back then? And before you ask, we deterred many of our clients who did not need to buy over the last few years, soon-to-be-retireds, for example. There is much more to life than money.

Finally, any business depends upon referrals as its lifeblood, none more than real estate. That is why we are always willing to go the extra mile, literally, to satisfy our clients.

Fannie Mae, But Then Again, Mae Not.

Real estate owned (REOs) form a large part of the inventory in the Valley of the Sun, for reasons that have been written of many times. In a nutshell, meteoric price rises fueled by speculators, followed by catastrophic price plummets equals mucho REOs.
So the chances are, especially in the lower to mid-priced range, that if you are looking to buy a home in one of the may burbs of Phoenix, you'll likely find some that are bank-owned. You also may find some that have been taken back by the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) as they insured many loans, and have since had to take possession of certain homes where the owner had defaulted on their loan.
Recently, I have written of our endeavors in Buckeye, AZ, where extreme low prices and excellent value for money, has enlivened the local real estate market. As previously noted, many are REOs, bank owned short sales. Such has been the intensity of the market, that the local paper carried a story of one young couple who had written 15 offers before successfully securing a property.
Our previously mentioned clients were a little forlorn at that news, but due to superior representation, Moi, we were able to get their dream home on only our third attempt. The seller was none other than Fannie Mae, and is the point of this post. Finally.
Being a government organization, they like to do things differently. Rarely better, but certainly different. I like to say that government being government, they like to add as many extra layers of efficiencies as possible. Let me explain.
We wrote and presented our offer in the normal fashion. We received a verbal counter, which goes against everything you have ever done, which you have to accept so that they can click the "accept" button on the computer. Then you get a written confirmation of your verbal agreement, signed only by the selling agent, in this case me, which is hardly binding on either party. Some days later you are again verbally informed that your offer is now "accepted", which starts the countdown on the various contingencies. Sometime the next day we received an entirely new purchase contract, generated by the seller, purporting to have amalgamated both the original contract and the counter into one document. In this case it did, but also added a few clauses and contingencies not previously mentioned. They were not deal-breaking, so our clients elected to sign off and secure their home. Bear in mind, at this point we do not have a single signature from a representative of Fannie Mae, which is a little disconcerting. Listing agent assures us this will be rectified in escrow, although from a legal standpoint I still doubt that the contract is binding on either party until that point. That's gubmint for ya!
Then the good news. The home had no stove and no water heater. We had advised our clients that as they were getting a USDA loan, the HUD appraiser would require them to be installed prior to closing in order for the home to be "habitable". They were willing to comply. However, we received a call that Fannie Mae was installing a brand new water heater, stove and microwave hood, plus a ceiling fan and sundry bathroom fixtures. Completely unbidden. Needless to say, my clients were ecstatic! A more duplicitous agent might have claimed it was as a result of endless hours of negotiation and desk-pounding on his part. I demurred.
So as I said, Fannie Mae and, then again, Fannie Mae not. In this case, she did.

Jump Starting the Greater Phoenix Metropolitan Area Housing Market

Recently, I have been working with a young couple looking to buy their first home in the Buckeye area. I believe I have mentioned this before, but it is possible to purchase a good-sized four bedroom home, less than 4 years old, for around $100,000. Some are available for even less. Coupled with the tax credit available from the government, it make buying a home a no-brainer. Especially, when compared to renting.

However, it is staggering to see that virtually all the homes for sale are bank-owned or short sales. The underlying stories behind some of these homes can be disheartening. So many of the bank-owned properties were sold just 2-3 years ago for $250,000 or so, and are now being offered at $80-100K, a loss of some 60%. Sad indeed for the families involved. However, as they say, it is an ill wind that blows no good. Consequently, buyers like my clients, who thought the possibility of home ownership had passed them by, are now getting another chance. In fact, the market out there has been so hot, and understandably so, that we are now seeing multiple offers in many cases. This can be a little frustrating, but perseverance will win the day.

I also spoke with an agent who is involved in selling some remaining new homes after the developer went bust. These homes are essentially bank-owned short sales, some only part completed. What was surprising was his tales of how long it takes some banks to respond to offers. Many, sensing the urgency, respond in a couple of days. One in particular, that I won't name (but the initials were Wachovia) had 7 active offers sitting on their desk awaiting approval for over 3 months. What on earth are they thinking? I would hazard a guess that many of those offers will be rescinded by buyers who have found a more willing seller. Who would want to miss out on buying a home due to the laziness of some pencil-pushing banker. The bank is also doing a dis-service to its shareholders by not liquidating non-performing assets. Maybe they are all too busy counting their T.A.R.P. funds.

A good time to buy, I think.