Elizabeth Newlin – Arizona Real Estate Agent

Every once in awhile I get an itch. The other day, when I was sitting a fairly uneventful open house and catching up on some work on my laptop, I decided, on a whim, to do a little searching for homes… for myself. When I first obtained access to the Multiple Listing Service I looked quite a bit for a new house for us. It wasn’t a serious search, more like practice to get to know the system because I didn’t have any actual clients to try it out on.

For the most part, I’ve lost the inclination to do much day-dream searching. We are remodeling our house to make it closer to perfect and I have no desire to move any time soon. But, because I was bored, and sitting in a huge and lovely home, I decided to see what’s out there right now that would be perfect for me.

I started out with the newer homes. I think it was mostly habit, because almost all of the requests for searches I’ve gotten recently have been for newish homes (built in the last 10 years at least). It was a total dead-end for me. I ended up with searches that included homes I’d already seen, in neighborhoods I knew wouldn’t interest me. They all looked so similar and soulless. I’ve gotten to the point where I can usually read the description and picture the floor plan in my head. Where’s the mystery, the character?

So I went a different direction. I did a search on historical neighborhoods and hit the jackpot:

This is a 2200 square foot home, built in 1922, located at 5th Avenue and Thomas. I am utterly in love. It’s listed at $523,000, which is a bit rich for my blood right now, but check out the back patio:

Doesn’t it just look so peaceful and secluded? I adore the age and style of the home and I love that it’s right downtown. Mmm, food, galleries, museums, oh my! That’s my taste.

The funny thing is, I had to really sit down and think about it to remember what my taste is. Not because I’m losing it (believe me, I’m way too opinionated for that) but because I’ve been so immersed in other peoples’ tastes lately. Which I enjoy immensely. We’re all just a bunch of snowflakes. If everyone loved what I do, I would hate it, by design. Part of my taste is to love what is unique.

Anyway, what is your taste? Have you been thinking about your dream home? If you ever want to see what’s out there, I have an easy solution. I can quickly set up an auto-search that will email you information on listings that fit your description, as soon as they come on the market. You don’t have to worry about wasting my time, because after the initial set-up, it doesn’t take any, but you can get regular emails with pictures of a possible perfect home. Please contact me if you’re interested.

I showed a fabulous waterfront property out in Chandler yesterday. It has gorgeous granite counter tops in the kitchen, lots of space and a lovely view of the water out the back, but most importantly, an awesome pool. House shopping is so my favorite part of this business. It’s so fun to walk into an amazing house and imagine living there.

Anyway, this home’s pool was one of the coolest I’ve seen:

I can just imagine sitting at that little table (I’d put an umbrella in the middle there) with a margarita in hand, watching the sun set. Heaven, I tell you, heaven. I’d buy the house just for the pool.

That’s right, I’m going to be out there in the field again this weekend. I’ve got two beauties lined up to show.

The first is 9629 E. Lompoc Ave., Mesa, AZ 85212.

It was just reduced to $510,000. It has 3,639 square feet (I cannot even imagine what I would do with that amount of space if I lived there!), 5 bedroom and 3 baths, not to mention a lovely pool. I have run comps and it looks like it will definitely appraise for at least that. I will be there tomorrow (Saturday the 27th) from noon to 4pm.

The second is 16856 S. 30th Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85045.

This is a brand new (but nicely landscaped) home in the foothills. The family is relocating and sad to leave. It is listed at $508,000. It has 2,531 square feet, 4 bedrooms, 3 baths and also has a pool! I will be at this one on Sunday (the 28th) from noon to 4pm.

Again, I always have drinks! Come visit me!

That’s right, I’m going to be out there in the field again this weekend. I’ve got two beauties lined up to show.

The first is 9629 E. Lompoc Ave., Mesa, AZ 85212.

It was just reduced to $510,000. It has 3,639 square feet (I cannot even imagine what I would do with that amount of space if I lived there!), 5 bedroom and 3 baths, not to mention a lovely pool. I have run comps and it looks like it will definitely appraise for at least that. I will be there tomorrow (Saturday the 27th) from noon to 4pm.

The second is 16856 S. 30th Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85045.

This is a brand new (but nicely landscaped) home in the foothills. The family is relocating and sad to leave. It is listed at $508,000. It has 2,531 square feet, 4 bedrooms, 3 baths and also has a pool! I will be at this one on Sunday (the 28th) from noon to 4pm.

Again, I always have drinks! Come visit me!

Because his dad would have already sold him to the circus if this is what he did to his music collection back then. Luckily, an ipod is much less fun to destroy than cassette tapes (or so I would assume… maybe next time I’m really mad at Jason I’ll enlist Gray to see if that’s really true…).

Nope, it’s not a repeat post (note the change in punctuation), I have taken up a new hobby I want to recommend.

Last night I took my third Bikram Yoga class at a studio on McClintock and Guadalupe. For those of you who don’t know me, you should understand this is quite an accomplishment for me. I’m not what some might call ‘active’. In fact, when you get right down to it, I generally live a pretty sedentary lifestyle (well, beyond the chasing of my little monkeys, which, I guess in itself could be considered a workout). I’ve just never been one to enjoy exercising for the sake of exercising. The thought of running makes me simultaneously want to throw up from the exertion and fall asleep from the boredom. I’ve tried aerobics and it just doesn’t interest me. Lifting weights? What, like I WANT muscles? Ew. Anyway, this is not to say that I’m not at all athletic. In high school I varsity lettered in diving and dance. I also played volleyball regularly. I was a gymnast most of my childhood and I can still do an aerial. The problem is that as an adult, I haven’t been able to find something I both enjoy and can fit into my schedule and my body is starting to suffer because of it.

And that’s where Bikram enters. So far I am really enjoying it. Last week, when Ben was in school in the mornings and Gray was in Michigan with Jason, I decided to use my time constructively with an activity that I couldn’t partake in with the kids (I thought about bar-hopping, but it was a little early in the morning). My friend, Kell had been talking about this yoga place, so I decided to try it out.

Bikram yoga is that weird one I know you’ve all heard of where they heat the room up to between 96 and 104 degrees. So you sweat a really lot. Like a really lot. As in, last night when I got home I had to hang my tank top and pants up in the shower to drip dry. It sounds gross, but it really ends up feeling pretty good. I really like participating in a form of exercise that doesn’t kill me cardiovascularly, but still gets my heart rate up. It’s relaxing and I still feel sore the next day.

If you’re looking for a new exercise regimen to try, I recommend Bikram yoga. There have been people of all ages, body shapes and genders (all different kinds, I swear!) in my classes. I can’t really say one type of person is more common than the next. Try it out, you will love it!

I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it, but the deals I was working on for my Tempe clients closed. Finally. About a week ago. I think I’ve been quiet about it because I was still a little afraid to celebrate. We weren’t sure it was ever actually going to happen. But it did, and that is all that matters.

Today I emailed my client to let her know that their home warranty paperwork is in the mail and they should be receiving it soon. I told her I’d like to stop by and see the finished product. Here’s how she replied:

“Everything is moving along as fast is it possibly can with our schedules, school and everything else. We are so very happy with the house. The kids love it. My family really enjoys it, it’s so nice to have my nieces and nephews so close and they all visit as it’s only 5-10 minutes from the house.

You are very welcome to come by and see the house. We are still in shambles but my dogs do now have a doggie condo on the side of the house. Know they have somewhere to go to get out of the heat with a little shade.

You can come over anytime.”

I can’t tell you how happy it made me to hear this. I know it doesn’t seem like much, but this is a lady who wears her heart on her sleeve (I know, because I am one too). If she’s upset, she’ll tell you. If she’s nervous, you’ll know. If she says she’s happy, I know it’s the truth.

They are a family of six (2 adults, 4 teenagers) and they moved from a 26 year old 1,400 square foot house to a 10 year old, totally remodeled and upgraded house with almost 1,000 more square feet and a bedroom for each kid. I believe that they are happy and this all worked out how it should have for them. I can see them in this house in 10 years with grandkids coming to visit. This makes the whole process, every headache and yelling phone call, all of the endless, sometimes pointless paperwork, completely worth it.

I’m happy to be in real estate.

When I first started working at Century21 Arizona Foothills, I had a deal to do before I even had any training at all. In order to complete this deal, I had several meetings with my manager about the basics of what I needed to handle in order to get the transaction to close. I remember, in one of the very first ones, he said something like, “And ideally, you’ll have the members of your team taking care of everything from escrow to financing.”

This left me mystified, “Um, OK… so who are these ‘team’ people? Do I have a team? How do I find my team?” My manager laughed at me for a good several minutes at that one, and then he introduced me to Matt Puzz. He explained that Matt is a loan officer with Hamilton Mortgage and that he works out of our office. He said it benefits my clients and me to work with a lender we know, so if I ever have a need for financing help, I can use Hamilton or our in-house lender, Century21 Mortgage.

To me, at first, this seemed presumptuous. As an agent, what right or need do I have to get involved in my clients’ financing decisions? And in my first deal, this logic served me fine. My clients actually worked for a lending institution and their financing proceeded flawlessly. My second deal was not as lucky. We actually had a lender call the day of closing as he was leaving town to let us know the deal wouldn’t be financed. It was ridiculous. If you know your loan officer, that is not something that should happen. You should be working with your lender every step of the way.

This is the lesson I’ve learned: yes, financing is ultimately the decision of the buyer of a property. It’s something they have to live with for possibly the next 30 years. However, it is part of my responsibility as their agent to educate them on the ins and outs of financing. Sure, Company A may offer you a lower interest rate, but are they making up that money in other up-front fees? And will they actually come through with the cash? Is it an Internet-based lending company or have they spoken with an actual human being?

When it comes down to it, what they want is their new home, and there are sellers out there who aren’t going to wait for the buyer to fix his financing when it falls through at the last minute. At least if my clients use a lender I’m familiar with, I have some leverage, some rapport, to keep things moving smoothly.

So I was going through old photos today, looking for really good ones to print out for Gray’s scrapbook and I came across this one of Gray rolling over when he first learned how:

It completely amuses me.

I know there are lots of parents going through exactly what I am today. Unfortunately that knowledge doesn’t make it any easier. Today I sent my baby off to kindergarten for the first time. I walked him to the bus stop, waved him away, and waited until I got back home to cry. It all just happens so insanely quickly. What happened to my smiley infant? Where did my crawling maniac go? Where’s that kid who can’t read every word off of anything we leave lying around? Sigh. I guess it had to happen, and I’m excited that he’s enjoying his new school. I’m just a little heartbroken that my baby is so big. Let me tell you, I have no idea how I’ll make it through his graduation one day.

But don’t worry, he made it home just fine (I swear I wasn’t ready to call the school when the bus was five minutes late… OK, maybe I had my cell phone out, but I didn’t actually do it, that has to count for something).

And when I asked him if he had a good time he said, “No Mom, I didn’t have a good time, I had an AMAZING time!”