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!