Real Estate in Phoenix, Arizona

Peoria has culture -- demonstrated by the Peoria Center for the Performing Arts at 8355 W. Peoria Avenue.  The facility is home to two auditoriums and a visual arts gallery.  Community plays and dramatic opportunities for youth bring excitement to the facility. 

For information about upcoming performances, or to rent the facility for your event, go to www.theaterworks.org.

For properties in Peoria, go to www.homekey.org.

Peoria's Challenger Space Center has activities, displays and events for visitors to learn and explore.  Not only are there flight simulators and information about space exploration; visitors will also see space-inspired artwork of Robert McCall.  The Challenger Center has the distinction of being affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution. 

Visit the Challenger Space Center website at www.azchallenger.org for information about all the programs and events.

To view properties available in Peoria, go to www.homekey.org.

My Financial Life from Three Altitudes

Sea level:  How much money is in my purse and bank account right now? 

                What's my debt load?   Don't let borrowing be your default plan for 2008

                What's my credit score? Get a free credit REPORT (score costs $) at www.annualcreditreport.com

                             Credit Score:  a number between 350 and 850 which grades your financial reliability.

                             Credit Reporting Agencies: 

                          Experian   http://www.experian.com/

                          TransUnion  http://www.transunion.com/

                           Equifax    http://www.equifax.com/          

Arial view:  What are my plans for a financially healthy future? What action must I take?

                          saving for retirement

                          buying a home

                          paying off all debt

                          college savings plan for kids

                          saving for a daughter's wedding

                          emergency funds for car repair, appliances, etc.

                          medical insurance and deductible

Celestial view:  Where's my heart on financial matters?

                                    Thankful for what I have - relationships and material wealth

                                    Ready to share

                                    Committed to principles that create value

 Marsha Cleaveland, Keller Williams Realty.  Search for a home online at www.HomeKey.org.

Top Three Reasons to Buy a Home Right Now

Lush inventory to select your home from.  More than 50,000 homes are on the market right now in the greater Phoenix area, for example.  New homes, nearly new homes and older homes -- you will see an abundance of inspiring homes in your price range and in the neighborhood of your choice.  With selection at an all-time high, why not buy right now?

Prices have moderated from the highs of 2005.  If your favorite area was priced too high a year or two ago, check again this year; you will be pleased to find many reductions.  New home builders are also offering price reductions and incentives, letting you put the finishing touches on your home.  Sellers and builders want you to buy right now. 

Mortgage rates are still close to the lowest in history.  Get your credit in order by reviewing your credit report and eliminating debt to take advantage of low interest rates (see Decoding Your Credit Report for more information on how to get and understand your credit report).  Work your way through your debt; this is vital to your financial health whether you are buying a home or not.  Ideas for eliminating debt can be found in Eliminating Debt for Homebuyers. You'll also need to save up a few thousand toward the earnest money deposit and down payment.  With these preparations, you'll likely qualify for special treatment with your mortgage lender when you buy right now.

Don't miss out on the chance to own a choice home now when these vital factors are in your favor. 

Contact Marsha at (623) 337-8990 for information on homes in your area.  Search for homes at HomeKey.org. Keller Williams Realty Professional Partners.

Eliminate Debt before Buying Your Home

When buying a home, you want to have your finances in a strong position.  This means demonstrating a capacity to save and to pay off debt.  Your credit report shows both your current standing on the indebtedness scale, as well as your past history of debt repayment.  Lenders consider the credit report their most important tool for evaluating your financial reliability.  To unlock the secrets about you found in your credit report, see Decoding your Credit Report.   

Eliminating debt will increase your credit score and qualify you for better interest rates when buying a home.  Your debt will be eliminated when you:  Focus your spending, assign a time frame, and envision the payback.

Focus your spending.  We all have money; we are just too relaxed and unfocused about the way we spend it.  Being decisive and even extreme in this area gets results fast.  First, calculate your monthly income.  Now list your required expenses:           

REQUIRED EXPENSES:  taxes, rent or house payment, food, gasoline, medical insurance, house insurance &  taxes, phone, debt (minimum payments or typical payments), retirement savings, emergency savings. 

You noticed some things are missing from the list, right?  Now list your non-required expenses:

            NON-REQUIRED EXPENSES:  cable, internet, spa/gym membership, personal allowances, purchases other than food or gasoline, activities, restaurants; all those extras we once considered special that have now become a habit. 

The area of non-required expenses is the leading edge of possibility when it comes to debt elimination. These are the things we can live without in the short term in order to reach our goal in the long term of being debt-free in order to buy a home, or to move up to a larger home.

Focus all spending on debt reduction, channeling all resources (other than required expenses) into paying off the smallest debt.  When that is eliminated, eradicate the next smallest, then the next.  With crystal-clear focus, you can tell your money where to go, rather than wondering where it went.

Assign a timeframe:  To do an extreme financial makeover, eliminate all spending from the areas of non-required expenses for six months.  The money made available will be used to reduce the credit card debt, pay off the cars, pay off all financing, and then, when all is paid down, get aggressive about saving for the down payment on your home.  Don't use credit at all during this time; just focus on eliminating what you have already borrowed.

            A serious six-month commitment to reducing debt as outlined above will take most prospective homebuyers to a qualifying level for a mortgage.  For those who want Olympic Gold clout with the lender, plan a longer timeframe of one to two years.  Longer lead time enables greater down payments and more sophisticated knowledge of the mortgage industry to avoid undesirable mortgages.  Reserving the funds for a 20% or larger down payment will enable you to avoid mortgage insurance, a required add-on expense of about $100 per month for every $100,000 of mortgage loan. 

Envision the results:  Your focused spending toward debt reduction may cause short-term pain.  Reducing our lifestyle for the life-altering purpose of home ownership is always a good thing; we just need ways to make it feel good in the short term. 

            Visit a few open house events held by Realtors in the area you want to live in as you begin your debt elimination focus.  Get photos of the homes available, and place a few of these photos in strategic areas around the home; i.e. on the refrigerator, the TV, the bathroom mirror, the desk where you pay your bills.  Store all credit cards in an envelope with one of these photos attached to remind you why you are focusing all spending toward debt elimination (and to avoid using the cards when you are out and about). Attach a favorite home photo to the file folder where you keep your bills, to inspire you as you pay those buggers off. 

            Speak with a lender about your income amount and your current credit score to get an indication of what size loan and interest rate you may qualify for.  Then ask, "If I had no debt and my credit score was 100 points higher, what rate would I qualify for?"  Use a mortgage calculation feature (MS Excel has one, or you can find one at http://www.homekey.org/ under Buyer Resources) to see the total amount of interest you will pay at the two interest rates.  The difference will be in the tens of thousands. 

            Think twice, no, ten times about a no down payment loan.  By putting 20% down you have a smaller loan to begin with, and you escape the Mortgage Insurance Premium, which can be several hundreds each month, depending on the size of the loan.  Take a look at these figures on a 30 year fixed-rate mortgage at 6.50% interest for a $300,000 home:

            NO Down payment                                       20% Down Payment

            $300,000   home price                                     $300,000   home price

                        0   down                                                 60,000   down payment 20%

            $300,000   loan                                               $240,000   loan

                  1,896   monthly payment                                1,516   monthly payment

                     300   mortgage insurance premium                    0    no mortgage insurance

               $ 2,196   monthly payment                             $ 1,516   monthly payment

            Short-term ease = long-term struggle              short-term struggle = long-term ease

            That's a $680 per month difference! Just because of a 20% down payment.

Interest paid:  $76,527 more is paid in the "no down payment" scenario compared to the "20% down" scenario over the 30 year life of the fixed-rate loan.

            Taking six months to get in top financial condition for home buying will not only enable you to get a better mortgage rate due to debt elimination, you will also have time to become more financially savvy and run the numbers on a few mortgage possibilities before being asked to sign the stack of papers with mystifying mortgage terms.

            Resolve to experience all benefits of knowledge plus action.  Be a person of character who does what it takes in the short term to reach long-term success.  Focus your spending, assign a timeframe, and envision the results.  Bookmark this and email me to tell me about your success six months from now.

            Call Marsha when you are ready to buy a home at (623) 337-8990.  Search for available homes at http://www.homekey.org/.  Choose your favorite and focus for success.

Decoding Your Credit Report

Find out what Lenders know about you

Leap over an initial hurdle that faces all borrowers by examining and polishing your credit report.  For yourself and your spouse, go to www.AnnualCreditReport.com to order your free once-a-year report from each of the three credit reporting agencies.  Get all three if you have not looked over your credit report before; after updating all, plan to get one report every four months to watch over your credit through the year.  You must pay for your credit SCORE, about $15.00.  Do this about once a year, from Fair Isaac or Experian.  When you check your own credit, it does not ding your score; when a lender or credit card company or finance company or auto dealer checks it, it will affect (reduce) your score for the next two years.

GOAL:  Credit Score of 680 up; 750 is even better; 800 up is excellent.

Once you have your credit report in hand, the following will help you interpret it.

Check for errors:  PERSONAL INFORMATION:  Start with the basics:  Is it your correct name, address, and social security number?  Your address information may be found at the end of the report as well, showing a history of the addresses you gave in the past.

                           NEGATIVE ITEMS:  The report will show these first.  Late payments, charge-offs, repossessions, and items sent to collection will be shown here.  If they are more than seven years old, you can ask they be removed.  If the items are incorrect, file a dispute with the credit reporting agency and/or contact the original creditor to prove the item is wrong.  You may also place a statement beside the item to explain the extenuating circumstances that caused the late payment, etc.

                            ACCOUNTS IN GOOD STANDING: This list shows all accounts for the past 10 years, noting when the account was opened, credit limit (or highest amount ever spent), Duration (such as a 60 month car loan), Frequency (monthly/weekly, etc), Activity (should read paid and closed for a paid-off auto loan), Date reported (shows the most recent date that account reported in to the credit bureau), Balance Amount (as of the previous date; this may be different from your current balance as several months may have passed).

Other categories that may not be filled in include: Amount past due, Date of last payment, Actual payment amount, Scheduled payment amount, Date of last activity, Date major delinquency 1^st reported, Charge-off amount, Deferred pay start date (if you have worked out an arrangement to defer payments, it will be shown here), Balloon pay amount, Ballon pay date, Date Closed.

Some credit agencies show Current Status, Type of Account (installment/revolving), Type of loan (auto, mortgage, etc.), Whose account (joint, individual or authorized user). 

Make your credit report sparkle:   

no late payments

have only 4 or 5 credit cards: 2 bank cards such as Visa, Mastercard or Amex, 1 gasoline card, and 2 store cards such as Sears

no finance company loans

no bank personal loans

no foreclosures

no unpaid debt judgments

no bankruptcy

no unpaid taxes

no repossessions

Home mortgage loan is a bonus to credit if always paid on time. Any of the above negative items can be removed when they are more than 7 years old.  Mortgage lenders give heavier weight to recent negative items (past 2-4 years).

A Strategy for Credit Card Success:

 Close out all store credit cards from places where you no longer live, and all cards you no  longer use regularly.  Keep your oldest cards, as they demonstrate your long-term credit history.  (Cancelled and closed cards will still appear on your credit history for 7 years.) 

 Aim to pay off all cards completely.

 Use one card regularly (after all are paid off) paying it off each month.  Use the other cards at least 2-3 times a year, paying them off completely when the bill comes.    

 Keep a ratio of less than 20% of total amount owed to total lines of credit.  Example:   $2,000 owed on all 4 credit cards combined, with combined total credit limit of $10,600 = 19% credit-to-debt ratio (in other words, don't max out your credit cards)

A basic credit card strategy is to have access to instant credit through having a good payment reputation, but never use the money as a long-term loan.

Financial Health Strategy:  Determine to pay down all credit cards and secure a savings stash to rely on instead of credit cards.  Gradually put aside enough to cover car repair ($600+), appliance repair/purchase ($500+), medical emergencies ($1000+), and job loss buffer (enough to cover three months of bare necessities. Total financial health savings = $8,000 up. Don't touch this money unless a major disaster strikes (don't use for Christmas, vacations or to shop sales!)

Target date: To have your stash built up in 2-4 years, divide total desired amount by 24 to find amount to put aside each month to save in 2 years ($334 per month = $8,000 in two years)  Set up an automatic withdrawal from the bank account where your paycheck is deposited to a savings account to make this happen.  If you don't have to make the decision again every month, there is less chance you will fail.

You can have a terrific credit report now that you know the secret:  examine and correct it, then pay down your debt and prepare your cash reserves.  You'll be in a great place to get a home loan.

Calculate your mortgage or search for a home online at www.homekey.org. For a home in Arizona, call Marsha Cleaveland, Keller Williams Realty 623 337-8990. 

Home Office on a Shoestring

Of course, a home office would be terrific, but you are just starting a business and don't want to put scarce capital into furnishings.  What's a thrifty business person to do?

    1.   Hit the yard sales!  I'm not a yard sale junkie normally; in fact my last two purchases were a desk for my son at $2.50 and a two-drawer filing cabinet for $3.50.  Granted, they each needed a sponging off, but both were in great condition and have served us well for four years now. My desk, solid maple with four broad drawers, was a pricier $20 second-hand.

          Shelves can also be found at yard sales, and are very versatile for the home business start-up.  They can hold reference material, computer media, equipment and even your iced tea (because there are strict rules about drinks never being on the computer desk.)

     2.  Use what you have.  TV trays often wander into our home office to give us a larger workspace temporarily; great for stuffing a few envelopes while checking email or waiting for programs to load (don't you hate those stolen minutes?) See Streamline your business with a Home Office for more ideas.

     3.  Shop the discount stores.  Files can be kept temporarily in cardboard file boxes from the office supply centers.  It's far better to invest in the folders (hanging and tabbed), taking the time to set up an efficient filing system in boxes, than to have your home business capital gobbled up by fancy filing cabinets for the first year or so.

          Paper for your in-house use can be the economy type from the big-box store, but keep some top quality paper on hand for important communications.

          A chair, I've found, MUST have wheels and rotation.  I haven't had any luck getting these second-hand (they're always broken).  But I did start with the economy model from the discount store -- I've now graduated to one that has arms.  Always test your chairs to make sure they are suited to your proportions - one size does NOT fit all.

Unless you are often meeting clients in a home office (most who work at home aren't), having posh furnishings is not an effective way to spend capital during the start-up phase of a home business.  The main essential at this point is to have a space designated and dedicated to your work (see Do I need a home office?) So to keep expenses down during your home business start-up, get your furnishings at a discount and use what you have on hand.  Put the word out to friends who ‘do' yard sales that you need office furnishings; maybe you'll get a call some Saturday morning with a smokin' deal on a $125.00 filing cabinet for $14.00.  You never know.

Call me at (623) 337-8990 to find your home office ready property in the Phoenix area.  Or search for properties on my website at http://www.homekey.org/   

Dedicating a room of the house to be used as an office is a major step.  It has tax consequences, (good and bad), and it takes up space that Braden may want for his Legos or Kayla wishes she had as a home theater to enjoy the latest flicks with her teen friends.  What are the top ten signs that it's time to set up a home office?

1. The files need to be moved off the bed each night to pull down the bedspread.
2. The dining table can't be used from February to April while the income tax info is being organized.
3. Clients can hear the rumblings of the dishwasher when you are setting up appointments by phone.
4. The computer screen doubles as a tie rack when hubby undresses at night.
5. There are sticky notes with clients' call-back information in every room of the house (and we thought Bluetooth was such a grand invention).
6. Where, oh where has my receipt gone? Where, oh where can it be? With its paper so short and its $ so long, oh where, oh where can it be?
7.  A stack of books, test papers to be graded, documents to be faxed, forms to be filled in, orders to be processed, articles to be revised (name your favorite) surrounds every chair in the family room. 
8. Because of #7, vacuuming is likely to trigger an avalanche.
9. Baby Britten learned how to receive a fax before he could say "Daddy".
10. The cat, the dog and the hamster have all been involved in ‘processing' your paperwork in the last two months.

Seriously, though, what criteria should we use to determine it's time to set up a home office?

1. Your ‘day job' requires night work that can be done at home (teachers, lawyers, ministers, etc.)
2. You have no permanent desk of your own at your day job (realtors, salespeople, artists, musicians, etc.)
3. You want to begin your own business entirely separate from your day job.
4. You have an online business that is booming, creating a need for storage space to stock supplies or inventory.

These are all valid reasons for a home office.  Sometimes life presents new opportunities that require more space to germinate and grow.  Confining a project to an unsuitable space limits productivity and puts barriers in our path (sometimes literally - like tripping over the laundry basket on the way to answer the phone). 

Unleash your business potential with a home office/library/study.  Amazing results happen when a space is dedicated and organized for action.

www.homekey.org

Packing and unpacking is like working a massive jigsaw puzzle.  When your home office is included, you can't afford to lose any pieces.  To add to the complexity, usually you keep the office functioning right up until moving day, and need to get it up and running again immediately after the relocation.  To make moving your home office a success, try these tips:

1.  Make arrangements in advance. Send out notifications of the impending change of address.  Order new business cards, stationery and other print items that contain your address.  Verify that the new location has the required number of telephone and internet lines; if not, make appointments with providers to have them installed.

2.  Begin packing rarely used items early.  Some items we reference daily, others we keep on hand 'just in case'.  Keep your daily items at hand, but spend an hour each evening boxing up the lesser-used supplies.

3.  Back up your computer hard drive.  This is essential to the success of your move.  Anything can happen to equipment in transport.  A moving company can pay you for lost or damaged equipment, but they can't get lost data back again.

4. Last out, first in.  Your most basic business items, the ones you refer to daily, should be the last to go into a box and the first out at the new location.  Make sure the moving company knows this, and mark each box clearly so necessary supplies do not get lost in the shuffle.

Expect to have some downtime in your business during your move, but minimize the pain by keeping in perspective your long-term goals for the move.  Transitions -- and the upheaval they cause-- are life's way of bringing growth and renewal.

May your move take you upward and onward.

Marsha Cleaveland

Contact me for your real estate needs in Phoenix, Peoria and Glendale, Arizona.

www.HomeKey.org