Urban Life

What to do in Downtown Phoenix

People often ask us what to do in downtown Phoenix? What are the best restaurants? Do we have a favorite nightclub or bar? Are there tours of downtown Phoenix. What cultural venues and events happen in downtown Phoenix? I think you get the idea.

Since we specialize in downtown real estate, it is natural to think we know where to go and what to do. In response, we've been putting together a list of over 100 things to do and places to go in in downtown Phoenix. I'll tell you, it is quite a project.

The initial phase is done and we have created our list that includes some of our favorite restaurants, bars, places to listen to music, places to shop, museums, theaters and lots more. Over time we will be adding individual posts on the different places with our thoughts.

In the meantime, you can check our the list on our sister site that specialized in all things downtown... www.UrbanConnectionRealty.com. For a direct link to the article simply go to,

What To Do and Places to Go in Downtown Phoenix Arizona

Councilwoman Neely Unfit for Mayor of Phoenix?

The Arizona Republic ran an article today questioning the fitness and ethics of Councilwoman Peggy Neely to run for mayor of Phoenix. As those who have been following the early race know, Neely has been reluctant to quit her job as a Phoenix council member and announce her candidacy.

Some argue Neely is playing fast and loose regarding the resign to run law that requires a declared candidate to resign his or her position if that position is an elected one.

Instead of declaring her candidacy, Neely has been “exploring” the possibility of running for mayor. The question is whether or not she has actually been campaigning while holding office or not. If you look at her web site it sure feels like someone is running for office. She has testimonials, she’s asking for donations, and she has a place to sign up to support her un-campaign.

Neely says everyone is crazy and there is no merit to the questions being raised about her exploratory committee. Here is a little quote from Neely in response to a few of many allegations of misconduct.

Residents in north Phoenix have accused Neely of a having a conflict of interest tied to the road expansion because some of her campaign co-chairs are zoning attorneys who represent developers that could benefit from Sonoran Boulevard.

Neely, however, has denied a conflict. She has said the plans for Sonoran Boulevard have been on the books long before she launched her exploratory committee for mayor.

There were dozens of comments at the end of the Republic article and none were too positive. Most were common sense statements about a public servant who bends to-near-breaking the laws of our state and who obviously feels she has said right. Some would call her a good ol boy if she wasn’t a she.

Here is one of my favorite comments:

If you want any kind of verification that Ms. Neely is just "more of the same", look at how she manipulates the "resign to run" law. Sure she may be "technically" within the wording of the law but do we rally want to elect someone who knowingly operates in this manner?....I do NOT. In short "Watch what they DO - not what they SAY" !

I don’t know about you but I am so tired of politicians who are self-serving verses serving the public good. Let’s vote in a great mayor this year verses a cliché politician.

Gene Urban

This is a political commentary piece and reflects my personal opinions as protected under the constitution of the United States.

 

Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2011/03/27/20110327phoenix-neely-potential-foes-press-quit.html#ixzz1K29GJ2tN

Downtown Phoenix Sports District to Light Up Things

An article in the Arizona Republic and on AZCentral.com today has stirred up a lot of controversy on Facebook, Twitter and other social sites.

As is usual, many of the comments are spot on and some are riff with unsupported allegations and false information... welcome to social news.

I read through the articles, made a few calls and feel I have a decent understanding of the plan. I say decent because everyone puts their spin on things and the full picture is often hard to paint, especially for a paint by numbers guy like me.

My base take on things is there are a number of people out there who are trying to figure out what to do to re-energize the fallen downtown Phoenix “sports district”. Rather than the epic entertainment and sports neighborhood many envisioned, we have a condo tower in questionable recovery,vacant storefronts and more questions than answers.

The plan discussed on AZCentral uses “flashy Vegas-type signs” to enliven the area and create ad space. The digital ads would create revenue for both the organization behind them and the City of Phoenix.

The organization mentioned above has  a vested interest in the future of downtown sports since they also have ownership interests in the DBacks and Suns. To some folks that makes them evil,while others say, yeah for the home team.

Personally, I see both pros and cons. Lights, cameras, action is not just a director’s statement, it is used to spark action.  Digital ads are energetic and energy is what the region needs. Ads create revenue and getting national retailers to drop money downtown can be advantageous... not always but not never either. The ad revenue is a taxable event so a City suffering from revenue shortfalls would have a new food source.

On the con side of things, lots of large signs may not add positively to the flavor of the district. That will depend on where they are placed, how they are structured and the creativity of the ads being shown. They could be very cool or they could just throw off a lot of light pollution without adding a cultural advantage.

I’d love to hear your take on things. Hopefully with well thought ideas verses simple rants... we get enough of those on AZCentral and other blogs... UrbanLIfe readers are above that in most cases.

Best to you

Gene Urban
The Urban Team
602-234-5777

Downtown Phoenix Dog Park up for Debate

Sean Sweat has been on a fast race collecting signatures asking the City of Phoenix to create a dog park on the gone-forever Ramada/Sahara Inn site.

His cause made AZCentral.com where much was mentioned about why a dog park was not feasible. Basically, the City and ASU says its the money. However, the hairs on my arms keep tingling and something just doesn’t seem right about the entire Ramada Inn land story.

The City was in a tremendous hurry to tear down a landmark. During the demolition an article came out about the lack of student housing and the need to build more. Couldn’t they have done that by simply remodeling the hotel? It already had 175 rooms, space for a cafeteria, kitchens, group areas, parking, meeting rooms and more. It seems like the 5 million they spent on purchasing the hotel, the cost of demolition and the funds needed to build a parking lot would have paid for much of the remodel.

Plus, they would have had a steady stream of rental income from ASU downtown students for years to come and lets not forget the short and long term jobs it would have created. Aren’t jobs what we need to springboard our economy? Seems like I’ve heard more than one politician talk about that. I guess they forgot that in the case of the Ramada Inn.

So, my question here on Urban Life, is “what is really going on in the background here?”  Why has every option raised about this property been met with deaf ears? Do are civic leaders have some strange parking lot fetish?

Although I like Sean’s idea of a dog park for downtowners, I see little chance of success. None of the City’s power brokers seem to care about adding residential amenities to the neighborhood unless there is a taxable advantage.

So, we will probably keep hearing about a law school planned for the acreage, even when there is no plan or budget. However, the Sheraton will have overflow parking for their guests who generally do not have or rent cars when attending a downtown conference or trade show.

What scares me most is that ASU is purported to be an institute of higher learning, the City of Phoenix is one of the best run cities in America and the Sheraton is a hugely successful corporation, yet none had a bit of sense over the Ramada Inn site.

Gene Urban
The Urban Team at Realty Executives
602-234-5777

connecting people to the perfect place

44 Monroe Close to Opening Doors For Condo Sales

44 Monroe, the condo towers in the heart of downtown Phoenix are getting very close to opening their doors for new condo sales.

We've been writing update articles on our downtown real estate site, www.UrbanConnectionRealty.com, for a bit now and we are getting excited.

I drove down to 44 Monroe this afternoon to see how the updated lobby is coming. The lobby and model homes are currently under construction as they prepare to open the building for condo sales.

As you can see by the picture, the lobby is pretty torn up. I was told they are about a month away from completion on this phase of the project and that the model homes should be done within two weeks.

If you would like to be put on our 44 Monroe news and update list, just toss us an email at 44Monroe@UrbanConnectionRealty.com and we will send our our weekly project updates.

Best to you,

Gene Urban
The Urban Team at Realty Exeuctives
602-234-5777

Do you need help with a short sale or foreclosure in Phoenix?

There is a lot of confusion for homeowners facing foreclosure or short sale in the Phoenix AZ area. We get phone calls and emails every day with short sale and foreclosure questions like:

• Will I be responsible for the loan deficinecy?
• How do I negotiate with my lender?
• How long does it take to sell a home by short sale?
• What is HAFA?
• My loan modification didn't work so what do I do now?
• Can I stop a foreclosure with a short sale?
• The house I am renting is going to foreclosure, what are my rights?

We like helping people answer these questions or pointing them to people who can help. In times like these we need to do what ever we can to help each other. Below is a list of some places you can find answers to your questions about short sales and foreclosure. If you don't see something that addresses your specific questions or concerns, pop us an email at Gene@UrbanTeamAZ.com or give us a call at 602-234-5777. Most of the time we have answers and if not we'll do our best to point you to a caring pro.

Short Sale Information and Help:

Short-Sale-Phoenix.com is a site dedicated to information about short sales in the Phoenix area. There are dozens of articles from news sources around the country, a step by step guide for selling homes by short sale, contact information for attorneys and much more.

Information About Avoiding Foreclosure:

Know Your Options is a new site put out by Fannie Mae. designed to inform homeowners of the various options avialble to them. It is acutally a pretty good site, but remeber it was put together by the government so they spin things a bit.

Legal Help With Foreclosures & Bankruptcies:

Your local bar association can help you find an attorney who specializes in foreclosure and bankruptcy law. We have found a couple local sources that our clients said were excellent as well. They are:

Nagle Law Group
4530 E. Shea Boulevard, Ste. 140
Phoenix, AZ  85028
602-595-6951
robert.nagle@naglelaw.com or stuart.pack@naglelaw.com

Hymson, Goldstein & Pantiliat, PC
14646 N. Kierland Blvd., Ste 255
Scottsdale, AZ 85254
480-991-9077

We really do hope this information is of help. We spend hours each week studying information about short sales and foreclosures; It can be overwhelming.

Best to you,

Gene Urban & Ron Urban
The Urban Team
602-234-5777

we are bothers... we will treat you like family

How to negotiate a short sale in Phoenix, AZ

One of the big questions from people selling their home by short sale is how to negotiate with their lender. If you have tried talking with a bank or loan servicing company, chances are it was frustrating, not very productive and maybe even a nightmare.

Negotiating with lenders is tough for one simple reason... a massive number of variables and rules. Plus, you are dealing with the bureaucracy of a bank/lender. For most people, navigating the short sale waters is pretty much impossible and one mistake can close down the process.

So, what can you do? We have found a great solution. You may think we are going to say, hire a Realtor to negotiate with your lender. That would be a BIG NO in our book. Very few real estate agents have the skill and experience to negotiate with a lender. In our experience it takes several dozen transactions before you have a clue of what to do.

We have, however, found a wonderful third party company who does exceptional work. The principle in the firm is a woman who teaches agents best practices for negotiating short sales. She has been involved with hundreds of short sale transactions helping home owners sell their home. Plus, she has hired former mortgage industry professionals to do the negotiating. Her firm is called Buy and Sell Smart.

On our short sale web site, www.short-sale-phoenix.com,  we have a bit more information about the gang at Buy and Sell Smart and contact information. Simply use this link to go to our page on negotiating a short sale in Phoenix, Scottsdale and other Arizona cities.

We'd like to be clear about something here. We get no referral fee from them. We've written this post because a lot of people are frustrated, angry and don't know where to turn. Finally, we have an answer and we're delighted to share it with people thinking about a short sale in the Phoenix area.

We hope this information helps you if a short sale is in your future.

Gene Urban and Ron Urban
The Urban Team at Realty Executives
602-234-5777

 

 

Tips and Cautions When Buying A New Home

I was asked a question on Trulia.com today I felt worth sharing with our readers on Urban LIfe. The subject was rights when buying a home from a new home builder. I’ll post the actual question below and provide our thoughts about the subject and how to protect yourself when buying a new home from a home builder.

The Question Posted on Trulia.com:

Two weeks after signing to purchase a new home from Pulte I was told that I was losing my job here in Arizona or move to California to keep my job. With the unemployment rate of 9.6% in Arizona I had no choice but to take the offer and move. I contacted Pulte and cancelled the purchase agreement. I had no time to finish up with the approval process so figured it would be no big deal I'd be able to get our deposit back. We had not been approved anyway. Now Pulte says I got approved and will not refund our deposit of $3,000. I have requested the approval documentation but Pulte has not provided it. After sending a certified letter demanding our deposit back or proof of approval, we received a letter stating Pulte may retain any Deposits up to the maximum amount permitted by law due to cancellation or default. So, they keep our whole deposit?

The Problem:

Home buyers, like most everyone, are living in a time of uncertainty and change. Lots of people are facing job loss and other economic insecurity. Here we have a fine example of how the economy changed a home buyers circumstances and he thought the home builder would understand return his deposit.

The problem here is we are dealing with a contract between two parties and the language of the contract can determine the outcome rather than what may be perceived as the socially right thing to do.

Our advise to this home buyer, since he as working directly with the builder and did not have his own Realtor, is to have the contract reviewed by an attorney and move forward once his rights are determined. If he has a background in contract law, he may be able to do this on his own, yet professional representation is the optimal course.

How To Protect Yourself When Buying A New Home From A Home Builder:

Don’t buy a new build home without representation!  That is the simple answer. However, the problem is few people do this when buying a home from a home builder. The normal scenario is as follows:

A couple take a weekend drive and find a new home project and stop to take a look. A nice sales person takes them on a tour, they fall in love with one of the models and that day or a few days later they sign a contract and put down a deposit. Often they believe the sale person is representing their interests. However, in most cases, the sales representative works for the home builder and has an agency relationship with them... not the home buyer.

Our constant recommendation is to never ever buy a home without having your own own representation. This can be a seasoned Realtor with lots of new home experience or a qualified attorney. This is true whether it is a new home or one on the resale market.

If you buy without representation, as with the person quoted above, you are on your own. Home builders have contracts drawn up by their attorneys and often emphasize protections for the home builder verses the home buyer. If you have your own representation, the contract can be amended to offer you extra protections.

In addition, a good Realtor will read the contract with you and help clarify your rights and responsibilities under the contract.  Understanding your obligations, in advance of a problem or emergency, can help you determine how best to get your deposit back and cancel the contract.

BIG NOTE HERE: Never ever go into a hew home project without your agent. If you can’t help yourself, tell the sales agent at the project that you have a realtor and secure, in writing, confirmation they understand you are represented. Home builders often have you sign a “welcome to our project” that precludes you, the home buyer, from using your own agent. We have seen lots of home builders enforce this stipulation... really!!

Hope this helps a bit and protects people buying a new home from a home builders. A little care upfront can keep nightmare real estate transaction from happening to you.

Gene Urban
The Urban Team at Realty Executives
602-234-5777

Radiate Phoenix Talks About Coffee in Downtown Phoenix

Radiate Phoenix is a gathering of people passionate about the urban experience in downtown Phoenix. It is often called a non-traditional networking event and the June 29th meeting was a fine example. Rather than do the pathetic and often shallow exchange of business cards, people were treated to a lively discussion about coffee and the coffee house experience in downtown Phoenix.

Catrina Knoebl of Downtown Phoenix Journal fame, gathered a group of coffee house owner/managers to offer an insiders look at the java industry. The panel included:

Brian Clemens of Cartel Coffee Lab

Michelle Lavis-White of Fair Trade Coffee

Bill Sandweg of Copper Star Coffee

Matt Pool of Giant Coffee

Each of the java gurus responded to topic/questions such as “coffee as a product”, “what inspired your location, and "the effect of light rail on their business?” 

I found the motivation for their businesses very interesting. Brian is a bean/roasting aficionado. It was clear that the perfect cup was essential to him as well as knowing a lot about the supply chain behind the product. Michelle is a human rights advocate and offering “fair trade” coffee and support to people and the community makes her happy. Both Bill and Matt are restaurant guys so offering a great product with ambiance and fine service is important. As you might expect... they all do love coffee.

I, being a techy sort, asked about wi-fi and adding wireless printing to the mix. All four panelists talked about the constant issues they have with wi-fi and problems associated with their suppliers. Made sense when I thought about what happens when 20+ people all vie for limited bandwidth.

All in all it was a great evening. I think most everyone leaned a lot more about coffee, tea and the behind the scenes operation of a coffee house. Many thanks to Catrina and her support team for making Radiate Phoenix so much fun.

Gene Urban
The Urban Connection Team
602-234-5777

What is Happening With Phoenix Real Estate April 2010

We just posted our monthly Phoenix real estate market update for April 2010 for all of you who wonder what's happening with real estate and the housing market in Phoenix.

The real estate market update can be found on our sister site, UrbanConnectionRealty.com.

Mike Orr of Cromford Report fame puts this information together for u. His analysis and thoughts are the best we've found. We've been working with Mike for several years now and he really helps keep us on top of the information curve. We hope you enjoy and please feel free to contact us with any questions or thoughts.

Gene Urban
The Urban Team at Realty Executives
602-234-5777