Lock all of your loans at application. We really saved a bunch of money these past two weeks by floating the mortgage rate. The mortgage bond market anticipates a Fed Funds cut this week. While we don’t think the Fed will cut rates again, we realized that the bond traders do. The perception that the Fed will be lowering rates, this week, is disappearing.We didn’t see the 30 year fixed rate loan fall below 6% but we did see the 5 and 7 year ARMs drop dramatically. Lock your mortgage rate today. If you’re applying for a loan, lock at application.

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Blog posts abound if only one takes the time to turn simple questions into useful online information for the masses. Many have known this for some time. I’m just catching up, but catching up I am.

Here was a question I received from a prospective client a few nights ago. I’ll call him Jeff, just for fun:

“So if I tell you that I want lakefront property, ranch-style, for somewhere between $280,000 and $300,000, are you going to tell me I’m crazy?”

Well, Jeff … absolutely not.

My first instinct was finding a home on a lake for less than $300,000 was eminently possible. And that was before jumping into the Arizona Regional MLS and discovering the wide array of options across the Valley - from Garden Lakes and Crystal Gardens in Avondale to Desert Harbor in Peoria to Arrowhead Lakes and Tuscany Pointe in Glendale to my old stomping grounds, Mesa’s Dobson Ranch.

Narrowing the selection can be difficult, particularly electronically. While all of the lakes in the communities mentioned above are man-made, there are lakes and there are lakes. Some are small finger lakes unsuitable for a rubber raft. Others provide some degree of sailing, though the yacht probably will have to remain at Lake Pleasant.

There are fresh-water lakes and lakes filled with recharged, non-potable water. There are some that resemble, well, man-made lakes and others that have a more marshy feel (and this is intentional in Crystal Gardens … reeds are a common feature in the water.)

In discussing the possibilities with my client, other differentiating characteristics were brought to mind:

• Does the property have its own private lake access and/or a dock, or is there a walking trail surrounding the lake and separating home from water? (Garden Lakes, the Dobson Ranch, Desert Harbor and Arrowhead feature lots that reach to the water line. Ventana Lakes and Crystal Gardens are among those with walking paths surrounding the lake.)
• Does the backyard face north or south? If the back half of the house is to the south, the backyard may be a little less functional than if it faces the north as it will be taking the brunt of the summer sun. Not that this isn’t an issue on non-lakefront property, but those wanting life on the lake tend to want to spend more time in their backyard than others.
• What kind of fishing or boating restrictions apply? I’m not touching this one as the rules vary widely from subdivision to subdivision. If you really want to know the particulars for a given area, e-mail me and I’ll pass them along.

One other thing to keep in mind, which ought to be obvious, is you’re paying a premium for life on the water compared to similar landlocked homes in the same development. These premiums could run to six figures or could be less, depending on market conditions and the subdivision you’re in.

[ tags]Phoenix real estate, Phoenix lakefront homes[/tags]

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Twice today I’ve received e-mails from Canadians looking at a 4-bedroom, 4.5-bath, 5,000-plus square foot home sitting on five-plus acres in Paradise Valley listed at $100,000.

Oh, I’m sorry. Did I mention that’s a rental rate? For one week? Specifically for Super Bowl week, January 29 through February 4?

Both prospective clients asked about financing, whether there were mortgages on the property, what interest rates would be like, etc. None of this really applies because your $100,000 only gets you use of the property for seven days in January and February.

Over the next day or so I’m hoping to have a more clear picture of what these folks are trying to find - a home to purchase, or a Super Bowl-week rental.

In the interim, I offer this extremely brief primer on Paradise Valley:

The Town of Paradise Valley is home to some of the most expensive real estate in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The least expensive home on the market in Paradise Valley is listed at $350,000 for 1,300-plus square feet. From there we quickly go to a half-million and above.

Some townhouses in Paradise Valley are less expensive but nothing approaches the $100,000 mark. Not in a town know for two things - the most effective photo radar in the Valley and closing its borders (literally) when heavy rains hit.

If you happen to be looking for a Super Bowl rental, incidentally, there are many available short of the $100,000 mark. Maybe not 5-acre estates but there are properties available.

Same goes for real estate to purchase while exchange rates are purchase. There’s little at the $100,000 price point but homes can be found in the mid-$100s with ease.

Oh, and as for the estate, it’s off the market as of yesterday rendering moot a lot of the questions I’m seeing come up.

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What’s the most popular theme in many real estate offices these days? “Maybe if we all pretend the market isn’t slow, people won’t notice the difference and then I can start selling again.”

I wrote about this over at AgentGenius a couple of days ago. Many agents in my office feel the Arizona Association of REALTORS is not active enough in combating all the negative news about the market and the negative view of our industry.

Most of us who are more enlightened about the rhetorical blundering of the National Association of REALTORS have next to no interest in having AAR come to the rescue as they’re more likely to jam our collective heads further into the mid in the process.

The idea that we should be singing “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” seems to be growing … check out this post on Jay Thompson’s blog following a comment from a fellow agent telling him he’s too negative.

I would argue that a real estate agent who also writes for a blog is more in tune with the realities of the market, good and bad, than the agent who simply relies on NAR for all of their information. Our readibility, not to mention our credibility, depends on it.

Clients don’t want unwarranted sunshine. They want the truth. If that’s inconvenient for some, feel free to continue parroting NAR’s marketing spin.

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(Editor’s note: Brian spent the early part of the week enjoying the perks of outdoor camping at Qualcomm. All’s well, he’s back home and we’re damn glad to see it.)

We’re still cautiously floating in anticipation of mortgage rates below 6%. The economic data being released suggests that we are in a recession; that would imply that the Fed will be lowering the Fed Fund rate again. There really is no market moving data due out until the last day of the month.

If your mortgage in Phoenix is due to close in the next 10 days, go ahead and lock the mortgage rate. Otherwise, continue to cautiously float that rate.

We had quite a scare, in Southern California, earlier this week and we’re not out of the woods yet. My family was literally “on the move” as this wildfire threatened to move into our town. Laurie Manny and Jeff Brown kept most of you up to date about my family’s evacuation; I’m grateful to both of them for that.

Today, it’s back to the markets and the markets say float. Keep checking in for updates.

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