ALL PHOENIX REAL ESTATE

Suddenly, it all makes sense … the emphasis on protecting the relationship, being supportive of the program no matter what, the ever-present big picture.

Once upon a time, back during my time at Century 21 I was a member of USAA’s Movers Advantage program. It was something I couldn’t mention unless someone told me they were a USAA client and proceeded to engage in the super-secret 14-stage handshake known only to USAA members and Movers Advantage agents.

Why? Because those were USAA’s rules. God forbid an agent in some way manage to profit from paid membership in Movers Advantage. Wait, did I just mention we paid?

Similarly, I couldn’t tell one of these folks using USAA for their mortgage when USAA had screwed the pooch on a transaction lest I damage the relationship - whether it was my company’s relationship with USAA or the clients’ with USAA wasn’t quite clear, but that’s another story for another day.

So when I would run across a situation like the one I’m dealing with today, when USAA has managed to bungle a closing by making the unique decision to require a termite inspection on a spec home, and by not mentioning this fact until 1 p.m. on the closing date I couldn’t tell the client “USAA screwed the pooch.”

Luckily, I’m under no such distasteful dictate at the moment.

Spec homes and new homes come with soil reports that verify that the soil has been treated for critters. This usually is sufficient, unless of course you’re USAA, the same company that has spent three days trying to figure out the math of the 10% tolerance on page 3 of the new HUD-1 statement.

(Hint: when the Good Faith Estimate shows an appraisal is $305 and the actual bill is for $450 - a roughly 50% increase - you’re not going to make the 10 percent tolerance.)

Here’s the dilemma, at least in my mind … USAA’s base clientele is the military and, at least in theory, USAA bends over backwards to serve that clientele knowing the sacrifices made by their members on behalf of the rest of us.

But when the company can’t seem to get out of its own way to handle a simple VA loan, doesn’t it make it really, really difficult to recommend them in the future?

Maybe it doesn’t matter. After all, there always are Movers Advantage agents mindful of the big picture who’ll do what they’re told to get a green light on their scoresheet at the corporate office, logical or not.

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As I sit here, the clock atop the scoreboard at Surprise Stadium is in its own little world. One minute ago it was 1:35. Now it’s 1:50. All the while, it’s 11:44 a.m.

Though something in the machine clearly is screwed up the overall theme isn’t … the clock is ticking.

If you’re looking to take advantage of the Homebuyers Tax Credit, either the $8,000 or $6,500 version, you have ten weeks left to be under contract - it’s April 30th or bust (unless NAR and others are successful in their push to continue the program another several months - let’s hope they aren’t.)

If you’re looking to take advantage of very low mortgage interest rates, the clock is ticking. Uncle Ben Bernanke is on record as saying the Fed will stop purchasing mortgage backed securities at the end of March. Which means rates should start creeping up in advance of that date since mortgage rates float based on supply, demand and market conditions. Expectations of higher rates can cause those higher rates to occur, in other words.

For those waiting for prices to drop, if you’re also financing, your purchase may end up being more expensive in the near future even if prices decline slightly simply because of the change of interest rates. It’s just that simple.

The clock is ticking … it’s now 2:25 according to Surprise Stadium and 11:47 elsewhere in the Valley … will time run out on you?

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One of the things I’ve made relatively routine is reaching out to talk to my past, current and prospective clients. There doesn’t necessarily have to be an underlying purpose for the call (though I always let them know that, by the way, as good as business is I’m never too busy for any of their referrals), and sometimes the calls without a point are the most enjoyable.

Today was dedicated to calling as many Canadians as I could and there absolutely was a point, even if it had nothing to do with real estate. After all, when you have the chance to revel in a once-in-half-century event, you do it.

photo courtesy of Getty Images

Sure it’s blatant jingoism but what the hell. Your dollar’s almost as strong as ours and you fill the upper bowl of our hockey arena whenever one of your teams come to town. And don’t even get me started on what you’ll do to our bartenders curling team when that match comes up.

So hey, let us enjoy the moment, okay?

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So, here are the two thoughts that cross my mind any time asks me about the “desirable” areas of Phoenix or the subdivisions and neighborhoods that I would “recommend.”

1) Legally, I cannot steer buyers toward or away from any given area based on subjective criteria as per the Fair Housing Act.

2) Given you don’t really know who I am, why are you asking me for a recommendation?

I can spend the next two paragraphs extolling the virtues of Sushi Yuki, a hole-in-the-wall sushi place in Peoria two minutes from my office and five minutes from the Peoria Sports Complex. But if you don’t care for sushi, it’s not going to interest you in the slightest regardless of how much I happen to enjoy the baked scallops roll.

Want to know where I go for pizza and wings? Pullano’s at the corner of 51st Avenue and Thunderbird. Upscale dining? Fogo do Chao in Scottsdale or the Melting Pot in Arrowhead. Cheap meals where kids eat free? Try IHOP or, depending on the day, suffer through the food at TGI Friday’s for the sake of the discount. Decent burgers? Hard to go wrong with 2-for-1 at RT O’Sullivans on Tuesdays.

Except … if you don’t much care for pizza, wings, comfort food or burgers, none of this will matter. You might happen to prefer a vegan meal. I’m sure they’re available here, I just couldn’t tell you where.

The places I visit, the place where I live, are colored thoroughly by who I am and what my life happens to be. But unless you happen to be me, what I like to do and where I want to live likely don’t have any bearing on where you might want to be.

My perceptions are nothing more than my perceptions and my license doesn’t give those perceptions any real gravitas.  You need to get on the ground. You need to drive through a neighborhood and decide if it works for you. You need to rely on your own perceptions and feelings, not mine.

Throw out the legality of it all for a moment and look at it strictly from a standpoint of common sense. You’re going to be the one who lives in the property, not me. Your own senses will tell you whether it’s where you want to be better than mine ever will.

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Simply put, mornings like this morning are the reason I have made the Phoenix area my home for the last 33 years.

Temperatures in the 60s on the way to highs in the 70s, blue skies, Mr. Bluebird on my shoulder …

Okay, maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration.

For those for whom the ground looks like an Olympic cross country skiing course, here’s the view this morning from the concourse at the Surprise Recreation Concourse, spring home of the Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals:

The air is filled with the scent of orange blossoms while the quiet is interrupted by the sound of a baseball thwacking into leather gloves … and the occasional F-16 overflight from Luke Air Force Base, but that’s another story.

It’s so easy to make this your winter home, or to purchase a property that will become other fortunate souls’ winter homes as a vacation rental. Such investments aren’t for everyone, mind you. But if you’ve got the ability, the will and your fill of the chills, the sun awaits.

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