Jan. 11, 2008 - Featured Home Friday - Sandretto Hills

Featured Home Friday -

Jan. 8, 2008 - What Americans Really Want

John Edwards

Okay Iowa results are in and New Hampshire votes today. I am not sure if it matters. Frankly I am not sure whoever gets elected matters, at least from this crowd. Maybe we are all just tired of the phony rhetoric. But of all the BS floating around, the candidate that fascinates me the most is John Edwards. Edwards is by far the richest of all candidates, worth an estimated 45 million. This is probably the most out of touch candidate in a field of bizarre characters.

 We don’t want your money!

 Listen John, I think I can tell you that the average American does not want to take away your wealth and redistribute it. What most Americans want is there own wealth! We want the opportunity to do what you did and to not be afraid that once we do it you are going to take it away from us.

 Two Americas.

 There are two Americas alright, the one of opportunity, like the one where you and your friends live and the one where the majority of us live. You have had the friends and breaks that we all want. You lived the American dream and that’s what we all want and if we can’t quite achieve everything we wanted we want the opportunity for our children to take it to the next level (just like you did).

 Get in touch with the real people.

 We are all struggling to build wealth for ourselves and our children. You want to help equalize everything? Show us how you did it and get out of our way so we can try. Open doors for us (in trade, cheap seed money, better education and tax breaks to name a few). Support our businesses, help us to grow and put more people to work so they in turn can gain experience and have their shot.

This is not 1929. Get over your Woody Guthrie syndrome. It is the old premise, just teach us to fish and if you really want to help, give us a basic pole and show us a couple of spots. We’ll do the rest ourselves. That is what America is all about!

 Vicki Brannock is a Realtor in Prescott Arizona.

Jan. 4, 2008 - Featured Home Friday

A new blog feature for 2008 is Feature Home Friday’s looking at a current listing and providing information about the local area things that are not always apparent in the MLS or Realtor.com information.

Today’s featured property is located in Chino Valley.

Chino Valley is about 15 miles north of Prescott Arizona. It is mostly rural and has been cattle grazing and ranches for the last 100 years.

Natural aquifers (thanks for the spellcheck Paul) provide a surprisingly good source of water. Much of the area is on well water and septic.

Like most of the west CV has experienced a boom in housing both in small acreage and subdivisions.

Click here to watch a video about CV.

With the Safeway and new Walgreens about 10 minutes down the road and new services scheduled to come in within the next few months you have a terrific opportunity to enjoy a rural life without having any inconvenience.

  This is horse property in the heart of cowboy country

The modern farm style home is bright and open with soaring ceilings in the great room, downstairs master suite with beautiful bathroom and a family friendly kitchen. A 3 stall stable with plenty of room for tack and storage has it’s own driveway. Lot’s of flat space to create an arena. Very unusual flat buildable area for a property with such amazing views. Almost 7 acres of quiet and privacy. Just reduced to 449,00!

Click here to see virtual tour.

If you have any questions please contact me at:

Vicki@Prescott-RE.com

Jan. 2, 2008 - Why Do You Want To Buy Real Estate?

2007 has been successfully put to bed and in the Real Estate world 2008 is still bloated and sluggish. Locally 312 listings expired (meaning they did not sell during the contract period). It still leaves us with over 2400 listings on the market. That is double what inventory levels were on average from 2000-2005. Land listings are even more out of whack with over 3500 lots or parcels for sale in the area.

 What does all this mean for you?

Well, it depends on who you are.

Flipper aka short term investor

If you got in on the buy and flip mania that ended in 2005 and look at real estate as a liquid asset then you are done. Your day has past. That includes those who were third party investors and those living in the home but looking to unload in 2 years with a 100% profit.

Homeowner

You bought your house because you needed a place to live; you liked the area and neighborhood. You are going to do okay even if you bought in ’05, if you are able to stay in your house for a few more years. If you bought 5 or more years ago and need to sell stop trying to make a killing and just make a decent profit. Once your house is sold you are going to have a great choice in your next purchase.

First time buyer

You are holding all the cards. If you have good credit and stable income with some money down you can find  great deals to get you into a home that was beyond your ability just 2 years ago.

Wealth building long term investor

You have hit the jackpot. There are and will continue to be great opportunities to actually purchase properties with positive cash flow and long term growth potential. This is the time that the rich get richer and the simple facts are that real long term wealth is achieved through real estate holdings.

So not only are the markets local but the reasons for buying are personal. Real Estate is a buy and hold investment opportunity that will bring wealth to those who can play the game. Just as with any investment strategy you have to understand your tolerance for risk and ability to ride through blips in market conditions. Then you can decide what category you fall into. One thing is for sure if you are serious about passive income and building long term wealth real estate should be part of your plan.

Vicki Brannock is a Realtor in Prescott Arizona.
email: Vicki@Prescott-RE.com