15403 E. Hat Creek Ranch Place Vail, AZ 85641 (by catalinarealty

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Prices are dropping, so why buy now?

So you’ve been watching the prices fall in the housing market, you want to buy (or at least considering it) but thinking you might be able to get a house even cheaper if you wait is starting to weigh on you. 

Price is certainly a huge determining factor when buying a home, its part of your search paramaters, its the determining factor in whether or not you can buy a house, and its what decides your mortgage payment every month. 

Its this last point we want to discuss… the mortgage payment. Its not just the price of the house, its also the interest rates on your loan that determine your mortgage payment. Although housing prices may continue to get lower and lower the interest rates are like to start going up over the next few quarters according to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, PMO, NAR, and Mortgage Bankers Association. Its very possible that if you wait to buy a house when the prices bottom you may find that you’re paying the same or more a month then if you’d bought sooner because of the interest rates. 

Don’t make any decisions without discussing with your mortgage professional, they are your support system in determining the best course of action when getting a loan and what you should be expecting every month to pay for your new home. 

 

Cash gift upon selling/buying a house?

We find this piece of news to be really exciting. What a great idea Dream Town Realty and Groupon had, one that we think is going to be a trend among the real estate brokerages (we’re definitely considering it here at Catalina Realty). The question though comes down to whether or not there is enough demand for such an offer, if you don’t have the established leads and clients like Dream Town Realty will it then just be a flop? Something to think about and consider, its amazing how far Groupon has come and what a huge impact its making in supporting local businesses. 

9 Steps To Your Dream Home!

1. Get yourself ready!

Know what you want and why. Tired of where you live now and want a change? Then know where you want to move to. Looking to invest? Then think about what you’re looking to get back, long term or short term. Is your current home just not THE dream home? Sit down and list the things you want in your new home.  Knowing what you want will go a long way to making sure your Realtor is armed with the right information to find you the perfect house for you.

So you’ve done your homework, you know what you want, where you want it and all the goodies inside it. You need to ask yourself if you have the money. As much as we all wish we could get houses for free that just isn’t the case but don’t let the sticker price shock you. If you set your pricing based on what you can afford and what you are comfortable with then you’re in the driver’s seat. Make sure you talk to your Realtor and loan officer about down payments, closing costs, and any other out of pocket expenses you’ll need to take care of during the process. Nothing is the same for every homebuyer so know your options!

2. Representation representation representation.

Realtors are your guides to the fabulous houses and the gauntlet of home buying. Find yourself licensed Realtor, they’re they experts so it’s their job to make your experience the best that it can be.

The whole buying and selling process is complex and getting a Realtor to navigate the ins and outs not only puts you in a better position but lets you enjoy the ride while they do the work. The maze of real estate is overwhelming; let them do the heavy lifting. Check the National Association of REALTORS for listings, stop by open houses, search the web, or even better, ask your friends. Finding a Realtor you can trust and enjoy working with is important; referrals are the best way to find the right one!

3. Get Loan Pre-Approval

9 out of 10 buyers purchase with a loan, so unless you want to pay cash you’re going to need to talk to a loan officer. “Pre-approval” means you did your due diligence and met with a loan officer, you’ve had your credit checked and qualify for a given amount of money with one or more specific mortgage programs. Its your personal stamp of financial ability to purchase a home, sellers want to know that they won’t lose the deal because the buyer can’t pay.

4. Shopping!

Get your laptop out, start up your REALTOR.com app on your smart phone, or call your Realtor and start looking for that perfect home. Remember that list you made with the features you had to have in your new home? Now is the time to put it to use. Visit open houses, get your Realtor to take you to a listing and see it up close and personal, this is when you need to get your walking shoes on and make the rounds.

5. Choose a home

Can you live, relax, entertain friends, raise children, and work from this newfound homestead? Are you in love and happy and can’t wait to tell everyone of your amazing find? After looking at hundreds of homes you just can’t get this one out of your mind? Does it fit your budget and your financial plan? Yes??? Better tell your Realtor!

6. Put those pre-approval letters to work!

Get your loan. Mortgage financing can be obtained from mortgage bankers, mortgage brokers, savings and loan associations, mutual savings banks, commercial banks, credit unions, and insurance companies. You’ve done the leg work in pre-approval stage, now its time to make it official.

7. Ink to paper!

The time has come to make an offer on this fabulous dream house. Talk to your Realtor, discuss your options, asking price, supply & demand. It can be a ping pong event, back and forth between you and the seller while you make adjustments, concessions, or new demands, etc. Your Realtor is your lifeline and communicator, let them guide you through the process and ask questions if you’re unsure about anything. This process can be quick so stay in touch with your Realtor.

8.Don’t be without Insurance!

Major insurance for home ownership are: title insurance, homeowner’s insurance, flood insurance and home warranties. It’s all about making sure owners are protected. Don’t drive your car uninsured, health insurance is essential and therefore so is insurance surrounding your home.

9. Your John Hancock

Settlement… oh the sweet sound of keys being passed to new owners! This is the part where the title of the property is transferred to the new owner (that’s YOU!), the transaction is signed and you are the proud new owner of your new HOME!

Giving Back

Something we pride ourselves in here at Catalina Realty is finding new ways to give back to the Tucson community. We all love living here in Tucson, we enjoy selling homes in Tucson and going outside our normal real estate duties to help out Tucson in any way is important to us.

A couple years back our owner/broker David Hall spent time tutoring a student for Project: One Hour/One Child at Fort Lowell School. His time in this project helped students catch up in their math skills, gaining confidence in their abilities, and the leg up to do better in school.

Every year we participate in Salvation Army’s Adopt a Family during the holidays. This past year was one of the most touching experiences we’ve had so far. For us, the best part of the holiday season was finding the best gifts we could for the children we sponsored. Nothing gets this office more in the holiday spirit then being able to give a holiday to a family who just didn’t have the means to. Getting to surprise these families with presents, food, and holiday decorations really sets the right tone for our holiday season.

Recently we participated in a charity for Love for Layla. Helping buy and sell support bracelets and golfing in a charity golf tournament. Layla touched our hearts, having been born with a hole in her heart the live saving surgery was just out of reach until the charitable donations of everyone affected by her came through. We’re so pleased to report her surgery was successful and she was sent home yesterday to continue recuperating at home.

We never feel like we can do enough. We really do find the importance of giving back and hope that as we continue to do business in Tucson we can do bigger and better for our city. What charitable activities and causes do you support? We’d love to hear about your experiences and why you love doing it.

The downtown revitalization continues!

We think this is a really great project, its a great idea and could really add more personality downtown. We’re crossing our fingers their funding keeps coming in and more and more people consider buying a legacy brick.

Want a home close to the fun stuff?

This beautiful 4 bedroom 2 bath home is located just minutes from Tucson National Golf Course at the luxurious Omni Hotel. Tucson National offers a unique course designed by Tom Lehman combining native desert landscape with strategic fairway bunkering, truly an experience for golfers here in Tucson. Interested in shopping? The drive from this beautiful home is short and sweet to reach the fabulous La Encantada shopping center. Designed for outdoor luxury with a dog friendly attitude. Enjoy the stylings of Coach, Talbots, Brooks Brothers, and so many more. The restaurant selection at La Encantada is enough to induce food cravings for every taste pallet. AJs Fine Foods offers a great selection of groceries, bakery goods, and its own sushi bar. So much to do so close to home that you might want to make sure you have enough trunk space when you leave the house!

This North Estates home also has easy access to I-10 giving you quick travel to downtown Tucson where you can enjoy restaurants only found in Tucson, participate in the fun events happening at the convention center, or even make a stop at the quirky Old Town Artisans shopping district. The revitalization plan for downtown is quickly making this downtown a destination spot, you can head downtown, enjoy the day and return home to the quiet, a nice balance.

The possibilities are endless for things to do so close to home but the best part of this house is the relaxing evenings you can enjoy after your excursions. Relax in front of the fireplace on those occasional chilly nights in Tucson or enjoy a backyard gathering where you can show off your mountain views.

This is a house designed for living in, so we want you to do just that, live it up! Give us a call at (520) 866-7334 if we can interest you in a private showing of this beautiful home.

Decline in real estate sales greater then stated? - A piece by Matt Carter

A very interesting article written by Matt Carter on the descrepancies between National Association of Realtors (NAR) home sales reporting and that of CoreLogic.

What does that mean for the Tucson home buying market?
It could mean that prices are still going to fall, which continues to be great news for home buyers. The selling market is tough and will continue to be tough with so many foreclosures and short sales on the market, that does not mean give up, it means find an agent who will work with you and be realistic with expected results. We want you to find the best that you can find, we deal with both buyers and sellers so feel free to give us a call so we can sit down and talk real estate with you.

Catalina Realty
111 S. Langley Ave
Tucson, AZ 85710
(520) 886-7334
www.catalinarealty.biz

REO (What it is and why working with Catalina Realty is Awesome in regards to buying an REO)

REO stands for “real estate owned”… in actuality the property is bank owned but listed with a real estate agency for selling purposes. REO properties are also often referred to as foreclosures, so whether its bank owned, foreclosure, or an REO… they’re all the same. This means all of your offers get sent to the bank that owns the particular house… sounds a little scary right? Not when you work with agents like us here at Catalina Realty. We specialize in listing bank owned/REO properties here in the Tucson area. We have a long standing relationship with several banks who we work with constantly during the listing process. This means we know how to talk to the banks, taking the scary out of the equation and giving you, as a buyer, a smooth experience. Something to keep in mind, REOs are different then short sales (we know how confusing it can all be) which means you aren’t looking at potentially months before or if the house closes like you would for a short sale. Bank owned properties go through a normal closing process with the same average closing time that any normal listing would have. We’ll give you some insight into short sales in another post, we have short sale experts on hand as well.

Q:WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE INANIMATE OBJECT?

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Houses!