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Estrella’s Three Schools Receive $10,000 Each

Through Safeway Foundation Generosity

Goodyear, AZ – January 20, 2011 – Several elementary and high schools in the school district for Estrella, the Southwest Valley’s premier master-planned community, are the delighted recipients of a substantial cash donation from Safeway’s Phoenix division

Three Estrella schools — Estrella Foothills High School, Estrella Mountain Elementary and Westar Elementary — and Rainbow Valley Elementary in Buckeye have each received a $10,000 donation from The Safeway Foundation. The donations are a direct result of funds raised last fall at The Safeway at Estrella Golf Tournament, sponsored by the Safeway Foundation. The rest of the proceeds from the golf benefit went towards breast cancer awareness programs.   Because of its focus on healthy lifestyles for its employees, Safeway has asked the schools to use part of the proceeds for physical fitness and nutrition programs.

“The schools are thrilled with the donations, and we’re happy to play a part in getting money to them,” said Jan Martin, Real Estate Director, Phoenix Division for Safeway Inc. “When we first informed the principals of the schools of our donation intentions, they all presumed that their share would be $2,500 apiece. When they learned that it was really $10,000 each, they were ecstatic. Safeway hopes that these donations will make a meaningful impact for the schools and in the students’ lives.”

Newland Communities, of which Estrella is part, was a sponsor of The Safeway at Estrella Golf Tournament.  Along with the Safeway Foundation, other key sponsors included Kitchell Development, General Mills, Frito Lay, Mission Foods and De Rito Partners. Estrella has also supported Phoenix Children’s Hospital, the West Valley Arts Council and the City of Goodyear’s programs such as the annual Toy Drive.

“Promoting better education and healthy living are key values for both Newland and Safeway,” said Greg Bielli, President, Western Region for Newland. “And that helps us to partner together and look for meaningful opportunities like this. We’re thrilled to start the year with such great news for our schools and students, as well as for the parents who help make Estrella the preferred community to live, play and relax.”

Estrella’s friendly community, resort-styled amenities and good schools is helping it to grow steadily. Eleven home sales have already been recorded in the first few weeks of 2011, following on a 34% increase in sales in 2010. CantaMia, its Active Adult community, is undergoing further expansion this year. The new Safeway grocery store at Mountain Ranch Marketplace opened to wide acclaim and big sales last October, and continues to be a neighborhood destination for groceries and more. You can learn more about daily living at its Life in Estrella website and accompanying Facebook fan page.

In addition, Newland was recently recognized as the 2010 ‘Developer of the Year’ by prominent real estate publication Builder & Developer, which highlighted Newland’s “impressive, successful portfolio.” Newland has achieved solid business results with five of its communities ranked in the top 15-selling master planned communities in 2009, and 2010 sales results that look as strong. Newland is strategically positioned for solid growth, with its projects in the majority of the top 30 U.S. housing markets.

Estrella Mountain Ranch Homes for Sale

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Residents in Goodyear, Arizona Get a Glimpse of Solar Home Energy in Action

You can read about solar energy all you want (and please continue to do so) but there is no substitute for an up-close look at a working solar energy system in order to fully understand the benefits of a solar home energy system.

Just ask three homeowners in the PebbleCreek community in Goodyear, Arizona — one of Forbes Magazine’s top ten retirement communities in the nation. Earlier this month, a few members of the group opened their homes so that their neighbors could catch a glimpse of solar energy in action. What’s more, the three homeowners even made their utility bills public to show just how much solar saves them on monthly electric bills.

Allwest Energy of Phoenix, Arizona — a company that has installed some 80 solar energy systems in PebbleCreek alone — sponsored the event in an effort to persuade neighbors to make the switch to clean energy. Several community members came together to organize the event and chose the three homes best showcase the benefits of residential solar power, namely: (1) lower utility bills, (2) increased home value of home and (3) protection from increased electricity prices over time.

Roughly 25 residents showed up and were treated to breakfast with a side of solar, as Allwest representatives were present to answer any questions not covered by the homeowners. Afterward, Allwest offered group discounts on solar installations to neighbors who wanted to install. It’s unknown how many homeowners took Allwest up on the offer.

Pam Peaper was one of the the three homeowners who opened their homes to neighbors, and she addressed two key issues that often make homeowners wary of installing solar — that the systems are obtrusive and solar costs too much:

“You can only see them [the solar panels] from a corner in the backyard. Our highest bill has been about $34 in the summertime and we are here all year. It [the solar home energy system] has been a huge savings; it’s completely hidden on the roof.”

From experience, we’ve found that installing a solar energy system is contagious. When people see that their friends down the street have solar panels on their roof, it makes them more inclined to give it a try. So if you’ve installed solar, great! But your job isn’t quite done. Let neighbors know all the benefits you’ve enjoyed by going solar — lower monthly bills, helping the environment — and maybe you too will soon be living in a solar community.

Goodyear Homes for Sale, Goodyear Real Estate, Goodyear Realty, Goodyear Short Sales, Goodyear Foreclosures, Goodyear Short Sale, Goodyear Foreclosure, Goodyear House for Sale, Goodyear Realtor

Phoenix Short Sales Guide

Let’s say that your mortgage is for $300,000, but thanks to the housing slump, your Phoenix West Valley property is only worth about $280,000 in today’s market. You’re now what is referred to as being “upside down” on your mortgage—owing more than your home is worth.

This is a problem in and of itself; but if you’re also having trouble making your monthly payments, you could soon find yourself in the same position of thousands of Americans who are facing foreclosure. A daunting prospect indeed, but there are alternatives! Refinancing your home loan, for instance, is one way to get a bit of breathing room. Some lenders may also consider temporarily halting or reducing your mortgage payments, which would give you a bit of time to recover from whatever hardship you’re facing. And there’s also the option of trying for a short sale.

A short sale is when you sell your home for less than you owe the bank. Using the same numbers as above, say you owe the bank $300,000, but you know that the house will only reasonably fetch about $280,000 from a buyer. If you sell your home for that amount, you’ll be short $20,000 on your debt to the bank. While the bank naturally wants its entire $300,000 back, they know they can’t squeeze water from a stone. If you can’t afford to make your monthly payments, the bank will have to face two options: accept a short sale or go ahead with a foreclosure. A foreclosure means that the bank will repossess the home and try to sell it themselves. This is a risky option for the bank because foreclosures are time consuming, and often result in the bank taking a big financial loss. In a short sale, while the lending company will not recoup all monies owed, they may be able to recover more of their money than if they went the foreclosure route.

Why would a seller want to do a short sale as opposed to a foreclosure?

A short sale typically does less harm to a person’s credit score than a foreclosure, which is second only to bankruptcies in terms of credit damage. Depending on the terms of your agreement with the bank, you could also walk away with the remaining debt forgiven, which essentially gives you a fresh start at life. Your lending company holds all the power when it comes to a short sale. They decide whether they’re willing to accept one in the first place, and what the terms of the sale must be. They determine the viability of a short sale based several things. First, they need to be convinced that you’re not simply shirking your responsibilities, but are actually facing a hardship.

According to most banks, legitimate hardships include the death of your spouse, unemployment, illness, and divorce. If you’re interested in trying for a short sale, you need to consult a real estate agent or attorney who has experience with short sales. They can advise you on the documents and procedures involved. You’ll usually need to supply the lender with two years’ worth of income records, as well as pay stubs and bank statements. It’s also a good idea to gather a list of all your income and expenses to demonstrate the severity of your financial distress. Aside from the hard numbers, you will also need to write a letter detailing your situation, and how desperately you need the bank to forgive your debt.

Experts recommend that this letter be brutally honest and heartfelt. If you’re having trouble feeding your children, tell them. Even if you feel ashamed of your financial situation, you need to communicate with the bank. While a short sale is primarily a business decision for the bank, they will take your needs into consideration, and look more kindly upon a short sale if they see that you’re truly struggling to make it.

A short sale is a lengthy process, taking between three and six months on average for the bank to approve a short sale offer. If the offer the buyer makes is lower than the bank is willing to accept, they will deny your request for a short sale, and proceed with a foreclosure. If you have professionals to guide you, you may escape the dark cloud of foreclosure, and enter the slightly brighter skies of a short sale. Just be patient, honest, and have all your paperwork prepared well in advance.

For more information about short sale homes, please visit the following MLS Listings:

Short Sale Homes in Goodyear, AZ
Short Sale Homes in Avondale, AZ
Short Sale Homes in Verrado, AZ
Short Sale Homes in Lichfield Park, AZ
Short Sale Homes in Buckeye, AZ
Short Sale Homes in Tolleson, AZ
Short Sale Homes in Glendale, AZ
Short Sale Homes in Waddell, AZ
Short Sale Homes in Surprise, AZ
Short Sale Homes in Sun City, AZ
Short Sale Homes in Peoria, AZ
Short Sale Homes in Phoenix, AZ

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Phoenix Realtor – West Valley Pros: 20832 W Werner Place, Buckeye, AZ 85396
Phoenix Realtor – West Valley Pros: 4324 E. Hamblin Dr, Phoenix AZ 85050

Phoenix Homes for Sale, Phoenix Real Estate, Phoenix Realty, Phoenix Short Sales, Phoenix Foreclosures, Phoenix Short Sale, Phoenix Foreclosure, Phoenix House for Sale

The US Commerce Department reported that new home Sales fell by a massive 32.7% in May, to a seasonally adjusted rate of 300,000. Sales were expected to be off sharply as a government program to support the market expired, but the results were far worse than even the most pessimistic projections.

Year-over-year, sales fell by 18.3%, and new –home sales in April were revised lower.

No part of the country was spared; new-home sales fell by 23.9% in the Midwest, sank 53.2% in the West, dropped 25.4% in the South, and fell 33.3% in the Northeast.

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Phoenix Realtor – West Valley Pros: 20832 W Werner Place, Buckeye, AZ 85396
Phoenix Realtor – West Valley Pros: 4324 E. Hamblin Dr, Phoenix AZ 85050

Rule 1: Understand fully what leverage you have, if any. Arizona’s anti-deficiency laws may apply to your loan. These laws can be beneficial to deny and lender demands for a seller/borrower contribution at the sale closing. If the loan is covered by Arizona’s anti-deficiency laws, the lender is unable by law to seek compensation if the home goes into foreclosure. An experienced borrower of short sale realtor will use this law to enhance a short sale offer to the mortgage company. As all loans are different, this law may apply differently in your scenario, so know the laws and how it can affect your loans on each Goodyear AZ property that is in short sale negotiations.

Rule 2. For rapid Short Sale success, always seek lender’s express release of liability as a condition to the short sale, even if your loan would be under the Arizona’s Anti-Deficiency laws. Attempt to receive this Release in writing from each lender. If you are unable to receive a liability release, fully understand what liability you may have to cover as a borrower following a short sale, before you sign the final contracts. Arizona law should prevent the borrower from being liable from any recourse from the lender following a short sale.

Rule 3. Understand the basic requirements and short sale process for starting the short sale. Almost all lenders will ask for a borrowers complete financial information. Bank Statements, 2 year tax returns, current W-2’s, company Profit and Loss statements, and etc. Also, most lenders will require a borrower to declare a hardship as a condition before approval of short sale. What each lender requires to be eligible for consideration as a hardship will differ per lender, but can usually be discovered online or with a call to the lending agency. If you discover that their may be liability after a short sale, that borrower may rethink about the liability requirements and whether a short sale would be the most proper thing to do.

Rule 4. Locate a skilled, experienced Goodyear Short Sale Negotiator. The short sale endeavor can be a lengthy, time consuming process. Without an experienced real estate agent or attorney, the process can be very overwhelming and stressful. However, despite the difficulties, if the short sale is the right process for you, don’t give up if met with resistance or delay throughout the complete process of the short sale. Even an experienced real estate agencies and attorneys will have difficulty if there is an unreasonable lender or loss mitigation representatives.

Rule 5. In the short sale process their will be a lot of paperwork, agreements and documents that will be confusing at best. Make sure that you understand each document that you are signing or agreeing. The standard ARR short sale listing agreement along with the Short Sale Addendum will require any seller to provide information that is requested by each lender in the short sale application. Also, the Short Sale Addendum will require the seller to put all effort into getting a Short Sale approved.

Rule 6. Lender’s Approval Terms. The majority of lenders will require a seller to sign the short sale approval or agreement. The conditions and agreements used by each lender will vary widely and should be thoroughly studied. Lenders will usually be silent on their deficiency issues. Other lenders will boldly try to get the borrower to agree to liabilities for a deficiency following a short sale, even if the loan would be under the Arizona Anti-Deficiency provisions. Some short sale approvals will require a borrower to sign an unsecured promissory note. Either way the borrower must understand what each process will require, and what liabilities will be expected in the lender’s short sale agreements and related documents.

Rule 7. Carefully observe current and future legislation. On April 5, 2010, the federal Government’s Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives program will come in to effect and will change short sale and deed in lieu programs. The new law will make lenders unable to seek a deficiency following a qualifying short sale or deed in lieu of foreclosure.

Rule 8. Tax Liabilities. Understand how a short sale agreement will apply to your federal income and tax requirements. The lender will issue a 1099C at the acceptance of a short sale agreement. Unless the borrower will be have recognized exceptions to cancel the debt income, a borrower WILL be held liable for the cancelled debt. A prudent borrower will verify which conditions will be applicable for your tax filings before the short sale process is completed.

The Making Home Affordable Program is aimed to assist home owners who are close to being foreclosed upon. The requirements of this new program requires the bank to make a reduction of your mortgage payments for qualified home owners to keep the home owners from being foreclosed.

Qualifications

1. Mortgage has no prior modification throught the Making Home Affordable Program.
2. Delinquency or default is reasonably assured.
3. Mortgages that are in the process of foreclosure are eligible.
4. Loans must be on a 1 – 4 unit property, with a minimum of 1 unit being the owners principle residence.
5. Condos and Cooperative Share Mortgages are eligible
6. Investment properties other than principle residence do not apply.
7. Manufactured Housing are eligible
8. Property can not be vacant or condemned
9. Borrower must have proper documentation on how they do not have sufficient income to maintain monthly mortgage payments.
10. Complete a Home Affordable Modification Program Affidavit
11. Documentation must be less than 90 days old
12. Current Monthly Mortgage Payment must be greater than 31% of the borrowers income.
13. Active litigation regarding the mortgage is permissible
14. Servicer may or may not require borrowers to waive legal rights
15. Their must be an escrow account setup for Taxes and Home Insurance prior to the trial period
16. Unpaid Principal Balance must be equal to or less than: 1 Unit-$729,750 2 Units: $934,200 3 Units:$1,129,250 4 Units-$1,403,400
17. First Lien Mortgage must have originated before January 1, 2009
18. Property may have a junior lien but only the first lien mortgage will be eligible

One of the first things the new stimulus plan does is give first time home buyers a new tax credit of $8,000. This money is only available to individuals that have not owned a home for the last three years and only applies to homes purchased this year, in 2009. Homes purchased last year qualify for a different stimulus plan tax credit of $7,500 that must be repaid. This new tax credit is reduced is the buyer’s income is over $75,000 (if single) and $150,000 (if married). You can choose to have the tax credit paid to you through your 2009 taxes or an amendment to your 2008 tax return.

The plan also gives people with problem mortgages the chance to refinance for a new low, fixed rate. If your home mortgage is above 31% of your income, you have a loan through a government-approved lender and can prove that you can financially handle your new, lower payments, you may qualify for a refinancing. This can can help you in a number of areas, including giving you a lower monthly payment, converting an adjustable rate to a fixed rate, possible forgiveness of some principle, waived late fees and forgiven missed payments.

This new housing stimulus plan has the potential to help millions of Americans that are struggling to afford a new home, or keep the one they already have. If you’re preparing to buy a new home or are in desperate need of a refinancing on your existing home loan, consult with someone that specializes in home loans and the new stimulus plan to find out if you qualify for this government financing.

Final Tip: By researching and comparing the best loan modification companies in the market, you will be able to determine the one that meets your specific financial situation, plus the cheaper and quicker options available. However, it is advisable going with a trusted and reputable stop foreclosure specialist before making any decision, this way you will save time through specialized advise coming from a seasoned loan mods advisor and money by getting better results in a shorter span of time. Meaning getting your house out of risk as soon as possible.

It also prohibits discrimination based on race or color, religion, sex, national origin, family status and disability. An individual can always file a case under this Act if he is denied the right to purchase or lease out property based on any of these factors. In addition to this even advertising that promotes inclination of any kind based on any of these factors can also be prosecuted under The Fair Housing Act.

Discrimination based on race and color

In most of the cases the buyers or renters are denied the right to housing due to fake declaration of unavailability of the same and they are directed towards other areas that are distinguished for that race or color. Although the law was passed in 1968 even then this has always been a major issue. In many cases it turns out that the victim is quite oblivious of the whole situation at that time and by the time he realizes it is quite late.

Discrimination based religion

The Fair Housing Act also prohibits discrimination against any member practicing a particular religion in a housing zone. Although the number of cases registered under this is fairly low as compared to cases registered under race or color and national origin. However this law does not restrict the use of non-commercial housing, operated by members of a particular religious community, for reserving housing for a member of that particular religion.

Discrimination based national origin

Any discrimination based on the national origin of a person has also been prohibited under the Fair Housing Act. The number of immigrants from all over the world is increasing every year and so does the housing need. Lots of cases come up where the seller or landlord deny or prefer person based on his national origin. Any discrimination of individuals based on his national origin by the seller, landlord or even mortgage lender can be prosecuted under this Act.

Discrimination based on sex

Women, mostly poor, with limited housing options are many times subjected to sexual harassment by the landlords wherein either they have to submit to the sexual favors of their landlords or vacate the house. Fair Housing Act also prohibits any discrimination based on sex of an individual. A woman also has the same housing rights that a man has.

Discrimination based on status of family

There are cases wherein families having children below 18 are denied any housing rights by the seller or the landlord. They deny saying that the family has more members than the house can accommodate comfortably. Most of the landlords like to lease out their property to working couples or families with grown up children. Such cases of discrimination or preference are also prohibited under The Fair Housing Act. But there are housing that is designated to the elderly or the seniors completely. Such housing is excluded from the list of prohibitions of the Act.

Discrimination based on disability

The Fair Housing Act protects the right to housing for all types of disability wherein the individual can be disabled due to blindness, hearing impairment, mobility impairment, HIV infected, drug addict, alcoholism, mentally retarded, head injury, mental illness. Any discrimination based on these factors can be subject to prosecution under this Act. Any person with disability also has the same rights as any other normal person. So why deny them the housing right.

Here are some of the minimum eligibility requirements, and benefits, of Obama’s mortgage stimulus plan:

-Homeowners can get loan modification if their home is financed by either Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. This is automatic thanks to Obama’s stimulus plan.

-Homes which have dropped by 15% or more in value can get approved for refinancing through use of this mortgage bailout plan. Before this plan, these homes would be very hard to get refinanced.

-Mortgage rates can be reduced to 2% in order to meet the monthly mortgage payment requirements laid out by Obama’s stimulus plan. Also, home loan length can be extended to up to 40 years to get the payments low enough.

-Homeowners wanting to use this plan for themselves need to live in the home as their primary residence. Second, vacation, and investment properties are not eligible to benefit from this plan.

-Millions of homeowners will be able to avoid foreclosure thanks to this mortgage bailout plan from President Obama. This will mean the housing market will pick up, and the economy as a whole will improve.

Mortgage refinancing and modification are very popular right now. With this Government backed plan, a mortgage refinance can be just what millions of homeowners need to save their home. Do yourself a favor and take action today. Waiting for your problems to solve themselves, will never work.