
Old School Fissure Warning Sign - photo credit USGS
So even though AAR’s Buyer Advisory updates come across automatically in an RSS feed – our feed in the sidebar of our blog only shows when this critical document is updated, it doesn’t tell you what has changed. So we dug a little deeper and found the updates include…
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* New title insurance link
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* New Pima County Assessor’s Office link
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* Updated link to the Arizona Geological Survey website
* Updated link to the Arizona Department of Insurance
* Updated the Polybutylene Pipe website link
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* Updated link for the AZ Sex Offender website
As you know the Buyer Advisory is an incredible resource for information that might be pertinent to your Arizona real estate buyer. It educates them (and you) on where to find more information about all kinds of matters that come into play when purchasing property in Arizona – from the common documents buyers should know about all the way to providing a resource to research electromagnetic fields. If you haven’t checked it out lately - take a look. It’s even available on your mobile phone!
I know what you’re thinking – who are Phil Sexton and Kyle Fouts? Let’s just say they (okay, that was the last third person self-reference) are the most exciting radio guests Bill Ashker and Bill Zervakos had on their program on December 13th from 9-10am. Of course you know that Bill Z and Bill A are on 1510AM every Saturday hosting Real Estate from A to Z. They bring in local industry personalities and talk about current real estate conditions and trends.
All kidding aside, Kyle Fouts is the Designated Broker for Dan Schwartz Realty. He has followed his father’s (Duane Fouts) footsteps into the industry and into the position. Once Dan Schwartz and HomeSmart are done with their merge, Kyle will become a Broker for HomeSmart assisting agents with transaction questions.
My role is completely different than Kyle’s, I support and teach agents how to live and work in this wonderful world with technology. The transaction help that I provide is more along the lines of how to sign-up for ZipForms and explaining the pros and cons of ZipForm Desktop vs ZipForm Online, for example. Also, as you may know, I blog about industry *stuff* and assist agents that are interested in doing the same. Like Kyle, I have followed my father’s (Jim Sexton) footsteps into this industry.
The Bills invited us On Air because we are two SOB’s (sons of brokers (h/t Jim Zirbes)) under 30 – which as Bill A points out is younger than Bill Z’s shoes. They were looking for a view of the current times and future of real estate from the young bucks perspective. Just in case you’re interested in listening to the program…
Both Kyle and I were honored (and I think a little nervous) to be invited to participate in the show. I can’t thank them enough for the opportunity.
We’ve got some good ones already posted, but here we’d like to get a little more advanced with our tricks and tips.
If you haven’t gotten yourself familiar with the Map Search yet, you are missing out on a huge time saving tool. Once you are comfortable with drawing and deleting shapes, you’ll find this trick pretty handy. Some agents have said that you have to zoom in so close in order to see the exact streets that the area you want to search becomes larger than the area shown. (I hope that makes sense.) Anyway, a work-around for this is to use the navigation arrows in the upper left corner of the map during the shape drawing process. After you start drawing the shape if you click on the arrows that move the map, it will not affect the shape you are drawing. It simply moves the map around so you can view the next border of your shape. Let me demonstrate…
I have to say, the ability to fax in documents and have them automatically attach to one of your listings as a digital file is incredible. In a sense, all ARMLS members that have a fax machine (you) now have a scanner. If you need something scanned into the computer, print the fax cover sheet from flexmls for one of your listings, fax in your documents (with the coversheet) and viola! they’ll be attached to the listing in no time. Once they are attached, you can save them to your computer or remove them from your listing (if you change your mind). Of course once they are saved to your computer you have the ability to email, print or attach to other listings.
To do this: Start by editing your active listing – click Documents – click Add Documents – add a description – click Fax-in – print coversheet – put on top of documents you would like attached – fax. The documents (excluding your coversheet) will now be attached to your listing.
Last but not least is the Route feature. The major dilemma with this feature is that the listings are not automatically sorted by shortest route. The driving directions come out in whatever order they are in the list view (ie: Price). Chances are you’re not going to start your listing tour with the least expensive listing, you’ll start with the closest listing. So the easiest way to get them ordered properly requires a couple steps. First you’ll want to select the listings you want to view (check the boxes next to them) then click the Route button, upper right corner of the screen. It will automagically pull up google driving directions. I recommend adding your starting location – click “Get directions” and then order them manually. Let me demonstrate…
Well I hope these tips help make flexmls more uasable for you. If you would like me to demonstrate anything in particular leave a comment below – or shoot me an email (psexton at johnhall dot com).
As of Monday, December 22nd, John Hall & Associates raised a total of $5,140!!! Thanks to the hard work and everyone contributing, we were able to provide HRE with holiday meals and Fry’s gift cards to use throughout the year. Very special thanks to all who volunteered your time to deliver our special gifts!
I’d like to recognize our outside sponsors – without them we would not have been able to meet our goal: Old Republic Home Protection $300, MoneyJib, LLC $50
Thanks again to all who contributed to our Annual Holiday Charity; we couldn’t have done it without you!
Colleen Kolb
Brrrrrrrrrrrr! It was 43 degrees this morning with a high of 64 degrees today and we think that’s cold! Have you seen the weather back east? They would undoubtedly think this is paradise right now. How do you remind them that The Valley of the Sun is THE place to be? Well, if you are D. Patrick Lewis in our Scottsdale office, you do extensive electronic marketing featuring beautiful sunsets, sunny parks and people in shorts and sandals. His photography talent landed him a primo spot on The Scottsdale Convention and Visitors Bureau website. He also uses Twitter, blogging, Flickr, Linkedin and Facebook. With that much electronic exposure I just had to know how it was working for him. “This is my 7th year in real estate and I’ve tried farming, calling, postcards, newsletters and this by far has a better return and it’s more fun”, said Patrick. Already three of his classmates found him on Facebook and have asked him to find them homes.
According to Patrick electronic marketing and social networking IS different, the anonymity and the fact that you are only a click away leads to more shoppers. So, he has developed scripts and questioning techniques that help him probe for motivation and get to the core of people’s requests and needs. Follow-up is just as important in electronic marketing and social networking as in other types of prospecting. Patrick tries to provide insightful information analysis, he says that shoppers come to him with incomplete and frequently irrelevant information. His ability to help them make sense of all those numbers is what makes him valuable to his clients.
Electronic marketing aside, it all comes down to people skills. “The higher the tech, the higher the touch needs to be”, Patrick remarked. You still need to let people know that you care about them and their goals. You need to create rapport along with all that market knowledge.
I think what Patrick said about electronic marketing and social networking is true of life in general and real estate sales in particular, “No matter what you do, do it passionately and consistently.”

ARMLS has entered a pilot program with FNMA to get short sales pre-approved. There may be 100+ active listings that qualify for this program. If a listing meets the requirements the listing agent can enter “Fannie Mae Pre-Approved” in the Realtor Remarks, which can then be searched.
If you read the Sunday Arizona Republic, you probably saw the front-page article about the plight of many homeowners associations in this tight economy. Many are trying to find other income streams in order to rectify their situation. One of the first things they did was to add “other fees” such as “community reserve, asset preservation, capital reserve, etc.” Although at the time they were unheard of, those fees were rapidly incorporated as paragraph F in the H.O.A. Condominium/Planned Community Addendum to the AAR Residential Purchase Contract.
But have you heard of this newest HOA ploy? Uncertain whether they will be paid in the event that the transaction cancels, HOA are demanding their transfer fees and certification disclosure statement fees upfront and BEFORE they will issue their statements. Those fees can run around $400 or more and may not be refundable in the event that the transaction cancels. Although the HOA addendum states who will pay those fees, it is anticipated that they will be paid at the close of escrow. Getting that fee upfront without the guarantee of refund may be problematic. It might be tempting to have your buyer “waive” that statement and proceed with the closing. That would be a dangerous practice especially if the HOA financial statement indicates there is a shortfall or anticipated assessment or repairs. If your seller is a lending institution and this is an REO property, carefully read any addendum attached to the purchase contract by the REO company. Since this is currently an unanticipated fee, you may be writing a “blank check” that your buyer has to fund.
A recent call to the Arizona Association of REALTORS® general counsel, Michelle Lind, Esq., assured us that this situation will be reviewed. Until then, be careful, the problems with homeowners’ associations are growing and you can’t afford to ignore them.
DF
I recently attended the Arizona Real Estate Blogging Network meeting at the Scottsdale Area Association of REALTORS®. The topic – search engine optimization. The attendees – about 70 folks (10 of which were John Hall agents) interested in internet marketing, specifically how to make their websites show up on page 1 of google.
As I talk to more and more successful John Hall & Associates agents, I am struck by their humility and their true servant’s mentality. I am beginning to think it is a big part of their continuing success. Take Kathy Moum in our Tempe office for example. On a community level Kathy, an accomplished rower, co-founded the non-profit organization Tempe Rowers Association. She is also involved in other community activities which give her both exposure and neighborhood information. A great way to get and keep prospects and clients.
Kathy is a self-admitted perfectionist with a real “control thing”. Monthly she (personally) sends out Arizona Highways Magazine, to all past clients as well as her doctor, dentist and escrow personnel. The “compliments of” sticker on the front identifies her and for about $24.00 per client, she knows it is something they will keep.
Mailing is something Kathy has always done but in this market, she is going back to the basics. She liberally uses the MLS portals. “People LOVE to buy but hate to be sold,” Kathy says. Staying in touch with consistent but subtle contact is obviously working for her as a business strategy. She is also sitting open houses whenever possible, something she didn’t need to do in prior years. Note writing is also high on her agenda; she is constantly sending little notes out to her sphere of influence.
The “secret” of her success? Work like its 1999 before the market got too easy and agents got lazy. Get back to basics.
DF