Lots of people love a good burger. At Smashburger, they serve a really good burger. Wednesday, October 27th, 2010, Lori and I will be having lunch at the Smashburger on the southwest corner of Rural and Baseline in Tempe. 25% of the sales for the entire day will be donated to Grace Community Christian School. If you have time to join us for lunch, that would be great! We plan to be there at 11:30am while the kids are at school so that we can have some fun and hang out with friends.

Below is a pic of the Arizona Smashburger which happens to be my favorite!

If burgers aren’t your thing, you can try one of their chicken sandwiches or salads. See the Tempe Smashburger menu here. They also make a shake that is worth a try! So, if you have been looking for a good excuse to go grab some lunch with friends, please join us on the 27th at 11:30am. If you can’t make it for lunch, stop by after work. The food is good and you will help a cool Tempe school at the same time. Cheers!

Smashburger is located at:

815 E. Baseline Road E. Suite B115

Tempe, Arizona 85282

480-838-9933

Happy birthday to my beautiful wife. Thanks for being soooo much more than I ever hoped for. The perfect mother, the love of my life and the best friend I have ever had. I thank God each and every day for what we have…  

For those of you that get “Nick’s News” in your snail mail box, you know that I love to eat. In fact, the “Nick’s Pick’s” portion of the newsletter is something you guys seem to find pretty interesting. Normally, I leave that small portion of our newsletter as the only place where I write ( a little bit) about restaurants that Lori and I like to visit. As with most things, there is always an exception to the rule…

This past Sunday, we were invited to attend a “sneak peak” breakfast at Joe’s Real Barbeque. Yep, I said breakfast at Joe’s Real BBQ! Come to find out, they will soon begin serving breakfast on Saturday and Sunday mornings from 8-11am. 

Lori and I took the three boys to give it a test run and I must say, we all had a great time. The usual friendly service was found along with some great breakfast items that aren’t the “same old stuff” you find at some breakfast places. I wasn’t able to resist the biscuits and gravy even though it probably wasn’t the “healthiest” of choices. To compensate for that, I ordered a fruit, yogurt and granola cup that was really, really good. That mad sense, right? Lori had a really cool egg dish called Downtown Baked Eggs and the boys had some sides of “sausage meat” ( that’s what they call any kind of sausage ) and “breakfast Jell-O”, juices, potatoes etc.

Our family did enjoy breakfast at Joe’s. Their food always seems to be good. Big thanks to Joe for allowing us to be guinea pigs and thanks to my good friend, Jay Thompson for letting me know about their preview breakfast.

Like usual, the kids were the center of our morning. The gumball machine at Joe’s Real BBQ was a big hit as was the huge tractor inside of the restaurant.  The only complaint of the mornings breakfast was from the boys because they wanted to drive the tractor… “Grandpa let’s us drive HIS tractor!”

Thanks Joe, your restaurant rocks!

Without a doubt, Christmas is my favorite time of the year. I’m not a big shopper, I don’t really buy a ton of gifts for a lot of different people.

I simply enjoy spending time with my family and friends and do my best to take some time to relax, have some fun and reflect on what Christmas is to me.

I am not offended if people don’t celebrate Christmas and I am glad others have their own reasons to celebrate. In my house, we have a Christmas tree and we have Christmas parties. If you prefer a “holiday” party just because you don’t want to “offend” someone, I’m thankful you have that right.

So, from my family to yours, I want to wish you a very Merry Christmas!

]]> http://nickbastian.com/2009/12/24/merry-christmas-from-the-bastians/feed/ 2 http://nickbastian.com/2009/11/09/nicks-annual-turkey-drive-is-here-again/ http://nickbastian.com/2009/11/09/nicks-annual-turkey-drive-is-here-again/#comments Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:53:00 +0000 Nick Bastian http://www.eastvalley411.com/?p=109

Once again, it’s time for our (7th) annual turkey drive! On Sunday Nov. 22nd, I will be delivering turkeys to Phoenix Rescue Mission as they prepare to feed the homeless on Thanksgiving Day.

I believe that many people have a desire to help others this time of year but find it difficult to do so because our lives are so busy. This year, the shelters need a LOT of help. If you would like to help by making a financial donation, we will do all of the work for you! I’ll be purchasing frozen turkeys Sunday morning to deliver to the Phoenix Rescue Mission. (I can provide receipts from the mission if needed.) Please feel free to contact me with any questions or donations.

If you are able to donate one dollar or a hundred ( or more), I am able to purchase frozen turkeys all at once for delivery to the mission on Sunday morning. Over the years, we have found this the easiest way to help the most people. I can give you my address or I can pick up donations up until Saturday the 21st. You can always email me at nick (at) nickbastian (dot) com or call me for more info! I am out and about a LOT, so it makes picking up your donation pretty easy!

Last year, with the help of my friend Rob, we were able to deliver over 875 pounds of turkey for needy families! Big thanks to Rob Sell at Sell Home Inspections for all he does. Thankfully, Rob has really stepped in to be a huge help to me in hauling all of these birds. We both have a BLAST delivering them and want to thank everyone for your donations to such a great cause.

Please help. Every single penny is GREATLY appreciated. We want to make it easy for everyone to help others this Thanksgiving. I would also like to wish you and your families a wonderful holiday season!

The main purpose of this blog is to provide information to you. In doing that, I have decided to ask people from within my industry to write an occasional “guest post” on topics that will be of interest to anyone wanting to know more about the real estate business or the real estate market in Arizona. 
Below, you will find some information about the escrow process as written by my good friend, Bill Risser from Chicago Title and Trust. I’d like to thank Bill for sharing the information with us!


___________________________________________

Nearly everyone has heard of ChicagoTitle Insurance Company.  But just what does the title and escrow company do in the purchase of your new home? My intent with this post is to explain the escrow side of the transaction.  We’ll discuss title insurance in depth in a
future post.

An escrow is an arrangement in which a disinterested third party, called an escrow holder, holds legal documents and funds on behalf of a buyer and seller, and distributes them according to the buyer’s and seller’s instructions. 

People buying and selling real estate often open an escrow for their protection and convenience. The buyer can instruct the escrow holder to disburse the purchase price only upon the satisfaction of certain prerequisites and conditions. The seller can instruct the escrow holder to retain possession of the deed to the buyer until the seller’s requirements, including receipt of the purchase price, are met. Both rely on the escrow holder to carry out
faithfully their mutually consistent instructions relating to the transaction and to advise them if any of their instructions are not mutually consistent or cannot be carried out.

An escrow is convenient for the buyer and seller because both can move forward separately but simultaneously in providing inspections, reports, loan commitments and funds, deeds and many other items, using the escrow holder as the central depositing point. If the instructions from all parties to an escrow are clearly drafted, fully detailed and mutually consistent, the escrow holder can take many actions on their behalf without further consultation. This saves time and facilitates the closing of the transaction.

The escrow process was developed to help facilitate the sale or purchase of your home. The escrow holder accomplishes this by:

• Acting as the impartial “stake-holder,” or
  depository of documents and funds
• Processing and coordinating the flow of
  documents and funds
• Keeping all parties informed of progress on the
  escrow
• Responding to the lender’s requirements
• Securing a title insurance policy
• Obtaining approvals of reports and documents
  from the parties as required
• Prorating and adjusting insurance, taxes,
  rents, etc.
• Recording the deed and loan documents
• Maintaining security and accountability of
  monies owed and owing.

When my son was much younger, he asked me what “escrow” was. My explanation to a 6 year old was this: One person has keys to the house being sold.  Another person has a bag
full of money to buy the house.  Each takes a hold of  the keys and the money together, but neither will let go. Each is afraid the other will run off with both the keys and the money if they let go first.  That’s where escrow comes in.  The keys and the money are given to escrow, and when all the terms of the contract are satisfied, escrow hands over keys to the buyer and the money to the seller!  He immediately understood, and then proceeded to tell me that it sounded boring. 

Gotta love kids!

Short sales and foreclosures are a very large part of our market in Arizona. The short sale process can bring many more questions than answers for people facing a job loss, relocation or a need to sell a home in a market where property “values” have declined.
The realities of facing short sale questions about tax consequences, debt relief, anti-deficiency judgements, and many other terms that many people are not familiar with can create even more uncertainty. Having people “embarrassed” of their situation, not knowing where to turn or not having a trustworthy advisor has sometimes been a reason for people to put off getting help.
Unfortunately, some of the problems with short sales are also compounded by the fact that many people in the real estate industry have had challenges in trying to learn about a process that is fairly new or unfamiliar and in dealing with different banks or bank employees that can often be clueless.
I am very glad to see that Realty Executives of Arizona has created a place where people all over the state can call a number to be put in touch with an agent willing to help them sell their home in these challenging times.
Many agents have put off short sales and take them only when they “have to” do them. As consumers seek information on how to best deal with a short sale, the Realty Executives short sale division promises to be a place where good, solid real estate information will be found.
Should you or anyone you know need to find a real estate agent willing to help with your short sale in Arizona, please feel free to call my “short sale hotline” at 480-463-4514.

In addition to watching our mls system and looking at a lot of homes around town, I get a LOT of email and blog updates to help keep an eye on the real estate market. While I firmly believe there is no way for anyone to give a “one size fits all” answer to the market, it is interesting to watch trends. In my opinion, you need to look closely at a specific neighborhood before making a sound decision on buying or selling. I am enclosing material from an email that was sent to me this morning.

Pending Home Sales on a Record Roll

WASHINGTON (September 1, 2009) Contract activity for pending home sales has risen for six straight months, a pattern not seen in the history of the index since it began in 2001, according to the National Association of Realtors.

The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in July, increased 3.2 percent to 97.6 from a reading of 94.6 in June, and is 12.0 percent higher than July 2008 when it was 87.1. The index is at the highest level since June 2007 when it was 100.7.

NAR’s Housing Affordability Index stood at 158.5 in July, below the peak set in April but is still 36.0 percentage points higher than a year ago. The HAI is a broad measure of housing affordability using consistent values and assumptions over time, which examines the relationship between home prices, mortgage interest rates and family income.

Not all areas and price ranges are seeing the same fluctuations in pricing, availability and sales. If there is an area you are interested in or if you have seen a “for sale” sign that you want to know more about, “Just Call Nick!” I’ll be glad to help…

If you know me and read this blog, you know that I love hanging out with family and friends. If you are family or consider me your friend, I would like to invite you to a fun Friday night at Chase field!

I am teaming up with friends in the “Night Rail” spirit for a great time on Friday, September 18th. We have prime seats in the very cool Diamond Level at a discounted rate of just $20.00 to watch the Dbacks vs the Rockies at 6:40 pm. It’s the perfect venue for all of us to get together and have some fun. We all have busy lives but I hope you will be able to set aside some time on a Friday night to enjoy some baseball and hang out with some friends or meet new ones.

Here’s the scoop…

Game: D-backs vs Rockies, Friday September 18th @ 6:40pm

Simple process to purchase tickets:

1. Click on the following link: www.dbacks.com/groups

2. Log in with the following information:

sign-in ID – rail

password – life

Special discount ticket option includes:

$20 (reg. $30) in the Miller Lite Diamond Club

The Miller Lite Diamond Club is an upscale club located in right field on the main concourse level at Chase Field. It is a PERFECT place for a bunch of people to hang out. No assigned seats, special lounge seating throughout the entire location, full service bar (cash bar), pool tables, and HD TV’s make for a great night where will have some of the best seats in the house. Plenty of standing / mingling is possible in the Diamond Club with it’s cool lounge style seating.
Click to see pics of the Diamond Club <—

Yes… Everyone is invited. This section is perfect for having fun with friends. Feel free to use this as an excuse to invite family or friends to watch a game and have some FUN with hot-dogs, baseball and probably even apple pie.

Remember: To purchase tickets for the game, just visit www.dbacks.com/groups and use the sign-in ID of rail and the password of life. You will get the discounted price of $20.00.

Lori and I really hope to see ya there! If you have any questions… “Just Call Nick!”

Changing markets bring about a lot of issues that often become misunderstood or over looked. In the past 17 years of selling homes, I don’t recall a time where people had so many questions and misconceptions on home prices, terminology and the market. If you are reading this as a “club member,” you probably know me pretty well and know that I enjoy working with people that know me and trust what I say. There is a difference between people that call on a sign or an advertisement and people that call who have been recommended by a friend or someone that I have worked with in the past. Often, those responding to an ad are skeptical when they first call. Usually this is due to misperceptions of our industry or they have been reading the papers, which often (in my opinion) report real estate related information about 6 months too late. A recent article in the paper said that cash buyers are playing a large part in the market right now. Really? Six months ago, when you told someone that there are bidding wars on properties and that investors are snatching homes up, paying cash, and making it hard for “normal” buyers to compete, it was often met with a “deer in the headlights” type of look. Now, people are becoming more aware of the difficulties in certain markets.

Short sales and bank owned homes come with a LOT of questions right now, as well. A short sale can be a complete nightmare or it can sometimes go fairly smooth. However, the idea of looking at a bank owned home and offering “50%” under list price typically won’t work. Banks normally price the homes (currently) aggressively and are not necessarily going to “dump them” as callers often hope. That doesn’t mean you can’t bargain or get a good price, it just means you need to understand how the process normally works.

Short sales are similar. Wow, can they be a LONG process. I have seen short sales take many (many) months and have seen others take less than 45 days. Yep, we recently closed a short sale in less than 45 days. This was possible because the “first” buyer decided to give up after waiting 4 months for the bank to make a dang decision. Once they got tired of waiting, they canceled. Lucky for my client, the bank had just issued an approval and we were able to get an acceptance in a couple of days and close in a “normal” amount of time. Other times, we wait months just for a response. Crazy.

Bottom line is this… If you have questions about buying or selling real estate. “Just Call Nick!”