A recent press release tells us that KB Home will be making a move to the Hayden Ferry Lakeside development near the heart of Downtown Tempe.

“The new headquarters will be located at Hayden Ferry Lakeside in Tempe and offers convenient access to major transportation, including Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.” Per KB Home

While the Hayden Ferry buildings are, in fact, close to Sky Harbor, the location offers many other benefits that employers have been noticing.

Hayden Ferry: Central Location, Many Opportunities

Downtown Tempe has seen many companies choose this Rio Salado Corridor as their new home in recent years. This central location gives employers access to many things they need for sustainable growth.

This Rio Salado Corridor location is home to several large employers and is very close to Arizona State University. ASU graduates tens of thousands of people each year in Tempe. The area is also home to the booming Novus Innovation Corridor.

The City wasted no time in welcoming the home builder to their downtown area. See the X mention here:

KB Home Is Moving Spring of 2027:

Per KB Home, the move to Hayden Ferry will be completed in the Spring of 2027. “bringing executive leadership and key corporate functions together in a more central location that will lower the company’s cost structure over time. The Phoenix metro area has a business-friendly operating environment that is expected to further enhance efficiency and support long-term profitability.”

We have no doubt that KB employees will enjoy their new area. This 85281 zip code provides endless opportunities for living, working and playing in the area. From hiking “A Mountain” to a vibrant transit system, amazing restaurants, easy access to sports and entertainment, it’s all right here at their doorstep.

Several parts of the video below show the Rio Salado Corridor and some of the many things surrounding this area. Our own Tempe Economic Development Department has, no doubt, been in contact with KB to help lay this goundwork.

Should the company decide to embed themselves in the community, there will be many great opportunities for them. Tempe is well known as a place where collaboration and community involvement are a large part of the culture.

So, welcome to Tempe, AZ. You have made an excellent choice.

There’s been a LOT of talk about the possibility of the Coyotes coming to Tempe instead of playing way over in Glendale. Heck, who remembers back in 2016 when there was a time when we thought they might be relocating to McClintock and Rio Salado on ASU owned land?

Fast forward to 2022 and we know that the Coyotes will temporarily play hockey at ASU. What hasn’t been clear is where the franchise will end up after their stay at ASU. We do know they really want to stay close…

Last night, there was a marathon City Council meeting where our council members were to make a yes or no vote. A yes vote would simply allow the City to negotiate with the Arizona Coyotes and their ownership group. A no vote would have meant that the city would not allow the deal to be negotiated. In my opinion, they made the right choice and and voted yes by a 5-2 margin. A no vote would have also meant that the public or the city would not have had a chance to know all of the terms of the proposal.

If the Coyotes are Coming to Tempe We Need Details:

After nearly a year the City of Tempe City can now negotiate with the Arizona Coyotes. Here’s some of what has been shared so far:

Back in July of 2021, the City of Tempe issued an RFP (Request For Proposal) for someone to develop approximately 46 acres of land located at the NE corner of priest Drive and Rio Salado Parkway. Per the RFP, applicants had until August 19,2021 to submit their proposal.

One proposal was submitted. The applicant who submitted that proposal would like to create the Tempe Entertainment District

An evaluation committee comprised of City staff and others will review the responses and make a recommendation to the City Council. Acceptance of any response may be made at any regular meeting of the City Council within 120 days after receipt of said proposals or within such longer period of time as may be deemed reasonable by the City. The City reserves the right to reject all submittals at any time for any reason.

After the City Council approves the recommendation of a qualified developer, the City and the selected developer will attempt to negotiate the terms of a Development and Disposition Agreement; if the negotiations are successful, the parties would then execute the Development and Disposition Agreement subject to Council approval.

What’s Next for the Coyotes and the City of Tempe?

Now, there will be more study sessions by the city. There will be more detailed presentations from the Coyotes, there will be public meetings, there will be lawyers, etc.

So far, we have seen several new pieces of public information from the Arizona Coyotes via the media. Here’s an interesting Shane Doan article where he explains his thoughts about the proposed project.

More Coyotes information can be found here. Of course, they are very interested in letting people know how serious they are about wanting to negotiate a deal with the City so that they can move forward with construction.

Shane Doan: Work now begins for Coyotes in next phase of arena plans

While there has been a lot of early talk from people who claim to know all of the details, the true facts of the proposal have not been publicly available until recently. More details will be made public soon and I hope / trust that the City will do the right thing in making the best decision for all involved.

This is going to be interesting, for sure.

**Update: here’s a new website from the Coyotes with some more details.

This potential agreement could be a really big deal for the City of Tempe. Many of us will be watching closely, for sure.

From a residential real estate standpoint and from an economic development standpoint, this will be a historic decision either way. Stay tuned!

There’s a LOT of so-called expert real estate flippers out there who watch some get rich quick show like how to become a millionaire or Flip This House. After a few episodes, they are ready to take over the world.

Like most well run businesses, the people who do well are those who have a business plan, pay attention to detail and know their market. Unfortunately, we often see homes that need some renovations and are purchased at a good price, only to be given a quick fix or band-aid before being put back on the market for top dollar.

The idea is a good one. Buy low, sell high. That’s the name of the game, right?

Here’s a scenario we came across recently.

An investor with a few hundred grand laying around decides he feels like making some quick cash playing the flip this house game. They buy the home in a nice neighborhood, throws some paint on it, move a few walls, add some new cabinets, some wood-looking tile and some faux stone on the front of the home.

The home was purchased for $331k and then re-listed for $495k approximately 2 months later. Comps in the area say you should probably be $20-$30k less than that number to be at the top of the market.

While much of the work that was done appears to be significant improvements to the home, the attention to detail department failed miserably. I have included a couple of small examples below. Both examples probably wouldn’t take much of a budget or even a lot of time to complete. Now that the home has been listed for sale for a little over 2 months, maybe it’s becoming more obvious that changes should be made.

Both of the examples below are from the front yard. Think “first impressions” for a potential buyer. On the left, you’ll see the poor landscaping and remnants of construction materials. The photo on the right shows the “trimmings” from the new stone on the front of the home. Would it take more than 5 minutes to clean these up? Would these two things help make a better impression for people as they walk up to the front door? I left out the water leak at the front hose bib, but it was another example of a marvelous first impression due to the lack of attention to detail.

Don’t get me wrong, the home absolutely looks WAY better than it did when it was purchased a few months ago. Much of the work was tastefully done and the upgrades certainly add value to the home. I just felt that there were small things that could have been done to help people with their decision to purchase this home.

Maybe add a touch of landscaping near the front patio? Maybe clean up the paint and grout chips? You know, just in case some people think that small details actually matter...

The buyers we showed the home to felt the same way. They mentioned that they were turned off by the home as soon as they walked up to it. Even when we discussed how easy it would be to make some of these minor repairs, they seemed to wonder if the rest of the work was just “slapped together.”

Around here, we prefer to dot the i’s and cross the t’s.

The next flip that we are doing is coming up later this week, and you can bet that the small details will be considered along with the large ones. If you are looking to invest in real estate or would like to become a “real estate flipper,” you should probably keep some of these things in mind. Give us a call to discuss your options.

We eat, sleep and breathe real estate, and we’d love to help you with your next home purchase, sale or flip.

During the press conference we learned more about the “new model” that will be used at ASU going forward.

Under the new athletic department model being run by Ray Anderson, it sounds like Herm will have roles in management and as the head coach. There will be a multi-pronged approach that is more common is professional sports organizations.

We heard that success in the atletics department is critical to the future of the University. We heard several times that there is a goal to “elevate” the program at ASU.  Ray Anderson gave a lot of credit to former head coach Todd Graham by saying that ASU has done a great job with their student athletes in academics, discipline and character.

We also learned that Herm Edwards is a man of “extreme decency and extreme integrity” who never intended to leave ESPN until he learned more about what Crow and Anderson have as a vision for the athletics programs at ASU. Personally, I think many of us are glad to learn more about the character of Edwards, as we felt that Todd Graham had done such a good job in mentoring the athletes into better players and better people.

Discipline was mentioned several times in the press conference. We also heard Ray Anderson say that this is not a starting over. ASU has been doing a good job in developing, coaching, and preparing student athletes. The new model is being put in place to give the head football coach more support from people outside of what has been the traditional model.

Recruit. Coach. Develop. Elevate.

Those are things ASU plans to accomplish.

Anderson made it pretty clear that he knows there are people who don’t agree with their decision, but he was very clear in the vision to elevate the program to a new level of excellence.

Said Anderson: This train is leaving the station. Jump on board, because we’ve got a seat for you.

Some things I remember hearing from Herm Edwards during the press conference.

I’m on the train!

Herm addressed some of the criticisms about his age and about not having coached for a long time by saying things like: “That’s what I do, I coach football.” “They’re not bringing me here to play.” “I’m here to build a program.”

We also heard a lot about his role and about what it means to be around football players. “Coaches don’t give players talent, God does.” Leadership on and off the field are going to be key initiatives for Edwards. He is looking forward to hitting the recruiting trail, and he is looking forward to getting back in the huddle of football.  He said he’s proud to be the head coach and promised to give whatever he has to work tirelessly and be committed to the vision of Dr. Crow and Ray Anderson.

Herm’s ESPN duties are over this coming Friday. “After that I’m out recruiting.”

Welcome to Tempe, Herm!

Go Devils.

If I’ve said that once over the years, I’ve said it a thousand times. In my opinion, it is best for agents to “Own their own content.” Of course, not everyone agrees with that statement and that’s ok. Heck, I’ll freely admit that it does not apply to all REALTORS.

To clarify, I’m not talking about the stuff in your home, I am talking about your digital “stuff.” Sure, we mostly talk about real estate and home ownership here on my web site, and I certainly am a fan of REALTORS and non-REALTORS owning their own homes. But, for today, I am talking about our digital and online content. You know, web sites / blogs, photos, social networks, listing data and stuff like that. The kind of content that shows our expertise, content that shows we care, content that connects us to people we want to work with.

If an agent doesn’t care to be found online, they can go ahead and “rent” everything from their broker or from any number of vendors.

Own or Rent – The choice is yours. Both can be effective, depending how they are used.

A good example of content you own would be your web site on your domain name. An example of something you rent might be a blog on a platform that you don’t own or control. ie: A group or company-owned blog or a blog provided by your broker. Sites like Active Rain, Zillow and most brokerages allow people to add content and can often entice people with “great SEO” benefits, great branding opportunities, a large number of eyeballs on their site, etc. Some of these platforms are free, some of them charge monthly or annual fees. One of the big differences is that, if you change brokerages or if a platform changes their terms of use or gets sold, you run the risk of losing a lot of your work or not knowing if the future will be better or worse for your business. On the other hand, if you own your own site, you control it as long as you want to and you get to decide what is put on the site, how accurate it is and how people will interact with you. You also probably won’t have to share space on a domain with a bunch of other agents in your marketplace.

Of course, many will argue that there is strength in numbers and that “The Google” loves having massive amounts of content on a domain. They might also argue that it is pretty tough to compete against large companies who have millions in development dollars and massive departments dedicated to keeping these large sites on page one for any relevant web search. Each of those arguments have their own level of validity.

Can You Compete?

So, is it even possible to compete with the big dogs? I have this conversation a lot, too. In my opinion, it’s possible but only if you are willing to put a LOT of work, dedication, blood, sweat, tears and probably some money into being found for search terms that are relevant to your business. For the vast majority of agents, it might be easier to buy “leads” from web portals instead of trying to be one of the 10 spots that show up on page one of a search result. BUT, if you want to be found online, it can be very rewarding. My advice would be to begin by trying to compete for less competitive key words than things like “your city” REALTOR or something like that. Start with specific neighborhoods, find a niche and own it, etc. Over time, you will begin to see results if you are consistent and learn the basics of how web sites are found by the average consumer who wants to live where you want to work.

One of my favorite examples of people doing awesome things online is Ines Hegedus Garcia over at the amazing Miamism web site and blog. You want to find a home in Miami? She’ll tell you exactly what it’s like to live there, and she’ll tell you what is for sale or how the market is doing. I’ve been a BIG fan of the work she and Rick have been doing for a long time.

Nicole Nicolay and Robyn Annicchero are doing some amazing things over in Livermore California. Their blogs, videos and social sites do an excellent job in telling people exactly why they Love Livermore!

Over in Chicago, Shay Hata does an amazing job connecting with Chicago home buyers and sellers. Her community involvement and personal touch offer a unique perspective that are hard to beat, and her web site helps generate real business in a very competitive environment.

Over in Georgia, Maura Neill can tell you what it is like to live in Atlanta better than all of the big box web sites put together. Maura and her team help people understand the location, lifestyle and market in their area, and their clients love them.

These are just a few examples of people who create online content for their real estate success. I could list dozens more from other friends across the country who have decided that they CAN compete by working hard and creating great content that they personally own and control.

Of course, I know of a LOT of examples of REALTORS who prefer to pay for leads from places like Zillow, Realtor.com and MANY others promising fortune and fame for any agent willing to write a check. Like agents who want to create their own content, many of these agents do very well, and they never have to write one blog post, send one tweet or worry about the next Google or Facebook algorithm change.

Remember… No matter how you decide to be found online, don’t listen to some guru who promises to “get you on page one of Google” with some piece of crap template web site they want to sell you for $29.99 per month or one they want to give you for free. Believe me, that site or some lame single property web site with one home on it might rank for “four bedroom home with eight pink walls in Tempe on cul de sac lot” but it ain’t getting you to page one for Tempe Real Estate Agent or any real key terms that have a chance of building your business.

The Choice Is Yours:

So, if you want to own your own content or if you want to rent space from a social network or national blogging platform, just think about your business goals. Figure out your online strategy, your budget and how you want to spend your time. Heck, maybe you want to do both… I truly don’t think there is a right or wrong answer for anyone until they put some serious thought into how they want to run their business. You do want to run a business, right?

Personally, I like to blog and I like to share information with my customers and clients. For many agents, that isn’t the right formula. If there really was a perfect formula for real estate agents, I’d probably be working on this blog post from the deck of my yacht instead of working on it from my office at 10:00 pm.

Here is a quick look at Hud Reiersgaard’s background:

Hud began his Real Estate career working in his father’s property management company in Crested Butte, Colorado. He moved to Arizona in 1994 where he graduated from Arizona State University and is a loyal Sun Devil Fan! Hud continued his career as a builder and has owned and operated as a general contractor for 10 years. He has many accreditations in the building industry including BPI Certifications and LEED AP designations. He believes strongly in the energy efficiency and water conservation movement and how they integrate into the homes in which we live. Hud has built many high-quality luxury custom homes including one of the first National Green Build Council certified Emerald custom luxury homes in Paradise Valley. Hud has chosen to continue his career in this field by offering his unique set of skills to potential buyers and sellers as a real estate agent.

Hud and I are looking forward to working closely together on many new projects as we expand our business to new and exciting markets where I have not been able to serve as effectively as I would like. Because of the resources we have with the Phoenix Real Estate Guy web site and with RailLife.com, we are excited for Hud to assist more people looking to live a more “green” lifestyle. New construction, re-builds, energy efficincy and historic properties all have unique features that Hud’s years of experience will serve to benefit our home buyers and sellers.

Hud and I have been friends for approximately 13 years. I know him, trust him, and I am really glad to be in business with him and the awesome group of people we get to work with every day.

Slow and Steady Growth:

We are very fortunate to have an outstanding team of professionals who work well togther. We had our first “team lunch” with Hud this past week and immediately knew he’d be a great fit. We choose our people very carefully, and Hud was an easy choice. Please join us in welcomg Hud Reiersgaard to the Nick Bastian Team. He can be reached at our office at 602-803-6425 or on his cell phone at 480-710-8090.

Sometimes, I am surprised by how many agents don’t pay attention to how a purchase contract works or how seemingly small details can raise questions.

For example:

Page 1 of our residential resale real estate purchase contract has a specific section for filling out the “Full Purchase Price” of the home and how it will be paid.

For example, line 10 states:

10. $__________ Full Purchase Price, paid as outlined below.

This line is where the amout of the offer goes. The following line is where the amount of earnest money is reflected.

11. $_________ Earnest money

Lines 12 and 13 simply read:

12. $________

13. _________

TYPICALLY, on financed offers, these lines show the additional amount of the down payment and the amount that will be financed.

For super easy example, let’s use a $400,000 house with a 10% down payment. The breakdown might look like this:

10: $ 400,000 Full Purchase Price, paid as outlined below.
11: $ 4000.00 Earnest money
12: $ 36,000 Paid in certified funds at close of escrow.
13: $ 360,000 Financed by 30 year Conventional loan

Recently, we got an offer from an agent that read like this:

10. $330,000 Full Purchase Price, paid as outlined below.
11. $3000.00 Earnest money
12. $63,000 Additional Down at COE for Total of 20%

Do you see what is missing from the example above? Yep, line 13 was left blank. There is nothing that states the amount that will be financed.

The contract should always be very specific, so I asked the agent the following questions and he gave me the following answers:

Me. “Can you add the loan amount to page 1?”

Agent “On which document?  Page one on Prequal?
Let me know and I can adjust.”

Me. “Typically, page 1 of the contract has a loan amount.”

Agent. “I’m not familiar with this.   Like the loan prequal amount, shown in the Loan Prequal. Again, sorry I’m not familiar with this setup on page one of contract. If you want to send over an addendum showing what you need or send me an example and let me know what that looks like, I’ll put that together and get it sent over.
Does the preqaul need to be adjusted to show a different amount?”

Me: Typically, there is offer price, earnest money, down payment and loan amount on page 1. Lines 10-13 of the contract.

People love the area and there really is just about anything you could want or need nearby.

View Camelot Corner Tempe AZ in a larger map

The menu at 24 Carrots natural café and urban juicery changes each week based on what produce is available. In the short time they’ve been open, they have had a lot of really good press and have created some big time fans of their restaurant. They serve “100% Vegan, largely gluten free” items from the best local, seasonal, organic and artisanal ingredients they can find. It’s a great spot for healthy eating. The smoothies, soups, sandwiches, breakfast items and more are free of chemicals, additives or preservatives.

24 Carrots – Tempe

Their food is awesome! Health nut or not, give 24 Carrots a try. They are located at 1701 E Guadalupe Road in Tempe. Their phone number is 480-753-4411 and their current hours of operation are:

Sunday –9am – 5pm
Monday – Closed
Tuesday – Friday – 9am-9pm

If you decide that you *really* love 24 Carrots or any of the other great places nearby, we’ve conveniently attached a list of homes that are within ( approximately ) 1/2 mile from this intersection. This way, you can walk or ride over and enjoy any of these places any time you’d like…

Homes Near Tempe's Golden Corner

11 Listings

$539,900 1927 E VAUGHN Street
Tempe, AZ 85283 Listing office: HomeSmart

$552,000 6756 S Oak Street
Tempe, AZ 85283 Listing office: West USA Realty

$585,000 1702 E LIBRA Drive
Tempe, AZ 85283 Listing office: Century 21 Seago

$250,000 1402 E GUADALUPE Road 216
Tempe, AZ 85283 Listing office: Highland Real Estate

$650,000 1217 E WATSON Drive
Tempe, AZ 85283 Listing office: HomeSmart

$645,000 1921 E GEMINI Drive
Tempe, AZ 85283 Listing office: Gold Trust Realty

$669,000 1947 E ORION Street
Tempe, AZ 85283 Listing office: HomeSmart

$599,900 1845 E JULIE Drive
Tempe, AZ 85283 Listing office: West USA Realty

$645,000 6517 S HAZELTON Lane
Tempe, AZ 85283 Listing office: 4:10 Real Estate, LLC

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You see, I’m one of the lucky ones. Lucky to have a father that was always there. A father that loved me. A father that taught me right from wrong. A father that loved his wife, his kids and his family more than some would think is fair. 

On May 9th, 2013 I said goodbye to my father. Yes, he was taken from us far before we thought he would be and long before it was fair for him to leave. I’ll never be able to explain the pain, just like I’m not able to explain the love I have for him. My dad taught me so much, he taught me things up until the hour of his death.

From a very young age, I can remember my dad teaching us about life, about family and about friendships. My dad would and could talk to anyone. He could fix anything. He made people from all walks of life feel like a best friend, this was truly a gift he had.

My Dad became sick in January of this year when he had the first of two heart attacks on a Sunday. A stint was placed in his heart and he was sent home on Tuesday. The following day, that stint failed and my dad had a massive heart attack that seems to have been what started months of struggles.

You know what happened during those months of struggles? My dad kept teaching me things. How to fight, how to love, how to cherish what you have.

On this Father’s Day I’m sad, I hurt and I miss my dad. On the other hand, I have three little boys and an amazing wife that want, need and deserve 100% of the father that I have been taught to be. Now and always I’m happy and lucky to say that 100% of me is always what they will get. I am going to cherish this day by holding my family close and loving them. After all, my father would expect nothing less.

Although the loss of my father hurts to no end, I’m not done celebrating Father’s Day. My mother, my brother and I were left clear instructions. Continue to love each other. Cherish family and friends. Be kind.

My father’s legacy lives on and I’m so glad to know I’ll see him again. He taught me that, too.

I love you, dad…

I had a great time meeting with some real estate and title friends this morning talking about some cool new blogging applications.