Archives 2022

My Favorite New Products – RING

You’ve certainly heard about the RING Camera Doorbell and seen the videos of people tripping, slipping and/or running off with Amazon packages.
However, maybe you’ve been afraid of the effort/complexity or cost it would take to add one of these to your home. It always seemed difficult and expensive to run wires for such a device. The only friends you had that did it themselves were engineers or tech geniuses.

And what if you want additional cameras throughout your home to create a proper security network? Even if you found a system that could function through your wireless network, you still need power right? Who has outlets high up on the exterior of the house?
Thanks to the RING battery operated system of products, I now feel like a TECH GENIUS (without really being one). We are renovating our new home so we wanted to quickly add some cameras to monitor the home when we weren’t there.

We started with the Ring 4th Generation doorbell (battery model). It took more time to gather my drill & drill bits than any other part of the installation. I do recommend connecting the door bell to your WIFI first to make sure you can get the right camera angle before attaching it to your house.

With a very busy front door due to renovations, we are having to recharge the battery about once per month but the other cameras with less activity can last a few months or more. Even better though, you can also purchase a solar panel charger from Ring for about $40 that keeps the batteries continuously charging with no need to change batteries. I did this for three of my cameras and they work great- doesn’t work for my doorbell because it is always in the shade (but easy to change the battery by having an extra one charged – the App even lets you know when battery is starting to get low!

Another great feature is that the cameras even record sound and you can actually talk to someone through the camera as well as set off an audible alarm to scare them away – it’s hilarious to do to nosy neighbors… 😉
You can purchase these cameras/doorbells from numerous stores locally or online such as Lowes, Best Buy, or Amazon. I recommend getting the latest models so you have all the best features. There is no monthly fee required but for $10 per month or $100 per year you can have your recordings saved online for up to 6 months.  

Feel free to ask me questions about it anytime! Call me at 602.799.7335

My Favorite New Products – YouTubeTV

You probably already have a smart TV and maybe you’ve subscribed to Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime or any of the others but do you still have cable supplying all your local channels?

Our cable bill was getting out of control (over $300 per month-included internet) so when we recently moved to an area of Cave Creek that isn’t served by a cable company, we had to search out alternatives for all our favorite channels and shows. I opted to go with Youtube TV but you can compare many of the details yourself with this article
These services allow you to get local Valley channels along with some of the most popular “cable” channels. We are now paying $65 per month plus the internet services fees which we pay Verizon just $50 per month for a 4G network box that is working very well so far. They also offer 5G options in some areas.

It does take a little time to get used to it as it is a little different than traditional cable but there are a ton of “On Demand” options as well as the ability to record shows to watch later – in fact, Youtube TV actually makes suggestions. It also gives you the ability to set up as many as 6 family members with their own preferences and place to store their recorded shows. More information can be found here  

Feel free to ask me questions about it anytime! Call me at 602.799.7335

VERIZON HOME INTERNET
I found this internet option somewhat by accident as we were beginning our renovation project on our new home several months ago. The home is in an area of Cave Creek that doesn’t offer the traditional internet/cable solutions such as Cox or Century Link so we had to explore other options.
There are a couple of what I can line of sight dish options in our area but only one that could guarantee good connection and it was around $90 per month which may have been fine except I only needed it to operate some Ring cameras for security while we weren’t there.
Because the home became a major construction site, having a system that required wires into an non-mobile spot was also challenging so I searched for other options and came across the Verizon 5G Home Internet option which was around $50 per month for Verizon Customers. After entering our address, I found out Verizon doesn’t offer the 5G option in our area but they do offer a LTE Internet Option which uses 4G (I’m not techie but doesn’t sound as good as 5G).
There are no contracts or set up fees so I decided to give the LTE a try. As a current Verizon customer, signing up online was simple and the box showed up a couple of days later. Just plugged it in and connected my ring cameras through Wifi as the cube acts as a modem and router and it worked great. We then connected our computers & TVs which now utilize several apps including YouTubeTV and all work incredibly well – including the SONOS music system throughout the house. Download speeds vary but are as high as 45 Mbps (Megabits per second) – As a general rule, the recommended internet speed for streaming in standard definition videos is 3–10 Mbps. To stream Hulu, Netflix, and Sling TV, you’ll want a minimum download speed of 25 Mbps. For more devices and users, you’ll want a speed closer to 50 Mbps.
Find out more at: https://www.verizon.com/5g/home/
Our home currently has a network of 4 TVs, 4 SONOS soundbars/speakers, 2 cell phones, a tablet, and a wireless printer – all are working great – just an added option for you to consider if you are not happy with your current internet provider.
Note: T-Moble also has similar services available but I haven’t been a user so I can’t report on whether it works as well or not.

This may not have much to do with the Arizona Real Estate market but I wanted to share. We just returned from seeing the ultimate fixer upper in France…Chateau de Gudanes. We were lucky enough to stay there for 3 nights which was an amazing experience. See my unplanned highlights reel here – https://youtu.be/pGzISp72ib0 .

Feel free to ask questions anytime!

As you can see by all the offers on these properties, the competition is very difficult to overcome. However, please contact me to discuss the strategies that may be available to us to help you succeed!!!

From RISMedia Staff article Feb 1:

Consumer demand coupled with low residential inventory created one of the hottest housing markets in decades last year. It was a record-breaking year for home price growth. According to new data from CoreLogic’s Home Price Index (HPI) and HPI Forecast for December 2021, price appreciation averaged 15%, up from the 2020 full year average of 6%. Home price appreciation began 2021 at 10% in the first quarter, steadily increasing and ending the year with an increase of 18% for the fourth quarter, according to the report.

While there have been concerns about a housing bubble, the CoreLogic Market Risk Indicators suggest a small probability of a nationwide price decline, and points to the larger likelihood that a fall in price will be limited to specific, at-risk markets.

Nevertheless, the CoreLogic HPI Forecast shows the national 12-month growth slowing over 2022. During the early months of the year, it’s projected to remain above 10% while decelerating each month to a 12-month rise of 3.5% by December 2022. Comparing the average projected National HPI for 2022 with the previous year, the CoreLogic HPI Forecast shows the annual average up 9.6% in 2022.

Key findings:

• Nationally, home prices increased 18.5% in December 2021, compared to December 2020. On a month-over-month basis, home prices increased by 1.3% compared to November 2021.
• In December, annual appreciation of detached properties (19.7%) was 5.5 percentage points higher than that of attached properties (14.2%).
• Home price gains are projected to slow to a 3.5% annual increase by December 2022.
• In December, Naples, Florida, logged the highest year-over-year home price increase at 37.6%. Punta Gorda, Florida, had the second-highest ranking at 35.7%.
• At the state level, the Southern, Southwest and Mountain West regions continued to dominate the top three spots for national home price growth, with Arizona leading the way at 28.4%. Florida ranked second with a 27.1% growth and Utah followed in third place at 25.2%.

What it means:

“Much of what we’ve seen in the run-up of home prices over the last year has been the result of a perfect storm of supply and demand pressures,” said Dr. Frank Nothaft, chief economist at CoreLogic, in a statement. “As we move further into 2022, economic factors–such as new home building and a rise in mortgage rates—are in motion to help relieve some of this pressure and steadily temper the rapid home price acceleration seen in 2021.”

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When you’re getting ready to list your home, it’s of the upmost importance to ensure you are showing it in the best light. Taking time to highlight its strengths and fix up some of its possible weaknesses can make a big difference in how fast it sells. Here are my top recommended repairs to make before selling your home.

Repaint walls.

Giving your home a fresh coat of paint is one of the most cost-effective ways to spruce it up, and generally, it can be a do-it-yourself project or ask me for a referral and let the pros take care of it. Make sure cover any walls with scratches and chips and consider updating any accent walls with a more neutral coat.

Repair floors.

Hardwood floors are a very desirable feature in a home, so you want to ensure they look their best by fixing scratches or dull areas. If your carpet is worn or stained, consider replacing them. And don’t forget the tile in your kitchen or bathrooms. Re-grouting can have a huge impact on appearance! Or, it can also make a huge difference to update tile flooring if it is more than 5 years old. I’d be happy to take a look at it for you.

Updating Bathroom wall tile and kitchen backsplashes can also add value to your home. Arizona had a lot of homes built in the early 2000s but most haven’t been updated – your home will stand out if it is professionally updated.

Refresh the landscaping.

Show buyers your home is the full package by dressing up the outside as well as the in. Clean walkways and driveways, plant seasonal flowers and plants, trim hedges and trees, install outdoor décor pieces (and remove them if they are old and weathered or if you have too many) Refreshing gravel can really improve a first impression of both the front and back yard.

Fix your fixtures.

Leaky faucet? Rusted drains? Loose drawer handle? Making these small fixes can make a big difference to potential buyers. Improve your kitchen. An outdated kitchen can really detract from the value of a home. Updating cabinetry, replacing countertops, and installing new faucets and sinks may be worth the investment as they show the home has been well maintained and updated.