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www.GetYourPHX.com
The Get Your
PHX events have done so well, I'm launching a web site and Facebook Fan Page.
www.GetYourPHX.com will be an inside scoop on local Phoenix events, news, markets and politics.
When you first visit the site, you'll see two words: Life
and Live.
Under "Life," you'll find all kinds of leads, ideas and wondrous information
about things going on in our fair city. This is where I would invite your
participation. Please contribute information, links, videos, whatever.
Under "Live," you'll find all kinds of useful
information about buying, selling or owning property here. I've organized everything in a way that I've noticed people
look for information about real estate: Buyers, Sellers, New Urban Dwellers,
Investors and Renovators.
I've set up a free way for you to search the
same Multi-Listing Service that I have access to.
I'm adding content and information as quickly as I can. So,
please let me know if there is anything in particular you are looking for.
A special thanks to Derek Welte at HalfManHalfMachine for the design on this site. Also thanks to James Day at NetSysInteractive.com for the work they did to help me get the site together.
I look forward to your reaction.
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Get Your PHX: After Hours Creative
The goal of Get Your PHX is to show up, en masse, to support those who pioneer new restaurants, stores, bars and event spaces. We want to provide them a boost as they put their sweat, tears and wealth on the line to make life great downtown. Plus, we want to provide a chance for you to meet others like you, who want to get the most out of Phoenix.
July's Get Your PHX was a hoot. Thanks again to Derrick and
Gina Suarez for hosting and sharing their vision for Paisley Town.
We met all of the owners of the new shops and galleries in Paisley Town, and we
learned about the upcoming Sept. 26th Grand Avenue Festival.
I took a tour recently of the location for our August Get
Your PHX, the After Hours Creative building.
Russ Haan and Mike Oleskow, owners of After Hours Creative worked for
three years to build a structure that was not only their home, but also their
office and gallery space. A live-work space is nothing to shake a stick at
back east, but, according to Haan, there was little precedence at the City of
Phoenix for this kind of project when they got started.
 The structure is like nothing I've ever seen. It reminds me
of those sliding square picture puzzles that you might have had as a kid. The
two halves of the ground floor and the second floor can be
opened or closed off independent of each other. According to Haan, they wanted
to plan for what this building could be 50 years from now.
So, instead of just one business taking up the entire space,
you could section the building in to four distinct areas, each with its own
ductwork, electrical and separate entrances. The third floor living space could
also be combined with the floors below it to create a three-story living space. I often find that two storeys are simply not enough, daahling!
Haan views their building, designed by the [merz] Project's
Joe Herzog (now with Perez Roeder Studio), as a statement to the city about small live-work development.
According to Haan, the city has numerous small lots that could be used just
like this to foster businesses and residential infill, which creates diversity
and pedestrian-friendly spaces.
Oleskoq and Haan will be giving tours of the building at the upcoming
Get Your PHX.
We encourage everybody to throw a 5-spot in the collection
jar to cover the catering by Fresh Gourmet to Go, the official caterers of Get
Your PHX.
August Get Your PHXThursday, August 20th from 5:30 to 7:30After Hours Creative116 W. McDowellPhoenix, 85003For overflow parking, you can park at the Lung Association at the corner of McDowell & 1st Ave. and along 1st Ave. Please RSVP to me via email or through Facebook so I can get an accurate count.
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The 67-Day Speed Race
Get ready for the race for the $8,000 tax credit, folks.
If you are a home buyer using FHA financing, you have 67 days left to get under
contract so you can close before November 30th. If you are using conventional financing, you have 82 days to get an agreement.
You have probably already seen my previous analysis (ad nauseum, Ken!) showing
that prices have been edging upward.
Source: www.cromfordreport.com
You have probably already heard me say that there will be a
spike upward in sales and sale prices between now and November 30th.
You may have even heard me tell you that some or all of that
$8,000 tax credit can come to you in the form of cash, depending on your tax
liability for 2009.
Despite this, you can still pick up a home at historically low prices and
interest rates. Plus you can get that $8,000 tax credit.
But, I want to address some myths about this rush for homes.
Myth: "I heard
Congress is going to increase the tax credit to $12,000."
Reality: Rumors,
rumors! Even if they wanted to, they will be in recess over the month of
December, after the current credit runs out. They would not likely get anything
in place until next spring. Plus, there is a lot of political resistance to
this approach.
Myth: "I don't have
time to get a house."
Reality: It
typically takes only a few weeks to find a house that you like in this
market. The escrow period takes only between 30 and 45 days. Don't let that
stop you.
Myth: "My credit
score is terrible and I don't even have 3.5% down for an FHA loan."
Reality: I know of
brokers who can get you a loan with a credit score over 680 and with only 1.5%
down. Sure, your interest rate may be around 7%, compared to 5.5% with a
perfect credit score. But, 7% is still historically low. Do you know that it
was as high as 15% in the early 1980s?
Myth: "The houses
are all so beat up, I won't be able to fix it up."
Reality: You can
probably get a "203K loan", which gives you money to fix up a house.
Have a look here for some homes in CenPho that you can pick
up for between $80,000 and $250,000 right now.
Please contact me for viewing: 602-561-5881.
1,400 Sq. Ft .
2Bedroom/2 Bath
$237,500
This remodel of 1946 brick home has upgraded everything!
1,668 Sq. Ft. 4 Bedroom/1.75 Bath$165,000
I've been in this 1907 historic home. It is incredible inside. It was owned by an early Phoenix business family.
1,724 Sq. Ft. 3 Bedroom/2 Bath$87,500Past owners put a great deal of work in to this home. Worth a look at that price! 1,035 Sq. Ft. 3 Bedroom/1 Bath$109,900 Cute. Small with big back yard. Close to everything.
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Downtown Venue Review
The Parlor
1916 E. Camelback Road
I admit it. I have a crush on The Parlor. I've been
three times since it opened early last month.
You know, The Parlor proves that you can put almost anything
on pizza and have a hit if the crust is good. I had the Yukon Gold once, which
was pizza with potatoes and an egg right in the middle. I also tried the
truffle oil and mushroom pizza and the sausage pizza. All incredible.
Perhaps my review is not complete. I never tried their
salads or other nosh. But I'm a pizza snob. So sue me.
Still, the ambiance is fantastic and the service was good,
with the exception of one waiter who seemed to forget we were there once. I
look forward to cooler days when I can sit out on the patio area among the
fresh growing vegetables that they actually use in the restaurant.
Much of the internal décor came from reclaimed wood and
metal from the short-lived Bahama Breeze, which was torn down across the
street. Kudos for the re-use. However, I do respect the criticism that The
Parlor looks way too much like The Vig, just with pizza.
The Good: Sitting at the bar, watching the pizza being made in the stone oven.
The Bad: The Parking
The Ugly: None
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League of Conservation Voters Opens Office Downtown
I'm on the board of the Arizona League of Conservation
Voters. It's a bi-partisan board that seeks to balance growth and conservation
in ways not seen to date in Arizona.
The League has recently moved its offices from Tempe to
downtown Phoenix; specifically to 3rd Ave and Roosevelt.
We are proud of our new office as it stands as a symbol to
the importance of dense growth as a way to conserve that which we have for so
long neglected.
So, I am hosting a reception on August 27th to
welcome our new Executive Director, Steve Arnquist and officially open our new
office.
We are going to have some help from a very special guest on
that day. Phillip Allsopp, the
immediate past President and CEO of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation will
discuss the interplay between architecture, density, growth and society health,
something he calls Transpolis.
Far from being an academic discussion alone, this is an
event that I hope will stimulate discussion among those of us who are working
so hard to define how Phoenix will look in the next 50 years.
Please join us. View the Facebook Invite here.
Thursday, August 27th
5:30 to 7:30
Arizona LCV Headquarters
825 N.
3rd Ave
Phoenix, AZ 85003
Suggested
Donation: $25
RSVP:
480 921-3941
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Grand Avenue Festival
 Also mark your calendars now for the
September 26th Grand Avenue Festival. This is a huge event and the
beginning of a renaissance on Grand Avenue.
The Grand Avenue Merchants'
Association will host the first annual Grand Avenue Festival on September 26th,
throughout the day and into the evening. The festival will be a celebration of
the vibrant culture, art, history and adaptive re-use of the Lower Grand Avenue
small business district and adjoining neighborhoods.
In the morning on September 26,
guided tours will take visitors to a number of historic commercial buildings
and adaptive re-use projects along Lower Grand Avenue. Tour tickets will $10
per person and will be available for purchase prior to the festival at
www.GrandAvenueFestivalAZ.com and on the day of the event.
And, yes, for those of you who
chose your event based on this, there will be beer.
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Got any good downtown tips? Send 'em my way!
And, as always, I respect your right not to be bothered with annoying spam email. If you would like to be removed from my email list, just let me know. Thanks!
Sincerely,
Ken Clark
  
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