According to the Arizona Republic, a growing number of complaints are reaching the city of Mesa about the lack of maintenance on abandoned properties, and Mesa is trying to figure out who to hold responsible.

Mesa residents tell stories of their neighbors being there one day and being gone the next without any word that they were leaving. The messy home they leave behind is just one more abandoned property in a sea of already vacant homes. Mesa saw nearly 1,000 foreclosures in May according to RealtyTrac reports.

But what happens when the City of Mesa makes their code enforcement rounds? At this point, all Mesa city officials can do at this point and tag the property as abandoned by placing a sign in the window noting that the property is vacant. Many abandoned houses are still listed by the county assessor in the last homeowners name. Likely, this indicates the house is somewhere in or near foreclosure. At this stage, the city of Mesa doesn’t know who to hold responsible.

300 other cities have adopted abandoned-property registration ordinances, and Mesa is likely hopping on board.

“The real goal of that program is to try to find a responsible party between when a person walks and it actually goes into foreclosure,” said Tammy Albright, Mesa’s code-compliance supervisor.

Here’s how it would work:

• Mortgage companies would be required to inspect the property immediately following the loan delinquency to determine whether or not it is vacant.
• If it is vacant, the company would have to register the property with the city, secure the property and begin maintaining it. They would be responsible for maintenance until the home is occupied again.
• The company would have to make monthly inspections to make sure the property was still within compliance codes. The city would also require a company contact, or a local property management company contact for out-of-state lenders.

The staff report doesn’t address some issues like what plans would be enforced to make sure that the lending companies were meeting these compliance standards and codes, and what penalties they face if they don’t.

The Mesa city council is currently on a six-week break, so there likely will be no further discussion until the end of summer.

Mesa May Hold Lenders Responsible for Abandoned Homes is a post from: mesa-az-mortgage.com

The Arizona Republic reports that The Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport revealed their new PHX Sky Train transit system. The transit system area includes transport to:

• A lightrail station
• Sky Harbor airport terminals
• Parking
• Airport rental car facilities

It is a 4.8 mile project. The cars are being designed by Bombardier Transportation Holdings USA to model those at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport but modified to better accommodate a desert environment. The cars are designed with white roofs and silver casing and minor black accents to keep the Arizona heat out. Cars are also air conditioned. Cars are about 36 feet long, 9 feet wide, and 11 feet high holding roughly 53 people in each train (each train is 3 cars long).

The dark-colored bottom, or “skirt,” of the train has vents that will help the components underneath stay cool. The airport officials also made sure the air conditioning system was powerful enough to maintain 72 degree interior temperature during triple-digit summer temperatures.

In total there will be 18 cars and a maintenance facility on site in the transit system. The first test car is scheduled to arrive in August of 2011. The first stage of the PHX Sky Train project is scheduled to open in 2013 with total completion expected in 2020.

The project is being paid for by bonds which will be paid pack with monies collected from customer fees at Sky Harbor.

The PHX Sky Train system is another step in Phoenix area transit efficiency, connecting to the current Phoenix lightrail transit system that takes passengers through Phoenix and many of its suburbs while also passing through three university campuses. There are also future plans for lightrail system expansions with the growing communities and popular appeal among commuters. Many Arizonans working in Phoenix commute from Mesa, Tempe, Gilbert, Scottsdale, Chandler and surrounding areas. All the more reason to check out homebuying opportunities in the quieter suburbs if the city-life is not as appealing.

New Transit System at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport is a post from: mesa-az-mortgage.com

As homes sales begin to rise in Mesa, the housing market is beginning to show signs of recovery. Statistics for both April and May both indicate that home sales are on the rise.

As published in the Arizona Republic, the following numbers indicate that the Arizona housing market is on the mend:

• Foreclosures did not dominate sales of existing homes in the Valley for the first time in more than a year.

• The number of investors purchasing homes from lenders dropped.

• More buyers purchased homes with the intent of living in them.

• More buyers financed their purchases with long-term mortgages.

Although the housing sales for April included the rush of first time home buyers who used the tax credit offered by the federal government, home sales continued to increase throughout May. This indicates that the increase in home sales is not solely based on the tax credit.

Another reason experts believe the market is starting to recover is the return of long term investment buyers. In the past, the market was dominated by investors and people who were looking to “flip” a property for quick profit.

According to the Arizona Republic, during the peak of the housing market, nearly 60 percent of all home sales were made by investors. Last year at this time, nearly 20 percent of all home purchases were made by investors with no intent in living in the home.

Currently that figure has dropped to 15 percent. This new surge of long term investment home buyers will help to stabilize the Arizona housing market. Also, with people purchasing homes with the intent to stay in them, the prices of homes with slowly start to increase in the near future.

Currently, there are many homes available in the Phoenix area. If you are interested in researching available homes in the Mesa area, you can visit here.

Mesa Home Sales Increase is a post from: mesa-az-mortgage.com

The Arizona Republic reports that the Phoenix area housing market is at a crossroads:

• Long-term buyers–People who buy to settle into a permanent home
• Short-term buyers–People who look to buy for equity they can cash in at the right opportunity

For many years, Long-term buyers dominated the market, but such is no longer the case. When the AZ housing market had a steady growth in housing prices every year, this caused many homeowners to buy a house and stay there for about 7-10 years, then selling it, and making a profit.

In 2000, the psychology of the metro Phoenix housing market reached a tipping point, and the speculative segment took off. Years of steady appreciation on what were still considered affordable homes stoked demand. Arizonans jumped from one house to the next. And affordable prices and steady gains attracted thousands of buyers from California.

Both short-term buyers and investors turned to the booming Phoenix market, on of the hottest markets in the nation. Phoenix drew many from California, and population increased. Even though it reached its peak and burst in 2008, this hasn’t stopped buyers and investors from looking to the Phoenix market. Now, many are scooping up foreclosures whether to flip them and resell, rent them out, or just get a great house for cheap.

At this point, the psychology of the Phoenix housing market will be critical in determining whether the market will return as one dominated by short-term or long-term buyers.

The return of a more dominant long-term mind-set that sees houses as homes could help anchor a new economic model, a plan that looks beyond the next growth boom. A continued short-term, speculative view could maintain the larger boom-and-bust cycles that have characterized Phoenix’s economy for the past 50 years.

Experts say the housing bust could be the end of the Phoenix boom days, but it all depends on the mindset of the buyers when they return to the housing market.

Phoenix Area Housing Market Depends on Psychology of Buyers is a post from: mesa-az-mortgage.com

As The Arizona Republic article reports, “Mesa is giving the dour economy a one-two punch as it replaces an empty big box with a new concept that is scheduled to open this spring.”

The new marketplace set to open this Spring, is called POOL Together. It is a concept created by a real estate investor, a retail consultant, and a real estate developer from California. Construction began this past summer bringing 50 jobs to Arizona with it. Some of the interior features will include:

• high ceilings
• natural wood columns
• a lounge area
• a kids area
• an outdoor patio area
• and FREE WI-FI

The goal is to create an urban, posh marketplace similar to Pike Place Market in Seattle. It is expected to house 100 merchants, a restaurant, a coffee shop, and a farmer’s market. They emphasize that it is not a flea market or a swap meet, but rather a place where merchants can sell made goods and antiques. The creators studied the Mesa market and worked with city officials for about a year before deciding to go through with the project.

“During this economy the reused building should have a positive impact for the area,” said Patrick Murphy, a Mesa economic-development manager.

Rather than leaving vacant buildings and constructing an entirely new facility for the marketplace project, the developers and creators of the project sought to convert the old, empty Mervyns building on Main Street and Stapley Drive into something completely new. Many major cities have been working similarly to convert old buildings into usable, stable locations for new business.

“We are trying to create something that is user friendly for everybody . . . anything that could be in a village,” Hynes said, adding that the empty building could easily have been leased to a 99-cent store.

“If anything, it will be inspiring,” he said. “We knew whatever we did here it would have to be a destination. We knew it would have to be a place people would want to go to.”

The marketplace will surely draw patrons to Mesa from surrounding cities. They note that Mesa is not generally one of the main cities people consider when they want to find “fun” things to do. Hopefully, the marketplace changes that.

Mesa Marketplace: A Fresh Economic Boost? is a post from: mesa-az-mortgage.com