This Scottsdale real estate home division of Pulte Homes is a world-class community called Winfield is named for the founder of Scottsdale, Winfield Scott, this 300 acre guard gated community offers the best of both North Scottsdale and Carefree, Arizona living. Winfield luxury real estate has been specially designed with vast open space to allow homeowners the opportunity to enjoy the beauty of the High Sonoran Desert and to preserve the natural environment of arroyos, desert trees, majestic saguaro cacti and other desert vegetation. It’s a beautiful example of what Scottsdale real estate can be and sets that standard for others to follow..

7983 E Crested Saguaro Lane, Scottsdale Arizona 85262 - FOR SALE  $660,000

This Altera model is in the guard gated community of Winfield on a quite cul-de-sac lot with views of Winfield Mountain. The stone Travertine floors, slab granite countertops, upgraded cook top, and 8′alder doors gives this home a warm luxurious feeling. A custom office/library with built-ins allow for a perfect work space or a private get away when the need arises. This home has all the extras you would expect in a luxury home. The outdoors affords you lots of room to play and relax.  It features the BBQ, pebble tech pool and spa, and a water feature to add tranquility and views. For a Virtual Tour and more information click on Scottsdale Real Estate.

In addition, this home enjoys all the benefits and amenities of the Winfield guard gated community. A 13,500 community center, beach entry pool, health club, eight tennis courts, a cafe and more. For a look at the community of Winfield, click on the video tour below.

Click here for a Video Tour of Winfield

Call Jeff or Jane Daley of Keller Williams Realty Scottsdale at 480-595-6412 for questions or to make an appointment to preview this home or contact us by email.

The keys to buying a second home hardly differ from those applied to the purchase of your primary home:

• Consider why you want to buy a second home. For frequent visits to a retreat that’s close to home? As a gathering place for family and friends? As a rent-free escape from everyday life? As the ultimate retirement haven?
• Evaluate the potential use of your second home. Will you be renting it out part of the time? If so, check out tax consequences, local zoning regulations and rental-management availability. Perhaps a condominium will best suit your needs.
• Choose a second home as carefully as your first, for location, construction, energy efficiency, and all the other things that make for a smart purchase.
• Examine your financing options. Will you go it alone in a purchase? Will you team up with friends or relatives to split your expenses and vacation times?

Scottsdale, AZ (Keller Williams Scottsdale) June 13, 2008 — Scottsdale Area real estate agent Jeff Daley has announced new real estate affiliation with Countrywide Homes Loans to provide another means to sell their bank owned properties in the Scottsdale Phoenix, Arizona metro areas. Jeff and his team will provide current listings of these properties and the details associated with making and an offer on these properties. A detail description of the property, photos, and a Virtual Tour is provided for every property offered. Many of the properties can be seen on You Tube like the one presented in this article. In addition, they have authored a help page to make it easy for people and their agents to submit an offer.

Their bank owned foreclosed homes will be displayed at http://BankOwned.LuxuryValleyHomes.com for all to inspect. Questions on these homes can be directed to Jeff or one of the team by way of phone or email.

About Jeff Daley:
Jeff Daley, is a REALTOR® and owner/agent with Keller Williams Arizona Realty - Scottsdale. He is a member of the International Institute for Luxury Home Marketing and has taken specialized training in the selling and marketing of upper-tier homes. He holds an MBA from George Washington University and rose through the ranks to senior management within Lucent Technologies with responsibilities for marketing and operations before taking early retirement in 1999 and starting his second career in Luxury real estate. Jeff has won numerous awards in real estate, is a Certified Luxury Homes Marketing Specialist, a member of the Millionaire Guild, is published in national publications, is an instructor for real estate and is a member of the Veteran of Foreign Wars. He and his wife Jane have their business in Scottsdale, Arizona where they specialize in International and Scottsdale real estate.

Jeff is also available as a media resource for interviews or articles.

Contact Information:
Jeff Daley
480-595-6412
Jeff@LuxuryValleyHomes.com

Recreational:  2 Championship Golf Courses, Heated Spa & Swimming Pool, Tennis Courts, Putting Green, and miles of walking/biking paths that wind around lake Margherite.

The planned community of McCormick Ranch is situated in Central Arizona, about a half hour commute from Phoenix in Maricopa County. Located in the Scottsdale metro region, McCormick Ranch is one of the largest planned communities in the country with a population of about 23,000. McCormick Ranch real estate options consist of primarily single-family detached homes, condominiums and townhouses as well as land lots for custom building. Carefully planned in stages, the original 4,236-acres of bare land is now a beautifully designed neighborhood including two championship 18-hole golf courses, over 25 miles of bicycle paths, public tennis courts, 130-acres of man-made lakes, two of which allow sailing and several that are stocked with fish. Travel through the metro areas has been facilitated by the Valley Metro transit system. For those dependent on air travel, Phoenix Sky Harbor International is conveniently located about 30 minutes away.

The economy in the area is well-diversified and prosperous. Some industries in the region providing employment include: educational, health and social services, manufacturing, retail trade, professional, scientific, management, administrative and waste management services, arts, entertainment, recreation, accommodation and food services. Residents with children from grades K-12 will find educational services through the Scottsdale Unified School District. Those in pursuit of a degree in higher education will find several local community college and university campuses nearby including Arizona State University - East Campus and Scottsdale Community College. Recreational amenities in the area include Canyon Lake and Lost Dutchman State Park.

About:  McCormick Ranch Property Owners Association

Virtual Tour  

About:  McCormick Ranch Golf Course

To access this webpage directly, use http://8025.JeffDaley.com

The foyer gives you access to the four bedrooms and three and one-half baths. A large kitchen, family room with a media center wired for surround sound, formal living and dining room, and office. The large three car garage has epoxy floors and the home as RV gate access to the back yard.

For a cooks delight this home boast a gourmet kitchen with built-in side by side Monogram refrigerator and freezer, RO water, slab granite counters, Bosch 5 burner gas cook top, microwave, Monogram double ovens, double drawer dish washer, large kitchen island and a butlers pantry. It even has a bread and pastry cabinet.

This home has an intercom system, central vacuum, and security system. The family room has a wet bar & built-in entertainment center and fireplace. It has a large patio with a built-in water mister on the cover patio overlooking big back yard with built-in BBQ and gas fire pit. There is a separate entry to a private guest bedroom and bath and zoned air conditioning and ceiling fans for energy efficiency.

The Master Suite Bath is large and luxurious and features his and her showers and a soothing rain shower, a jetted tub, two way
fireplace and a walk-in closet.

For more information, photos, and details on this property go to http://2140.LuxuryValleyHomes.com 

To access this webpage directly, use   IMPORTANT NOTE:

1. Before submitting an offer on this property, download the “Seller & Mold Addendum” from the URL that follows:  http://REO.LuxuryValleyHomes.com/  

2. Seller REQUIRES a loan approval (LSR) from a Countrywide Mortgage Broker or a letter of credit from their bank stating they have the funds to purchase this home.

3. It is not necessary to use Countrywide Mortgage for a loan.

For more information on the Real Estate Owned (REO) process for Countrywide and a copy of the addendums click here.  This is an easy process, just call or email Jeff Daley with any questions or go to the link above.

Borrowers who are as much as three months behind on their mortgages, have damaged credit histories and owe more than their homes are worth will now be potentially eligible to refinance with a federally insured loan, according to U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department Assistant Secretary Brian Montgomery.

This comes as an attempt by the administration to try and curb foreclosures, which jumped as much as 60 percent in the past year and has contributed to a drop in consumer spending and economic growth. In relaxing the rules to help delinquent homeowners with zero to negative equity, the Federal Housing Administration is agreeing to make good on the mortgages that lenders write for the program should they default.

Under the program, FHA will insure loans with negative equity if lenders are willing to write down the loan balance so there is at least 3 percent equity for borrowers with two months of delinquencies and 10 percent for borrowers with three months of late payments within the previous year.

The administration is trying to find a balance between protecting homeowners who “played by the rules” without allowing banks to dump bad loans on taxpayers, Montgomery told the House Financial Services Committee in Washington.

“We must not federalize the housing market,” Montgomery said. “And we must not harm our economy through solutions that, however well intentioned, further erode the foundation of the nation’s housing market, hurt homeowners who are meeting their mortgage obligations, or prolong the correction.”

About $460 billion of adjustable-rate mortgages are scheduled to reset this year, according to New York-based analysts at Citigroup Inc. Subprime ARMs accounted for the biggest share of mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures last year as rates began resetting higher amid the biggest annual slump for existing home sales in 25 years and the first decline in single-family homes values since the Great Depression.

The proposal builds on the FHASecure program, which insured new loans to borrowers stuck in adjustable-rate mortgages that they were paying on time before their terms reset. The program only applied to mortgages with interest rate resets between June 2005 and December 2007. Montgomery said 150,000 homeowners have refinanced through FHASecure since it was announced in August.

Many buyers judge a house by its exterior, or so it seems from the results of the 2007 Remodeling Cost vs. Value Report. Three of the four projects with the highest national percentage of costs recouped this year were exterior upgrades.

The most profitable project on the national level was upscale siding replacement, recouping 88% of costs upon resale. Wood deck additions and wood window replacements also returned more than 80% of costs, at 85% and 81%, respectively. On a national average, the only interior project to return more than 80% of remodeling costs this year was a minor kitchen remodel, returning 83% of project costs at resale.

“The results of this year’s Cost vs. Value report underscore the importance of curb appeal in the buyer’s eye,” said NAR President Dick Gaylord, a broker with RE/MAX Real Estate Specialists in Long Beach, CA. “REALTORS® know what attracts buyers in their local markets and can help your house put its best façade forward, so to speak – it’s another way REALTORS® add value to the real estate transaction.”

The 2007 Remodeling Cost vs. Value Report compares construction costs with resale values for 29 midrange and upscale remodeling projects comprising additions, remodels and replacements in 60 markets across the country. Data are provided for nine U.S. regions, following the divisions established by the U.S. Census Bureau. This is the 10th consecutive year that the report, which is produced by Hanley Wood, LLC, was completed in cooperation with REALTOR® Magazine, as REALTORS® provided their insight into local markets and buyer home preferences within those markets.

Four new projects were added this year: the aforementioned wood deck addition, a back-up power generator, and both a midrange and upscale garage addition. Nationally, the back-up power generator only returned 58% of the investment on resale, although the return was highest in the West South Central region, which comprises Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas, at 68 percent. Buyers in the Pacific region of Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington value their garages: The midrange garage addition returned nearly 70 percent nationally but 88 percent in this region, while the upscale garage addition returned approximately 65 percent nationally but 78 percent in this area.

Homeowners in the Pacific region could also expect to see some of the highest percentages of remodeling expenses returned at resale, with 13 of the 29 projects returning 90% or higher of project costs. Homeowners in the East North Central region of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin might expect some of the lowest returns; only one project – upscale fiber cement siding – returned more than 80% upon resale (82% of costs recouped), while nine projects returned less than 60% of project costs.

The least profitable projects were a back-up power generator, sunroom addition, and home office remodel. The back-up power generator returned the lowest percentage of initial cost in the East North Central, New England (Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont), Pacific, and West North Central (Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota) regions.

Sunrooms are least popular in the East South Central (Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee), Mountain (Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico and Wyoming), and West South Central regions. Home office remodels return the lowest percentage of project costs in the Middle Atlantic (New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania) and South Atlantic (Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia) regions.

Gaylord explained that the resale value of any given remodeling project depends on a variety of factors. “When considering a remodeling project, particularly with an eye toward resale, it’s important to evaluate your home’s current condition, how the project will change the existing space in your home, as well as how your remodeled home will compare to other homes in your community,” said Gaylord.

“For example, using a breakfast nook to expand the kitchen seems like a good use of space, but using the same space to add a first-floor bathroom in an older home that doesn’t have one will draw more buyers,” Gaylord said. “Realtors® see hundreds, if not thousands, of homes every year with their buyer clients and can provide valuable insight into what projects and improvements will make a difference with buyers in your area.”

Results of the report are summarized in the December 2007 issue of REALTOR® Magazine. To read the full project descriptions, access national and regional project data, and download a free PDF containing data for any of the 60 cities covered by the report, visit www.costvsvalue.com. “Cost vs. Value” is a registered trademark of Hanley Wood, LLC

Amazing, but true. Buying a home adds to your “take home” income – possibly by several hundred dollars or more – simply by increasing the number of federal income tax withholding allowances on Form W-4.

• Here’s how it works.
  New home buyers generally find that their pre-purchase withholding rate will result in overpayment of taxes, if they don’t adjust their withholding allowances. That’s because they haven’t reduced their withholding to compensate for reduced taxes caused by deductions for mortgage interest and property taxes – items that are currently deductible at income tax filing time.
• See for yourself.
  A first-year homeowner who paid $9,000 in interest and real estate taxes, and who itemized deductions in a 28% tax bracket, would have overwithheld and would get a large refund next year. In this case, $2,520.
• Enjoy your bigger paycheck.
  Increasing the number of withholding allowances, on the other hand, reduces the amount withheld to pay future taxes – which puts your tax refund in your paycheck today, not at the end of the year. With the additional cash in your hands instead of in the government’s, you’ll have more cash to meet payments and live on.
• Be sure to check the tax rules.
  The rules for claiming allowances are simple. Working couples filing jointly figure withholding allowances on combined wage income and may allocate them between employers. On separate returns, the allowances must be figured separately. And if you work for two or more employers at the same time, you may claim withholding allowances from only one employer.