Nick Bastian's Blog

I happen to think Google maps are a lot of fun and can be a great tool. Cheryl obviously knows a thing, or two about google maps and has posted some great tips in the Google maps group. Take a look!

Houston, we have a problem… In the case of Tempe’s Centerpoint Towers, the problem apparently has to do with over $20 million in liens against a project that was recently sold for $30 million. It is being reported that the Centerpoint Tower deal has hit a snag and that there is little chance of making the current deal happen.

The Centerpoint Tower is a significant piece of the Tempe real estate market in the Mill Avenue District in that, when finished, it will bring a lot of new people to the area. For officials at the city of Tempe, I get the feeling that they were VERY happy to hear that the project had been sold even though the new owner was going to switch the buildings to rentals instead of the condominium project originally planned for the site.

Many people around here did the happy dance back around September when it was announced that the Centerpoint Condominium tower had been sold. According to this weeks Business Journal article, “the question surfaces about whether any viable deal is possible given the title issues.”

This has to be a huge bummer to MANY people on the developers side, the side of the title company ( not) insuring the transaction and to the many people looking forward to the completion of Centerpoint.

The story says the developer is upset with Fidelity National Title for not allowing them to proceed. Apparently, there are claims of numerous contractors and subcontractors having filed more than $21 million in mechanics liens against the Centerpoint project.

I’m pretty sure there are two sides to this story and I sincerely doubt Fidelity doesn’t want to close this deal. I am willing to bet that Zaremba wants it to close. On Friday, I spoke with a VP at Fidelity and was told they don’t have a comment at this time. Once they are willing or able to comment, I’ll try to update the information. Interestingly enough, there is a great view of Centerpoint from the Fidelity corporate offices at Hayden Ferry.  I’m sure they will be keeping a close eye on the Centerpoint situation.

For now, we continue to see a vacant Centerpoint Tower. Hopefully, the lawyers figure out what is next and there is a resolution to this mess soon. I have to wonder, does anyone have an extra $20 million laying around to help get er’ done?

The Tempe real estate market offers many different lifestyle choices within it’s boarders. There are gorgeous lakefront homes, irrigated acre-plus horse properties, large custom homes, modest condominiums and dozens of neighborhoods that differ completely from one another. An interesting newcomer to the Tempe market is the roughly 2.5 mile stretch along the proposed Tempe Streetcar route.

Recently, I did a search of homes for sale along Mill Avenue and the proposed streetcar route using a 1/2 mile radius as the main criteria and cam up with some interesting numbers. Of the homes for sale in this area, there were 117 properties on the market ranging from $54k to over $1.8 million. From condos to lofts to single family homes, you can find a huge variety to choose from. While the Mill Avenue District has long been a popular destination, it appears that city officials believe it can be much more.

I created a couple of maps of the area to show people what is nearby. The first map is a Google map showing where the proposed Mill Avenue Loop will be running come 2016. The second map is approximately 1/2 mile from the line showing the homes currently listed for sale.

Take a look around and let me know if you think this area has the potential to be attractive to home owners, investors, college students and more.

View Tempe Modern Streetcar Map - Stretching the Mill Avenue District in a larger map

At Chateau On Central, crews are hard at work to finish this luxury neighborhood of 21 home located at Central Avenue and Palm Lane. I recently toured Chateau On Central and got a first hand look at what is coming to the luxury home market in the Downtown Phoenix area.  Buyers looking for a low maintenance home, with plenty of room, in a very convenient location, will find it here. Chateau On Central consists of 21 homes ranging from approximately 5100 square feet up to 8200 square feet.  Of the 21 homes at Chateau, most are said to be between 5200 – 5800 square feet, and each will be unique with different views, finishes, and other luxurious touches.  According to an onsite associate, each property at Chateau has 5 separate levels and it’s own private commercial grade elevator. The homesite I toured was gorgeous and had it’s own game room and wine cellar. To me, these seem like a great fit for people looking for a VERY nice second home in the Phoenix area. Yes, they will make a decent place to live year round but I get the feeling that people looking in Arizona for luxury, convenience and lifestyly, these homes might be very appealing. Once you see the unique design and features of these homes, you just might agree. ( maybe not! )

Living at Chateau on Central is a wonderful opportunity for people looking to be near the Heard Museum and just a short distance from the light rail station at Encanto and Central. The convenience and unique lifestyle offered here should also be a big draw for luxury home buyers interested in reaching sporting events, restaurants, plays, shops, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport,  and more via the METRO light rail system.

While pricing is due to be released very soon, it is said to be significantly less than the previous $2 million beginning price point.  A quick search of the MLS shows us that during 2005 and 2007, properties had been offered at Chateau On Central for up to $4.5 million. While many people mistakenly call Chateau on Central a condominium complex, these are single family homes in a gated community which makes financing a home a fairly simple process.

Many details are coming in the near future and we should have pricing information posted by the end of the month.  Please feel free to call Nick Bastian with Realty Executives at 480-463-4514 for more information or to schedule a tour of Chateau On Central. The map below shows Chateau at Central and Palm Lane along with many other communities along the Phoenix light rail line. Take a look around, you just might find something that you like!

View Homes Near METRO light Rail in a larger map

I wrote my first blog post on Active Rain a little over three years ago. Over the past three years, I have made some really good friendships with some amazing people in the “blogosphere” that have helped my real estate business tremendously. In fact, blogging just might be one of the reasons why I was recently nominated in the “Best Realtor – Tempe” category from Arizona Foothills Magazine.

I was nominated along with some really good agents in our area and the winner will be determined by votes on the Arizona Foothills website. The contest runs for a couple of months and people can vote each day by clicking the following link.

http://arizonafoothillsmagazine.com/best-of-our-valley-2011/voting/212.html

If you have a second, I would be quite grateful for your vote!

If you do follow this blog, I hope you have gotten to know me over the years and if you don’t, I would love that opportunity. A quick look at my recent blog posts and you can probably tell that I really LOVE selling real estate in Tempe. A few samples are here:

Tempe Oktoberfest Fun For All

Neighborhood Spotlight Optimist Park Tempe AZ

9-11 Memorial at Tempe Beach Park

That Damn Dam

Camelot Village 4th of July

Ok, you get the point, I like to write about Tempe. In addition to writing, I enjoy living in Tempe, sending my kids to school in Tempe, worshiping in Tempe, having my office in Tempe, being a member of the Tempe Chamber of Commerce, being involved with Tempe charities and so much more.

If you look at the City of Tempe rankings for Tempe on Active Rain, I am currently in second place. Fortunately, (for me) I am not competing with the wonderful lady that holds the top spot! :)

If you have a second, I would appreciate a vote. :)

http://arizonafoothillsmagazine.com/best-of-our-valley-2011/voting/212.html

One of the things that has made the contest even more fun for me is the fact that the agent currently in second place is a good personal friend of mine. As you might imagine, the smack-talking between the two of us is in full force. :)

Oh, this guy. He is the Mayor of Tempe, I just want to be the best real estate agent in Tempe:

Lofts located near the light rail line in Phoenix and Tempe are a way to get more of an “urban” feel than your traditional tile and stucco job found in most of our outlying cities. This week, I visited two different loft communities that I think are pretty cool.

The first place we stopped was the Lofts at Orchidhouse in Tempe which are located at 21 East 6th Street just East of Mill Avenue in the heart of the ultra-cool Mill Avenue District. For urban enthusiasts, this beautiful building and it’s loft style condominiums are a great fit. Just a short walk to two different light rail stations, the Lofts at Orchidhouse really are close to just about anything you could want. Great restaurants, shops, ASU, Sky Harbor International Airport, the Phoenix Zoo, Tempe Town Lake and much, much more. ( Click here to see homes for sale at the Lofts at Orchidhouse. )

The Artisan Lofts on Central in Phoenix is another building that I think is pretty darn cool. Built in 2004, these 40 condominiums are located at 1326 North Central Avenue between Roosevelt and McDowell in Phoenix. As far as the convenience of living near the light rail line, the Artisan Lofts are about as good as it gets. Just a short distance between the McDowell and the Roosevelt light rail stations, residents enjoy all that living near the METRO has to offer. Another bonus to living at the Artisan Lofts if the ultra-cool Cheauvront's Restaurant and Wine Bar which is located on the ground floor. ( Click here to see homes for sale at Artisan )

The many different types of housing located along the 20 mile stretch of the Phoenix Light Rail line allow people to search for lofts, condos, single family, historic, high rise and just about any type of home you could want. From very affordable to the lap of luxury, there is a place for just about anyone. Take a look around…

View Homes Near METRO light Rail in a larger map

My friend Diane always has a way with words... I would love to see what people have to say about the appraisal "issues" we face in today's market.

Heck, we had challenges with values on the way up and we had challenges on the way down.

Who said this was gonna' be easy? :)

Recently, I found the Metro 1 Townhomes in Phoenix located a bit North of the 19th Avenue and Camelback light rail station. According to the Metro 1 Townhomes web site, their community is eligible for the “Your Way Home Arizona” financing assistance. Never heard of Your Way Home Arizona? The “Your Way Home Arizona” program has also been called “NSP” or the “Neighborhood Stabilization Program” which provides down payment assistance to qualified homebuyers purchasing an eligible foreclosed home in Arizona. Yes, they have a bunch of rules and yes, there are income, educational and other requirements for this program. For Your Way Home Arizona, the down payment assistance is only available for FORECLOSED homes.

From what I have been told, the program has been met with luke-warm response because of some of the restrictions. The fact that a home must meet certain criteria concerning it’s condition and value has kept some people from utilizing the program.

I took this short video while checking out one of the model homes at the Metro 1 Townhomes. ( They are also called Metro Manor ) Take a look, it might be a little different than what many people think of when they think of a foreclosed property…

The city of Tempe made national headlines this past week as a section of the Tempe Town Lake dam burst causing nearly a BILLION gallons of water to run down the river leaving behind a moody mess.

The rubber dam built by Bridgestone burst near 10pm Tuesday evening. Within minutes of the dam bursting people called 911, warning sirens filled the air and the stories begin to hit the news channels. Hearing the news, I called my friend, Michael Monti who owns the landmark Tempe restaurant Monti’s La Casa Vieja. Michael and his business partner were on the scene with Paul from another one of my favorite local places to eat, the Chuck Box. Paul is very involved with the DTC and told us that the dam had been scheduled for replacement this year. Ironically, work was to have started the following day. Mayor Hallman says he is very thankful that none had started the work as it obviously could have been disastrous.

The pics below are from the news conference held the next morning and from shots of the Tempe Town Lake less than a day after the dam burst. I have been following the news of the story closely as the Mill Avenue District and the Tempe Town lake area are places that I enjoy very much. This lake means a lot to our city and to the region. Plans call for the lake to be filled by November.

The videos below show Mayor Hallman’s press conference from the morning after the damn dam broke and a few shots from the top floor of the Hayden Ferry building. If you want to see some of the recent stories from the local and national press concerning the Tempe Town Lake dam bursting you can follow along on this post titled “Dam Bursts at Tempe Town Lake.” We will try to add news stories and information as it becomes available. Anyone that has photos from around the Tempe Town Lake can add them to a Flickr group I just made called Tempe Town Lake Dam.

The annual Camelot Village 4th of July party was once again a great success. The neighborhood looks forward to this parade each year and it is cool to see so many people from the area come together to celebrate together. This year, the parade was held on the 3rd of July which will give all of us more time for family and friends on the 4th. :)

I’ve talked before about the “Camelot Corner” and about how much we love this area. While this is mainly a Camelot Village parade, some of our neighbors from the surrounding area sometimes participate which is another thing that makes for a great community. We are also fortunate to have support from our local police and fire departments as they typically send an officer and a fire truck to ride in our parade.

As you can see below, I tried to do a short video to give people a feel for what the parade is like. Unfortunately, I am not the greatest “video guy” and it turned out more Blair Witch than I would have liked. I tried to shoot with a small hand held camera while walking in the parade and some ( ok, a lot ) of it is kind of choppy. The video is only a couple of minutes and some of it won’t make you dizzy. :) Even though I am not Steven Spielberg, you should get an idea of how this small Tempe neighborhood comes together each year on the 4th.

Each year, Camelot Village residents gather in a church parking lot that is within the community. The parade begins once we are gathered, the fire truck and police “escort” arrives and the kids all line up with bikes decorated in full July 4th glory. Occasionally, people will decorate cars, ATV’s, old trucks etc and drive along in the parade. We walk through the neighborhood where some residents line the streets to waive, throw candy etc. The parade ends at Stroud park which is “our” community park where we have music, cook food, play games and have some fun. The fire department will often park their big truck at the park and the kids always have fun with that. For food, many people bring a dish to share and we always have someone grilling burgers / hotdogs etc. My kids LOVE the snow cone machine that it set up. I think one of the twins had 3 snow cones. :) Neighboring businesses and some residents usually donate items for a fun raffle and the funds are used for more community events etc. Big thanks to Mac’s Broiler and Tap for their generosity. The owners are really nice people from our community and they make some mean grub!

The map below shows the area that I call the Camelot Corner. Camelot Village is the larger of the neighborhoods listed and is in the approximate middle of this community. The red dots represent some of the neighboring businesses.

View Camelot Corner Tempe AZ in a larger map

Where ever you are this weekend, I hope you have a GREAT time. I wish you a very Happy 4th of July. God bless America!