Scottsdale Arizona Real Estate Blog

16600 N Thompson Peak Pkwy #2011 • Scottsdale, AZ 85260

MLS# 4763155              Offered at $199,500

Spectacular end unit with fantastic mountain views. Kitchen with oak cabinets, smooth top stove, refrigerator, garbage disposal, microwave and pantry. Split floor plan with walk-in closets in both bedrooms, gas fireplace and balconies off the dining room and second bedroom. 1 car garage plus guest parking right in front. Located in a gated community with a private recreation center for residents which includes a heated pool, spa and fitness/workout facility! Close to shopping, restaurants, parks, McDowell Sonoran Preserve, Aquatic Center, Library, and Westworld. This home was primarily a second home and is extremely clean.

 Property Amenities:

•2 Bedrooms

•2 Baths

•1,334 sq. ft.

•1 Car Garage

•Fireplace in Family Room

•Covered Patio

•Carpet, Tile Flooring

•Heated Community Pool and Spa

•Kitchen Features: Electric Range/Oven, Disposal,

Dishwasher, Built-in Microwave, Refrigerator, Pantry

•Master Bedroom: Walk-in Closet, Full Bath with

Double Sinks

•Formal Dining Area, Breakfast Bar

•Great Room

For More Information contact:

Andrew Holm

480-206-4265

Metro Phoenix’s commercial real-estate market had a banner day on May 11. Investors closed on deals worth more than $180 million for warehouses, apartments and vacant land.

The Black Creek Group of Denver bought two warehouses, one leased to Amazon.com, in Phoenix’s Riverside Industrial Complex. It paid nearly $132 million for the buildings located on nearly 100 acres, according to the commercial real-estate foreclosure research and data firm Vizzda.

The second-biggest deal on May 11 was the $41 million sale of the Scottsdale Gateway apartments. Also closed that day was the $7.4 million purchase of 2,400 acres of land in the Buckeye development Elianto.

The region is drawing both more residential and commercial development, and prices are rising for all types of real estate. Do the big deals that closed on May 11 signal the commercial market is roaring back? Experts say no, particularly for the office market.

Apartments have been popular among investors since metro Phoenix’s rental market rebounded more than a year ago, and vacant residential land is becoming a popular purchase again as homebuilding in the area begins to increase. The industrial buildings purchased were a good buy because of the tenants. Home Depot is leasing the other warehouse purchased.

But still, $180 million invested in metro Phoenix’s commercial real-estate market in one day is worth noting.

Mortgage-scam complaint filed

The Arizona attorney general has filed a complaint against a Surprise woman in another scheme to take advantage of struggling homeowners.

The state prosecutor has filed a lawsuit against Rosa Galope alleging she defrauded homeowners looking for help in obtaining mortgage modifications to avoid foreclosure.

“The economic crisis has created a number of vulnerable consumers who are often targeted for predatory schemes,” Attorney General Tom Horne aid.

The lawsuit alleges Galope charged thousands of dollars in up-front fees for mortgage-loan modification and foreclosure help, and then later claimed the money was donated to her church, Nation to Nation Ministries. The lawsuit also contends Galope told her clients not to communicate with their lenders and to send her any mortgage payments.

Galope is accused of keeping the funds from her clients and endorsing checks made payable to lenders and cashing them at a local check-cashing store.

Downtown Scottsdale is adding to its menu of locally owned restaurants with three new eateries scheduled to open in the next few months.

First up will be Rehab Burger Therapy, tentatively set to open Monday in the space vacated by Bonfire Grill and Bar, at 7210 E. Second St. in downtown Scottsdale. Bonfire opened in spring 2011 and closed early this year.

The proprietors of Rehab Burger Therapy are Wiley Arnett, Ken Likewise and Denise Nelson, who had been with Oregano’s Pizza Bistro for the past 18 years. They decided to strike out on their own when Oregano’s relocated its downtown Scottsdale restaurant to the former home of Sugar Daddy’s at 3102 N. Scottsdale Road.

“After an 18-year run, we had a very amicable split,” Arnett said. “We’re just excited to be doing our own thing.”

The trio are “warm and fuzzy” on Old Town and wanted their first restaurant to be in that neighborhood. With Oregano’s shifting into growth mode, the trio wanted to get back to a “grass-roots thing” and take their time developing a new restaurant concept, Arnett said.

Rehab Burger Therapy will have a laid-back, tropical atmosphere with “good food, nice drinks and the best burger in town,” he said. It will initially employ 20 to 25 people, he said.

“We hope to have three to five locations over the next four to six years,” Arnett said. “We want to keep it grass-roots and local.”

In the meantime, one of Scottsdale’s oldest homes, at 6936 E. Main St., is being converted into The House, the latest restaurant by partners Brian Raab, Terry Ellisor and chef Matt Carter. Their other restaurants include Zinc Bistro and The Mission.

“The house looks like a little gingerbread house,” Raab said. “It will be a world cafe, with a homey, warm feel. Hopefully in mid-summer it will be up and running. It’s hard to turn an old home into a restaurant, so we don’t really know when we’re going to open.”

Because the house is small, most of the seating will be outdoors, he said.

In late June, restaurateur Dave Andrea is opening Brat Haus in the location vacated by Oregano’s, on Scottsdale Road north of Osborn Road. At last week’s meeting of the Scottsdale City Council’s subcommittee on economic development, Andrea talked about all the new, locally owned restaurants that are coming to the downtown area.

“The area has definitely seen a positive upswing and it’s a testament to the health of business that people who already have a business are opening a second location,” he said. “If things were not going well where they are now, they wouldn’t be expanding, so they’re obviously bullish on Scottsdale.”

Carol Robbins was convinced she wanted to live at Maravilla Scottsdale when she went to monthly wine and cheese parties the senior resort community had for potential residents the past three years.

Robbins, 81, was one of the first residents to move into Maravilla Scottsdale at Princess Drive and Scottsdale Road since it opened May 1.

“I said to myself, ‘Would I want to live with these people?’ ” Robbins said recently. “And I did. No one was pompous or a braggart.”

Maravilla Scottsdale is one of three entrance-fee luxury retirement communities that have opened in the Northeast Valley in the past two years, providing a wide choice of senior-living options for wealthy retirees. The other rental retirement communities to open are Bellmont Village Scottsdale and Arte’.

The Senior Resource Group of San Diego said it spent in excess of $100 million building Maravilla. It includes the Ironwood Grill restaurant open 12 hours per day, two Internet lounges, a movie theater, spa, fitness center and indoor pool.

The Chicago-based Vi company opened the 270-unit Vi at Silverstone in September 2010 at Pinnacle Peak and Scottsdale roads on the site of the former Rawhide theme park.

Sagewood, with 278 residences, was developed in a joint venture between Life Care Services of Des Moines, Iowa, and the Westminster Funds. It opened two years ago at Tatum and Mayo boulevards.

Tom Mertensmeyer, president of Senior Financial Benefits, a Valley financial-services firm, said the three large entrance-fee retirement communities have offered incentives to buyers but have not generally cut prices despite the downturn in the real-estate market.

The three communities are not priced for the average retiree. A potential resident must have a net worth at least two times higher than the buy-in fee to qualify, he said.

Maravilla Scottsdale’s entrance fee starts at nearly $240,000.

Maravilla Scottsdale has a continuum of care for its residents in 118 independent-living homes and 39 casitas. It also has 36 assisted-living residences and 24 units for Alzheimer’s and dementia care.

Maravilla has partnered with Scottsdale Healthcare for an on-site clinic headed by Sherry Verges, a registered nurse.

Bob and Elaine Shower of Carefree, who plan to move into Maravilla in August, said they chose the community because of the assured care they would have if either one of them become ill.

“This is the last move we will make and we can stay here and be taken care of,” said Bob, 74.

“It’s not a bad way to live,” said Elaine, 70, who has been in the Arabian horse business for decades.

“We’re going to be pampered for the rest of our lives in a five-star resort,” she said of Maravilla.

The Showers bought a 2,100-square-foot casita at Maravilla.

Residents have a choice of entrance-fee options and 10 choices for independent-living residences.

A one-bedroom, one-bath home of 900 square feet has a monthly fee of $1,900. A new resident could pay a minimum entrance fee of $238,700 with no refund to the estate.

A $341,000 entrance fee for the same unit would yield a 50 percentrefund to the estate or a 90 percent refund for a $481,000 entrance fee.

A two-bedroom, 21/2-bath casita of 2,050 square feet, with a den, has a monthly fee of $3,260. The entrance fee ranges from $533,400 for the zero-refund option to $1 million for the 90 percent refund.

Residents can get a full refund within the first six months if they choose to move out for any reason, said Tim Cowen, Maravilla’s executive director.

Residents range in age from 62, the minimum age, to 88 with an average age of 73, he said.

“It’s a real joy seeing relationships form in this lifestyle,” said Cowen, adding that there are a lot of activities where residents can socialize.

About 85 percent of the residents are from the Scottsdale or Phoenix area.

The Senior Resource Group, which started in 1988, has seven communities in Arizona, including the Village at Ocotillo in Chandler, La Siena in Phoenix and Hawthorn Court in Ahwatukee.

Maravilla Scottsdale was designed by Allen+Phelp architects of Scottsdale and Cheryl Rowley Interiors, and was built by the Weitz Co.

WASHINGTON – Average rates for 30-year and 15-year fixed mortgages fell to record lows for a third straight week.

The steady decline has made home-buying and refinancing more affordable than ever for those who can qualify.

Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac says the average rate on 30-year loans dipped to 3.79%. That’s down from 3.83% last week and the lowest since long-term mortgages began in the 1950s.

The 15-year mortgage, a popular option for refinancing, declined to 3.04%. That’s down from last week’s previous record of 3.05%.

Rates on 30-year loans have been below 4% since early December. But so far, those cheap rates haven’t been enough to ignite home sales.

While sales of previously occupied homes picked up in January and February, they fell again in March and remain well below healthy levels.

Low mortgage rates have helped boost builder confidence, which rose in May to a five-year high. And home construction has improved in the past six months, a reflection of that increase in confidence.

Builders broke ground in April at a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 717,000 homes, the government reported Wednesday. That nearly matches January’s pace, which was the best since October 2008.

Construction rose for both single-family homes and apartments. And builders requested more permits to build single-family homes, a sign they expect more demand in the coming months.

Still, many would-be buyers can’t qualify for loans or afford higher down payments required by banks.

In addition, home prices in many cities continue to fall. That has made those who can afford to buy uneasy about entering the market. And for those who are willing to brave the troubled market, many have already taken advantage of lower rates — mortgage rates have been below 5% for more than a year.

Mortgage rates are lower because they tend to track the yield on 10-year Treasury notes. Slower U.S. job growth and uncertainty about how Europe will resolve its debt crisis have led investors to buy more Treasurys, which are considered safe investments. As demand for Treasurys increases, the yield falls.

To calculate its average rates, Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the country on Monday through Wednesday each week.

The average rage does not include extra fees, known as points, which most borrowers must pay to get the lowest rates. One point equals 1% of the loan amount.

The average fee for 30-year loans was 0.7 last week, unchanged from the previous week. The fee on 15-year loans also was 0.7, the same as the previous week.

A development group acquired 29 acres of state trust land at an auction Tuesday morning for $10.2 million.

The winning bidder for the site at Scottsdale Road and Mayo Boulevard was BCB Group Investments LLC, with broker Walt Brown Jr.

There were no other bidders, although two other firms had signed up in advance indicating they would do so: Cavan Management Company LLC with broker Pete Bolton; and Iris Consulting Group LLC with broker Sean Bishop.

The minimum bid for the commercial land was $10.2 million or $348,051 per acre for 29.37 acres.

Brown submitted plans to Scottsdale this spring to develop two car dealerships on the site, which is just south of Loop 101 and east of the Scottsdale 101 shopping center.

The auction was held at the Arizona State Land Department, which manages more than 9.2 million acres of state trust land. Most of the trust land revenue benefits Arizona schools.

The owner of the Mountain Shadows resort in Paradise Valley has defaulted on his loan but says the long-shuttered property’s redevelopment will move forward.

A trustee’s sale for the resort has been set for July 26.

However, officials with California-based Crown Realty and Development Inc., say that the firm wants to avoid the foreclosure, and is negotiating with lender U.S. Bank Special Assets Groupon a resolution.

Crown Realty, owned by Robert Flaxman, also developed the InterContinental Montelucia Resort & Spa in Paradise Valley, which defaulted on a $180 million loan about three years ago.

Flaxman owes at least $360,000 in taxes on the Mountain Shadows property, according the the Maricopa County Treasurer’s Office.

Jason Rose, a spokesman for Crown Realty, said if they are successful in negotiations, there will be no sale. If they are not, Crown can bid on the property at the auction.

“They are optimistic about a resolution,” Rose said. “They feel confident in a favorable resolution with the bank that will translate into a favorable re-development of Mountain Shadows for the town.”

Dozens of residents showed up for a preliminary presentation of their plans for re-developing the resort, at a Town Council meeting Thursday afternoon.

The plan includes resort hotel, residential, golf and retail facilities.

At the meeting, Flaxman, said his firm plans to work through the loan default.

He bought the 68-acre property from Host Marriott Corp. for $42 million, in January 2007. Host Marriott Corp. is now known as Host Hotels & Resorts.

“We are committed to this project and plan to see it through,” Flaxman said.

Town Manager Jim Bacon said Crown Realty has had an application on file with Paradise Valley for several years.

The firm plans to submit a revised application this week.

“The owner has the right to move forward with an application,” Bacon said, whether the property is in default or not.

The Mountain Shadows resort, which remains closed at 56th Street and Lincoln Drive, has drawn potential re-development possibilities in recent months.

Residents became hopeful when Phoenix-based JDM Partners, co-owned by sports mogul Jerry Colangelo, entered into a purchase agreement for Mountain Shadows in December.

JDM’s projects include Chase Field, US Airways Center,Comerica Theatre and the remodel of the Wigwam resort in Litchfield Park, which represented the company’s first foray into the hospitality industry.

However, the firm announced last month that it was unable to reach a final agreement with Crown Realty and is no longer under contract for the property.

JDM officials provided no more information, citing a confidentiality provision in the purchase agreement.

Optima Inc, the developers of Optima Camelview Village purchased an abandoned 9.87-acre apartment complex on the SE corner of Scottsdale Road and 68th Street, and will turn it into luxury condominiums. Optima Sonoran Village will include 493 residential units and 40,000 square feet of commercial, retail and amenity space. Four out of five buildings are going to be seven stories high, and one will have five stories. All of these buildings will be surrounded by two beautiful courtyards. Optima Sonoran Village will most likely have its first residents in 2013.

Four out of the five buildings are going to be seven stories high, and one will have five stories. All of these buildings will be surrounded by two courtyards. There will also be two levels of underground parking. Optima Sonoran Village will offer a higher ratio of parking to bedrooms than its sister buildings Optima Biltmore Towers and Optima Camelview Village as both of those buildings seem to have less than ideal parking available.

Optima Sonoran Village will be perfectly located in Scottsdale close to some of the finest shopping, restaurants and spas in North America. The complex is couple of blocks away from the upscale Kierland and Scottsdale 101 shopping. Scottsdale Fashion Square is only 15 minutes away with some of the finest stores such as Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom, along with European designer boutiques. Just to the south is the Phoenix Mountain Preserve with many trails throughout: these are great for hiking and mountain biking.

Piet Boon has a new look for north Scottsdale homes.

The Dutch designer and K. Hovnanian Homes are unveiling a line of contemporary semi-custom homes this weekend at Pinnacle Peak Place, a mile from of the city’s iconic peak.

A four-bedroom model home opens Saturday in this gated community northeast of Pima and Happy Valley roads. Prices range from $700,000 to $820,000. The interior of the 3,874-square-foot model home stands out with its stark white walls, modern lines and an abundance of disappearing glass walls and outdoor living space. That includes a reflecting pond in a breezeway, infinity-edge pool and a shower and soaking tub outside the master bathroom.

“The desert view is so incredible,” Boon said in explaining the openness of his Arizona designs.

“It’s so different with the boulders and cactus.”

Boon is an interior and furniture designer based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, with an international list of clients.

Boon joined with K. Hovnanian Homes, based in Red Bank, N.J., a year ago to create the builder’s Line K of contemporary homes with its rollout in Scottsdale.

The result is a design that runs counter to the sameness of the Tuscan, Mediterranean and Spanish architecture so common in the gated communities across Scottsdale.

“We think there are people who are tired of Tuscan, tired of the traditional styles here,” said Jack McSweeney, K. Hovnanian Homes Phoenix Group director of architecture.

It is a design that will appeal to younger buyers who are used to a more modern aesthetic as well as to Baby Boomers, he said.

The stonework and the exterior color schemes at Pinnacle Peak Place are similar to the surrounding homes but the sleeker lines and optional metal roof are less common for the area.

Pinnacle Peak Place was first developed in 2006 by the Pivotal Group Inc. and Geoffrey H. Edmunds & Associates Inc.

It was to include 80 homes on 124 acres.

In those boom times, the homesites were priced from $395,000 to $975,000, and homes of 4,000 to 6,000 square feet were offered at $1.5 million to $3 million.

Twenty-one homes were built, including a $3.3 million property in October 2007, but much of the community remains undeveloped.

K. Hovnanian Homes has 26 lots that it acquired earlier this year, McSweeney said.

It is offering three models with variations in floor plans.

All of them include four bedrooms, three-car garages and 31/2 or 41/2 bathrooms.

Prices start at $700,000 for a home of 3,305 square feet up to $820,000 for 3,874 square feet. Each lot is close to an acre in size.