North Phoenix Agent Blog

There’s some disagreement in the general public about whether cleaning your home’s ducts is actually worthwhile. Some say the air circulating through the ducts surely cleans them out. Others swear by duct cleaning, saying it improves overall circulation and even prevents the build up of microbes and mold inside the ducts.

I won’t weigh in on the debate, but will say if you’re going to clean your home’s ductwork, at least use someone who’s certified to do so. Recently one of my sellers agreed to clean the ducts during a buyer’s inspection negotiation, or BINSR period. We used Ductz Indoor Air Professionals and I recommend them. Here’s some of the info from their brochures:

1. Children are more likely than adults to be affected by polluted indoor air (Dept of Consumer Affairs)
2. The EPA claims indoor air has been found to be up to 70% more polluted than outdoor air
3. Air ducts contain more germs than chicken coops (American Lung Association)
4. A build up of 0.42 inches of dirt on a heating or cooling coil can result in a decrease in efficiency of 21% (EPA)

Vince DiVarco handled the duct cleaning for my seller and I; ou can contact Vince at 623-466-8625. He was a good communicator, very knoweldgeable about his job, and extremely careful to protect the seller’s home from his equipment. Vince set up a portable generator and the hosing systems needed to attach to each duct in the home. Vince brought along rubber corner protectors that he placed on the corners of the bookcases. He wore paper booties to protect the flooring from tracking unwanted dirt inside. The whole setup took about an hour or so for a 1900 square foot, 2 story townhome. The cleaning actually took less time than the setup and tear-down of the equipment.

The Ductz brochure indicates the benefits of a good cleaning last 3 or 4 years. The cost was $395. Ductz also offers additional services: duct sealing, deodorizing blocks that suck odors out of the air, dryer vent cleaning and air duct sanitizing.

Did it work? I can’t say. Vince & Ductz have the statistical information to back up what their claims about how important clean ducts are. I’m sure there will continue to be people who think duct cleaning is a silly thing to do. But the Buyer was happy. Given our current marketplace where it’s so incredibly difficult to sell a home, I count that as a success.

I realize that Sleep America isn’t really local in the sense I usually use the term “Favorite Local Vendor”. They have 40 locations across Arizona and I usually reserve the term for local, one-store only, Mom-and-Pop shops.

Today I wanted to highlight the excellent customer service on display at the Biltmore area Sleep America. One recent hot day I spent the day fussing arout getting a new listing staged. The owner/seller happened to have a bunch of model home furniture (long story) and wanted to use it, rather than renting furnishings from one of my favorite local staging companies (Staging Solutions, LLC).

Movers brought the stuff in, but I had to place it all and put the beds together. Started on the beds after several hours shuffling the rest of the furnishings around. Yikes! I realized I didn’t have the proper sets of bolts and so forth. I’m a total girl, I don’t know what these things are called. bolts? screws? nuts? I’m sure they weren’t nails. But I digress.

I went around the corner to the local Sleep America store, thinking, “surely they sell these bolt thingys that I need, they’re a bed store, right?”  Well, no. NotSoMuch. Duh! I should have known I needed to go to a hardware store. But it had been a long hot day. I plead exhaustion and dehydration.

The very nice man manning the counters told me they didn’t sell bolts. But then he said, “Come on back to the register. We’ve got a toolbox full of spare parts. Maybe we’ll have what you need.” In the end, the exceptionally nice crew of the Biltmore Sleep America sent me on my way with a free set of 4 bolts and washer thingys plus an ice-cold bottle of water. That’s customer service!

Need help picking a new bed set? Visit the Biltmore Sleep America crew. They do customer service the way it should be - above and beyond. They offer products by Sealy, Simmons, Serta, Tempur-pedic, Select Comfort (the “sleep number” people), Kingsdown and Stearns & Foster. Deliveries 7 days a week. Plus they’re green! Sleep America will donate your old mattress to the St. Vincent de Paul Society upon your request and provide you with the tax deductible receipt.

From one of my favorite home inspectors, Jason Farrier of Elite Home Inspections, LLC. You can reach Jason at (602) 793-0123. Or try Jason’s custom home building skills out when you’re building your dream home.

Consumerism is the name of the game in the US, and people who have been participants for any length of time usually end up with more things than they can comfortably fit into their living spaces. So the items which are no longer in regular use but are too valuable to toss or give to good will often head for garage storage.

This system, however, has one major drawback; if enough things make their way to the garage, the garage stops being a garage and turns into a garage storage unit. It may become so overloaded that it cannot even be closed, or have pathways between boxes and furniture by which people can access what they are looking for.

Eventually, however, most homeowners with overstuffed garages surrender to the reality that they need to do a garage storage cleanup. And those who do will help themselves a great deal by realizing that if they haven’t used some of the things in the garage since they were tucked away months or even years ago, they are not likely to use them in the future. It definitely makes the throwing-out process much less painful.

Getting Started  -  If your day of reckoning with your garage storage problem has finally come, arm yourself with the biggest, strongest trash bags you can find, and prepare to be merciless. If you have a van or truck into which you can place each bag as it is filled, even better.

If you have someone who can drive the truck or van to the nearest good will center as soon as it is filled, even better still. The more distance you can put between yourself and the things which constituted your garage storage problem, the easier it will be.

Re-Organizing  -  When you have eliminated all the things you can no longer use from the garage storage equation, it’s time to re-organize the rest. If you find things that really belong elsewhere in your house, put them in cartons marked with the names of their final destination, and get them out of the way.

Break down the remaining garage storage items according to their uses; place like near like. Paints, thinners, brushes and roller pans can go together; grass seed, lawn feeder, and other gardening necessities can go together. Just keep going until you have a place for everything, and everything is in its place.

When you’ve reached that point, you’ll be in a much better position to determine if its time to upgrade your garage with new garage storage cabinets and wall shelves. More importantly, you’ll have the room to do it!

If you know someone in need of a home inspection please contact Jason Farrier at 602-234-9233 or visit Elite Home Inspections LLC on the web.

Ladies, have you been looking for a great nail tech? Look no further (at least if you’re in the North Phoenix area). Carrie Chairez at Knotty Image Salon is an acrylic nail artisan. She doesn’t use a drill, ever. Carrie does it all by hand, from scratch and with an eye to detail that you just can’t hardly find anymore.

I’ve had trouble over the years with the nails lifting, which Carrie just recently helped me figure out was due to my obsession with applying cuticle cream during the day. But before we figured that out, Carrie took the time to adjust the acrylic solution, the undercoat, the primer, and the length, shape and thickness of the nails. Essentially Carrie’s been doing my nails differently every time, for months now, all because she really cares that they’re right.   Plus, she guaranteed my most recent full set for 2 weeks against breakage.

The price list and contact info is below. If you need a reputable nail tech in the North Phoenix area, you can’t go wrong with Carrie Chairez.

Knotty Image Salon
602 W Union Hills Dr #6
Phoenix AZ 85027
623.434.9899

NE corner of Union Hills & 7th Street

They do hair, tanning & waxing as well as nails. Prices are:

• Acrylic full set  - from $40
• Fill in / Back fill - from $25/$35
• 1 Tan - $6
• 5 Tans - $25
• 20 Tans - $75, monthly package available
• Eyebrow Wax - from $12
• Leg Wax, half/full - From $30/$70
• Haircut, Mens - From $15
• Haircut, Womens - From $20
• Haircut, Kids ages 10 and under - From $10

Travis & Angela from Integrity Cleaning Systems are my favorite carpet cleaners in town. Integrity does a bunch of other services too. Call them at 602-486-3966 if you’re in need of:

• Carpet Cleaning
• Upholstery Cleaning
• Tile & Grout Cleaning & Sealing
• Natural Stone Honing, Cleaning, Polishing & Sealing (stone counters, anyone?)
• Area Rug Cleaning
• Allergy Relief and Mattress Cleaning

I used Travis to clean my own carpet within the last year. He’s great! He did minor furniture moving for me, and includes steam-cleaning the baseboards in the cleaning package I ordered. He uses industrial strength blowers to help shorten the drying time too. My carpet was grey when he started, and beautifully white and clean when he finished. Best of all, it was dry that evening. He even worked around my cats! Integrity Carpet Cleaning is a locally owned & operated, and I’ve never seen a guy work harder to ensure customer satisfaction.

Did You Know? You should clean your carpets every 6 months. Call Travis to find out what kind of gunk builds up if you wait longer than that. It ain’t pretty!

Related Posts:

1. Discounts on Paint
2. Recycle When You Remodel
3. B & B Appliances

My good friend Chris Butterworth has a great post about how to paint a razor-sharp straight line when you’re painting with bold colors.

For several years, the interior paint trend has been sliding down the in-store color chips, towards bolder, bright, more saturated hues. Home buyers are demanding more windows, higher ceilings, and “light and bright” has become so overused in MLS ads that it’s almost the sort of trite ‘code’ where buyers have learned to read between the lines. “Charming” means exceptionally small. “Plenty of cupboard space” means galley kitchen. And “light and bright” means you can probably navigate through the house without turning on an industrial strength spotlight.

In any case, if you want to try today’s hipper, bolder colors on your walls, read Chris’ advice post first. Wondering what colors will look good? My favorite painting advisor, Noelle Carpenter at Certa Pro Painters gave me some tips on choosing colors (Noelle’s phone is (480) 962-8180 x125). See below for a list of popular paints chosen often by their customers. Or for the easily overwhelmed, visit their website to see Certa’s expert-recommended color palettes, a collection of 4 different families of hues that mix & match well. (These are all Dunn Edwards brand paints. Click here to locate a DE store near you.)

Want a bold brown? Try Cup of Cocoa (taupe-y), Florentine Clay (reddish), Pumpkin Butter (less orange than the name implies and really pretty). Ready to really get your brown on? Opt for the double bold by choosing Warm Nutmeg (taupe-y), Traditional Leather (almost the color of a Hershey bar), or Cinnamon Spice (a bit on the reddish side and a shade darker than actual cinnamon).

Seeking a soothing blue? Quiet Moment, Provence and China Pattern are popular choices. Quiet Moment is the palest, and a little on the warmish side. Provence is a clear robin’s egg blue and China Pattern is the deepest.

Going for the green? Certa Pro gets a lot of customer requests for Soothing Celadon (a cool pastel) and Lime Juice (a warm pastel). Good mid-range greens include Crisp Celery (a warm yellowish green), Green Tea (coolish mid-range green), and Dried Chervil (a neutral medium green). For bolder greens, choose Herbal Scent (clear green), Sage Green (grayish blue) or Rosemary Sprig (the darkest of the bunch, and what I think of when someone says ‘library green’).

A great way to test paint is to buy a quart of the color you think you’d like. Paint 1 or 2 walls in the chosen room with a swath of that color measuring about 4 feet square. Live with it for a couple of days; check it out in different lights. Like it? Go buy Blue Tape, read Chris’ post again and go for it. Don’t like it? Grab a primer, a new quart of bold colored paint, and try again.

Once in a while, the software vendor who provides our local area MLS uses a popup window to provide Relators and others using the MLS software with what they think is critical information. The info is rarely interesting but usually useful. Today it was both.

It’s probably no surprise that green pools are becoming a hazard around the Valley. The number of foreclosures, lender-owned, and otherwise uncared for vacant homes with icky pools is growing. Green pools are breeding grounds for mosquitos, which are carriers of the West Nile Virus.

Maricopa County Vector Conrol (I’d have thought it was Pest Control or even Animal Control, but it seems not) has a hotline for information. Plus they have mosquito eating fish to stock your neighborhood green pool with. From the press release:

“Drain the pools or use mosquito eating fish at foreclosed homes and help Maricopa County “Fight the Bite”. Standing water attracts mosquitoes, and non-operational decorative ponds and “green pools” can dangerously become potential mosquito breeding grounds. This year, Maricopa County recorded it’s first confirmed case of West Nile Virus in a human in March. That was the first identified case in the nation for 2008. Contact the Maricopa County Vector Control office to pick up Gambusia fish, a door hanger and fence sign stating the pool has been treated with mosquito eating fish. Then report the treated pool to the County. For assistance or more information on West Nile Virus, please contact Vector Control at 602-506-0701 or visit Maricopa County’s West Nile Virus website.”

However, see also this website, which claims that Gambusia fish are a nuisance in their own right. Me? I’m worried about fishies “breathing” chlorinated water. Hope Vector Control has thought of that. By the way, I’m also concerned about the County’s press release writer. I edited the paragraph for run-on sentences, mis-used commas, and noun-verb disagreement before posting it. But then again, I’m weird like that.

Related Post

Chris Butterworth of Thompson’s Realty on dealing with vacant foreclosure homes near yours

One of my favorite sayings is “They call it real estate beige because it sells houses.” Don’t know where it came from. Brilliant as I am, I’m 100% certain that I’m not the first one to say it. But it is true. The most inexpensive high-return thing you can do when selling your home is slap on a fresh coat of paint. Do the baseboards, trim and doors while you’re at it. Expect it to cost about $1.15 to $1.30 per square foot (use your home’s total square footage here).

So what’s Real Estate Beige? These are some good beige tones from Dunn Edwards.

Swiss Coffee, Pearl White, Pale Wheat and Cottage White are all going to look like a nice off-white once the job is done. Same with the old standby Navajo White.  Swiss Coffee & Navajo White are in the taupe-y color family. Pearl White has a bit more yellowish undertone and Cottage White has a beige-tan undertone. If the room you’re painting gets lots of sun, you might be happier with Swiss Coffee, Pearl White or Najavo White.

Whisper and White Beach are nice yellow whites. Whisper is paler, White Beach is a creamy color about like a manilla folder. Little sun and/or a north facing room? The yellow undertones in Whisper and Pale Wheat will help warm up the room.

Ready for a bolder beige that’s a notch above off-white? Try Quicksand (yellowish undertones), Sandcastle or Inside Passage (mustard-y undertones), English Scone (brick red and pink undertones), Sandy Beach (peachy undertones), or Golden Gate (grayish beige undertones).

Want bolder still?! Try Gourmet Honey or Warm Buttersotch which are the darker hues of Inside Passage (yellowish brown tones). Or for beige with a little ruddy, reddish undertone try Travertine, Stonish Beige or Colorado Trail (listed in order from paler to deeper). Finally, Brichwood, Trail Dust and Mesa Tan are good taupe-y grayish beiges with a deeper tone than Sandcastle.

Want help choosing a color? Noelle Carpenter is a fabulous estimator for local company Certa Pro Painters and she offers excellent color-choosing help. You can contact me for her phone number or email her at nCarpenter@CertaPro.com.

Staging a home for sale is pretty close to vital these days in metro Phoenix. For most folks the professional stager’s recommendations will include de-cluttering. Here are some of the most common de-cluttering tips.

• Remove half of everything on bookshelves
• Remove half of the clothes from each closet
• Make sure remaining hanging closet items are neatly arranged by season and/or color
• Make sure other remaining closet items are neatly boxed and/or stacked and labeled
• Straighten up your pantry with labels facing out, items alphabetized and neatly stacked
• Remove all family portraits from walls & fridge
• If you’re leaving the fridge, straighten and declutter it too. No mystery leftovers!

Tips for Bachelors Only
Guys, I’m sure you’re exceedingly happy in your bachelor life and I celebrate your desire to remain unhitched. But it’s a weird truism  that most homebuyers are single women or married couples. And you know from watching your married buddies that the wife makes all the decisions. So cater to her when you’re trying to sell your swingin’ bachelor pad.

• Borrow some women’s clothes and hang them in half your closet
• Put a few candles and fake green plants on dressers and side tables
• Talk to a professional stager or Realtor who’s a Certified Home Marketing Specialist to discuss ways to disguise your ginormous TV
• Do laundry frequently so the closet doesn’t smell like a high school gym locker
• Wipe down the bathroom counters and shower daily to remove hair and water spots
• Hide to Keg-erator fridge and put some real food in your fridge (condiments and beer do not count)

This sounds like a lot of work, no? And a  big pain in the neck. But the bigger pain in the neck is sitting on the market for months and months and never selling. There are no guarantees in life or real estate, but staging your home will exponentially boost the odds that you’ll sell while others don’t.

I’ve recommended a good deal of packing. Where to put the stuff??! And why do I have to pack before I even sell the house!?? First, you’re going to pack it anyway so you might as well get a head start. Second, Pods.com and BoxCart.com will help you with portable storage needs. And if you sign up with the Valley’s best Realtor (me!) I can get you 3 months of storage free with one of Coldwell Banker’s participating Concierge moving companies.

So that’s it for now. More on staging later. Happy packing!

Valley developer John F. Long died this morning at age 87. He’s best known for building Maryvale, the west side master planned community he began in 1954. The Arizona Republic posted an excellent biography this morning on its website. John Long built over 35,000 homes in the Valley and in his later years donated his time and busloads of money to causes he believed improved the livability factor of his hometown.

I’ve always had a special affection for John F. Long homes. They seem to be everywhere even though most biographers only mention “west side” and “Maryvale”.  The distinctive long, narrow, low-ceilinged hallway with bedrooms sprouting on either side like mushrooms is a staple of my nostalgic trips down memory lane. I grew up in homes either built by, or influenced by John F. Long. Hallcraft built the same type of floorplans. My first listing in my real estate career was a beautiful little red brick home built by Hallcraft. It looked exactly like most of the Long homes I’ve toured in the years since. Even in the mid-80’s in Moon Valley, where I spent my high school years in a home built by Sandahl, there were echoes of Mr. Long’s building plans.

There are currently 107 John F. Long homes for sale in the Valley, and you can view most of them via the preceeding link. (There are probably way more than 107, but there are at least 107 homeowners currently for sale who know for certain their home is a John F. Long design, and whose Realtors listed that in the proper data field on the MLS.)

I found this funky kitchen picture on the MLS this morning (click to enlarge). I’m pretty certain this is an original John F. Long kitchen, with a couple of coats of white paint over the original cabinetry. That’s almost certainly the original oven. I work out of a Coldwell Banker office in Gainey Ranch. For most of my 150 Realtor colleagues, this isn’t a kitchen fit for even a rental property. Those Gainey types demand new, new, new and shiny, shiny, shiny. But this warms my heart. I’ve always had a soft spot for the quaint and the charming (two words you don’t ever want to use to describe a home in the MLS if you hope to sell it!).

A fond “Adios” Mr Long. The Valley’s a better place because you were here.

PS - John F. Long homes (and others like his, and from the same post-WWII era) make fabulous first time buyer homes. With sellers anxious to sell, and Zero Down financing still avaialble through AmeriDream, Nehemiah and Maricopa County Bond programs, these homes might be a great deal for your first home. Wishing you could buy but worried you won’t qualify for a loan? Call and find out. One of my preferred lenders only needs about 15 minutes of your time and give you a YES or NO almost right away. You never get anything if you don’t ask, right?

I had to pick up some paint today for a client at a Dunn Edwards retail store. The very nice manager, Larry, asked me if I lived in an HOA. I thought that was odd, and wondered if DE kept a file of each HOA’s approved paint colors. Wouldn’t that be cool?!

Instead, Larry explained that Dunn Edwards gives discounts to HOA members. Now that is really cool!  Manager Larry says every Dunn Edwards store gives HOA members a discount and you have to volunteer the information that you’re living in an HOA to get the discount. He wasn’t supposed to ask, it seems.

So if you’re painting your house, go get the quality stuff the contractors use and a get a discount on it to boot!  Dunn Edwards store locator.

I read Travis Schnepp of the Focused on Phoenix blog from time to time. He had a great recent post about Stardust Building Supplies. These folks help you recycle when you remodel your home. They’ll literally come to your house and take everything you’re throwing away, even including the kitchen sink. Then they refurbish the stuff, and sell it at a steep discount to families in need.

Way better than just dumping it all in the landfill. Check ‘em out!

Moto Sushi
6845 N 16th Street
Phoenix, AZ 85016
(602) 263-5444

Since I think I can get in trouble for posting a copy of Moto’s logo…
And since I haven’t had a spare minute to myself lately to visti Moto, order, and photograph my food…

I’ll just note here that Moto Sushi on the SE corner of 16th Street & Lincoln/Glendale is sublime. The decor is minimalist, as a sushi joint should be. The service is quick. Servers are usually dressed with a bit of style and quirkiness (my favorite is the 20-something girl who looks a bit like Janine Garofalo and does her hair and makeup a bit like Snow White).

Happy Hour from 3pm to 7pm weekdays with great specials on drinks and eats. They’ve got the usual assortment of sushi for beginners (i.e. California rolls) and for pro’s (i.e. sea urchin - which to my mind will never look like anything other than baby food - after it’s passed through the baby). They’ve also got a super Secret Squirrel menu that the owner and some waiters carry about in their pockets.

Anyplace you can order off a secret menu is just right by me.

Everybody’s heard of the big chain yoga shops around town. I won’t even mention ‘em, because I know you have. And if you haven’t, better yet. Start local. A Desert Song Yoga (www.aDesertSong.com) and Yoga Pura (www.yogaPura.com) are fabulous local spots to begin a journey through the world of yoga. They both offer beginners classes, intermediate and advanced sessions. Yoga Pura offers individual sessions; A Desert Song offers a medico-yoga class for those with specific health & movement restrictions.

Rushing off to seal a deal, so don’t have more info just now. (Yes, homes are still selling!) Visit these great shops’ websites and learn more about how Yoga Gets Local!

Local favorite B & B Appliances is a great hidden spot in North Phoenix. They’ve been family owned and operated since 1980, and just last year they relocated to a larger shop.

They sell a huge variety of appliances for every budget at straight retail. They also have a great scratch & dent section where they sell misordered, wrong color and blemished appliances at about 20% to 50% off retail pricing.

You want it? They got it. With over 1,000 square feet of floor space, they’ve got one of everything. You won’t find commercial grade Viking ranges and restaurant quality Sub Zero’s here. Go to Scottsdale’s Home Depot Expo for those. But for folks like me & my typical clients, making it on a regular workman’s wages, this is the place.

Visit their awesome website at www.BBAppliances.com. 331 E Dunlap Road, Phx, 85020. Call 602.870.1662.