Home In Tempe

Tempe hires new Human Resources Manager

Renie Broderick was hired as the city's Human Resources Manager. She begins work with the City of Tempe on Sept. 15. 

Broderick currently is Director of Human Resources for the County of Allegheny, Pennsylvania. She was selected from a pool of more than 100 candidates for Tempe's position after an extensive process of interviews and employee forums. 

The Allegheny County job entailed 6,500 employees and 26 departments. She served for four years as Director of Human Resources. She assisted in fostering relationships with the county's 24 unions and has established programs such as a Wellness Committee. In addition, Broderick served for eight years as Human Resources Manager with the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority. 

She has a Masters in Public Management from Carnegie Mellon University.

Volunteers needed for Tempe child literacy program

Community volunteers ages 50 and up are needed for Experience Corps Tempe, the nationally recognized literacy program hosted by the City of Tempe Social Services division in partnership with the Tempe Elementary School District. An information session will be held Monday, Aug. 4, from 10-11 a.m., in the Tempe Public Library Connections Café program room, 3500 S. Rural Road. A reservation must be made to attend the session by calling 480-695-5108.

Experience Corps volunteers work an average of four hours per week in four Tempe elementary schools - Holdeman, Thew, Arredondo and Meyer - to help children in kindergarten through third grade improve their reading skills. Prospective volunteers are asked to commit to a school year or, at minimum, one semester. A limited number of stipend positions are available to adults 55 and up who can commit to completing 300 hours in a school year. The average weekly commitment for stipend volunteers is 10 hours and the stipend amount is about $155 per month. Volunteers receive ongoing training and work in teams of 10 at each school site.

Experience Corps has more than 2,000 volunteers in 18 cities nationwide. Experience Corps Tempe is currently comprised of 35 volunteers, many of whom have participated in the program since its inception two years ago. Interviews are available with Tempe residents who have found fulfillment as Experience Corps volunteers. Call Peggy Goldberg at 480-858-2465 to arrange.

For more information about Experience Corps Tempe, call 480-695-5108.

Tempe REO for sale at low foreclosure price of $96 per-sq ft

The average price per-sq ft in Tempe, even in this market, is $154 per-sq ft. Anytime a house comes in significantly lower it peaks my interest, and in this case, the interest of a client. Here is a home that was built in 1979, has 2,336 sq ft, 5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, a pool, two-sided fireplace, and a 13,395 sq ft lot (.31 acres)!

Here are the financials:

• bought on 12/27/05 for $319,900 
• Listed for sale on 11/06/2007 for $390,000 (what were they thinking?) 
• claimed by the US Bank at the trustee's sale on 7/14/2008 for $217,520 
• listed as a REO property for $224,900

We were there on the 2nd day of the REO listing. My buyer was impressed with the house and took many pictures. Of course it needs paint, carpet, minor repairs, and the poorly installed wood laminate floors ripped out -- but it looks to be a great buy in this foreclosure market.

Mr. Client is out of town on a business trip so Mrs. Client will be sending him the pictures. If they really want this house a quick decision will be necessary.

Tempe event helps homeless

"Tempe Project Homeless Connect" will be conducted on July 25th, 2008. This will be the 7th time Tempe has participated in this event.

Project Homeless Connect started in San Francisco and has been duplicated in many communities with successful results. The goal is to bring together diverse entities from the community for one day under one roof to provide services to homeless individuals and families. Services must be immediately available, so providers do not merely give appointments or referrals for the future. Homeless guests are treated with respect and hospitality; a volunteer is paired with each guest who can assist as they access available services. 

At each previous event, an average of 55 volunteers served an average of 115 homeless individuals and families.

For more information, visit www.ich.gov/slocal and click on the link under "National Project Homeless Connect."

• WHERE: Tempe First United Methodist Church, Ross Hall
  215 E. University Dr. (between College and Forest)
• WHEN: Friday, July 25, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Tempe to host open house about proposed bus service changes

From the city website:

Tempe bus riders are encouraged to attend an open house/public hearing to learn about revised bus service changes proposed for December 2008. The purpose of the open house is to get additional input from Tempe residents on the proposed changes. The open house/public hearing will occur Aug. 5 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Tempe Public Library located at 3500 S. Rural Road, Tempe.

Affected routes include Red Line, 1, 30, 56, 65, 66, 72, 76, 81, 108, Flash, Orbit Mercury, Mars and Jupiter. An online comment form is available until Aug. 19 at www.tempe.gov/tim. Residents may also submit written comments to Tempe in Motion, P.O. Box 5002, Tempe AZ, 85280. For information call (480) 350-2775. 

2007 Tempe Summary of Crime Stats

Here are some interesting crime stats taken from the cities web site:

The population of Tempe was 167,871 in 2007

• There were a total of 117,570 citizen generated calls for service in 2007 (an 8.7% decrease from 2006)
• The most common type of citizen generated call for service is the "suspicious activity" call. These calls account for approximately 10.4%  of the total number of citizen generated calls for service
• Approximately one police report is generated for every four calls for service (these are not necessarily criminal reports)
• In 2007 Tempe's crime rate was 74.8 Part I crimes per 1,000 persons.

PROTECT YOUR CREDIT! Successful short sales are possible

You may be seeing a lot more homes for sale in your Tempe neighborhood. You may even be considering selling yours. If you are selling because of a financial hardship, consider a short sale and avoid a foreclosure.

Due to its’ complexity, many agents, buyers and sellers are afraid of a Short Sale. They can be successful when properly managed. FannieMae issued policies on June, 25, 2008 that can allow you to purchase a home 3 to 5 years sooner if you dispose of your property by short sale rather than by foreclosure.

A boatload of bad advice is being offered to people who are in trouble with their home loans. In order to cure some of the more common mistakes we offer the following observations:

1. In Arizona it is called a “Trustee Sale” (commonly referred to as a foreclosure) when the bank sells your home for non-payment.
2. You can short sale your home while you are current on your payments. Your credit report will show no late mortgage payments and after the sale they will report “Mortgage paid in full for less than agreed”.
3. It is best to call your bank and list your home before you quit making payments and move into foreclosure. The sooner we talk to the bank the better.
4. NEVER move out of your home or have your tenant move during the short sale or foreclosure process. The banks do not want the property vacant during the short sale process. Vacant properties can get vandalized.
5. Take good care of your home, it will allow it to sell quicker and keep your home out of foreclosure. 
6. An agent can list their own home as long as they are not paid a commission. 
7. The bank will not throw you out of your home until after they give you a 90 day notice in writing called a “Notice of Trustee sale”.
8. If you have a viable offer and someone working with the bank a “Trustee sale date” can be postponed. 
9. “Buy and Bail” where you buy a new home, then go into foreclosure on your old home usually involves fraud that can be prosecuted with up to 3 years in jail. Agents and lenders who engineer “buy and bail” scams can be prosecuted for recommending this type of activity to their customers.

Tempe Softball Registration dates: August 11, 12, 13 of 2008

Softball League Information:

Organizational Meetings: July 15, 17, 23 @ Pyle Adult Recreation Center located at 655 E. Southern Avenue. All meetings start at 7:00pm. One of the 3 meetings must be attended by a team representative to qualify for preferred registration. Meeting will last 15 minutes and attendance will give your team priority during registration. Attendance will also guarantee priority in registration through July 2009 without attending additional meetings.

Registration packets will be provided at the meeting. Registration Dates: August 11, 12, 13 @ 2nd floor of Tempe Public Library. Registration opens at 8:00am and ends at 5:00pm on each of the dates. The first day is reserved for teams that are either composed of 33% Tempe residents or teams that are sponsored by a Tempe business. The second day is reserved for teams returning from the previous season, and the last day is open to all teams until the leagues are filled.

Start Dates: Men's leagues start on Wednesday, September 3rd and are played Monday through Thursday. Co-Rec starts on Friday, September 5th and Sunday, September 7th. All Co-Rec leagues are played on Friday or Sunday. Registration Fees: Co-Rec - $326. Men's - $532.

Richard King Sr.
Recreation Coordinator City of Tempe
(480) 350-5249
richard_king@tempe.gov

Tempe home will require a FHA 203K rehab loan

"Honey, would you please call the contractor" will be a familiar battle cry with this Tempe, AZ home. It went back to the lender for $242,000. At 1,411 sq ft, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, and a 2-car carport, the $184,900 listing price will need to be lower.

The neighbors happened to be outside, and it was learned that an older man had died some time ago and left the home to a family member. The family member was "allegedly" into drugs and the house soon deteriorated. We managed a "sneak peak" at this house before it hit the MLS and discovered a house that is clearly not "habitable nor safe." It's unclear why all the plumbing is exposed, but it's easy to speculate about water leaks and mold or a total re-plumbing of the house.

To see how this house was "decorated" makes it clear the owner WAS on drugs. I'll keep my words to a minimum on this post because, as they say, "a picture is worth..."

From the outside it looks like a peaceful Tempe home in a very nice neighborhood.

Picture Sunday in July

Sunday's are days of relaxation, meditation, family, gratitude, and worship (if you are so inclined). I like to share my favorite photos on Sundays. I hope you enjoy this one.

This a a picture of the Niagara River and the Grand Island Bridge. It was taken on a recent vacation to Niagara Falls from our hotel room. You can see some reflection from the hotel window because it was taken from inside our room. What I like about it is A.) the panoramic view my camera "stitched" together from 2 separate photos and B.) the light shining through the stormy clouds. Niagara Falls is about 3 miles down river. Click on the photo to enlarge it: