Anthem Family featured on TV show DOWNSIZED on WETV on Saturdays

Be sure to watch "DOWNSIZED" on WETV on Saturday nights.

A reality show featuring this courageous Anthem, AZ family working together as they face financial challenges and work through it together! This blended family - Todd with his two children, and Laura with her five children, married during the financial good times and now are downsizing due to the loss of Todd's business and their home. They do manage to work together one day at a time towards rebuilding what they lost financially, while keeping the family together happily.

"I find this show really hits close to home and is hard to watch sometimes because our family is having to make the same sacrifices too" --Neighbor in Anthem

Meet the Cast - Todd & Laura Bruce and their seven children

http://kathleeninarizona.com/downsized-f21117.html

Episodes

Call Me Dad
When Whitney decides she wants to call Todd "Dad," she encounters a surprising amount of resistance. Bailey dreams of attending a four-year college, but Laura doesn’t believe it’s possible financially. Will Laura encourage her daughter to follow her dream anyway?

Cruel Cruel Summer
After an eye-opening meeting with a financial planner, the Bruce family begins to make serious lifestyle changes. The kids agree to give up their favorite activities, and Laura sacrifices her vice. Don't miss this episode!

Down But Not Out
The Bruce family struggles to come up with all of the rent money. Fearing eviction, they spring into action. Tune in to see how what each of them are doing to contribute.

Kansas City Blues
Just as the Bruce-Rumsey family is starting to regain a normal family life, they face their most agonizing choice yet. Todd is offered a high paying job – but one with one giant drawback. Tune in to see what it is!

Love Don't Cost a Thing
After having issues on a hike, Laura worries about an upcoming MRI to make sure her Multiple Sclerosis isn’t progressing. Plus, Rex has a crush on Whitney’s friend. Tune in to see what happens on his doube date!

The Outlets At Anthem's annual tree lighting ceremony hits it's 9th year and the tree, along with the festivities, get bigger and better every year.

This year boasts the tallest, fresh cut tree in the United States, and with Santa leading the lighting countdown, and prizes and concerts to enjoy throughout the whole weekend, looks like a good time for the whole family.

For all of the details, click here: http://kathleeninarizona.com/archive_details.php?arch=976

Anthem HOA fees will NOT be raised in 2011

ANTHEM HOA HAS SOLID CASH RESERVES AND NO DEBT
The new budget begins January 1, 2011

"The Anthem Community Council is in a stronger position than many other organizations dealing with the impact of the economic recession" said Jenna Kollings, Anthem's Community Council's executive director.

The council recently approved an $8.6 million budget for 2011 down from $8.7 million for the year 2010. Over $750,000 in savings is realized in the 2011 budget which is good news for the residents of Anthem in recognition of the current economic climate.

To find out what Anthem residents pay in HOA fees goto
http://www.kathleeninarizona.com/anthem-hoa---utility-info-c15577.html

Ecotality To Install Electric-Car Chargers in Public Places Soon

If you live or work near the downtown areas of Phoenix, Scottsdale, Glendale or other neighboring cities, you'll likely see electric-car chargers in public places within the next

year.

Ecotality Inc., which has operations in Phoenix, revealed maps Tuesday that show the most likely regions where it will install the chargers using $114.8 million in stimulus-act "We want to make it possible for somebody with a plug-in electric vehicle to use that vehicle without fear of running out of electricity," said Litchfield Park Mayor Thomas Schoaf, who serves as chairman of the Maricopa Association of Governments, a stimulus project.

Beginning this year, Ecotality will use the stimulus money to provide free chargers for 5,700 Nissan Leaf buyers, 2,600 Chevrolet Volt buyers, and installing additional chargers in public places where those buyers live.

Read the full article here: http://kathleeninarizona.com/archive_details.php?arch=947

Bank of America stops foreclsoures in Arizona

Bank of America, Arizona's largest home mortgage lender, said Friday that it has extended a 23-state moratorium on bank owned home sales to all 50 states while bank officials review the way they process foreclosures.

BofA and other big mortgage lenders are facing mounting pressure over how they handle foreclosure-related documents, with growing attention to reports of incomplete or inaccurate documents that aren't subject to rigorous verification before bank officials sign off on them. The moratorium gives the bank time to review and address concerns about whether foreclosures have been completed properly.

Some Phoenix-area homeowners, lawyers and real-estate professionals said the Charlotte, N.C.-based Bank of America Corp.'s 60-word statement about the moratorium was confusing, vague and potentially hurtful to the battered local housing market.

"Bank of America has extended our review of foreclosure documents to all 50 states," the BofA statement said. "We will stop foreclosure sales until our assessment has been satisfactorily completed. Our ongoing assessment shows the basis for our past foreclosure decisions is accurate. . . . Providing solutions for distressed homeowners remains our primary focus."

After BofA's announcement, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., called on major lenders to halt foreclosures nationwide. He joins a long list of homeowner advocates, lawmakers and state attorneys general who have called for greater scrutiny of the foreclosure process.

In Maricopa County, there are currently 39,042 single-family residences or condos with an active notice of trustee's sale, according to Information Market's analysis, of those, 12,198 pending foreclosures, or 31.2 percent, show Bank of America offices as the beneficiary and ReconTrust as the trustee.

Information Market determined that 4,551 of the 20,850 bank- and government-owned homes currently in its database were BofA foreclosures, which is about 22 percent.
Analysts believe that Bank of America will temporarily suspend foreclosures to prevent a backlog of bank-owned homes from accumulating. This could unintentionally help borrowers who have stopped making payments yet are still living in their homes. For many of these individuals, the payment free periods could extend even longer.

Mesa attorney James Portman Webster said he believes the moratoriums are primarily aimed at helping Bank of America and other lenders rather than homeowners
"It's going to push back foreclosure dates," Webster said. "It's going to put everything on pause temporarily." He said he has a few delinquent clients who have been living in their homes as long as three years while waiting for banks to seize their properties.

The bottom line is, another major delay for the housing market to rebound.
Read more: http://kathleeninarizona.com/archive_details.php?arch=931

Foreclosures due to come onto the market most likely will be delayed due to Flawed Foreclosure Documents

Many of us drive through our neighborhoods passing many vacant homes scheduled to be foreclosed on by the homeowner's lender soon. As a neighbor nearby, you are hopeful to have a new family move into the property soon to care for it and call it "Home".

Well, these properties may just stay empty a bit longer, some experts say as long as 12 months. Due to the volume of paperwork which had been rushed by the desks of the lenders foreclosure departments to help expedite the process to get these vacant homes on the market, has caused a slow down for any rebound in the near future for the housing market. Homes due to go through foreclosure or be purchased, are now being held in a "freeze" in order for a review of "flawed foreclosure documents".

If the homeowner was not paying their mortgage and moved out of the property and their paperwork was not processed correctly were they wrongly foreclosed on?

If they were, can they afford to move back in and catch up on past due payments?
Do they want the property back? What percentage of these foreclosures have homeowners wanting back the property?

If this delay helps those that were paying their mortgages on time and forced out of their homes because of a paperwork mistake, that is great. But I don't think that this is what this is about. It is just another headline to blame lenders for all their wrongdoings and try to hurt them more.

Unfortunately, it is hurting the Buyers purchasing these lender owned homes right now.

Read more: http://kathleeninarizona.com/archive_details.php?arch=930

Recession To Blame For Drop In Homeownership As Well As Marriage Rates

The recession seems to be socking Americans in the heart as well as the wallet: Marriages have hit an all-time low while pleas for food stamps have reached a record high and the gap between rich and poor has grown to its widest ever.

The economic "indicators say we're in recovery, but the impact on families and
children will linger on for years," he said. For example, in America, marriages fell to a record low in 2009, with just 52 percent of adults 18 and older saying they were joined in wedlock, compared with 57 percent in 2000.

Marriages have been declining for years because of rising divorce rates, more unmarried couples living together and increased job prospects for women. But sociologists say younger people are also now increasingly choosing to delay marriage as they struggle to find work and resist making long-term commitments.

Besides marriage, homeownership declined for the third year in a row, to 65.9 percent, after hitting a peakof 67.3 percent in 2006. Residents in crowded housing held steady at 1 percent, the highest since 2004, a sign that people continued to double up to save money.

Read the complete article on these and other effects of the recession here: http://bit.ly/bL8FaE

Short Sales Complicated by HAFA -another failing Federal Program

HAMP
Home Affordable Modification Program - not a long term solution, not working for most homewoners

HARP
Home Affordable Refinance Program - too many homeowners own more than 125% of the home's current value -not working

HAFA
Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives - Provides incentives for homeowners and lenders to complete a short sale - process is becoming more complicated

HAMP, HARP, HAFA, they all sound more like "Don't HAFTA pay the mortgage payment".

Read entire article:
http://kathleeninarizona.com/archive_details.php?arch=889

Pioneer Village saving a place of Arizona History

Phoenix to bid $3.2 million on Thursday

Pioneer Village a living monument to the faith, foresight, and fortitude of Arizona's Pioneers.

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Lockett donated a state land lease to the museum. The Locketts were members of a sheep ranching family that had been established in northern Arizona since the early 1880's.

The history of Arizona is represented in all its diversity, from the time of the Spanish Conquistadores to the achievement of Statehood in 1912.

If you haven't had a chance to visit this wonderful place of history, take a day to take a trip back into time. It is amazing to see how the Pioneers lived in the heat of the summer !
For hours and directions:
http://pioneeraz.org/about.html

Read entire article about the purchase of the Pioneer Village
http://kathleeninarizona.com/archive_details.php?arch=888

Phoenix July4th local and statewide events to enjoy this weekend

Scottsdale

Grand Ol' Fashioned Picnic: 5-7:30 p.m. July 4. Celebrate with old-fashioned games, patriotic arts and crafts, and watermelon, chili and pie-eating contests. Bring your homemade chili to be judged. Scottsdale Stadium, 7408 E. Osborn Road, Scottsdale. Free. 480-312-2771. www.scottsdaleaz.gov/events.asp. Map it

July Fourth Celebration: 5-8 p.m. July 4. Tug-of-war, live music and crafts, watermelon eating contest and more. No fireworks. Eldorado Park, 2311 N. Miller Road, Scottsdale. Free. 480-312-2771. Map it

Independance Day Bounce: 9-11 a.m. July 4. Flags, balloons and bouncing to celebrate the Fourth of July. BounceU, 8970 E. Bahia Drive, Suite 104, Scottsdale. $6.95 for first child; $5.95 for each sibling. 480-502-0210. http://www.bounceu.com/. Map it


More area links and maps:
http://kathleeninarizona.com/archive_details.php?arch=885