June 2008

Specializing in Desert Mountain Real Estate Sales and Resales Since 1996.

1.800.848.0475 Office 480.488.9974 Fax 480.488.8332 7 Sundial Circle Suite 3

June 2008

PO Box 3664 Carefree, AZ 85377

FEATURED HOME OF THE MONTH: Apache Peak Reserve 96 • $5,995,000

Scott F. Naumann, Designated Broker/Principal Desert Mountain Member sfnaumann@mdp.xohost.com 602.525.4452 Licensed in AZ, FL and CO. Glady Green, Sales Executive Desert Mountain Member glady@gladygreen.com 480.307.3272 Chip McCraney, Sales Executive Desert Mountain Member chip@mdp.xohost.com 480.274.3404 Shaye Chandler, Sales Executive Desert Mountain Member shayechandler@msn.com 480.252.0700 Will Pearson, Sales Executive Desert Mountain Member willpaz@earthlink.net 480.363.4888

Craig McElroy, Sales Executive craig@mdp.xohost.com 480.747.3737

Shirley & Ray Arnold, Sales Executives arnoldassoc@cox.net 602.625.3344

• CUSTOM built by Jesse Hill • 7100 sf indoors • 1200 sf guest house w/ full kitchen • 4 bedroom / 4.5 bath • Split bedroom plan • 10 ft. sliding window walls • Negative edge pool & spa w/ dual water features • 3800 ft. above sea level • South/southwest orientation w/ views to Tucson

• NEW builder spec- never occupied! • Uncompromised quality throughout • Mountain, sunset and unparalled city light and valley views • Mountaintop setting for maximum PRIVACY • Unique setting featuring 10 homesites on slope of Apache Peak • Includes $325,000 Equity Golf Membership

SALES FOR THE MONTH OF APRIL Residential Lookout Ridge 14 Lookout Ridge 5 Turquoise Ridge 29 Painted Sky 52

Residential Lookout Ridge 32 Cochise Ridge 95 Cochise Ridge 42 Cochise Ridge 88 Sunrise 316 Eagle Feather 443 Desert Hills 28

$1,150,000 $1,300,000 $1,725,000 $2,200,000

Gambel Quail 41 Saguaro Forest 106 Painted Sky 4 Rose Quartz 26 Saguaro Forest 208

$2,275,000 $2,350,000 $3,000,000 $3,600,000 $6,250,000

PENDING SALES AT PUBLICATION $750,000 $799,900 $890,000 $1,199,000 $1,295,000 $1,295,000 $1,395,000

Desert Horizon 7 Desert Horizon 21 Saguaro Forest 296 Apache Peak 112 Saguaro Forest 263 Lost Star 1 Saguaro Forest 305

$1,395,000 $1,795,000 $2,695,000 $2,895,000 $2,995,000 $3,250,000 $5,000,000

Homesites Grey Fox 57 Saguaro Forest 144 Saguaro Forest 122

Homesites Eagle Feather 367 Grey Fox 122 Rose Quartz 38 Cochise Geronimo 2

$452,000 $760,000 $920,000

Why Fathers Are Wonderful $269,000 $299,000 $549,000 $2,495,000

COMMENTARY – A Thought for the Moment

Life is short and we are- “A Long time Dead (LTD)” to quote one of my mentors. “When you are dead, you are dead for a long time.” SO, if there is anything you want to do, you’d better get after it. Spend the money! Enjoy it! You earned it! AND, you can’t take it with you. Your kids won’t appreciate it either. Go SKI (Spend Kids Inheritance) - just Not Pictured: Dan Gallery (Desert Mountain Member), share it with them. Show them how wisely you’ve spent their money…they will thank you in the end for what you do Brandon “Bear” June, Ed Johnson, Chris Kolacy, Steve Zook. leave them: a lifestyle incomparable to any other.

Produced by Desert Lifestyle Publishing • 480.460.0996

Tamara J. Nezirevic Mortgage Consultant

An Ode to Dad

ISSN-1939-9588

Found Your Dream Home? Why Now Is The Time To Buy Real Estate

A Taste of Frisco

Trader Vic’s San Francisco Prawns

Tamara@cfs-mortgage.com 7 Sundial Circle, #5, Carefree BK #0905178

602.432.1611 Offering Preferred Rates & Service for Desert Mountain Members If your home is currently listed, this is not a solicitation for that listing.

Desert Mountain’s

Hot Real Estate Listings

DAD, THANK YOU: •For being courageous and chasing the monster out from under my bed.

Featuring Trader Vic’s at Hotel Valley Ho 6850 East Main Street · Scottsdale · 480.421.7799

SAN FRANCISCO PRAWNS Yield: 6 Servings Ingredients: 2 Tbsp. minced shallots 3 tsp. chopped garlic (divided) 2 Tbsp. diced celery 2 Tbsp. diced button mushrooms 1 tsp. white peppercorns 1 cup white wine 2 cups fish stock 1 sprig of fresh parsley 1-1/2 cups heavy cream Salt and pepper to taste 1/2 each red and green pepper (diced) 1 small yellow onion (diced) 4 Tbsp. olive oil (divided) 4 Tbsp. chopped parsley (divided) 2 Tbsp. chopped cilantro 2 lbs. long grain white rice (cooked) 1 lb. fresh spinach 36 each jumbo prawns 2 Tbsp. clarified butter 6 Tbsp. grated Parmesan Preparation: 1. In a small saucepan, sauté shallots, one teaspoon garlic, celery, mushrooms and peppercorns until lightly brown. 2. Add white wine, fish stock and sprig of parsley. Reduce until almost dry. 3. Add cream. Reduce until it coats the back of the spoon. 4. Strain and season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside. 5. In a small saucepan, sauté peppers, onion and remaining two teaspoons of garlic in two tablespoons of olive oil. 6. Add two tablespoons chopped parsley and the cilantro. Add salt and pepper to taste. 7. Combine with cooked rice and set aside. 8. In a hot sauté pan, heat remaining olive oil. Add spinach and quickly toss until lightly wilted. Add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside. 9. Season prawns with salt and pepper. Sauté in clarified butter until medium rare. 10. Add some of the vin blanc sauce from steps one through four and simmer until shrimp are cooked through. 11. For each serving, fill a coffee cup or small round dish with oriental rice approximately 3/4 of the way full. 12. Invert cup on the center of a round dinner plate and slowly remove the cup. 13. Top the timbale with 1/6th of the sautéed spinach. 14. Place six shrimp around the timbale. 15. Lightly pour remaining sauce around the timbale and sprinkle with remaining chopped parsley and grated Parmesan.

•For taking the time to read me bedtime stories, sometimes the same ones over again, so that I would sleep well at night.

Once a year, we pay tribute to one of the most important figures in our lives: Dad. Erika Cosby once said, “You know, fathers just have a way of putting everything together.” So here is an open letter to fathers everywhere saying thank you for all you’ve done for us throughout the years.

•For teaching me how to ride my first bicycle … and then putting the bandages on my knee after I fell down. •For carrying me on your back when I got too tired to walk. •For knowing when I needed a hug … and when I needed a scolding. •For helping me with my homework … even when you weren’t sure of the answers yourself. •For making me wear my seatbelt in the car and a helmet when I rode my bike. •For being there when I was sad, as well as when I was happy. •For teaching me to write my name in the sand at the beach. •For taking me to the zoo, the park, the museum and all the other places that showed me what a big, wide, wonderful world we live in. •For making me eat my broccoli and spinach. •For lending me money when I really needed it and saying “No” when I really didn’t. •For knowing when to jump in and protect me, and when to stand aside and let me falter on my own. •For letting me ramble on about the dreams I had last night, what I did at school yesterday, what I thought was so cool about our vacation last summer, even when I had already told you these things before, and making me believe you thought what I was saying was the most interesting thing in the world. •For giving me your brave face when I went to the hospital with appendicitis … and being there when I woke up. •For being my friend, confidant and most trusted advisor as I grew up, went to college and started my career. •For always believing in me, even when I made mistakes and didn’t believe in myself. Thank you, Dad, for all these things and more. My gratitude for your love, patience and perseverance is immeasurable. I can only hope that I’ll be as good a parent as you.

Father’s Day became a permanent national observance in 1972 when President Nixon signed the proposal into law. However, the idea for this day of recognition was first conceived in 1909 when Sonora Louise Smart Dodd heard a Mother’s Day sermon. She decided that fathers should be honored in the same way and drew up a petition. The first Father’s Day was celebrated on June 19, 1910.

“Fatherhood is pretending the present you love most is ‘soap-on-a-rope’.” – Bill Cosby “It doesn’t matter who my father was; it matters who I remember he was.” – Anne Sexton “Any man can be a father. It takes someone special to be a dad.” – Anonymous “My father always told me never to love anything that didn’t love you back.” – Imelda Marcos “I have found the best way to give advice to your children is to find out what they want and then advise them to do it.” – Harry S. Truman “He didn’t tell me how to live; he lived and let me watch him do it.” – Clarence Budington Kelland “One night a father overheard his son pray: ‘Dear God, make me the kind of man my Daddy is.’ Later that night, the father prayed: ‘Dear God, make me the kind of man my son wants me to be.’” – Anonymous

and do what you need to do to feel confident about your investment. Sellers are being very cooperative with repair requests – you don’t have to buy a house “as is,” as you may have had to when the market was hot. With newspaper headlines proclaiming the plight of the housing market, you may wonder if now is a good time to buy that new dream home you have your eye on. Maybe you think you should wait for the market to drop some more? Economists agree that this may not be the best strategy. Here are six reasons why now may be the best time in years to invest in purchasing your new home. 1. SELECTION When the housing market was overheated, there wasn’t much of a choice in homes. Houses were selling way too fast. Now, there are plenty of houses to choose from, and in terms of condition, location and price, there has not been a better selection in years. Your likelihood of finding one just right for you and your family are much greater. 2. LESS COMPETITION Not too long ago, you had to compete with several other potential buyers for a house. Many buyers ended up bidding on their third

or fourth choice because they lost out to other buyers on their first and second choices. Because there aren’t as many people buying, you have less competition and, most likely, will be able to purchase the house you like the most. 3. COUNTER-OFFERS HAVE A GOOD CHANCE OF BEING ACCEPTED In this market, home sellers realize that they may not receive the full list price for their home. Because there are fewer buyers, sellers are more willing to negotiate. Also, if you buy now, offering less than the asking price, you may end up getting the price the house would have sold for if property values continue to drop – but you’ll be able to live in that house during the interim time. 4. MORE RELAXED BUYING EXPERIENCE In a hot seller’s market, buyers are too rushed to find a house, bid on it, negotiate the price, etc. But now that it is a buyer’s market, you can take your time, perform due diligence

5. LUXURY HOME MARKET IS RELATIVELY STABLE If you’re in the market for a higher-end home, there is no point in waiting for the prices to drop. It’s quite possible they won’t. Throughout the country, trophy homes and other high-priced houses are selling well enough that prices are stable – even rising in some areas. In the Metro Phoenix area, there are several neighborhoods where prices have leveled off and are starting to rise. 6. INTEREST RATES ARE AT AMAZINGLY LOW LEVELS Even with all the recent chaotic financial news, mortgage rates are at near historic lows. It is now possible to get a mortgage with an affordable long-term rate, which translates to an attractive monthly payment. In many cases, the current rate environment may even allow you to buy more home for your money than you had thought.

Even in a buyer’s market, however, you need to be sure that purchasing a home makes sense for you in the long run. Buying now makes the most sense if you plan to stay in the new home for the next five years or more. By waiting to sell, you are more likely to ride out the downturn and most likely to come out ahead on the price. The best reason to buy a home now is because you’ve found the right house in the right area. Talk to your REALTOR® and, most importantly, don’t wait to purchase your dream home – you could just lose it to another buyer!

JUNE 2008 Starry Safari Friday Nights Phoenix Zoo, June 6th, 13th, 20th and 27th 602.273.1341 or phoenixzoo.org Monkey around at the Phoenix Zoo during Starry Safari Friday Nights. Every Friday night in June, there will be free animal encounters and water slides all night long. You can explore select zoo trails, such as Monkey Village, Arizona Trail and Lake Loop, as well as enjoy some shopping and snacking at the gift shop and snack bar, which will remain open for the event. Boat and bike rentals will also be available for an additional charge. Family Farm Day Tolmachoff Farms, June 7th 623.386.1301 or tolmachoff-farms.com Tolmachoff Farms’ annual farm day is fun for the whole family. In addition to the u-pick garden, where you can harvest produce to take home, there is an array of activities for children, including watermelon eating and corn husking contests, a train ride, picture on a pony, and much more. Wine and Beer Tasting Festival The Foothills Golf Clubhouse, June 7th 480.460.6169 or festivaloflightsaz.org The Festival of Lights Annual Wine and Beer Tasting Festival has quickly become one of the premiere social events of the year in Ahwatukee. Each year, more than 1,000 people gather at The Foothills Golf Clubhouse for an exciting evening of wine and beer tasting, sampling appetizers from several local restaurants and enjoying live entertainment. There will also be a silent auction featuring more than 100 items, such as dining gift certificates, jewelry and weekend rental getaways. Links Fore Leukemia Grayhawk Golf Club, June 9th 602.788.8622 or linksforeleukemia.org Enjoy some four-player scramble as you swing into some golf action to benefit The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Proper golf attire and soft spike shoes are required. In addition, each individual golfer must raise or contribute a minimum of $500 to participate in the tournament. My Fair Lady Gammage Auditorium, June 17th-22nd 480.965.3434 or asugammage.com Lerner and Loewe bring you the wonderful tale of a young lady’s transformation and how love can take you by surprise in their tale of My Fair Lady. The chemistry between the main characters, Henry and Eliza, is quite entertaining and full of laughter. My Fair Lady has been very successful in theater, as well as on screen. The movie won eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and the stage version has become one of the most commercially successful plays in the history of the international musical theater. Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus US Airways Center, June 25th-29th 480.784.4444 or ringling.com What better chance to be a kid again than at the Ringling Bros. Circus! This year’s tour, Over The Top, will feature wacky and crazy acts such as Asian elephants, motorcycle madness, clowns, and man versus a pack of powerful Bengal tigers. Of course, what circus would be complete without acrobats flying through the air with the greatest of ease – on a rare double-decker trapeze to boot!