The True Mentors

I know by now we are all sickened by what happened at Penn State with the Jerry Sandusky situation but my family has had nothing but great coaching mentors who have influenced our lives.
My wife, Mary Ann, played basketball in the Police Athletic Leagues (PAL) in Cleveland and played one year at Cleveland State. I played baseball for Coach Jim Brock at Arizona State, then transferred to Coastal Carolina in South Carolina and played in the NAIA World Series in 1978.
My daughter, Juliann, played for Coach Ami Beiringer at All Saints, who my daughter said nourished her strength and intelligence on and off the court. Moving into high school, Juliann played for Coach Amber LaTarte on club teams, who was all about the team concept that can win championships and life-long friendships. At Xavier, Coach Kelly Fitzgerald took a volleyball/softball/basketball player and molded her into the second-ranked discus thrower in the state and the current school record holder.
Both Juliann and my son, Sean, played RAMMS for many years where they got tired of their parents coaching them in everything. Coach Craig Maggi played a key role in Sean's baseball acumen and at All-Saints, Coach Mark Wagner was an amazing influence in coaching and teaching Sean about what to expect at Brophy and was all about discipline. At Brophy, Sean played baseball and basketball. Beginning in his sophomore year, he was fortunate to be mentored by Coach Scooter Mollander and was part of the 2008 State Championship team for which he had four touchdowns in the final game, which is still a school record.
In college, Sean played at Colorado and then transferred to Phoenix College, where he played for Land Jacobsen (Coach Jake), who then helped Sean get on the University of Arizona football team in 2011 that went to the Alamo Bowl. Coach Jake was like many coaches who coach for the love of the game and not the notoriety or money. Unfortunately, Coach Jake was murdered on July 19. Our family will forever be indebted for everything that he did to get Sean to the next level. We loved you, Coach!
All of these coaches have had an amazing influence on our family and I can guarantee their training will help our kids become leaders, learn to become part of a team, never be content with anything less than 100 percent, and really helped give our kids the confidence that they will use for the rest of their professional and personal lives. There certainly are bad people out there but there are far more great people who are willing to help our kids get to that next level. Thanks to all of you parents and coaches who take the time to teach and mold our kids.I have a new sponsor for this column–– Phil's Home Maintenance, owned by Brenda Barella, whose father was Phil. I have been working with Brenda for almost 20 years with my own house and also on homes that need work before and after the home inspection is done in order to close. They deal with roofs, AC, electrical, plumbing, painting, pools and even changing light bulbs for this writer, who is mechanically challenged. Phil’s prices are very competitive but the best part for myself and for my clients, is that they stand behind their work. There is a reason that I have used Phil’s Home Maintenance for more than 500 jobs the past 20 years. Brenda can be reached at 623-979-5995.
Once again, I want to thank all of my past and current clients for their confidence in allowing me to sell almost 90 homes this year and more than 1,000 homes in 18 years. This newspaper, the North Central News, is nothing short of amazing in helping me with my business. If you are a business owner in the North Central area, advertising in this paper is critical to your success.

The Lieb Group
Bobby Lieb
Associate Broker
HomeSmart Elite Group
602-761-4646 (office)
602-376-1341 (mobile)
boblieb@aol.com
centralpx.com
Bobby Lieb

Congratulations to the ‘Survivors'

In addition to this column, I am going to add another column in the North Central News beginning this month titled NORTH CENTRAL SURVIVORS. This monthly article will feature up to three North Central businesses that have been around for 20 years or more, which in my opinion is a testimonial to the owners who have survived at least one difficult economic time. I have always been a true believer and supporter of any business  that chooses to operate in the Central corridor and I feel that the more successful retail and restaurants are, the more families will choose to live here.

I am here  to sell homes and I want to see more people moving to North Central. I also enjoy seeing old friends in the restaurants and stores but I don't enjoy seeing the little kids who I coached in
RAMMS for 10 years grow up to now calling me Mr Lieb. It makes me feel too old.

This month my North Central Survivors article will feature Christo’s Restaurant and The Stock Room, both which have been fixtures in North Central for more than 25 years. I hope you enjoy the article and if you know of any area businesses that have been cranking for at least 20 years, please email or call me. Congratulations to the North Central Survivors!

On to the REAL ESTATE WORLD. The rates remain incredibly low, which is allowing buyers to purchase or refinance at almost all time lows. We have been fortunate to have sold more than 70 homes in 2012 including 14 short sales, which is a great alternative to going through foreclosure and usually has a shorter impact on your credit rating than a foreclosure. Please give us an opportunity to discuss any and all real estate situations that you may have. The inventory is still very low, which helped us sell nine homes in May including 450 E Ocotillo, which was listed for $1.5 million. We also sold four homes in May the first week we listed the home.

Our North Central HomeSmart office continues to grow both in agents and space. We started off a year ago with 25 agents who mostly came from Realty Executives and now we are 83 strong. We just expanded our office to another 1,200 square feet with five private suites, three of which are spoken for. If you are looking to make a switch to the top North Central Real Estate office, give us a try. There certainly is a reason that the top realtors in town are now HomeSmart agents, which has allowed us to totally dominate our neighborhood with almost 80 percent of the market share. 
 Please give us an opportunity to meet with you when you are ready to discuss your real estate needs.

Have a safe July and stay hydrated!

Bobby Lieb

 Bobby Lieb

Associate Broker 

HomeSmart Elite Group 

602-761-4646 (office) 

602-376-1341 (mobile)

Around Town

I hope everybody had a good Passover and a happy Easter or both if you just like to eat. I have a couple of friends who celebrate both and how cool would it be to be young and get money for finding the Matzah and gathering the most Easter eggs? Growing up in Atlanta, I enjoyed getting out of school for Christmas but was confused why Chanukah did not get us any days off? 

Just a thought! I keep getting comments from sellers about the current market because they hear everything is back to 2005 prices and I let them know they are misinformed. The homes under $200,000 are seeing multiple offers but as the homes get pricier the demand is not as great unless the home is priced competitively. If you have any questions about your home's value, please give me a call and I will be glad to give you a free consultation. 

Remember, we have now done over 40 short sales so that is a great option for you. We have done around 12 short sales in 2012 and we have another eight in escrow. The banks have been more willing to short sell a home now than to foreclose. 

Congrats to my good friends Christo and Connie on their 25-year anniversary of Christo's restaurant, located on 7th Street just south of Maryland. Great food and the restaurant was remodeled throughout and has a private room that accommodates 25-50 people. Christo also has Alexi's restaurant located on Osborn and Central. 

Also, congrats to Joe and Peppy Niccoli from Niccoli's restaurant, located at 6102 N. 16th St., on their expansion. They are the hardest working couple that I have ever come across. They have great homemade Italian sandwiches and breads.  Take home their lasagna made fresh every day.

Speaking of good sandwiches, visit Maryland Deli and Liquor at 7th Street and Maryland. They also have eight gas pumps with Shell Gas. It is a family owned business and you can now place your order on line at www.Shelldeli.com. 

A neighborhood fixture for many years.  If you are looking for a fitness coach and a really cool private gym, contact Bobby Kelly from Results Only, located north of Chase Bank on 7th Street and Glendale. There are short-term memberships available and they have many yoga and conditioning classes daily. Contact Bobby at 602-944-0747. You also can ask for Kelly. 

Finally, thanks to Ben Green from Abernethy & Green who helped my son Sean with his speeding ticket in Yarnell. Ben also specializes in DUI and other criminal cases. Ben grew up in North Central and lives in the corridor. 

Thanks again for your continued support. We have sold 37 homes in 2012 and have 16 in escrow.  We will get your  home sold! 

Bobby Lieb 

Associate Broker 

HomeSmart Elite Group 

602-761-4646 (office) 

602-376-1341 (mobile) 

Bobby Lieb 

Looking Forward to a Good 2012!

Happy 2012 to all of you. I hope that this is a healthy and happy year for all of you! Now on to the most important issues on hand for me. My 22 year old son Sean, who is a senior at U of A
(SAE) and my 20 year old daughter Juliann, who is a sophomore at ASU (THETA), have left the
building for the holidays and are back at school, leaving my wife Mary Ann and me as empty nesters again.
Sean played football at University of Colorado and U of A last year and Juliann made the dean's list at Barrett, The Honors College, all three semesters so far! They are all ready planning for the future which makes me so proud. Sean called and asked for me to pay for his spring break trip to Cabo so he could study abroad for a week and Juliann emailed me and asked if I would pay for an apartment for her this summer so she could take summer classes because it is too far to drive from our central Phoenix house to ASU daily for four weeks, It never stops! Lastly, our third child, Jesse Milleson, who we have mentored for three years and who attended Sunnyslope High School, just received a scholarship to play football at the University of Memphis. Jesse had four schools battling for his services. Pretty cool! Check out those Tigers in 2012.
Oh yeah, about the real estate world. I am excited about the market because other than short sales, the inventory is shrinking and we are now dealing with real sellers and not the banks. I was lucky enough to have sold 94 homes in 2011 (listed 115 homes) and have already sold eight in 2012, three of which were over $1 million and 1 was over $2 million.
There are many buyers out there but let’s not fool ourselves because your home still has to be priced right. If you are interested in selling or would like a free evaluation, let me know. Our HomeSmart office, located just south of Missouri on Central, has 65 great agents to choose from. In just one year we have become North Central's top Realtors which is amazing in such a short time. We have one private office available if you are looking for great company to join and synergize with. HomeSmart has the most agents in the state and has been adding almost 75 new agents every month.
I always mention that our home values are tied to the retail market in our area and I highly recommend keeping your money in our neighborhood as much as possible. I have been placing my sports magnets in various places in North Central over the past 10 years and my thanks to the following places for allowing me to market my business: * Athleticuts * Chase Bank at 7th Street & Glendale * Du Nails *Foothills Sports * Windsor Cleaners/Tonys * Maryland Deli and Liquor * Hester * Heitel Insurance * Cabinets By Design *  The Stockroom * Scotts Generations * Tangible Fitness * Cartridge World * Lux Coffee Shop *  Salon Estique * House of Trophies *  UPS Store at 16th & Glendale * Kodi's Pet Foods * Nicolli's Deli * Barry's Hardware (formerly Koller) * La Siena Senior Living Community *
If you are interested in having me promote your business in this column, please call or email me
at boblieb@aol.com.
Thanks for all of the positive comments with this column. This paper, The North Central News, is the best thing that has happen to our neighborhood, Please read it and support the advertisers!

Thanks!
The Lieb Group
Bobby Lieb
Associate Broker
HomeSmart Elite
602-761-4646 (office)
602-376-1341 (mobile)
Bobby Lieb