Taking the trip of a lifetime

Normally I write this column about the real estate market in North Central but this month I would like to share with you a wonderful experience that my wife Mary Ann and our two great friends Wendell and Jan Chapman just experienced. We got to spend the past week on an incredible journey to the land of Israel. My daughter was fortunate to visit Israel last year on a program called Birthright, which is available to Jewish kids between the ages of 18- 26 and is actually free if they qualify. For the first time ever, the Birthright program invited the parents (we have to pay!), to visit Israel and experience what our kids got to see. We got to meet 84 parents from all over the country and had the adventure of our life.

We started on day one by going to the port city of Caesara and then drove along the  Mediterranean coast to the upper Galilee and saw incredible old ruins of the country. On day two we got to discover the Golan Heights on ATV off road vehicles, looked out at Syria from Mount Bental, then continued to a memorial service at the Valley of the Tears that marked 40 years since the outbreak of the Yom Kippur war, took a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee and then had dinner in Tiberias.

On days three and four we went to the magical city of Tzfat, met with a Kabbalistic artist, drove to the incredible city of Jerusalem where they had a welcoming ceremony for our group and then stayed in Jerusalem. We also went to visit the Israel Museum, which included the model of Jerusalem and the Dead Sea Scrolls. Next we went to visit the Western wall which also is known as the Wailing Wall. We then went to Ammunition Hill where we walked through the bunkers and heard about the battles for Jerusalem in the six-day war.
Over the next few days we went to Yad Vasheem, which is a historical museum depicting
the Holocaust and the children who were killed during this horrible time. We then went
to Israel's National Military Cemetery and then went shopping at the Machane Yehuda outdoor market (absolutely about as crowded as you could possibly imagine) and then went to a sound and light show at the Tower of David Museum.
The final two days we went to the Judean Desert, floated in the Dead Sea, went to Masada and relived the bitter confrontation between the Zealots and the Romans, and then got to ride camels at Kfar Hanokdim. Finally, we visited the site where Prime Minister Rabinwas killed in 1995 and visited the beaches in Tel Aviv.
The passion of the residents in Israel is incredible. It truly does not matter what religion
you practice because this is a country for everybody. The history and the surroundings
from the north all the way to the south of Israel offer a vacation and history lesson for all ages. I was a little nervous because of everything that I had read but I personally will tell you it is absolutely safe and you need to experience what we experienced. If you are interested in a tour, contact Israel Maven Tours at 866-317-9307 or the visit the website at www.Israel-Maven.com.
Have a great November.

Bobby Lieb

The Lieb Group
Bobby Lieb
Associate Broker
HomeSmart Elite Group Manager/Founder
5225 N. Central Ave., Ste. 104
Phoenix, AZ 85012
Mobile: 602-376-1341
Fax: 602-996-9141
www.centralphx.com

MAN'S BEST FRIEND

I remember around 27 years ago playing tennis at my friend Dr Peter Nutley's home when he stopped for a few minutes to walk up to his dog and gave it a treat and started talking to him like he was human..I kept saying to myself what a wacko and then Peter went on to tell me that he took his dog hunting with him and camping..I started to worry a little about my friend that he was so attached to his dog because I had never owned a dog and did not understand. Later that year, I surprised my wife when we got back from our honeymoon with our first dog, a shar-pei named IRIE and we became hooked..Irie would sleep under our newborn Sean's bed and then 2 years later, protected Sean's sister Juliann when she was born. Irie was a great friend and we enjoyed him for many years. About 7 years later we got another shar-pei, Punam and then about 11 years we bought a weimeraner named Jakki who is still prancing around the home..Irie and Punam had passed on and we got our 3rd Shar-Pei, Shay around 9 years ago..Shay was an amazing pet. He never had a bad day and would wake me up when he was hungry and had me trained to do whatever he wanted me to do..When we bought a boxer Layla a couple of years ago, Shay would cause interference on Layla whenever Layla starting getting aggressive with Jakki and was the protective father that he needed to be.. 

 

We almost lost Shay a couple of years ago due to health issues but our vet, Dr BJ Umstead saved him with proper medications and Shay continued to give our family daily smiles. A couple of weeks ago, Shay stopped eating and although we did everything that we could we realized that his time was near. We took Shay in July 5th to the vet and made that really difficult decision to put him at peace..That choice was probably the hardest decision that I ever had to make but I just did not want to see him suffer anymore..Four days later my 2 dogs are very confused to where their pal is and additionally my wife and I are having a rough time because Shay was a huge part of our family..It has taken me 27 years to realize what Dr Nutley had exposed me to that day and that is whatever pet you have, dogs, cats, birds, gerbils, etc., they are addicting and habit forming. Any of you who have suffered the loss of a pet, I sympathize with you and I now realize that these pets are HUMAN after all! I would love to hear about your stories so you can email me at boblieb@aol.com.

 

On to Real Estate..We have now sold 70 homes and have 12 in escrow for 2013. Thanks to all of you for helping me be ranked by The Phoenix Business Journal the number 6 realtor in Phoenix for 2012 with over $50 million in sales and over 110 home sales. I will never take anything for granted and I have been fortunate to have sold over 1000 North Central homes over the past 20 years, some of them even 2 or 3 times. North Central is my speciality area and I think this is the best area to live and work anywhere in the valley. This is why all the new restaurants and businesses are opening here because the retail world realizes what a great area we live in, as well as all of the new construction.. Have you seen the long lines at these places?..Even in 110 degree weather!!

 

Have a great August..Be safe with kids going back to school and remember my parting words for this month..Love those PETS because they love you!!

 

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

  

It's 2013!

Many of us long-time North Central residents lost a great friend in December–Neal Sheiner. Neal would have been happy because he reunited many of his friends at his service who had not seen each other in a little while.
Neil was an architect by trade but served on the Fiesta Bowl committee for well over 20 years, was a past president of Silent Witness and was a long-time member of the RAMMS Board which over sees youth activities in our area. I served with Neal for six years on the Ramms board and I have one  funny story involving him. When Chuck Whetstine, Mark Hester and I coached girls sixth- eighth-grade softball, Neal was the uniform contact, something he did for more than 10 years. We
chose for our team the University of South Carolina because I went to college nearby and the nickname was the Gamecocks. The coaches quickly learned after the first game, when the girls would cheer 1-2-3 GO COCKS every inning, that this school's name was not going to work and I had Neal switch to another school's uniform.
Neal will be missed by many of us and I especially want to reach out to Marla, Julie Kirschner, and Neal’s two children, AJ and Sam. Godspeed, my friend.
The funny thing at the reception was that many of us dads/coaches were still upset losing games to each other in games that were played more than 10 years ago. None of us like to lose and we are still scarred!! Neal brought us together for the Ramms reunion. John Ashton, your family still owes my team ice cream when we kicked your wife's team in the championship seven years ago. Kim is a sore loser.
I want to welcome a new store to our neighborhood, Nene Unique Home and Gifts store located at 6042 N. 16th Street (just north of Bethany Home Road). It really is a cool store and adds to the ambience of the 16th/Bethany Home corridor. It is owned by longtime KEZ radio host Beth
McDonald, who was part of the Beth and Bill show for 20 years. Beth is in her 22nd year at the station. The store is managed by Beth's sister and North Central resident, Kelley Mc-Neil..The store reminds me of Vignettes, which was located on 7th Street and Colter for many years. Lets welcome NeNe to our 'HOOD.
I mentioned in December how appreciative I am of my friends and clients for allowing me to list 114 homes in 2012 and to sell 104 homes. The market is slowly coming back to life and the ugly foreclosures have disappeared. There will still be short sales for the next three to five years but home values in our area are finally getting better. I know some of you are hearing that homes are increasing in value 20 percent or more but that is in the outlying areas that were down almost 80 percent. I do have four totally remodeled homes coming on the market in the first quarter of 2013 by Magee Builders who have created some masterpieces in the past year in North Central and almost single handily are increasing our neighborhood values.
Finally, I want to thanks the 100 agents who have joined me at HomeSmart, located at 5225 N. Central Ave. Ste. 104, over the past 18 months and have helped us become North Central's top producing real estate company. We have the Valley’s top-performing agents in our office and we will continue to work hard and gain your trust. Our group has well over 10 years average experience and we all live in North Central or the surrounding areas. We also have Spanish- and Vietnamese-speaking agents in our group. In a slow economy, we just expanded our office and we have two vacancies. Give us a call and we’ll give you our marketing expertise.

Have a great 2013!!

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

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