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 

  

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