The Phoenix Real Estate Guy

On Flat Fee “MLS Only” Real Estate Brokerage

by Jay Thompson on January 27, 2012 8 Comments

This hit the email inbox today. It happens on a quasi-regular basis... Hello, We are selling our loft by owner and we see it is listed on your website, but that it hardly has any pictures - and certainly not the types of pictures that would attract buyers. Is there any chance you could replace the main picture on your website's listing and perhaps add more pictures? I'm attaching some photos of the loft. We like the first photo the best. Thanks, John and Jane Doe (Names obviously changed. My emphasis in bold) Here is what is going on. John and Jane have "listed" their home for sale … Continue Reading →

World Class Jazz. In Gilbert! And a Contest!

by Jay Thompson on January 25, 2012 6 Comments

Mark the dates... On March 29 - 31, the 2012 Highland Jazz Festival takes place, right here in sunny Gilbert, Arizona. What is the Highland Jazz Festival? A three day event for regional high school Jazz bands. Over 1,800 students will have a chance to work with some of the top jazz clinicians in the country; learning and honing their craft. Pubic concerts will be held on Friday and Saturday night that will include top high school students, the ASU Concert Jazz Band and two world class jazz musicians -- John Fedchock and Joe Levano -- will perform. It is not often that one can … Continue Reading →

Thoughts on ‘Crowdsourcing’ in Real Estate

by Jay Thompson on January 22, 2012 19 Comments

Yesterday I finished reading the latest Stephen King tome, “11/22/63” (a great read by the way). Needing a new book, I posted this on my Facebook Profile: I need a new book to read. Not some business / self-help / save the planet book. I want mindless entertainment. Mainstream fiction, historical fiction, perhaps a biography. [...]

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Open Letter to the Gilbert School Board: On Music Education

by Jay Thompson on January 19, 2012 11 Comments

Dear Gilbert School Board Members – Long time no chat! Somehow my annual pilgrimage to one of your meetings to beg, plead and grovel for funding for music and fine arts programs never materialized this year. This is good. I do want to share a little story with you, one that I hope you will read, [...]

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Dear Flancer’s Cafe: I Hate You

by Jay Thompson on January 16, 2012 26 Comments

Dear Flancer’s Cafe – I hate you. Yesterday, we called in an order to go. Three of your delightful sandwich’s to take home and enjoy while we celebrated our daughter’s admission to the Barrett Honor’s College at ASU. The ladies ordered their usual Prickly Pear Chicken sandwich, and I went with my traditional We Must [...]

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New Home Construction in Gilbert Picks Up

by Jay Thompson on January 10, 2012 11 Comments

Nice to see a bit of good news (for once) in the mainstream press about real estate in Gilbert… A couple of days ago, the Arizona Republic ran an article, Gilbert new-home construction picked up in 2011. Some of the highlights: 1,545 single-family construction permits were issued in Gilbert in 2011. That’s up 46% from [...]

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Fall Has Arrived in Phoenix!

by Jay Thompson on January 8, 2012 5 Comments

While making my daily pilgrimage to Starbucks this morning, I noticed that seemingly overnight the trees have decided that fall has arrived. This despite the last couple of weeks with daily high temperatures pushing 80. Yeah, it sucks living in Phoenix in the “Fall” and “Winter”… Driving around with the top down. Wearing shorts and [...]

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BiggerPockets Real Estate Investing Summit 2012

by Jay Thompson on January 6, 2012 10 Comments

If you are a real estate investor, seasoned or just getting started, or even if you are just curious about real estate investing, you would be wise to consider attending the BiggerPockets Real Estate Investing Summit and Expo on March 23 – 24 in Denver. Thompson’s Realty is proud to be a sponsor of this [...]

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How to Make a Home Seller Happy

by Jay Thompson on January 4, 2012 21 Comments

Something I hear from real estate agents frequently: I do _________ just to appease my home selling clients. You can fill in that blank with things like: Running ads in the Sunday paper Holding open houses Using QR codes on sign riders Enhancing listings on Realtor.com Setting up a Facebook page for the home Blasting [...]

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