Win Thousands of Dollars Toward a New Home - Enter the Great Home Giveaway!

  

There are a variety of opportunities in the Phoenix real estate market for both buyers and sellers. If you're a prospective buyer click here for a full home search, or if you're considering placing your home on the market, get a free home value report, right here.

We at the Altman Group are excited to announce that we have teamed up with Realtors from around the nation to put on a program called The Great Home Giveaway. With a $10,000 prize given away every two weeks, you have many chances to win money toward a new home! It all comes to an end January 2015 with a grand prize of $100,000.

To register, simply visit www.SearchPhoenixAreaHomeListings.com. You will get a call from a member of our team, Amy, to verify your information and connect you with a lender. After a short conversation with our preferred lender and getting pre-qualified, you will be eligible to win. 

Once you're entered you don't have to do anything but continue the home search as usual. If you're lucky, we'll show up at your house with a massive check. With so many chances to win money toward a new home, there is no reason not to take advantage of the historically low interest rates we're experiencing. At current rates, if the rate jumped only 1 point, you would lose $25,000 of spending power on a $200,000 mortgage. Don't wait around for that to happen, register now for the chance to win.

As always, give us a call or shoot us an email with any of your Phoenix real estate needs. We would love to hear from you. Good luck!

7 Ways to Keep Your Home Safe While You Are on Vacation

There are a variety of opportunities in the Phoenix real estate market for both buyers and sellers. If you're a prospective buyer click here for a full home search, or if you're considering placing your home on the market, get a free home value report, right here.

I hope you all are enjoying your summer. Summer is a great time to relax and we hope you all are able to take a vacation this year.  If you are planning on taking a trip soon, we have a list of 7 tips for you if you are leaving your home unattended for an extended period of time. Following these steps will dramatically decrease the chances of your Phoenix home falling victim to burglary.

1. Give a key to a friend
• Give a key to a trusted friend, along with any alarm codes or garage codes you may have so they can access your home in a pinch. That fake rock you have outside isn't fooling anybody and if burglars know you're on vacation, they will have plenty of time to look for the key.
2. Stay off social media
• One thing to shy away from is posting about your trip on Facebook or any other social media site. You should probably wait until you get home to post those vacation pictures. Criminals are lurking on social media sites just waiting for a chance to find someone in a compromising position.
3. Call the Police 
• Another good idea is calling the police department and having them keep an eye on your home for you if you are on vacation. If a criminal knows that the police are keeping an eye on your house, they will know better than to try and burglarize it. 
4. Leave the curtains open
• Leaving your curtains open may seem like a bad idea because you don't want criminals to see inside your house. The problem with closing your curtains, though, is that neighbors keeping an eye on your home can't see inside of the home either. They will be more apt to see something if the curtains are open.
5. Keep lights off, or buy a timer
• The problem with leaving your lights on while you are on vacation is that if a burglar comes by at 3 AM and all the lights are on, they will know something is up. It's a good idea to get an auto timer and have your inside lights come on for a few hours during the day, and have your outside lights come on  at night. 
6. Stop your mail and newspaper
• A pile of newspapers and mail is a big signal to people that you are not home. Simply hold your mail and paper for however long you will be gone and you can pick it up when you get back.
7. Unplug your electronics
• Doing this will not only save you money, but it will keep your home safer while you are gone from potential fires.

If you follow these simple tips, your home will be much safer when you go on vacation and you can rest easy and enjoy your trip. If you have any questions about this or anything else going on in the Phoenix real estate market, give us a call and we would be happy to help you out.