Scottsdale Archives - The Phoenix Real Estate Guy

Scottsdale Area Association of Realtors releases new website

July 22, 2011 By Jay Thompson

Realtor associations generally have websites that are, to be polite, not very good. It’s like they are stuck in the early 1990s. My own association, the Scottsdale Area Association of Realtors (SAAR) fell squarely at the peak of the bell curve of association websites.

Fell, as in past tense. Because as of this morning, SAARs website is now one of the best local association sites out there.

No really, it is.

For the geeks, the site is built on Drupal by NFi Studios, a leading supplier to associations of all flavors and includes its awesome MemberFuse professional networking component. The integrated database and functionality provided by Avectra allows for nifty things like online dues payment, class registration and more.

For the users, what you will find is a much cleaner site that is easy to get around in. And it will only get better with time. The networking component will allow you to create groups (both public and private), register and pay for classes and dues renewals, vote in elections, get information on committee and associations activities and much more. You can even put feeds from your favorite sites and blogs so new articles show up on your “My SAAR” page. Go ahead, add the Phoenix Real Estate Guy feed to your page. You know you want to.

The group functionality is wicked cool. Brokerages can set up what is for all practical purposes an Intranet for their agents. You can upload files, create discussions, even work collaboratively via “LiveDoc”. All at no cost. The broker will need to be a member of SAAR, but non-SAAR agents can be added to groups.

I’m excited about the social capabilities of the new site. It will allow you to create and join groups with agents that share similar interests, keep your eye on committee activities, and build contact lists. And I’m sure I’m leaving out functionality. The thing is jam packed.

Give it a whirl! Got to http://www.SAAROnline.com and log in with your old SAAR site ID and password (of note, there’s a little glitch right now ”“ you HAVE to put the “www” into your browser. Just going to http://SAAROnline.com won’t work. Yet. That will get fixed soon).

Major kudos to the SAAR Board of Directors and SAAR staff and leadership, particularly CEO Bob Peirce, for having the vision and foresight (and faith) to bring SAARs site into the 21st century. And if you knew all the work that SAAR Director D. Patrick Lewis put into this thing, you would be amazed. Ya done good DPL!

Go, check it out. What are you waiting for? If you have any feedback, feel free to leave it in a comment here and I’ll make sure it gets to the right people.

The Best Bar in Scottsdale: Dirty Dogg Saloon

June 8, 2011 By Jay Thompson

The phone rings. Well, actually it is a text message. “We’re at the Dirty Dogg Saloon. You should be here, you’d love it. Best bar in Scottsdale.”

What the heck, I don’t have anything better to do at 9:30pm. But when I think “Scottsdale bar” I think 50 year old women dressed like they wish they were 25, high priced drinks and just general snobbery. Yeah I know that’s a stereotypical reaction, shame on me, but have you been to many Scottsdale bars lately?

As I pull into the parking lot, I’m looking at four Harley’s. Nice, “I want that bike!” Harley’s. So apparently this is not your typical Scottsdale bar.

Then I hear the rock and roll music.

A biker friendly rock and roll bar, in Scottsdale?

With poker on Monday nights, live music on Thursday and Sunday nights, and a good old fashioned wet t-shirt contest on Wednesdays? Seriously?

Maybe we aren’t really in Scottsdale any more. Perhaps somewhere along the drive up the 101 I was teleported to Nirvana?

Thinking the drink prices will snap me back to reality, I belly up to the bar. I’ve missed the five hour long daily happy hour with its ridiculously low prices, but am pleased as punch to see that the regular prices are very un-Scottsdale like.

Reasonable and affordable in other words.

Now I would be remiss if I didn’t report that the bartender was a rather attractive young lady wearing an outfit that were it priced based on the amount of material involved, the cost would rival the Dirty Dogg’s $2 special on PBRs. Hey, I am a VERY happily married man, but I’d still rather have an attractive woman and not some big fat sweaty guy serving up ice cold beers. She was also a great bartender. Friendly, but not “I’m going to kiss your ass for a bigger tip” friendly, and efficient.

Then I looked up and noticed bras hanging from the rafters. Yeah, bras. It seems the servers will occasionally go “Coyote Ugly” (as in the movie) and dance on the bar. And hang upside down from the rafters. And Hula Hoop. Upside down. Hula hooping standing upright isn’t easy, try doing it upside down”¦ Apparently sometimes a customer will get adventurous and join the trained professionals. I suppose sometimes the amateurs will let those pros remove their bras, which are then hung from the rafters.

Right about now someone must be thinking, “What kind of place is this exactly?”

It’s all good clean fun. It’s not like anyone gets naked. I hear it can get a little rowdy sometimes, but what’s the harm in that? It gathers an eclectic crowd that is nothing like the stereotypical Scottsdale bar crowd. Real people, having real fun at a cool place that is affordable.

There’s a lot to be said for that.

Is it the best bar in Scottsdale? Well, that depends on what trips your trigger in bars. Of course I haven’t been to every bar in Scottsdale, but I can now stop looking for a “Jay kind of place” ”“ I found it.

It’s probably a good thing it isn’t closer to my house. Else I’d be hanging out at the Dirty Dogg way too often”¦

The Original Dirty Dogg Rock ”˜n Roll Saloon
Southeast corner of Shea & Scottsdale Rd. (map)
Phone: 480-368-8095
Mon ”“ Fri 3:00pm ”“ 2:00am
Sat & Sun 1:00pm ”“ 2:00am

Days on Market – Phoenix Area Real Estate Stats

“Days on Market” (or DOM) is a much watched real estate statistic. As with any statistic, you can not put absolute faith in it. DOM can give you a general idea of how long it may take to sell your home but keep in mind that these chart just display an average DOM for an entire city. Real estate is local, and that can mean down to the subdivision, or even the side of the street your home is on.

DOM can also be manipulated somewhat by taking a home off the market and then re-listing it.