Previous Guest Speakers! | |
 | Spoke On: 11/18/2015 Ben Carro(Phoenix Police Department) benjamin.carro@phoenix.gov 602-882-9666 |
 | Spoke On: 8/19/2015 Fletcher Wilcox(Grand Canyon Title Agency) 602-648-1230 Fletcher is proud to be part of Grand Canyon Title Agency, Inc. The company has been closing escrows in Greater Phoenix for thirty-five years and has sixteen escrow offices in the Valley. Fletcher was born in Yuma, Arizona and grew up in Phoenix, graduating from Central High School. He received a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Arts degree from Arizona State University. In 1985 obtained an Arizona Real Estate license and in 1986 co-listed and closed his first property, a $2.5 million dollar commercial property. He is a member or past member of the following associations: Arizona Association of Realtors Arizona State Escrow Association Scottsdale Area Association of Realtors Scottsdale Chapter Women's Council of REALTORS Past statistician for the Scottsdale Luxury Tour Statistician for the Heart of Scottsdale Tour Current member and past V.P. of Education Arizona Mortgage Lenders Association Fletcher is author of The Wilcox Report previously called Residential Focus. This report provides statistics and analysis for single family real estate trends in Greater Phoenix; He is a contributing columnist for the Arizona Journal of Real Estate & Business and has written for Arizona Realtor Magazine a publication by the Arizona Association of Realtors. He has been a guest speaker on KTAR, KJZZ/NPR, KFNN, channel's 3, 10 and 12 and a guest on the Horizon show on channel 8. His residential analysis has been mentioned in the Arizona Republic, AZCentral.com, Phoenix Business Journal, East Valley Tribune, Bloomberg News, Dow Jones MarketWatch, National Mortgage News and HousingWire.com. He teaches renewal courses on the Residential Resale Real Estate Purchase Contract, and is often moderater at real estate and lending seminars. Fletcher joined Alice Cooper's Solid Rock organization as a board member. The organization promotes music and the arts and has opened a center for teenagers in Phoenix http://www.alicecoopersolidrock.com/ Fletcher served eleven years as a citizen board member on the Phoenix Police Department's Disciplinary Review and Use of Force Boards. |
 | Spoke On: 7/15/2015 Thaumas Ehr(Ehr Estate Management) 602-820-8226 Thaumas Ehr is a local registered landscape architect with 36 years' experience of practice of architectural and landscape design. His extensive practise has consisted of custom residential homes, estates and vineyard estates. He has served on many design review boards and homeowners associations with thousands of members in a number of states. Mr. Ehr has also represented municipalities as a consulting land planner and architectural review. Mr. Ehr has been an expert witness in construction defect litigation cases for the last 15 years. His knowledge of building and landscape construction has given him unique insight into trouble shooting situations and recommending innovative repair solutions that have resulted in the recovery of monies for individual homeowners and large-member associations. Mr. Ehr's extensive knowledge of all phases of construction technology and renovation of buildings and landscapes uniquely qualifies him to represent homeowners and maintain properties in Arizona. Throughout his practice he has built interdisciplinary solutions by applying knowledge of architecture, biological resources and engineering to balance, harmonize and adapt environments in time. B.L.A. Landscape Architecture, University of Oregon- 1980 B.S. Biology, University of New Mexico-1974 Member, American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) Registered Landscape Architect- Arizona (No. 45,564), California, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Texas. home maintenance services, home services, house sitting services, phoenix home servicesMember American Home Watch Association Certified Landscape Irrigation Auditor (CLlA) |
Spoke On: 7/15/2015 James Kottke 602-524-8284 jameskottke@cox.net | |
 | Spoke On: 7/1/2015 Kerry Melcher(ARMLS) 130 S. Priest Drive Suite 101 Tempe, Ar 85281 480-303-7246 Third-generation Phoenix REALTOR'. An active volunteer serving on many real estate related Boards of Directors, committees & task forces. Real estate practice limited to referral business. Practice specializes in the center city of Phoenix, AZ. Kerry.Melcher@ARMLS.com |
 | Spoke On: 6/17/2015 Chuck Coughlin Vanessa Hickman(David & Gladys Wright House Foundation) 602-689-6140 |
Spoke On: 6/3/2015 Paul Barnes(Arcadia Camelback Mountain Neighborhood Association) 5518 E. Mariposa Street Phoenix, AZ 85018 Tracy Wadas (480) 748-9550 | |
 | Spoke On: 4/15/2015 Michael Orr In 2012 Mike Orr was appointed Director of the Real Estate Center at the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University. Orr left the computer industry and California to focus on Arizona real estate in 2002. He obtained an Arizona real estate license in 2005 and started studying real estate statistics the same year. Orr partnered with ARMLS and the Information Market LLC in 2008 to create the Cromford Report (www.cromfordreport.com), which provides daily real estate market insight for realtors and investors covering the Greater Phoenix residential market. Orr holds a masters degree in mathematics from the University of Oxford in England and spent 31 years in the computer industry, working for IBM, Amdahl, Splash Technology and the Santa Cruz Operation. Orr is married with three children. When not working with computers and real estate, his main interests are music and canals. |
 | Spoke On: 4/1/2015 Fletcher Wilcox(Grand Canyon Title Agency) 602-648-1230 Fletcher is proud to be part of Grand Canyon Title Agency, Inc. The company has been closing escrows in Greater Phoenix for thirty-five years and has sixteen escrow offices in the Valley. Fletcher was born in Yuma, Arizona and grew up in Phoenix, graduating from Central High School. He received a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Arts degree from Arizona State University. In 1985 obtained an Arizona Real Estate license and in 1986 co-listed and closed his first property, a $2.5 million dollar commercial property. He is a member or past member of the following associations: Arizona Association of Realtors Arizona State Escrow Association Scottsdale Area Association of Realtors Scottsdale Chapter Women's Council of REALTORS Past statistician for the Scottsdale Luxury Tour Statistician for the Heart of Scottsdale Tour Current member and past V.P. of Education Arizona Mortgage Lenders Association Fletcher is author of The Wilcox Report previously called Residential Focus. This report provides statistics and analysis for single family real estate trends in Greater Phoenix; He is a contributing columnist for the Arizona Journal of Real Estate & Business and has written for Arizona Realtor Magazine a publication by the Arizona Association of Realtors. He has been a guest speaker on KTAR, KJZZ/NPR, KFNN, channel's 3, 10 and 12 and a guest on the Horizon show on channel 8. His residential analysis has been mentioned in the Arizona Republic, AZCentral.com, Phoenix Business Journal, East Valley Tribune, Bloomberg News, Dow Jones MarketWatch, National Mortgage News and HousingWire.com. He teaches renewal courses on the Residential Resale Real Estate Purchase Contract, and is often moderater at real estate and lending seminars. Fletcher joined Alice Cooper's Solid Rock organization as a board member. The organization promotes music and the arts and has opened a center for teenagers in Phoenix http://www.alicecoopersolidrock.com/ Fletcher served eleven years as a citizen board member on the Phoenix Police Department's Disciplinary Review and Use of Force Boards. |
Spoke On: 3/18/2015 James Macchiaroli(Arcadia Water Company) maccojim@aol.com Charles E. Buri (602) 977-2874 ceb@charlesburilaw.com | |
 | Spoke On: 3/18/2015 Russ Perry(Jerry's Audio/Video) 602-619-2565 |
Spoke On: 3/4/2015 Ben Carro(602-882-9666) Vacation Watch (602) 495-5007 Phoenix Police Department (602) 262-6151 raidsonline.com | |
 | Spoke On: 2/4/2015 Jay Josephs(Josephs Appraisal Group) 1641 E. Osborn Road Suite 8 Phoenix, Ar 85016 602-955-4050 The appraisal industry sure has changed over the last several months. The Home Valuation Code of Conduct is here, and it has had quite an impact. The HVCC was designed with one main focus - to eliminate the pressure appraisers were experiencing to "hit values" on refinances and "make purchase prices" on sales. I believe from that perspective HVCC has worked, and worked well. These results have come with additional costs. A much higher percentage of purchases are being impacted by appraisals below contract prices. This fact has set The HVCC in the cross hairs of the National Association of Realtors. The NAR is placing their lobby dollars behind efforts to stop HVCC based on the premise that the code has lead to higher number of "faulty appraisals." I am a member of the National Association of Realtors, and do agree that there are problems with "The Code," but to ask for repeal due to high frequency of "faulty appraisals" is just a poor and biased perspective. Substitute "objective" for "faulty" - that is what we are seeing now, and that is why the NAR complaints are so transparent. This I know for sure, and I have always been proud of the work product that Josephs Appraisal Group produces, our appraisals are better and more thorough now than ever before. They have to be - underwriters, bank officers and secondary market participants demand nothing less. Fifty percent of the time real estate agents are working with buyers, and should feel comfortable knowing their clients are receiving completely objective valuations. Ultimately, I am not convinced The HVCC will stand the test of time. The savvy politician hesitates to support legislation that has so few beneficiaries. Consumers are paying higher fees for appraisals as management companies demand their share of the pie. These same consumers are now mandated to pay up front for appraisals that may not ultimately help them complete their refinance or purchase. In this time of terrible economic uncertainty, any legislation that leads to higher consumer fees and lower likelihood of helping strapped homeowners probably can't survive. Legislation has been introduced to place an 18 month moratorium on The HVCC. It appears clear that, if this passes, HVCC is dead. Politicians will then need to look in the mirror - the same politicians that blamed unethical appraisers for a share of the "Mortgage Meltdown," will now quietly have to admit that the unintended consequences are not worth the elimination of appraiser pressure. Everyone here at JAG appreciates your continued support. I thank all that have provided us feedback on our website. I value your opinion on this commentary and your opinion on The HVCC or any other real estate or Green topics - jay@jaginc.net. Jay Josephs Josephs Appraisal Group |