10 minute read
Real Estate
HOW TO “TRY ON” A NEIGHBORHOOD BEFORE BUYING A HOME By Frank May traffic. If this is acceptable, great…but you may find that the nearest grocery
With many purchases, you get store is more than 15 minutes away, the opportunity to “try be- which might not be acceptable to you. fore you buy.” You can go to Living in 85383 is perfectly wonderful the store and try on clothes before you for most of you who live in the area, update your wardrobe. You can go to but if you have spent most of your life the dealership and take a test drive be- living in the heart of Scottsdale with fore you commit to purchasing a car. access to major shopping and five-star And while you can’t try a house on for restaurants, the Upper Westside of size by living in it before you buy it, Peoria may be about five to seven years you can try the neighborhood or area too soon for your move. Since most of out before purchasing a home in it. you are reading this and live in 85383, I know you have already decided that the A recent article from Realtor.com area is right for you. If it isn’t for the outlined different ways you can “try reason’s above or you wish you took a before you buy” or test-drive a new test drive on your home first, give us a neighborhood before committing to call and we can discuss your options. buying a home. Some of their top tips, as I have outlined below, include CHECK OUT THE LOCAL booking a short-term rental or Airbnb, NIGHTLIFE (ONCE SAFE TO DO doing a run-through of your commute, SO, OF COURSE) sampling the nightlife scene, and Do you love going out to dinner and checking real-time crime updates of checking out a movie? Find local the area to get a sense of the neighbor- restaurants that you want to check out hood’s safety. ahead of time so that you can sample the happy hours, brunches, or local BECOME A LOCAL coffee shops that you want to spend (EVEN FOR A FEW DAYS) time and money. Invite your friends Consider booking an Airbnb as close to join you for dinner and more. Your as you can get in the neighborhood goal should be to see as many venues you want to live. I know it isn’t free, as you possibly can, gaining a sense but the insight this can give you about of ambiance and demographics of the a community is worth your time and local nightlife and social scene. money.
BOTTOM LINE
Spend some time exploring the Buying a home is a considerable comneighborhood during the morning, mitment—so before you make such afternoon, and evening to gauge noise a big purchase, why not spend time levels and safety in the area. You can in the neighborhood and get a feel look up crime stats in the city by go- for whether or not it’s a good fit for ing to you? Give us a call if you want to talk PeoriaAZ.gov/government/depart- about hyperlocal living and how to ments/police/community-relations- maximize your experience in the home programs/crime-bulletins. buying process at 623-435-1300. It can be helpful to do your due diligence upfront before falling in love Frank May grew up with a neighborhood or home at first in the valley, graduatsight. ing from Northwest Christian School and TEST DRIVE YOUR DAILY NAU. He is a real esROUTINE—AND COMMUTE tate agent with Keller Not only is it essential to explore the Williams Realty and noise levels and crime stats, but it is has been helping both buyers and sellalso crucial to go through your daily ers for 18 years. Frank May is a Dave routine. Drive to work in rush hour Ramsey Endorsed Local Provider.
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We are on a war footing. It’s time to soldier on.
The mayor of New York, Bill de Blasio, described school administrators as being on a “wartime footing” during a press briefi ng on Sunday to announce the closure of all the city’s schools. Listening to the coronavirus news conference on Wednesday, I heard the president of the United States say he is now a “wartime president,” implying we are at war with an unseen viral enemy.
My mind continues to try to digest this information and determine the appropriate response. This is the fi rst time in my memory (I’m 55) that the entire country, in fact the entire world, is being threatened by a common enemy. Even right after 9/11, no one felt that our existence or personal safety was at risk. Having been attacked, we were angry and knew that terrorism could get out of hand if not addressed. But aside from some sporadic anthrax scares, nothing made us feel we were in actual physical danger or that our livelihoods might be at stake. No one was rushing to grocery stores to hoard toilet paper and supplies. While the airlines were completely shut down and the sky was eerily devoid of planes, we still went to ball games. And even though we all wanted to be glued to CNN 24/7, we all still went to work.
So what is the appropriate response to the situation as it is? Whether we think this viral outbreak called for taking greater precautions sooner or less drastic action more gradually, we must face reality as it stands now. It is what it is. There is no doubt that in the aftermath, we will endure endless analysis, armchair quarterbacking, and partisan bickering about where to assign blame, but let’s agree to keep that energy-squandering activity where it belongs: in the aftermath.
What is paramount now is that we all respond the way this great country always has when facing an enemy: absolutely resolute, totally united as one people, and determined to make quick work of the challenge so we can return to the pursuit of happiness and prosperity.
The characteristics that enabled the Greatest Generation to rise to the challenges of World War II were bravery, eagerness to pitch in, and the creativity to solve problems no one had ever faced before. As we fi nd our legs during this war footing, it is imperative that we step through fear and summon courage, that we each put our shoulder to the wheel, and that we use our ingenuity to create ways of functioning in a seemingly dysfunctional situation.
Merriam-Webster defi nes “war footing” as “the condition of being prepared to undertake or maintain war.” The hallmark of the sensationally successful economy of three weeks ago is productivity—a record number of Americans at work producing unparalleled levels of wealth. It is imperative that we fi nd ways to be more productive on a war footing, not less. It is essential that we be creative in fi nding ways to adapt and make the adjustments we need to stay afl oat and move forward.
With children home from school, there is time to teach them things we don’t usually have time for: how to change the oil in the car, clean the pool, hang a ceiling fan, make a budget on a spreadsheet, lead a conference call. How to study and get work done from home.
As vice president of sales at SunSolar Solutions, a local Peoria solar company with over 17 offi ce staff employees, 50 salespeople, and installation crews working on rooftops every day, my partners and I fi nd ourselves having to adapt continually as new developments change the situation on the ground hour by hour. What doesn’t change is the dozens of families that depend on us to continue adding to the 6,000 systems we have sold locally. Like every business in recent days, we have made many rapid and massive adjustments. Today was the fi rst time our entire offi ce staff worked from home. The effort and creativity shown by each of our engineers, designers, project coordinators, and customer-support personnel as they have transitioned from being in one building to working together in virtual space is truly impressive.
How do we draw new customers in a business where most new prospects are met going door to door, meeting people at home? There is no such thing as a solar dealership. How do we adapt our process of meeting homeowners in their homes, where we can do site evaluations and present custom designs, so that it is safe for our customers and consultants? When homeowners are dealing with uncertainty in the short term, how can we help them make a strategic change with environmental and fi nancial benefi ts in the long term?
SunSolar Solutions is committed to solving these challenges and adapting to disruptions. We have stepped up our “digital door knocking” online and intensifi ed our marketing in traditional publications like this one. We have created a “no contact” sales process by training all our salespeople and consultants on giving remote presentations via video conferencing. We have adapted every step of our process so that the customer can complete it without having to leave the home or come in contact with our personnel.
We are also leveraging our profi t margins to offer fi nancial assistance to customers while keeping our team employed. This summer, APS will reduce the rate at which they pay for residents’ solar-generated power, and the IRS this winter will shrink the solar tax credit from 26 percent of the cost of installing a solar-energy system to 22 percent, presenting customers with two critical deadlines. SunSolar will cover payments on new customers’ solar loans through the end of 2020 so that they can take advantage of all incentives and cost savings with absolutely no expense this year. That means this summer’s electric bills will be radically reduced with no corresponding solar payment.
While it is clear that no amount of determination and creativity can make the coming weeks or months normal, it remains our solemn responsibility to provide for our families and support the local businesses that employ our friends and neighbors. To that end, we have just switched our promotional incentive from a $25 gift card (which would just direct yet more wealth to a gigantic corporation poised to soar to new heights in this deliver-everything economy) to a $50 gift card for Kawaii Sushi and Asian Cuisine, which is locally owned by one of our customers.
-Michael O’Donnell is a vice president of sales and a partner at SunSolar Solutions, a Peoria fi rm that has been the top solar sales company in Arizona for each of the last four years.
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