march 2009

Real Estate Investor?

Critical Tax Deductions Can Save You Money

Aromatic & Flavorful

Prado’s Wood-Roasted Prawns

Desert Mountain’sHot Real Estate Listings

Polo PlayThe Equestrian

Tradition Continues in the Valley

March 2009

Produced by Desert Lifestyle Publishing • 480.460.0996

Specializing in Desert Mountain Real Estate Sales and Resales Since 1996.

MountainAndDesertProperties.com DesertMountain24/7.com

Not Pictured: Brandon “Bear” June, Ed Johnson, Chris Kolacy, Steve Zook.

602.432.1611

Tamara J. NezirevicMortgage Consultant

[email protected] Sundial Circle, #5, Carefree

BK #0905178

1.800.848.0475

Office 480.488.9974

Fax 480.488.8332

7 Sundial Circle

Suite 3

PO Box 3664

Carefree, AZ 85377

ISSN-1939-9588

If your home is currently listed, this is not a solicitation for that listing.

Scott F. Naumann, Designated Broker/Principal Desert Mountain [email protected] in AZ, FL and CO.

Dan Gallery, Sales ExecutiveDesert Mountain [email protected]

Shaye Chandler, Sales ExecutiveDesert Mountain [email protected]

Will Pearson, Sales ExecutiveDesert Mountain [email protected]

Craig McElroy, Sales [email protected]

Shirley Arnold Sales [email protected]

Ray Arnold Broker [email protected]

Featured Home Of The MonthVillage of Sunset Canyon • 11002 E. Falling Star Dr. • $2,699,000

NOTE: Originally offered during construction at $3,150,000

• 5,500 sq. ft. of air conditioned living area• Four bedroom plus office/den/study with bath and closet• Attached guest casita with separate entrance• Large patio with negative-edge pool, spa and dual water features• Outdoor BBQ kitchen with stainless steel appliances• Media room

• Oversized three-car garage (room for five vehicles)• Great room floorplan• Split bedroom plan• Granite, marble and stainless steel finishes throughout• Soft desert contemporary design• Unparalleled Valley, sunset and mountain views• Includes Equity Golf Membership

Sevilla Home & Garden Design Center

Let us add an artistic touch to your kitchen or bath

6616 E. Cave Creek Rd. ~ Cave Creek, AZ

480-488-0115

As we slide into the New Year with a new market and a new president (hide your money!-in real estate!) with a new perspective, I am seeing a shift in both sellers’ and buyers’ attitudes; mind

sets if you will. Sellers have become less greedy and buyers seemingly more greedy. Buyers must remember that this is a time of opportunity and what has come down will, in time, go back up. Where is the bottom? Who’s to say? None of us has a crystal ball but one thing is for sure: when the media announces that the bottom is past us, for most buyers the opportunity to make their

optimum purchase has expired. In other words- today’s price IS tomorrow’s bargain.

Commentary

Spring Wine and Jazz FestivalEl Pedregal, Mar. 1st, 8th and 15th480.488.1072 or elpedregal.comCelebrate spring with great food, wine and a little jazz at El Pedregal’s outdoor courtyard and amphitheatre. Featured musicians include Dennis Rowland, Khani Cole, and the band Sorocco. With over 30 unique stores and boutiques to browse, you can scratch your itch for a little shopping as well! This free event is a lovely way to spend a leisurely Sunday afternoon.

Dancing with the Stars Arizona 2009Arizona Biltmore Resort and Spa, Mar. 6th602.840.1644 or azkidney.org Applaud our local celebrities and their dance partners as they compete in the third annual Dancing with the Stars Arizona. Proceeds will benefit the Arizona Kidney Foundation. Accompanied by instructors from the Fred Astaire Dance Studio, each local celebrity will compete for audience votes, judges’ scores and, of course, trophies! In addition to the performances, attendees will have the chance to show off their own moves on the dance floor. Be ready to dance the night away!

National Geographic’s: Dangerous EncountersMesa Center for the Arts, Mar. 11th480.644.6501 or mesaartscenter.comAs the host of TV’s Dangerous Encounters and Reptiles Wild, Dr. Brady Barr has many exciting stories sure to captivate any audience. Join Dr. Barr as he recounts many of his adventures and highlights on the research he’s done. Dr. Barr has dedicated much of his career to researching both alligators and crocodiles in order to educate others and help conserve their environment.

RentASU Gammage, Mar. 17th-22nd480.965.5062 or asugammage.comBased on the opera Boheme, Rent has changed the definition of musical theatre forever. This moving production shares the lives of six artists struggling to find themselves and survive the problems life throws their way. Rent was nominated for ten Tony Awards including Best Musical and Best Original Score.

Walk on the Wild SidePhoenix Zoo, Mar. 21st480.248.7582 or helpinghandsinafrica.comWhat better way to spend a Saturday afternoon than with a little exercise and your contribution to a worthy cause. You have the options of joining the 2.5K or 5K walk through the Phoenix Zoo grounds. Plus, enjoy free admission to the zoo for the day. Proceeds go to the Helping Hands in Africa Foundation whose mission is to restore hope to villages in South Africa that have been left in shambles by the AIDS epidemic.

Elton John & Billy Joel: Face 2 FaceUS Airways Center, Mar. 26th602.379.7800 or usairwayscenter.comThis sensational duo joins forces once again to put on a performance like no other! With such hits under their belts as Uptown Girl, Tiny Dancer and Candle in the Wind, Elton John and Billy Joel are sure to please fans with an unforgettable show. The evening starts off with a bang with these two musical geniuses playing twin pianos and trading vocals. It promises to be a spectacular event!

MARCH 2009

One of the most important aspects of real estate investing is taking advantage of all of the tax benefits that are available to investors. These write-offs can make or break your success. In today’s market, there are thousands of real estate owners that hadn’t intended on becoming an investor. As many sellers have wearied of attempting to sell their home, they’ve resigned to renting it instead. It’s this group of people that might be losing money if they aren’t aware of the tax deductions they should be taking. “Basically, I tell clients to run their real estate property as though it’s a business,” says Scott R. Bell, CPA in Scottsdale. “We see a lot of clients just trying to sell their place but it often ends up becoming a rental. Once you step out of a property and it becomes a rental, anything that comes out of your pocket, whether it’s HOA fees or a fresh coat of paint, can be a deduction.” To begin, keep a record of all expenses you incur from the property. These will include repairs, maintenance, cleaning, landscaping, pool services, pest control, supplies, association fees, trash removal fees and utilities. Other deductions include the mortgage interest, insurance premiums, local property taxes, management fees, advertising, professional fees, rental of equipment, and any rents you have paid to others. Travel expenses to and from your property, which may include two out-of-state trips per year are also deductions. However, if you mix business with pleasure you must be prepared to prove with documentation what percentage

of the trip was spent maintaining the rental and what percentage was personal, taking only the deductions for the business side. Casualty damage to your property, if properly documented, is another deduction. These may include acts of nature, theft, vandalism or unfortunate circumstances that cause any damage to the real estate. Tax preparation costs for the Schedule E form (for rental properties) are also a deduction. Property owners can also take advantage of depreciation deductions by either writing off all of the value over 27.5 years, or by examining the assets within the property that are short-life expenses and deduct those on a yearly basis. For example, if you installed a new heating system with a depreciation schedule of ten years you could deduct one-tenth of the cost of the system per year for the next decade. Keep in mind though that according to the IRS, there’s a big difference between improvements and repairs. The cost of improvements to the property must be depreciated over their useful lives (which are defined by the IRS), rather than deducted in the year paid. The cost of repairs can be written off in the year you pay them. These tax deductions are all meant to help offset any rental income that a property owner might receive. Although in many circumstances, homeowners are renting their property with a negative monthly cash flow. That loss is, of course, a write-off as well.

The ideal scenario for investors, Bell says, is to break even with homeowners taking some tax benefit. “Ninety-nine percent of all property owners put money into their rentals but at least they are getting some tax advantage,” he explains. It’s when the rental is not being rented for whatever reason that things can become complicated. “However, if the property is not rented you can still write off the interest and property taxes so you don’t totally lose out,” Bell explains. Several websites, including turbotax.com cover common rental property deductions. If you’ve found yourself an owner of rental property, be sure to consult a CPA immediately to insure that you’re taking advantage of every tax deduction that you can. Your tax advisor can best aid you and your personal situation.

WOOD-ROASTED WILD PRAWNS WITH CONTRONE BEANS

Featuring Prado at the Montelucia Resort & Spa

4949 E. Lincoln Drive • Paradise Valley480.627.3141 or icmontelucia.com

While the history and heritage of Arizona has often included the noble horse, hayrides and rodeos aren’t the only equestrian pursuits available today. Show jumping, eventing, dressage and polo are other ways that equestrians can show their skill with the “ponies” and Valley horse lovers can enjoy equestrian sports. Polo in particular seems to draw a crowd of horse lovers and those that simply like to socialize and take in a good match. In fact, every weekend from November through April, polo lovers can attend matches free-of-charge held by the North Scottsdale Polo Club, the only club in Arizona that claims membership with the United States Polo Association. “The polo scene was a lot bigger here 20 years ago,” admits Dan Coleman, manager of the Scottsdale club and lieutenant governor of Border Circuit Polo which encompasses Arizona, New Mexico and southern Texas, “but the club has endured. Now polo is starting to make a comeback. It’s one of those things that has a special cachet…women enjoy getting dressed up for the tournaments and it’s a terrific spectator sport.” Polo, one of the oldest continually played sports in the world, dates back some 3,000 years. While the game’s origins are a bit unclear, it is believed that polo was first played in Iran. Originally, polo was developed as a training exercise for the king’s cavalry guards. The Brits are credited with spreading polo

worldwide. Military officers brought the game to England in the 1860s and polo clubs became established throughout Western Europe. While polo is played in countries all over the world, it’s especially popular in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, England, India, Mexico, Pakistan and the USA. Today the game is played with several variations, depending on the league it’s played in. In outdoor polo, the playing field is 300 yards long by 160 yards wide – about the size of nine football fields. Each team is made up of four riders and their mounts. The objective is to score goals against an opposing team by driving a small white plastic or wooden ball into the opposing team’s goal using a long-handled mallet. The game consists of between four and eight “chukkers” – periods lasting approximately seven and a half minutes each. Players change mounts between or during the chukkers and play is only stopped for penalties, broken equipment or an injury to a horse or player. Arena polo is played indoors or more commonly outdoors, on an enclosed all-weather surface. The field of play is much smaller, rarely exceeding 100 yards in length and has high boundary walls with netting to keep the ball in bounds. There are only three players on each team and a larger inflatable leather ball is used instead. Arena polo tends to be more of an action-packed physical game while outdoor polo exhibits faster galloping speeds. Although the horses used in polo are commonly called “ponies”, the term isn’t quite

accurate as the horses are full-sized – most often thoroughbreds, which can run at high speeds for longer periods of time. Polo mounts are chosen for their stamina, agility and temperament. Endurance as well as quick bursts of speed are necessary for the game and horses must remain responsive to their riders even under pressure. The Scottsdale club uses WestWorld in Scottsdale for its outdoor tournaments and Hayden Polo in Queen Creek for arena events. There’s an outdoor playing field in Black Canyon City called Krazy Horse Ranch and one in Skull Valley outside of Prescott. Other polo arenas include Azteca on Carefree Highway in Desert Foothills and several private ones at homes throughout the Valley. Polo in America is often thought of as an “upper crust” game. Indeed, visions of

champagne and hatted ladies stomping divots at half-time are often associated with the sport. While a polo match is an excellent avenue for socializing, many fans of the sport simply relish watching the skill and strategy necessary to play. “I believe polo is one of the most difficult things you can do,” says Coleman, “because it requires a high degree of sportsmanship and hand-eye coordination. It’s not a game of strength, but a game of skill.” The North Scottsdale Polo club hosts six tournaments a year, three being USPA events with trophies. The club also hosts one charity event per year. For more information on upcoming matches and tournaments in Arizona, visit: northscottsdalepolo.com or us-polo.org or bordercircuitpolo.com.

Ingredients:1lb. dry Italian controne beans* 24, or approximately 2 lbs., blue wild prawns (New Caledonia, Hawaii), or any fresh unpeeled jumbo shrimp, 4 shrimp per servingTellicherry pepper or any fresh-cracked, high-quality black pepper, to tasteExtra virgin olive oil, as needed8-10 rosemary sprigs, leaves removed and chopped finely amounting to 2 tablespoons, stems reserved and set asideFleur de sel (France, Italy or Spain), or any high quality sea salt, to tasteSicilian wild oregano, or any fresh oregano, chopped finely, approximately 2 tablespoons

Procedure:Cook beans in an ample amount of gently simmering water until soft, season with salt. Meanwhile, skewer prawns on rosemary stems and season with salt, pepper and olive oil. Grill just until pink, do not overcook. Drain beans and place in a bowl. Drizzle with olive oil to moisten, season with salt, chopped oregano and rosemary. Gently rest the prawn skewer over a serving of the beans in each serving dish. Finish the entire dish with fleur de sel and a drizzle more olive oil.

*Controne beans are Italian white beans with a thin skin. They need no soaking and cook very quickly. An easier-to-source substitute would be canned cannellini beans, drained and rinsed. They will have a much higher sodium content, so adjust the amount of salt you use in the recipe.

(Serves 6 as an appetizer or light entrée.)