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Protect Your Real Estate in Tempe with Chapter 13 Bankruptcy

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If you are in danger of losing your home to creditors, it may be time to consider a chapter 13 bankruptcy. This will give you a chance to pay off your creditors in an orderly manner as funds become available. During the chapter 13 process certain assets are protected from creditors, and the most important of these is your home. 

When you file for chapter 13 bankruptcy, you will be required to create a plan showing how you are going to pay off your current and past-due debts over a period of three to five years. A chapter 13 bankruptcy does not make the debt go away, but instead gives you time to manage the payments. If you have fallen behind on loan payments, a chapter 13 bankruptcy may allow you to keep your home while making up those payments over time. 

You may elect to file a chapter 13 bankruptcy at any time. The cost includes two fees, and totals $185 as of 2008. 

Exemptions Protect Your Real Estate Property 

When you file a bankruptcy, certain property is protected from creditors. These protections are known as exemptions. The major exemption is called the homestead exemption, and it protects your home. 

You may claim a homestead exemption in Tempe, Arizona to protect up to $100,000 in equity on your house, apartment, or mobile home that you occupy. If you rent, an exemption exists to cover any prepaid rent or security deposits up to $1,000 or 1.5 times your monthly rent, whichever is less. You may only claim one of these exemptions. 

This exemption covers the equity in your home, not its sale value. If you’ve taken out a $150,000 mortgage and paid back $25,000 of it, your home would be protected. Any excess equity above the exemption limit becomes part of the bankruptcy plan and must be paid to help settle your outstanding debts. If you’re behind on your loan, you must also make up those payments, but that can be done as part of the three to five-year plan. You must also make any usual monthly loan payments. 

Chapter 13 Bankruptcy and Your Monthly Utilities 

Filing for bankruptcy should not affect your electrical and gas service, as the utility companies are not allowed to cancel your utilities because you filed. The companies may request a deposit for further service, however, and you will be required to pay any utility bills that are issued after you’ve filed for bankruptcy. 

Take note that this page is for informational use only and should not be considered legal advice. If you believe a bankruptcy might be in your future, consult an expert to receive current and correct information. Bankruptcy laws may vary from state to state. 

Schools and Learning in Tempe, AZ

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A culturally diverse, vibrant city, Tempe, Arizona is the home of a number of educational institutions. Tempe’s schools include public, private, faith-based, vocational, technical schools and universities. Students of all ages will be inspired by the possibilities for learning and development. 

Public Schools in Tempe 

Tempe’s public schools are divided by geographical boundaries, and the three major school districts are: 

The Tempe Elementary School District 

The Kyrene School District-28 

The Tempe Union High School District 

These school districts follow standard curriculums, and accommodate thousands of students each week. 

Charter Schools Offer a Tuition Free Alternative for Students 

Tempe also has public charter schools. These schools provide smaller class sizes and are an alternative to the traditional system. The charter schools revolve around particular interests, and operate with freedom from many of the restraints that usually accompany a public school. 

One example of a well-established charter is Tempe Preparatory Academy. Tempe Prep has been consistently acknowledged as Arizona’s outstanding charter school, and as one of the best in the southwest. The school’s philosophy emphasizes Socratic learning and focuses on the “Great Books,’ with a traditional liberal arts curriculum. 

There are often waiting lists for charter schools, and parents and students will need to arrange their own transportation. 

For further information about Tempe public school systems please contact: 

The Tempe Elementary School District: (480) 839-0282 

The Keene School District: (480) 496-4600 

The Tempe Union High School District: (480) 783-4000 

For Tempe Preparatory Academy and other Independent Charters: 

www.azcharter.org 

www.tempeprep.org 

Private K-12 Schools Provide Additional Educational Formats 

Tempe also offers a number of private schools. These schools represent a variety of educational visions, which are sometimes faith based, and sometimes based on the humanities and sciences. For Further Information please contact: www.privateschoolrevue.com 

Arizona State University and Higher Education 

Arizona State University’s main campus is located in the heart of Tempe. A leading university, ASU is inspired by “The New American University Model” developed by its President, Dr. Michael Crow. Under this innovative paradigm, ASU has become increasingly competitive, and research driven. Many exciting programs and degrees are offered. For Further Information about ASU: www.asu.edu.gov 

There are many other vocational and technical schools in Tempe. For Further Information: www.vocationalschools.com 

AZ Resorts Located in and Near Tempe

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Centrally located in Maricopa County, Tempe, Arizona, provides access to some of Arizona’s most highly acclaimed resorts. Enjoying the opportunity to relax and unwind is always appreciated, and local resorts are a special part of what makes Tempe such a great place to be. The following list will help you uncover some possibilities: 

The Buttes Tempe Resort 

The Buttes, A Marriott Resort 

Tempe is the home of The Buttes, A Marriott Resort. This engaging mountaintop hotel is known throughout Arizona as a romantic destination resort, with incomparable views of the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. Guests appreciate the opportunity to indulge in: 

  • Fine Dining with a Striking, Scenic Backdrop 
  • Recreational Facilities 
  • Hot Tub and a Fireplace 
  • Concierge with a Business Center 
  • Massage and Facials 

The Buttes Tempe visitors are a mixture of: vacationers, business travelers and locals, who all enjoy the hotel’s excellent services and fine atmosphere. When in town, be sure to arrange time for a visit to this landmark resort. 

The Arizona Grand Resort 

The Arizona Grand Resort is situated among 17,000 acres of mountain preserve in Phoenix, and its unique beauty inspires an enthusiastic clientele. Guests spend their leisure time exploring amenities such as: 

  • Five Restaurants 
  • A 20,000 Square Foot Recreational Center 
  • Rejuvenating Spa Treatments 
  • A Water Park 
  • The Arizona Grand Golf Course 
  • Hiking at South Mountain Preserve 

Visitors return from year to year, and are drawn back by the resort’s many features and its exceptionally friendly service staff. The Arizona Grand is independently owned, and employees make it their mission to provide each guest with a memorable experience. 

Some other Resorts near to Tempe, AZ: 

The Fiesta Inn Resort 

The Scottsdale Plaza Resort 

The Phoenician Resort 

The Boulders Resort 

The Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain 

These fine properties all provide numerous upscale services that will refresh and invigorate you. 

Tempe, AZ Homeowners find Plenty of Entertainment

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As a landlocked city surrounded by Phoenix, Scottsdale, Gilbert, Mesa and Chandler, Tempe is surrounded by things to do and see. The city hosts one of the largest universities in the nation, and residents of all ages enjoy the youthful feel of Tempe’s downtown, or “Mill Avenue,” as the locals call it. 

Want to live in Tempe but worried about what you’ll do for fun? Sure, you can always drive 15 minutes or so north to Scottsdale’s famous nightlife scene, but there are also lots of things to do near your new Tempe home. Read on to learn more about your entertainment options! 

Discover the Hidden Culture and Museums in Tempe 

Tempe History Museum: With its History Detectives Program, this colorful local museum is family friendly enough to keep the kids enthralled, but adults will find it worth the one to two hours a walk-through takes as well. 

Petersen House Museum: On the same campus as the Tempe History Museum, this 1892 Queen Anne Victorian home is one of the oldest in the Valley. 

Arizona State University Museums in Tempe, Arizona 

ASU Art Museum: This museum offers art lovers a nice collection of work in a unique building. For the cost of a donation, you can enjoy the cool concrete architecture and quiet atmosphere at the height of summer. 

ASU Museum of Anthropology: Learn about the ways that humans have historically react to change. Look at the ways that human cultures and societies “experience and respond” to those changes. 

ASU Center for Meteorite Studies: Ever wondered about meteorites? What they are? How they happen? Visit the world’s largest collection right here in Tempe. 

Tempe Shopping Centers Offer Retail and Fun 

Tempe Marketplace: A new outdoor mall, this shopping center offers great food, a variety of shopping options and a brand-new Harkin’s Theatres. 

Arizona Mills: This huge indoor mall offers discount and regular stores, restaurants and movies in 72 degree comfort all year round. 

Ikea: This Swedish furniture store was so popular when it opened that locals tell of shoppers from as far away as Colorado camped out in the parking lot. Find this quality furniture and more here. 

Local Restaurants in Tempe Provide Fabulous Food 

House of Tricks: This local, high-quality dining establishment offers a unique experience for visitors who can eat outdoors all year round in a beautiful flower-filled yard. Enjoy lunch and dinner. (480) 968-1114. 

Byblos Mediterranean: This family-owned restaurant offers a great menu filled with items made with fresh ingredients prepared from scratch. (480) 894-1945. 

Z’Tejas: Discover new Southwest cooking at its best. (480) 377-1770. 

Monti’s La Casa Vieja: This historic steakhouse has been serving up meals for nearly 50 years. Locals claim that the portions are fabulous and that the museum-like interior makes for a great place to take visitors. 

The City of Tempe at a Glance

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Named for a scenic vista from ancient Greece, Tempe is a very modern city. The heart of Tempe is Arizona State University, a major college that draws over 50,000 students to the area. Although Tempe reached the limit of its borders in 1974, the city remains vital and vibrant through a constant process of new development and investment in city infrastructure. 

The city of Tempe can be found south of Scottsdale and east of Phoenix. Three freeways, the 202 Red Mountain, the 60 Superstition and the 101 Pima, cross through Tempe, making it a major hub for traffic in the greater Phoenix area. Tempe is a college town, with much of the land here given up to businesses which serve young, active adults and the college itself. Almost all of Tempe is zoned for commercial and residential use. 

Tempe is largely based around a service economy, and the largest employers here reflect that. Examples include JP Morgan Chase Bank, Motorola, State Farm Insurance, Medtronics Microelectronics and the airline US Airways. People can fly into Tempe, put their money in the bank, buy cell phones and electronics, and then insure all their new stuff. 

The major economic sectors of Tempe revolve around business, aerospace, biotech, high technology, retail and tourism. Major players in the business field include JP Morgan Chase Bank and Wells Fargo Loan Services. The aerospace industry is growing in this town thanks to Triumph and US Airways. The local biotech firms are Medtronics and Orthologic. For high technology, Tempe is home to Motorola, Microchip Technology and Calence. 

The Job Market is Always Changing 

A recent job search of the Tempe market discovered over 700 available jobs, in all sorts of fields. The top-ranking fields were customer service, information technology and management. The major employers found in the search were Edward Jones, a financial company, Calence in the technology sector and Arizona State University. 

When the job search was expanded to the closest cities, the number of available positions rose to several thousand. The major fields were health care, management and skilled trades. Tempe is tightly-connected to the other cities in the Phoenix-Metro area, so a commute to the city next door is practical and common for most workers in the area. There are always opportunities for skilled and unskilled employees in Tempe. 

Tempe is a Young and Vital Community 

With a college as the major draw to the area, many workers in Tempe hold degrees. Nearly 40% of the workforce has earned a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared to the 27% average for the US as a whole. As a result of the student-oriented economy, the median household income is somewhat lower than the national average at roughly $42,000. Likewise, the population is also rather young compared to other local cities. 

New Licensing and Reporting Requirements for Short-Term Rentals

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One of the reasons that Tempe real estate has been and continues to be such a strong investment is the potential for stable income and solid investment return through the short-term rental market. This includes short-term rental apps like Airbnb, VRBO, and HomeAway—as well as independent rental property marketers. For part of the year or the whole year—for the whole property or just the spare bedroom, bath, and kitchenette—it’s been relatively straightforward for buyers to get part or all of their mortgage covered through this rental income.

In 2016, Governor Doug Ducey signed a law ensuring that local cities couldn’t impose restrictions on these types of short-term rentals. However, what we’ve learned in the meantime is that unchecked rental income opportunities has the potential to change the characters of entire neighborhoods. Indeed, one of the reasons why Tempe residential real estate has performed so well over the last few years has been the shared pool of prospective buyers created by both investors and owner-occupied households. Along with the reliability of the rental app companies, the stability of this property rental income is based on Tempe’s popularity as a place to visit.

It was largely with these concerns in mind that the governor signed a new, modified that bill that empowers local cities to regulate certain aspects of short-term rentals. In leading the charge for these modifications and new regulatory ability, Tempe has already come up with a set of new regulations for short-term rental owners.

The good news here is that there’s no reason to think short-term rentals are in any danger of being prohibited. Even now, Arizona limits the types of restrictions that can be implemented. There are two big changes in the works, however. The first is that property owners must provide authorities with contact information when offering rentals through Airbnb, VRBO, HomeAway, or other apps. The other big change is that owners may need to get and maintain a license.

So people who have come to depend on short-term guests for property rental income or are interested in making an investment in Tempe’s real estate market aren’t going to be run out of town, so to speak. But while these regulations are unlikely to put anybody out of business, it does increase the time demands/management costs placed on rental property owners.

Other Information Reporting for Rental Property Investment

If you are likely to be affected by these new regulations, one of the things you can to minimize its impact is to review the rest of your paperwork and form filing requirements. Many of these requirements are various tax forms, either as a payer or as a payee. There are cheap 1099 software solutions that provide filing support for these types of real estate-based IRS and state tax forms. Here are just some of the potential filing requirements you may be subject to.

  • Airbnb hosts should expect to receive Form 1099-K for facilitating rental payments as Third Party Network Transactions if they reached 200 different guest parties that total at least $20,000 in income.
  • Foreign persons investing in the Tempe real estate market as a rental property owner may need to submit Form 1042-S.
  • If you’re generating revenue through a property management company, you might receive Form 1099-MISC.
  • Finally, if you sell your rental property for more than you paid for it, you may have to file Form 1099-S as well as Arizona Form 140 with capital gains taxes typically applied at 25% and 4.54%, respectively.

Hopefully, property owners, short-term guests, civil authorities, and tax agencies can strike the right balance to maintain a robust real estate market, affordable lodging options, and strong neighborhoods.