Meet The Forkenbrock Group

One lesson I've learned as a Realtor: marketing never stops changing. What worked five years ago isn’t necessarily what works today. Video changed real estate marketing. Social media changed it. YouTube changed it. And now AI is changing the way people search for homes, Realtors and information. As Realtors, I think it’s our job to keep up. My sellers aren’t hiring me to market their home the way I did in 2018. They’re hiring me to understand how buyers are looking for homes right now and make sure their home is showing up where those buyers are spending their time. Technology will keep changing. Marketing will keep evolving. And I’ll keep learning, testing and adapting right along with it. Dawn Forkenbrock, Arizona Realtor w/ Real Broker #arizonarealtor #realestatemarketing #realtormarketing #queencreekrealtor #realestatevideo

Solar Panels on Arizona Homes: Do Leased or Owned Solar Panels Help or Hurt Home Value? Solar panels are everywhere on East Valley homes, but they do not all affect a home's value the same way. Whether a system is owned or leased makes a genuine difference at appraisal and at closing, and it is worth understanding before you buy or sell a home with solar. Owned solar panels generally increase home value in Arizona. Zillow's national data points to an average premium of about 4.1 percent for homes with owned solar, and a 2025 Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory study of more than 23,000 home sales found a premium of roughly 4 dollars per installed watt in most markets, which works out to about 24,000 to 32,000 dollars on a typical 6 to 8 kilowatt system. Arizona's high sun exposure and electricity costs generally support this pattern, though the actual premium depends on system age, size, and the local market. Leased and power purchase agreement systems tell a different story. They generally do not add appraised value, since Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and FHA guidelines treat them as personal property rather than part of the real estate. A lease is not automatically a negative, but it can complicate a sale, since the buyer typically has to qualify to take over the lease payments, and some appraisers note the lease as a marketability concern. In most cases a buyer can take over the lease, but they must apply and qualify with the leasing company, similar to a credit approval, and this step needs to start early in the transaction. Export rates also matter more than most sellers realize. APS pays roughly 6 cents per kilowatt hour for exported solar power under its Resource Comparison Proxy rate, locked for 10 years from the interconnection date, while SRP's newer export plans pay roughly 3.45 cents per kilowatt hour. Both rates sit well below the retail rate homeowners pay for grid power, which is why appraisers and buyers increasingly focus on how much of a home's own usage the system offsets rather than on export income alone. Before buying a home with solar, confirm whether the system is owned, financed, or leased, and ask for the original contract. For owned or financed systems, check for any UCC-1 filing or lien and confirm it will be released or transferred properly at closing. For leased systems, review the remaining term, the monthly payment, and any annual escalator. If you are selling a home with a leased system, whether to buy it out first depends on the buyout cost compared to the impact on your sale. A leased system can narrow your buyer pool and slow down a transaction, so paying it off before listing can simplify the sale, though it will not necessarily add the same premium an originally owned system would. Buying or selling a home with solar in the East Valley comes with a few extra steps most buyers do not expect. I walk clients through exactly what applies to a specific system before it becomes a closing-day surprise. Dawn Forkenbrock, East Valley Realtor w/ Real Broker

The Ultimate Guide to Relocating to Queen Creek, AZ: Schools, Utilities, and Top Neighborhoods Relocating to Queen Creek involves more than picking a neighborhood. Utilities, school zoning, and which specific pocket of town you land in all vary more than most newcomers expect, and getting these details wrong can mean an unwelcome surprise after move-in. Electric service in Queen Creek is split between two providers, similar to several other East Valley cities. Salt River Project serves a large portion of the town, including a dedicated SRP service center located in Queen Creek itself, while Arizona Public Service serves other portions depending on the specific address. It is worth confirming which provider serves a home before assuming based on a neighboring property. Southwest Gas provides natural gas service throughout most of Queen Creek for homes with gas heating, water heaters, or cooking appliances. Water is handled a bit differently. The Town of Queen Creek Water Department provides domestic water and irrigation to roughly 40 square miles of the area, though some properties, particularly those in unincorporated county islands, are served by a separate private water company instead. On schools, most of the town is served by Queen Creek Unified School District, with some neighborhoods on the town's edges falling under Higley Unified School District depending on the exact address. Both districts are generally well regarded, but school assignment should always be confirmed for a specific property rather than assumed based on the neighborhood name. Choosing the right neighborhood really depends on priorities. Harvest and Barney Farms offer newer, family-oriented master plans with extensive amenities built in from the start. Johnson Ranch and Ironwood Crossing offer a more established, settled feel for buyers who prefer mature landscaping and a community that has already found its rhythm. Encanterra offers a resort-style setting geared toward buyers focused on an active adult lifestyle rather than a family with school-age children. Relocating somewhere new always comes with a learning curve, and Queen Creek's mix of utility providers, school district boundaries, and distinct neighborhood personalities makes it worth getting local guidance before you commit to a specific address. I walk relocating clients through exactly what applies to a given property from the very first conversation. Dawn Forkenbrock, Queen Creek Realtor w/ Real Broker