Super Bowl, Mortgage Crisis Combine for Arizona Mega-Story

Condé Nast Portfolio has a story which has to be the biggest "synergy" story of the 2008 Superbowl season - how inflated rental prices for the Big Game are saving Phoenix-area homeowners' bacon, at least temporarily by paying their mortgages for a month or two for a weekend's rental. Quoted in the Portfolio story, one homeowner in crisis paid off two months' mortgage on a $400,000 house she bought just over a year ago, when the mortgage company she worked for still existed. The $3,200 she got for four nights' rent on a house 20 miles from the action came from a website offering to arrange such deals for local homeowners.

A search of Craigslist for the Phoenix area, looking for rentals with the term "superbowl" in them, came up with over 16,000 listings. Four tickets and a stay in a condo near the stadium is listed for $12,000, which is actually a bargain compared to other offerings.

One enterprising individual is renting a 2002 Mercedes also, probably his or her own, for $150 a day during the superbowl. Some apartment dwellers appear only to be asking a month's rent per night for the privilege of staying in their places. Judging by a package listed at a Holiday Inn at $195 a night, it might actually be one of the best deals - but the request to wire the money casts some suspicion on the offer.

Someone is listing a "last minute cancellation" at their condo for $600 total, saying "lucky for you we're not greedy." Plenty of their neighbors aren't making the same claim.

Maybe the most creative solution in the Craiglist ads is one listing a 10-day rental for $200,000. Yes, two hundred thousand. The idea, they explain, is that you then donate the house for a tax writeoff after the "rental" period.

One company is offering numerous rentals in the area for up to $23,000, perhaps more, especially for North Phoenix house rentals. They suggest avoiding renting foreclosures in a seedy part of town, but surely there are some nice foreclosures in North Phoenix as well?

The biggest house rental on Craigslist seems to be a 10 bedroom, 6 bath rental five miles from the stadium, minimum 10 days, which is only $20,000. If you need more space, the All Starz Sports Bar and Grill is offering its entire facility for up to 100 people, $15,000 per day, 20% gratuity additional, $1,000 deposit.

Another house appears to be in the business, not just for the Superbowl as they list rates for other events. For the Superbowl, though, they have a special offering: in addition to lots of space and amenities it offers the chance to crash P. Diddy's tailgate party, said to be only a mile away!

If you can't contribute to Phoenix's own Superbowl Stimulus Package, where even the Super 8 Motel is charging $500 a night according to KPHO News, they also note that the local Benedictine nuns are offering rooms at a monastery for only $250 a night, $50 extra per additional person. While there's no curfew at the monastery, alcohol and smoking are not allowed. One plus KPHO noted, "at least confession is conveniently located." The nuns plan to use the money to purchase property adjacent to the monastery, so even staying with the Sisters will help the local real estate market!

"Super Bowl Real Estate a Rescue", http://www.portfolio.com/culture-lifestyle/goods/real-estate/2008/01/31/Super-Bowl-Real-Estate-A-Rescue

"Craigslist Phoenix", http://phoenix.craigslist.org/search/hhh?query=superbowl+000&minAsk=min&maxAsk=max&bedrooms=

"Monastery Rents Rooms for Super Bowl", http://www.kpho.com/news/15136790/detail.html