Sweet Desert Home

Seller Contributions to a Short Sale

2012-01-19T13:41:00.004-07:00

A short sale occurs when the seller of a house owes more to his mortgage company or companies--the mortgagees--than the house is worth. The seller needs his mortgagees' permission to sell the house, because the mortgagees will not recover all the money owed to them. A short sale does a lot of damage to a seller's credit rating, and it will impact his ability to buy another house. It may also hurt his employment opportunities if a prospective employer uses a credit report as a way of sifting through too many applicants.

I have learned a lot about short sales in the past few years, and some of it is counter intuitive. For example, most homeowners stop making their mortgage payments around the time they put the house on the market as a short sale. Other homeowners stop making their payments and don't try to sell the house until they get the notice from their mortgagee of the looming foreclosure. By withholding their mortgage payments, these sellers can save a lot of money. They can move into a rental before their credit rating is wrecked, and they can get on with the next phase of their life.

The third type of short sale seller, the kind who keeps his mortgage up to date in order to minimize damage to his credit rating, is rare. Many of these sellers are depleting their savings and borrowing on credit cards and from relatives because they have never defaulted on an obligation, and even though their house has lost value, they want to fulfill their obligation to their mortgagee to the best of their ability.

Which seller do you think will have an easier time negotiating a short sale with his mortgagee? The seller who makes his mortgage payments, or the one who doesn't?

In my experience, negotiations will go much faster for the homeowner who is delinquent on his mortgage. While his mortgagee may ask the homeowner to bring cash to the settlement table, or sign a promissory note to repay some of the deficiency after close of escrow, if the homeowner refuses to pay any more, the mortgagee usually backs down.

The homeowner who has borrowed and sacrificed to keep his mortgage current may not enjoy the same forgiveness. If the mortgagee decides that the homeowner can pay, a cash contribution or promissory note will be required. If the homeowner who is current on his mortgage says he can't or won't pay any more on his mortgage beyond what is netted from the short sale, that homeowner may face foreclosure, which will net his mortgagee far less than a short sale will.

Here are some of the reasons a mortgagee may insist that the seller bring a cash contribution to close of escrow or sign a promissory note for future repayment of the deficiency.

1) The seller has a better than average salary, regardless of how many bills that salary has to pay.

2) The seller has a high credit score based on his desperate efforts to keep all his bills current. His credit card debt may be steadily rising because he is borrowing to pay his bills, but this is not taken into account by the mortgagee.

3) The seller may have significant resources in his retirement account. Even if he can't access those resources, the mortgagee may say the seller could pay his mortgage debt by liquidating his retirement account.

4) Investors--people who bought the property as a rental--are usually assumed to be able to afford a promissory note or cash contibution somehow.

I will never tell a short sale seller to stop making his mortgage payments. For some, it's impractical, and for others, it's unthinkable. The damage to his credit will be less severe if he doesn't have late payments compounded by the short sale. However, there does seem to be a trend that keeping mortgage payments current can be detrimental to the short sale seller in negotiations with his mortgagee.

If you would like more information on the pros and cons of short sales, and resources to help you make your decisions about a short sale, please let me know.

The Fountain and Bird Bath

2012-01-17T18:58:00.014-07:00

The fountain I bought from Zona Fountains hasn't quite turned out to be the wildlife magnet I had hoped it would be. I thought I would be able to lure javelina, deer, bobcats and maybe mountain lions to within 10 feet of our back porch, but it hasn't worked out that way. Maybe they are too smart to come around when I might see them. I certainly see a lot of hoof prints between the porch and the fountain.

One curious result is the appearance of urban birds I hadn't seen here before: Starlings, House Finches, House Sparrows and Mockingbirds seem to be happy to take advantage of anything humans produce that might benefit them. I hope they don't tell their Rock Dove cousins about this.

A Gilded Flicker, rarely seen here, was my first customer. I haven't seen him since. The Gambel's Quail are afraid of the fountain.

I observed that the Mourning Doves seem to be able to suck up the water directly from the fountain. Every other bird I've seen in the fountain scoops water with its bill then throws back its head to swallow.

After drinking and considering the pros and cons, this Northern Harrier (Marsh Hawk) hopped in and took a bath.

I have been interested to see a male Pyrrhuloxia and a female Cardinal hanging out together. At first glance, they look like the same bird. Both have crests, with red caps, but not red all over like a male Cardinal. The easiest way to tell them apart is the Cardinal has a red finch bill and the Pyrrhuloxia has a yellow parrot bill. When these two pose together, as they are here (Cardinal at top, and Pyrrhuloxia on the left), you can see that the Cardinal is olive green, with no red on her chest. The Pyrrhuloxia is grey, with a red streak on his chest.
Okay, now for the test. What is this?

December 2011 Residential Sales Statistics

2012-01-17T18:51:00.005-07:00

The Tucson Association of Realtors has published the Residential Sales Statistics for December 2011.

Average sale price in December was $161,471, which is 13.37% less than the previous December, but 1.92% more than November.

Median sale price in December, the price at which half the houses sold for more, and half sold for less, was $120,000, a decline of 13.94% from the previous December, and 1.64% lower than in November.

Number of properties sold in December was 961, an increase of 5.95% from the previous December, but 5.32% lower than in November.

The Worm Chronicles

2012-01-17T18:18:00.008-07:00

I have been putting most of my food scraps in the worm composting bin I got from Melissa at the Community Food Bank in November. Whenever I bury some food, I look to see whether the worms are still alive. I usually only find a few, and they are short and skinny. It seems that the population is too low to consume food scraps at the rate I produce them.

Melissa told me that I might see the worms mating. They are hermaphrodites, and they reproduce by rubbing those bands around them together. Oh, so that's what those bands are for.

So, I was checking for worm survival last week, and I pulled up a handful of dirt containing two worms with those worm bands, and they were wrapped together! I hastily apologized for intruding and told them to carry on. I hope this means that the worm population will be increasing soon.

Also, note that the squash seeds I put in the compost bin have sprouted. If only I had my raised planter beds built, I'd have a place to place these squash sprouts.

Fab Four

2012-01-16T10:03:00.020-07:00

Normally I wouldn't have any interest in seeing a pop revival group, but my brother and sister have seen the Fab Four several times and they absolutely insisted that I spend an evening under the magical spell of the Beatles. So Steve and I saw the Fab Four at the Rialto Saturday night.

As we were sitting down, we realized my favorite escrow officer, Paula Trimmer, was in the row in front of us. I told Paula if these Beatles impersonators can get us to scream, we will know they were good. As it turned out, part of the screaming was generated by "Paul's" tee shirt toss, and Paula was the winner.

The boys opened with their first appearance on the Ed Sullivan show. I was immediately struck by the attention to detail. "Paul" was playing a left-handed Hofner bass. The backdrop was the Ed Sullivan set I remember so well from that February night in 1964, those huge arrows pointing to the lads. "John" stood with that bent-kneed, wide stance of Lennon's. "George" usually looked intense, and only occasionally flashed a quick smile that put vertical creases in his cheeks, just like The Quiet Beatle. Did these guys have plastic surgery or just a lot of makeup to get these effects?

When "George" wasn't frowning or grimacing, he affected the snarl that George had. "Paul" was always looking up at the balcony, his tilted head wide-eyed and angelic. "Ringo" was slightly hunched over, teeth clenched, shaking his Beatle hair cut like a bobble head. Their singing voices, accents, mannerisms and costumes were quite convincing. I was very impressed.

I thought I found one deviation from authenticity. I thought Ringo played drums with the traditional grip. I asked Steve, who learned to play traditional grip in the '60s, and he thought Ringo played traditional grip, too. This "Ringo" was playing match grip. I just looked it up, and found that Ringo was one of the innovators of match grip. When he started playing that way, the rest of the drumming world followed.

The Ed Sullivan impersonator was great. His skits were taken directly from the Ed Sullivan "Shoe". He introduced the "youngsters from Liverpool" and waved a congratulatory telegram that had been sent to the show by Elvis and his manager "Colonel Sanders". "Ed" showed us how Ed got that stiff-backed demeanor when he pulled a wire coat hanger from the back of his jacket.

"John" announced that the music was completely live and all performed on stage, without CDs, which prompted "Paul" to ask, "What's a CD?" During the Sgt. Pepper set, "John" and "George" played synthesizers, but I can't believe they got the whole orchestral effect of "A Day in the Life" with a synthesizer.
Here's "John", playing "Imagine" in the Army shirt he wore on The Dick Cavett Show.
Steve didn't know about John's Dick Cavett appearance with Yoko Ono (who was played by Tom Hanks in "Forrest Gump"). Steve said John Lennon wouldn't have worn an Army shirt during the Vietnam War. I told him I had a Navy pea coat and an Army jacket from War Surplus when I was in junior high in Massachusetts. He said the only thing he bought at War Surplus was camping equipment. I was surprised to learn that New England was ahead of Steve's trend-setting L.A. with the ironic War Surplus fashion statement.

Here's a neat trick. The Fab Four wore the Nehru jackets that the Beatles wore for their Shea Stadium appearance. While a movie of Paul playing "Yesterday" was projected on the backdrop, "Paul" played "Yesterday" on the same model guitar, matching Paul gesture for gesture.

Neither of us saw the Beatles, and we didn't feel that this was at all the same as the real thing, but it was still wonderful to be immersed in memories of a more optimistic and thrilling time. We're glad we went.

Luminous Mother

2011-12-19T17:47:00.003-07:00

At the base of Tumamoc Hill is a wonderful shrine called the Luminous Mother. Many people leave offerings and burning candles to ask for help or to honor loved ones. You can sit on a bench and reflect on your blessings. I wonder about the significance of the photos, stuffed animals, and souvenir plate from Jerusalem.

November Residential Sales Statistics

2011-12-19T17:27:00.004-07:00

The Tucson Association of Realtors has released the Residential Sales Statistics for November.

Just when we usually go into the year-end sales slump, we saw a 3.36% increase in units sold from October to November, and a 27% increase in the number of homes sold from November 2010.

The average sale price was $158,434, and the median sale price was $122,000. Both of these figures have increased for two months in a row.

Of the 1,015 homes sold, 59% sold for under $140,000 and 78% sold for under $200,000.

Real Estate Owned (REO) or foreclosures were 39% of the sales. Fifteen percent of the sales were short sales. As long as 54% of the sales are distressed properties selling at below market value, these comparable sales will continue to drag down the values of non-distressed homes.

Worm Composting

2011-11-20T12:00:00.003-07:00

Wednesday I am going to the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona to learn about worm composting. Until now, I have been throwing my veggies scraps on the hill behind the house for the wildlife to eat (I know, not good for the wildlife) or, even worse, sending them to the landfill in a plastic bag. This has to stop!

Melissa Mundt is the food production education coordinator at the Community Food Bank, and she is going to get me started on worm composting. She also happens to be one of my fabulous clients.

Learn more about the Community Food Bank and lots of other backyard and community food production projects in this article in the Tucson Weekly.

248 W Calle Patio Lindo

2011-11-13T19:48:00.000-07:00

Sahuarita is a well planned community with a town center where you will find a fishing lake, pools, basketball, fitness center, a lounge, tennis and even miniature golf.
Grocery shopping and other services are available just south of the town center. Shaded paths connect all the neighborhoods. And there's Casino del Sol, where you find not just gambling, but concerts, too. Right next to I-10, Sahuarita is about 30 minutes south of downtown Tucson.

My listing at 248 W Calle Patio Lindo is the hard-to-find four bedroom plan.

It has a family room plus living room and an upgraded kitchen with a pantry and an office nook.
A common area behind the back yard adds privacy.
Ofered at $149,000.

2109 E Calle Alta Vista

2011-10-29T12:30:00.003-07:00

This is not your typical Tucson rental.

I feel so lucky to have bought this sweet little house before the real estate boom. It's one of the smallest houses in an upscale neighborhood of well maintained brick ranch homes from the '50s. It's located on over one-quarter acre, with Connor Park on Glenn Street just beyond the back fence. Albertson's, Ace Hardware, Opa!, Lovin' Spoonful, Beyond Bread, Yoga Oasis, are all just blocks away.

Two bedrooms and one bath in 959 square feet. The floor plan is here. Unlike most Central Tucson houses, there are no ugly additions here. One car carport. Central air conditioning and gas heat. Gorgeous flagstone fireplace in the living room. Dining area open to the kitchen, which has refinished pine cabinets and dazzling Verde Tunis granite counters.
New black gas stove, refrigerator and dishwasher. Washer and gas dryer in the storage room.

New ceramic tile on all floors. New rich yellow interior paint.
To rent it, you need good credit and landlord references. No first time renters. No smoking, no pets. The rent will be $850. If you pay the rent before the first of the month, you can pay $830. The deposit is $850. The property rented through June 30, 2012. I am the owner/agent and property manager.

Centipede

2011-10-21T18:16:00.005-07:00

I saw this centipede crossing the road by the Desert Laboratory on Tumamoc Hill. It looks like it is going in two directions at once, but it was moving to the right.

I saw a millipede just a few minutes before that. The millipede was not as photogenic. It was more like a black worm. You had to see its legs moving like a wave to appreciate it.

Does It Pay to Shop for the Lowest Interest Rate?

2011-10-17T10:36:00.003-07:00

I just received this from Sue Pullen at Fairway Independent Mortgage:

Since Loan Officer Compensation Reform took effect recently, loan officers are no longer being paid based on the income they bring to their company. The bottom line is that lenders don't have much wiggle room -- or incentive -- to cut pricing on loans. So the biggest difference between one lender and another won't be based on price: it will be based on competence, knowledge of underwriting guidelines, efficiency, communication, and service - in short, the ability to close the loan on time and without hassle.

I agree with Sue that consumers should choose their loan officer based on the loan officer's ability to deliver a mortgage on time, at the terms they promised, with a minimum of drama. Most home buyers assume all loan officers should be able to accomplish that, so buyers focus on finding the loan officer who promises the lowest interest rate.

Time and again, I have watched loan officers promise the sun, moon and stars, but they deliver last minutes surprises, delays, and most tragically, no mortgage. It is frequently too late to choose another lender by the time the buyer learns this hard lesson, and they are unable to buy the house they planned to buy.

The Buildings of Tumamoc

2011-10-13T11:29:00.011-07:00

Tumamoc Hill is west of A Mountain, where the city does the July 4 fireworks show. I walked up the hill last night around 7:30 after hearing a lecture at the gorgeous Desert Laboratory Library (above), which is located half way up the hill. It's the same as when I make the walk at 6:30 AM. Hundreds of Tucsonans are huffing and puffing or effortlessly running up and down the hill.

The three beautiful buildings at the Desert Laboratory were all built with local rock between 1900 and 1910. They are on the National Register of Historic Places.

2718 N Warren Avenue

2011-10-11T14:35:00.005-07:00

This adorable apartment is hidden away from the street in the middle of a four-plex. High beamed ceilings. Lots of sun light and quiet. Oak cabinets in the kitchen. Two bed rooms, one bath.
The floor plan is here. At 600 square feet, it's itty bitty, but still, my tenants happily stay for years.

The floors are shiny composition vinyl, with a retro look, sort of like polished concrete. Very pretty and clean.
Each of the four apartments here has its own washer and dryer in its own laundry shed.
A mile and a half north of the U of A near the Mountain Avenue bike path. A few blocks from Albertson's, Raging Sage, Beyond Bread, Opa!, Lovin' Spoonful, Yoshimatsu, Blue Willow, The Folk Shop and lots of other cool stuff on Tucson's real main street, Campbell Avenue.

Rent is $595 per month, but if you pay before the first of the month, you can pay $575. Deposit is $595. I pay for water, you pay for gas and electric. Evaporative cooler and gas wall heater.
You must be self supporting, have good credit and good landlord references. No smoking and no pets.Off street parking is available for two cars per apartment.
I am the owner/agent and property manager. This apartment will be available in early January. This property is rented through May 2012.

Residential Sales Statistics for September

2011-10-11T12:12:00.003-07:00

The Tucson Association of Realtors has released the Residential Sales Statistics for September.

Yikes! Average sale price was $150,699, down 17% from September last year. Median sale price was $117,500, down 19.4% from a year ago.

The reason for this is clear. Foreclosures and short sales still dominate the market. Of the 1,166 sales in Tucson in September, 534 were foreclosures and 162 were short sales. In other words, 60% of the sales were distressed properties.

Way Out West, When the Cactus is in Bloom

2011-09-28T13:16:00.004-07:00

Usually saguaros do their blooming before the summer monsoons. I was surprised to find this lone giant flowering on Tumamoc Hill last week. Climate change seems to have everyone confused.

Today I noticed two more saguaros: one had recently bloomed, and the other will in a few days. What's up with that? All the other bare-headed saguaros wonder what these renegades are up to.

Happy Fall Equinox

2011-09-26T13:42:00.013-07:00

I have been in Tucson 21 years, and somehow I had never managed to see the petroglyphs near Picture Rocks Road.
Friday was the Autumn Equinox, and it was a very special day to make my first visit.
Archaeologists believe this spiral was made by Hohokam people about 1,000 years ago.

Only a few years ago, someone noticed that this spiral is a calendar marker. Around noon on the Summer Solstice, sunlight slips through the crack in the rock above the spiral, and a dagger of light points to the spiral. This marker doesn't work for the Equinox, so the Hohokam cleverly chipped away at a ledge to the upper right of the spiral to enable a dagger of light to point to the center of the spiral on the first day of spring and fall.
I got to see this at 11:07 AM on September 22.
Isn't that wonderful?

I also had an opportunity to walk a modern labyrinth at the Picture Rocks Redemptorist Retreat Center.
Do you know the difference between a labyrinth and a maze? Neither did I. A labyrinth has only one route. You can't get lost. A maze has dead ends.

The Tohono O'odham Man in the Maze represents Man's journey through life, from his start at the top of the labyrinth, sometimes getting close to death at the center, but then temporarily moving away from death. This labyrinth has one short dead end, below the center, where Man can look back on his life just before death.

I had a tile made for the foyer of Desert's Edge showing the Woman in the Maze. Notice she is wearing a dress. I was pleased to discover that my labyrinth does have that one dead end for reflection, just before the end.

600 E River Rd., Apt X

2011-09-26T13:31:00.008-07:00

My newest listing is a terrific townhouse off River Road west of First Avenue. Here you'll find quality masonry construction in the toes of the Catalina Foothills.
Beehive fireplace has the southwestern ambiance you want. Plantation shutters add style. Wood floor in living room.
Carpet in bedrooms. Private little walled retreat off master bedroom. Two walk-in closets. Mountain view from the pool & spa. Ramada, gas grill & grassy lawn in the common area.
Convenient location between Tucson Mall and St Philip's Plaza. Close to miles of serenity along the beautiful Rillito River hiking and biking path.

Offered at $88,000.

Learning about Tumamoc Hill

2011-09-23T14:21:00.004-07:00

I have been hiking up Tumamoc Hill for the past few months, and I love it! It's a 710 feet elevation change, and 1.5 miles each way. It's not the prettiest hike in Tucson, but it's a paved road with lots of people around to help if something untoward happens during the hike. Almost every day, I see something interesting. I am going to post some of my finds here.

Check out the Tumamoc blog. On the May 19, 2011 entry, you will see one of my fabulous clients, Moses Thompson, with his students from Manzo Elementary.

On October 12, I plan to go to the lecture at Tumamoc on Human Adaptions to Desert Ecosystems at 6 PM.

1540 S Desert Crest Drive

2011-09-19T17:41:00.013-07:00

This terrific house is in the same subdivision as my beloved home, Desert's Edge. Both houses back up to the 65 acres of beautiful desert owned by the homeowner's association, of which I am president.
The big difference between my house and my newest listing is the renovation fun hasn't yet begun for the next owner of 1540 S Desert Crest Drive. This solid masonry home has three bedrooms and two baths, plus a carport, fireplace and large lot. No weird additions have been stuck onto it.
This location can't be beat. Adjacent to Starr Pass Resort in the fabulous Tucson Mountains, this is where the deer and the javelina play. Bobcats, coyotes and all sorts of reptiles and birds including road runners will be frequent visitors. The hiking and biking opportunities are terrific. Yet you're only 10 minutes from downtown.
Call me to learn about loan programs that will enable you to finance your renovation costs.
I sold this home for $60,000 on November 2, 2011. It's my second sale this year in Tucson Park West 3, and my fifth in this fabulous subdivision since I bought Desert's Edge in 2005.

2011-09-09T12:55:00.003-07:00

The Tucson Association of Realtors has released the Residential Sales Statistics for August.

Let's hope the 10.5% decline in average sale price from July to August is a blip that will be corrected this month. Now at $155,000, the average sale price hasn't been this low since 2001.

FHA Loan Limits Will Decrease

2011-09-08T17:31:00.003-07:00

FHA’s lending limit for Pima County is currently $316,250. Effective October 1, 2011, the new limit will be $271,050.

This is another way our government is making housing unaffordable. People getting a mortgage for more than $271,500 will need to make at least a 5% down payment, instead of the 3.5% down payment they can make with an FHA loan.

Residential Sales Statistics

2011-08-10T10:38:00.004-07:00

The Tucson Association of Realtors has published the Residential Sales Statistics for July.

Average sale price is $167,172, up 3.57% from June, but down 9.86% from July last year. Median sale price is $125,000, down 0.79% from June and down 16.67% from last July.

1,124 properties sold in July, a healthy 41.92% increase from last July, when the Federal housing credit giveaway program had just expired, and many buyers cancelled their purchase contracts because they couldn't get the free money.

Of the 1,124 July sales, 844, or 75%, were under $200,000.

Foreclosures accounted for 46% of the sales, and short sales were 10% of the sales.

Is FHA Getting Out of the Condo Business?

2011-07-23T15:14:00.004-07:00

New FHA guidelines will make it much more difficult for condominium associations to be certified for FHA financing. Without the certification, owners of condominiums will be unable to sell to buyers using FHA financing.

Prior to 2010, once a condo project was FHA-certified, the certification was good forever. Now any project that was certified prior to 2008 must apply for certification under the new, stricter rules, and must re-apply ever two years.

Until February 2010, a lender could get a "spot certification" of one unit in a non-FHA-certified project so a borrower could use an FHA loan to buy a condo. Not anymore.

According to this article in Inman News, the condo association must ensure that no more than 50% of the units can be occupied by renters. How is the condo association supposed to know this? Knock on every one's door every month, and ask who is living there?

Additionally, no more than 15% of the condo owners can be over 30 days late on their assessments. Obviously, the delinquency rate of the owners is always in flux, and it is particularly high when many of the units have been foreclosed and are owned by banks.

The biggest barrier to getting FHA certification is that the condo manager or board member filing the application is personally responsible for the accuracy of the application. The penalty for an inaccurate application is up to $1,000,000 and 30 years in prison! Who wants to take that kind of risk, when it's impossible to know that the information is accurate?

What does this mean for Tucson? If you check this list of FHA-certified condos in Tucson, only four projects have been certified since 2008. They are: Sunset Foothills Condominiums, The Villas at Hacienda del Sol, Pinnacle Canyon Condominiums, and Tierra Catalina Condominiums. All are north of River Road, in the foothills. Condo owners in these projects are probably not relying on FHA financing to get their condos sold.

The rest of the condos? Not certified. Not eligible for FHA financing. Without the FHA options, buyers will need a larger down payment and higher credit score. This reduces the pool of buyers. Few eligible buyers means lower sale prices for condos.

219 E 13th St

2011-06-28T11:55:00.003-07:00

Do you love history? Oak floors and claw foot tubs?
High ceilings and big sunny windows?
A fireplace and spacious formal dining? An urban lifestyle? This is the home for you.
Living just half a block from Amory Park, you won't miss any of the fun as downtown Tucson revitalizes herself. The Children's Museum, Temple of Music and Art, 17th Street Market & La Placita Village (Tucson Meet Yourself! Folk Festival! Outdoor Movies!). Many hip new restaurants are nearby. One block to the planned 4th Avenue Trolley to University of Arizona.
Have you seen the fabulous griffin on Scott Avenue? She's only two blocks from this sweet home.

Three bedrooms and two baths in the main part of the house.
The kitchen has been updated with stainless steel appliances and tile counters, but still retains its antique character.
If you need a home office to impress your sophisticated clients, you'll love the two room suite with private entrance, storage and bathroom.
Maybe you would like some rental income? The previous office tenant paid $420 per month for five years, but left when her lease expired in December 2011. Or you could use the suite as a master bedroom or guest quarters. The floor plan is here. This is the vintage home of your dreams. Now offered for $270,000.

May Residential Sales Statistics

2011-06-24T09:44:00.002-07:00

The Tucson Association of Realtors has released the Residential Sales Statistics for May.

Average sale price was $168,453. Median sale price was $127,000. There were 1,257 sales in May, only slightly below the 1,270 sales a year ago. Fortunately, number of listings is down to 5,795, down 14% from last May.

3.8% Sales Tax on All Real Estate Sales!

2011-06-24T08:45:00.010-07:00

Have you received a chain email like this:

This should help stimulate the Real Estate market! UNDER THE NEW HEALTH CARE BILL – DID YOU KNOW THAT ALL REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS ARE SUBJECT TO A 3.8% “SALES TAX”? YOU CAN THANK NANCY, HARRY & BARACK (AND YOUR LOCAL CONGRESSMAN) FOR THIS ONE.
IF YOU SELL YOUR $400,000 HOME, THIS WILL BE A $15,200 TAX.

Please, settle down and don't shout! The purveyors of this email can only wish the health care bill were this evil. According to factcheck.org and snopes.com, this tax only applies to people with income exceeding $200,000 per year. If the seller has lived in the house for two of the last five years, the first $250,000 in capital gains for a single person and $500,000 in capital gains for a married couple is tax free. Only the capital gains in excess of those amounts will be taxed at 3.8%.

Sales of vacation homes and investment properties are not exempt from this tax.

Most of us can't even dream about $250,000 in capital gains on the sale of our homes. This bill will generate so little tax revenue, and it has predictably created so much rumor fodder, I don't see why it was ever tacked on to the health care bill.

Vote for Tucson, The Best Town Ever!

2011-06-23T11:48:00.004-07:00

Tucson is one of the top ten finalists in Outside Magazine's Best Town Ever contest. Voting for Outside Magazine’s “Best Town Ever” ends Sunday, June 26th at 9:00 p.m. Arizona time. The Old Pueblo needs your vote every day until then! Tucson is slowly gaining ground on Chattanooga, TN but we are running out of time and will not catch them unless you participate directly.

Today, Chattanooga is leading the pack with 6,019 votes. Tucson is in second place at 4,790 votes. This is probably because most people in Tucson are outside enjoying Tucson's fabulosity instead of sitting in front of their computers, but come on, take a minute and vote for Tucson!

Please cast your vote every day at facebook.com/OutsideMagazine. You will need to ‘like’ their page before you’re able to vote. You can vote until Sunday, June 26th at 9:00 p.m. MST.

This is So Wrong

2011-06-17T09:12:00.005-07:00

Something is seriously wrong with Arizona when wonderful people like Laura, Jennifer and Jackson have to leave, but Senate President Russell Pearce, Sheriff Joe Araipo and the Wasilla Hillbillies get to stay.

I wish Baja Arizona actually had a chance of seceding from Maricopa County and rejoining the United States.

"C'est la Vie," Say the Old Folks

2011-06-11T16:05:00.012-07:00

We bought a souped-up Hyundai, it was a cherry red GLE. Drove it down to Bisbee to celebrate the anniversary.

Steve and I met 20 years ago this month, and we decided that milestone deserves a celebration. We stayed at the beautiful vacation home of our friend Cynthia. She bought her sweet vintage home high on the hill overlooking Old Bisbee 33 years ago, before anyone knew that Bisbee would become such an artsy community. She was in Bisbee when Bisbee wasn't cool.

We had three days of being tourists. We checked out the Shady Dell airstream trailer court and diner,
and took the Copper Queen Mine tour.
We looked in galleries, were awed by the stained glass at St Patrick's and admired the art deco Cochise County Superior Court Building. Ate no fewer than three delicious meals at High Desert Market and Cafe on Tombstone Canyon, and had some good Mexican chow at Santiago's in Brewery Gulch. Cynthia proudly gave us a tour of the impressive Copper Queen Hospital where she works.

Believe it or not, list prices of small historic homes are higher in Bisbee than they are in Tucson. However, the amazing 10,615 square foot, 11 bedroom, 9 bathroom Loma Linda mansion in Warren can be had for only $672,000. Designed by the architect Henry Trost, it was built for a mine executive in 1907, and was known as a rock star party house in the 70s. Many of the homes in Bisbee were demolished when the Lavender Pit opened, and Loma Linda lost its extensive orchards. You will have to overlook the towering mine tailings that now come almost up to the back porch, but it's a steal, marked down from its 2007 list price of $2,000,000.
C'est la vie, say the old folks, it goes to show you never can tell.

It's a Good Time to Invest in Tucson

2011-06-11T13:09:00.003-07:00

Inman News ranks Tucson as the fourth best place in the country to buy investment property now.

"The analysis considered markets with high affordability, low and dropping prices, a high market share of foreclosure sales, high population growth, an improving unemployment rate that is close to or better than the national average, high projected return on investment (ROI) over the next decade, and a low total cost of ownership-to-rent ratio."

While Tucson is great for long-term investors, the short term investors are also doing well by paying cash for foreclosed and distressed properties that don't qualify for traditional mortgage financing. The investors make the needed repairs, which may be as minor as replacing broken windows or replacing heating and cooling systems, and then selling the property for twice or more what they paid.

Not all these investors are actually paying cash. They may purchase the house with "hard money", meaning they get a loan at high interest rate from a private lender who, unlike the traditional sources of low cost mortgages, doesn't care about the condition of the property. The investor doesn't plan to keep the house more than a few months, so he isn't very concerned about the high interest rate he is paying.

2720 N Warren Ave

2011-05-30T17:00:00.004-07:00

This adorable apartment is hidden away from the street in the middle of a four-plex. High beamed ceilings. Lots of sun light and quiet. Oak cabinets in the kitchen. Two bed rooms, one bath. The floor plan is here. At 600 square feet, it's itty bitty, but still, my tenants happily stay for years.

The floors are shiny composition vinyl, with a retro look, sort of like polished concrete. Very pretty and clean.

Each of the four apartments here has its own washer and dryer in its own laundry shed. Off street parking is available for two cars per apartment.

A mile and a half north of the U of A near the Mountain Avenue bike path. A few blocks from Albertson's, Raging Sage, Beyond Bread, Opa!, Lovin' Spoonful, Yoshimatsu, Blue Willow, The Folk Shop and lots of other cool stuff on Tucson's real main street, Campbell Avenue.

Rent is $595 per month, but if you pay before the first of the month, you can pay $575. Deposit is $595. I pay for water, you pay for gas and electric. Evaporative cooler and gas wall heater.

You must be self supporting, have good credit and good landlord references. No smoking and no pets.

I am the owner/agent and property manager. This apartment is rented through June 30, 2012.

This Beats All

2011-05-27T19:32:00.015-07:00

As if the return of the bobcat yesterday wasn't enough excitement at Casa de Estavan y Donna, we had a visitor today that left us with our jaws hanging. Around dusk, Steve was moving hoses around, without his sidekick Sunbeam because of yesterday's bobcat appearance, when he came running in the house to get me.

He was excited but happy, so I knew the bobcat wasn't devouring something, but still I was apprehensive. He told me it was okay, and led me to the driveway where a GILA MONSTER was flicking its black forked tongue and booking for the South 40. What a beauty! How the heck did it end up in Central Tucson? Is it someone's escaped pet?

Another reason to be grateful for our life in the Baked Apple.

Buying (and Therefore, Selling) a House May Become More Difficult

2011-05-27T11:41:00.002-07:00

Republicans have a draft bill in the House that will raise the minimum down payment on FHA loans from 3.5% to 5%. Under the bill, the maximum FHA loan amount will drop way down to 125% of the median sale price in the county. I don't know what the median sale price in Pima County is, but the median sale price in April in the Tucson Multiple Listing Service, which includes all but the most rural parts of the county, was $132,000. In March it was $125,000. When FHA sets a loan limit based on median sale price, the loan limit sticks for quite a while, and does not adjust to market changes on a regular basis.

A housing expert says there is no evidence that an additional 1.5% down payment requirement will significantly decrease the default rate among FHA buyers. It could, however, decrease the pool of FHA buyers by 40%.

Tucson Residential Sales Statistics

2011-05-24T12:27:00.000-07:00

The Tucson Association of Realtors has release the Residential Sale Statistics for April.

The average sale price continues its bumpy trend. From December 2010 to January 2011, it went down 10%. Average sale price was up 9% in February, down 10% in March, up 6% in April to $173,981.

With 6,269 listings divided by 1,152 sales in April, we have a 5.44 month supply of listings. A six month supply is considered a balanced market, with no advantage to buyer or seller. So by this measure, this could be a seller's market for the first time in years.

But who are the sellers who are in charge of this market? Banks, mostly. When I search the Multiple Listing Service for sales in April, I find 1,235. I don't know why it's more than is reported by the Tucson Association of Realtors. Of those sales, 502 were Real Estate Owned, or REO, meaning they are owned by a bank that foreclosed on the previous owner. Short sales, where the seller owes more than the house is worth, and needs his lender's approval to sell the house, accounted for 110 sales. So REOs and short sales accounted for 50% of the sales last month.

We used to call a sale where the seller had equity and we didn't have to deal with an uncooperative bank a normal sale. The new normal is REOs and short sales.

Forty-two percent of the sales were under $120,000 and 74% of the sales were under $200,000.

2716 N Warren Ave

2011-05-24T11:15:00.002-07:00

This is the front unit in my pair of duplexes, and it's the fanciest one. I call it my Bag Lady Back Up Plan. I made this place so nice that if the second Great Depression wipes out everything I have, I could happily live here myself. It has high, open beamed ceilings that make it feel larger than its 900 square feet. Two bedrooms and one bath. The floor plan is here. The wood burning fireplace has a cozy bench in front of it.

Kitchen has pretty blue counter tops, gas stove, maple cabinets, refrigerator and dishwasher. Tile floor through out.
The bathroom tile and color are a knock out. The dining room has floor to ceiling windows and a ceiling fan. You have exclusive use of a washer and dryer in your small storage shed. Covered carport plus off street parking for another car. Central air condtioning and gas heat. I pay for the water, you pay for the gas and electricity.
To rent it, you must have good credit and landlord references. No first time renters, and no co-signers, please. No smoking and no pets. The rent will be $775, but if you pay it early, you can pay $755.
I am the owner/agent and property manager. The apartment is rented through June 30, 2012.

Moving for the Last Time

2011-05-24T10:54:00.003-07:00

The Arizona Daily Star doesn't seem to have caught on, but Realty Executives Phoenix filed chapter 11 (reorganization) bankruptcy a few weeks ago, taking the three branch offices in Tucson down with it. A new Realty Executives franchise is forming in Tucson, but I need a company with more stability. I just went through this last year with the previous Realty Executives franchise. As W once said, "Fool me once... shame on... you... fool me twice... uh... Ya can't get fooled again!"

My clients and I need a real estate company that has a local presence strong enough to stay in business. But I do not think the main purpose of a real estate company is to generate corporate profits. So the logical fit for me is Tierra Antigua Realty. Started by real estate agents 10 years ago, it has grown to be the second largest real estate company in Tucson, with over 800 agents. Its sales are 10% of the Tucson market. I have been warmly welcomed, and I am impressed with the focus on agent and client satisfaction.

I was with Long Realty for eight years, Realty Executives for eight years (with an unplanned three-month detour to Keller Williams), and I am planning to stay at Tierra Antigua for at least the next eight years. Maybe after 24 years in real estate, I'll be ready to move on to the next adventure. But today, I am open for business and feeling optimistic about the future.

Dove on the Kitchen Window

2011-04-29T16:09:00.005-07:00

As I came home last night, I caught the changing of the guard over the two mourning dove eggs on my kitchen window. The male dove sits on the nest during the day, and the female takes the night shift. The female perches in a nearby tree during the day, and has performed the broken wing ploy to distract me from the nest.

Sellers: Thinking of Renting Until the Market Improves?

2011-04-29T15:13:00.005-07:00

Many people who want to sell their home become discouraged with the low-ball offers and the difficulties buyers experience getting financing. Over half of the sales in Tucson are foreclosures and short sales, and these sales must be used as comparable sales on the buyer's appraisal. The result is, non-distressed sellers are seeing their property values dragged down by the ongoing flood of distressed sales.

Eventually every frustrated potential seller considers the idea of renting their house until the market improves. They usually hope this will be in two years or less.

I won't pretend to predict whether we will be through the huge backlog of foreclosures in the next two years. Some prognosticators claim their crystal balls say we will. Others state just as convincingly that we won't.

Suppose prices are still bumping along the bottom two years from now? At that point, the homeowner becomes ineligible for the waiver of capital gain tax on the sale of their home.

Currently, if a person or couple has lived in a house for two of the past five years, they enjoy tax-free capital gain up to $250,000 for a single person, and $500,000 for a married couple. Once the house has been a rental for two years, any capital gains will be taxed at whatever the capital gain rate is. Currently, it's 15%.

While the house is a rental, the sellers will probably have expenses for repairs and maintenance. They may also have no rent in months when the property is vacant or the tenants aren't paying the rent.

Waiting for the market to improve may be a viable strategy, but sellers need to consider that the risks and expenses may outweigh the potential benefit.

New Flood Plain Maps Coming in June

2011-04-24T18:32:00.004-07:00

New flood plain maps will take effect on June 16. Some homeowners who didn't need flood insurance in the past will now be required to buy it if their mortgage is federally-insured.

Check this article for more info.

Homeowners who buy flood insurance before the new maps take effect can get a significant discount for the first few years.

To cut to the chase and see whether your property is affected, go the the maps here.

Mortgage Interest Deduction in Peril?

2011-04-20T22:12:00.003-07:00

I received a YouTube video from the president of the National Association of Realtors imploring me to write my Congresswoman and beg her not to eliminate the mortgage interest deduction. Apparently, MID is on the chopping block in an attempt to increase tax revenue.

Nowhere in the video was the truth about the threatened MID disclosed. I had to click on a link to get the rest of the story. NAR says:

Individuals are permitted to deduct mortgage interest paid on mortgage debt of up to $1 million. Mortgage interest on up to $100,000 of debt on home equity loans or lines of credit also qualifies for the deduction.

As part of its FY 2011 budget, the Administration has proposed limiting the value of the MID for upper income taxpayers by, in effect, converting the deduction to a 28% tax credit for those individuals who are currently in the 33% or 35% tax brackets. Individuals with incomes below $250,000 would generally not be directly affected by this proposal.

The mortgage interest deduction (MID) is a remarkably effective tool that facilitates homeownership. While only about 30% of all taxpayers in any given year itemize their deductions, more than 3/4 of homeowners utilize the deduction over the period they own their home.

NAR opposes any changes that would limit or undermine current law.

Currently, taxpayers in the 33% and 35% income brackets are able to reduce their taxes through deductions for mortgage interest payments, charitable contributions, local taxes and other expenses by 33 and 35 cents, respectively, on the dollar. Under the Administration’s proposal, these individuals would only be able to reduce their tax bill by only 28 cents on the dollar. The Administration estimates that the change would raise $318 billion over the next 10 years.

So the MID remains untouched for most of us. People who earn more than $250,000 do not need the MID to "facilitate home ownership".

March Residential Sales Statistics

2011-04-17T20:01:00.003-07:00

The Tucson Association of Realtors has released the residential sales statistics for March 2011. I surely am mystified by the trend, or more accurately, lack of a trend, in the average sale price over the last three months. From December 2010 to January 2011, it went down 10.41%. From January 2011 to February 2011, it went up 9.22%. From February 2011 to March 2011, it went down 10.31%. What will April bring? Up 9%, I hope.

At $163,590, the average sale price is almost 19% below March 2010. The last time the average sale price was that low was September 2002.

Short sales accounted for almost 9% of the sales, and 45% of the sales were foreclosures.

Investors with cash continue to dominate the market, snapping up 37% of the houses sold last month. There are a lot of bargains to be found, but people who need to get financing are unable to buy the most steeply discounted houses because mortgage lenders require houses to be habitable. A great many of the foreclosed houses have been trashed by previous owners or vandals.

The Boys of Summer are Back in Town!

2011-03-31T19:33:00.008-07:00

Somehow I missed this in the March Madness. Am I the last one to know that Tucson has a new AAA baseball team? Mike Feder is back from New Orleans and he has managed to get the San Diego Padres AAA team, the Portland Beavers, to come to Tucson! Unfortunately, they will play at Kino Stadium instead of the much cooler Hi Corbett. But at least that big albatross will have some life in it and maybe Tucson can pay off the debt we were swindled into assuming when it was built.

More good news: they are going to hire local food providers, and will "sell things that people want, not just ballpark fare." And they will have monthly fireworks.

Opening day is April 15. Play ball!

Super Moon

2011-03-25T23:34:00.008-07:00

Did you see the Super Moon last Saturday? It was closer to the Earth and bigger and brighter than usual. Monday morning that big old Moon peeked through my venetian blinds at 6:00 AM and woke me up. I went out to watch the Moon set and the Sun rise.
It looked to me as though the saguaro was roasting marshmallows.

FHA loan costs to increase. Again.

2011-03-25T23:00:00.004-07:00

Most first time home buyers use FHA loans because of the low down payment requirement. Only 3.5% of the sale price is needed for down payment. Other advantages are the buyer can have a lower credit score than he can with a conventional loan (a loan that is not insured by the government), and the buyer can receive a gift for the down payment, even if the buyer has no savings.

Because of FHA's popularity, its reserve funds are low. In order to ensure the continued solvency of FHA, mortgage costs are increasing again.

For FHA case numbers pulled on or after April 18, 2011, the annual mortgage insurance premium (MIP) will increase from 0.85% of the base loan amount to 1.1%.

For example, for a house with a sale price of $150,000, the down payment would be 3.5%, or $5,250. The base loan amount would be $144,750.

If you have a purchase contract and your lender pulls an FHA case number lender before April 18, your annual MIP will be $144,750 x 0.9% = $1,303 per year = $109 per month. After April 18, your annual MIP will be $144,750 x 1.15% = $1,665 per year = $139 per month, and increase of $30.

FHA says this will have minimal impact on borrowers. I say if a borrower's buying power is reduced by $30 per month, at 5% mortgage interest rate, the buyer who could afford a $150,000 house this month will only be able to afford a $144,400 house next month.

The mortgage insurance is to protect the lender against loss in the event the buyer doesn't make his payments. It does not protect the buyer.

Why pay any more than necessary for insurance that doesn't benefit you? If you are an FHA buyer sitting on the fence, this might be the time to climb on down and make an offer.

6781 E 4th Street

2011-03-20T12:22:00.015-07:00

Simply exquisite home on cul-de-sac in lovely neighborhood.
Designed for gracious entertaining and comfortable family life.
You'll love the family room with its arched doors opening to the screened porch.
Cheerful kitchen has abundant natural light and gorgeous quartz composite (silestone?) countertops. The owner calls this sweet room "the heart of the home." The dining area is between kitchen & living room.
Beehive fireplace gives warmth and character.
Beautiful ceramic tile in public areas. Split bedroom plan for privacy. Three linen closets and generous bedroom closets. Huge laundry room with more storage. Fabulous 1/4 acre lot with mature landscaping, art fountains and privacy walls.
Less than a mile to Bookman's, Gaslight Theater, libraries, Trader Joe's, Maya Palace, Lowe's & several restaurants. The interactive floor plan is here. Come tour your urban oasis today. Open Sunday March 27 from 1:00 to 4:00 PM. From Speedway and Kolb, go south on Kolb. West on Rosewood. South on Caribe. West on 4th Street to your new cul-de-sac hideaway.

This Sweet Desert Home sold for $178,000 on July 27. There were multiple offers and unfortunately, it was a short sale. If the buyers hadn't been deterred by the hassles and delay of a short sale, I am certain it could have sold for considerably more.

1300 S Lavonne Way. Now THIS is a Sweet Desert Home!

2011-03-10T12:37:00.017-07:00

I am so excited about my new listing in Tucson Park West 3, which is where my Tucson Mountain home is located. Just as it is at my house, the back yard of 1300 S Lavonne Way is a wildlife paradise. Very private, with abundant birds, desert vegetation, javelinas, bobcats and coyotes.
The house is spectacular, too. Lots of upgrades and color.
The beautiful kitchen has refaced cabinets and sliding drawers.
Gorgeous oak floors in the living room complement the warmth of the fireplace, which has a custom-made mesquite mantle. A dining ell is off the living room.
The current owners use the dining ell for their media room, and use the family room for dining so they can enjoy nature in the back yard, just beyond the sliding glass door and the tranquil back porch.

Dual cooling and dual paned windows. Raised planters are ready for you to plant your summer vegetables. Two car garage! The interactive floor plan is here. Move the furniture icons around to see how your life would fit into this home.

This fabulous neighborhood is only fifteen minutes from the university, which is closer than most of Central Tucson is to UA. Abundant hiking trails, plus the amenities of Starr Pass Resort. There is no other place like this in this price range in Tucson.

This Sweet Desert Home sold for $145,000 on July 29.

February Residential Sales Statistics. It's Safe to Look!

2011-03-10T12:30:00.006-07:00

The Tucson Association of Realtors has released residential sales statistics for February. Finally, some good news! Average sale price was $182,388, a 9.22% increase from the previous month. This recovered most of the loss from December to January. Median sale price is $137,000, which is 2% more than in January. Units sold were up 12.7% from January, and up 18.6% from February 2010.

January Residential Sales Statistics

2011-02-14T12:32:00.005-07:00

The Tucson Association of Realtors has released the Residential Sale Statistics for January. It's not pretty. Average sale price is $166,998, a 17% decline from the previous year. Median sale price is $134,250, down 16% from the previous year. At least the number of sales increased 9.5% from 2010, to 780 sales. Total sales under contract was 2,013, a 74% increase. Does that look a little suspicious? I can't think of a good explanation for that.

I checked the Tucson MLS myself, and found 839 sales in January. I don't know if the extra 59 sales were by agents who didn't turn in their paperwork by February 5 or what. Of the 839 sales, 99 were short sales and 351 were foreclosures. In other words, 54% of the January sales were either short sales or foreclosures. I myself was involved in two sales in January where the sellers were underwater, but they were able to pay their lenders the difference between the sale price and the mortgage balance, so they did not have to do a credit-destroying short sale. This is usually not the case.

Of the 780 sales reported by TAR, 94% were under $400,000 and 84% were under $250,000, and 70% were under $180,000. Six houses sold for more than $750,000.

If cnnmoney is to be believed, we are poised for a blazing recovery. See the article below.

Tucson Will Lead the Housing Recovery?

2011-02-14T12:21:00.002-07:00

Check this out: cnnmoney says TUCSON is their number 7 best bet for housing recovery in 2012. They predict prices will be 3.4% higher by September next year. Why? Because we're not Phoenix.

Pretty fuzzy logic, but I'll take it.

1415 E Seneca St

2011-01-26T10:06:00.009-07:00

Only four blocks to University Medical Center. This little two bedroom, one bath house is like a mountain cabin with its high, open beamed ceilings and wood paneling.

Saltillo tile in the living room, bathroom and kitchen. Ceramic Saltillo look-alike in bedrooms. The floor plan is here. Note, this house is tiny! But its Jefferson Park location can't be beat.

I really got carried away with the bathroom. Adorable hand painted Talavera tile in the shower. Beautiful calla lily ceramic mirror. Too cute. The kitchen has a dishwasher, electric stove and refrigerator. There are hookups for your washer and gas or electric drier on the back patio.

Gigantic yard and enormous storage shed. Utilities at your expense. Evaporative cooler and gas furnace. You must be self supporting, have good credit and good landlord references. No smoking and no pets.

I am the owner/agent and property manager. This property is rented through June 30, 2012.

Why We Live Here

2011-01-13T18:34:00.006-07:00

The jonquils are in bloom.

Some of you have heard me speak of visiting my brother and his wife at their beautiful home next to a state forest in Connecticut. My sister-in-law is a mail carrier, and went out today to try to deliver the mail, but the mailboxes were buried in the drifts, so she had to give up. This is their home. Pretty, but... I'll wait until spring to visit.

Finger Rock is visible from much of the city. Last weekend Steve and I hiked up Finger Rock canyon and got a nice look at this Tucson icon.

2223 E Calle Alta Vista

2010-11-19T19:50:00.002-07:00

OPEN SUNDAY NOVEMBER 21 FROM 1 TO 4 PM

Just one house away from beautiful Connor Park in a fabulous neighborhood. Owned by perfectionists, this immaculate home is a welcome relief after all the depressing fixer uppers you've been seeing. All original construction, with a floor plan that makes sense. Vaulting ceilings. New tile and paint through out. Updated bathrooms. The kitchen is spacious with vintage 50s tile. Classic built-in cabinets in hall. All bedrooms have ceiling fans and lovely new entry doors. Metal 8'x10' shed. More storage in the carport shed.
Sit on the wide, north-facing covered porch and admire your big, private, shady yard.
Under two miles to UMC. You snooze, you lose.
This house sold in December 2010 for $160,000.

Foreclosure Moratorium

2010-10-15T11:57:00.003-07:00

Bank of America, GMAC and JP Morgan Chase have halted foreclosures in several states. Only BofA has stopped foreclosures in Arizona.

Banks have illegally used a system called MERS (explained in this blog on October 1) to transfer bundles of mortgages between investors. Deeds weren't recorded as required by law, and no one is sure who actually has the right to foreclose on some of these properties.

People who knew nothing about mortgages were hired by the banks to "review" foreclosure documents. These "robo-signers" sign thousands of foreclosure authorizations per month. Obviously, signing is all they are doing.

While a moratorium on foreclosures may be welcome news to homeowners facing foreclosure, it will prolong the housing market recovery. All the homeowners who can not pay their mortgages will eventually have to lose their homes. Only after the glut of foreclosures and short sales work their way through the system will we see the housing market turn the corner toward normalcy.

The following is from The Wall Street Journal, Dawn Wotapka (10/12/2010):

Best-Case Scenario for Foreclosure Freeze
Gregor Watson, a principal with McKinley Partners, a development company that buys foreclosed homes, told listeners on a Citi home-builder conference call that there were three potential outcomes from the foreclosure fiasco:

· Best case: These are technical issues that can be resolved quickly so the foreclosure process can continue and the glut of foreclosed homes is cleared from the market.

· Medium case: There is significant litigation that takes years to sort out and this slows the troubled housing market even further.

· Worst case: The market grinds to a halt and title insurers refuse to insure mortgages involving foreclosed homes. “It would be devastating for the resale market if this robo-signer issue spiraled out of control,” Watson says.

Tarantula

2010-10-11T12:07:00.005-07:00

We can now add tarantula to the wildlife we have seen at Desert's Edge. Fortunately, this stunning creature was outside, unlike the pack rats who took over the attic. I think I have won the battle with the pack rats, thanks in part to Desert Wildlife.

This tarantula was especially impressive because instead of the usual black back, this one was honey-colored.

After the paparazzi harassment ceased, the tarantula continued its fascinating eight-legged march into the desert behind our house.

September Residential Sales Statistics

2010-10-11T11:37:00.005-07:00

The Tucson Association of Realtors has published the Residential Sales Statistics for September.

Average sale price was $181,612, down 7.7% since September 2009. Median price was down 10.5% over the past twelve months to $145,855.

With 7,217 active listings and 873 sales in September, we have a 8.27 month supply of listings. In September 2009, we had a 6.36 month supply.

Changes to FHA financing have made housing less affordable to first time buyers. Effective October 4, an FHA mortgage on the average priced house ($181,612) will cost $46.98 more per month than it did in September. See my August 7 post for details on the changes to FHA financing. The monthly mortgage insurance payment is now 0.9%/12 of the loan amount, compared to 0.5%/12 in September.

One bright spot is that interest rates are around 4.5%, which is a huge benefit to buyers with good credit, employment and a 3.5% down payment, which can be a gift from relatives.

Rampant Mortgage Fraud Puts Foreclosures on Hold

2010-10-01T14:08:00.003-07:00

GMAC recently stopped foreclosure proceedings in most states. Now JP Morgan Chase has also stopped foreclosures. The reason? Consumers who have wrongfully had their houses foreclosed are fighting back.

The problem is that after a home buyer signs for a mortgage, the mortgage is bundled with other mortgages and sold. To save money, the companies that buy and sell the mortgages decided not to publicly record the lien transfers as is required by law. They just decided to keep electronic records among themselves. Incredibly, this seemed like a good idea to them.

Watch this video clip from Florida Representative Alan Grayson.

Citizenship

2010-09-18T08:04:00.013-07:00

Yesterday Steve and I went to Saguaro National Park West to see our Aussie friend Chris become a U.S. citizen. It was a very moving ceremony, and the setting among the saguaros was perfect. Chris said when he saw the saguaros during his first visit to Tucson in 1982, he knew that living in the Sonoran Desert would compensate for leaving his home in Tasmania.

Of course, a slide show of our country's astounding beauty was accompanied by "I'm Proud to Be an American". I knew I should have brought some tissues.

Chris and the other new citizens registered to vote and posed for pictures in front of the national park they now co-own with those of us lucky enough to be born here.
He was also interviewed by Fox News, and was quoted in the Arizona Daily Star.
Chris then made the brilliant suggestion that we go out for some American food. We had a great meal and tasty local beer at Barrio Brewing Co.

Papel o Plastico?

2010-09-18T07:43:00.009-07:00

Picante's got both! This charming store in Arizona's oldest and most Mexican shopping plaza, Broadway Village, has papel picado for your Day of the Dead celebration, or any other festivities.

Papel picado means cut paper. Strings of papel picado flags are used to announce special events in Mexico.

As residents of a former Mexican outpost, Tucsonans can and should brighten their celebrations with papel picado.

Picante is a delightful store with decorative items, jewelry and clothing from Mexico. It's a great place to buy a Southwestern flavored gift.

Desert Museum

2010-08-24T20:30:00.008-07:00

As members of the Tucson Gem and Mineral Society, Steve and I get free admission to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum one summer night per year so we can ogle the minerals in the museum's vault. Then we can hang around and shine black lights on fluorescent scorpions and attend lectures where we saw hawks, a pelican, a skunk, a porcupine and a ringtail.

It was raining when we went into the lecture hall. We noticed an ironwood tree with a snaky cactus draped all over it. It had huge buds that looked just like our night-blooming cereus buds. When we came out of the lecture, the rain had stopped and the tree was covered with 48 huge blossoms. One of the museum staff said the cereus waited until the rain stopped so it wouldn't lose any of its pollen. It was a spooky sight to behold.

I Was There When Levon Turned 70

2010-08-20T09:46:00.003-07:00

If you look up the definition of gentleman in Webster's, you will see a picture of Levon Helm.

In May, my sister and I went to Levon's 70th Birthday Bash at his barn studio, which is attached to his home in beautiful Woodstock, NY.

CNN was there, too. Here's the video.

Oh, what a night!

Meet the New Ride. Same as the Old Ride. Sort Of.

2010-08-17T12:05:00.006-07:00

When I bought my 2007 Camry Hybrid in May 2006, there were fewer than 10 in Tucson. It was still on a slow boat from Japan when I signed the contract. I bought it because my beloved 2003 Hyundai Sonata, a gorgeous gold Korean Jaguar, got 17 MPG. I didn't want to be part of the reason that we were occupying Iraq.

The Camry turned out to be a big bummer. Minor irritations were compounded by disappointing mileage. The last straw was the Toyota recalls due to brake and acceleration problems. Toyota gambled their sterling 50 year reputation, weighed the cost of the recalls against the lives of their customers, and made the wrong decision. They covered up the dangerous manufacturing flaws until they were forced to come clean. The Toyota reputation and resale value, for which I had paid a premium price, are damaged goods.

I thought about buying my seventh Honda. My three Honda motorcycles and three cars were paragons of care-free reliability. But the allure of my favorite car ever, the 2003 Sonata, reminded me to check out the new Sonatas. Hyundai's bumper to bumper warranty--five years or 60,000 miles--is the best in the car industry. Sonata has the best fuel economy in its class. When I learned one of the Sonata colors is black plum pearl, I had to see this wonder.

One of the disappointments with the Camry hybrid was that during its first year of production, it was still being made in Japan. I am pleased that my Sonata was assembled in Alabama.

The new Sonata has gotten raves from Edmunds, J.D. Powers and others. It is quite pretty, and a little more daring than the homogeneous Honda/Toyota/Volvo/Ford models. By the time I accepted how much I have to pay for a new car, all the black plum pearl Sonatas in southern Arizona were sold. All dealerships are awaiting their new inventory, with no delivery date in sight.

I have spent the last week having very unpleasant interactions with car salesmen. With two exceptions, they didn't listen to me, they put their needs ahead of mine, and they didn't hesitate to show their frustration when I didn't immediately do what they wanted me to do. This is the opposite of how I treat my clients, and it was nasty to be treated this way.

I finally found a salesman at Hyundai of Tempe who does business my way. Ron Rinaldi remembered what I told him about my car criteria and he was interested in learning about me. He told me his sales philosophy and why he is proud of his dealership. We both believe the way to stay in business through the turbulent market cycles is to put the customer first, and earn their referrals and repeat business. If you are thinking of buying a car, I highly recommend you consider letting Ron find the Hyundai that's right for you.

Of course, he also sells used cars, and unlike many salesmen, will look for the car you want, even if it's not at his dealership and he might not make as much on the sale. Imagine that.

I expect most people won't even notice I have a new car. In the photo above, the Sonata is in front, and the Camry is behind it. They are almost the same color red, with the same rounded mid-size sedan styling. The Sonata looks a little racier and of course its red is richer and shinier than the Camry's.

Ron gave me a complete orientation to all the features of my Sonata. It really has almost everything the Camry had, but I never used the Bluetooth because no one explained it to me. Ron linked the car to my phone so a display on the dash shows who's calling me. Don't worry, your phone number is not stored in my car, just in my phone. Before I got to Tempe yesterday, Ron had just spent an hour and a half explaining the navigation system to another of his customers.

Hyundai of Tempe is just off I-10 at Elliott. An easy ride when it's not rush hour. Ron gave me a Hyundai Santa Fe to drive home from Tempe last night. As soon as my moon roof is installed, Ron will drive my Sonata to my door. I'm so impressed. His number is 602-799-7226.

Snakes Have to Eat, Too

2010-08-15T16:50:00.007-07:00

One morning a couple months ago I heard a flapping commotion outside our den door. I looked out to the porch and saw a dove bravely beating a snake with his wings.

It was morning, so the male dove was on duty on his nest while his wife rested. The snake was after the dove's chicks, and the snake won.

Now I don't want any of you carnivores shrieking "Eeew!"

A Better Way to Do Short Sales

2010-08-15T12:44:00.003-07:00

A short sale occurs when the seller owes more on his mortgage than can be recovered by the sale of the house. Banks have made the short sale process so painful, that most buyers won't even make an offer on a house that is listed as a short sale. Buyers know they will wait several months before the seller's bank will look at their offer, and then the lender will refuse to make repairs and may counter at a higher sale price. At the last minute, the real estate agent's commissions can be reduced, and the agents have no recourse. So of course agents are not eager to get involved with these high risk/low reward transactions.

Since August 1, the U.S. Treasury has made Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) short sales available to borrowers whose loans are owned by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Borrowers with FHA and VA loans are still not eligible.

Here are the enlightened advantages of the HAFA short sale:
1) The seller has at least 120 days to market the house, during which time foreclosure is postponed.
2) The seller's lender sets a sale price that they will accept, preferably before the house is on the market.
3) If a buyer submits an offer that meets the the terms of the seller's lender, the lender must accept the offer within 10 business days.
4) Seller is released from all liability on all loans. No deficiency judgements, and no surprise repayment notes appear in the closing documents.
5) U.S. Treasury pays up to $6,000 to subordinate lien holders. This is a big deal, because typically the holder of the second mortgage is offered $3,000 by the first lien holder, and the second lien holder can refuse to accept this settlement, so the short sale can not occur.
6) Seller receives $3,000 cash from the U.S. Treasury at closing for moving expenses.

How can the U.S. Treasury get lenders to agree to streamline the short sale process? They give cooperating lenders $1,500. So the downside of all this is that the taxpayers are again on the hook for the mortgage industry meltdown.

I just took a class on the HAFA short sale process, and I would be glad to discuss this option with you if it seems like something that would be helpful to you.

Why Do Banks Prefer Foreclosure to Short Sale or Home Loan Modification?

2010-08-12T12:30:00.004-07:00

I have long wondered why banks reject perfectly reasonable offers on houses that need a short sale. The banks take months to respond to an offer on a house, they refuse to do repairs required to make the sale happen, and they cut the agents' commissions at the last minute. They really seem to prefer to foreclose on the house, rather than work out a home loan modification with the underwater home owner, or accept a short sale offer at market value. When the house goes to foreclosure, it typically sells for far less that it would have by a short sale. What gives? How can the banks stay in business by willfully choosing to foreclose, and thereby receiving much less than they need to?

The guys at Think Big Work Small think they have it figured out. The FDIC seized the assets (bundled mortgages) of some inept mortgage lenders, and then sold the assets to other lenders at a deep discount. Then when the new lenders foreclose, FDIC compensates the new lenders for their losses, but not for their actual losses, but for the loss the lender would have incurred if the new lender lost the difference between the original mortgage amount and the foreclosure price. Of course, the new lender is not really losing that amount, because they bought the mortgages for less than was owed!

If this scenario is true, the FDIC is using tax-payer dollars (or I should say, increasing our deficient and borrowing against future tax-payer dollars) to enrich the lucky, well-connected banks that bought the assets of defunct banks. All these unnecessary foreclosures drive down the values of the neighboring properties, making it impossible for neighbors to refinance or to sell at a fair price. As long as the FDIC pays banks to foreclose rather than do a short sell or a loan modification, market value of all houses will be unjustly dragged down by the value of the foreclosed houses.

Are you horrified yet?

Go Solar with No Installation Cost

2010-08-09T20:13:00.004-07:00

The amazingly fabulous Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) has found a unique and affordable new way for you to lease solar panels for your home, and at the same time raise $500 for the CBD. If you get the panels installed, please let me know how it worked out for you. Here's the plan:

Sungevity, a home-solar installer serving California, Arizona and Colorado, puts up solar panels on your house for free when you sign up to lease them.
You pay Sungevity on a monthly basis for your home-solar lease, usually the same or less than what your pre-solar electric bill used to be.

Sungevity pays the CBD a $500 referral fee for sending you their way.
Sungevity pays you an additional $500 cash bonus for joining the solar lease program, plus $1,000 credit toward your future lease payments.
In the end, you could end up having home-solar power for nothing more than you were paying in electricity bills before, plus $500 cash back and the chance to earn a generous donation for the Center for Biological Diversity. Not to mention the fact that the atmosphere will be spared roughly 8.24 metric tons of CO2 a year (roughly what you'll conserve by using solar on your home). It's a win-win-win situation.

To take advantage of this offer, please follow the steps below:

Go to the Sungevity home page to request an iQuote: www.sungevity.com
After you submit your request, you'll be taken to a page that asks you where you heard about Sungevity. Enter the following referral code: CBD.
Within 48 hours, Sungevity will send you an iQuote with your estimated monthly lease payment and savings. You then decide whether to enter a lease agreement.
If you are excited about this promotion and about raising funds for the Center's work, please spread the word among your friends and colleagues who live in Arizona.
This offer is good through the end of 2010.

If you have any questions about this program, please contact Brian Somers at Sungevity (bsomers@sungevity.com).

FHA Changes Coming

2010-08-07T11:08:00.004-07:00

FHA, the federal agency that insures loans for millions of homeowners who have limited down payment, needs a cash infusion. FHA's reserves have been below the required level for several months, and they must figure out how to increase their reserves so they can continuing insuring loans. In July, 36% of the home buyers in Tucson who financed their purchase used FHA loans.

On October 4, 2010, FHA will be changing the Mortgage Insurance Premiums that they charge to borrowers using FHA financing. The Up-Front Mortgage Insurance Premium (UFMIP), which is added to the buyer's loan amount, will decrease from from 2.25% to 1.0%. On a $100,000 purchase, at the current 4.5% (!) interest rate, this will reduce the monthly payment by $6.11. So far so good.

The problem for home buyers is that the Monthly Mortgage Insurance Premium (MMIP) will increase from 0.55% to 0.80% or 0.90% annually. The exact amount hasn't been determined yet. If the MMIP goes to 0.9% annually, the net effect of the UFMIP and MMIP changes will be this: using FHA financing at current interest rates on a $100,000 house will cost $21.77 per month more.

July Residential Sales Statistics

2010-08-07T10:36:00.005-07:00

The Tucson Multiple Listing Service has released Residential Sale Statistics for July

While the average and median sale prices held steady from June to July, the number of sold units dropped 32% in that one month. Most buyers had to complete their home purchases by June 30 to qualify for the $8,000 tax credit. In July, we saw not only the usual lack of interest in summer home buying, but also the abrupt loss of one huge government subsidy for home buying.

FHA accounted for 36% of the financed sales. Changes are coming in September that will make it harder for buyers to use FHA financing.

Amazingly, 27% of the sales were cash. Many of the foreclosed houses are too damaged or neglected to qualify for financing. Investors are buying these sorry wrecks at incredibly low prices, renovating them, and reselling a few months later for twice as much. While the investor purchases drag down the values of neighboring houses, the resale of renovated houses to homeowners pulls the values up, and helps stabilize neighborhoods.

Seller-Funded Down Payment Assistance Program

2010-08-04T19:46:00.004-07:00

The home buyer tax credit program is history, and no one is really sure if the $12.6 billion investment was worth it. I myself have not seen any decline in home buying, probably because of the incredibly low 4.5% fixed mortgage rates combined with house values that in some cases are half what they were three years ago.

These guys at ThinkBigWorkSmall make a good point. Just a few years ago, we had programs that allowed sellers to contribute to the buyer's down payment. The down payment had to be laundered through a non-profit that skimmed some of the money for handling the paper work, but a lot of houses were sold to people who had no savings.

HUD decided that because the default rate on these loans was considerably higher than average, they had to put a stop to seller-funded down payment assistance programs. They concluded that when people don't have much "skin in the game", meaning their own savings invested in a houses, they are more likely to walk away from the house when they get into financial trouble.

But is this the reason for high rate of defaults on these loans? Maybe partially, but HUD needs to remember that many of these loans were made to people with no income and bad credit. Additionally, the unemployment rate has soared, and the glut of foreclosures had depresed property values, making houses impossible to sell or refinance. The defaults should surprise no one.

Almost immediately after the seller-funded down payment programs were eliminated, HUD came up with a new idea: $6,500 to $8,000 tax credits for home buyers. The problem with this is that instead of the home buyer having their skin in the game, now they have the tax payers' skin in the game. $12.6 billion of it. This doesn't seem like an improvement to me.

HR 600 is a bill that will restore seller-funded down payment assistance programs. These programs could help keep the housing recovery chugging along, and they don't cost tax payers a dime.

For the most part, lenders are no longer making loans to people who have no business buying a house. In fact, lenders have swung so far in the other direction, that I am now having trouble getting loans closed for people with perfect credit, savings and secure jobs. If the down payment assistance program could be used to help people who are actually qualified to buy houses, we would all benefit.

June Residential Sales Statistics

2010-07-18T21:19:00.004-07:00

The Tucson Association of Realtors has published the Residential Sales Statistics for June. Average and median sale prices are down 9.4% since June last year. From May to June this year, average price declined 2.9% to $189,231 and median price declined 1% to $149,450. This is the first time the median has been below $150,000 since January 2004.

Once again, 87% of the sales were below $300,000. With 5,979 listings under $300,000 and 1,015 sales under $300,000, we have a 5.9 month supply of listings in that range. This is below the six month supply that is considered a balanced market, so the advantage is tipped slightly toward the seller for an appropriately-priced house in this price range. However, sellers are being asked to contribute to buyers' closing costs and make repairs.

Overall, we had 7,997 listings and 1,170 sales in June, for a 6.8 month supply of listings in all price ranges.

Your Opinion Needed on FHA Plans

2010-07-16T09:10:00.004-07:00

FHA temporarily increased the amount that the seller can contribute to the buyer's closing costs from 3% of the sale price to 6%. Now they are thinking of reducing it back to 3%.

This is another example of the government getting in the way of a housing recovery. FHA is looking for opinions on this proposed change. Remember, as the government makes home sales more difficult, more houses will stay on the market and home values have to drop. Even if you aren't buying or selling in the immediate future, vacant houses affect you because of 1) the loss of property tax revenue to the city and county, resulting in reduced services, 2) the blight of vacant houses and 3) the reduction in your home's value, potentially making refinancing impossible.

Make your comments here.

10660 E Rusty Spur Drive

2010-07-15T11:00:00.003-07:00

This is the Arizona Dream. Horse property out in the country, with miles of riding trails in the wash across the road.
Extensive remodeling in 2005 raised the living room, foyer and kitchen ceilings to almost 12 feet.
Lots of wildlife and native vegetation. Serenity next to your diving pool. Family fun on the basketball court and playground. Dinner parties on the deep back porch.
Cozy fires in the family room. An eye-popping view of the Catalinas from your airy living room, with its huge arched window.
Custom-built painting studio with beautiful north light. Check out the interactive floor plan.

10660 E Rusty Spur Drive was offered at $299,000. This was a fabulous opportunity. Sadly, the bank refused to accept a reasonable short sale offer. AARGGGHH! This is part of the reason why the housing market is such a mess.

Back Home Again

2010-07-01T15:27:00.010-07:00

I started my real estate career in 1995 with Long Realty. In 2003, I moved to Realty Executives, and thought I would stay there forever. In March this year, the local Realty Executives franchise became Keller Williams. In the following weeks, about 70 of the agents from the old Realty Executives moved to a new Realty Executives franchise in Tucson. Along with 230 of the old Realty Executives agents, I transferred my real estate license to Keller Williams, because I could stay with my mentors from the old Realty Executives, and I wouldn't have to leave my sweet private office on River Road.

After four months with Keller Williams, I concluded it wasn't a good fit for me. Amazingly enough, the new Realty Executives signed a lease on an office building at 2251 E Grant Road last week. I called just minutes after the lease was signed to inquire about a private office, so I had my pick. Serendipity! This is a beautiful Southwestern style building in a great Central Tucson location. Bookman's! Ragin' Sage!

You walk past the white stuccoed walls with their vigas and rusted gates into a pleasant, leafy court yard. My office has French doors going out to another court yard. Needless to say, I am thrilled to be home and to have lucked into this wonderful office.

NFIP and New Home Buyer Tax Credit Extended

2010-07-01T15:15:00.004-07:00

Buyers, sellers, real estate agents and mortgage loan officers have had a frantic few weeks. The $8,000 tax credit for first time home buyers was scheduled to expire June 30. Buyers had to have their home purchases in escrow by April 30 to qualify. Everyone worked feverishly to meet the June 30 deadline to close escrow. It is estimated that without the extension of the deadline, 220,000 sales would not qualify for the tax credit.

Also, as noted in my blog on June 25, Congress failed to reauthorize the National Flood Insurance Program, leaving buyers of houses in FEMA-designated flood plains unable to get mortgages.

Not a moment too soon, Congress awoke from its slumber.

The House and Senate have passed H.R. 5623, the "Homebuyer Assistance and Improvement Act," extending the first-time homebuyer tax credit to October 1, 2010 for any borrowers who've entered a binding contract by April 30, 2010.

Also, the Senate approved House-passed H.R. 5569, the "National Flood Insurance Program Extension Act," extending the NFIP through September 30, 2010 and reauthorizing the program retroactive to May 31, 2010.

President Obama is expected to sign both pieces of legislation into law today.

Flood Insurance

2010-06-25T19:37:00.003-07:00

The National Flood Insurance Program expired on June 1, leaving homeowners without access to reasonably-priced flood insurance. The National Association of Realtors begged Congress for months to extend the NFIP, to no avail. This means buyers have been unable to buy houses in the flood plain for over three weeks.

The National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies estimates that due to Congress's inaction, about 1,200 real estate transactions requiring flood insurance fail to close every day in our country.

You might think any one who builds their house in a river bottom shouldn't be able to sell it anyway, but this affects a lot more people than you may think. Much of Central Tucson requires flood insurance, including parts of Winterhaven, Sam Hughes, Broadmoor, north and south of U of A, Casas Lindas and many other seemingly high and dry locations.

Way to put the brakes on the housing market recovery, Congress.

Cowtown Keeylocko

2010-06-13T14:46:00.012-07:00

Last night Steve and I drove out the Ajo Highway past Three Points to Cowtown Keeylocko. This is a working cattle and horse ranch owned by Ed Keeylocko, who bought the land after returning from the Vietnam war. Ed loves the Wild West myth, and has built a small town that he proclaims is "The Way the West Really Was".
Actually, he has improved on the way the west was and is, because his house rules require a level of civility that has never been seen in the real world.
The Blue Dog Saloon is a barn with a sand floor and two bars. Suspended from the ceiling, hanging on the walls and crowded onto every surface are saddles, ropes, photos, animal heads, a baby buggy and an accumulation of decades of dusty old stuff.

Inspired by the movie "Lonesome Cowboys", filmed by Andy Warhol in southern Arizona, French-born Tucson singer Marianne Dissard filmed part of "Lonesome Cowgirls" at Keeylocko last night. Thanks to incorrect directions in The Tucson Weekly, we missed the filming, which must have been fun. By the time we finally found this ranch at the end of six miles of dirt roads off Highway 86, the costumed actors, including Tucson's own magical Flam Chen, were busy drinking and listening to Marianne crooning in French.

Keeylocko is a delightful Tucson treasure that reminds me of Valley of the Moon. Generous, imaginative men of vision created their versions of utopia, and then invited the world into their homes.

May Residential Sales Statistics

2010-06-12T10:36:00.003-07:00

The Tucson Association of Realtors has announced the Residential Sales Statistics for May.

Average sale price in Tucson in May was $194,838 and median sale price was $151,000. This was a decline of 3% in average price and 5% in median price from April.

This decline may indicate the increased prices we saw in April were due to the first time home buyer tax credit that expired April 30. Buyers needed to have an accepted contract by April 30, and they need to close by June 30, so we will continue to see the effects of the federal stimulus for another month. Because lenders are overwhelmed with buyers trying to get that $8,000 tax credit, some of the sales in escrow will not close by June 30. For this reason, the deadline to close may be extended.

The 6,603 active listings outnumbered the 1,227 sales in May 5.38 to 1. This is below the magic 6:1 ratio that is considered a balanced market. When we get below a six month supply of listings--which is another way of saying a ratio of six listings to one sale--we have what is considered a seller's market. Sellers of homes priced over $300,000 may find that hard to believe, but here's the explanation: 87% of the sales were of houses priced below $300,000 and 55% of the sales were under $160,000.

We had 2,080 active listings priced over $300,000 in May, of which only 164 sold, indicating a one year supply of houses in this price range. We have a 23 month supply of listings priced above $500,000.

First time home buyers and investors still dominate the market. Government-insured loans--VA and FHA--accounted for 36% of the sales, and 23% of the sales were cash.

A Sign of Home Value Recovery?

2010-06-07T18:05:00.004-07:00

Catherine Ellinwood with Fairway Independent Mortgage (520-954-1907) sent me an email this morning saying the market's looking good because interest rates are low and "values are coming in under purchase price." The first part sounds good, but to me, the second part didn't.

When a property appraises for less than the price in the purchase contract, this is bad news to me, because the buyer can't get a loan for the purchase price. One of two things has to happen: the seller has to reduce the sale price to the appraised price, or the buyer has to pay the difference between the sale price and the contract price as additional down payment. The seller usually doesn't want to do this, and the buyer often is unable.

Catherine explained that when the contract price is more than the appraised price, it means buyers are willing to pay more than what the comparable sales would indicate the house is worth. This is how prices went up so quickly from 2003 to 2006.

Way too many of the comparable sales on appraisals today are distressed sales. These sales drag down the value of non-distressed properties. Now that buyers are realizing that there are bargains in this market, we are seeing bidding wars and serious offers. This renewed interest from buyers is bringing the sale prices up.

When the appraisal is lower than the contract price, cooperation between the seller and buyer can keep the sale on track. If the seller reduces his price a little, and the buyer brings a little more cash to the table, the house can sell for more than the appraised value. Although they may not feel like winners when making these concessions, this is a win-win situation. The seller sells, the buyer buys, and when the house has a new owner, everyone realizes that they got what they wanted.

When prices start going up (sloooowly, this time), fewer homeowners will be underwater, and more will be able to sell or refinance. Then we can start climbing out of this worrisome housing market.

The low rates Catherine referred to were 5% with 0 origination fee, or 4.75% with 1% origination fee for FHA loans. Conventional loans are a little higher. Ask Catherine about Fairway's contribution to the buyer's closing costs.

Guess Where I Went on Saturday?

2010-05-24T21:33:00.004-07:00

Hey rock and rollers, do you recognize this house?

Javelinas

2010-05-15T11:48:00.010-07:00

Just before dusk one evening in March, Steve and I noticed our cat Sunbeam was very alarmed about something going on in the driveway of our Central Tucson home. We looked over the wall, and as expected, we were about ten feet away from the biggest family of javelinas we have seen in our yard. Four adults, two juveniles and two tiny babies were planning to knock over the 50 gallon garbage can again.

We had never seen such tiny babies. They were about the size of a Chihuahua, but much stouter, of course. One of the adults gave the can a heave, and it crashed to the ground. They seem to be getting smarter about which way to push the can so the lid lands at a good angle and they can get to all the yummy stuff inside the can.

They were pulling bags out of the can, and one javelina went right inside the can to look for the choicest morsels.

The babies kept trying to nurse as their oblivious mother stomped around among the garbage. We wondered how they avoided getting trampled.

Steve and I watched all this with fascination, but we know we shouldn't encourage this behavior. I asked Steve if we should scare them away, and he said no, so I was satisfied to keep taking pictures.

Even after darkness fell, and my camera started flashing, the beasts continued their feast, unconcerned about the people they could clearly see, smell and hear just a few feet away.

For those who don't know what a full grown javelina looks like, here's one. I have always thought that with their huge heads and tiny legs, they looked like a child's drawing of a pig.

April Residential Sale Statistics

2010-05-15T08:00:00.001-07:00

The Tucson Association of Realtors has released the Residential Sales Statistics for April. The $8,000 tax credit for first time buyers really had its intended effect: number of homes sold was up 31% from April 2009. Buyers needed to be in escrow by April 30 to get this tax credit, and will need to close by June 30, so the strong numbers will continue for a few more months. What happens then, no one knows for sure.

The tax credit also helped stabilize home prices. Average sale price was $199,986, which is 4% higher than April 2009. At $159,000, the median home price is 2% lower than last April, but almost 1% more than in March 2010.

FHA financing, with allows loans up to $316,000, accounted for 30% of the sales. Conventional financing (not insured by FHA or VA) was 31% of the sales. A whopping 27% of buyers paid cash. So many of my buyers who wanted to buy their first home this spring were been beaten out by investors who paid cash for foreclosed and otherwise distressed properties. Most of these houses that sold for cash would not qualify for financing because they are in terrible condition. The fixer upper bargains that can be bought with cash are astounding. Houses priced under $100,000 that are move-in ready are rare.

Eighty-six percent of the sales were under $300,000. Hmm, do you think the $316,000 limit on FHA loans has anything to do with that?

The easiest place to sell a house was in zip codes 85706, 85714 and 85741, where over 38% of the houses on the market sold last month. These areas are in South Tucson. In the Tucson metro area, the lowest rate of turnover was in Northeast Tucson zip codes 85749 and 85750, Central Tucson west of First Ave (85705) and the West Foothills (85718). In these zip codes, fewer than 13% of the active listings sold. Rural areas are struggling even more. In all the Tucson MLS, 19% of the active listings sold, or 1,227 sales out of 6,603 listings.

834 S Lehigh Drive

2010-05-12T16:46:00.001-07:00

What an opportunity for you. This three bedroom, two bath home is in good condition at a bargain price. Solid adobe construction and located in a quiet neighborhood near Park Mall. The sunny and spacious oak kitchen has plenty of storage, with more cabinets in the laundry room, right next to the built-in desk. The kitchen is open to the dining area, which has a sliding door leading out to the covered patio.

Just enough lawn to provide an oasis. Bougainvillea, orange tree and shade trees on irrigation.

New ceiling fans and light fixtures.

Ceramic tile everywhere but the bedrooms. Upgraded shower and tub surrounds. Half of the roof was replaced in 2007. Gas heat and evaporative cooler. The air conditioner was installed in 2006.

Close to Palo Verde Park with its walking path, numerous playing fields, play ground and picnic tables. Hey, isn't that snow on the Catalinas spectacular?

This fine home sold for the unbelievably low price of $133,000 in September 2010.

FlexMLS

2010-05-09T19:49:00.003-07:00

Last Monday, Tucson Association of Realtors switched us to a new Multiple Listing Service software provider, called FlexMLS. Chaos has ensued. Nobody, not even the people at tech support, can explain how to do the simplest things. It took three days for me to do a comparative market analysis on my most recent listing. See the delightful 10660 E Rusty Spur Drive, posted below. I had to scribble all over my listing presentation because the new system does not display the information we need. I used to be able to prepare a listing presentation in about four hours, and it would look great. FlexMLS needs a lot of improvement.

If you were receiving auto-prospecting listings from me by e-mail, and they abruptly ceased on Monday, this is the reason. Unlike previous switches to new MLS systems, this time, our prospect searches were not carried over to the new system, so I need to enter them all over again. I'm running as fast as I can.

I've Moved to Keller Williams. Or Did KW Move to Me?

2010-04-23T13:08:00.003-07:00

On March 9, the agents of Realty Executives Southern Arizona, where I had happily worked for five years, were told that the owner had done a year of research and decided that Realty Executives was not the franchise he wanted to own, and henceforth his company would be affiliated with Keller Williams Realty. This was stunning news to all involved.

At the time, Keller Williams was virtually unknown in Tucson. However, it is the third largest real estate company in the United States, behind Coldwell Banker and Century 21. According to REAL Trends 500 Report, from 2008 to 2009, Keller Williams Realty gained 6% in number of transactions, 35% in number of offices, and 19% in number of agents, while all the other national realty estate companies lost market share in those areas. Coldwell Banker's transactions declined 32%, they lost 18% of their offices and 25% of their agents in that one year. The numbers for Realty Executives were -32%, -35% and -32%. I had no idea. Realty Executives had steadily been gaining market share in Tucson for the past five years.

The same day that Keller Williams Southern Arizona was born, Realty Executives International opened a new office on Oracle Road. About 70 agents from the old Realty Executives are now with the new Realty Executives. Of the 317 agents that were with the old Realty Executives on March 10, at least 234 have moved to Keller Williams Southern Arizona. I am one of them. I still have my sweet office overlooking River Road, and I still get to work with the wonderful mentors I've come to admire and appreciate over the past five years.

Keller Williams's business model is more agent-centric than that of any other real estate company. The agents make decisions about company management through the Agent Leadership Council, which is open to the top 20% of the company's agents. Yesterday I went to a meeting to learn more about the ALC so I can decide whether I want to participate this year.

We agents are receiving lots of training, and will be eligible for profit sharing. While of course the company wants its agents to be profitable and successful, success is defined by our quality of life. This is quite different from the usual emphasis of working harder to make more money.

But this isn't all about the agents. Of course, we agents need to give superior customer service in order to have successful businesses and the rewarding lives that successful businesses can fund. For the past two years, Keller Williams Realty has won the J. D. Power award for Highest Overall Satisfaction for Home Buyers.

So, I invite you to join me on this journey. Keller Williams intends to be the leading real estate company in Southern Arizona within three years. Can you help? Who do you know who is thinking of buying or selling a house? Please let me know, and you can be assured that as usual, I will treat his or her real estate transaction as if it were my own.

Daisies

2010-03-20T17:53:00.006-07:00

African daisies, a warm spring day, the song of a mocking bird. I feel sorry for anyone who isn't in Tucson today.

Sunbeam has spring fever, too.

Mortgage Rates Could Spike When Government Subsidy Ends This Month

2010-03-20T10:49:00.003-07:00

This is by Alan J. Heavens in the Philadelphia Inquirer.

As the spring real estate season kicks in and the tax credit deadline for sale agreements approaches, the government is ending a program that has kept interest rates low and housing-affordability levels high for months.

On March 31, the Federal Reserve will stop buying mortgage-backed securities from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, returning control of interest rates to private investors.

For months, industry observers have predicted that once government supports are removed, interest rates will rise quickly, pushing many of the first-time buyers critical to housing’s recovery out of the market.

In late summer and fall 2009, lured by fixed 30-year mortgage rates under 5% and the first $8,000 tax credit, which expired Nov. 30, first-timers pushed sales of previously owned homes to the highest levels in at least three years, reducing record inventories and braking price declines.

That tax credit was renewed Nov. 5 and expanded to buyers who had not purchased a property in five years, although the credit for repeat buyers is $6,500. The second credit expires April 30, is unlikely to be renewed, and remains the engine moving buyers.

As the date for the Fed pullout approaches, analysts now generally agree that an immediate rate spike is no longer the likely result. “We think there will be a significant increase in private demand for mortgage-backed securities to take the place of the Fed,” said David Berson, chief economist at PMI Group in Walnut Creek, Calif. Not enough to offset the Fed’s departure, he said, with rates possibly increasing a quarter of a percentage point, “but a significant one.”

On the other hand, said Holland, Pa.-based economist Joel L. Naroff, low rates are not sustainable, and “the only way to get the market to stand on its own is to get people to become realistic again about prices and rates.” Rates will likely rise, but “the level will still be historically low,” Naroff said.

When rates do rise, likely by year’s end, it won’t be because of the Fed’s action, but “natural macroeconomic forces” like a recovering economy and the high budget deficit, said Lawrence Yun, National Association of Realtors chief economist.

Many Fed officials have emphasized that “high unemployment and tame inflation warrant a continued promise to hold rates very low for a long time,” said Peter Buchsbaum, of Arlington Capital Mortgage in Horsham, Pa.

January Residential Sales Statistics

2010-02-09T14:38:00.004-07:00

The Tucson Association of Realtors has released the Residential Sales Statistics for January.

Average sales price was the same as in December, and at $201,219, was 2.37% lower than than January 2009. Median sale price was $160,000, which is 3.9% more than in December, and 1.84% less than January 2009.

With 6,618 active listings and 712 sales in January, we have a nine month supply of listings. This is the highest supply we have seen in months. The high inventory can be explained by the 2,424 new listings that came on the market last month, a 35% increase from the previous January. Fortunately, last month also saw a 16% increase in units sold compared to a year ago.

An interesting new table was added to the statistics this month. On page 2, you can see the percentage of active listings that sold in January, arranged by zip code. The highest inventory reduction was southeast of Irvington and I-19 in 85706, where 27% of the listings sold. Unfortunately, 20 of the 34 sales, or 59% were bank-owned houses, meaning the previous owner lost the house to foreclosure. The second highest inventory reduction was southwest of Irvington and I-19 in 85746, where 22% of the listings sold, with 17 out of 30, or 57% of the sales being foreclosures.

I was shocked to find that ever-popular 85719 along Campbell Avenue had the lowest rate of inventory reduction, with only 6 out of 171 listings, or 3.5% sold last month.

As usual, most of the demand is for houses priced under $250,000. With 4,975 listings and 543 sales in this price range, we have a nine month supply.

In the $250,000 to $500,000 range, we have 1,788 listings and 140 sales, for a 13 month inventory.

A 35 month supply plagues owners of homes priced over $500,000, with 1,010 listings and only 29 sales in January

Castle Apartments

2010-01-31T14:02:00.013-07:00

I have admired the Castle Apartments at 721 E Adams, on the northwest corner of Euclid, for two decades. Built in 1906 as a hospital, this grande dame of the desert has seen numerous incarnations as a nursing home, convent, and most recently, apartments.

I have always wanted to get inside, and today I did. My newest clients are Zack and Amy Busch, the property managers of the Castle. The building has been in their family since 1998, and it is looking a lot spiffier these days than it did when I first saw it as a grad student.

I was delighted by the lobby, with its suit of armor, saltillo floors, stained glass window, gargoyles, stenciling and medieval banners. The massive wooden arches are everywhere, including in the apartments.

Most of the apartments are long term rentals, but Zack is turning a few into short term for U of A visitors, snow birds, gem show fans and anyone else who wants a unique lodging experience in the center of Tucson.
Check out their web site here for lots more photos.

"Why Didn't Someone Tell Me About This Place Before Now?"

2010-01-31T12:51:00.015-07:00

Steve and I went to see "A Prairie Home Companion" at Tucson Convention Center Arena last night. Steve has never been a PHC fan, but I have been following the news from Lake Wobegon for over 25 years. Steve didn't realize that so much of the show was music, and he was really impressed with the three bands.

Fifteen minutes before the show went on the air, Garrison Keillor and Andra Suchy, a soprano from North Dakota, walked around the audience and sang three songs. Paul Simon's "Under African Skies" got delighted applause at the line, "Take this child, Lord, from Tucson, Arizona...".

Invoking his reticent and non-demonstrative Lutheran upbringing, Garrison introduced the next song by saying that if we were sitting next to someone we love, we could sing along, and the person we love might overhear, and we wouldn't have to make eye contact or anything. Steve and I sang along to "I Can't Help Falling in Love with You", a song that has been dear to us ever since we heard Arlo Guthrie sing it many years ago.

They finished, sort of inexplicably, with "I Saw Her Standing There", which was fun when we sang the falsetto notes.

Garrison couldn't get over how wonderful Tucson is. He marveled, "A flowering desert, surrounded by magnificent mountains. Who knew such a place existed?" He told the world about Mt Lemmon, El Charro, San Xavier del Bac and the colorful adobe houses. "Why didn't someone tell me about this place before now?" he wondered. I have a feeling, given his impression of our fair city, and the packed house at TCC, he will be back.

Garrison introduced us to a local Latino band call iMAS. they were just terrific. Gillian Welch is part of the Dave Rawlings Machine, and she led the audience in the closing song, "I'll Fly Away". You may remember her rendition of this song with Alison Krauss in "O, Brother Where Art Thou?"

As the happy crowd left the Arena, feeling proud to live in this place that charmed the radio man from Minnesota, we found a lovely winter sunset illuminating the buildings around the TCC Plaza. On the sidewalk people were singing, "I'll Fly Away". I heard a sweet white-haired woman in the ladies room at El Minuto singing that old bluegrass tune, and I joined her in a chorus. What joy.

Housing Opportunity Index

2010-01-28T20:19:00.005-07:00

Okay, this is what I was looking for yesterday. The National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo have been calculating a Housing Opportunity Index (HOI) since 1991. Their findings for the third quarter of 2009 are here.

With a median Tucson family income of $57,500 and a median sale price of $159,000, the median-priced house is affordable to 73.4% of the families in Tucson.

Tucson's HOI hit its low in the third quarter of 2006, when only 30.2% of the families in Tucson could afford the median-priced house.

Obviously, a home purchase is affordable to more Tucsonans now because the home prices are a lot lower than they were three years ago. We also need to consider that the HOI is a function of mortgage interest rates, so the unbelievably low interest rates (below 5%) are a significant contributor to housing affordability.

Tucson's HOI is 129th out of 227 metropolitan areas studied.

Tucson Undervalued?

2010-01-27T22:58:00.003-07:00

A study by cnnMoney.com says that the median home price in Tucson is $148,200 (doesn't say how they came up with that) and that Tucson real estate is undervalued by 15%. It was overvalued by 27% in 2006, according to this study.

They arrive at these conclusions by comparing the median home price to population densities and historical premiums or discounts an area has experienced.

I'd like to see a comparision of what percentage of families earning the median income can afford the median-priced house. That seems like a more meaningful evaluation of value.

Harris Hawks

2010-01-24T14:25:00.021-07:00

I have been hearing the piercing cry of hawks at our house near Campbell and Ft Lowell for weeks. One recent morning I was sitting in my home office. I looked out the window, and there was a family of three hawks in the mulberry.

It looked, as Steve would say, like a married couple and a teenager. The red shoulders and white rumps are characteristic of the Harris Hawks.

Uh oh. Busted.
It didn't take long for them to notice me in the window, 15 feet away. After glaring at me for a few more minutes, off they flew.

Sunbeam has added the hawks to the bobcat, javelina and the coyotes as her top four reasons for preferring to observe the world from within our house.

FHA Changes are Coming

2010-01-24T12:15:00.003-07:00

FHA will be taking measures to address their risk exposure and strengthen their finances by announcing policy changes that will affect future FHA loans. FHA reserves have fallen below the federally-mandated level, and FHA needs to raise capital quickly so they can continue to insure mortgages.

Effective April 1, the Up Front Mortgage Insurance Premium (MIP) will increase from 1.75% to 2.25% of the loan amount. The Up Front MIP is added to the loan amount, and is being restored to its previous level.

In early summer, all FHA borrowers must have a minimum credit score of 580 in order to qualify for minimum down payment of 3.5%. Borrowers with scores less than 580 will be required to make at least a 10% down payment. Can you believe that people with under 580 credit scores are currently buying houses? Some lenders have already established their own credit standards. For example, Fairway Mortgage will not lend money to people with credit scores under 620. Even that seems too risky to me. A score over 720 is considered excellent, and 800 is the maximum possible credit score.

Also in early summer, allowable sellers concessions will be reduced from the current 6% of sale price to 3%. Seller concessions are seller contributions to the buyer's closing costs and amounts pre-paid into escrow accounts.

You may think this doesn't pertain to you because you don't plan to get an FHA loan, but as credit tightens up, we will see fewer borrowers qualifying for loans. This could result in a reduction in demand for houses. What happens when we have high supply and low demand?

The last of the most recent changes affects investors who buy a house to fix and flip. Currently, the investor can't sell a house to an FHA buyer until 90 days after the investor purchased it. This is supposed to prevent buyers from paying too much for a house, but I think if the house has been fixed up, it is worth more, and the investor deserves to be rewarded for providing livable housing to the market.

Anyway, the 90 day rule will be waived by FHA effective February 1. Again, lenders can make up their own rules. I recently sold a house that an investor had fixed up, and the lender required three appraisals because less than six months had passed between the investor's purchase of the house and the buyer's offer. This wasted time and money for both the buyer and seller, but lenders are very afraid of making a bad loan, so they want everything squeaky clean.

PHC at TCC!

2010-01-22T07:33:00.002-07:00

Steve and I are going to see A Prairie Home Companion at Tucson Convention Center a week from Saturday. I just watched the DVD, "A Prairie Home Companion", last night. Meryl Streep can do no wrong. Woody Harrelson is fabulous in the movie, too. Reminds me of his role as the deranged soldier in "Wag the Dog".

I'll try to get Garrison to give a shout out to someone when we're at the show. Maybe you?

1320 S Harmon Lane

2010-01-11T15:14:00.005-07:00

This is no quick fix 'n' flip. These sellers are PERFECTIONISTS! This home is absolutely immaculate. Completely renovated to the most meticulous standards within the last 2 years. Ceramic tile through out. Oak kitchen cabinets.
New doors & double pane windows. Popcorn removed & walls retextured. Appliances less than 2 years new. The floor plan is here.

Ceiling fans. Great location only minutes to downtown, U of A, golf & hiking.

Many people are amazed, thrilled and grateful when they discover the Tucson Mountain lifestyle. Quieter, less expensive, newer and higher quality than Central Tucson, yet so convenient! This beautiful end unit is surrounded by cactus, mountains and serenity.

Here's the private park in the middle of the subdivision, near the south pool.

Here's the north pool and ramada.

HOA fee covers water plus roof and front yard maintenance. This house sold March 12, 2010 for $117,000.

December Residential Sales Statistics

2010-01-07T14:20:00.003-07:00

The Tucson Association of Realtors has released the Residential Sale Statistics for December.

With 886 units sold in December, we saw a 10.5% increase since the previous December, but a 12.4% decline from the previous month. I think this may be because the $8,000 first time home buyer tax credit was due to expire on November 30, and buyers who didn't have a house in escrow in November (which would have closed in December) no longer had that incentive. At the very last minute, Congress extended the tax credit through April 30, and added a $6,500 tax credit for buyers who lived in a home they own for five of the last seven years. I expect we will see a resurgence in the first time buyer market in the first quarter of 2010.

Average sale price was $202,376, up 0.8% for the year and up 7.4% from November. Median sale price was $154,262, down 8.2% for the year and down 5.1% for the month.

Most of the action remains in the under $250,000 market. With 4,423 listings and 693 sales in December in this price range, we have a 6.4 month supply of these houses. This is almost down to the six month supply that is considered a balanced market.

In the $250,000 to $500,000 range, we had 1,618 listings and 141 sales, for an 11.5 month inventory.

The over $500,000 market will remain weak as long as buyers have difficulty getting loans in this price range. With 937 listings and 52 sales, we have an 18 month inventory.

Government-insured loans (FHA and VA) accounted for 50% of the financed sales. From 2004 to 2007, sellers would have laughed at the idea of considering an offer with FHA and VA financing, when conventional loans were available for no money down and no concerns about the condition of the house. In December, 43% of the financed sales used conventional financing, which requires at least 10% down payment now, excellent credit, and a house in very good condition. Amazingly, 236 of the 886 sales, or 27%, were cash sales. Cash can be the only way to buy some of the short sales and foreclosures that either were trashed by the previous owners or deteriorated while they sat vacant for months or years.

NYT Does Tucson

2010-01-02T20:59:00.015-07:00

Did you see the incredibly dumb article about Tucson in the New York Times? It appears to have been written by someone who either has never deigned to visit Tucson, or resented being forced by a deranged editor to travel to the outback.

Did you know that "Tucsonians" (sic) are unjustly proud of our Mexican restaurants? Did you know that Cafe Poca Cosa has made a "vain attempt to import some glam L. A. style"? Did you know the bands at Plush are "less polished" than those at Club Congress? Did you know Plaza Palomino is downtown? Did you know the Ritz Carlton at Dove Mountain is in Tucson? Which do you think is a more memorable shopping experience: La Encantada (NYT's pick for "Phoenix-style shopping") or The Lost Barrio and Old Town Artisans?

Do you take visitors to the Titan Missile Museum and the Davis Monthan airplane bone yard? Me neither. Doesn't this New Yorker know about Mt Lemmon, and the unique opportunity to travel through five of North America's seven biozones in an hour? Apparently it wasn't in his Frommer Guide. He clearly didn't bother to talk to anyone while he was here, if indeed he was here, which seems unlikely, given that he states I-10 from Phoenix to Tucson is scenic! Yikes, that has to be the most boring drive in the West!

Plus, there's no need to waste time, money and gasoline flying into Furnix, as suggested by NYT, in order to get a round trip flight from New York for $351. If he'd talked to any frequent flyer in Tucson, he would have known you can fly direct from LaGuardia to Tucson with one stop (no plane change) on the fabulous and friendly Southwest Airlines for as low as $309.

The most obnoxious comment in this completely obnoxious article is the statement that Epic Cafe is populated by "would-be intellectuals". I wonder if living in New York City gives those city slickers the power to separate actual intellectuals from fakes with just a glance.

If we are lucky, this article will deter snobby arbiters of music, food and sophistication from darkening our doors. As Groucho Marx would say, "Go, and never darken our towels again!"

I wonder who you have to know to get one of these travel writer gigs. I know I can do way better at sussing out what's special and appealing about a town, without resorting to lame comparisons to L. A. and Phoenix. Tucsonans love Tucson because Tucson isn't L. A. or Phoenix!

TLC's "My First Home" is Coming to Tucson

2009-12-22T19:22:00.005-07:00

My First Home is a half-hour series for TLC that focuses on the ups and downs of first-time home buyers as they undertake the most important purchase of their lives. They meet the buyers and learn what they are looking for and tell their story of how they found their first home. They will meet with the REALTOR who guided the buyers through each step as they search and find their new home. The show will combine the basic facts of home buying with the emotional journey of the buyers.

They are looking for couples who are outgoing, energetic, and interesting first-time buyers with a great story to tell. Every first-time buyer has a unique experience and wants to share these stories with other prospective first-time buyers.

All events that occurred during the buying process will be recreated. They are looking for the most memorable first-time buyers who closed between May 2009 and the end of December 2009. The bigger the personality and excitement for being on the show, the better the chance the buyers will be featured on the show.

There are no fees or costs to the REALTOR or Realty Company. If cast, they ask the REALTOR to be available during shooting and assist in finding homes that were similar to what the buyers saw during their search. During each half hour episode they will tour at least three homes (one is the actual home the buyers bought).

The production crew will travel to Tucson from Los Angeles and spend one week here recreating the home search and other events (home visits, inspection, meeting with lenders, etc.) as they happened.

All of the participants from the last three seasons had a great experience and enjoyed watching the final product. For more information on the show please go here.

They are looking for casting tapes to come in ASAP! The sooner they get a tape the better chance the REALTOR and buyers have of getting cast. The crew will be coming to Tucson in either January or February of 2010. Please contact Laura Kruszewski laura@tucsonrealtors.org or 520-382-8775 if you are interested.

Craig Childs

2009-12-11T12:20:00.005-07:00

Last night Steve and I went to see Craig Childs at PCC. Craig is a fabulous nature writer who grew up in Arizona and lives in Colorado. He said he was delighted after arriving in Tucson by car at dawn Thursday morning to smell the delicious scent of rain. He talked about how the desert is all about water, and gave a Powerpoint presentation of photos he took of desert dunes and canyons. He puts himself in bizarre situations just to see what happens. For example, he enjoys burying himself in the sand in a remote desert, leaving only his head exposed, and staying that way for hours to see what kind of altered consciousness he can achieve. He was part of an international group of rafters and kayakers who made a first descent of a wild river in Tibet. The people who lived beside this ferocious river, which Craig said made the Colorado look like a joke, were horrified and begged them not to go. He showed us some videos of this muddy chaos taken from the bow of a catamaran.

Steve and I had the great privilege of spending a week on the Colorado River with Craig in 1998. We were on a commercial trip, and Craig was one of the guides. He was doing research for one of his many books about water. He was already appearing on NPR, so some of the rafters knew who he was and were very excited about having him for a guide. We were still clueless at that point.

Craig made a big impression on me because of two incidents. We were on an all-paddle trip, meaning no motorized boats and no oars. Everyone paddled every day. Lava Falls is largest fall on the Colorado River. It's also one of the scariest rapids because the huge black basalt boulders in the river have a rough surface that can tear a person up pretty good. Then there's always the possibility of a person swimming the falls and getting trapped under a boat or against a boulder. The power of the water is too much for mere humans to overcome. Hopi and white men ask for a safe passage from Vulcan's Anvil, a magnificent black cinder cone in the river upstream of the rapid.

When we got to Lava Falls, we all went up on an overlook to scout it and figure out the best path. Steve and I chose to be in the first boat to go through. The rest of the rafters were on the overlook, taking pictures as we went through, so I have a series of photos documenting what happened next. Steve and I were in the front of the raft, paddling in unison. Behind us were Craig and Steve's sister Lee. Behind them were Deb and George, a couple in their 60s. The head boatman Sha was in the middle back, telling us how to navigate the gigantic standing V-shaped wave we had to ascend with lots on power, going straight up the middle.

The photographic evidence shows Steve, Craig, Lee and me paddling in unison, even as we completely disappeared under the waves. In the back, Deb and George had their paddles in their laps and their hands over their eyes. We got part way up the V wave, and slid off the side. I fell out. I was under water a lot longer than I wanted to be. I surfaced, then went under again. When I came up, Steve grabbed me and held on through the rest of the rapids, then Craig and Steve pulled me into the boat.

My other favorite memory of that trip occurred in a flat, deep, narrow section of the river. The smooth Vishnu Schist walls shoot straight up for hundreds of feet. Craig asked everyone to be quiet. As we slowly floated in silence, he played his wooden flute. The music bouncing off the walls in that glorious place was ethereal. I told him last night, if heaven isn't like that moment, it should be.

He signed my copy of "Crossing Paths" like this: "For Donna and Steve and Lava Falls rising up around us".

Where the Deer and the Coyotes Play

2009-12-10T10:55:00.006-07:00

I'm sitting at the counter at Desert's Edge, sending off an offer on a short sale. I had already seen a covey of ten quail looking for food on the hill among the prickly pears. Then I saw two beautiful coyotes, looking uncharacteristically healthy. With their bushy tails and auburn highlights and wild yellow eyes, they were a stunning sight. I've seen javelina and deer here, but these are my first coyotes at my sweet desert home.