Flood Insurance Program Threatened

FEMA, the federal agency that provides flood insurance to homeowners living in the flood plain, is deeply in debt because of numerous major floods in recent years. Mortgage companies require flood insurance for homes located in the flood plain. The flood insurance program will expire July 31 unless Congress re-authorizes it. The House has passed a bill that will allow FEMA to write insurance policies effective for one year for four more months. The bill may not pass the Senate. Some Republicans contend that if FEMA makes flood insurance unobtainable, homeowners will be  unable to sell their flood-prone homes, and after the dust settles from all the foreclosures and bankruptcies, no one will be living in the flood plain and all will be well. Unfortunately, with climate change, floods are occurring where they never occurred before. The sea level is rising, and properties near the ocean that didn't use to be in the flood plain are now flooded on sunny days at high tide.

Tucson #1 of Dog-Friendly Cities

SmartAsset has declared Tucson the most dog-friendly city in the county. They ranked cities based on number of dog parks, dog-friendly restaurants, home prices, weather and other criteria. One more reason to love our Sweet Desert Home.

Tidy Home or Great Investment Property

Sweet, secluded, second floor treehouse condo. Set back from Speedway. 

Private balcony with storage overlooks a lovely palo verde tree. 

Security doors protect your bicycle and/or patio furniture. Tile floors throughout. Living room is open to the kitchen.

Pantry, electric stove, microwave, reverse osmosis, dishwasher and refrigerator. Laundry closet with washer and dryer included. Master bedroom has walk-in closet. Both bathrooms have tub and shower. 

Ceiling fans in master bedroom and living room. Coat closet in foyer.

Nicely landscaped complex with spa and seasonally-heated pool. One covered carport space (#59) and lots of open parking. Only two blocks to Fry's and Walgreen's. Right across the street from the fabulous Mesquite Valley Growers. Even if you never buy a plant, strolling through this nursery is like a delightful visit to a botanical garden.

Sold for $75,000 August 13, 2018. HOA fee is $164 per month and includes garbage collection, water and  roof and exterior building maintenance.

Continental Ranch Home

Immaculate, move-in ready home in a fabulous neighborhood. 

Great room with high ceiling and gas fireplace is open to the spacious kitchen with a bay window in the breakfast nook, reverse osmosis water filter and cabinets with pull-out shelves. 

Formal dining room plus living room. The great room is through the door to the right.

Master suite in its own private wing has a bay window, luxurious bathroom and huge walk-in closet. New laminate wood flooring in master bedroom and public areas. Neutral carpet in the other three bedrooms. 

Tandem garage has workshop with cabinets and still has room for a small third car or toys. Whole-house water softener. 

Back porch with mister. Easy access to over 120 miles of car-free walking and biking on The Loop, following a landscaped path along the city's rivers. 

Two parks provide community pools, lap and kiddie pools, splash pad, basketball, tennis, skating, ramadas. All that fun, with a low $27 per month HOA fee. 

The interactive floor plan is here. Sold for $268,000 August 20, 2018.

Solar Art on the Santa Cruz

The street car bridge over the Santa Cruz at Cushing Street has been open for six years (!) and I finally went to see the solar art last week.

The bridge has rusted metal arcs with patterns cut into them. The side walk on both sides of the bridge has scenes from Tucson's history incised into them. A certain moments through out the year, the sun shines through an arc just right to complete an image on the sidewalk.

Last Friday at 10:30 AM, I went with some of my hiking buddies to see the symbol for Mars encircle the Phoenix Mars Lander. It happened to be the tenth anniversary of the Mars landing. The principal investigator of the landing worked at the University of Arizona.

On June 1 at noon, this article in Zocalo says the street car will be the illuminated image, but I'm not sure about that. As I recall, the Tucson Pressed Brick Company on the south side of the bridge will be featured this Friday.

Anyway, it's fun to think of the math and precision engineering and art that all combined to make this happen.

It's also fun to have brunch at Seis in the Mercado San Agustin after experiencing the solar art.

The Loop is One of the Best Things That Ever Happened to Tucson

Some bicyclists move to Tucson specifically because we have a 120 mile system of paved paths with absolutely no cars. I myself walk dozens of miles on The Loop each year. Here's a map of our marvelous Loop. You can get a copy of this and all the other bike paths in Tucson at most bicycle stores.

Student Loan Debt Precludes Mortgage Debt

Because the cost of acquiring a college education has increased so much in the past decade, many millenials have crippling student loan debt. Before they can begin to save a down payment on a house and take on a home mortgage, they need to spend years paying off their student loans. The rate of homeownership among young people has plummeted.

Inability to save the down payment is only part of the problem. Lenders will only allow borrowers to spend about 36% of their gross monthly income on all debts, including student loans, car payment, credit card payments and mortgage. If student loans are eating a large portion of their young peoples' pay checks, they won't have much left to qualify for a mortgage.

The other problem is the lack of jobs. College graduates who are unable to find a job or who lost a job will be unable to make their student loan payments. When they default on their student loans, their credit is trashed, and they are in a hole that will be very difficult to climb out of. Adding to the difficulty is that some employers do a credit check as part of the hiring process. Bad credit means no job offer. 

Some people who had been promised that their student loans would be forgiven if they worked in a public service job found that rug pulled out from under them last year.