Longing for the Beautiful Sound of Rain?

Maybe we should try this here.

June Residential Sales Statistics

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

22% of Purchase Price in Down Payment Assistance!

Loan Officer Extraordinaire Chris Bass just told me she is in the process of becoming one of the lenders authorized to offer this wonderful down payment assistance program. Check out the good news!

"YOUR WAY HOME ARIZONA"

The Arizona Department of Housing will offer 22% of the purchase price in purchase assistance to QUALIFIED HOMEBUYERS purchasing an eligible FORECLOSED home in Tucson. This program is NOT JUST FOR FIRST TIME BUYERS! The guidelines are:

1. 620 Minimum FICO score
2. 31/43 debt-to-income ratio. A maximum of 31% of your gross monthly income can be spent on the mortgage payment, and 43% (including the mortgage payment) of your gross monthly income can be spent on all your recurring debts like car payment, minimum credit card payments and school loans.
3. The property must be your primary residence.
4. Condos and townhomes are allowed.
5. The property that is being purchased must be a foreclosure.
6. The property must be vacant at time of listing.

A minimum of 1% of the down payment must be buyer's own funds. 2% can come from any other approved source or gift. 3% down payment is required.

The maximum purchase price for Pima County is $316,250. The seller must agree to sell for 5% under the appraised value.

Borrowers must attend an eight hour training class. Funds are limited, so please don't delay.

To see whether you're eligible for assistance, check out Your Way Home AZ.

Call Chris Bass at American Home Mortgage.
Cell phone: 520-909-1565

Or apply online

Screech Owl

I was standing in the back door way at Desert's Edge a few mornings ago, looking in the desert for the javelina family that wandered through the back yard while we were having dinner on the porch the night before. No sign of the javelina, but I looked up to the rafters of the porch and saw a sleeping screech owl. How exciting! I had planned to eat breakfast on the porch, but I decided to eat inside, leaving the door open. The owl gradually realized I was there taking pictures, and flew away. But I had a good fifteen minutes to check him or her out.

I wonder if that is what I heard up in the attic about 3 AM? There was something up there that sounded BIG, tearing and scratching. I looked all around the eaves, and the largest hole is about an inch wide tear in the screen on the bird board. Hmmm.

Then, a while later, I was sitting at the kitchen counter with the door open and a cactus wren hopped in and perched under the backgammon table. I thought about chasing it out, but decided that might scare it off further into the house, so we just kept eyeing each other until it hopped back out the door.

What a wonderful place.

Night Blooming Cereus

We had a record bloom of the night blooming cereus that sprawls all over Steve's wood pile. May 27, five blooms caught our interest. We could see that the big night would be May 28, so we put post it notes all over the house to remind ourselves not to miss it. We were really excited to count 55, 56 or 57 blooms that night! Wow! We counted over and over, and got a different number each time, so we aren't sure exactly how many flowers we had, but it was very impressive. The old cactus still wasn't done showing off, and May 29 we had five more blooms and then on May 30 there were two.


Last year I wondered whether the full moon had anything to do with the timing of the bloom, but I guess it doesn't. The moon was just a beautiful new sliver this time.

May Residential Sales Statistics

The Tucson Association of Realtors has released the Residential Sales Statistics for May. It's all good news. The average sale price was $204,125 and the median sale price was $170,000. These were 6.14% and 3.72% increases since the previous month. The number of units sold was up 6.93% and the number of listings was down 5.57% since April. With 6,505 listings divided by 987 sales, we have a 6.6 month supply of houses. A six month supply is considered a balanced market, with no advantage to the buyer or seller. This is a huge improvement from the dismal 13 month supply we had in December.

The under $300,000 market continues to be strong. I have seen bidding wars and quick sales. Many buyers are realizing that these low interest rates can't last forever. The $8,000 tax credit for people who haven't owned a home in the last three years will expire December 1 this year. Now's the time to make a move, before -- dare we say it? -- the inventory dips below a six month supply.

3453 N Richland Drive

This incredibly affordable townhouse is located in the desirable Richland Heights neighborhood, northeast of Campbell and Ft Lowell. It has eco-friendly bamboo floors through out. The central air conditioner was new in 2005. Also has evaporative cooling for maximum energy savings.


The living room is spacious and has a high vaulting ceiling with clerestory windows. The corner fireplace provides a cozy touch. Sliding doors lead from the living room and master bedroom to the private walled patio. A generous dining area is between the living room and kitchen.








The two bedrooms and two baths are augmented by a den, which could easily be converted to a third bedroom by reworking the hall closet so it faces the bedroom. Check out the floor plan to see how it could be done.

The pool, spa and ramada offer a great oasis for relaxing and entertaining.

The Homeowners Association fee covers common area maintenance and insurance, garbage collection, water, personal and common area structural insurance, and building exterior and front yard maintenance.

This townhouse sold for $120,700 on July 21, 2009. What a shame the price was dragged down so low by foreclosures, the $180 per month HOA fee, and the need for maintenance in the complex. The maintenance will not be started until the HOA finishes collecting a $100 per month special assessment from each homeowner at the end of 2010.