Arizona's gift to the nation, the 2009 Capitol Christmas Tree, stopped this weekend in Oro Valley, Arizona.

Oro Valley is one of Arizona's newest success stories, with wide streets, beautiful subdivisions and shopping centers that eclipse most of what quiet old Tucson has to offer.

The tree, 65 feet tall, will be trucked to the White House, where it will be put on display shortly after Thanksgiving.

People came from all over to put their signatures on the side of the vehicle.  This little guy, seven years old, didn't have a pen, but my Darlin' took care of that. 

I had to get in on the act, and I made sure Active Rain got to go along for the ride.  It's faint, but it's there!

When the tree is set up and tricked out with lights and decorations for Christmas in our nation's capitol, I'm expecting that one of you Active Rainers in the DC area will take a photo or two and post on your blog about Arizona's Gift, the Capitol Christmas Tree for 2009.

Volkswagen has gotten my attention with their "fun theory."

Fun theory?  Aren't we all supposed to be working?

We're still going to get the work done.  The difference is finding ways to make the work enjoyable.  Make the transaction FUN!

So check these out:

___________________

I'm Mike in Tucson, your preferred Tucson, AZ Mortgage lender.

SUNSTREET MORTGAGE
Call me if I can help you or someone you know
with a purchase or refi mortgage.
(520) 349-9090

 ___________________

I'm Mike in Tucson, and I blog here on the Active Rain Real Estate Network just about every day.

I'm an internet based mortgage lender who happens to reside in Tucson, Arizona.  Read my blog, and get to know me.  The internet allows me to perform at the highest level of trust and productivity for clients outside Tucson who have internet access.  Click the Active Rain link below to see my guarantee of service.

SUNSTREET MORTGAGE, LLC
a correspondent banker
Call me if I can help you or someone you know
with a purchase or refi mortgage.
(520) 349-9090

photo copyright Mike in Tucson

REALTORS:  HERE'S THE SKINNY ON THE $8,000 / $6,500 TAX CREDIT FOR HOMEBUYERS. 

$8,000. Tax Credit Legislation Extended and Modified

Until the new legislation was signed into law, first time homebuyers could apply for and receive a tax credit in the amount of $8,000. when they purchased a home before the sunset date of November 30, 2009.

The new legislation, signed into law by President Obama on Friday, November 6, 2009

• extends that date until April 30, 2010 for civilians, and to April 30, 2011 for certain military buyers.
• increases the income limits so that millions more can qualify for the tax credit, and
• enacts a reduced tax credit of $6,500 for move-up buyers who are not first time homebuyers.

Extended Timeframe

The existing sunset date established by the Housing & Economic Recovery Act of 2008 has been extended to April 30, 2010 for most buyers.

Qualifying members of the military who served outside the borders of the United States at any time during the period from 1/1/2009 to 4/30/2010 will have an extra year to apply for the tax credit.

Increased Income Limits

The earlier legislation put caps on income for single buyers at $95,000.  Married buyers filing jointly capped out at $170,000.

The new legislation allows single wage earners to make up to $145,000, and married couples can earn up to $245,000. 

NEW:  $6,500 Tax Credit for Move-up Buyers

The new legislation provides a tax credit incentive for people who are not first time homebuyers.  (A first time homebuyer is defined as one who has not owned a home in the last 36 months.)  You may qualify for this $6,500 tax credit if you owned and lived in your home for five consecutive years out of the past eight.

Who does that help?  Let’s say you sold your home in 2008.  You’re not a first time homebuyer, but if you meet the “five of eight” criteria, you can buy a move-up home and still qualify for the $6,500 tax credit.  Check with your tax professional for advice on your particular situation.

NOTE:  Additional Requirements

There are other rules of eligibility in the legislation.  (This list is not exhaustive, so you’ll want to check with your tax professional.)

• You can’t buy the home from a relative.
• You must be 18 or older
• You cannot be claimed by any other taxpayer as a dependent
• If you’ve sold a home, and that sale affects your eligibility, you must included the settlement statement (HUD-1) with your tax return.
• Most buyers (check with your tax professional) must live in the home for a minimum of three years or face a government demand for repayment.

Originally published on InvestmentRealEstateCorner.com by Mike in Tucson

___________________

I'm Mike in Tucson, your preferred Tucson, AZ Mortgage lender.

SUNSTREET MORTGAGE
Call me if I can help you or someone you know
with a purchase or refi mortgage.
(520) 349-9090

A picture graph is worth 1,000 pages of congressional lawmaking.

The chart on the left was compiled by Bloomberg, and shows the budget surplus / deficit as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product.

I came across this chart this morning, and mentally did an overlay of historical events.  That led me to wonder what a longer historical perspective would show.

Deficits since the Civil War

I found the most interesting and interactive website to help me with this. The chart below shows the Federal Deficit as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product since 1860.  You'll want to note some significant events that have taken place in our nation since that time, and overlay the events on the chart.

The American Civil War

1861 to 1865

US Involvement in World War I

1917 to 1919

US Involvement in World War II

1941 to 1945

The First Gulf War

1990 to 1991

The Iraq War

2003 - 2009

And that leads me to wonder this: To what event will history attribute that blue spike on the right, a deficit never equaled except in a time of world war?

Back to that first chart...

From the TARP bill to the current legislation passed over the weekend under the heading "health care reform," it's apparent that none of the elected representatives we voted into office take the time to READ, EVALUATE, and UNDERSTAND the legislation they enact into law.

"There wasn't time," I've heard lawmakers say on CNN, "the crisis was so great that we had to act..." 

I beg to differ.

• You can't run your real estate business like that. 
  
• You can't operate your household like that. 
  
• We ought not to let our representatives run our country like that.
  

The Voter Revolution

2009 to ...

 ___________________

I'm Mike in Tucson, and I blog here on the Active Rain Real Estate Network just about every day.

I'm an internet-based mortgage lender who happens to reside in Tucson, Arizona.  Read my blog, and get to know me.  The internet allows me to perform at the highest level of trust and productivity.

Sunstreet Mortgage is a correspondent bank.

Click the Active Rain link below to see my guarantee of service.

SUNSTREET MORTGAGE, LLC
a correspondent banker
Call me if I can help you or someone you know
with a purchase or refi mortgage.
(520) 349-9090

They're not making any more real estate.  How many times have you heard that from an agent who's trying to sell you some?

Actually, it's not true. 

Planet earth is living, moving, folding in on itself, and constantly re-creating the stuff we call real estate.  (Then again, our lifetime is less than the blink of an eye on that geologic time scale, so you might want to act on that purchase you've been contemplating before someone else snaps it up.)

A dozen of us got together on Saturday morning to take a
"roadside geology" trip to Winkleman, Arizona.  Two of our number, Dave Young and Keith Long, are geologists.

That's the Gila River on the left.  Over eons, it has cut through what is now Arizona, exposing strata of rock to our view. 

On the west side of the river is this man-made vertical cut through the same rock strata, made by the Road Department when they built Rt. 77 through Winkleman.

The photo at the top, and the one on the lower left, show "concretions" made of rock, embedded within a solid rock matrix.  

These particular concretions are located along the side of the road, north of the town of Winkleman.  Pretty cool, isn't it? 

You won't see these gems from Interstate 10 at 65 MPH.

Next time you visit Arizona, don't be in a hurry to get to your resort destination.  Get off our Interstate Highway system and spend some time on the back roads. 

What you see will make you want to stay and explore.

___________________

I'm Mike in Tucson, your preferred Tucson, AZ Mortgage lender.

SUNSTREET MORTGAGE
Call me if I can help you or someone you know
with a purchase or refi mortgage.
(520) 349-9090

photos copyright Mike in Tucson

Sales are picking up in Tucson for single family homes under $240,000.  AR REALTOR Kevin Wood had a buyer referred by a business source from our BNI Chapter.  I stopped by Kevin's office (Realty Executives of Southern Arizona on Kolb) but Kevin hadn't yet arrived.

It was early morning, and I had my camera, so I looked for something to photograph. 

This is the time of year we love best here in the Old Pueblo.  Daytime high in the 80s, nights down in the 60s.  Flowers are in bloom, and the entrance to Realty Executives sported these purple flowers.

One lonesome bee (it isn't a honeybee) was checking me out, hovering like a helicopter six or eight feet away, darting off, and then coming back to the same spot.

I'm thinking the infra-red autofocus was in a spectrum he could see, because each time I focused the camera on him, he did an about-face and showed me his backside.  LOL

Still, I was happy with the result.  The bees are busy, and so are REALTORS and lenders in Tucson, AZ.

___________________

I'm Mike in Tucson, your preferred Tucson, AZ Mortgage lender.

SUNSTREET MORTGAGE
Call me if I can help you or someone you know
with a purchase or refi mortgage.
(520) 349-9090

photos copyright Mike in Tucson

My Darlin' says I have a lot of nerve posting this photo. 

It's me.  Thirty years ago in upstate New York... 

1. Do you still have a business card photo from that ancient date? 
   
2. Are you brave enough to endure the LMAO's? 
   
3. Would ANYONE you know in the Rain be able to put your "today" photo together with your 1980 photo?

Oh, I know there are those out there who haven't changed the glamour photo on your business card in the last decade.  Some of you are right here in Tucson, working for...  Well, never mind.  I'd only get in trouble.

Anyhow, those of you who were in diapers in 1980 needn't comment.  Let's hear from those who were born before 1960.

Don't be shy.  And please do upload a photo.  Tell us where you were when it was taken.  LOL!

___________________

I'm Mike in Tucson, your preferred Tucson, AZ Mortgage lender.

SUNSTREET MORTGAGE
Call me if I can help you or someone you know
with a purchase or refi mortgage.
(520) 349-9090

The Arizona Cowboy Symposium, "a western heritage event that preserves the tradition, heritage and memories of the rural American West," is coming to the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds November 13-15, 2009.

Supporters of The Arizona Cowboy Symposium include Southwest Strings right here in Tucson, purveyor of quality instruments & accessories at exceptional prices, and Larrivee Guitars, beautifully crafted guitars endorsed by Doc Stovall. 

If (like me) you're fortunate enough to attend, here's what awaits us:

• 30 Western Acts on 4 stages
• Western Trade Show
• Western Swing Dances Friday and Saturday nights at 7:00 p.m.
• Antique Car Show
• Chili Cookoff

The Mission

The mission of the Arizona Cowboy Symposium Association is to perpetuate and preserve the heritage and values of the Old West and the American Cowboy, by producing the Arizona Cowboy Symposium, a western heritage event, and any other event that promotes and preserves the tradition, heritage, and memories of the rural American West. 

These events will bring to the public the art, music, prose and poetry of the American Cowboy and his legacy.

Through our endeavors [we will] establish and support the Brielle Boisvert Scholarship Fund for students who wish to continue their studies in music, literature or rural agricultural endeavors including, but not limited to, veterinarian science and ranch management and operation.

I expect to be there!  I'm hoping to see you.

 ___________________

I'm Mike in Tucson, and I blog here on the Active Rain Real Estate Network just about every day.

I'm an internet-based mortgage lender who happens to reside in Tucson, Arizona.  Read my blog, and get to know me.  The internet allows me to perform at the highest level of trust and productivity for clients anywhere in the world. 
At the moment, we're completing purchase loans in less than 30 days for US Citizens in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Click the Active Rain link below to see my guarantee of service.

SUNSTREET MORTGAGE, LLC
a correspondent banker
Call me if I can help you or someone you know
with a purchase or refi mortgage.
(520) 349-9090

I opened escrow for one of my FSBO clients yesterday at Stewart Title & Trust of Tucson, 3131 East Broadway Blvd.

Imagine my surprise when I pulled into the parking lot and found that the inmates had taken over the facility!

I looked around to see if maybe Sherrif Joe Arpaio from Maricopa (the man of pink-underwear-for-inmates fame) had come to Pima County, but I didn't see him.

These two inmates were not in the least camera-shy.  (Unusual for inmates...)

___________________

I'm Mike in Tucson, your preferred Tucson, AZ Mortgage lender.

SUNSTREET MORTGAGE
Call me if I can help you or someone you know
with a purchase or refi mortgage.
(520) 349-9090