From Ann Arbor to Tucson: The Housing Crisis is Behind Us. Says Who? - 05/22/08 09:33 PM
Missy Caulk in Ann Arbor posted a link to an opinion piece written in the Wall Street Journal on May 6th. Title: The Housing Crisis Is Over. WSJ may not agree (yet) with the article. They buried it on page A23.
As interesting to me as the article is its author. He's Cyril … (14 comments)
|
Little Walnuts Walking on Sticks. A Gambel's Quail in my Geranium Pot. - 05/21/08 11:54 PM
We've never seen the mother sit on the nest, and it wasn't until there were four or five eggs that we noticed them at all.
Gambel's Quail are among my favorite visitors to our backyard in the Arizona Sonoran Desert. The male and the female … (39 comments)
|
Interest Rates: This Morning (First Thing) Will Be a Good Time to Lock - 05/21/08 05:01 AM
IMHO, today will be a good day to lock an interest rate on your purchase if you do it first thing this morning. The US stock market was down nearly 200 points yesterday. Asia followed while you were eating dinner yesterday on the east coast, with a drop of more than … (6 comments)
|
Looking Back at the Good Old Days? Better Keep an Eye On the Road Ahead. - 05/20/08 11:44 PM
Objects in the mirror are closer than they appear.
No, they're not.
Despite what you see in the rear view mirror, the good old days are not coming back.
I don't have the NAR statistics on the average age of REALTORS, but I'm betting that my generation comprises more than … (21 comments)
|
CHEAP GAS Sells Real Estate! - 05/19/08 11:20 PM
You're going to want to move to Tucson, AZ!
The LOWEST GAS PRICES in the nation. Combine that with our ourstanding golf, great resorts, forever views, magnificent sunsets... Did I mention gas prices are the LOWEST in the nation?!
The Mars expedition will be manned from its headquarters at the University … (20 comments)
|
Unique Chalet Graces Madera Canyon Near Green Valley, Arizona - 05/17/08 11:37 PM
Everything this man builds, from the tiniest birdhouse to an exquisite B&B in the Coronado National Forest, speaks to his love of wood and craftsmanship.
Take Exit 63 on Interstate 19, and go east. Follow the signs for Madera Canyon, and you'll find this little gift shop and chalet nestled against … (13 comments)
|
Silly Saturday Post: Woody Woodpecker Trashes Home in Madera Canyon, AZ - 05/17/08 10:07 PM
I loved Woody Woodpecker when I was a kid! That's before I knew he really did things like this!
The Acorn Woodpecker really works at his craft. Wikipedia says the bird is a "larder hoarder." Say THAT three time fast! I was hiking in Madera Canyon this morning and took this … (18 comments)
|
Birding in Tucson, AZ: Madera Canyon and the Elegant Trogon - 05/17/08 08:00 PM
I've read about the Elegant Trogon, a magnificent bird that makes its way north of the border when springtime arrives in Tucson. I've seen one in the Coronado National Forest. Until today, though, I had never photographed a Trogon.
Dave Young, who ramrodded our birder outing, is a retired geologist. He's … (17 comments)
|
Looking For A Sign? The End Is Near. - 05/16/08 05:47 AM
Real estate slumps start slowly, gain momentum, and feed on themselves like a tornado. Panic sets in. Prices drop. Bottom feeders are vilified for profiting from the distress of fellow human beings.
Suddenly (it seems in retrospect) the worst is behind us. Bottom feeders are praised for "speeding up the recovery … (19 comments)
|
News Flash: Chase Dumps Home Equity Line of Credit Business - 05/15/08 06:50 PM
I just received an email from my Chase Account Executive regarding Home Equity Lines of Credit. Chase is getting out of that business. Here's what the email announced:
Unfortunately, given the market conditions Chase Home Finance has made the decision toeliminate the Home Equity Channel. Effective end of day Friday May … (12 comments)
|
Unique Mailbox on Soldier Trail in Tucson, AZ: a Mailbox Series Update - 05/15/08 05:01 AM
Chris Griffith, an Active Rain giant and successful REALTOR in Bonita Springs, Florida, is a gem! Newbies would do well to subscribe to her blog, both for content and ideas.
Chris's post The Mailbox Series - First Time Poster's Welcome caught my eye tonight.
Real estate bloggers here in the Rain often … (21 comments)
|
Baxter Black Country: Red Tail Hawks Nesting in Benson, AZ - 05/14/08 10:31 PM
The speedometer was pegged at 50 mph, and I was heading down SR 90 towards Karchner Caverns in Benson, AZ. Talk radio was blaring. Hannity, I think. (I'm a right wing nut case, raised in a Latin American country where the Minister of Finance was castrated in public during the 60's. Wouldn't that … (20 comments)
|
Active Rain Referral: Loan Needed for Manufactured HOME Purchase - 05/14/08 12:09 AM
If there's a sector of the real estate industry that suffers from insecurity, it has to be the Mobile Home. Tin Can, Twister Bait, and many other epithets are flung at this sector. Some REALTORS and Agents alike turn up their noses. Today, Bank of America told a potential client that … (10 comments)
|
I-10 Expansion Half Finished in Tucson - 05/11/08 11:28 PM
We call it "the Tunnel." It's a section of Interstate 10 through Tucson's downtown, from Prince Road to the Interstate 19 interchange.
The tunnel funnels traffic past the construction area where our interstate is being widened to accomodate our growth as a city.
The lanes through the Tunnel have been narrowed … (13 comments)
|
Tucson's Version of the Hot Dog: Sonoran! - 05/10/08 11:55 PM
"So," I asked little Galilea at my favorite roadside hot dog stand here in the Tucson Mountains, "Do you run the business while your Daddy makes the hot dogs?"
"No," she grinned. "Actually, I pretty much don't do anything." Not true. She's the salesperson. Galilea claps her hands and smiles when … (16 comments)
|
Local Expresso Entrepreneurs Battle Starbucks and Thrive - 05/10/08 11:37 PM
Starbucks Coffee is getting gray around the temples. It's beginning to show its age, so to speak.
Once the local Starbucks stores reached the saturation point, we began to see Starbucks kiosks in the local grocery chains.
How big can you get before you've saturated your market?
New competitors with great … (9 comments)
|
Long Skinny House Update 1. Spec Home in Tucson 170' Long, 9' Wide - 05/10/08 10:01 AM
Motorhomes (with their slide-out rooms and awnings) are wider than this Tucson, AZ spec house!
Back in January 2008, I wrote a post about this unique home when it was first under construction. Here's the link: Long Skinny House. 170' long. 9' wide.
What you see here on the left of … (19 comments)
|
Highway Visibility: Yesteryear's Real Estate "Hook" - 05/07/08 11:42 PM
Minnesota has its Paul Bunyan and the Blue Ox. Small towns across the country have the 15' tall lumberjack holding out a tractor tire. This huge bug was a new one for me.
We were in Colorado Springs last year for our daughter's wedding, and I had some free time.
One of … (23 comments)
|
Shotgun Wedding? Bank of America Values Countrywide Between Zero and $2.00 - 05/05/08 12:49 PM
BofA is not my favorite lending institution at the moment. Not ever, actually.
They inked a deal last year to buy Countrywide. Today comes news on Bloomberg that the $7 per share that was to have been paid has been reduced to somewhere between Zero and $2.00 a share. The deal … (21 comments)
|
Agents and REALTORS: The FHA Mortgage is a Fantastic Sales Tool in Tough Markets! - 05/04/08 11:42 PM
My REALTOR partners are closing sales for Tucson buyers who have income, but have saved little towards a downpayment. Buyer demand is strong for zero down homes, or nearly zero down. Here's what you need to do to close more sales using the advantages of an FHA mortgage:
This is a MUST: Make sure your … (21 comments)
|
Silly Tucson Saturday Night Post - 05/04/08 12:27 AM
Some time ago, I wrote a short post about these pigeons camped out at the car wash, just waiting for the happy car owner to drive under the light standard.
Bird brains!
Then today, a realtor from South Carolina sent me a series of photos from a car wash showing starlings going … (15 comments)
|
Jazz at the China Rose, Tucson, Arizona - 05/04/08 12:15 AM
I love Chinese food. I love good jazz. Until coming to Tucson ten years ago, the two never shared the same file space in my brain.
That was before I visited the China Rose on Speedway in Tucson, AZ.
Frank Hartline invited me to join him and his wife Cheryl for dinner … (5 comments)
|
Oldie But Goodie: Antique Truck Still in Service in Tucson, Arizona - 05/04/08 12:01 AM
They say it's a dry heat. Summers get into the triple digits, but with the lack of rain and humidity year round (not to mention NO salt on the roads in winter) Tucson preserves its vehicles better than just about any place in the country. Here's a great example.
I was pulling … (6 comments)
|
Four Wheel Buggy Does Gig at the Tucson Folk Festival - 05/03/08 11:27 PM
Music adds spice to life, and we love performing. Today was the first of two days of folk music here in Tucson.
The Tucson Folk Festival takes over the center of the city for two days each spring.
We performed at three o'clock this afternoon at one of the five venues, the Old … (10 comments)
|
Spiffing Up the Laundry Room - 05/01/08 11:47 PM
My Darlin' and I spent Sunday afternoon walking through three model homes in the Tucson Mountains.
The homes were nicely staged, more Texas than Tucson, IMHO, and the landscaping was exquisite.
The largest model was about 2,000 square feet, with lots of glass facing the mountains. The interior kitchen, if I recall, … (15 comments)
|
The Ferris Wheel Real Estate Market - 05/01/08 11:32 PM
So there we were, last Saturday night, at the Pima County fair. I've been partial to fairs since I was a kid of seven on the eastern shore of Virginia.
Grandpa would take us, and cousin Jerry and I spent out time looking for empty Coca Cola bottles. We gathered them up … (9 comments)
|
;)
Links;)
Tags (Tag Cloud);)
Archives
