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mike in tucson: 10,000 Boomers Reach Retirement Age Every Single Day! Can You Spell "Opportunity?" - 04/18/12 01:59 PM
High School Class of 1968. If you're a Boomer like me, that doesn't seem all that long ago. And we're reaching the age of 65 at the rate of 10,000 per day, according to PEW Research. That's going to continue for the next 19 years!
High OpportunityWhile many agents and loan officers bemoan the current long-lived housing downturn, others of us are taking advantage of a promotable competitive edge with this demographic group, creating a powerful marketing message, and reaping the benefits.
Low Competition"But everybody knows this," you say, "Isn't there a lot of competition for this age group?" Surprisingly, the … (35 comments)
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mike in tucson: Will The Rental Boom Cause Spike In Foreclosures? - 03/16/12 05:49 AM
Will the rental boom cause a spike in foreclosures by the banks who hold the paper?
There's a storm clould on the horizon for homeowners who are hoping to work out a loan modification with the banks who hold their paper.
It's the rental market.
Three things are driving rental prices higher, and the banks who hold non-performing mortgages are taking notice.
1. Available Credit Contraction for low-FICO buyers. As the recession has continued, I've seen a decline in FICO scores among loan applicants for a variety of reasons, including late payment on mortgages and Home Equity loans.
2. Tightening Guidelines … (12 comments)
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mike in tucson: Tucson Wildflowers in the Arizona Sonoran Desert - 03/11/12 01:48 AM
~ Poppies and Lupine on the King Canyon Trail ~
Just opposite the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum is the trailhead for the King Canyon Trail. It's one of Tucson's easiest hikes, as the first mile of the upper trail follows an old mining road. The desert wildflowers can be seen in abundance right now.
Who can identify this one? I don't know what it is.
I've lived in the desert for the past 14 years, and every year brings a new discovery. I haven't been able to identify this plant. It has a reclining growth pattern, and the flower … (14 comments)
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mike in tucson: Tucson ~ Early Wildflowers in the Arizona Sonoran Desert - 02/20/12 05:34 PM
Tucson Wildflower ~ Apricot Mallow
The Wildflower season in Tucson has started early. My afternoon hike began at the King Canyon trailhead, just across the road from the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum. I found this beauty, commonly called the Desert Globemallow, in the sandy wash that comprises the lower King Canyon trail.
~ Tucson Wildflower: Blue Phacelia ~
The coloring of our Tucson Wildflowers belies the ordinarily drab hues of the Arizona Sonoran desert. This plant was blooming alongside the upper King Canyon Trail. In a 2 1/2 mile hike, I only saw two Blue Phacelias, also referred … (17 comments)
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mike in tucson: Ancient Ironwood Tree at Sunset, Tucson, AZ - 01/26/12 07:23 AM
~ Ancient Ironwood at Sunset ~
While Seattle is dealing with an unusually snowy winter, Tucson is basking in glorious warmth, and today will be in the mid-seventies.
This sunset photo, taken at the Ironwood Picnic Area in Tucson Mountain Park, is a visual blanket to wrap around yourself as you're pouring the morning cup of coffee.
Come visit! We have great home prices, world-class real estate agents, and some of the best interest rates available since you were born.
Oh! And I forgot to mention that Tucson has the lowest gasoline prices in the nation!
...and world-class golf resorts.
… (30 comments)
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mike in tucson: Federal Reserve Will Fine 14 Mortgage Servicers. Why Should A REALTOR Care? - 01/09/12 06:01 AM
The Federal Reserve will fine 14 mortgage servicing companies, according to Fed Governor Sarah Bloom Raskin on January 7th at the annual meeting of the Association of American Law Schools.
"We should not forget that effective enforcement of our laws can animate our efforts as policymakers, regulators, business innovators, legal educators, and lawyers in creating the conditions that must exist for the emergence of an improved mortgage-servicing model that hinders neither economic growth nor homeowners' legal security.
If a law is worth having, the law is worth enforcing."
The irony of that last remark is that Raskin was nominated to … (7 comments)
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mike in tucson: Tucson Beauty: The View From Gates Pass - 12/01/11 06:08 AM
~ Looking East From Gates Pass at Sunset ~
Days are getting shorter, so I planned to be at Gates Pass for sunset. Off in the distance, the city of Tucson is painted in blue shadow, highlighted by the pink Rincon Mountains at day's end. The last rays of the setting sun paint the Tucson Mountains where I stand a deep ochre-red, and the contrast punctuates the peaceful quiet of the desert floor at the end of day. I expect an amazing sunset!
And I'm not alone in my expectation! My zoom lens captures a couple silhouetted against an amazing … (20 comments)
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mike in tucson: Blogging Blahs... Dolphin Jockey - 11/29/11 07:34 AM
Just saying...
This was a great Thanksgiving weekend, and I'm back in the saddle as far as lending goes, but I've got the blogging blahs.
I went to the internet for inspiration, and decided that it's time for a new venture in my life. A new hobby. A new avocation.
I'm going to take up the sport of dolphin racing. It looks like I'll need minimal gear, and once I find the right dolphin, I'll be set.
Underwater TrainingThe hardest part is going to be the next step after what you see in the photo--the underwater part.
But hey! I live … (14 comments)
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mike in tucson: Tucson Loan Officer Indicted by FBI - 11/21/11 05:28 PM
From time to time, I'll have to deny a purchase money loan application where the borrower's documentable income is insufficient for a loan approval. Self-employed borrowers often find themselves in this situation, especially in the last two years as underwriting guidelines have tightened up.
It's understandable that taxpayers want to minimize their taxable income. The rub comes when the borrower asks "if there's any way" to bump up the income. My standard reply is to ask if they want to show more income on the current year's Tax Return and put off the purchase until such time as that can be … (13 comments)
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mike in tucson: Great Horned Owl: A Lesson From Nature on Focus - 11/15/11 02:28 PM
~ FOCUS ~
Isn't this an amazing visual to illustrate what it means to focus? This Great Horned Owl generally has only one thing in mind when she launches into the air like this: food!
For the owl, survival can never be taken for granted. If the hunt is not successful, its very existence hangs in the balance. That's sort of like where many of us find ourselves in business today. We're grateful to still be standing, but its a desert out there. Deals are fewer and farther between, and the competition is fierce.
Still, I know you'll succeed today! … (19 comments)
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mike in tucson: If I Had 3 Free Hours Every Week, Just For Me... I'd Write Poetry - 11/09/11 06:07 AM
Terri was dumbfounded. Literally. Words failed her.
She showed up for work - the graveyard shift - just as she had for the past eight years. Terri hung her coat in the locker and put her lunch in the breakroom refrigerator. Yawning, she made her way down the dingy hall to the mailroom where old Annie would be gathering her things and getting ready to go home.
It had been a rough week. The new postal sorting machine had been delivered on the first of the month, and the mailroom was a beehive of activity for the three days it took … (17 comments)
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mike in tucson: The Desert's Version of Severe Weather Warning: The Haboob - 11/06/11 10:14 PM
~ Dust Storm Sunset at Saguaro National Park TMD~
They're called Haboobs ~ rolling dust storms that suck the dirt from the face of the earth, throw it high into the atmosphere, and move it miles away before dropping it back down again.
We're not talking a dust devil or two. A haboob can move hundreds of tons of earth, and when it rolls over you, the sky becomes black as night.
I took the photo on the right last Friday afternoon at 5:00 pm, the end of the day for Saguaro National Park's Red Hills Visitor Center. You can … (8 comments)
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mike in tucson: Obama's HARP: "The Mother of all No Doc Loans" Says John Capp of Sunstreet Mortgage - 10/26/11 01:48 AM
"It's the Mother of all No Doc Loans," says John Capp, one of Sunstreet Mortgage LLC's principals.
In this interview on this evening's KOLD News, Capp talks about the proposed new HARP (Home Affordable Refinance Program) rules proposed by President Obama. Click the link and take a listen.
CAUTION: Just because the government says it's okay doesn't mean that the banks will go along...
That said, if the banks go along with this, you just may be one of the million homeowners that this could help.
That's a BIG if...
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I'm Mike in Tucson, your preferred Tucson Arizona Mortgage … (8 comments)
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mike in tucson: Isabella's Ice Cream ~ Frozen By The Sun - 10/23/11 06:05 AM
~ Tucson's Most Fantastic Ice Cream! ~
Domenic and Isabella Johnson have the coolest ice cream truck I've seen in my life. What you can't see in this photo is that the top of this truck is coated with solar cells which provide the electricity that keeps the freezer and all of that scrumptious ice cream cold.
Isabella served up the cold stuff at National Geographic's Bio-Blitz, here seen in the parking lot of the Red Hills Visitor Center of Saguaro National Park West.
My favorite flavor was Isabella's 'Brazilian Coffee.' Mmm... Scrumptious!
_____________________
I'm Mike in Tucson, your preferred … (40 comments)
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mike in tucson: Brain Teaser: Can You Read It? - 10/11/11 12:12 AM
~ Brain Teaser ~
Your brain learns in the first two months of your life to recognize patterns. Can you recognize this one? If you haven't had your morning coffee yet, you might want to visit some other blogs, make a few comments, and then come back to this...
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I'm Mike in Tucson, your preferred Tucson Arizona Mortgage Lender
NMLS #223495
SUNSTREET MORTGAGE LLC ~ Correspondent Mortgage BankOffices in Mesa, Tucson, Sierra Vista & Nogales
… (22 comments)
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mike in tucson: Caution: Unsafe Footing... - 10/08/11 11:59 PM
~ Nature will bury our efforts if we stop tending to them ~
I love this photo, and it's one of the very few you'll find on my blog that didn't come from my camera. I found this on Flickr many years ago, and keep it in front of me because it reminds me that in the end, nature will prevail.
Jim Rohn tells the story of the diligent gardner who was tending his rock garden when a busybody from the church on the corner walked past on a Sunday afternoon. She stopped and looked at him working away, until … (12 comments)
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mike in tucson: HooDoos Guard the Catalina Highway Between Tucson and Summerhaven - 10/05/11 12:48 AM
~ HooDoos Conversing ~
Outlanders have no idea of the beauty to be found in and around the city of Tucson, Arizona. National TV is partly to blame. The weatherman shows a map of the United States, and points to the desert southwest painted red on the map, while Chicago is green. "Be glad we live in Chicago! It's 105 in Tucson today!" Here along the road to Summerhaven, the temperature will be 20 degrees cooler, and when you get to the top, you might as well be in southern Canada!
The Catalina Highway begins on the desert floor, and … (24 comments)
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mike in tucson: Sunset Hike on the Hugh Norris Trail, Saguaro National Park West - 10/03/11 02:02 PM
~ Self Portrait of a Hiker ~
The Hugh Norris Trail is one of the premier attractions of Saguaro National Park's Tucson Mountain District. I didn't hike the entire trail last night; I started at 5:30 and hiked to an elevation where I could capture some of the last rays of sunlight.
The granite steps you see in the photo above were cut and places by men working for the CCC in the 1930s.
One generation's work is a blessing to the next, and I like to think of those men who worked to cut and shape the rock beneath … (13 comments)
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mike in tucson: Grandpa's Perspective on Failure... - 10/01/11 11:49 PM
~The Dawning of the Day of Success~
Morgan Arthur Jones was my Grandpa. He was a New Yorker, and proud of it.
I'm 63 as I write this, and my Grandpa passed from this earth when I was just a little child. Imagine my delight to find this hand-painted card in some old things that had been saved by my Uncle Mike!
Life happens, and our success is a matter of hanging in there and doing what we know will ultimately bring "the dawning of the day of Success."
_____________________
I'm Mike in Tucson, your preferred Tucson Arizona Mortgage Lender
… (17 comments)
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mike in tucson: Elmira Heights, New York: A Real Estate Listing Before Computers... - 09/30/11 01:35 PM
~ Before Computers & Smart Phones ~
The funny thing about this listing? I found it easier to read than the MLS form presently used by the Tucson Association of REALTORS. Seriously! Read the description of the bedrooms and see if you don't agree.
When it comes to getting ahold of the 'salesman' there's just a single phone number. And notice what's missing~it's a wonder anyone made a living back then... :)
No area code No fax number No mobile number No toll-free number No extension No pager number No email address No website No video ...and just one photo! … (16 comments)
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Mike Jones
Tucson,
AZ
More about me…
SUNSTREET MORTGAGE, LLC
Address: 2840 E Skyline Dr, Suite #230, Tucson, AZ, 85718
Office Phone: (520) 344-6943
Cell Phone: (520) 349-9090
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