tucson: Golfer Beware, Pusch Ridge El Con Quistador Golf Course Is No Push Over - 09/11/07 12:10 PM
Not to be confuses with the El Con Quistador or Canada Courses located a few miles away, Pusch Ridge El Con Quistador Golf Course may be a 9 hole course, but, don’t let it fool you. This is one tough course. It doesn’t get any easier the second round either. The fairways will mislead you, the greens are the biggest challenge, and trying to get even on the second nine holes for what happened on the first nine can easily slip into disaster. I can’t count how many times I have played this course. It hold challenge, frustration, and elation all … (0 comments)

tucson: El Con Quistador Resort Homes - 09/10/07 04:45 PM
A great northwest community that lines the Pusch Ridge El Conquistador golf course is El Con Quistador Resort homes. I know the backs of many of these homes from the many times I have played the course. I have been impressed by the homes in this community I have shown over the years. Most of the homes in this community are town homes. Very nice town homes. Owners have the option of using the resort facilities for only $65 a month.
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tucson: What Can You Control When Selling Your Home? - 09/10/07 03:37 AM
While sitting over a cup of coffee and doing my morning reading I came across a great article John Wake on his Real Estate Notebook site, What are the odds of selling your Arizona home? John made a lot of sense in what he said, which got the wheels turning.
There is a lot of miss-perception from the general public that Realtors can control the market. Influence may be a better term. Sellers may influence the market, but not control it. Lenders may influence the market, but not control it. Buyers, on the other hand, have the reins in hand and … (2 comments)

tucson: Who Wants To Know How To Search From Homes In Tucson? - 09/03/07 03:03 AM
One of the reasons I came to Long Realty is that I got tired clients telling me that they found X property on the Long website. Now I hear, “I love your website. It is so easy to find homes.” As easy as it is to find Tucson real estate on the site there are some features many Tucson home buyers may be missing. I want buyers to have fun searching, so these explanations should make it more enjoyable to find a home in Tucson. At the bottom of each search is a save feature to set up a Virtual Home … (3 comments)

tucson: Tucson Real Estate Preliminary August Home Sales Report - 09/01/07 01:19 AM
We all know this is just a preliminary report awaiting the official report from the Tucson Association of Realtors Multiple Listing Service. Its nice to know up front though what we may expect. The information in this report is what is available as of August 31, 2007. I double checked July’s sales and the reported sales did increase slightly to 1,131.
I believe that home sales will fall short for the second month in a row from the numbers I predicted months back. With all the hype on the media about the American Home Mortgage and First Magnus some buyers have become hesitant. The serious … (0 comments)

tucson: What Does Tucson Home Buying Have In Common With Golf? - 08/31/07 06:13 AM
In my article comparing home selling to golf I used a game for the analogy. For Buyers I think relating to the equipment is a better analogy.
Golf You need an easy college credit at your local community college. Golf seems innocent enough. You’ll just take the class and move on to more important classes. Right? Not that easy. Golf can be addicting. I know.
So, you sign up for the class show up to the golf course and expect the instructor to supply the clubs. Not quite. You need to either buy or rent some clubs. You don’t know if … (0 comments)

tucson: 7 More Ways To Keep Your Home From Selling - 08/28/07 02:22 AM
Back in April I wrote my first blog, 10 Ways to Keep Your Home From Selling out of nervousness and to break the ice. To date it has been the most read blog I have written. Sometimes you just have to laugh with all the negative media. That has brought me to add seven more things sellers can do to keep their home from selling in Tucson’s real estate market. Here we go:
Ignore the market, statistics, trends and reality in a Buyers Market. Insist on a set price and remain 90 to 180 days behind the market by refusing to reduce the … (3 comments)

tucson: Are You Crazy, What Do You Mean Range Pricing? - 08/25/07 06:37 AM
We have all heard about the Drew Carey game show Power of 10. Contestants must pick a range on the scale for their answer. With each question the range decreases. Similar concept of pricing items within a range has been used on The Price Is Right for years. Pricing a home in a real estate market that has cooled down is tough. How much is too little and how much is too much? With old school fixed pricing it gets harder to determine what is the right price. Miss the mark and your home becomes an Expired Listing waiting to happen. … (5 comments)

tucson: Want to know where to buy southwestern furnishing for your home in Tucson? - 08/23/07 11:14 AM
Yesterday I took the day off to spend the day with my wife on her birthday. After visiting my brother-in-law and picking up her gift we decided to visit the store he told us about. Located in the shopping center at the northeast corner of Swan and Grant is Rio Grande Trading Company. I wanted to buy the doors to the entrance of the store. When I asked, they said they can have them custom made.
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tucson: El Rio Golf Course Rich In History - 08/20/07 02:59 PM
On Sunday my wife told me no Open Houses today, go play golf with your son and daughter-in-law. How many golfers envy me for such a wonderful wife? So we set out to El Rio Golf Course. Our son played his best game ever, our daughter-in-law played better than I’ve seen her play as well, and I had my worse score in 3 years. Plan a fade, and straight into the trees, plan straight and fade into the next fairway. Go figure. 75 yards out and on for a one putt. 20 yards out and over the green into the sand. … (0 comments)

tucson: The Herd Mentaility Gone Wild - 08/19/07 03:24 AM
An Interesting post from Inman News, Who Was That Masked Analyst, lends to the credibility of the herd mentality creating panic. I admit, the mortgage industry is going through a rough time. Never said it wasn’t. More blood will be shed before the war is over. The strong will survive, the weak will fall, and there will be some collateral damage in the interim. Some markets will be harder hit than others. Responsible reporting and commenting will help to curtail unnecessary loss of bystanders who get trampled by the herd.
This story is a good example of the old adage, “Lose … (0 comments)

tucson: Tierra Vista Living - 08/18/07 05:52 AM
Great two story home minutes from Raytheon, I-10, downtown Tucson and the University of Arizona. Large den that can easily double as a guest room with a Murphy bed. MORE INFORMATION
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tucson: Who Wants To Know About Tucson Firsts? - 08/17/07 02:37 AM
Javalina Press published a book authored by Larry Cox titled The Book of Tucson Firsts. There are some interesting facts and historical facts for every one. Everything from the first red light district to the first official Catholic Church in Tucson. Some of what you can expect. Air conditioning finally arrived to Tucson in 1930 at the Fox Theatre.The earliest mission in the Tucson area was San Xavier del Bac in 1692.The first Catholic Church in Tucson itself was in 1863.During Easter of 1914 100 golfers tested the first nine holes of the “skin course,” Tucson Country Club.In 1929 the first … (1 comments)

tucson: First Magnus Falls Prey - 08/16/07 05:07 AM
The Arizona Star reported that First Magnus halts loans. Falling prey to the mortgage debacle that is effecting availability of home loans across the nation. Its getting ugly out there. It looks like everyone is panicking about the sky is falling. We went through similar in the 1980’s with S&L’s closing. Pygmalion effect is at work. If enough of the herd believe, it becomes reality. Spook one and the whole heard panics, changes direction in a mad rush, and trample the weak or less fortunate.
A friend explained it in layman’s terms. When people feel there is a dollar tomorrow to … (3 comments)

tucson: Tucson Real Estate - July 2007 Sales Report - 08/14/07 12:14 PM
Tucson Association of Realtors released their official report for July 2007. Reported home sales were lower than I anticipated with an official number of 1,098. I checked this morning and the adjusted sales were 1,137. Didn’t quite hit the mark of 1,233. This is the most I have been off since I started predicting sales in January 2006. Anyone can speculate on the cause. Was it the tightening of mortgage requirements may be one factor to the reduction? Was it the negative reporting from the media can be another factor adding to the fear some buyers may be feeling? Were some … (0 comments)

tucson: Tubac debate! What Does It Have To Do With Tucson? - 08/13/07 02:42 AM
Tucson News & Events I read an article in the Arizona Daily Star this morning about Tubac, title Tubac debate, stay rural or go suburban. So, my wife and I took a trip to refresh our memory. I remember my late father-in-law talking about the areas of Tubac, Tumacacari, and Arivaca. I remember the stories my wife would tell me or a romantic era in when they would travel to Arivaca, swim in the pool (now covered), row boats in the lake (now dry), and enjoy the festivities at the Cow Palace. I remember stories from a fellow worker who was … (0 comments)

tucson: What Does Countrywide Know That We Don't? - 08/10/07 01:43 PM
Those who lived through the Great Depression had it hard. We haven’t come close to what they suffered. Needless to say they definitely had it worse, and they managed to survive. They survived to meet another challenge better known as World War II and brought us The Greatest Generation. I know this is going to spark a lot of comment from the doom & gloom the sky is falling readers. That’s OK. Just hear me out. There’s two sides to every coin.
Last week we saw American Home Mortgage leave the industry. There has been a lot of debate concerning … (1 comments)

tucson: Tucson Mountain Park Gains 84 Acres - 08/08/07 11:40 PM
Chris Ansley, the developer of JW Marriott and the Spa at Starr Pass has dedicated another 84 acres to Tucson Mountain Park. Bringing the total to 279 acres of dedicated land. He didn’t stop there. He previously set up an impact user fee that toda holds approximately $1,000,000 to provide maintenance and funds for purchasing more land for the park. The current developer of Starr Pass changed the density of home building in that community when he purchased it from his predecessor. Rather than trying to squeeze as many homes as possible on the land he did the reverse. He reduced the … (0 comments)

tucson: University of Arizona Football 2007 - 08/08/07 01:52 AM
Tucson News & Events What can Tucson expect from Wildcat Football this season? Will Willie Tuitama have a healthy season so he can show what he can do? Lets hope so for his personal sake. Will Antoine Cason have a great year to make All American again? Will Coach Stoops see the progress he has been working for? Will this be an exciting season? Where will we stand in the PAC 10? Is there a bowl game in our future? Find out, get your season tickets.
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tucson: Tucson Real Estate and Solar Energy - 08/07/07 05:48 PM
Living in the Sonoran Desert it is hard to ignore the call for Solar Energy. Most people think of a desert and what they saw on Lawrence of Arabia. Couldn’t be further from the truth. But, that’s another topic. Solar heating and energy makes sense when you live in a climate where there are more sunny days than not. In the Great Northwest, where I grew up a short distance from Seattle, it is not as feasible.
Solar energy is getting more and more notice as the demand for alternative energy increases. Alternative energy is not new. I remember in the … (0 comments)