tucson: As Someone Once Said to Young Ben Franklin, "Go Fly a Kite."
- 07/27/08 04:55 PM
This photo generated a lot of interest in my last post, Saturday Night in the Desert: It's All in the Perspective. My friend, Chuck Park, is flying a kite, to which is attached his camera. The foreshortening is the result of the proximity of the camera to the top of the Saguaro, a cactus which is three times Chuck's height of six feet.
He's promised to take me with him on his next outing, and I'll post to this blog. Chuck, a fine arts painter by training, is an amazingly talented man.
Don't you think this has ramifications for Real … (31 comments)
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tucson: Saturday Night in the Desert: It's All in the Perspective
- 07/26/08 04:52 PM
No Photoshopping here.
No trick photography.
No outside help from another human being.
Can you guess how this photo was taken? The photographer had no outside help, nor was anyone else within a quarter mile of him.
This photograph has captured my imagination this week. It's a self portrait!
How in the world did he get this shot?
I know, but I'm not telling (yet.)
I want to see the world from God's perspective. That's what the photo reminds me of when I think of my own life.
Am I doing the right thing? Am I making a difference?
When you … (78 comments)
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tucson: What's Working for Me? BNI, a Structured Environment for the Development & Exchange of Quality Business Referrals
- 07/24/08 05:36 PM
This is a tough market. I want to know what works, and when I find that, I want to implement what I've found. In my BNI chapter, I've found Acres of Diamonds.
BNI (Business Networking International) offers members the opportunity to share ideas, contacts and most importantly, business referrals.
I've been a BNI member in Tucson for more than three years. My fellow chapter members are my extended sales force. They know my business, they trust me, and they're confident that when they refer me, I'll make them look good by taking great care of their clients.
BNI's sole purpose … (26 comments)
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tucson: Two Intra-Day Price Improvements!
- 07/24/08 09:22 AM
The market was down pretty significantly today, but that's not all that drove the price of bonds up, and interest rates down!
The 10 year bond, which started the day at 4.12%, ended the day at 4% even. Twelve basis points is a significant move.
Some of our lenders improved loan pricing twice today! Why did that happen? There was a lot of money betting the other way, and people were scrambling to cover their positions and cut their losses.
Long story short? Better mortgage pricing in the short term. Don't expect it to last.
I'm Mike in Tucson, your preferred … (11 comments)
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tucson: Philadelphia Fed Governor Plosser: "Rates Going Up As Housing Prices Go Down"
- 07/24/08 06:16 AM
It would seem counter-intuitive. Housing prices are falling, but interest rates have to go up.
Charles Plosser, President and CEO of the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank, expressed his concerns about broad based inflation. He sees the current low discount rate as an accomodation to a political situation which is not really a banking concern, and wants to raise interest rates to stave off inflation.
He's not the first to express a concern that politics is creeping into the Federal Reserve System.
The article on the right was published in the year 1922, less than eight years after the formation of the Federal … (10 comments)
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tucson: Mortgage Lenders and REALTORS: Hang Tough. There's Blue Sky Above.
- 07/23/08 12:42 AM
Stormy skies are the norm in Tucson, Arizona right now. It happens every year during the monsoon season. The streets and washes flood, and a few idiots decide to risk driving through the water, even though common sense tells them not to. Signs tell them to turn around. In they go, confident that their car will successfully navigate the rushing water.
The ones that die try to stay in the car under the mistaken belief that somehow they can control the floating vehicle.
It's a tragedy that happens every year, regardless of laws passed and public education via the media. Some … (32 comments)
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tucson: REALTOR Toolbox: Maximum Seller Buy Down Explained
- 07/21/08 06:40 PM
Ann Heitland (Flagstaff, AZ) asked a question a few days ago about the meaning of "maximum seller buy down," and I answered in a comment on her blog post.
I'd like to give the topic wider exposure; you'll be a hero to your sellers if you can offer them this often-overlooked qualifying tool for potential buyers.
Here's what I said:
The seller can contribute towards the buyer's purchase. The maximum amount the seller can contribute is 6% of the purchase price (or of the appraised value, whichever is less.) This contribution can be used in several ways, one of which is … (18 comments)
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tucson: "Sometimes we stare so long at a door that is closing, that we see, too late, the one that is opening." A.G. Bell
- 07/21/08 03:57 PM
Wachovia is suspending its whosale lending, according to an article on Bloomberg today.
Should I worry as a mortgage broker? Nope!
It was a busy day, full of marketing for the month of August, and it wasn't until my Account Exec from Vertice (American Mortgage Network before Wachovia bought it) broadcast an email saying that the subsidiary is not in trouble, that I began to wonder. Shakespeare's line was "Methinks thee protesteth too much."
Vertice won't be far behind. The conventional banking wisdom is shifting towards the view that mortgage brokers are unnecessary. That's my prediction. Am I worried? Nope!
I'm … (10 comments)
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tucson: Saturday Night in the Desert: Cactus Moon Rising
- 07/19/08 04:43 PM
It's late on Saturday night, and I'm finishing up my Active Rain week.
This almost full moon was rising over Bren, (one of the named peaks in the Tucson Mountain range,) Wednesday evening when it caught my eye.
I was on my way home from work, and for most of the drive up to Gates Pass, the moon was hidden.
Just as I reached the desert floor on the west side of the pass, I looked over my shoulder, and there she was.
Countless love poems have been written, and songs too, about the moon.
Have a great day tomorrow, and … (15 comments)
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tucson: What Me Worry? You'll Kick Yourself Next Year if You Don't Buy Your Home Now. Here's Why...
- 07/19/08 04:07 PM
Now THAT's a worried look. Mom's holding her more than two feet away, but little India (born 2/29) is clearly concerned. I wonder if those long pointy things remind her of her pediatrician? She puts me in mind of most homebuyers in the current real estate market.
Today's news trumpets the highest rate of inflation for commodities in 27 years.
Citigroup said Friday that home prices could continue to fall for another two years.
And yet I'll make a prediction: If you're wanting to buy a home, and you don't do it before the Presidential Election, you'll kick yourself … (18 comments)
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tucson: Think of Your Network Development as Deep Roots for Tough Times
- 07/17/08 05:01 PM
Monsoon season brings life to the desert regions of the southwest, and the resulting color is nothing short of spectacular.
I don't water this particular plant in my back yard. It greens up some during the winter rains, but then goes dormant in the triple digit temperatures of June. You would swear the plant had died.
One or two rainstorms into July, it sprouts green. Encouraged by several more days with thunderstorms, the plant once again thrives, bursting with reds, yellows and oranges.
The flowers are decorated with the flash of tiny hummingbirds making themselves fat on nectar. It's a metaphor … (19 comments)
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tucson: The Recipe for Success? Implement First. Refine Later.
- 07/17/08 10:36 AM
WOW! Are you getting weary in your business? Thinking of slowing up on the blogging thing because it takes so much time? Here's a shot of adrenalin!
Dana Lim, agent with Allstate here in Tucson, joined Active Rain yesterday. She and I talked about the exceptional value of visibility through the blogging model set up by Active Rain, and she got it! Like nearly 100,000 people before her, Dana joined the Active Rain Real Estate Network.
Unlike the vast majority, she implemented before she had all her ducks in a row.
This afternoon, just one day old on AR, Dana is the … (17 comments)
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tucson: Two New AR Recruits in One Day! Say Hi to Dana Lim of Tucson, AZ
- 07/16/08 11:07 AM
This has been an enjoyable day in the RAIN! I've had the privelege of introducing two new members, both of whom have posted their very first time on Active Rain.
Dana is an experienced blogger, and you'll enjoy her outside blog. You'll need to go over there to get the link, but believe me, you'll be glad you did.
Dana is an Allstate agent, but her real love is educating foster families for the Humane Society.
Please click here to read her first post and welcome Dana to our awesome community of Real Estate bloggers.
I'm Mike in Tucson, your preferred … (19 comments)
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tucson: We Just Keep Getting More Californians in Tucson. This One's a Winner!
- 07/16/08 07:35 AM
I refer business to an Allstate Agency in my building, and stopped up to talk with one of the agents I work with.
While I was there, I met Kellie Pillors, whose picture doesn't do her justice! She is a whirlwind of smiling energy, and we hit it off immediately.
Kellie is a REALTOR from Los Angeles, and has chosen to make her home here in Tucson.
She's just signed up with Active Rain, and I'm happy to be able to introduce her to you. Please go make her welcome!
I'm Mike in Tucson, your preferred Tucson, Arizona mortgage lender.Think of me as … (14 comments)
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tucson: Home, Home on the Ridge. Tucson, Arizona
- 07/15/08 03:59 PM
Driving up towards Gates Pass along Gates Pass Road, you might never know that this home sits there.
It's perched on the ridge of the Tucson Mountains, overlooking the valley to the west, and Tucson to the east.
I've never been to the home; access is from the eastern flank of the Tucson Mountains, and it's gated.
But I look at it each time I drive Kinney Road to Gates Pass Road, on my way over the pass to Tucson.
It has to be the most spectacular location for a home in all of Tucson. Sitting as high as it does … (15 comments)
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tucson: Live Venomous Critters at the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum in Tucson, AZ (2 of 2)
- 07/14/08 05:41 PM
Your REALTOR may or may not inform you about our desert critters here in Tucson. We live in a neighborhood called Tucson Estates II, and it is surrounded by Tucson Mountain Park, which in turn abuts Saguaro National Park West, in the Tucson Mountains on Tucson's western flank. Just down Kinney road a couple of miles from us is the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum. Google it. It's fantastic.
It doesn't look like it from this photo, but docent making the presentation to an audience of better than 200 people last Saturday night is holding this rattlesnake four feet from his body. … (27 comments)
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tucson: Live Venomous Critters at the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum in Tucson, AZ (1 of 2)
- 07/14/08 05:21 PM
Saturday night entertainment. My Darlin' and I were on the very front row. My choice. She's a saint. The venue was an auditorium at the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum, just down Kinney Road from our neighborhood, Tucson Estates II.
The two speakers for the evening came walking down the auditorium aisle carrying boxes with holes in the sides and padlocks on the top. The tops are painted bright red. They house desert creatures who can put a hurting on you if you're not careful.
To give you an idea about the size of the Western Diamondback Rattlesnake here, consider that the … (5 comments)
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tucson: Xeriscaping: Think of it as Green Gardening
- 07/11/08 04:05 PM
This lovely cactus is located on a side of my house (west) which has almost no windows.
I planted it to enhance someone else's view. Our neighbors had invited us for dinner, and I happened to stand at their kitchen window, which looks across their yard at my blank west wall. The view had nothing to recommend it.
My Darlin' and neighbor Donna were talking on the ramada, while Dick and I were making coffee.
"Donna," I called, "your neighbors haven't given you much to look at from your kitchen window. I'll have to see what I can do about that."
That's … (10 comments)
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tucson: Tucson's Jim Hogan Is Invited to Sing for President Bush!
- 07/10/08 05:17 PM
Jim won't like this photo, but that's him on the right, practicing one of his numbers with the rest of us. Jim's a phenomenal lyricist and singer.
He called me this morning to let me know that he's been invited along with some others (none pictured here) to sing for President George Bush when he comes to Tucson soon.
The president will be helping raise funds for Tim Bee, who's running for congress.
Jim didn't say anything about tag-alongs, so I'll have to see what's going on on KVOA-TV, Channel 4.
We're pretty proud!
I'm Mike in Tucson, your preferred Tucson, … (10 comments)
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tucson: Active Rain Blogging Visibility Lands Me a Spot on KVOA.com, KVOA News 4, Tucson
- 07/08/08 04:25 PM
Back in March I wrote a post titled Mike in Tucson Becomes the "Comment Nazi," Gives Orders to Brave Commenters. LOL It's members only, so if you can't see the post, sign up and come on back.) This was my point:
We need to MAKE the news, and stop reacting to it. Your local paper likely has a section for local news. In the Arizona Daily Star, it's called TUCSON & REGION. It's the section that is most likely to be looking for content.
Find that section, read the articles, and make it a point to get to know the reporters who are … (48 comments)
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