Words of Wisdom

A few days ago, I had to drop off my car at the shop. Rather than take a taxi or enlist a friend for a ride home, I decided to walk. Holy Hope cemetery was near my route, so I took a slight detour through this old Tucson landmark. It's a peaceful place, with huge trees and cool, moist grass. It is also the resting place for many of Tucson's famous and not so famous pioneers.

I have always enjoyed looking at old headstones. It's a perfect way to get a bit of history and sometimes to find some wisdom. I found both that morning.

During my walk, I encountered the grave site of Clyde Wanslee. Mr Wanslee, who died in 1984 at the age of 70, had a car dealership located at the 5 Points intersection south of Downtown. The thing that I remember most about this car lot was his sign "Ugly but Honest" This lot was a fixture in the Tucson landscape for many years, and Clyde sold a lot of cars.

One thing that I learned at Mr Wanslee's grave site was that he was a champion cowboy.

And now for the wisdom: This was also engraved on Mr Wanslee's headstone:

"A good name is more desirable than great riches. To be esteemed is better than silver or gold". Prov 22-1

RIP Mr Wanslee. Thanks for the reminder.

Tucson a "Bicycle Friendly" Town!

The League of American Bicyclists named Tucson and Pima County as "Bicycle Friendly" giving the region a "gold" rating for education, engineering, enforcement and encouragement of bicycle oriented issues. Here is a link.

FICO and CLUE

What are FICO and CLUE? When you hang out with real estate people, you will hear a lot of lingo or jargon. Two very important words that often appear in real estate conversations these days are FICO and CLUE, and it is helpful for you to be CLUED-in to make your real estate experience more successful.

FICO®

This is from myfico.com:
FICO® scores are your credit rating.
They range from 300-850, higher is better
Most lenders base approval on them
Higher scores mean lower interest rates
FICO® scores are calculated based on your rating in five general categories:
Payment history, amount owed, length of credit history, new credit, types of credit used.
For the full scoop, go to myfico.com.

CLUE® Reports

CLUE reports are insurance history reports on losses associated with personal property. Of particular interest are losses due to water damage in a home. CLUE reports are important to home buyers and sellers. A home with a bad CLUE report will be hard to insure, and as a result, hard to sell, and to buy. It is very important to know about this issue and prepare your purchase contract with this as a contingency when you are purchasing a home. This from Choice Trust:
"The C.L.U.E. ®Personal Property report provides a five year history of losses associated with an individual and his/her personal property. The following data will be identified for each loss: date of loss, loss type, and amount paid along with general information such as policy number, claim number and insurance company name. " For more info click here!

New, Higher Limits for FHA Insured Loans!

The department of Housing and Urban Development recently announced new maximum mortgage limits for FHA insured residential home loans. The new limit for Pima County is $316,250. This is good news for home buyers who are looking for a low down payment loan with somewhat less stringent underwriting criteria. Some lenders are offering down payment assistance programs with FHA insured financing. This allows home sellers to contribute towards buyers down payment and closing costs with full documentation qualifying. The limits were raised in other parts of the country, as high as $729,750, reflecting the higher prices for homes since the last FHA limit adjustment. This is great news for everyone in the real estate markets since it will make it easier for home buyers to secure low down payment FHA financing and will also help home sellers sell their homes if they are priced at or below the new maximum limits.

Clouds of Southern Arizona

These Cloud formations were encountered while on the Middlemarch Road in Western Cochise County, near Dragoon, AZ. Taken around noon, the temperature was a balmy 65F. After seeing the weather reports from the North East, it almost seemed unfair....

This is a shot of a "Century Plant" what I believe to be known as "Agave Parryi" described here by the experts at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum.















Some of the clouds are what meteorologists describe as "lenticular" created by stable, moist airflow over mountains. Science aside, they are beautiful!












Here is a great view of a lenticular cloud. Notice the lens-like rings around it...















These smooth-edged clouds are an unusual sight. At least to this native of Southern Arizona!













Just another day in Paradise!








If you have any cool cloud shots that you would like to share, shoot me an e-mail!

Wayne

Townhomes and Condos!

We have been looking at a lot of town homes and condos with clients who are interested in leaving their yardwork behind and purchasing a home that offers more leisure time in exchange for a monthly Homeowners Association fee. Such fees cover common grounds maintenance and insurance and sometimes water, roof and other items.

Town homes and condos may also be a good choice for parents who want their scholar to study instead of pulling weeds in the yard of a college investment property. Some of these properties offer garages and security which enable you to leave the property for extended periods of time, a perfect scenerio for Snowbirds.

We recently listed two affordable properties, one a condo one a townhome. Both are fixups and one, although it is a town home, has no association fee. See them here and here.

If you are looking for something bigger or better, here is a link to out Town Home/ Condo search page .

There is a lot to know when looking at a town home or condo. You need to check out the bylaws and covenants as well as the financial health of the association, to avoid problems with the HOA or being stuck with an unexpected assessment. We can help you navigate this territory.

Is Tucson Recession Proof?

In an opinion piece in todays Arizona Daily Star, Economist Richard Carlson has an optimistic view of Tucson's future economic prospects. While outlining the excesses in the real estate markets of a few years ago, Carlson believes that Tucson's economic foursome of DM, the U of A, Hi Tech and retirees will keep our city in the black, even if other parts of the country suffer a recession. He is predicting a growing local real estate market by 2009 and another Baby Boomer "boom" by 2012. Here is a link to the article.

In light of today's near record low mortgage interest rates, the huge selection of homes available and motivated sellers who are offering incentives, perhaps it would be prudent to buy the home you want now, at an affordable price and rate. The alternative is trying to catch the bottom, while risking paying more for your dream home and gambling on tomorrow's mortgage market. If you consider the long term, buying now may be the best plan.