The Housechick Blog

Sometimes, house sellers are a little leery of having a keysafe containing their house keys hanging on the exterior of their house.  Usually, after we talk about how the keysafe works, most people are very comfortable having a keysafe.  They’re really sort of cool little devices, and are convenient and secure.

Let’s discuss how they work first.

For most Tucson real estate, agents use GE’s Supra iBoxes, which are little blue boxes, about 7″ tall, and over 2 pounds heavy.  Each has a latch to hang it on a doorknob.  Each agent assigns a PIN number to the iBox, which must be entered to release the shackle holding the box to the doorknob.  This means you either need that PIN number or a several hours with a hacksaw to get the thing off the door.

The keys are held in a little black cartridge that pops out of the base of the iBox.  Agents use an eKey to open the iBox, and the two devices talk through an infrared port.  Cool agents have their eKey integrated into their phone.  Every agent’s eKey has a PIN number, private to that agent.  The agent finds the iBox, enters their private PIN into their eKey, and points their eKey at the iBox.  If the PIN matches the eKey, then the key cartridge can be released from the bottom of the iBox.  Making the check between the private PIN and the eKey is designed to prevent any one else from using an agent’s eKey. 

Here’s some nice benefits:

When anyone opens an iBox, a record is made on the iBox and on that person’s eKey.  As a listing agent, I know who has accessed the house, even if that person didn’t bother to sign in.  I discover who has accessed the house as soon as that person updates their eKey.  This lets me collect feedback from those agents in a very timely manner.  The cool agents have an automatic update feature, to update their eKey nightly, which provides the most timely and accurate information to a listing agent. 

Access hours for the iBox can be restricted, so that the keysafe can only be opened between certain hours.  We can stop anyone from opening the keysafe after, say 7pm, or before 8am.  We can also set different time restrictions for weekdays, Saturdays, and Sundays. 

Each iBox can be programmed with a “Call Before Show” code.  This means that an agent has to talk to you to get that special code before the keysafe will open.  If you need agents to make actual contact with you before showings so you can kennel the dog, then this might be a good option.

Where you should have your keysafe placed:

The front door is best, easiest, and most convenient for all involved.  If your door handle won’t keep the iBox on securely, then we’ll place it off to the side on a gas meter or water spigot.  Per our MLS regulations, keysafes should be accessible by people with disabilities.  This means we aren’t going to place the iBox in the middle of a cactus field, or in any place that is difficult to get to.  Hey, it’s tough walking through your gravel with heels on!

One more recommendation: place that puppy in a shady spot, if you can.  The key cartridges can get extra super hot, sitting in the sun all day.  Please don’t make me whip out my asbestos mitts to get the keys to your house!

Sometimes, homes have to be sold vacant.  If you’re selling your real estate in Tucson, and you’ve already moved out of the area, there are a couple things you need to make sure are taken care of before you leave, and also while you are away (Hint: Your agent should be able to help you manage these).

1. Keep the climate comfortable.  I’ve addressed this once, but I’ll say it again.  Your potential buyers are uncomfortable and unwelcome in a hot and stuffy house.  It’s an immediate bad first impression.  I walked into a house last week that was 96 degrees.  Inside.  We left immediately, didn’t care how nice the house was. 

2.  Vacant means empty.  Completely empty.  This includes the stuff you don’t like and didn’t want to take with you and decided just to pile in the garage.  Finding odd evidence of the past owner in a closet or drawer is sorta creepy, and distracting.  I found a burrito in the cabinet of what was supposed to be a vacant house last week.  Really.  Do a last check through those cabinets and drawers before you lock up and leave for the last time.

3. Make it extra clean.  Without furniture or decorations to distract the eye, a Buyer sees every imperfection, every little bit of grime and dirt.  I heard a woman call the ideal cleanliness “Q-tip clean.”  That’s a good description, and your goal. 

4. Patch and paint the walls.  Hey, what better time to have the inside painted than when the place is empty?  (I know some great painters, by the way.)  Just have it done, or do it yourself.  Things hung on the wall tend to leave visible outlines when the object is removed.  It makes the house look dirty.  Patch all holes, and paint a nice fresh color.  This is also a good time to neutralize any wall colors that may cater towards very specific tastes.

5. Take care of the outside.  Your landscaping needs to be maintained while you are away.  The weeds need to be controlled, the front porch swept of debris from the last wind storm, and the bougainvillea needs constant trimming so that it doesn’t scratch the windows.  Hire a service, or have your agent spot check the house occasionally.  Overgrown yards and leaf piles by the door are signs of a very sad, not well maintained house.

6. Take care of the inside.  I wish insects would find a nice dark place outside to die, but instead, they like to wave their little feet for the last time in the middle of your living room.  Or on the countertops.  Or in the tub.  Anywhere blatant, really.  You need someone to check the house occasionally for critters, and to keep surfaces clean of dust.

Vacant or occupied, selling your house can be a challenge.  Make sure you aren’t putting yourself at a disadvantage by not taking inexpensive, simple steps to make your house attractive to potential buyers.

Yesterday, Reid Park Zoo released Watoto, a 2 year old male giraffe, into the public viewing area, joining the two existing female giraffes on display. 

Watoto was born at the San Diego Wild Animal Park on August 11, 2005, and was brought to Tucson to replace Yebo, who died in April at age 17.  Zoo officials hope that Watoto will “contribute to the nationwide giraffe population management plan” as he matures over the next couple of years. 

Described as “very mellow,” zoo employees say Watoto should be ready to participate in the Giraffe Encounter feedings at 10am daily.

Reid Park Zoo is open 9am to 5pm daily.  Admission is $6 for adults, $2 for children under 15, and $4 for seniors.  Giraffes are on exhibit from 9am to 4pm.  Giraffe Encounter feedings are at 10am daily, for $2 per person, and allows participants to hand feed the giraffes.  On weekends, there’s an additional feeding at 2pm.  

I think the giraffes are my favorite animal at the Reid Park Zoo.  It isn’t an enormous zoo, but it’s enough to keep you interested, and a great place to visit for a little walkabout after lunch.  Admission prices are reasonable, and you can buy season subscription tickets if you visit often.  This picture is of the giraffes at the zoo in Melbourne, Australia.

Welcome to the first day of Summer in Tucson!  That reads 113 degrees for the outside temperature, by the way.  It said 116 when I first started the car this afternoon.  It was actually 108 degrees today, but the temperature gage gets overheated when the car is closed up and sitting in the sun.  But really, once you get over 100 degrees, you just call it hot.

When you buy property in Tucson, you’re going to be asked by your Escrow officer how you want to hold title.  Most people don’t know what the options are, and ask me what way is best.  Unfortunately, I can’t advise you in that area.  Each method of holding title may have legal and tax consequences, so you should consult your attorney or CPA to determine which way is best for you.

However, I’m not prohibited from providing some general information!

Arizona is a Community Property state.  This means that the system presumes that all property acquired by a husband and wife is community property.  If a husband and wife want to own property separately, or in any other way than as community property, they must explictly elect to do so, often with the other spouse signing a disclaimer to the property.

Other ways to hold title include:

• Community property with right of survivorship
• Joint tenancy with right of survivorship
• Tenancy in common
• Sole and separate
• Corporation
• General Partnership
• Limited Partnership
• Limited Liability Company

Here’s a link to a short description of each type, and another link to a more indepth discusion of the more common ways of holding title, as provided by Title Security Agency.

I’ve been working with a couple of different buyers the past few days, in a variety of price ranges: from $160,000 all the way to $1,500,000.  While the houses vary greatly from one end of that price range to the other, there is one common thread: incentives.

I’m not talking about new home sale incentives, although there are some fabulous ones around right now.  I’m talking resale real estate in Tucson.

My favorite incentive I saw this weekend was that the Seller would give a Buyer a new Lexus if they bought the house and closed before the end of July.  Then there was one incentive for a $10,000 gift certificate to a high-end electronics store, that would be given to a Buyer outside of escrow.  (I’m a little concerned about the “outside of escrow” clause - starts to sound a little like loan fraud, doesn’t it?)

More commonly, I see something like this: “Seller will give Buyer a $2500 carpet allowance at close of escrow” (sometimes followed by the clause “with a full price offer”).

So how does that work, exactly?  Couple ways. 

First, understand that you are not going to walk away from the table with $2500 in your pocket to go shop for carpet.  Your lender would not like that, no sir.

Instead, that money usually becomes a credit towards your closing costs.  That is, if you are paying $3000 in closing costs, and the Seller gives you a $2500 credit, you only need to come to the signing table with $500.  This means you have to find the money yourself to go pay the carpet people.  The credit is money that you normally would have had to pay, but didn’t - which means you now have to cough up that money to go pay the carpet guys.

A second option is to select your carpet, get an invoice from the flooring company to have the carpet replaced, and then have that invoice paid out of escrow from the Seller’s proceeds.  Sometimes, those proceeds are held back in a different escrow account.  Because the carpet replacement may not actually be done until the Buyer owns the house, the second escrow account holds the money in reserve until the work is actually complete, and then pays the flooring guys.  This is not a favored option by many Sellers, because Escrow typically wants to hold back 1.5 times the amount of the invoice, to cover any unexpected costs, and there is a small charge incurred to both the Buyer and Seller to create and maintain the second escrow account.

Of course, it all depends on the language used to create the carpet allowance, and on the agreement reached between a Buyer and Seller.  It’s also important to keep your lender in the loop when discussing closing costs credits to ensure that the given credits don’t exceed the maximum allowed for your loan program, and to ensure that any potential overage from your earnest money will be refunded to you.

Happy home shopping!  There’s some crazy real estate incentives out there – enjoy!

Welcome to Historic Catalina Vista, a neighborhood in Central Tucson. 

Catalina Vista is bounded by Campbell Ave, Grant Road, Tucson Blvd, and Elm St.  The land that created Catalina Vista was subdivided in 1940, and the neighborhood is nearly all single family homes on nice large size lots. 

 Catalina Vista is within eyesight of the University Medical Center, and within a mile of the University of Arizona, which keeps values high in this neighborhood.

 What I like best about Catalina Vista is the winding streets and the large lots.  It looks like very gracious, serene living.  There are palm tree lined streets, a round-about or two, and a small-but-nice park. 

Here’s a map from the assessor’s office.  You can see the nice circular roads.  For being off of Campbell Avenue, there aren’t too many people taking shortcuts through the neighborhood when traffic gets busy.  I think we can thank the curvy street plan for that!

Here’s the park.  I like that many of the streets and medians are lined with palm trees. 

The average house is about 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, and was built in the 1950s.  House sizes average to around 2230 square feet (but range between 800 and 5000 sq ft), and quarter acre lots are fairly common, with much larger and smaller parcels scattered inbetween.  As of today, lower priced homes in the Catalina Vista are  around $350,000, and the high end of the range is around $800,000.  You can search for Catalina Vista homes currently on the market here.

This little guy (or girl, I can’t tell) was hopping along the road, aiming for one of the green lawns around the corner.  At least, that’s where I assume he was headed. 

Catalina Vista neighborhood kids attend Tucson Unified School District schools: Blenman Elementary, Doolen Middle, and Catalina High School.

Interested in an area like this?  There’s plenty of others, in a variety of price ranges.  Send me an email and we can talk about this and other Tucson real estate neighborhoods.

Getting a little anxious for your home to sell?  Haven’t had anybody look at your house in quite a while?  Have you had hundreds of showings and no offers?

Then you need to make a change.  You’ve got four options:

• Change your price
• Change the condition of the property
• Change your agent
• Change your mind about selling your home.

I know, I know.  You don’t want to lower your price.  Who does?  Having been a home seller myself, I know it doesn’t feel very good to sign that status change form to change your price.  However, looking at the combination of your competition, market conditions, the number of showings you’re getting, and the strength of your agent’s marketing plan, changing your asking price may be the key to getting your home to sell.  Out of every 8 homes on the market last month, only 1 sold.  Do you really want to sell that house?  It may be time for a price change.

What about changing the house itself?  Sometimes, making improvements to the property is the key to getting the house to sell.  What changes would you make if you were buying that house all over again?  What have other agents and visitors said about the house?  Having a staging consultation can be a good way to hear an objective view of your house, and to get a comprehensive list of changes that can not only improve the value of your home, but help it to sell faster.  Your agent should have a list of service providers that can help you make the changes.

Can we talk about your agent?  When was the last time you heard from your agent?  Have you seen the pictures of your property?  Is the MLS description correct?  What is the marketing plan, and has it been followed?  Is your agent offering credible, reliable, and honest advice?  Do they return phone calls and emails?  Can your agent justify their marketing program and explain, with tangible results, what works best to sell a house?  If so: Has your agent been telling you all along that you need to make changes to the house and/or price?  Is it finally time to listen to your agent’s advice? 

Lastly, you can decide to not sell your house.  Maybe you don’t really need to move.  Or maybe you do.  Maybe you can’t afford to sell at market value, or maybe it just hurts a little too much to sell at market value.  Why did you want to sell your home in the first place?  Are those reasons still valid?  There’s a variety of reasons why selling your house right now may not be the best time.  What’s the best choice for you?

These are four changes that a Seller has absolute control over.  We could blame your house not selling on the Tucson real estate market, but will that make you less frustrated or make your home sell?  The state of the market is out of our control.  If you want to sell your home, then we need to focus on the things that we can change. 

What will you change to get your home sold?  Need to talk?  I’m here.

The Tucson MLS just released their statistics for May 2007. 

In short:

• Average sales price (all residential types) is $280,589.
• Median sales price (all residential types) is $223,500.
• Active listings are at 9721 listings
• Number of sales units is at 1313 units.
• Average days on market is 61 days.

The Average Sales price is still trending upwards, and the Median Sales price is inching up as well, though not consistently as the Avg Sales price. 

The number of listings has actually taken a small drop for the first time this year, which is a trend I’d like to see continue.  Inventory has been rising fairly steadily since 2006.  We’re still near record-setting levels of inventory, so it’s nice to see an adjustment downward for May.

The number of sales has been about the same for the past 3 months, which is a trend to keep an eye on.  The Tucson real estate market should be starting the summer sales season, when more houses trade hands than in any other time during the year.

Days on market isn’t my favorite measure, for reasons you can read in other places in this blog.  However, 61 days on market is a decrease in that figure.

Calculating Months of Inventory, using the global Tucson MLS figured provided, we’re at 7.5 months of inventory, a small decrease from last month.  It seems like we’re making a slow wiggle downwards in months of inventory, which is a nice trend as well.  Time will let us know if this will continue or not.

It’s been a long couple of days.  I’ll break out some of the per area and per residential type figures a little later on this weekend.  Questions?  Comments?  Anything in particular you’d like to see in market statistics for Tucson?

Out of all of the major decisions and events that happen when you buy a home, there’s always one large concern:  MONEY.

Let’s clarify when you’ll need it, and how much you’ll need when you are buying a home.

The first check you’ll write will be an Earnest money check.  You can read more about Earnest money in this linked article.  The amount you want to offer is up to you, but  I’m going to recommend you put down 1-2% of the sales price.  This check gets cashed as soon as you and the Seller can agree on the contract, before inspections begin.  This money will be credited towards your down payment and closing costs.

The next check is probably to your lender.  As soon as you and the Seller agree, you have to start your loan processing.  The lender may want you to pay for the appraisal or pay a processing fee up front.  This money is cashed more or less immediately.

Your home inspector and termite inspector want to be paid at the time of their inspections.   My termite guy is around $40 for the inspection, and my favorite home inspector is somewhere between $0.12 and $0.15 per square foot, depending on the age of the house.  He’s got a $200 minimum, and charges an extra $50 if there is a pool on the site that you want inspected.  It’s a good price for an excellent inspection.

Lastly, you’ll bring in a cashiers check to cover your down payment and closing costs.  I can’t give you rough guides for this one, it will depend almost entirely on the details of your financing.  We’ll be coming in to sign your loan documents three days before the scheduled closing, and you need to bring in your check around that time.  Most people bring a check to the signing appointment, but it may be possible to bring in that check a day or two later.  It will depend on your specific contract and on what day you are signing.

If you’re thinking about Buying a home, I’m happy to walk you through the process.  Let’s set an appointment to discuss, and to see if we’re a good fit to work together.  No pressure, I promise!