The Housechick Blog

For us desert-dwellers, when it rains, we celebrate.  We marvel at this odd wet stuff falling from the sky, watch it for hours from safe perches on our patios - and then we drive as if every puddle were 10 inches deep and we could skid off the road at any second.  Not used to driving in rain, are the Tucson dwellers.

The best part about a rain storm passing through town is the way the air smells afterwards.  There’s a crisp, unique scent: the smell of the creosote bushes comes through clearly, mixed with something very clean, like smelling the lack of dust, if that makes any sense.

One of my earliest memories is watching the rain at my Grandparent’s house, out on their patio with my family and a bowl of hot popcorn made on the stovetop in a big kettle.  To this day, the smell of rain makes me crave popcorn made the old-fashioned way.

I was out walking the grounds of a new condo listing today during a break in the rain, and as I passed by this tree (I think it is a white thorn acacia tree), it had this beautiful sweet smell.  This is one of my favorite landscape trees, with the pretty yellow puffs.

This one must still be a young tree, but as it matures, it will make a lovely canopy, full of those yellow blooms.

Replacing the windows in your house can be a good investment and a nice upgrade.  In many older houses, the original single pane and casement windows don’t operate well, are missing cranks and screens that can be hard to replace because of odd sizing, and can equate to higher heating and cooling costs.

I’m seeing a lot of triple pane windows lately, and was curious about the efficiency and cost differences between installing new dual pane or new triple pane windows.

There was an article in the local newspaper that discussed this very thing - here’s the key points:

Energy Star (a federal program that rates products by their energy use) names six window types that meet its energy efficiency guidelines for the area that includes Tucson.  Of those six window types, four are triple pane systems.

TEP, our local energy company, ran a computer model to compare dual vs. triple pane window systems.  A third pane of glass did improve the home insulation, but didn’t block more heat from sunlight than the dual pane windows. 

TEP says their computer model saved about $20/year by using triple pane windows instead of the dual pane.  A local window company says a typical dual pane window runs around $850 while the same size in a triple pane would cost around $1400.  (Yowza! )

So at $20 per year, and potentially a $600 additional cost per window… I’m thinking it’d take a long time to make up that extra cost in savings.

Okay, one more food post and then we’ll go back to Tucson related Real Estate.

Chick-fil-A has it’s grand opening tomorrow at the El Con Mall, just North of Bank of America at Broadway and Randolph Park.  I’ve been watching the progress as I drive by on the way to my office: transitioning from an old Krispy Kreme building into a fancy new Chick-fil-A.  I got my special invite in the mail yesterday - I’ve got a coupon for a free chicken sandwich, if anyone wants it!

The tents were out and the line started this morning - the first 100 qualified participants in line at the Grand Opening of a new Chick-fil-A each get a Grand Prize: one Chick-fil-A combo meal per week for a year.  To be qualified, you have to be over 18 years of age with a photo ID and have remained in line until the store opens (exceptions made for short bathroom breaks.) 

Let the parking lot chaos begin!  I had trouble just finding a spot to park to take this photo of the line - the In-n-Out Burger drive-through line cuts right in front of the Chick-fil-A building. 

 If you’ve read this blog for more than about a week, you’ll notice I talk quite a bit about food.  Mexican food, in particular - my favorite.  If food isn’t spicy, it probably isn’t worth eating.  I nearly had to fire a client the other day because he said he didn’t like jalapenos.  I’ll forgive him though, as he is from Houston and accustomed to that nasty Tex-Mex stuff.

So today, I present the Guadalajara Grill, at 1730 E Prince Road, in Tucson.

Worst part about this place is the parking - it’s a little awkward, but they’ve now got a parking lot attendant to help things out.  Okay - and the building is a bright yellow and looks like a revamped convenience store from the front.  Trust me - go park, sit down, and eat.

As the popularity of the place grows, so does the seating area.  There’s a huge patio now, and a little bar area around the corner, which is where we were seated last weekend.

Soon after you’re seated, the salsa lady will come by with her cart-o-salsa-fixin’s.  Mild, Medium, or Hot?  We go medium, as it has nice flavor and a decent level of spice, not too overpowering.  No onions for us though, Hubby doesn’t like them.  She’ll create salsa at the table for you.  Don’t like cilantro?  Want more tomatillo?  Just ask, and your wish is her salsa command.  The fresh, tableside salsa is one of the best parts to this place.

The menu has grown over the years as well.  It’s not your typical taco/tostada/burrito place.  There’s an excellent green chile pork dish, lots of seafood, intricate moles and sauces.  The Guadalajara Grill is a great place to move out of your food comfort zone, try new things. 

This is Pop’s meal, the three item combo meal.  No fancy sauces for him, no sir.  The mark of a good Mexican food restaurant is always either in the enchilada sauce (atop the tamale here) or in the chile rellenos.  So Pop always orders those items.  At Guadalajara Grill, he is not disappointed.

Place gets busy on weekends and Friday nights, so call ahead.  The mariachis come around in the evenings as well, serenading customers during their meal.  The tableside salsa is excellent, but try not to fill up on the chips and salsa at the start - you’ve got a fabulous meal coming!

I’m working with a client to buy a new construction home from one of the big local builders.  We found an inventory home with a quick close date, and got him a fabulous deal on the house since he could close by the end of the month on it. 

To make sure the house is sound, I always recommend getting a home inspection, even on new construction houses.  I’ve seen enough little slips on those new homes to know that having a home inspection before the final punchlist walkthrough with the builder is always a good idea.

So we called out Dave, my trusty home inspector, who went out there last week to inspect the house.  The builder won’t allow us to conduct our home inspection at the walkthrough, so we had to send him out there early.  I understand that - having a home inspection performed at the same time that the builder is trying to explain the house to the new homeowner would be intrusive, disruptive.

So we sent Dave out early, and are trying to arrange a meeting with Dave and my Buyer half an hour prior to the walkthrough, so that we can review, in the house, with Dave, his findings.  And the builder says they won’t allow it - and they won’t allow my home inspector to be present at the walkthrough, even though the house has already been inspected.

This is what I call horsepoo.

I think my client should have whatever professional at his side that he wants when he signs off on the condition of the house with the builder.  We’re not traipsing an army of people through the house.  With all the Builder protection built into their contract that they force you to use when you buy from them, I think one little home inspector shouldn’t be a big deal. 

Beside, I’m pretty sure they can’t stop us from standing outside the house a half hour before the walkthrough, despite their objections.  It may be the sheer amount of cold medicine that I’m currently ingesting, but I’m tired of new home builders and the huge amount of stuff that they do to protect themselves at the expense of the Buyer.  Even in a market where they’re cutting prices drastically, you still can only buy the houses on their terms - terms that would be unthinkable and insane if it were a resale home situation.

So Dave is coming, and we’re meeting a half hour before the walkthrough, and that’s that.  My Buyer wants Dave to be there, so he’s coming.  Such a simple thing causing all this fight; I’m just protecting the interests of my Buyer.  Would we be arguing if he wanted to review closing documents with an attorney prior to closing?  Mr. Builder, are you going to tell my Buyer that he can’t do that?

I’m hosting Thanksgiving at my house this year, so forgive me if posting is light this week.  A Happy Thanksgiving to you all! (both of you).

I do love the Tucson Zoo at Reid Park. Today we took the niece and nephew over to feed the giraffes, which happens every day at 10am, and again at 2pm on weekdays. 

The two females lined up perfectly for me this morning - here’s the one headed, two ended giraffe.

There were a bunch of peacocks hanging around the giraffe enclosure.  I call that one, “The Indignant Peacock.”

The feeding happens in a little part of the enclosure that juts into the main part, so the giraffes surround all three sides and take the pellets from your hand.  Here’s some of the little ones feeding the giraffes.

The polar bear was coy today, so I couldn’t get a good shot, but the elephants were out, and the llama took a bow as we came by. 

If you’ve got family in town (or just like a zoo), the Tucson Zoo is a great place to spend a couple of hours.  Many paths are nicely shaded, and it’s not a huge place, so the walk won’t tire you out.  There are many volunteers scattered about with interesting information about the animals.  Two volunteers today had a baby python and some kind of blue tongued Australian skink out for the kids to see and pet.  Little niece now loves snakes.  Little nephew couldn’t leave without seeing the jaguar.  Giraffes are always my favorite, although the polar bears are nice when they’re out and swimming.

The Zoo Lights are coming soon, from 6-8pm every Thursday through Sunday during December 1 - 23rd.  The plants and enclosure are decorated with lights and twinkle away as you tour the zoo with hot cocoa and even light falling snow.  Each evening has stage entertainment and refreshements, and Santa visits the Zoo on certain nights: December 1-2nd, 6-9th, 13-16th, and 20-23rd.  Admission is free if you bring a new toy for Toys for Tots.  Otherwise, it’s $4 for adults and $2 for children aged 2-14.

Question from the audience: Why should I work with only one real estate agent?

Answering the Question with a Question: Do you want to go on 100 blind dates or do you want to develop one relationship that works? 

I say shop around until you find someone that you click with: where you believe in the agent’s abilities, can discuss your ideas with them comfortably, and generally find your time together productive, if not also enjoyable.  Be up front that you are shopping.  As in any profession, there are good real estate agents, there are bad agents, and there are average agents.  And there’s a lot of them.  You can’t swing a stick in this city without hitting at least 2 real estate agents.  I think you should find yourself a good one.

And then once you find that person, stop shopping.  If you commit to the right person, it should be a productive and rewarding experience for all involved.  It takes time to really get to know a Buyer’s needs and the why behind all those ideas.  Sometimes, we may need to see how you react to a different type of house, or experiment showing you different sizes or styles.  If you keep switching agents, you have to re-do that part over and over again. 

I think if you tell 5 agents the same criteria, and see 5 houses with each agent, you’re unlikely to find the right home with any of them.  But if you let one agent show you 8 or 10 houses, you’ll find the right one a lot faster, because the agent knows more about you, how you react in homes, and understands why you want the things you do and which houses can fulfill those needs.

So I say shop.  Speed-date, if you will.  And then commit to the best.

I spent some time this weekend with a Buyer who really wants a deal.  For him, it isn’t about finding the perfect house, it’s solely about the right numbers at the right time.

Good deals, we can find.  A quick CMA for each of the ten biggest subdivisions on the side of town with the highest months of inventory, and voila.  There are homes listed for $10-20 less per square foot than the recent solds.  What’s wrong with them that they haven’t already sold?

They’re short sales and foreclosures. 

Time out for definitions:

A short sale is where the owner can’t sell the house at a high enough price to cover all the loans on the house.  The lenders will come up “short.”  The Seller walks away from the sale without a penny and usually with a big hit to his credit rating, and the lender gets shorted on repayment of his loans.  Some people are forced into short sales because they can no longer afford the payments, are moving, or must otherwise get rid of the house.  Short sales are often a precursor to…

Foreclosure.  This is when the bank takes back the house and auctions it off at a Trustee sale.  The owner looses his home, his credit scores go kaput, and the lender stands a good chance of not getting all of their money back at the Trustee sale.

Short sale and Foreclosed houses are side effects, the product of someone’s misfortune, terribly sad places to visit.  Because the owner won’t make a penny, they tend to neglect the house, or otherwise leave it in poor condition.  The owner has no incentive to clean or fix the house in any way.

Often, other than being left unclean, there is stuff in the house: remnants of the owner’s old life, kid’s toys, clothing, items strewn about.  Did the bank take the house and change the locks before the owner could move everything out?

And then there are the houses where things are missing.  Things like, oh, the kitchen sink.  The range and the oven hood.  Ceiling fans and light fixtures.  The dishwasher, the garage door opener.  Carpet.  Blinds.  Sometimes an owner in foreclosure will take whatever isn’t nailed down (and some stuff that is) in order to salvage what they can from the old house.

Showing these homes is incredibly sad.  The owner’s story is laid bare in the condition of the house that they leave behind.  Yeah, I can find you deal, but you better have the stomach to visit these houses one after the other.  My last buyer didn’t.  We’re on to new construction.

Stats were released by Tucson Association of REALTORS MLS a couple days ago for October 2007.

For your everyday viewing pleasure, there’s a new page for statistics, where you can see current market information, also broken down by area.  See that link at the top that says Tucson Market Stats?  And then all the 9 areas underneath once you select that link?  Click away, my friends.

The quick rundown:

• Average Sales Price: $262,251
• Median Sales Price: $210,000
• # Units Sold: 790 units
• # Active Listings: 9313 units
• # Pending Listings: 993 units
• Months of Inventory (Absorption Rate): 11.8 months

Interpreting the Data:

Unit sales typically take a hit in October, but we were up a little from an admittedly measly number of sales in September.  Typically, according to our seasonality, we’ll see sales drop a bit in November, and hold fairly steady until March.  Only way to know if we’ll see that this year is to wait.

Average sales price, citywide, hasn’t moved significantly since, oh, mid-2005.  We’ve been wavering between the low $260,000’s and the high $270,000’s for quite some time.  If you look at average sales price by area, you’ll see some areas that have taken local hits, notably the Southwest and the Southeast.  No big surprise as there is a good amount of new construction in these areas, who are undercutting resale homes.

The median sales price, at $210,000, is the same as last September.  We’ve been wavering up and down here as well - same story as the average sales price.  There’s been a downward trend for two months here that we’ll keep an eye on.

Pending sales typically peak around April, and fall slowly towards the end of the year.  Peak this year was June, and we’ve been slowly falling off since then.  The peak shifted, but the pattern remains the same, for now.

Units sold are still a little low for my tastes, but traditionally level off in the last few months of the year.  Another item to keep an eye on.

Active listings ticked up slightly from last month, but the hope is that the number will taper off a bit as we hit the holiday season.  Some years, we have a little drop at the end of the year, some years we don’t.

So there you go!  Remember - You can always find the latest market data in those links at the top of the blog. 

Okay, it’s a lame title.  I’m talking about mixing roof types.  If you’ve got a better idea for a title, I’m all ears.

Call it a pet peeve, but there was a period for new construction homes where builders would mix their roof types.  I’m assuming this was a cost saving measure.  Often, you’ll find a tile roof over the main portion of the house, with a rolled asphalt patio cover or garage roof.  Or in older houses, you’ll see an asphalt shingle roof over the majority with a built-up painted roof over the carport or patio.

The trouble is that all of these roofs have vastly different lifespans.  Your tile roof may last 50 years.  The asphalt shingle may last 20-30 years.  The built-up roof may need a re-coat every 3-5 years.  The rolled asphalt could go 10-15 years before it needs to be replaced. 

Perhaps it is an artifact of the style of housing here, of the general architecture.  Often, our patios are an add-on, they don’t tie into the main roof, tend to have little slope, so it only makes sense to put a rolled asphalt or a built-up roof on that. 

Even so, it doesn’t alleviate the problems - that you’ll need to care for different sections of your roof at different times and in different ways. 

The tile roof you usually can’t walk on, so it’s a good idea to call out the professionals every couple of years to have a look around.  Sometimes tiles can shift in a strong storm.  Replacing a tile roof - very very expensive.

Asphalt shingles commonly come with a 20 or 30 warranty.  You’ll want to check this kind of roof out every few years, to watch for shifting shingles, loss of granules, and nail pops.  Replacing an asphalt shingle roof runs $4000-7000, roughly, for an average sized house.

The rolled asphalt roof should be looked at every year or two, to make sure there are no nail pops, or that the surface is loosing the little granules, or is wrinkled or buckled.  Replacing rolled asphalt roof: $3000-6000, depending on size.

The built-up roof should be looked at every year, as this one degrades the fastest.  Watch for blistering, cracking, and ponding.  Recoating a typical roof runs around $2000-$3000.  To replace the roof (not just recoat) would be about twice that.