• Home
• Buy
• Sell
• Statistics
• Neighborhoods
• Loans
• Search Tucson MLS
• About Tucson
• Blog

Understanding Zoning

May 28, 2008

There’s a lot of people who don’t really understanding what zoning is – thinking that an R1 lot means only one house on that lot and an R2 lot means 2 homes on the lot.  This is not always true.

Zoning, in general, limits the density and use of a property.  So you can have an R1 lot with 2 residences if the lot is big enough and meets the other requirements.  And you can have an R2 lot that’s too small or the setbacks too large to be able to build a second unit.  If you’re wanting to build additional units, it pays to investigate the zoning thoroughly, as well as any recorded easements and setback requirements.

Here’s the City of Tucson land use code, which describes the zoning, among other things, and here’s the Pima County zoning code.

Here’s the thing…

May 27, 2008

Your home’s value isn’t determined – not even remotely – by the amount of money you want out of it.

Let me back up a second here.  I’ve got a couple of excellent buyers, pre-qualed, solid borrowers, solid buyers.  So we find what seems like a perfect candidate home and make an offer.

Except the Sellers have listed their home with one of those places that just puts the house into MLS for a fee.  And that’s fine, I’m down with that, I’ll negotiate directly with the Seller, no problem.  But they’ve never sold a home in an escrow state, they’re using to having lawyers do all the work.  They also don’t know how to interpret an FHA offer, or have any clue what the Ameridream program is all about.

You can’t blame them for that; unless you deal with this stuff every day, how could you possibly know the nuances of those programs?  I can explain those things, but I’m not allowed to give them advice.  Kind of a fine line to walk when you’re sitting in front of someone asking you a bunch of questions about what is best or what something means.

It also means – in this case – that they’re pricing their home based on what they want out of it, and not on what the house is worth.  I know this because they were very surprised to learn what nearly the same house sold for 2 months ago.  To learn that the price they want is $20k more than what that other house sold for.  Because they didn’t realize that other seller paid 6% in closing costs and assistance to their Buyer. 

But me and my Buyers knew. 

And even presented with that fact, they’re still clinging to their $20k-over-the-last-recent-sold price, because they want more money out of the house.  Which brings me back to where we started this post.  That your house’s value is never dependent on what you want out of it.

So we’ll keep shopping.  Maybe they’ll come around someday.  I heard they got another offer and rejected it while considering my Buyer’s offer.  How many offers do you suppose it takes to finally learn your house isn’t worth what you think it is?

April 2008 Tucson Real Estate Market Report

May 26, 2008

The overview, via the voice of Kelley:

 
or Download Tucson Market Stats for April 2008 here (MP3)

And the straight numbers:

• Single Family Home Average Sales Price: $281,405
• Single Family Home Median Sales Price: $209,950
• Single Family Home Units Sold: 710
• Single Family Home Months of Inventory: 9.9

• Townhouse Average Sales Price: $224,725
• Townhouse Median Sales Price: $202,000
• Townhouse Units Sold: 83
• Townhouse Months of Inventory: 9.0

• Condo Average Sales Price: $132,961
• Condo Median Sales Price: $130,264
• Condo Units Sold: 59
• Condo Months of Inventory: 10.6

• Citywide Average Sales Price: $265,605
• Citywide Median Sales Price: $200,000
• Citywide Units Sold: 852
• Citywide Months of Inventory: 9.9

Remember to check out the individual areas in the link at the top of the page.  Click on Tucson Market Stats, and you’ll see the 9 areas of Tucson as links underneath.

And if I set this up correctly, you can subscribe to future Tucson market reports by subscribing to my podcast.

Data gathered from the Tucson MLS and is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.  Figures quoted here include only single family homes, townhomes, and condos in the 9 areas that make up the Greater Tucson Area: NW, N, NE, W, C, E, SW, S, and SE.

Tucson Music Under the Stars

May 21, 2008

Just a reminder that there are free concerts over at Reid Park at the DeMeester Outdoor performance center on Sunday nights starting at 7pm, and continuing each Sunday through mid June..  By this Sunday, the 25th, the forecast says the storms should have blown through, and we should be having a beautiful day.

What better way to kick off your Memorial Day Monday with a nice Sunday night in the park?  Free music and – hopefully – some very nice weather.  The 25th is my anniversary – I’m thinking an evening in the park, maybe a little picnic, would be an excellent way to celebrate.

Check out the schedule of concerts at TucsonPops.org.

Checking Your Agent’s Official Record

May 19, 2008

I think it’s always important to know who you’re dealing with, especially when you’re making the kind of big decisions that go along with buying and selling and renting real estate.

I was trying to help some of my clients out the other day – they’re investigating renting their home, but my company doesn’t deal in property management.  They’d found someone who sounded good, and were wondering if I could look into that person and their company a little more for them.  Being new landlords, they weren’t sure what kind of questions to ask, what to expect from a property manager.

First stop was the Arizona Department of Real Estate website.  Did you know you can look up anyone with a real estate license in Arizona, see if they’ve got open complaints or judgements against them?  And that you need a license to help anyone else buy, sell, or rent their property?

Turns out, this guy is working under an inactive license, and his license is provisional anyway, after having to disclose a couple of felonies when he applied for his license.  Oh, and he has 3 open complaints.  After having been licensed only since the end of December. 

So, you know, that’s not my first choice for a property manager! 

The Arizona Department of Real Estate site also has some other good information: the Buyer advisory, frequently asked questions, all kinds of stuff.  When you go check your prospective agent’s record, look around a bit. 

Guessing the Value of your Home

May 16, 2008

I was cornered the other day by someone wanting me to guess how much their home was worth.  I  politely said that I couldn’t quote them prices without doing some research, but that I’d be happy to pull some comparable solds for them.

Oh, no, no, no, she says.  I just want to know how much you think it’s worth.

Here’s the thing: I will never quote you a price without research.  Because – even if we’re just chatting at a party – I’m potentially liable for that price.  So if I offhand tell you that I think your home is worth maybe $350,000, and you go sell it to your neighbor for that much, who immediately resells it for the fair market value of $425k, then guess who you’re going to be very angry at?

The crazy thing is, as soon as I open my mouth and give you any kind of advice, I’m potentially creating an implied agency relationship with you, even if we have no formal agreement.  And I know most reasonable people are just looking for a little conversation, understanding we’re having casual chat, but there’s the potential that someone will take my offhand comment as firm advice.

So please – if you want me to guess the value of your home, just let me do a little research for you.  I’m happy to do that.  Really.  It’s no problem.  And I’m not even going to hound you to sell it afterwards.  I promise.

Burnt Adobe Homes in Tucson

May 14, 2008

I’ll admit – I’m a sucker for a classic Tucson wire-cut double red brick house.  But every once in a while, tucked into those brick homes, is a burnt adobe home, a personal favorite.

In the older burnt adobe homes, the bricks are usually reddish in tone, and are much larger than your typical brick.  Walls built with burnt adobe blocks are usually at least 8″ thick, if not more.  In theory, the thick adobe wall has enough thermal mass that it will absorb heat during the day and release it at night to keep an ado be home at a fairly stable temperature.  Some people confuse them for slump block homes, but slump block isn’t nearly as thick as burnt adobe.

Newer adobe homes tend to be more of the tan-ish, grey-ish variety.  One of my favorite builders, Stellar Gray, specializes in adobe homes.

Especially for the older burnt adobes, the bricks can be damaged pretty easily by running water, and just from wind and dirt and rain hitting the bricks.  The burnt adobe bricks have sort of a hard layer around the outside, and once that has worn off, the bricks can erode pretty quickly.

Don’t get me wrong, a house built of burnt adobe bricks will still probably outlast you and I in terms of lifespan!  There are several companies in town that can help you repair and maintain your burnt adobe home, but some erosion is inevitable.  All part of the character of the adobe home.

Clay Mine Adobe, a company that manufactures adobe bricks, has a decent photo gallery and description of how the bricks are made.

I don’t have a good way of linking to them here, but today in MLS, there are 209 homes listed as Burnt Adobes in the Tucson MLS, from $118,900 to $1,950,000.  Drop me an email and I’ll send you the current list – be helpful if you gave me a price range too!

How Long Does It Take To List My House?

May 13, 2008

Question: How long does it take to list a house?

Answer: About 2 minutes if you can sign your name several times quickly.  I’ll be right over.

But seriously folks…

Usually, it takes me about a week to get everything I need prepared.  If you need to make repairs or paint or otherwise do sprucing, then tack on about 3-4 days once you’re all done for me to get my photographer in there.

I don’t like my listings to hit MLS without complete information and fabulous pictures.  I want to be able to answer questions about your property from day one, so I get everything verified and prepared before the listing is entered.  Once your listings hits MLS, I’m uploading pictures usually within minutes so no one sees it without photos – only once chance to make a first impression!  I want to have my brochures ready and in the house and waiting for that first potential buyer.  I want your blog page to go live as soon as the listing does.  These things take a little time to prepare.

So if the house doesn’t need any cleaning or painting or sprucing?  It takes about a week to go from you signing the listing agreement at our listing appointment to your home being for sale and in the Tucson MLS.  It could go a couple days one way or the other, depending on my photographer’s schedule.  Trust me, he’s worth waiting for!

We Don’t Do No Stinkin’ Surveys

May 12, 2008

I work with a lot of home buyers who are relocating to Tucson, and that have purchased homes in other states.  In many of those other states, I’m told, it is customary to have a survey when you buy a house.

Not so in Tucson.

You might get a survey if you buy a parcel of land, certainly, but not usually for residential properties.

This has created some interesting situations in terms of our real estate transactions.

For example, in many older areas of town, people tend to put up fences or sheds where the old fence used to be.  Which may or may not have been within the property line.  I’m willing to bet that there are subdivisions where every single home has a fence or other structure that encroaches on the next persons lot.  And that person’s lot has something that encroaches on the next person’s lot, and so on down the line of homes.

So then one person comes along and gets a survey, and discovers their neighbor’s garage sticks out one foot over the property line.  So then person A goes to neighbor B, and then neighbor B goes and gets a survey and finds out that neighbor C’s shed sticks out 16″ over his property line.  You see where I’m going with this.

There’s something called a prescriptive easement, where – within certain rules – someone else can claim the right to use part of your property, just by using that part openly long enough.  Like, say, having a garage partially over the property line for the last 10 years.  Whether you knew it was or not.

But if you really want to know where your property line is for sure, you better get that survey.  Just know that it isn’t typical around here, and it could take a couple of weeks to have it done, so we’ll need to plan for that.

Photo via Flickr, courtesy of AndyMc73

Plan for Widening Grant Road

May 9, 2008

Some of you will remember back in 2006 when voters approved a sales tax that formed the Regional Transportation Authority.  One of their first projects is the widening of Grant Road.

I found a website that will help us understand the schedule, potential impact area, as well as keep track of current status, at www.GrantRoad.info. 

The project in a nutshell:

There’s a five mile section of Grant Road, between Oracle Road and Swan Avenue, in Central Tucson.  The road is currently 2 lanes in either direction, and will be widened to a road that is 3 lanes in either direction.  After talking to a guy on the citizen task force for the project, I’m told there will be wide bike lanes and sidewalks as well.

The thing is, there’s a lot of businesses and homes along Grant Road, and no one is sure yet how the road will be aligned – who will be loosing some property through eminent domain.  That’s one of the big controversies of the project.  The RTA is anticipating having an alignment plan in late 2008 or early 2009.

They’re also considering some different traffic flow patterns, where at the major intersections, vehicles turning left will have to go past the intersection, pull a u-turn, head back, and make a right turn.

Construction is scheduled to begin in 2013, so there’s a while yet until the project will start to impact motorists.  The impact area for this project technically stretches a quarter mile North and South of Grant Road, so if you live in or around the area, you might want to keep an eye on the project.

You can join the mailing list from the RTA Grant Road improvement plan website to stay current on the widening plans.

Next Page »

Copyright © 2010 Tucson Homes, Neighborhoods, and Real Estate from Housechick.com