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University Area Housing for Under $150,000

February 5, 2008

I was exploring homes near the University of Arizona in the $150,000 range today.  It looks like there are actually a couple of good townhome options.  I’m looking at six units, all within 3 miles of the University or less, two bedroom, two bath (one is 3 bed, 3 bath!), more than a thousand square feet, with air conditioning - and they run between $120-$150k.

All but one of these has covered parking, but they each have a nice little private patio area for the unit. 

All are very close to bus routes and bike lanes to the University, and each is maybe a half block from a grocery store and shopping center. 

I don’t think my MLS rules allow me to post the actual homes here, but send me an email and we can go over them privately.

Opening a Tucson Bed and Breakfast

February 2, 2008

I got a call the other day from a woman who wants to open a Bed and Breakfast in Tucson.  We need a lot that is nice and large and secluded.  Privacy and views. And the right zoning.

A quick search through the Pima County zoning code turns up this in Chapter 18.09.L:

1. Bed and breakfast establishments are permitted in the TR, CB-1 and CB-2 zones and as a conditional use in the RVC zone and all rural and residential zones.

3. Bed and breakfast establishments containing up to four guest bedrooms shall require a Type I conditional use permit in all rural and residential zones. Bed and breakfast establishments containing five to eight guest bedrooms shall require a Type II conditional use permit in all rural and residential zones.

10. Except in the CB-1, CB-2, TR, RVC and ML zones, bed and breakfast establishments shall have a minimum lot size of one acre.

So we should be looking for at least an acre in the residential and rural zones.  If she buys a house and converts it, we really want 4-5 bedrooms, but not more as the type II conditional use permit is a bit harder to get than the type I. 

There’s other requirements about parking spaces and signage and business entrances to the home.  We’ve also got to be sure to check any deed restrictions. 

I’m thinking some of the large 3+ acre unsubdivided parcels out in the Northeast and East, nestled up against the Catalina and the Rincon Mountains might be just perfect.

Deed Restrictions and Home Owner Associations

January 31, 2008

There are some people who absolutely do not want to live in an area with an HOA - a Homeowner’s Association.  While the intended effect of an HOA is to preserve property values, some folks feel restricted by the rules and regulations that go along with an HOA.

In the Tucson MLS, there’s a searchable field where I can find homes without a listed HOA fee.  While information there is deemed reliable but not guaranteed, you should always investigate to find out if no HOA really exists.

Also, many properties have deed restrictions.  Deed restrictions can limit the usage of a property, but are not a formal HOA.  When the property was originally built, or a subdivision originally created, the developer can record restrictions against the deed: hence the name, deed restrictions.

If you really want to know what you can or can’t do with a property, you’ve got to examine the deed and any restrictions that may be recorded against the property.  A common example of deed restrictions without an HOA would be something like not parking a boat in the front yard.

It’s a common misconception, that having no stated HOA means you can do anything you want with a property.  It just ain’t so.  You’ve got to check for deed restrictions.

Fast Closing and Slow Repairs

January 25, 2008

So you just negotiated for some repairs on the house you are buying, and we managed to get the Seller to agree to recoat the roof.  You can’t wait to move into your new home in 2 weeks.

But hold on - that roofer?  He’s booked until next month. 

So now what?  No one wants to wait a month to close escrow on this thing, and even if you know what an escrow hold-back account is, your lender probably won’t allow it.

Luckily, we can solve this one. 

Since the Seller has agreed to pay for the roof, the invoice from the roofing company should be placed into escrow, and escrow will cut a check directly to the roofing company at closing.  And then you can hold on to that check for the roofer until they’ve completed the job.  Voila!

Couple warnings:

• One - don’t lose the check for the repair company.
• Two - the payment to the repair person should be recorded on the settlement statement.  No one is passing money around under the table.
• Three - this may not be advisable for major repairs.  You only get the amount of money specified on the invoice.  If the repair person finds more damage, or has to do extra work to complete the job, that can raise the price of the repairs.  You may have a huge fight on your hands to get any overage incurred paid by the Seller.

We’re Movin’ On Up - Coordinating Buying and Selling

January 17, 2008

I’ve worked with several home Sellers in Tucson that are moving up into different homes.  It can be a bit of a juggling act to coordinate a sale and a purchase of a new home.  Here’s what I usually recommend:

First, we get your existing home ready to sell, and put it on the market.  During this time, we’re not going to go look at homes, but I do want you to go talk to a lender and figure out how much you can buy or want to afford in your next home.

When we get an offer for your home, and successfully negotiate that contract, then we’re heading out to look at homes immediately.  In this market, we’ve got an excellent chance of getting your dream home under contract, contingent on your existing home closing escrow.

Some people want more time to find the right home, and don’t make those kinds of decisions well under pressure.  And that’s okay!  We can find you some short term housing for you to move into, and we can take all the time you need to find the next house.

The actual coordinating of the closing of both homes is where most of the trouble appears.  You want the funds from the sale of your existing home in order to close on the new home, but you usually don’t get to move into that new home until you own it.  There’s a problem of moving stuff - it just doesn’t happen magically and quickly! 

Usually, we’re either going to have to negotiate some kind of short term lease so you can stay in one home until the other closes, or move into the other one early.  The not-so-fun option is to find short term temporary housing in a third place if we can’t manage to get everyone coordinated. 

There’s several options and ways to handle selling your existing home in order to move up into a different one.  Take the time to have that conversation with your agent well in advance.

Fun with the ‘Family Friend’ Lender

January 5, 2008

This is a story that starts with a Buyer using a family friend to originate their FHA loan, and ends with complete chaos, including a potential $900 fine and me rescuing an appraiser with my special water main valve opening tool.  And no close of escrow - yet.

Let’s start with the Seller being a bank - this is a lender-owned home, it has been foreclosed.  This means my Buyer must sign 11 pages of contract amendments, sign away some rights, various things.  The upside is that he’s buying a house for $20k less than the appraisal.

Being a lender-owned home, it also means that any documentation that must be signed by the Seller will take days, if not weeks, to get signed. 

The family friend, whom my Buyer chose to use, hasn’t originated an FHA loan in a very long time.  He neglects sending out the FHA real estate certification form to be signed by all parties until the day after we are scheduled to close.

This form, of course, must be signed by the Seller - so let’s hope to get that form back by the end of next week.

Remember those 11 pages of amendments?  There’s a $100/day penalty for not closing on time.  And we can’t close without the Seller’s signature on that certification form.  Hello, $900 penalty for my Buyer. 

Pleading on my Buyer’s behalf with the Seller, we have a good chance of getting the fee waived, as we are starting to convince them that the delay is not directly my Buyer’s fault.  No guarantee there yet.

Here’s the lesson - don’t use a family friend in such an important thing as buying a house just because they are a family friend. 

Oh, and the appraiser?  The lender/family friend’s choice?  Was told twice he would have to turn the water on at the street in order to perform the appraisal, and didn’t take any tool out there to help him accomplish that.  And so walked away from the appraisal without completing it.  And now the water service has been canceled as inspections are over.  And he still needs to check the water inside the house.

Luckily, there’s one person involved in this mess that knows how to turn on a water main.  I’ll be running out there with my tool Monday to get this thing done with.

Seventeen Reasons to have New Construction Homes Inspected

December 7, 2007

Via Dave Brownell, Second Opinion Home Inspections.

 

Central Tucson Homes and Non-permitted Additions

December 4, 2007

A quick shout out to my Raytheon readers.  Engineers, unite!  Form of… ah, an iPhone?

I’m spending time this week showing Central Tucson homes to a client, trying to stay under $200,000, with at least 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, central air conditioner, and - preferably - covered parking.

Central Tucson is largely homes from the 1950s and 1960s.  Lots of red brick ranches, some slump block homes, a few burnt adobes.  The classic central Tucson home is a wire cut double red brick: a personal favorite.

Because of the era those homes were built, you won’t find many garages.  Carports, yes, usually single car.  Given that these homes have been sitting around for 60 years, many people have either made the carports into small garages, or enclosed them so that the original carport area is now living space.  The house I live in started it’s life as a little 2 bed, 1 bath house, and now the original carport area is a master suite, and the original patio is now an Arizona room.  This was all done before I purchased it.

Here’s what freaks out newcomers: a lot of folks, historically, didn’t bother getting permits when they made that kind of addition to the house.  Welcome to Central Tucson.

As a real estate agent who does a fair bit of business in Central Tucson, I’m pretty good at spotting additions.  It’s my job to warn you if I spot a potential addition, and that it may not be permitted.  Based on the quality of the addition, sometimes I know pretty confidently if it’s been permitted by the City of Tucson or not.  If you’re concerned, we can always check public records down at the Public Works building downtown.

Here’s the thing: technically, the city has a variety of options if they discover you have a non-permitted addition.  They can make you rip it down, bring it up to current code standards, charge you taxes on the extra square footage that you haven’t been paying taxes on all these years.   Lots of scary options.

Now, I love Central Tucson.  I live in Central Tucson.  There’s a good chance every house I’ve ever owned in Central Tucson has had non-permitted changes.  Many homes have them, and most Sellers won’t retrofit for permits when they sell.  Given that houses change hands every 5-7 years on average, most Sellers bought the house with unpermitted additions and have lived with it that way for many years.  That’s just the way we roll in Central. 

Again, as a real estate agent, it’s my job to warn you of the risks of buying a home with unpermitted additions.  If you’re planning on big renovations, or adding on a guest house, you really ought to be concerned, especially if you plan on getting permits for the work you’ll have done.  It’s a topic to discuss with your agent, if you’re considering Central Tucson homes.

Here’s what to watch for:

• Seams in the brick/block wall, especially at the front of the house where a carport opening might once have been.
• A change in building materials: from brick to siding, for example.
• A change in height between rooms, especially at the back or side of the house where there might have been a step up between the carport and the main house, or a step down between the patio and the main house.
• Rooms without air ducts, or with only window A/C units.
• Changes in wall thickness at doorways.  Double red brick houses will have exterior walls that are as thick as the long length of a brick.  If the doorway to a den or bedroom is twice as thick as the other wall openings, you’re probably walking into an addition.
• Sloping ceilings.  Patio roofs tend to have a lot of slope, while original interior ceilings are usually flat.  If a patio was enclosed, chances are the roof will slope.
• Changes in wall texture.  If the rest of the house is a plaster-ish texture and one bedroom is a knock-down texture, something happened.

You Can’t Stop Me From Bringing My Home Inspector.

November 25, 2007

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?

Why Should I Work With Only One Real Estate Agent?

November 19, 2007

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.

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