Tucson Kent's World

In Episode 3, THE Tucson Real Estate Show takes a break from the business side of things to ride the Historic Tucson Trolley and learn about its history from Karen Rodack, who is a volunteer conductor for the Old Pueblo Trolley organization.

Currently, the trolley runs along University Blvd. from Main Gate Square at the University of Arizona, and down 4th Avenue where it stops before going down Congress Street in downtown Tucson. This nostalgic attraction is completely volunteer operated & funded by donations. It generally runs on weekends - weather & maintenance permitting.

Work is beginning soon on a new, Modern Streetcar for Tucson, which will expand the route significantly and be more useful as a practical mode of transportation.  There has been quite a bit of new activity in the downtown Tucson area as businesses open up as part of the downtown revitalization effort - and in anticipation of the Modern Streetcar's debut in 2013.  Yes, Mr. An has started construction on his new restaurant, An Congress, right by the Rialto Theater and Hotel Congress.  Can anyone get us an interview with him?

In Episode 2 of THE Tucson Real Estate Show, Tom Heath and I visit Tucson's Historic Train Depot downtown to help illustrate how to be "On The Right Track" for getting a home mortgage.

Our mission with THE Tucson Real Estate Show is to provide consumers with information they can use about the local Tucson real estate market, while highlighting the people, places and things that make "The Old Pueblo" a special place.

Tom Heath is a mortgage professional with Sunstreet Mortgage and current President of the Southern Arizona Mortgage Lenders Association.  Kent Simpson is a REALTOR® who is awaiting trial for impersonating someone who knows how to do a real estate show.

On our next video, follow along as we ride the Historic Tucson Trolley in search of Mr. An - while Conductor Karen Rodack tells us the trolley's history.  Do we find Mr. An?  Will he invite us to the grand opening of An Congress?  Watch & see!

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Episode 1 - Introducing THE Tucson Real Estate Show

Friends, readers and anyone interested in Tucson or Real Estate in general - I am proud to be introducing THE Tucson Real Estate Show!  In Episode 1 - we start at a Tucson "Old West" landmark, Trail Dust Town, and ask the question, "Why another real estate show?"  Hopefully you will like the answer:

Tom Heath of Sunstreet Mortgage, current President of the Southern Arizona Mortgage Lenders Association and I will be exploring different areas of Tucson, the people that make "The Old Pueblo" a special place and highlighting local businesses as well as interesting places.  One of our goals is to tie in our wanderings with some helpful information about the Tucson Real Estate Market while providing some consumer education along the way.

We launched our all-video website yesterday (so bear with us while we iron out some of the wrinkles) with our first four episodes.  Each week we will have a new segment for you to enjoy.  Future episodes will include the Historic Tucson Trolley in downtown, the University of Arizona Bio Park, St. Phillip's Plaza Farmers Market & more!

Follow us while we search for the elusive holy grail Mr. An - a longtime Tucson figure for his fine cuisine, love of baseball, and try to wheedle an invitation to the grand opening of his new restaurant in downtown Tucson, An Congress - right along the route of the coming Streetcar.  If you see something of value, please feel free to forward to your friends & colleagues.

Episode 2 - "On The Right Track To A Mortgage"
  - from Tucson's Historic Train Depot

How can Tucson become more "Business Friendly" in one simple step? 

It happened July 8th - by a 7-0 vote, the Tucson City Council decided to do away with the nightmare that obtaining a Certificate of Occupancy for commercial properties had become.  Yippee!!!!  Hooray!!!

A couple of years ago, after learning that less than 25% of all businesses had a valid C of O, a measure was passed in Council to require a new Certificate of Occupancy be issued for any commercial property changing hands.  Whether lease, sale, trade - whatever - to get the permit to open a business' doors, a new C of O had to be issued.

Makes sense, unless you have no workable criteria in place to obtain one.  Oops.  Kinda forgot that part.  The solution was to form a committee of 18 people drawn from the business world, neighborhood associations, public interest groups and other "stakeholders" to come up with an outline of the steps needed to satisfy the requirements.

Problem.

The committee couldn't even agree on when the meetings would be, much less come up with a workable plan!  Meanwhile, there's an ordinance on the books that has no understandable rules to figure out how to comply with.

So...the past 2 years have been a nightmare for business & property owners.  You've got to get a C of O to open the doors, but nobody knows what you have to do to get one.  Okay, we can't just keep every business in town that wants to open up or move into an existing structure from being able to operate, can we?  Solution - we'll just require a C of O for "change of use."

Cool! 

Problem:  change of use was interpreted so strictly that an shoe store couldn't move into a building previously occupied by a dress shop.  "But they're both retail operations," you might say..."But they sell different things," the interpretation was, "so it's a change of use."

(Can you picture how much hair was lost due to pulling out large tufts with both hands?)

The towns of Oro Valley, Marana, Sahuarita and Unincorporated Pima County made out like bandits as frustrated businesses chose to locate there instead of Tucson.  I have no doubt that officials of those entities regularly said (behind closed doors of course), "Thanks for the bonehead move, City of Tucson - we'll be glad to increase our tax base.  Sorry about your budget woes, wonder why we're in the black?  Hmm...snicker, snicker."

But that's all behind us now, isn't it?  Thanks for your July 8 vote to rescind this ordinance, City Council - you're moving in the right direction...please don't do something that stupid again.

When relocating to Tucson, the reasons vary - a job transfer, health issues, lifestyle changes, pursuing a dream...or something as simple as following your heart.  Here's a little about one man who did that...and has become a champion, along with his partner, a wild mustang named B.I.G. - one of the smallest horses in the Extreme Mustang Makeover competition.  He Has A Winning Way With Mustangs.

Logan Leach listened to his heart many years ago, and settled in Tucson.  He established Tanque Verde Stables in the Northeast part of the Tucson Metro, perfectly located by the Tanque Verde wash (full of great riding trails) with views of the Catalina Mountains to the north, the Rincon Mountains to the east, surrounded by semi-rural countryside.  Arizona National Golf Course is just a skip away to the north, 49er Country Club is a dash to the east. Close enough to the urban core to be convenient yet away from the city enough to enjoy a little elbow room and do what he loves:  training horses.

The Tucson area is full of horse lovers - there are even stables within minutes of downtown Tucson!  Miles and miles of equestrian trails lead along the Rillito River, along washes and the spirit of the Old West remains a part of the region's core - but not readily apparent to many (in keeping with the cowboy way of life - it is a lifestyle of quiet enjoyment, not "in your face" hype and brassiness).

Early this evening, I got a call from a young man looking to begin investing in real estate, but unsure of where to start.  After a few questions, it was apparent that he really was at the very beginning of his journey, and was reaching out for some guidance.  What resulted was the most rewarding conversation I've had with a prospective first-time buyer in a l-o-o-n-g time.  I won't make a penny from this phone call, but that isn't the point.

Turns out, this young man is 19 years old, going to school in an area of the country hit extremely hard by the implosion of the real estate market, raw & inexperienced in purchasing real estate - but careful with his money & eager to learn. He has heard about predatory lending and "0 Down, EZ Qualify" scams.

His goal is to purchase a duplex, triplex or fourplex, live in one unit and rent the others to help him pay for the investment.  Good idea.  He spoke about his lack of knowledge as a challenge to be solved by consulting with professionals who would take the time to explain the process along the way & guide him to a smart decision "because I don't want to be a foreclosure victim, I want to start building my nest egg now, since prices are so low."  Great idea.

We spoke about the pros & cons of investment property:  what can happen when a tenant moves out unexpectedly - or doesn't pay the rent on time.  Landlord responsibilities, maintenance issues, taxes, insurance and fair housing laws, cash flow & reserves, the reality vs the hype of short sales, factors involved in choosing an area to start looking, vacancy rates and much, much more.

As the conversation went on, I suggested he take advantage of some seminars and classes put on by the Association of Mortgage Brokers and the REALTOR® Association in order to have a clearer basis of understanding concerning the process and procedures in buying real property.  Since I was by my computer, I looked up the contact information for these associations in his area and gave him the websites.  Oh, did I mention that he lives nearly 1,000 miles away from Tucson?  This young first-time homebuyer has never seen Southern Arizona, except for in movies & photos.  He won't be buying in Tucson, either.

At the beginning of this phone call, my inquisitive young caller asked if I could spare 10 minutes of my time - we talked for just over 45 minutes.

In the first few minutes of the call, I already knew that this buyer was not interested in my market - but he was reaching out to me to help get him pointed in the right direction.  Whether it was something I had written on my blog, posted on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or somewhere else that caused him to ask me - or some random quirk of keywords on Google...it doesn't matter.  He is the public, took the time to call me, and had realistic, rational goals in mind.

After hanging up with him, I felt a certain fulfillment - a feeling of living up to the vows I took to become a REALTOR®.  It isn't all about the money or the deal.  There is a service commitment implied in that oath.  Sometimes all it takes is a conversation and some frank discussion.  This was the best phone call I've had in a long time.

Thank you, Abraham, you made my day. 
I wish you success and happiness in all of your goals...and yes, I WILL buy you lunch near the University of Arizona if you ever visit Tucson so that we can dine in the presence of "all those HOT Arizona girls!"  (Now it is in writing - verbals don't count as a contract)

Being a REALTOR® has its moments, and this is one of them.

In its never-ending quest to provide better services for both agents and the public, the Tucson MLS has decided to change its MLS software to FlexMLS by FBS of North Dakota!

I, for one, am extremely happy with the decision - and I hope you will be too.  To take a quick peek at what it looks like from a consumer perspective, check out this search for property in the Sam Hughes area of Tucson:

Check it out - see what it is like & please feel free to leave your comments below!  The more feedback, the better...and if one of these catches your eye, I'm available to answer questions.

Is there a difference between urgency and pressure when working with a client?   YES!  When working with buyers, put yourself in their shoes, and take a look at what they are experiencing from their perspective.  Often times a buyer is so focused on finding “the perfect house” or overwhelmed by all of the choices available that they may not remember or even know that deadlines are quickly approaching.  Whether working with homebuyers or real estate investors, basic human relations are the same.

Part of a REALTOR’s duty is to keep their clients informed of things that might affect their decision – staying on top of program deadlines, understanding market characteristics, watching for developing trends, knowing the reasonable timelines to expect a transaction to close from acceptance to closing (which can be very different for various reasons)…and be able to convey urgency when needed without adding another layer of pressure.  Your client’s best interests are your fiduciary responsibility to keep in front of any needs you may have.

Urgency is real – whether because of a client’s needs, timeline, availability of certain properties, loan program or tax credit deadlines, buyer incentive program schedules…you name it.  Pressure is artificial – it is manufactured to manipulate the actions of another.  When an agent puts their own needs before those of their client, I define that as pressure tactics.

I HATE pressure tactics.  I’ll walk out of a store and buy whatever it is somewhere else…even if I have to pay a higher price, to eliminate the possibility that a company or salesperson will be rewarded for using high-pressure strategy.  That’s not sales skills, that’s manipulation.

There are clients that I’ve had for several years who have yet to act – their needs haven’t dictated that they need to act yet, or the opportunity that they are looking for hasn’t surfaced at a time that has been good for them to act.  So be it – there is a trust that is built over that time, and I’m willing to wager that these different buyers will be good referral sources (in fact, I’ve received 3 great referrals from one client…and we haven’t closed a purchase together yet).

I run a business, and I'm human:  there ARE times when I simply cannot work with a particular client. It is better to refer them to someone else than to have a dysfunctional relationship - but taking care to refer them to another professional whose standards are high is a must.

A lot of motivational and sales strategy training focuses on “making someone act” and use “The Man In The Mirror” as a mantra…hogwash.  The way I train is to “Walk A Mile In My Clients’ Shoes” so that when I face the “Man In The Mirror” there’s a calm, easy smile looking back at me.  Yes, there are times that I have my own pressures – but those are mine, and my clients don’t need them added to theirs!

This morning, at the Historic Train Depot in downtown Tucson, the official announcement of the TIGER Grant that will allow the Modern Streetcar project to go from dream to tracks & trolleys was attended by hundreds of people.

Here is a video montage of some of the speeches:

Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, University of Arizona President Robert Shelton, RTA Chairperson Lynn Skelton (also Mayor of Sahuarita), Tucson Mayor Bob Walkup and U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood are featured in this collection.

Having the Modern Streetcar project move forward in Tucson is a real "game changer" for downtown, as it links the University of Arizona through Main Gate Square, down 4th Avenue along Congress Street to the Convention Center and across to the Mercado District on the west side of I-10.

There has been a lot of work to revitalize downtown Tucson - the trolley will link it all together and be a focal point that draws a lot more attention & investment to the area.  The downtown you know today will be incredibly improved over the next 5 years...if you haven't seen what we've done so far, you'll be amazed at what will be happening soon!

IT'S OFFICIAL!  Tucson's Modern Streetcar in Downtown is a GO!  This morning, the City of Tucson found out that it will receive the $63M from the Federal Government to make the proposed Trolley/Modern Streetcar project a reality. 

The $150M project is being funded through local funds that have been generated for the Regional Transit Authority (RTA) via a sales tax increment approved by voters in 2006, with the U.S. Government putting up their portion through a TIGER Grant.

What this means for Tucson is a real boost to efforts in revitalizing the Downtown Core.  There has been a lot of work going on already - now the Trolley will both serve to enhance and tie-in the University of Arizona, 4th Avenue, Congress Street and the Mercado District.

While there will always be naysayers, my bet is that the same people sniveling right now will be asking for expansion of the routes in 5 years!

Future plans include expansion of the streetcar down Broadway Boulevard - the Downtown Trolley will showcase the core of Tucson & help redefine the heart of our city.  It won't happen overnight, but just hide & watch as it becomes another thing to be proud about "The Old Pueblo" for.

If you want to take advantage of the opportunity, now's the time to jump on - the fare won't be decreasing in future years for real estate along the route!