Tucson Kent's World

In this day & age of enhanced communication abilities - nothing beats a real face-to-face conversation.  How about having one when tens, hundreds and even thousands of miles separate the desired participants?

Having a video conference used to be the bastion of corporations with deep pockets to be able to afford the infrastructure and equipment needed - then Skype came along, Google, Yahoo and other chat platforms started incorporating video capabilities and made it affordable for everyone.

Lets take that & add to it the ability to record a video message and email it to someone - a loved one, friend, colleague or client...then you've got something powerful.  Make it FREE?  Yowsa!  Seems like every few weeks or so, I've been getting approached by someone wanting me to BUY their video email platform. I found one that doesn't cost money, and it can be used by anyone with an email address. SEE YA.

I know, I know...Brad Andersohn & Jason Crouch probably already wrote about it - but I missed it, so here it is just in case you did too:

Lets chat face-to-face sometime...or just send me an email.  I'd love to see you!  Kent@TucsonKent.com

There is a saying that has been around for decades:  "All Real Estate Is Local."   When working with clients that live out of town (out-of-state, region, country), it can be challenging for them to get a feel for the area, much less the neighborhood they may be thinking of buying in.

What can I do to help them?  What resources are out there besides the usual newspaper or TV station links?  What can give them a "feel" for this place?

I'm still learning new things & refining what previous clients have enjoyed in the past - so realize that this list is by no means comprehensive, but is always a work in progress:

• Do a video of homes they might be interested in - recently I had some buyers who could not fly back out right after our offer on another home was topped.  I found a similar home in a neighborhood closer to where they wanted to be...but it had an offer on it already.  Shot a video as I previewed the home, noting the condition as I went along, things to look for, notes for the home inspector, zooming in on different aspects, etc.  I also walked down the street with the camera to show how the other homes in the neighborhood looked, what condition the yards were in & other stuff.   Uploaded it to YouTube & sent them a link.  They bought the house, and it turned out better than their expectations!

• Find out which of the popular radio stations have an internet feed & send the link to your client.  The morning drive-time shows can be pretty enlightening as to traffic conditions, local buzz & they can pick & choose who they like to listen to before coming to town.

• Are there any local "what's happening" weeklies?  In most cases, the smaller, more interest-specific newspapers will have a website that is pretty well done.  Getting a feel for the alternative pulse of a community can give a snapshot on issues being debated on both sides.

• Send a Google Map search for different businesses in a radius around a neighborhood - grocery stores, pharmacies, places to eat, schools, any interest you client may have (karate schools, dance lessons, tennis courts, handball hall of fame, you name it!).  Knowing where things are can take some of the anxiety out of settling on a particular neighborhood.  Another out-of-town client was relieved to find that there were 3 different grocery chains to choose from within a 10-minute drive.

• Drive the most common routes to the home with a friend holding the video camera recording "as-in-the-car-too" perspective (please, intrepid souls...this is not a solo project) as you drive up to the new home.

• Local libraries often have great, informative web pages with community bulletin boards about individual branches.

There are a multitude of ways to "bring out-of-towners home" to their new place.  Making the transition from one place to another can be a lot easier when a little bit of familiarity is already in place.  I use a lot of photos & video when working with folks who don't live in the area - mainly because I'm comfortable with it & get good feedback.  What do you like to do?  Life is better when you share!

I'm TucsonKent - relocation is something I truly understand, having moved from one side of the country to the other & a multitude of places in between.  If you are moving to Tucson, it would be my pleasure to help you find your new home & make the transition simpler, easier & more enjoyable for you.

Tucson is generally thought of as a pretty evironmentally conscious city in many respects.  Reclaimed water is widely used for landscaping, xeriscaping has been embraced & adopted by most people...without any regulation or mandate forcing people to do so.

Where we are behind the curve (so far) is in our commercial sector - LEED Certified buildings are few and far between, even in the government and public sector.  Private is probably going to take the lead with LEED in Southern AZ.  That being said, Tucson's Reid Park Zoo boasts southern Arizona's first LEED Platinum Certified building - congratulations!

Reid Park Zoo, located just east of Country Club Boulevard and south of the Colonia Solana neighborhood, is growing and evolving very nicely, and is a great asset to the community.  Their educational programs are fun & informative no matter the age of the participant.

To learn more about what Tucson's Zoo has to offer, please visit their website:  Tucson Zoo

I see them sitting in the office all the time.  Send them to out-of-town clients, hand them out to prospective customers...and take them for granted.

What can be useful about them...to me?  I've lived here for years!  I'm an expert about my town!  I don't need any information they can provide!

Not every town has them, but they are valuable, and a good giveaway.  What am I?

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A Newcomer's Resource Guide!

I've thought of these as indispensible guides to give to anyone new to the area, touted the value of them...and ignored them completely - out of ignorance, arrogance and a combination of both!

Today, I took one home and started looking through it in the "library."  WOW!  My city has all kinds of things I never knew about...and they're pretty neat!  Guess I won't take the Newcomer's Guide for granted anymore.

Kind of neat to get some fresh perspective, huh?

After seeing what this free software did with the photographs I shot of a home's outside & inside (Home Tour Results), I started to wonder what it would do with landscape photos?

Some clients of mine are thrilled to death with their 10 acres of beautiful desert to build their retirement home on, and I had some photos taken to make a panorama as a surprise.  I haven't done anything to the photos yet, other than download them onto my computer.

Here is what the result is from Photosynth:

10 Acres In Tubac, Arizona

P.S.  I'm really interested in what some of your feedback will be!