The Old Pueblo used to be considered a quiet, dusty sort of town, known more for climate than for commerce.

That hasn't been the case for quite a while, now.  Ranked by population, the city of Tucson, Arizona now tops

• Atlanta, GA,
• Sacramento, CA
• Cleveland, OH
• Kansas City, MO
• Miami, FL
• Minneapolis, MN
• and many more

That's for only the city of Tucson, with a 2005 population estimate of 515,526.  (I'm that last digit.  It used to be 515,525.) 

Greater Tucson, an area of more than 900 square miles, has one million residents as of May, 2007.

Interstate 10 comes across from Texas, connecting Tucson with Phoenix and Los Angeles.  If you take the Interstate 8 hike to the left, you'll get to San Diego.

Small wonder, then, that Tucson is vying with Kingman, AZ as a major inland port.  Kingman is located on what's known as the N-S Canamex I-93 corridor, but Tucson has the edge economically.  Kingman doesn't have the economic clout that Tucson has, or the population to support the jobs that will be created.

This spells profitability for commercial and residential real estate.  When the current credit crunch eases, look for Tucson property values to move up more quickly than most of the rest of the nation.

And you can hedge your bets by buying real estate now in Kingman, Arizona.  Just in case...

I'm Mike in Tucson, your preferred Tucson, AZ mortgage lender.
 
Think of me as your local expert

photo and commentary
copyright Michael W. Jones

2:30 a.m. on Wednesday, January 30, 2008:  While 68,657 of you are asleep in your beds, 25 of us are cruising your blogs, looking for inspiration, encouragement, insight, and laughs.  12 are insane enough to have clicked the little button that lets others see when we're online.  (For Newbies, it's under Settings on your home page.)

Here's what I found:  (and if you can't read a post from my list, it's Members Only.  Active Rain is free.  Just join up!)

• Inspiration:  Judi Barrett, (OK) wrote The Way That We Treat People Has Nothing To Do With Them - That's the Bottom Line!
• Encouragement:  Elizabeth Nieves, (NC) and her husband Diego are adopting two little girls.  Read I NEED a MIRACLE! (A very special prayer request)
• Insight:  Joan Mirantz (NH) asks a question of Countrywide: Could This Be Redlining?
• Laughs:  Art Blanchet (WI) has too much time on his hands.  Like me, he's a lender.  Pressed Ham at Work

So there you go!  I do the hard work, and you get to sleep.  Life's just not fair sometimes.  LOL

And that's the real estate opinion of this Tucson, Arizona mortgage lender,

Mike in Tucson

Locals know it's here.  Birders, anyhow.  It's called the Sweetwater Wetlands, and it's just west of the interstate (I-10) off the west frontage road. 

The Sweetwater Wetlands ecosystem has 11 ponds lined with cottonwood trees, and surrounded by cattails, stands of saltbush and bullrushes. 

Sweetwater's trails (both paved and unpaved) are level, and provide easy wheelchair access to some of Tucson's best birding.

Tucson's Audubon Society has created a detailed website to introduce you to the Sweetwater Wetlands, home to some relatively rare (for Tucson) birds, including the secretive little Sora Rail.  I saw one making his way through the edge of the rushes, little yellow beak foraging for food. 

This particular day, we saw two Harris hawks sitting high in a stand of eucalyptus trees.  They are regulars, according to the Audubon website, and I'm sure they make a good living off the thousands of ducks that frequent the ponds and recharge basins.

The wetlands site has been created to give privacy to the visitors, so that while you see the particular pond in front of you, you see almost nothing else.  Nothing, that is, until you round the corner and see the next pond.  It's January as I write this, and the shore birds that winter here are the main attraction.

This coot was one of several we saw just steps from the parking lot.  Ducks were everywhere--shovelers, a pair of mallards, and two pair of pin-tails.

A satellite view on the right shows the extent of the wetland ecosystem, all of which is man made.  It's created by using recycled water from Tucson's Roger Road Wastewater Treatment Plant.

That's the parking lot at the top right hand side of this Google Earth photo.  

The little blue dot at the center right is a gazebo built on the edge of a pond.  At the bottom left, you'll see another structure built out into the pond.  It's a railed walkway that provides you with a shoveler duck's perspective of the pond.  Be sure to bring binoculars when you come visit.  Don't forget your camera.  If you have a spotting scope, that will bring the Harris hawks close.

Known for it's pristine desert and the giant saguaro cactus, Tucson is a city of unexpected delights.  For birders, this wetlands oasis on the banks of the Santa Cruz river is certainly one of them.  Make it a point to visit the Sweetwater Wetlands the next time you're in town. 

If you're relocating to Tucson, give me a call.  People know me as "Mike in Tucson."  Think of me as your local expert.  You'll find me at www.MikeInTucson.com.  

Kudos to Chris Drayer, Active Rain member from Shawnee, Kansas, who wrote a post about this video clip.  AR's Mike Jaquish in Cary, North Carolina (I subscribe to Mike's blog) mentioned it in a post, and has been sending it to everyone he knows.  That's how I found it.

There's a deep seated need in the human heart to be liked and appreciated for who we are, not for what we do.  I want my customers to like me.  It's not the goal, though. 

My customers hire me to do a job for THEM.  If (and only if) I do that job in such a way that the customer achieves the goal he or she set for themselves, they'll LOVE me!  That's the goal.  It's not about me. 

It's about the person who hired me.

In a "feel-good" business world, this may not feel so good.  But it's true, and that's the real estate opinion of this Tucson, Arizona mortgage lender,

Mike in Tucson

This is for Kevin Wood, (Active Rain Newbie,) and Jeff Turner, two people who need to do business together.  The listing in the Real Estate Show I've created below is Kevin's; I lifted his photos off MLS and created it for him, with his permission.

IMHO, Real Estate Shows is just fantastic.  Active Rain's Jeff Turner (respres) is the genius behind it.  Jeff gives Active Rain members a $25. discount.  I'm trying to get Kevin to do two things: 

1. Get serious about Active Rain blogging, (since I'm the guy who invited him, LOL) and
2. Sign up for Real Estate Shows.

Let's give Kevin an Active Rain success story! Sell it for him! This is a great value for Tucson. 

And that's the real estate opinion of this Tucson, Arizona mortgage lender,

Mike in Tucson

The cap belongs to a regular.  Regular panhandler, that is.  He's good at what he does for a living, and I've come to watch for his latest pitch. 

The man works several areas on the west side of town.  The thing that interests me is his adaptability and willingness to try something different.

"Why lie?"  "I need a beer," was the first sign I remember him having, and it made me smile.  It was lettered on the backside of another sign that said "Vet down on his luck."  If you looked his way, and he thought you were close enough to read the sign, he'd flip it over to the beer commercial and grin.  It worked.

A good sign, plus the ability--somewhat unusual in a panhandler--to catch your eye and give you an engaging grin for a second, gave him an edge.  He still has that grin.  Still sells with it.  He's good.  Just before you have a chance to feel uncomfortable, he'll break eye contact and look behind you at the next car.

Here's what impresses me.  When he gets a new idea, he implements!  I should be more like him in this regard.  And if it doesn't work, he doesn't hang on to it.  He makes a new sign, and tries it out on a new audience at another streetcorner.

Yesterday he was sporting the cap you see.  $ for my MOTHER, it proclaimed.  Same engaging smile, same look now, look away.  It must have been less than successful, because here it was this morning, all by its lonesome.

I snapped the shot, and then another when the wind blew the cap around.  I learned a lesson from my friend today, and it has value for my business.  "Hey," I called when he smiled.  I rolled down the window, and he came over.  I gave him two dollar bills.  "Thank you," he said as he moved away from traffic.  "No," I called back as I left the intersection.  "Thank YOU!"

Do you fear change?  No need!  Give it to the guy on the streetcorner, and the fear will vanish.

Mike in Tucson

High visibility, low cost per view.  Intersections are a great place to advertise. 

The usual fare is a cardboard box advertising a yard sale.  This wasn't your usual sign.  This one got my attention. 

Target market:  A good lawyer. 
Incentive to call?  Up to half a million dollars if you win the case. 

What will you bet that the lawsuit advertised in this busy Tucson, AZ intersection involves real estate?  I didn't call, so I don't know.

But if it does, the list of defendentants likely includes a realty company, a real estate agent, a mortgage company, and a loan officer.  More than ever, the real estate industry requires the highest standard of honesty and integrity.

It drives home a simple thought.  If I have to ask myself the question, "Is what I'm doing ethical?," it probably isn't. 

 And that's the real estate opinion of this Tucson, Arizona mortgage lender,

Mike in Tucson

The Tucson Gem and Mineral Show is just around the corner.  People will be arriving from all points around the globe to buy and sell hundreds of millions of dollars worth of precious stones, dinosaur bones and assorted expensive paraphanalia.

I thought I'd set the tone by introducing you to a very special Tucson home, built by a man with a passion for rocks.  Special rocks.  Lots of 'em.

Mike in Tucson

In 2004, my friends from Europe bought their first home in the United States.  They had been renting for several years when I asked why they hadn't bought a home.  The answer?  They were here on a work visa, and didn't have a green card.  They believed they couldn't qualify for a mortgage.

When I explained that they certainly could qualify, the excitement was visible on their faces.  We prequalified them and turned them loose to shop for a home of their own.  Within two months, they bought their first home in the United States. 

Four years later, they're ready to buy a larger home to meet the needs of their growing family, and they're selling their present home.  Let me walk you through!

You just may know someone for whom this home is perfect.  Please email the video show to them, and copy me on the email at themiraclemike@yahoo.com.  Make someone happy today!

Home ownership is more affordable now than at any time in recent memory.  Mortgage rates are lower right now than they have been in the past eighteen months!  It's time to stop aiming, and pull the trigger!

And that's the real estate opinion of this Tucson, Arizona mortgage lender,
Mike in Tucson

I'm going out on a limb here.  I was just watching NBC's Today show, and the talking head was being interviewed about the wisdom of renting versus buying. 

"Much better to rent right now than to buy," he said.  "The price of housing is still going down.  It will cost you less to rent the same house than to buy it, and you'll be able to buy it in the future for less than today's price."  He's dead wrong!

As a buyer, please know that there are problems with the talking head's assessment.

• You can't rent from month to month, waiting for just the right point to buy.  You'll be signing a one year lease.  If there's the possibility that the market turns around during the term of your lease, you have the unattractive option of either trashing your credit by breaking the lease, or paying a boatload of money to get out.
• The attractive rent offered on that home you're considering may have something to do with the landlord facing foreclosure because he can't pay the mortgage.  If that happens during your lease, you're out of luck.  Oops!  Sorry, but you'll have to move; we're (the bank) selling this home.
• The price of SOME houses may be going down.  The price of the house you want may actually be going the other way.  Real estate is different from "housing."  It's a local thing, not national. 

In my humble opinion, the talking head's agenda has nothing to do with what's in your best interest.  He's spouting "wisdom" to further all that's in HIS best interest.  Visibility, getting on talk shows, and so forth. 

Your 3 Step Plan for buying your next home: 

1. It's in your best interest to get with a real estate agent you know and trust. 
2. Ask him or her to put you in touch with a mortgage broker they know and trust (not three cards, and "it's all good.")
3. Comb the market for the neighborhood where you want to live.  Offer, negotiate, and sign a contract to buy your house now, while the market is good, and pricing on mortgage loans is even better.

You'll be glad you didn't listen to the talking head on NBC.

And that's the real estate opinion of this Tucson, Arizona mortgage lender,

Mike in Tucson