Tucson Area Real Estate News

Real Estate Glossary, Home Buying and Selling jargon

John Mijac — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 22:45:00 GMT

Real Estate Glossary It occurred to me that there are few places for consumers to go to get a layman’s explanation of Real Estate Jargon, so I thought I would begin a glossary on this blog for people who are planning to buy or sell real estate....(read more)

Why you should hire a REALTOR

John Mijac — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 17:48:00 GMT

There are five reasons to hire a REALTOR® when planning to buy or sell property: Market Expertise; Lowering Your Risk; Saving You Money, Reliable Advice and the REALTOR® Code of Ethics Market Expertise : We are immersed in the housing market everyday...(read more)

Southwestern Building styles

John Mijac — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 03:13:00 GMT

Tucson is known for its Southwestern architectural styles. As with all American cities, you can find examples of most any style, from Bauhaus to farmhouse, even modern lofts are available. But for those who want a home that reflects The Southwest and...(read more)

Free Tools for Home Buyers and Sellers in Arizona

John Mijac — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 03:25:00 GMT

Free Tools for Home Buyers and Sellers in Arizona Times are challenging for anyone buying or selling RealEstate today. For Sellers, home priceshave plummeted from their heights in 2006 and for Buyers, credit has been tight. Also, finding sources of trustworthy...(read more)

Conversations with an Escrow Officer

John Mijac — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 03:24:00 GMT

Susan, how did youbecome an Escrow Officer in the first place? I was 18 years old and looking for a job, I contacted aemployment service and with the skills that I had, I had one interview and washired by Pioneer National Title Insurance at 45 W. Pennington....(read more)

Conversation with a home inspector

John Mijac — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 03:23:00 GMT

Thom Culpepper and I have been working together for sometime and I respect the quality of his work. I found his comments on home inspecting of interest. Thom, how did youbecome an inspector in the first place? My wife and I discussed starting a business,...(read more)

Disclosure in a sale

John Mijac — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 03:18:00 GMT

Alex and Dusty were worried about the sale of theirhouse. They had bargained hard with theBuyers and had reached an agreement last night, but they felt at a disadvantagein today’s market. Under the terms ofthe Arizona Residential Purchase Contract...(read more)

Making the Offer

John Mijac — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 03:17:00 GMT

Pat and Kim decided to make an offer on a property. We’d looked at many houses; some great forPat, some perfect for Kim, but this was the only property both loved. As Pat said, “It doesn’t matter how muchmoney you have, buying a home...(read more)

Discovery and home inspections

John Mijac — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 03:16:00 GMT

Pat and Kim, (who we met in Making the Offer and Pricing theHome) were under contract to buy a house they loved. By the time the counter offers were finishedand everyone had come to an agreement, the two were very attached to the homeand nervous about...(read more)

Listing the House

John Mijac — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 03:14:00 GMT

Billy and Kim needed to sell their home. They were in the Service and were beingposted to Japan in two months. They’d triedto sell it on their own, but finding a buyer in today’s market seemed impossible. Kim pointed out that neither of them...(read more)

Pricing the Home

John Mijac — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 03:10:00 GMT

My first exposure to bargaining was in grade school. I played the part of a Mexican vendor givingadvice to his new gringo friends. I still remember my lines (after all, it wasmy debut!) “First, ask the vendor howmuch the pottery costs; his price...(read more)

What do you know about Tucson? Probably not much!

John Mijac — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 17:46:00 GMT

That is compared to what there is to know. I am always amazed by how few people who live in Tucson know about even a few of the great things to see and do here. I know that my tastes are a bit catholic, but really, Tucson has something for everyone. If you love Opera, Symphony, Pops, Local Professional Theater, dance, museums or zoos, (and of course there’s the Desert Museum which is neither a zoo nor a museum but much more than both) we’ve got it.

If, on the other hand you’re more of a gardener . . . wow! What about the Tucson Botanical Society, Thono Chul, or the Tucson Bonsai Society to name a few. Perhaps your thing is Hiking, City Biking, Mountain Biking, four-wheeling, nature walks, birding, telescopes, minerals & gems, mining, history . . . as you can see from these few links, whatever it is we’ve got it in abundance.

So, in some ways I can see why it’s so hard for us to form a city center . . . we all have so many different directions we can go and few of them lead downtown. This, however, could be our real strength, if we can find a way to make the center a vital connection between all of these disparate destinations. How? We can do it with public transportation. So, will the planned Streetcars do the trick? It is a start, but not unless we follow that small plan up with an immediate second, third and fourth stage. Let’s be forward thinking here and encourage our representatives to do the same!

Tucson downtown revitalization myth or fact?

John Mijac — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 12:50:00 GMT

For those of us who live in Tucson, subjects like Rio Nuevo can raise hackles. Still, there seem to be signs that something may be happening. Unlike the so called Rainbow Bridge or the now mostly forgotten Aquarium, substantive things are happening.

Take for example the call for a Tucson Town Hall by local media and government, or the recently approved Streetcar . . . or even the more sober, infrastructure approach proposed recently at the Fox by the Pima County Real Estate Research Council. What do you think? Here's a place to voice your ideas and hash out your concerns, vision and plans. As for me, I'm getting involved.