Mexican food as a theme for the Carnival of Real Estate??

Hey, it was the brainchild of Kelley Koehler, aka @housechick, aka NachoChick. I sent out a Twitter message for ideas, Kelley responded, and I like Mexican food. So we’re running with it. Deal with it.

There were 23 submittals, down significantly from the last time I hosted the Carnival back in the day of episodes 33 and 37.

Entries ranged from one really not-so-swift to the truly spectacular. As always, it was tough to narrow down the Top 10, and even tougher to rank them. Cerveza was involved, but I did avoid the tequila…

We’ll begin with the appetizers and move through the Mexican food chain until we arrive, naturally, at the big enchilada.

The chips and salsa of the bunch goes to Bill D. at The Wealth Hunter with, “Is it Better to Rent or Buy? That is The Question.” It’s a good take on the age-old question, and employs a “rent ratio” to help decipher the conundrum. What’s a rent ratio? Read the post!

Bringing out the guacamole is “Silicon Valley Blogger” at The Digerati Life with, “Where To Find The Down Payment For Your Dream Home”. They leave out “buried in the backyard”, but include 10 other possibilities.

Tacos are a staple in my house and Leon Gettler of SOX First (think Sarbanes-Oxley) delivers. “Blame subprime on the banks: accounting rule-maker” is an interview with Bob Garnett of the International Accounting Standards Board. Interesting stuff — ginormous photo not withstanding.

A Torta is a Mexican sandwich, served hot or cold. Patrick Duffy at the Housing Chronicles serves up a hot one. “Homebuilbers and brokers should first ask themsleves: ‘Who’s Your Company?” is a a lengthy tome. Geared mainly to the home builder, there are good lessons here for the real estate broker as well.

Ahhh Huevos… lot’s of ways to serve them up. And Andrew Mattie writing for Geek Estate Blog dishes up a dandy with, “Silly MLS IDX Rules”. As a broker, I deal with IDX sillyness on a regular basis. As an IDX vendor, Andrew deals with it constantly. Interesting insight from an “insider”. (Disclosure, I contribute to GEB and use Andrew’s product. I also really like huevos, but none of that had anything to do with the selection.)

Housechick digs nachos. I don’t know what Joe Manausa at the Tallahassee Real Estate Blog thinks of them. But I know Joe’s article, “How To Analyze Real Estate – The Real Estate Shack” was a great post. It is a very nice explanation of cash flow analysis for investment property — explaining terminology well in easy to understand language.

The burrito begins the heavy stuff. Scott Ficek up there at the Minnesota Investment Real Estate blog may not be able to find a decent burrito, but he can write a great post. “Investment Property Accounting” takes a look at managing the income and expenses of investment properties.

OK, so technically, margaritas aren’t food. But they clearly belong in any lineup of Mexican delights. And Athol Kay, in only the way Athol can, delights and schools us on taking good kitchen photos in his post, “When Your Wife Stabs You With a Fork You Learn to Pay Attention.” (Which clearly wins “Best Title”). Who knows if there is decent Mexican food near the REagent in Connecticut, but Athol always delivers.

The massive Combo Plate, second only to the Big Enchilada, is consumed by John Lockwood of the Sacramento Real Estate Blog. In, “Where’s The Bottom? The Prophet Speaks” John takes a deeply linked look at the real estate market in Sacramento County (which if you follow real estate markets, you know it’s been hit particularly hard). This plate isn’t just Sacramento though, John’s insight holds true everywhere.

And this weeks Carnival of Real Estate “Pick of the Week”, The Big Enchilada, goes to Dan Melson at Searchlight Crusade. Personally, I think Dan is one of the best in the Real Estate Blog Community. His post, “Is The Good Faith Deposit At Risk?” should be required reading. The short answer is, of course, yes. But Dan takes an in-depth look at both the buyer and seller side and provides nice insight into how to handle the question, “Is my good faith / earnest money at risk?”

And seriously, anyone that can inject a reference to quantum physics into a real estate post deserves an extra side of tortillas.

Next week, the great Mike Price hosts the 94^th edition at Mike’s Corner (which is down right now? Wonder if he’s hosting at Houston’s The Planet, which had a meltdown over the weekend…).

And I’m hungry. . .

Edited to add: If anyone is really interested, here are my notes on all the entries (links included). There are a couple of thoughts in there on some articles on why they didn’t make the cut. Nothing personal, I had to cut more than made it….

.

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Nothing beats it. Cheap ticket prices, intimate surroundings, typically stellar weather.

Baseball at its finest.

Spring training games begin in the “Cactus League” on Wednesday, February 27 with multiple games every day through March 27.

Go here for the full spring training schedule for games in both the Phoenix and Tucson areas.

Spring Training tickets can be purchased online at these sites (tickets by mail, phone, and box office/seating info also available):

Diamondbacks – Tucson Electric Park. $5 – $20
Cubs – Mesa HoHoKam Park. $6 – $24
White Sox – Tucson Electric Park. $5 – $20
Rockies – Tucson Hi Corbett Field. $4 – $17
Royals – Surprise Stadium. $7 – $22
Angels – Tempe Diablo Stadium. $5 – $25
Brewers – Maryvale Baseball Park. $8 – $19
A’s – Phoenix Municipal Stadium. $6 – $25
Padres – Peoria Stadium. $6 – $23
Giants – Scottsdale Stadium. $8 – $25 ($13 – $28 weekends)
Mariners – Peoria Sports Complex. $6 – $23
Rangers – Surprise Stadium. $7 – $22

Technorati Tags: spring training, schedules, Cactus League baseball

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A while back, someone left a comment about the “pine tree” in my blog header and said it didn’t make sense for a Phoenix real estate blog to have a pine tree graphic.

Maybe I’ve been living in Arizona too long, but I thought it was obvious the stylized graphic represents Carnegiea gigantea — the Saguaro cactus.

The saguaro (pronounced sah-wha-roh) is native to, and grows exclusively in part of the Sonoran desert. Perhaps that is why some don’t recognize it — a lot of folks have never seen a saguaro in the wild.

These things get huge. Here’s a photo of me, six feet tall, standing next to a mature Saguaro:

This guy (the cactus, not me) is probably around 125 years old (scientists think they may live up to 200 years) and would weigh close to 10,000 pounds. The “arms” usually appear on cacti that are around 75 years old. This saguaro is roughly 30 feet tall, there are some out there over 50 feet and with 50 arms.

Contrary to popular belief, the saguaro is not endangered. They are very slow growing and extremely slow to propagate, so they are protected by Arizona law. It is illegal to damage, destroy or move a saguaro (you can get permits to transplant and harvest saguaro, but transplanting a specimen like this would be insanely expensive).

So the next time you see our little graphic in the blog header, think big giant Arizona saguaro cactus, not pine tree (though surprisingly to many, northern Arizona is home to reportedly the largest single stand of Ponderosa Pines in North America).

More info from Saguaro National Park.

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It was a stunningly beautiful day in the high Sonoran desert….

I should have put Francy next to one of these saguaro for scale. They are roughly 30 - 35 feet tall, and quite plumped up from recent rains.

Some of the signs had weathered the storms just fine. A few needed to be cleaned off, some bolted back on the sign posts.

Then we came across one sign that ran into the wrong end of a numb skull with a shotgun…

I don't understand what compels some to do this. I guess the thrill of stalking the elusive real estate sign and the glory of the kill does something for these folks. More likely they're such lousy shots they can't hit anything unless it's bolted down and in point blank range…

Oh well, price of doing land business in the desert I suppose.

The recent rains sure greened up the place, and the mud makes for a lot of fun…

Technorati Tags: Sonoran desert

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Donkeys in the Desert!

It’s “Western” by any definition of the word.

The views are spectacular. The wait staff wears goofy cowboy outfits, and the prime food attraction is meat.

It’s not exactly cheap. (Menu is here).

The fry bread and biscuits were delightful. I got the 16 ounce prime rib, and several of us had it in various sizes. It was fine. Nothing spectacular, but perfectly acceptable. My 16 year old son consumed a 32 ounce porterhouse (plus desert). The kid eats an enormous amount of food.

While we certainly enjoyed the company, and the view and ambiance were great, what really set Rustler’s Rooste apart from other dining establishments was the service.

Or more appropriately, the nearly complete lack of it.

We were seated swiftly (get there early, it was jam packed by the time we left), which was good, but the service steadily degraded from that moment on. Just about every example of bad service was present – drinks not filled, AWOL server, dirty plates left behind forever, couldn’t get a desert menu, late check, etc etc. It was right up there with the worst service I’ve ever had.

This reviewer gave it a 3.5  / 5 star rating despite noting:

The extra two services at the table were never removed the entire evening. Clearing of the table was not their forte, as an empty bean pot, and dirty plates and utensils were still around at dessert time.

There were other small annoyances that just kept piling up for us.

I'd hate to see what she ranks 0 - 3 stars…

Given the expense of the meal, I expected far more. This isn’t Jack-In-The-Box folks. With drinks, sides and desert, it’s a 30 buck a meal type of place. Come to think of it, I've had better service at Jack's. Plus I got a cool antenna ball!

Lousy service can ruin any dining experience. It’s been 17 years since I last went to Rustler’s Rooste, and it’ll probably be at least that long before I go back.

Technorati Tags: Rustler's Rooste, Pointe South Mountain, Puyallup, restaurant review

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The Most Asinine Real Estate Blog Post Ever

Right now, someone out there is saying, "Git Land? I don't understand…". 

If you're British, you may be saying a "Git" is slang for a contemptible person.

But I spent 26 of my 46 years in the Great State of Texas, and my parents hail from the thriving metropolises of Tullahoma and Cowan, Tennessee (populations of 18,677 and 1,770 respectively). In those parts, "git" is a variant of "get".  As in, "Git yer hands off my daughter boy", "Yall ain't fixin' to git outta here are ya?" or "Let's git up to the store and git us a six-pack".

So in my lexicon, "Git Land" simply means "Get Land", which <<insert shameless plug here>> we can certainly help you do.

The spiffy new "Freedom plate" comes courtesy of the state of Arizona (well, not "courtesy" exactly — you have to pay extra). Technically, as a dependent of a retired military officer, I am eligible to have Arizona Veterans license plates. While I firmly believe that as I kid I made certain sacrifices for my Dad's career, I do not believe I deserve the honor of displaying a veterans licenses plate since I didn't directly serve in the military. With my Freedom plate, I can show my support for the military and my express my thanks for the freedom I enjoy. Additionally, $17 of the $25 special plate fee goes to the Arizona Veterans Donation Fund, which is used in many ways to help Arizona’s veteran community.

So if you see a Jeep tooling around sporting a GIT LAND plate, honk and yell "Git 'r done!" 

Technorati Tags: Arizona Freedom plate, git land

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Memorial Day 2007

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When it's pushing 115 degrees outside, this is the last thing you want to see…

That would be one of the two air conditioning units that were destroyed by thieves at one of our listings in Wittmann a few days ago. Rising copper prices have lead many of the dregs of society to smash apart $3000 - $5000 A/C units to get at the copper coils, which they then sell for about $50 bucks in order to finance their next fix.

The problem has reached epidemic proportions in many parts of the country. In an effort to fight this in Arizona, the Governor signed HB2314 into law on May 8, 2007. This bill:

imposes new requirements on scrap metal dealers in an attempt to combat widespread metal thefts from construction sites, commercial buildings and other locations.

The restrictions are intended to make it harder for thieves, motivated by high prices for scrap, to anonymously sell stolen wire, air conditioner parts and other material.

State law now requires scrap metal dealers to keep a record of each transaction exceeding $25, logging a description of the metal, the dollar amount paid and identifying information about the seller and the seller's vehicle. Sales of used drink containers are exempt. (source)

These new requirements didn't seem to slow down the bozos responsible for this mess… 

Copper theft isn't just happening in Arizona. Here are 629 current news articles about copper theft.

Rick at Cool Blew A/C Repair suggests considering building a wrought-iron "cage" around AC units, with a door/gate that can be padlocked for access. In remote areas like Wittmann, particularly in a vacant home, this may be a worthwhile investment. 

The price of scrap stainless-steel is also rising, leading to an increase in the theft of beer kegs. Beer companies are realizing, "an industry wide loss of up to $50 million a year", said Jeff Becker, president of the Beer Institute. (note to self, apply for Mr. Becker's job….) This cost is no doubt passed on to consumers, a economic fact I personally find disturbing.

Sheriff Joe's boys were called out to investigate. Hopefully they'll catch these idiots and they can spend some quality time in Tent City, where they'll be wishing they had functional AC…

Wittmann Property 

Technorati Tags: stolen copper, beer kegs, copper theft

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Dear NoDebtMortgage.com: Please Stop Stealing my Content

On Thursday, it was 108 degrees when Kyle Brown forgot his THREE MONTH OLD daughter and left her in his SUV for ALMOST TWO HOURS.

Do you know how hot it gets in a car when it’s 108 outside? Imagine being strapped in a car seat, parked in the sun, windows rolled up, for almost two hours. Hell, I dare anyone in this city to sit in an enclosed car for 15 minutes, much less an hour and 45 minutes. Go ahead, give it a try tomorrow. Park your car in the sun, and at 3:00 in the afternoon, climb on in. Be sure to roll up the windows. Oh, and no water — the baby didn’t have any. See how long you can stand it.

Little Amberlee Elizabeth Brown didn’t have a chance. Her core temperature was 109 when firefighters arrived on the scene. She fought all night, but died Friday morning.

And here come the usual “prevention ideas” from the media — women, put your PURSE in the backseat with the kid. I guess you can’t forget your purse, so when you reach for it, hopefully you are reminded to get your baby too. Put a note on the dashboard — I guess to remind yourself that you are a parent? Clip the garage door opener to the baby seat…

Dear God, do people really need a REMINDER to get their child out of the car???

This is going to sound harsh to some and I’m sure I’ll get emails about it. But this is murder. Call it “negligent homicide” if it makes you feel better. Whatever. I know, I know, the parents are grieving, it’s a tragedy, nothing can ever replace Amberlee. That’s all true. It is a horrific tragedy. But it was entirely preventable and someone needs to go to prison.

Forgetting you have a three month old baby and leaving them in a car in the Phoenix summer is inexcusable. Period.

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We list a lot of land, particularly in the West Valley areas in and around Whispering Ranch, Wittmann and Tonopah. I love it out there. It's gorgeous high Sonoran desert terrain, with majestic mountain views, and lots of critters.

Today we went out to put up a sign on a newly listed parcel near Tonopah (just try finding a sign installer that is willing to go off road and locate a parcel via satellite imagery..) The picture above is a view from the parcel of Saddle Mountain. You can't get much more of a wild western name than "Saddle Mountain"! (and if you saw it from the other side, you'd understand why they call it that)

Whenever we are out that direction, we always check on our other signs as we've had some damaged or destroyed by vehicles, gun fire and theft (why would someone feel compelled to steal a real estate sign?) and now, the elements.

We arrived at one such listing today to be greeted with this:

Apparently it got just a tad bit windy out there. The name rider was blown off and twisted up too. We repaired and replaced as necessary. Who knows what the next desert drive will uncover…

Technorati Tags: Desert real estate, Whispering Ranch, Wittmann, Tonopah

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Shailesh Ghimire is the Arizona Mortgage Guru. Shailesh and his wife Aimee are lenders in Mesa, Arizona — and they are darn good ones. They are in fact, the lenders we've teamed up with to bring you the woefully underutilized "Ask The Lenders" feature on our main site, mentioned here, and linked to in our sidebar (note to self, move that directly to the blog, throw up an image, do something to see if it we can more people to take advantage of the Ghimire's knowledge and willingness to help).

Shailesh has been blogging for quite some time, but in January of this year, the blogging bug bit hard, and since then he's been a very prolific blogger. Shailesh blogs about local, national and even worldwide mortgage/financial news, throws in some humor, and even gives us insight that he lies awake at night thinking about blogging (welcome to blog geekdom!). He also recently began contributing to the excellent Blog Arizona. (note to Shailesh - send us a guest post and we'll put it up here!) He's got great insight to the mortgage world. Highly recommended!

Kelley Koehler down south a bit in Tucson has just this month fired up The Housechick Blog. She's running WordPress on a very slick theme (try dragging the sidebar modules!). Looks like she's already working on getting lender contributors herself, and there is some great local content to be had. (Local to Tucson also sometimes works for local to Phoenix — as in her blog on swap coolers.) She doesn't know this, but I first came across Kelley over a year ago when I thought I had a referral for a Tucson agent. Her real estate website was easy to find, and very well done — as you'd expect from someone with a Systems Engineering degree with a specialty in software systems. Granted it's from U of A, but we'll try not to hold that against her. If Kelley keeps it up, she'll soon have a strong presence in the Arizona real estate blogiverse. 

Check these two out, add them to your feed reader and enjoy!

Technorati Tags: Arizona Mortgage Guru, The Housechick, Shailesh Ghimire, Kelley Koehler, Arizona Real Estate Blogs

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Local Phoenix Blogs - Loads of Them