4th Annual Tucson Classics Car Show

4th Annual Tucson Classics Car Show
A Rotary Club of Tucson Charity Event

SATURDAY OCTOBER 16, 2010

Lots of grass surrounded by trees...A Car Show You'll Love!!

Entry Info:

-1st place in each class recieves a $100 award and trophy.
-Sponsor Award for sponsor favorites.
-Rotary Club of Tucson will award $1,000 and trophy for "Best in Show".
-With each entry you get a chance to win a car or $10,000 in cash raffled off during the show.
-Friday night dinner get-together with entertainment (at $10.00 per person).
-Entertainment all day long and a kid's play area.
-Check out their website- www.tucsonclassicscarshow.com for host hotels with show rates
-Give a hand up to local kids and have a great time too!
-Complimentary morning coffee for each car entered. Breakfest items will be available for purchase.

Located on the lawn at St. Gregory College Preparatory School
Saturday October 16th from 10am to 4pm.
3231 N. Craycroft Rd- Be there... or be square.

www.tucsonclassicscarshow.com 520-440-4503


Now this sounds like fun!

Presentation at Sun City

Friday we three Senior Experts gave a presentation at Sun City for about 50 residents. Margaret Roberts of Adult Care Hunters, Sharon Harn of Sharon Harn Organizers and I talked about what's really happening in our housing market and Tips for Selling. Next presentation is on Thursday the 30th at the Forum. Grant Rd. and Rosemont.

Exciting events in the Tucson area!

VisitingTucson.org presents some great upcoming events that will be happening in Tucson in the near future!

Arizona Restaurant Week in Tucson Sep. 18 - Sep. 26Select Tucson restaurants offer varied three-course, signature dinner menus starting at $19/person during the Arizona Restaurant Association's celebration of the state's culinary diversity.

Charlotte's Web Sep. 22 - Oct. 3Pima Community College Theatre Arts students bring to life the award-winning children's novel about Wilbur the pig and Charlotte the spider at the Proscenium Theatre PCC, West Campus.
Cochise County Fair Sep. 23 - Sep. 26Old-fashioned carnival, with midway games, contests, food and gift vendors, 4-H exhibits at Cochise County Fairgrounds in Douglas.

HoCoFest Music Festival Sep. 24 - Sep. 26Hotel Congress presents over 40 local and national acts; solar-powered entertainment venues; record, family, and eco fairs; a barbecue, a fashion show, and more at Downtown Tucson venues.

Tucson Fashion Week Sep. 24 - Sep. 25Metromix and the Fashion Week Collaborative celebrate Tucson's fashion design, retail, and art with a fashion show at Skrappy's Youth Center to benefit the Tucson Youth Collective.

Apple Annie's Corn Maze Sep. 25 - Oct. 31Apple Annie's Produce and Pumpkins opens 18 acres of corn and more than six miles of pathways for this maze with three levels of difficulty, and interactive "passports" to help people find the way.

10th Desert Museum Butterfly Festival & Plant Sale Sep. 25 - Sep. 26Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum hosts day of fun with activities for the family, including butterfly walks, a plant sale, a puppet show, children's activities and gardening classes throughout the day.

2010 HoCoFest Family Arts Festival Sep. 26Tucson Pima Arts Council and Hotel Congress present family-friendly music and performances, interactivity, food, arts organizations, and more at Downtown Tucson's East End.

Making the Most of It: More trends that relate to the emphasis of utility and livability

Homes Grow Greener

Consumes spend an average of $1,900 each year on utility bills*, so a desire to trim the household budget often goes hand-in-hand with a homeowner's investment in upgrades that increase energy efficiency or water conservation. In many cases, these improvements pay for themselves with savings over time. Some of the most common features built into new homes and and retrofitted into older ones include:

- Insulated exterior doors
- Low-emissivity (low-e) windows
- Energy-efficient appliances, lighting and HVAC systems
- Programmable thermostats
- Tankless water heaters
- Solar panels
- Extra insulation
- Water-saving plumbing fixtures and appliances

*Source: U.S. Department of Energy

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Average Size of a new Single Family House in the United States*

1950: 983 square feet
1970: 1500 square feet
1990: 2050 square feet
2007: 2479 square feet
2008: 2473 square feet
2009: 2422 square feet

*U.S. Census Bureau

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OFFICE Wins Most Popular Specialty Room*

Nationwide surveys show that many homeowners now want fully functional residential spaces that are thoughtfully designed to match their lifestyle that cost less to maintain over time. Ask your real estate professional if you would like to know which specific trends are most evident in your local area, especially if you are planning a renovation project that could impact your home's resale value.

40% Home Office
18% Mud Room
16.2% Media Room
6.2% Guest Suites
4.3% Fitness Room
3.3% Hobby/Game Room
11.9% Other

*AIA Home Design Trends Survey

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Options Create Opportunities

Many builders have incorporated flexible spaces that give buyers the option to dedicate a room to meet their specific needs and preferences or to serve multiple purposes. For example, a formal dining room calls for a chandelier and open access, whereas double doors and built-ins can easy create a private home office or library in the same space. It is now also more common for the owners of older homes to alter their floor plans to work better with the way they live.

Now here's a GOOD service..

PROPERTY CHECK
"Protecting your Property...While you're away"

Serving you with over 20 years of property oversight experience. Call now to see how I can make your time away from home - a relaxing one.

Mike Sheldon
520-870-6113
Email: Sheldon1125@gmail.com

Basic Service includes:
-Checking your house and property on a regular basis
-Picking up flyers and newspapers
-Ensuring that yard services and housekeeping services are being performed
-Watering indoor plants
-Adjusting thermostats
-Monitoring sprinker systems and plumbing
-In additon, making sure security systems are set and windows and doors locked. Rotate lights and adjust window treatments to give your house a looked-in look.
-If you are gone for a long period of time, special services to prepare your home for your extended stay and take special steps to make sure everything in your home is kept in good condition.
-Oversee your pool to ensure that your pool company is servicing the pool as schueduled, empty filter baskets, monitor the water level, add water if needed, and perform a visual check of the pool's condition.
-Additional services are available such as special preperation on day of depature on a trip and preperation for your return, getting carpets cleaning, coordinating home mainenance and repair contractors, and even overseeing home improvement jobs.

Property CHECK has a broad range of servces and welcomes the opportunity to customize a package to meet your individual needs, no matter how complex, unusual, big, or small.

Gem Show in September!

Hello my friends! Did you know there is a Tucson gem show in September? Yes, and even though it is smaller than the Februrary show, it is a good time for Tucsonans to shop! 'A Bead Circus' are a part of this show and they are OPEN TO THE PUBLIC, no worries about re-sale licenses and documentation, just come on down and get a taste of gem show without all the congestion of February.

Please feel free to drop in between now and Sunday 9-5 at A Bead Circus, 3301 E. Pennsylvania Street, Just one block north of the Holidome (Holiday Inn on Palo Verde). The cross streets are Randolph Way and Ajo, then head south to Michigan and follow the big signs to the showroom. Trust me, you will have a fun experience and recieve all the gem show special pricing.

They have 'tons' of beads, stones from around the world, glass beads from Czech Rebulic, Swarovski crystals and pearls, Chinese crystal and shimmer glass, ‎400 colors of Japanese seed beads, Czech fire polish, vintage glass and lucite beads from West Germany, lampwork beads from India, tools, wire, findings, and supplies."Everything you need to bead." Since they don't own their own building, and are not cramped up in a booth with other vendors, you'll find plentiful parki...ng and a spacious showroom to browse to your heart's content.

SIZING DOWN TO A SMALLER HOME

Come and listen to 3 experts speak at one of the leading Retirement Communities in Tucson with Independent, Assisted Living and Memory
Care available.

The Fountains located at 2001 W Rudasill off (Orange Grove & Rudasill).
Call Carleen Robinson for reservations. 520-797-2001. 9 a.m. on Thursday Sept. 9th.

Sherie Broekema @ Long Realty Co. will give "Tips on Selling in Today's Market" and Real Estate Statistics.
Sharon Harn of Sharon Harn Organizing will talk about organizing your belongings so it is easy to move.
Margaret Roberts of Adult Care Hunters will talk about all the ways a Placement Advisor can help you select the right home for you, from budgeting, location, size and more.

Come and have a Tour of this lovely community and hear 3 great speakers. Be sure to RSVP to Carleen Robinson at 520-797-2001

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September 1, 2010
A Dream House After All
By KARL E. CASE
Boston
IF you read the coverage of the latest figures on the sales of existing homes from the National Association of Realtors, you may well have come to the conclusion that the American dream is dead. It is indeed worrisome that sales in July were down 25 percent from a year ago.
But a little perspective is in order.
First, the bad news. What has happened in the housing markets since 2005 is a catastrophe that may take years for our economy to recover from.
Anyone who believed that home prices never fall has learned a tough lesson. The Case-Shiller price indexes released on Tuesday suggest that since their national peak in 2006, home prices have fallen by 29 percent. Some areas of course look better than others. Las Vegas is down 57 percent from its peak and Phoenix is down 51 percent. On the other hand, Boston is down just 13.5 percent and Dallas only 4.2 percent.
The effect on household wealth has been huge. Data maintained by the Federal Reserve show that the value of residential real estate directly held by households fell to $16.5 trillion in the first quarter of 2010, down from $22.9 trillion in 2006. It has yet to be determined who will end up bearing those losses. The decline in wealth has substantially reduced consumption, stifling the economy.
Depressing, yes — but the end of a dream? Not exactly. I have never quite understood what the American dream really means when it comes to housing. For some people, it means having a solid and fairly safe long-term investment that is coupled with the satisfaction of owning the house they live in. That dream is still alive.
Others, however, think the American dream is owning property that appreciates by 30 percent a year, making a house into a vehicle for paying bills. But those kinds of dreams have become nightmares for the millions of foreclosed property owners who have found themselves sliding toward bankruptcy.
But for people with a more realistic version of the American dream, buying a house now can make a lot of sense. Think of it as an investment. The return or yield on that investment comes in two forms. First, it provides what is called “net imputed rent from owner-occupied housing.” You live in the house and so it provides you with a real flow of valuable services. This part of the yield is counted as part of national income by the Commerce Department. It is the equivalent of about a 6 percent return on your investment after maintenance and repair, and it is constant over time in real terms. Consider it this way: when Enron went belly up, shareholders ended up with nothing, but when the housing market drops, homeowners still have a house. And this benefit is tax-free.
The second part of the yield on investment in a house is the capital gain you receive if it appreciates and you sell the house. Gains are excluded from taxation if the property is a primary residence and the gain is less than $250,000 for a single filer or $500,000 for a married couple filing jointly.
Consider a few other bonuses of buying a home today. You can deduct the interest you pay on the mortgage. Interest rates are about as low as they can get. And, don’t forget, home prices are down by 30 percent on average from the peak. The mortgage-interest deduction and the tax-free income from housing cost the government at least $200 billion a year.
During this recession the government has been doing even more on behalf of the American dream. It offered a tax credit of $8,000 to first-time buyers, and eventually $6,500 to other qualified buyers. Not only did the Federal Reserve continue to keep the short-term interest rates it sets at essentially zero, it purchased $1.4 trillion in mortgage-backed securities so that lenders could keep mortgage rates low.
Do the math. Four years ago, the monthly payment on a $300,000 house with 20 percent down and a mortgage rate of about 6.6 percent was $1,533. Today that $300,000 house would sell for $213,000 and a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage with 20 percent down would carry a rate of about 4.2 percent and a monthly payment of $833. In addition, the down payment would be $42,600 instead of $60,000.
IN fact, until about two months ago, it looked as if potential buyers were beginning to understand all these advantages and that the market was turning around. By May 2009, housing prices had stopped falling in a majority of the metropolitan areas surveyed in the Case-Shiller index. Sales were also up. In 2008, 4.9 million existing homes were sold. In 2009, the figure rose to 5.2 million; last November, sales hit an annual rate of 6.5 million (a boom-time number). Even new construction showed a pulse.
So, what happened to kill the momentum? For one thing, the first-time buyer credit expired at the end of April. And some longer-term demographic changes may also be affecting the housing market.
In the next several years, the Census Bureau and other demographers project that the number of American households will increase by 1 to 1.5 million each year. With new construction sagging, we should be experiencing a tightening market with low vacancy, as has occurred in every housing cycle since World War II. But instead of falling, vacancy rates remain at near-record levels.
My guess is that the number of households has not been growing as much as projected and may even be falling. We won’t know for certain until the 2010 census is complete. This figure depends on many factors: immigration, emigration, the age distribution of the population and the number of young adults staying at home or doubling up. Unemployment is high, and we know that without jobs people tend to move in with Mom and Dad. And we don’t make immigration easy, even for those with advanced degrees who would be most likely to enter the housing market. None of this bodes well for a quick recovery.
While demographic trends are uncertain, one important reason for the recent downturn is clear: The steady drip of bad news about the economy has sapped the confidence of buyers, sellers and lenders. And there is no understating the importance of expectations and confidence in this industry.
Real estate sales are unlike other financial transactions. You can place a rough inherent value on a stock or bond by looking at fundamentals: a company’s profits, price-to-earnings ratios, quality of its products and management, and so forth. But a house is worth what someone is willing to pay for it. That’s a very personal, emotional decision.
And emotions can change on a dime. To try to track moods and expectations as part of our Case-Shiller data, the economist Robert Shiller and I send out 2,000 questionnaires each year to recent homebuyers in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Milwaukee and Boston, asking them what they think is likely to happen to the value of their houses over the next year.
In 2005, respondents felt on average that prices would rise 9.6 percent. In 2008, they anticipated a small drop. In 2009, the figure turned positive again in all four cities, with an average anticipated gain of 2.2 percent. We have just tabulated this spring’s survey, which found that homebuyers anticipate a gain of 5.2 percent in the next year.
In a given year, the number of completed sales is about 4 percent to 5 percent of the housing stock. Thus it doesn’t take a change in mood of a large number of buyers to change the overall direction of the market.
This financial crisis has made us all too aware that we live in a Catch-22 world: the performance of the housing market drives the economy, and the performance of the economy drives the housing market. But housing has perhaps never been a better bargain, and sooner or later buyers will regain faith, inventories will shrink to reasonable levels, prices will rise and we’ll even start building again. The American dream is not dead — it’s just taking a well-deserved rest.