Tucson Real Estate Blogs » 2007

Tucson Real Estate & Golf Properties

Douglas Trudeau , Assoc. Broker
Prudential Foothills Real Estate
64 N. Harrison Road, Suite 160
Tucson , AZ 85748
Mobile: 520-954-2209
Contact Me

Archive for August, 2007

Affordable Housing - Housing America 2007 Petition

August 21st, 2007 categories: Real Estate News

Inman News is always a good source for the latest in real estate news. Inman’s article Blog petition promotes affordable housing is worth while reading. I support the effort and getting the word out to help create more affordable housing.

My son and I tried our hand at affordable housing. The construction costs kept going up. The major problem is greedy land owners not willing to sell their lot for a reasonable price. A house we were building then selling for $150,000 was ending up costing more than that to build. Suddenly we were forced into a $200,000 home almost over night. Add to that city sales tax of 2%; as if they didn’t get enough on the taxes paid for materials bought, building fees, sewer connection, and impact fees. The last one we sold cost us $5,000 out of pocket to sell. Our dream of providing affordable housing went poof. As did the dream of many potential homeowners.

Through my company, Long Realty, I donate a substantial amount of money to Habitat For Humanity. That’s one way of helping. Plus many of the Realtors in our office go out to help build the homes we support.

Affordable housing is a valuable need to many needy families. Any support anyone can give will be rewarded in the years after in my book.

Authored by Doug Trudeau | Discussion: No Comments »

El Rio Golf Course Rich In History

August 20th, 2007 categories: Tucson Golf Courses

On Sunday my wife told me no Open Houses today, go play golf with your son and daughter-in-law. How many golfers envy me for such a wonderful wife? So we set out to El Rio Golf Course. Our son played his best game ever, our daughter-in-law played better than I’ve seen her play as well, and I had my worse score in 3 years. Plan a fade, and straight into the trees, plan straight and fade into the next fairway. Go figure. 75 yards out and on for a one putt. 20 yards out and over the green into the sand. Lesson learned, don’t lay off for a month and a half then go out to play without even hitting the driving range. Saturday morning practices I’ll see you this weekend. All said, two out of three for the day wasn’t bad. We managed to finish in 3 hours and 21 minutes.

Rumor has it that Tucson’s first grass golf course was offered to the public in 1929 as the El Rio Country Club. The official year of the El Rio Country Club was 1934. Operated ad a Country Club until 1968. El Rio Golf Course was home to the first Tucson Open in 1945, ending in as host for a national tournament in 1962. El Rio is a course rich with history.

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Authored by Doug Trudeau | Discussion: 1 Comment »

The Herd Mentality Gone Wild

August 19th, 2007 categories: Real Estate News

Zorro An Interesting post from Inman News, Who Was That Masked Analyst, lends to the credibility of the herd mentality creating panic. I admit, the mortgage industry is going through a rough time. Never said it wasn’t. More blood will be shed before the war is over. The strong will survive, the weak will fall, and there will be some collateral damage in the interim. Some markets will be harder hit than others. Responsible reporting and commenting will help to curtail unnecessary loss of bystanders who get trampled by the herd.

Sinking Ship This story is a good example of the old adage, “Lose lips sink ships.” Not so much that secrets are being revealed as much as thoughtless comment without consideration of repercussion. To keep the market going, buyers need to buy, the secondary market needs to proceed, and the wheel needs to continue to turn. Lessons should be learned, and history not repeated.

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Authored by Doug Trudeau | Discussion: 7 Comments »

Who Wants To Know About Tucson Firsts?

August 16th, 2007 categories: Tucson News & Events

Javalina Press published a book authored by Larry Cox titled The Book of Tucson Firsts. There are some interesting facts and historical facts for every one. Everything from the first red light district to the first official Catholic Church in Tucson. Some of what you can expect.

Air conditioning finally arrived to Tucson in 1930 at the Fox Theatre.
The earliest mission in the Tucson area was San Xavier del Bac in 1692.
The first Catholic Church in Tucson itself was in 1863.
During Easter of 1914 100 golfers tested the first nine holes of the “skin course,” Tucson Country Club.
In 1929 the first grass golf course opened in Tucson, the El Rio Country Club.
Veterans Hospital was opened in 1928.

You will find additional interesting trivia about Tucson throughout the book.

Authored by Doug Trudeau | Discussion: No Comments »

First Magnus Falls Prey

August 16th, 2007 categories: Tucson Real Estate

The Arizona Star reported that First Magnus halts loans. Falling prey to the mortgage debacle that is effecting availability of home loans across the nation. Its getting ugly out there. It looks like everyone is panicking about the sky is falling. We went through similar in the 1980’s with S&L’s closing. Pygmalion effect is at work. If enough of the herd believe, it becomes reality. Spook one and the whole heard panics, changes direction in a mad rush, and trampling the weak or less fortunate.

A friend explained it in layman’s terms. When people feel there is a dollar tomorrow to replace the one the spend today, they will spend it. If they feel that there is no dollar to replace it, they hold on to it. That is what is happening on a much larger scale. The secondary market for mortgage loans is in a panic that they may lose money. Leaving primary lenders with loans and no money to replace them. There is money out there, it just isn’t moving.

The wheel is grinding toward a halt. I say, get the wheel turning again. Stimulate the housing market to support the economy. Stop the panic. Those who live with negativity are miserable and drag the rest with them. Enough doom and gloom. Lets see some positive news. Lets report on the positive side. Lets stimulate a market that will impact on everyone. Kinda like the movie Play It Forward. Go out and spend that dollar to get the wheel turning.

Authored by Doug Trudeau | Discussion: 2 Comments »

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