Patrick Randles

I was visiting with Tucson Realtor Roxy Sedano at an Open House this afternoon and she asked if I saw the owl in the entry. Being curious, I opened the front door and she pointed out a small owl, sitting in a nook under the patio. I whipped out my cell phone and took the picture.

Unfortunately, the picture doesn't do it justice. This is known as the Ferruginous Pygmy Owl. It lives in Northern Mexico and the very far South portion of the United States. For several years it was considered an endangered species and it certain parts of unincorporated Pima County, Pygmy Owl surveys were done to determine if land could be developed. They typically make homes in Saguaro Cacti.

In the 32 years I have lived here, this is the first Pygmy Owl that I have been able to see up close. That ranks up there with the number of Gila Monsters (1) I have run into that wasn't in a cage at the Desert Museum.

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Patrick Randles

(520)850-7485

Sunstreet Mortgage, LLC

Tucson, AZ 85718

As you may be able to tell from the time of this post, I couldn't sleep, so here I am again on Active Rain. As I slowly build a list of blogs to which I subscribe, I started thinking about the people writing them, where they live and how they got there. As Americans, we have many diverse cultures and I would be interested to hear about the backgrounds of some other folks out there in the Rain. I'll start with a little bit about my family.

The largest part of me is from Norway. My mother came over on a boat from Norway to New York in 1959. She remains a citizen of Norway but resides in Tucson, AZ. We grew up eating Norwegian food such as Lefse (potato bread) and lots of fish. No, I am not a fan of lutefisk (cod in lye).

I spent the summer after my senior year in high school in Southern Norway (near Tonsberg), staying at the home where my grandparents lived. It is incredibly beautiful and the fishing was outstanding.

My grandfather was a whaler. In elementary school, I would bring whale's teeth for show and tell. I understand this is no longer considered "politically correct."

On my Father's side, we are Pennsylvania Dutch and Irish. These people had been in the United Sates since sometime in the 1800's and had farmsteads in Oklahoma and Texas. We did not celebrate any German or Irish holidays so I can't say that I feel any real affinity towards either of these cultures. I was given a "good Irish name": Patrick Michael Randles. I could fit right in at a pub in Dublin (said with an Irish accent).

OK, I have been known to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. During the Great Potato Famine in the 1800's, over 2 million people left Ireland. I guess that explains why there are more people of Irish descent in the United States than there are in Ireland. One our next visit to Europe, I will be sure to spend a little time in Ireland and stop by the Randles Hotel in Killarney. Can I get a free room?

I think these three combined equal Northern European Mutt. My wife is Scottish/Irish/ German so my children will have more of the same. Sounds pretty typical of an American but I have nothing else to go on. I would be interested to hear a little about the rest of you, if you have the time.

Have a great weekend!

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Patrick Randles

Sunstreet Mortgage, LLC

Tucson, AZ 85718

(520)850-7485

Pusch Ridge Trail

Who taught my six year old to pose?

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Patrick Randles

Sunstreet Mortgage, LLC

Tucson, AZ 85718

(520)850-7485

Five years after purchasing our home, I am doing some light reading on Labor Day: The CC&Rs for our homeowner's association (HOA). Why, you ask? I happened to google CC&Rs and found an interesting page on Wikipedia. Here is the link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CC&Rs

The CC&Rs were designed to protect the neighboorhood, the developer as well as the individual rights of the homeowners. Most of these items make good sense to me, but others will surely disagree.

Here are the highlights:

1. No large commercial vehicles

2.No livestock

3. No clotheslines

4. No mining

5. No illegal enterprises

6. Prior approval is required for most changes inclsuding exterior window coverings, antennas and so forth. Nothing unsightly as determined by the architectural review board.

7. A reference to "overnight parking on the street isn't really allowed.

Here are a few items that I question:

1. No basketball hopps without prior approval from the architectural committee. Really?

2. Your swingset must be made a specific style and material (wood). I got the letter on this one. My metal swingset for the kids is illegal and needs to go?

3. All lawns must be mowed and fertilized on a timely basis. This seems a little arbitrary. Is someone going to peek over the back wall to make sure I don't have crabgrass as well?

Every neighborhood has at least one of these, don't they?

But now to get to the real issue for folks in Arizona. As of 1996, if you purchased a home in a planned community, the CC&Rs may have eliminated your "Homestead Exemption".

What does this mean?

The Homestead Exemption protects up to $150,000 of the equity in your home from creditors. If you owe someone money and have less than this amount of equity in your home, you would be protected from having a lien placed on your property. They may place the lien elsewhere, but not on your home. So in AZ, the HOAs wanted to be able to enforce the CC&Rs and by eliminating the exemption, they can now place a lien on your property if you don't abide by the rules and so can any other creditor.

I can't say that I was aware of this when I purchased a home within an association and it comes as a surprise to me. I am going to follow up on this to see if it does apply in my neighborhood. In the future, I will be sure to complete the due diligence and debate the pros and cons of living withing the"protections" of an HOA before we enter into a contract.

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Patrick Randles

Sunstreet Mortgage, LLC

Tucson, AZ 85718

(520)850-7485

Photo courtesy of Kate Shepard, Flickr

There are lots of first time home buyers in the market. With the availability of an $8000 tax credit, low interest rates and reasonably priced homes, buyers are looking for the deal of a lifetime. Up until now, I have not been that excited about buyers making offers on short sales, but now it is time to make you folks aware of some of the pitfalls as time is running short on qualifying for the $8000 tax credit.

The main issue is the lack of a quick response. If you put in an offer sometime in September, you could still be waiting for a response in early November, not leaving enough time for everyone to do their job and close the deal before the tax credit expires.

Here is a few of the things I have seen happen with short sales in the last year:

1. Out of state buyer tries for months to buy a short sale. He needs to be down here for a work transfer on a set date. He backed off the short sale route and bought a house, closing in 17 days. A little sticky.

2. A military officer living in Guam is scheduled to move to Arizona. In July, he made an offer on a short sale in Tucson, hoping to have a home when he got here at the beginning of September. It is the 5th of September and we still have not received a response. I hear base housing gets the job done.

3. We get a contract on a short sale in Dove Mountain after a long wait. The seller had not made a payment in over 6 months. After a consultation with an attorney, the seller backs out of the deal in order to see if the bailout will help the cause.

4. Buyer puts in an offer on a short sale. 6 weeks later, no response and the buyer gets transferred by his employer, Caterpillar, to Illinois. This was about a year ago. He has since relocated on a permanent basis. Not that I would want someone to buy a house and then have to turn around and sell it, but the point is that this deal could have been closed way before he ever got word about the transfer.

I think you get the picture. If you have all of the time in the world to buy, short sales can be a great way to purchase a home below market value. If you need to relocate or have a strict timeline (think :Tax Credit Expires!) maybe you should avoid this route.

Happy House Hunting!

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Patrick Randles

Sunstreet Mortgage, LLC

Tucson, AZ 85718

(520)850-7485