Patrick Randles

The Catalina golf course at Omni Tucson National is a favorite of locals. It was the long time host of the PGA's Tucson Open until the event was finally removed from the schedule. The Accenture Match Play is now hosted in Tucson at the Ritz Carlton in Marana. Personally, this is my favorite course in Tucson, but as a member of the golf club, I am biased.

Here are my thoughts on the golf course:

Layout- I think the layout is a 9 out of 10. The course plays 5700 yards from the ladies tees, 6610 yards from the men's tees and the championship tees are 7262 yards. The course is more of a traditional, tree lined course than almost any you will find in Tucson with the exception of Oro Valley Country Club and Tucson Country Club. As the story goes, Johnny Miller almost shot 59 on the course when it was relatively new. Mr. Nanini, the owner at the time, added a ton of bunkers and elevated greens on over half of the holes to prevent such a thing from happening. I would consider this a very challenging course particularly from the back tees.

Among my favorite holes are #4, #9 and #18. If you can par these three, you should be in good shape. See a picture of #4 and #18 below.

This is a 165 yard par 3 that plays over a pond. John Daly once took an 11 on the hole during the Chrysler Classic of Tucson. I don't think he made the cut, but he always was a fan favorite in Tucson.

#18 is a 465 yard par four. There is a lake on the right and another on the left. Professionals and amateurs alike all know that the match is never over at Tucson National until you play 18. For many years, it was ranked in the top 5 of the toughest finishing holes on the PGA tour.

Condition- Considering it was 104 degrees out, this course is in fantastic shape. I give it 8.5 out of 10 only because there are a few bald spots around the #7 green. The rough is several inches thick and can be brutal. The greens are rolling about 10.5 on the stemp meter. The bunkers have sand (a rarity at some local course) and are raked daily. The tee boxes look good as well.

Amenities- We were greeted in the parking lot, the pro shop has been moved up front and has beautiful hardwood floors as well as being stocked with top drawer apparel and equipment. We saw the beverage cart 5 or 6 times and our clubs got wiped down after the round. I would give it an 8 out of 10 if only for the reason that we would have liked a ranger to visit with the group in front of us to speed up play. The bar/restaurant (Legends) has also been remodeled and has lots of memorabilia from tournaments past.

Prices are all over the board depending on whether you use an on-line service, are a hotel guest or are playing with a member. My guests played for $25 since it was after 12 o'clock. $40 in the morning for guest of a member during the summer months. If you are considering visiting Tucson for golf or relaxation, the hotel is offering some fantastic stay and play packages right now. (www.TucsonNational.com)

I golfed with a couple of buddies including Tucson Realtor (and triathlete) Jeff Ell. Considering he golfs about twice a year, his swing and setup really looked like he has worked with a pro and played for a long time. Below is a picture of Jeff in action on the #2 hole.

As always, we had a great time on the links. Anytime you get to play a PGA course with good company is a great day to me!

If you are going to be in Tucson, and want to hit the links, feel free to contact me. I'm sure I will be ready to play.

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Patrick Randles

Sunstreet Mortgage

Tucson, AZ 85718

(520)850-7485

A new program for mortgage assistance is now available in Pima County.
Details can be found at www.yourwayhomeaz.com. Here are the basics:

1.22% of the purchase price is a 2nd mortgage with no payment and zero
interest. After 5,10 or 15 years, if the buyer is still living there,
the debt will be forgiven (depends on the amount). Buyer must have 3%
into the deal (2% can be in the form of a gift from a relative).

2.strict payment to income ratio of 31% and 43% total debt load

3.max price $316,250 (Pima County)

4. 2 months PITI in reserves (after down payment of 3%)

5.max income is roughly $50,000 annual for an individual and $69,000
for a family of four

6.must be primary residence

7.must be a foreclosed property and buyer will purchaset the home at the
lesser of the agreed upon price or 99% of the appraised value.


This is not a program intended to help a marginal buyer qualify for a
home, but to get qualified buyers off the fence and into a home.
This is not specifically intended for first time buyers.

There is $20,000,000 in this fund for all of AZ. This will translate into roughly 550
people in AZ receiving this benefit.

So when I think about this, for folks who qualify this is incredible. It blows me away. A first time buyer could ring the bell on this one. As an example: Buyer agrees to a price of $150,000 and it appraises for that amount. The deal must be renogotiated (or voided) at a sales price of $148,500. Client puts $4,500 down plus costs. He makes mortgage payments based on a 75% loan to value or $112,500 without mortgage insurance. After the first of the year, the buyer gets $8,000 back from the IRS (assuming a zero tax liability otherwise) and after 10 years, the 2nd mortgage is forgiven if the buyer stays in the house. Then add the possibility that he or she could be buying at or near the bottom of the market and this is the deal of a lifetime. After 10 years, the house could easily be worth $225,000 and he or she could owe under $90,000. For many folks, this could be one heck of a start to their retirement nest egg considering the amount of the initial investment. Think about who you know that this could work for and educate them on the program. As Yakov from the 80's comedy show would say, "What a Country!".

______________________

Patrick Randles

Sunstreet Mortgage, LLC

Tucson, AZ

(520)850-7485

Photo courtesy of Marshall Astor, Flickr

Talking with agents recently, there seems to be a recurring theme. First time buyers that are waiting for something. What is there to wait for? For a multitude of reasons, I believe now is the time to buy in Tucson, AZ. Here they are.

1. Rates- We still have rates right around 5%. People in the bond business are telling us to expect rates to go up before the end of the year.

2. $8000 tax credit- Yes. This is a credit. Not a deduction. A deduction gets subtracted from your adjusted gross income. A credit reduces your tax liability dollar for dollar. This is HUGE! Ends December 1st.

3. In Tucson, 2 months ago, the average selling price was right around $190,000. That is comparable with prices from 5 years ago. Since then, the average sales price has crossed $200,000. We may have just hit the bottom. 3 months from now, your $200,000 home could be $215,000.

4. Selection- This is the big one in my mind. There are lots of homes in the $100,000 to $200,000 price range. Come October and November, there will be thousands of first time buyers trying to scoop up a deal. There is only so much inventory. You could get left paying too much for your first home because you got caught in a bidding war with several other parties in the same situation.

5. Short sales- response times are commonly 30 plus days. 30 days for a response and 30 (45?) days to close doesn't leave much time to ponder the options if you get started in late September.

The Federal Government may choose to extend this tax credit but I wouldn't bet on it. $8000 giveaways can only go on for so long. If you are looking for an investment property, it is my recommendation that you wait until after the tax credit has been reduced or ended. That way, you aren't competing with the same number of buyers and your power to purchase is at a premium. If you are looking to purchase your first home in the Tucson area, call your agent this week. If you don't know one, call me and I will get you lined up with a professional. Happy House Hunting!

_________________

Patrick Randles

Sunstreet Mortgage

Tucson, AZ

(520)850-7485

For those of you that don't know, Torreon is a golf course community just outside of Show Low, AZ off of Highway 77. All of the homes are cabin style properties from roughly 1200 square feet to 6,000 square feet. They have 2 golf courses that both go up to 7100 yards and are very challenging. I played the Cabin course in July while we were on vacation.

Layout- 7.5 of 10. The course is at 5000 feet elevation and is in the trees. There are lots of bunkers, waste areas and lakes. I really enjoyed the layout, but I think i would hit 3 wood off the tee a few more times if I were to play it again.

Condition-7 of 10. The greens are bent grass and very fast. Bunkers were raked. The rough was about 4 inches deep and would really take some practice to get comfortable.

Amenities- 8 of 10. They have it all and they don't charge extra for the yardage book (or sheet in this case). We saw the beverage cart several times during the round and there is a snack shop at the turn. Player services visited with us several times during the round and it wasn't because of my pace of play. I was impressed. If someone had wiped the clubs when we finished, I would have given this a 9.

Scenery-8.5 of 10. Trees, lakes, streams, grass and some really good looking "log cabins", if they can be called that. Plus, the temperature was about 15 degrees cooler than Tucson.

I thoroughly enjoyed this course and the property in general. They have a bunch of rentals available and a very kid friendly family center. There was a trout pond for fishing, playground, game room, tennis courts, basketball and two golf holes for the kids to enjoy.

The golf course beat me up a bit as I shot 87, but I would love to have another go at it. Property prices go from around $170,000 to up into the millions. If you are in the Show Low area, take a few minutes and drive over there to check it out. You won't be disappointed.

__________________

Patrick Randles

SUNSTREET Mortgage, LLC

Tucson, AZ

Call me at (520) 850-7485

I found the June 2009 real estate statistics for Tucson more positrive than any we have seen this year.

1.Our agents sold 1139 units. That is the highest volume since the summer of 2007. Great!

2.Average sales price -hit a low of $192,315 in April and has come up from there. The last time the average was below $192,000 was February of 2004. June's average sale price was just under $209,000.

3.Pending contracts are also up substantially over a year ago (951 vs 1432).

While I recognize that we tend to sell the most homes during this part of the year, I think this is a positive trend. The fact that we were at 2004 home prices for a month and then started back up may also be a good sign that the bottom has been hit. Clearly the most activity has been in lower end homes, but personally, I really enjoy working with first time buyers. They always appreciate the help!

With low rates and the $8000 tax credit for 1st time homebuyers, I would expect the market to gain some momentum as we move into the fall.