**Mesa, Arizona Real Estate** Teri Ellis, Broker

Since I had not yet availed myself of the opportunity to travel on our Light Rail from Mesa to Phoenix, hubby and I decided to take another day trip! On November 11, Veterans' Day, we boarded the Light Rail in Mesa at Dobson and Main. I love to take day trips to better appreciate the beautiful Phoenix Valley. I wanted to stop by the Tempe Farmers Market, walk along Mill Avenue in Tempe, and enjoy the sights of downtown Phoenix all of the way to the end of the line and back.

The price of an all-day ticket is very reasonable - I am thinking for both of us - $3.50. We purchased our tickets at Safeway in East Mesa. There were very few people traveling, and we enjoyed seeing the ongoing Veterans' Day parades in Tempe and in Central Phoenix. It was so cool! The trip took about 30-40 minutes to the end of the line at the Metro Center - 19th Avenue. We changed trains and headed back!

Since I grew up in Phoenix, I loved traveling through downtown Phoenix and being able to see how "modern" Phoenix has become. The Light Rail route is so nicely designed and maintained, there is a feeling that I could get off at any of the stations and feel "safe." We passed by a Phoenix icon, The Westward Ho, a skyscraper hotel located on Central Avenue built in 1928 - famous in the "day" and the tallest building in Phoenix until the year 1960. Anyone who has seen Alfred Hitchcock's movie, Pschyo, will remember that it was filmed in downtown Phoenix in 1960 though the hotel in the scenes was the Jefferson Hotel.

[As a child, my mom would drop us off in downtown Phoenix to watch movies, and we got in for a quarter.] ;-)

Then, there's my high school, Phoenix Union, located in downtown Phoenix along Van Buren - which has been torn down now; however, the memories are still very fresh of the "good old days"! Very nostalgic for me. The City has certainly "grown" up.

There is more to this story - I'll share photos of Mill Avenue, where we ate, and more photos in another post.

Now that the weather has cooled down, my husband and I decided to check out our Mesa Farmers’ Market Saturday morning - checking out farmers' markets is one of my favorite things to do. Mesa is also celebrating its Old West Days Festival yesterday (November 7) and today (November 8).

Shoot outs at the Mesa Old West Days

There were shootouts, people dressed in their “old west” garb, and plenty of food. Rides on the train for little ones, jewelry booths, and a wide assortment of opportunities to purchase goodies or just walk and enjoy the music and the sights.

Winter visitors are back!! These events continue until May when visitors return to their cooler climates. There are plenty of these Farmers’ Markets, festivals, craft shows, and celebrations going on all winter.

 Farmers' Market and Mesa Celebration of Old West Days

It was a balmy 78 degrees yesterday morning around  11:30, and we stopped by and tried out the homemade tamales. LOVE tamales! We purchased six, and will be having them for dinner soon. The Tamale Store is located in north Phoenix, but you can call and order your tamales, or go online at www.thetamalestore.com, and pick them up at the farmers’ markets in town. I do recommend them.

The McDonald Street Market is located in the center of Old Mesa at McDonald and Main. I’ve included a link to their website which provides dates, times, and other useful information for those who like to keep up on the local news.  So - all of you wanting to find things to do this winter, just stop by now and again for an update to the "happenings" in Mesa, Arizona!!

What I did this summer! Catchy title doncha think? I actually took some time “away” from blogging, commenting, and working in real estate “24-7” and enjoyed some down time and alone time with my husband in Show Low, Arizona, a wonderful little town located in the White Mountains just north and east of Mesa, Arizona 140 miles.

I thought I would share just "some" of the things I chose to do during my down time, along with some photos: I learned to knit, played golf, ate, rested, lounged on the porch and read, read, read.

Some sights of interest along our way to Show Low! We pass through Superior, Miami, and Globe, mining towns in eastern Arizona. Then, as we head north to Show Low, we pass through the Salt River Canyon which is an amazing drive and has spectacularly beautiful scenic views.. As a child, I recall driving that area with a HUGE amount of trepidation....now, the roads are wider, passing lanes, etc.

There are many, many wonderful places to visit in Arizona. I've shared many photographs and tours in the past, and will continue to do so.

As described in Wikepedia: "Show Low is a city in Navajo County, Arizona, United States. It lies on the Mogollon Rim in east central Arizona, at an elevation of 6,400 feet (1,951 m). The city was established in 1870 and incorporated in 1953. According to 2007 Census Bureau estimates, the population was 11,763.[1]

“According to the legend, the city was named after a marathon poker game between C.E. Cooley and Marion Clark. The two men decided there was not enough room for both of them in their settlement. The two men agreed to let a game of cards decide who was to move. According to the tale, Clark said, "If you can show low, you win." Cooley turned up the deuce of clubs (the lowest possible card) and replied, "Show low it is." The stakes were a 100,000 acre (400 km²) ranch. Show Low's main street is named "Deuce of Clubs" in remembrance.

In 2002, a large forest fire, the Rodeo-Chediski fire, threatened the city and forced an evacuation. The city is near extensive forests, and in normal times is a popular recreational area."

Yes, I’m a huge fan of Arizona and, especially, those places I can visit easily from my home base in Mesa, Arizona.

I posted a blog a year ago about fissures "appearing in and around Maricopa and Pinal County" and surrounding areas, including Queen Creek, Arizona!!! It appears as though problems are still occurring, so buyers and sellers - please be aware.

Check out my blog from last year in order to grab the links to the information you might need.

As a Realtor, IF we are aware of fissures in locations throughout the valley, we have a DUTY to inform our potential buyers. ABOVE ALL, BE SURE to provide a Buyer Advisory to each buyer that you represent. That document provides necessary information - including information about fissures in our state.

As a direct result of my blog of last August on Active Rain, I received a call yesterday from a woman living in Queen Creek in the community of Pecan Creek - North. She thought maybe I could “direct” her to a place she could lodge a concern or complaint about the “sink holes” appearing in her yard and that of her neighbors’ homes.

The builder, Fulton, had not remedied her problem, and customer service seemed unwilling to work with her. (FYI, fissures can just suddenly "appear," without warning!) She told me that there were now issues with her water pipe. Her neighbor was experiencing similar problems and, in fact, cracks seemed to be causing stress on her patio.

My immediate thought was: “I was showing homes in that neighborhood last Saturday!!!” These are definitely warnings that need to be out there for potential home buyers/sellers!

My suggestions included: writing to Builder, reviewing the information HERE!!!! - and checking out the Arizona Department of Real Estate website as well as sharing information on Twitter and Facebook to get the word out. I also told her I would post it on my blogs so people could be on the lookout. Hopefully those Active Rainers in the Phoenix Valley will be vigilant in looking out for their buyers!

Recently I received a telephone call from a Realtor from another state. He introduced himself, told me he had found me through Active Rain, and knew so and so, and so and so - yada, yada......

After we had finished with our introductions, he told me he had a client that had a home in Mesa, Arizona, and they wanted to find someone to list it for them. As I began to question him on the circumstances of the sale, he said that the sellers just “needed” it listed. I prodded him further asking if they had taken out a second and if they were upside down. He said, "yes," and basically needed it listed in order to complete their purchase of a home through him.

He further went on to tell me that they didn’t really care whether they sold it or not, and he didn’t need a referral fee. Sound fishy? Yep, to me it did – and it was.

I told him this: “they are buying another home and bailing on this one,” aren't they? He hemmed and hawed, and pretty much acknowledged this to be true - actually he "thought" it "might" be the case, but “he didn’t know for sure.”

I told him that it is mortgage fraud knowing when you purchase one home that you are walking away from the other one!! You see, I have very strong feelings about this type of mind set. (See my previous post written in June 2008 on the Buy and Bail phenomena.) NO WONDER we are in such dire straits in America!! Guess who picks up the tab? US!!! People don’t think twice about their obligations to keep their promises – AND – this agent had never heard of the Buy and Bail scheme. Maybe yes, maybe no!! Hopefully all Realtors are aware of this egregious behavior and DO not assist buyers/sellers with transactions of this type.

Mesa, Arizona Real Estate. Call me at: 480.216-3334 for information on purchasing or selling a home in Mesa, Arizona or surrounding towns. OR email me: Teri@TeriEllis.com. Feel free to visit one of my websites: HomesAzRE.com, ServingMesaArizona, MoveToMesaAz.com or MoveToSunnyAz.com. Or stop by my blogs at: MesaAzRealEstateVoice; or Phoenix Valley Real Estate Blog