Terry Bishop

Tucson continues to celebrate it's 233rd birthday with festivities throughout town. The official birthday of the 48th state is August 20, and throughout the month, various celebrations including a huge birthday cake for the public are taking place.

Continuously inhabited since 900 BC, Tucson is a wealth of colorful history and has had the mark of various indiigenous peoples which is reflected in its unique culture. The flags of five countries have flown over the once territorial capital of Arizona including the Spanish, the Mexican, the Confederate, the United States and the Arizona Flags.

Look at the truly historical buildings built before the railroad - which incidentially was build in part by the "slave labor" of the Chinese imported expressedly for that purpose. The historical long houses, built of adobe mud, were long and low and thick, architectually designed to stay cool in the summer and warm in the winter, and also designed so that as the family increased in size, more rooms could be added conveniently. Good examples are on Meyer and Convent Streets. People are now returning to building adobe homes because of the energy efficiencies.

Listen to the music of Tucson and the strong Mexican beat, or the haunting flute played by R. Carlos Nakii, a Native American. View the Southwestern Art which encompasses the traditional cowboy -western tradition as well as the mural art of people such as David Tineo, or the work of Ted DeGrazia.

Look at the colors which abound in Tucson - a reflection of the vibrancy of the city. The intricate mosaic dome in blues and turquoise and yellows of the Old Courthouse Building, itself a beautiful display of territorial architecture.

The history of Tucson is a tapestry of cross culturaliam. Once a part of Sonora, Mexico, Tucson only became a part of the Gadsden purchase because it was the flattest route to the California gold mines. And prior to the Mexican and Spanish occupation of Tucson, it was home to the Apaches, the the Yaquis, the Tohono O'odham, the Yumas, and the Pimas. It was a thriving agricultural community with trade routes to what is now Northern Arizona as well as south into Mexico.

Although we are officially celebrating 233 years, Tucson's history is nearly 3,000 years old. Happy Birthday Tucson!

Resources:

Tucson History http://www.ci.tucson.az.us/tucson_history.html

DeGrazia Gallery http://www.degrazia.org

Chicano Murals http://parentseyes.arizona.edu/folkarts/murals.html

This was posted on my website blog at: http://www.terrybishop.com this morning.

Historical Walking Tours:
http://www.ci.tucson.az.us/planning/resources/publications/turquoisetrail.pdf

Tucson Birthday: http://www.tucsonsbirthday.org/

Every two years, Arizona Realtors must take the Ethics class which covers the Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice of the National Association of Realtors. You can find the Code on my website at http://www.terrybishop.com/tools.html with links in both Spanish and English.

The Code of Ethics has three main segments: Duties to Clients and Customers; Duties to the Public; and Duties to other agents. It is the basis by which Realtors must conduct business and the Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice are the guidelines used during mediation and arbitration of a dispute.

Answers to most problems which arise in a real estate transaction can be found in the Code and in the Standards of Practice. It was first adopted in 1913 and has been subsequently amended almost annually since 1986.

The Code covers everything from disputes about compensation to the difference between a client and a customer...and who is owed fiduciary responsiblity.

For example, in today's market, when sellers are still trying to get top dollar for their property, "Realtors, in attempting to secure a listing, shall not deliberately mislead the owner as to market value." Despite what the seller may want to hear, the Realtor has an obligation to tell the seller in a forthright manner whether a property may be priced too high. (Article 1, Standard of Practice 1-3)

There are 17 articles in the Code and within each Article are standards of practice. The Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice provide the basis for much real estate law. Although only eight pages, this document is chocked full of answers to questions which arise on a daily basis with real estate transactions

This is taken from my blog today at: http://www.terrybishop.com

I showed property this weekend and amongst the properties I showed to my client were a couple of short sales. I also had occassion to check a property which I previously mentioned in an earlier blog.

I had a client who made a full price offer of $275,000 for the property. We had had a cursory inspection prior to making the offer and had the requisite information, loan approvals, "as is" documentation, the whole shebang. We knew before writing the offer that this would be a "go" deal.

We submitted the offer to the Realtor and were told it would be between 30 and 60 days before we knew whether or not the offer would be accepted and maybe as much as 90 days before the property could close escrow. My client needed to find a house and we withdrew the offer. We found another house and closed escrow within three weeks.

The "short sale" house which we offered $275,000 for closed at $223,000. That is a $52,000 difference.

I think $52,000 is a lot of money.

I was reminded of a short sale I tried to do with a seller who was facing foreclosure. I had three cash offers on the property. The property had polybutelyne piping which had burst and therefore there was black mold as well as an assortment of other problems with the property including a green swamp for a pool.

I had all the appropriate "as is" addenda, proof that the buyers could purchase, a thorough inspection on the property which detailed the problems, as well as photos which I gave to the lender. This was a property, which to me, seemed to be a liability for the lender and a property I thought the lender would want to get rid of fast. Wrong again!

The lender had to send the offer to "committee" and it would be another 30 to 60 days before a response would be generated. In the meantime, the owner of the property declared bankruptcy, and the lender was faced with just pennies on the dollar.

In checking the property this weekend, I spoke with a very well regarded Tucson Realtor about a short sale property which now has a contract on it. She expressed my sentiments exactly, "I don't have time to do short sales....this has been five months in the making...I can't tell you how many offers I've had on this property, all higher than what the lender finally took."

She then went on to detail some of the problems. Lenders lose paperwork, it is sent again and lost again, one person says one thing, another something else. There is no rhyme nor reason to how the lenders do things. It often takes ten phone calls to get someone on the phone, nevermind an answer to a simple question.

Lenders are in the business of making money. That is a noble goal. I too am in the business of making money. But one would think lenders could streamline the entire short sale process. I have long advocated that lenders put all of the paperwork in order prior to putting a home on the market. Have the appraisal done beforehand and if another appraisal is needed later, so be it. It's cheaper than $52,000!

When the property goes on the market, allow the Realtor to list the price at whatever price, but the lender would have a base price under which, then "committees", could be involved. But if the base price comes in at $238,700, the property is on the market for $249,000, and an offer comes in at $240,000- then the lender can act immediately to accept the contract and close in a timely manner. A 48 hour turn around from the time the offer is submitted to acceptance would be possible rather than 30-60 days!

Good Realtors are getting disgusted. Lenders are loosing money right and left. Maybe $52,000 is not a lot of money in a "billions of dollars industry", but multiply that number by the numbers of properties where lenders take far less because of their ineptitude and/or bureaucracy and I'll bet the final number comes to millions!

I am reproducing this from my blog at my website: http://www.terrybishop.com - go to the left column and see Blog for more posts.