Dog Days of Summer at the Tucson Botanical Gardens

jamesportis
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Dog Days of Summer at the Tucson Botanical Gardens

It’s that time of year again where it’s hot hot HOT! We know most Tucsonans prefer to stay inside during the summer months, however, the Tucson Botanical Gardens has an ongoing event to tempt you out of the house. Enjoy the gorgeous gardens along with your furry best friend at the Dog Days of Summer!

From June through September the Tucson Botanical Gardens opens up their desert oasis to you and your Fido from 7:30 AM to 3:30 PM daily. The gardens are conveniently located midtown near Grant and Alvernon, so wherever you’re coming from it’s not too far of a drive. You can literally spend hours walking the lush pathways with your canine companion. If you need a break there are plenty of benches to pause at or you can grab a bite to eat from Café Botanica.

The Details

Don't Forget To Bring Your Furry Friends to Dog Days of Summer
Don’t Forget To Bring Your Furry Friends to Dog Days of Summer

To attend all you have to do is pay your human admission of $15, (students, seniors, and military are $13), and an additional $3 for your pupper. If you’re already a member then your admission is free, as usual, you just pay the pet price. But, if you’re a huge fan of the Tucson Botanical Gardens like we are you can purchase a dog membership for the summer!

That’s right, for $20 your dog can have their own membership with unlimited daily admission to the gardens. Dog memberships also come with a personalized tag for the collar of your pet. Additional dog memberships are just $10 so you won’t break the bank if you have a large furry family.

Dog Days of Summer: Before You Go

There are a few rules to visiting the Tucson Botanical Gardens with your furry friends. 

  1. Only well-behaved dogs are welcome, if your pooch is anti-social, please leave them at home.
  2. Dogs must be leashed at all times.
  3. Stay on the designated pathways. We know it’s tempting to let your pet sniff to their heart’s content, but for the sake of the vegetation please don’t let them.
  4. Bring doggie bags to clean up after your dog, it’s just a considerate thing to do.
  5. Water bowls are provided, no need to worry.

The New York Times Mentions Saguaro National Park

Tony Ray Baker
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The New York Times Mentions Saguaro National Park

The New York Times recently released an online, interactive list of 52 places around the world where travelers can be a part of the solution, rather than a problem. Because you know us, you know that we are only bringing this to your attention because they mention Tucson! Yep, the good Old Pueblo is in the media yet again. Okay, okay, more specifically they mention the beautiful Saguaro National Park.

This national treasure can be found on both the east and west sides of Tucson. Nearly 2 million of the namesake cacti call these 2 parcels of land home and give our desert its distinctive look.

A plaque at the Saguaro National Park displays the cacti growth
A trail plaque from the Saguaro National Park.

As alluded to by the NYT article all 52 places on their list must have a problem to need a solution. In our case, the problem is that we have very few new saguaros, a species that is a notoriously slow grower. Think 75 years old to get its first arm, and not reaching its full height of 45 feet until 200 years old. So, a declining population of these stoic giants is a problem, not just for Tucson but for an entire ecosystem.

The article highlights a local conservation project where volunteers work year-round pulling buffalo grass. Why does 1 weed need so much attention you might ask? There are a couple of reasons. The first is because it’s a non-native species that takes much-needed nutrients to other native plants. And secondly because due to climate change, we’ve been experiencing hotter summers. These withering temperatures dry out the buffelgrass and provide ample kindling for wildfires.

Saguaro National Park volunteers put on backpacks
Saguaro National Park volunteers get ready to tackle buffalo grass. Emma Gibson/AZPM

You can help mitigate the buffalo grass by volunteering with the Saguaro National Park. They organize clear-ups year-round. If you don’t want to be outside but still help out, that’s ok too! Find all volunteer opportunities here.

What is Sacred Space and How Do You Achieve It?

jamesportis
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What is Sacred Space and How Do You Achieve It?
Michelle Mann
Michelle Mann

Hi, my name is Michelle and I have been in and around the real estate world since 1985. I have worked in the title, mortgage/lending, building and fixing up homes, to helping families with buying and selling their homes. I loved each aspect of this world but helping families find where they were going to call home filled a piece of my soul like none of the others. Calling somewhere home is sacred. It’s our safe place, where we build families and deepen connections. Home is the one place we are meant to fully be ourselves and birth to life all our deepest dreams.

Finding Your Sacred Space

Tony Ray Baker & Darren Jones
Tony Ray & Darren have the Tucson real estate updates.

Finding a home can bring up all the scariest parts of ourselves and create all of the deepest fears within us to come to the surface, especially if it’s our first home. So the first thing you need is a dynamite real estate team to help navigate the process by offering you the container to answer all your questions and provide the truth about the process of purchasing a home. You need a team who actually takes the time to really listen to what is important to you. Lucky for you I just happen to know one 😉 – Tony Ray Baker real estate team. If you want the best real estate agents Tucson has to offer, it’s them.

In all my years of being in the real estate world finding a team that actually listens is a must-have at the beginning of creating sacred space and a vital part as it’s the foundation that all is built upon. Listening isn’t just with ears and words it’s also by being able to read the energy of the person or family you’re serving. I can’t tell you how many times families would say we don’t want this or we want that but after a couple of homes, you realize that isn’t what lights their soul up when they enter the home at all. So the first step to building a sacred home is having the space light you up just by thinking about it and then building upon that like when you drive into the neighborhood your energy heightens as you get closer to the place you call home.

What Do You Want

Once you have found your perfect home and you have been handed the keys it’s time to claim your space from the place of love and all that makes your soul dance and laugh. I always recommend to my clients to decide what do you want to accomplish in this home? What’s the dream you see in it? Get clear about how you feel or see things being. Dream big! The second thing to consider is just as you want your home to be physically clean when you first step foot in it you also want the energy around and within to feel fresh and new too.

Sweetgrass braids for sacred cleansing
Sweetgrass braids for sacred cleansing

More Than Clean

Another recommendation is just as you want the property to be physically clean when you take ownership you also want the space to be energetically clean as well. Since everything is the energy you want to start from a clean environment and not mix past histories with your new one from an energetic standpoint. So I always encourage before you start moving all your stuff in to clean the space of the old energy and invite the new energy of your dreams and your family to now taking space in this place you will be calling home. You can use traditional tools such as sage, cedar, and sweetgrass.  Also, there are palo santo, essential oils, or sea salt. Lastly don’t forget about music and prayer. Honestly pure gratitude for this amazing space works as well.

Sacred Chakra CleansingThere really is no right or wrong necessarily. It’s all about the intention of what you would like to create. Many of the tools I have suggested are very sacred medicine and change the energy purely on their own. Please know though your clear and direct heart can create a sacred space all on its own too. So again there is no right or wrong choice as it’s your sacred space to create as you choose. The only offer I would give is that the more in alignment to your sovereignty in your choice you have the more joy you can instill and create in your new home.

Remember

Once in the home, the fun can begin… If you’re starting from nothing to already owning everything you need there are many ways to create and arrange a space that feels sacred, joyful, and filled with love. As Feng Shu is a beautiful practice many find it challenging to understand. So if creating from the Feng shu energy is too complicated you can choose a simpler approach. What are you wanting to accomplish in your new space? Do you have a family? Are you hoping to start one, are you single, are you planning on not being single anymore? Do you have pets?

This is just the beginning of creating a sacred space within your home. Personal things, colors, natural living pieces, water, fire, animals, etc …. all play a part in this creation.

So remember so within so without. Let’s get clear on what sacred means to you. Begin building a place you feel safe, comfortable, and totally ok just being in to completely rejuvenate yourself every day.

Love and blessings!💙
Michelle
520-977-8070
Michelle is also one of the Faces of Tucson!

What’s So Special About the Titan Missile Museum?

Tony Ray Baker
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What’s So Special About the Titan Missile Museum?

If you’re native to Tucson, you have most likely heard about the Titan Missile Museum. It’s just 25 miles outside of our beloved Old Pueblo but have you actually gone there? A lot of people haven’t, and we think that’s a shame. This museum is not just a fun thing to check out while in Tucson. It’s history from the not-so-distant past.

Titan Missile Museum Logo
Titan Missile Museum Logo

The History

The Titan II missile is a remnant of the Cold War. When the whole world watched the “will they/won’t they” relationship between the USA and Russia. In preparation for the worst the US placed missile silos around the country and stocked them Atlas F’s, Titan I’s, and the final version, the Titan II.

54 of these missiles were sent to 3 Airforce bases with an anticipated decade of active duty. That deadline was extended for upgrades and modifications. In 1984, 24 years after its initial deployment, the last Titan II missile was deactivated. Many of the missiles were converted into satellite carrying vessels for the space program. Tucson has not just a silo left but the missile inside it as well.

Visiting

Today you can visit the Titan Missile Museum and take a tour of Cold War history. You can choose the self-guided topside tour or the 45-minute guided tour. There is plenty to see topside if you don’t want to or can’t descend the 55 steps required for the guided tour. Additionally, school and group tours are also available.

Get an up-close and personal look at the missile and engine, still standing alert and tall to this day. While visiting mission control you can experience a simulated launch and get a feeling of the paranoia experienced during the Cold War era.

Hours and days vary so make sure to double check their website before planning your trip. This museum is a great choice if you’re a fan of military history or just history in general. Stop by the museum shop on the way out for a souvenir for yourself or a gift for the war buff in your life.

Learn More about Titan Missile Museum on our Best Museums in Tucson page!

1107 E. Lester Tucson, AZ 85719 Home for Sale

Tony Ray Baker
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1107 E. Lester Tucson, AZ 85719 Home for Sale

This is going on the market this afternoon and it’s a flash sale, like a pop up! We just got it this morning so we are putting it up right away, you gotta come see it! This is a 1950’s bungalow with two entrances, one of those entrances is the 3rd bedroom. The really cool thing about that is you could put somebody in there as a roommate or a renter. So let’s go in, ‘m going to show you that bedroom in a few minutes.

1107 E. Lester Tucson, AZ 85719
1107 E. Lester Tucson, AZ 85719

This Bungalow was completely remodeled just at the beginning of this year, we’ve been waiting for it, we are so excited. It’s got a beautiful large living space. As you can see it’s furnished right now, it’s being used as a AirBNB. So this property could be a turnkey vacation rental for you or it’s ready to move in. Also, just so, you know, the artwork and all the furnishings are negotiable and can stay with this property if you do want to do a vacation rental.

I love this property because the floor plan makes it very versatile. You can have a roommate easily because of the split bedroom, you could use this as a vacation rental. You could use it as a second home, it could be a long-term / short-term rental. There’s just this is a great floor plan. I also love that it’s a double red brick, it’s solid build. You don’t find these very often in this condition. It also has a big property in the back with covered parking and storage and with and a patio we’re going to show you that as well.

The kitchen has been remodeled right at the beginning. That means the appliances are newer. Everything in here is newer. This is a really cool feature to me, if you’re in the living room or you have guests, all you have to do is hop over here, grab a soda. Or as Marta would say, una cerveza. Then you can pop back over there, and you don’t have to get involved in the kitchen. So if someone’s in here cooking, you’re not interfering, which is really, really cool.

The kitchen has gas, which I love, it has a built-in microwave, it does have a dishwasher which is also something you don’t find a lot in these older homes and I love a kitchen with a window when you’re doing dishes or your cooking, I just really like the light. They did install Solar Tubes. Those are in the ceiling. You can see the extra light pointing down, so you but they don’t be lights in this house during the day, so it’s really awesome. They also did the new upgraded flat square lighting, which I also love. It brings a touch of modern to this property.

Down at this side of the house, you have two bedrooms with closets and Marta is going to walk you over there, you’re going to see that they’re generous in size. Both of the bedrooms would fit a queen-size, or a king size bed. And still have plenty of room for a dresser or sitting chair, or whatever you need. One of the other cool things is they have semi walk-in closets. so, I can literally walk inside this…

Really cool, right? These little old houses, usually have little tiny… How do you say it? They are very generous compared to other 1950s homes, they have a little teeny tiny door with a little teeny tiny closets. Yeah, these are good size.

It has a linen closet in the hallway. And then you have a beautiful second bedroom and again, I can walk in this closet. It’s actually got great space, I’m all they way back here. So if you put double racks across both sides here, you can fit a lot of clothes in this bedroom, nice, right? Love this house.

I love the calmness of the decor, it certainly feels really nice in this house. This bathroom was also updated. As you can see, it’s got a tub and the shower. They also put a solar tube to create light for this bathroom. I think I want to do that now at my house and these are Bluetooth speaker systems which are really cool, so you can play music while you sing in the shower.

Notice the ledge, great for babies and dogs 🙂

Bathroom number two is the same. We have a completely remodeled bathroom over here. This is a walk-in shower and it’s beautifully tiled. I really like what they did with that. They even went to to the point of putting seating in the shower at, for shaving your legs or just taking a rest, I suppose. Also great to wash babies and dogs.

If we go over here, there’s a bonus room on this property, and this is perfect for an office or a yoga room, it’s great Flex space. You can do anything with this. It could be a guest bedroom since you don’t need a closet for a guest, typically. If you need a closet for guess, they’re saying too long. That’s my theory. So this can be a really great room. I can see having a Murphy bed here and then making it an office or combination or something. It also has an entrance out to the patio in the backyard. So that’s another really neat part of this room. So, let me show you the other the last bedroom and then we’ll go outside.

This this originally was most likely a carport because there is a step down. It has been remodeled and converted into a laundry room and a bedroom with its own private entrance. It’s a good size laundry room, lots of light in the laundry room, which I love, and you could do a lot with this, because it’s got storage and it’s got lots of space.

Great for Guest or Roommate Who Needs Their Own Entrance, Teenagers is Still Up for Debate

Then we have this bedroom again, a good-sized closet and a very nice size room. A king-size bed would fit in here very easily. I love this room because of the double windows, I like a lot of light. There’s also windows on this side and, this is really cool because, you’ve got an entrance to the outside. This is back at the front where we started.

That is really cool because you could have a guest stay here or a roommate or somebody who needs their own entrance, which is neat. I don’t suggest teenagers live in this room. They could run away, they can get into trouble.

We’re going to go back out there and I’m going to show you the outside. One of the neat things about this property is it’s got a big spacious lot. And you gotta love it because there’s a good-sized front yard, but the backyard, you can do so much with. And if you’ve got toys or campers like we do, you want to park those with your cars. You’ve got plenty of space inside these gates.

This is a really cool little patio right here, so you’re covered. Then you can see, over there, you’ve got a storage shed in the back. You’ve got two-car carport, you could easily fit, wow you could easily fit a couple campers, a boat, Sea-Doos and still have your pool. So I think then you would just add some privacy to the fencing and you’re all good to go. So that’s what we would do.

This area is permit street parking. So your guests, you give them your permit. If you’re living here, you’d get a permit to put in their windows. The cool thing about this property is it actually has plenty of parking for guests, so that’s nice too. If you want to have a little get-together, you don’t have to worry about the permitted street parking.

We’re super close to the U of A, so this is a great house for a rental if you have a professor or students or somebody who wanted to go to the UArizoa. Or Banner Hospital is down the road. The location is fantastic just from the fact that there’s so much around here.

Call Tony Ray Today at (520) 631-TONY and Schedule Your Walkthrough

We did this on the fly because we want to get this out to you right away because we are going to list it this afternoon, we have paper signed, we’re getting photographs and video done right now, and we are getting ready to go.

Call me and (520) 631-TONY (8669) and I can get you in ASAP or call Marta, what is your phone number Marta? (520) 265-5625 So if you speak Spanish and you need a Spanish speaker, you just think she’s prettier than me. Whatever then call Marta!

Let’s finish off in the great room so you can get a feel for this one more time, it’s a lot of house to take in. Three bedrooms, two baths, extra bonus room, covered parking, large lot for lots of toys and guests and it has been remodeled and it just was finished at the very beginning of this year. If you have any questions, call me I’m Tony Ray with RE/MAX Select. Thank you so much. I hope you guys have a great day!

More Amazing Photos of 1107 E. Lester Tucson, AZ 85719

Tony Ray, a 2021 ThreeBestRated® award-winning Realtor, states the top real estate trends to look for in 2021

Tony Ray Baker
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Tony Ray, a 2021 ThreeBestRated® award-winning Realtor, states the top real estate trends to look for in 2021
Certificate Three Best Rated 2021
Three Best Rated Certificate for Tony Ray Baker

The real estate industry is constantly evolving. Realtors must keep up with the latest laws and bring new marketing and advertising techniques to the industry every year based on consumer demands. Agents with experience shape the real estate sector and influence the direction of its growth. So, what are the emerging real estate trends to look for in 2021? Let us learn about it from a 2021 ThreeBestRated® award-winning realtor.

Tony Ray Baker is a ThreeBestRated® award-winning real estate agent from Tucson, Arizona. He points out a few emerging trends that influence the real estate sector in 2021:

  • More listing agents are adopting 360° virtual tours and video walk-throughs.
  • Likewise, more buyer’s agents prefer virtual live showings.
  • Many creative clauses to Help sellers negotiate a more risk-free move in a market with low inventory.

About Tony Ray Baker ThreeBestRated® – RE/MAX Select

Tony Ray Baker is one of the friendliest and most enthusiastic REALTORS® anyone can meet. He has been helping his friends, family, and clients buy and sell properties in Tucson since 1994. He loves every aspect of his job. Tony Ray says,

“Real estate allows me to do everything I love. From Marketing and advertising to negotiations and meeting new people, I find real joy in all aspects of today’s real estate industry. It allows me to be constantly learning, challenging myself, and so much more.”

Tony Ray is very successful in his field and is into real estate because of his mom. She is the one who suggested that he should pursue a career in the industry. Soon after, Tony Ray realized his passion for real estate and started his journey. After over 25 years, he has grown into one of the prominent REALTORS® in Tucson.

Tony Ray has a proven track record of serving his clientele with fantastic results. He always commits to helping his clients realize their real estate goals. On being named as one of the best real estate agents in Tucson, Tony Ray says, “The Tucson real estate community has a lot of top professionals who truly dedicate themselves to their clientele and their community. It is definitely
humbling to be chosen as one of the three best in Tucson.” For more information about him, go to his website – https://seetucsonhomes.com/about/.

4651 N Paseo de Los Rancheros Tucson AZ 85745 Rancho Del Cerro Home for sale

Tony Ray Baker
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4651 N Paseo de Los Rancheros Tucson AZ 85745 Rancho Del Cerro Home for sale

You will Love the Peaceful Quiet Nights and Amazing Lifestyle this Home Offers. Nestled on over 1 acre of Sonoran Desert, this is the perfect retreat. 4651 N Paseo de Los Rancheros Tucson AZ 85745 is located in the popular Rancho Del Cerro neighborhood. 

Beautiful travertine floors welcome you into the art gallery entrance which highlights your favorite collection perfectly. The open floor plan offers plenty of room to relax and entertain with large living room, separate dining area, breakfast counter, family room and kitchen. 

Kitchen is tastefully updated with granite counter tops, custom cabinetry, stainless steel appliances and beautiful glass tile back splash. Outside, you’ll love the Amazing Tucson sunsets from the covered patio! Or hangout by the sparkling pool as you smell the fragrance of the citrus blossoms. 

When you do want to go out and explore, you are only a few minutes away from: I-10 Freeway, Downtown Tucson, the Loop, Restaurants, Theater, Events, Hiking, the MSA Annex and the Mercado. Some of our favorite restaurant nearby are Kukai, which has the best ramen in Tucson, Maynards Market and Kitchen, Senae Thai Bistro, and Charro Del Ray, just to name a few! For more amazing things to do in Tucson, check out Fun Things to do and Amazing Places to Go!

  • 4651 N Paseo De Los Rancheros Tucson AZ 85745 Exterior
  • 4651 N Paseo De Los Rancheros Tucson AZ 85745 Kitchen
  • 4651 N Paseo De Los Rancheros Tucson Arizona 85745 Kitchen
  • 4651 N Paseo De Los Rancheros Tucson Arizona 85745 Kitchen
  • 4651 N Paseo De Los Rancheros Tucson Arizona 85745 Dining Area
  • 4651 N Paseo De Los Rancheros Tucson Arizona 85745 Living Room

Tony Ray Baker and Darren Jones on the Open House Show Tucson

Tony Ray Baker
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Tony Ray Baker and Darren Jones on the Open House Show Tucson

Mercado District

We’re seeing because of all this fun stuff happening and all the new Resurgence, people want to live here and they’re coming into these old neighborhoods that have been sitting here actually just ignored for years. And they’re coming in now and they’re seeing that there’s value here.

Come on in see I’m going to show you a beautiful house that’s about a block from the Mercado. This house has been completely renovated from the ground up. I mean, everything is brand new.

This was an old hip roof Bungalow from the 1930s. It looked like what it does now, which is really cool. The builder wants to keep the Integrity of the neighborhood, so he’s staying with the design of the original home.

So the owner had the idea to get a metal artist to come in and she wanted a feng shui beautiful feeling to the property. So she had the idea with him to create what you see right now, which is the metal front.

So you’re going to see a very grand open great room when we walk in and then a split where you see bedroom to the right and the bedrooms to the left. Kitchen is open, I love that kitchen. It’s bright and open, its part of the room.

You’re going to see some very cool designer pops of orange that the owner has put in there and the dining room is part of the kitchen. There’s a place there for gathering guest.

Well, they actually got it out the master bath. They took that and made that a beautiful walk-in shower. So it’s very convenient for the the people living in that sweet. And the guest bathroom is also pretty as well. This is just one example here of something that’s just really extraordinary. And you can see that the owner just put so much love into this already and we’re seeing this happening one after another.

Lots of Fun in Downtown Tucson

Well, even though it seems like a lot of what we’ve seen happen in downtown Tucson happened kind of overnight, it’s really been like 30 years in the making. People have been working for a long time to work out a viable downtown for Tucson because it did get to a point where there really wasn’t a good reason to come downtown.

However, with some private funding and some positive individuals a lots happened over the last five to ten years and we’re seeing a lot of development in Tucson has now become a real center and a model for that Trend across the country.

This is a prime example of some of the development that’s happened in downtown Tucson. Maynard’s Market was certainly not here. The cafe was not here. It was a basic train station. The building was not great. None of the infrastructure, the parking, everything that you’d see out from the streetscape now, none of that existed and so they’ve created this beautiful park-like setting and in the evenings you come out here you can have a nice cocktail, you can have a snack dinner with friends. They put out the heaters if it’s cold and you have this great environment, you have the beautiful Amtrak train station and the market and it’s a great space for craft shows and other types of events.

The Hotel Congress has been there for many many years as probably one of the oldest. well it’s the oldest continuously running hotel in Tucson. It’s mostly famous for having captured the Dillinger gang and so, you know, it was a thriving Hotel back in the 20s. It’s still operational today and it’s a great central point. They have a great breakfast there. They have a nice Lounge area there.

So with the light rail which landed around four years ago, the city came back to life with new chefs and new excitement, with new retail and there’s restaurants that have all different flavors and craft Cocktails.

So if you’re visiting Tucson and you need to come downtown, you need to see the Congress Hotel. You need to visit some of the great restaurants. You need to visit our museums. And also we happen to be an award-winning Festival City. We tied this last year with Abu Dhabi. Okay. So, you know, there’s a lot going on. We have the International Gem Show. We have so many festivals throughout the year. Check your calendar!

Sell Your Home Fast with These Home Seller Tip from Tony Ray Baker – See Tucson with Ray Lane

Tony Ray Baker
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Sell Your Home Fast with These Home Seller Tip from Tony Ray Baker – See Tucson with Ray Lane

Ray Lane: Hi everyone, it’s Ray here and welcome to another edition of See Tucson. And today we’ve brought back our special guest from last week, Tony Ray Baker, who’s going to talk to us more specifically about selling a home right now in Tucson.

Ray Lane: Tony, welcome back to the show and as we know things are a little bit different right now when it comes to buying and selling homes, but especially as a seller, what do we need to be doing these days?

Tony Ray Baker: Hi Ray, thank you for having me back. Yeah, it’s very interesting. You know, the you think we are in a great seller’s market right now, but there there’s some inherent issues that have come along with the situation and as we talked about last week, the inventory has been declining since 2016-2017. So we’re going way down and the buyer poll is up. It’s going this way. So that would make a seller’s market of course and it sounds great but there’s some problems and I’m seeing a lot of DFT’s which means deal fell through. It’s an acronym and means the deal fell through right and that means the closing doesn’t happen.

Tony Ray Baker: And that’s a problem because that causes Financial loss, loss of time a lot of stress for buyers and sellers and the other thing is every single entity involved in helping them get through that process loses time and money. So it’s frustrating because you don’t want to see that happening and there are some things that could be done to stop it. But, you know covid-19 and the situation are causing some weird things.

Ray Lane: So let me ask you this then: if I’m a seller, what can I do right now to kind of you know, make sure that I get the most out of this and get my home sold, even though you know things are a little strange right now.

Tony Ray Baker: Yeah, that’s a great question. So most likely whereas what we’re seeing is every sellers probably going to get 8 to 18 offers and and that sounds fabulous and and it sounds great, but it’s not. So it’s a lot of work for the seller to go through trust me, but there are things that they could do that. I’ll give you some tips. Then that would help them weed through this quicker and make sure that before they even get to offers that they’re doing everything, right.

Tony Ray Baker: So back in the old days. It was all about photographs and staging and all that stuff that can that is more imperative than ever and one of the reasons is because a lot of our buyers are actually not Not looking at the house in person. They’re looking at it with the video, right? So I would say the probably one of my first tips would be make sure you have a really professional agent hire someone that’s been in business for a long time has a great reputation. I’d be on Google reading everything about their checking out every review written get to know that agent online before you hire them. And then I think that the next component for me is making sure that you can you interview this Your agent knows these things that they’re I would ask them. Are they hiring a professional photographer. They need to do a floor plan.

Tony Ray Baker: They need to do a 360 degree virtual tour. Now that’s a that’s absolute and the reason is is because I can put people into a walk at your own pace 360° tour. Yep. I can put those buyers online doing that and they can like the house or hate the house immediately from a walkthrough. So that would limit how many people come to the house for safety purposes, but what I’ve also noticed it just sold the house for 1.1 million. And the reason it’s sold was because the buyer and their kids walk through the house so many times in the virtual walkthrough, they fell in love with it drove out to the house verified that they liked it and they bought it.

Ray Lane: Wow.

Tony Ray Baker: So I think hiring the agent that knows how to use all of these Technologies is going to be super imperative to a good sale. I would ask if they know. Know how to do Facebook if they’re using Instagram. Are they using Tick-Tock? And I know everybody thinks that’s a kids program, but I’ll tell you right now I can get 200 views of a house on Facebook. I can get 500 to a thousand on the same video on Tic Toc right now.

Tony Ray Baker: So are they posting on those platforms? And then experience is is what you need for negotiating and there’s a bunch of issues happening right now. We’ve got covid 19 contingencies and that requires additional Clauses in those contracts. I have a seller right now that is being held up for a from a move into another country. And so we have to write special Clauses for that buyer to understand that until that seller can get the okay to enter that country. They’re coming to they cannot sell their home. Yeah, right and then we’ve got So many other problems going on with Just For example, the deals falling through because people are showing up with video camera buyers are in a panic trying to get these houses without arriving into town and seeing them and then they look at them on video with the agent write up an offer show up to the house during the inspection period and they find out they don’t like the house so that deal falls.

Tony Ray Baker: So there’s a bunch of stuff. There’s even more than I’m telling you. I think if a seller were to at least go through that those tips that process I think that that would set them in at least a better position and have a much better chance of getting through the process.

Ray Lane: Nice. Now when it comes to all the imagery the videos the 3D tours how involved should the homeowner be because you know, certainly you should ask that of the agent beforehand, but you know, if the agents not doing those kinds of things is that something that the homeowner should push for very hard.? Is it something that they should take into? Their own hands and get done if that’s the case?

Tony Ray Baker: Yeah, I wouldn’t even I would even sorry. There’s smoke in the air somewhere throats driving me nuts today. Yeah, I wouldn’t even go that far. I would actually I would if I was hiring an agent right now to sell my home. They would already have told me that they’re going to do a 360 degree virtual tour. They’re going to do a floor plan. So people can look at that on paper that they’re going to do professional photography. They’re going to post it all over social media.

Tony Ray Baker: This all needs to be done and they need to help them stage they need to make sure their honey do list is ready to go. You know, the idea is to limit the amount of time people are in your home right now. And the reality is we want to make sure that they’re going to get through that process. The other thing I would look at by the way, which is another tip if I was a seller I’d be talking to my potential agent about how they handle the loan process. And

Tony Ray Baker: that seems weird because you’re the seller but the reality is is that I can find out so much information by calling the lender involved with the buyer and I will also tell you that most of the agents probably now recommending to their Cellars only to accept offers that have a local lender, a local appraiser and a local underwriter and if you’re using anything with little rocket gimmicks And online quicker than everybody else, if that buyer is using that type of lender. They’re probably not getting their loan their offers accepted over and over and they don’t know why because sellers are Savvy and know we want local companies working on these on these transactions right now. So yeah, there’s it’s there’s so much there’s so many little nuances change this this time around.

Ray Lane: Well, you know, you mentioned one thing that I’ve always found interesting and you mentioned the staging NG and you know when we watch you know these, you know do it yourself buying selling TV shows and whatnot. They always bring in these stages and put in really expensive furniture and whatnot. How how far should homeowners be going when it comes to staging is it just cleaning things up and keeping it tidy or do you really want to go all out and have people come in stage the actual home?

Tony Ray Baker: Depends on the house and it depends on the price. how far that goes? If for us my background is design, so it’s really easy for my team to go in with the seller and make recommendations using their own furnishings and maybe moving some things around maybe some packing some stuff up into boxes and getting them ready for their move. So there’s that that kind of staging we also have a hired Stager who can do that with our Sellers as well. If the house is vacant we might put in some minimal staging just to make it a little more, you know comfortable.

Tony Ray Baker: So I might go that route if it’s a million-dollar house then yeah, it could be we need to upscale some staging and put in some real Furniture. It’s a very thin line there you’re walking because we’re talking about taste and you certainly don’t want to insult the self are right, but honesty and transparency with a seller will go so much further than anything. Else and I think that that’s a trust level you get with the seller as long as you’re on the same page and we all know what working together to get to the same goal.

Tony Ray Baker: Then you know staging is important and I think just understanding how a photographer is going to walk through that house and how that’s going to work. That’s another part of staging is I look at how the photographs are going to come out. So I move furniture to make sure that they’re going to make those photographs look great.

Tony Ray Baker: Our ultimate goal is, let’s face facts, I want to get as few people into the house for safety purposes. I want to get as few in there as quickly as I can and get that buttoned up and into a, you know, an active contingent as quick as we can for for the buyers out there on the seller just so that we can get through the process.

Ray Lane: Great and the you know, the one thing we talked about last time it was mentioned here a little bit as well is that the inventory is really falling. So if you are somebody thinking of selling a home, is this really the time To just jump in and do it because you know, there’s so many buyers and so few homes right now?

Tony Ray Baker: I’m so glad you asked that I was talking about this last year. And and the amazing thing is is that our seller Equity positions are the highest in history. And yeah, these sellers have more money in their homes than ever before so There’s a really cool thing that’s happening. It’s a win-win for sellers who become buyers and that is this the seller sells their house. They have massive amount of equity they can take that equity and use it as the down payment on the new by let’s say they have a three-bedroom and they need a four-bedroom and they like to throw in a swimming pool.

Tony Ray Baker: Now they buy upgrade they upgrade to the new house most likely based on these interest rates being at an all-time low and Equity position at an all-time high. They’re going to put down 20% Scent and they’re actually going to probably have a payment almost identical to the one they just left behind that’s like taking a pinto and getting a Ferrari for the same payment an amazing place for sellers right now. Also, yeah, it’s a if you have the if you’re okay with the covid-19 situation and you under have somebody that’s paying attention to safety protocol and you’re okay with making the move it you can’t go any quicker as far as I am concerned because right now we have buyers trying to buy and that’s a perfect, you know place for a seller to be

Ray Lane: Beautiful. All right. Well with that, is there any other tips that sellers should think about before we get out of here today?

Tony Ray Baker: Yeah. I just I do your homework. I believe you might if you’re going to interview an agent if you’re going to interview me find out who I am online first. Google my name, Google the agent’s name you’re going to interview but do your homework. Read the reviews, ask your friends who they recommend and these are these are things that are important right now. You got to get a good, strong, professional person with you on this.

Ray Lane: Beautiful. Well Tony, right? Thank you for bringing us all of this great information. Now if anybody wants to reach out and speak to you about selling their home, how can they find you?

Ray Lane: Thank you. Yeah, just call me at (520) 631-8669 That’s my cell phone. You can text me there as well. And my email is Tony Ray@SeeTucsonHomes.com. And that is our website as well, SeetTcsonHomes.com.

Ray Lane: We appreciate that and thank you for joining us this week. And of course if you’re ready to start selling your home, well now may be a good time to do that because there’s a lot of buyers looking for homes in the Tucson area. So be sure to reach out to Tony Ray Baker or to somebody that you trust but get out there do your research speak to friends. Family and start the process so that you can get the most for your home when you make a sale.

Tony Ray Tells Ray Lane of See Tucson How To Buy and Sell Homes in Tucson Arizona

Tony Ray Baker
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Tony Ray Tells Ray Lane of See Tucson How To Buy and Sell Homes in Tucson Arizona

Ray Lane: Hey everybody. Welcome to See Tucson! And today, I’ve got a very special guest who’s going to talk to us about real estate and how real estate is doing in this covid pandemic and what you can do if you want or ready to start buying and selling properties.

Ray Lane: So with me my good friend Tony Ray Baker. Tony Ray, welcome to the show

Tony Ray Baker: Hi Ray, thank you for having me.

Ray Lane: Yeah, it’s really exciting to have you on here as we all know where we’re all going through this whole covid-19 pandemic and a lot of people are still locked at home, businesses are shut down. So what I wanted to find out is how is this affecting the real estate market, especially in the Tucson area right now?

Tony Ray Baker: Well there are a couple factors going on. It’s definitely affecting the market as far as how we do things. You know, we maneuver differently, for example, how we show property, how we help buyers, how we help sellers and then of course how we signed documents and all those fun things.

Tony Ray Baker: But what’s what’s very interesting is that that, now I’m talking Tucson and Pima County only, but other states have had different things going on obviously, but what’s interesting is that Tucson the inventory has been falling drastically since about 2016. If we go back in time and look at it and we’re out of an all-time low, probably in the 26 years. I’ve been in business. I haven’t seen it this low. We’re running one maybe one and a half months of inventory in a lot of cases, you want to be at six months of inventory for a healthier, you know, economy when it comes to housing. And so we have a bunch of buyers with a lot of money in hand wanting to buy, interest rates are really low. It’s encouraging them to make that move and then we have another issue which is sellers not willing to make the move yet because of covid so our inventory is going down and we’re not seeing that normal amount of inventory yet that we have come into the marketplace during the summertime and that’s creating pretty much the biggest all-out housing shortage I’ve ever seen in Tucson.

Tony Ray Baker: We are experiencing.. Well, we wrote an offer for a client on Saturday and it was 18 offers had already come in. The average were seeing right now on the last three or four offers we wrote last week, all of them had anywhere from 10 to 15 offers already in. Yeah, it is incredible and it’s it’s this is where experience and wisdom and all these things really get tested and are needed because we have to navigate differently to get the buyers that you know want these homes to get their offer accepted over somebody else’s offer you and in the case of sellers. It’s the same thing. How do we set the seller up to be as safe as possible during this this pandemic but also be able to sell their homes. And so we’re doing things completely differently, but that all being said my numbers that for me personally there. Are the same as last year? They’re not on an increase. They’re just good right the same. So that’s good news.

Tony Ray Baker: And when I look at the multiple listing service in the numbers that are going on. It’s interesting because we’re following if you look at the little graph that goes like this a lot. I like to look at stuff visual, but if you don’t get that, it’s all pretty much the same as 2019. So the Tucson markets so far has been following really close to the same numbers without an increase or decrease. Very close to the same. I think however, if we don’t get some inventory, we’re going to see obviously we’re going to show lower sales because we don’t have property to sell right.

Ray Lane: So let me ask you this if I was on the fence right now about selling my home. Is this the perfect time to really get out there and say “Hey, you know get my home sold because obviously with 18 buyers jumping in I’m assuming things are selling at nice high prices. US versus you know, you know any sort of Bargains that are going on.” Is that pretty much correct?

Tony Ray Baker: Yes, and no so I we have to look at each property individually, of course and where it’s located and its price range, but for example, if I’m going to make a blanket, you know on statement under 400,000 right now that’s where we’re seeing a massive amount of offer multiple offers and all that fun stuff if we just wrote an offer for Are 22,000 overprice it is a cash offer. So that’s okay because I don’t have to worry. We removed our appraisal contingency. So our buyer is willing to pay the over 20,000. They’re willing to waive appraisal. They want that house. That’s not okay when it comes to selling if you have a loan involved because yes, it’s perfect time to sell because you the seller can actually get full. A price what your home is worth and you’ll probably have a couple different options based on the different contracts.

Tony Ray Baker: You’ll have come in and the buyers are willing to compromise and help you in a lot of Weights. So that’s great for a seller getting more than the house is worth. Probably not unless you have a cash buyer because we still have an appraisal and we still have an investor and A lender that the lender investor is actually looking to make sure the asset is worth. You know, what you put on paper the other really interesting thing is though is that this is probably we’re looking at the most Equity position. We’d probably seen in history.

Tony Ray Baker: So we have sellers with tons and tons of money and Equity. So this is a great time not only to be a buyer or seller but to also be a buyer and that is because you sell your home you get full price. You probably negotiate everything you want as the seller to make the terms really agreeable for you and then you get to go buy another home you get to upgrade and when you upgrade your going to get one of the lowest interest rates we’ve ever seen and you’re also going to get more home for your money. So this is like taking the pinto payment getting rid of the pinto but getting the new Ferrari for the same amount of money. It’s a very interesting place right now.

Tony Ray Baker: So buyers are in a Position because they get to buy at low interest rates the bad positio is they’re fighting for property but as so that’s scary to for a seller if you’re going to become a buyer, but the reality is if you’ve got a great agent and your you have someone to help you navigate all this it’s again experience is the key here, then it’s a perfect time to sell. I mean, it’s a perfect time it everything is a win-win for a seller right now.

Ray Lane: Well, that’s good now as a seller. Is there anything that we should? Be looking to do right now to maximize this as far as you know, whether it deals with covid or just you know normal things that we should be doing. How should we be preparing for selling our homes?

Tony Ray Baker: So that’s a great question same as I would say same as always I you know, I do a walk-through with every Sellers and we look at stuff they may not remember or see on a daily basis because as we walk through our own homes, we forget there. There’s a little Mark over there on the wall or whatever because we’ve seen it so many times.

Tony Ray Baker: So I walk through with these sellers and make sure we’re looking at getting the house prepared. We call it a honey-do list and we give that to The Cellar to work on and we help them of course with people to come in if they need and stagings important and kind of depersonalizing the property a little bit not all completely but a little bit that’s all important as well.

Tony Ray Baker: But I think as a seller right now one of the biggest things to look for is how are you? How is the Agent going to help them navigate the situation with covid-19 happening. How do we show property? What technology are we using to get the buyer to see the property as much as possible before even entering the home? So to give you an example, we’ve sold probably three or four in the last 30 days where the buyer never stood in the house. Actually wrote an offer without seeing the home.

Ray Lane: Yeah, I’ve done that by the way, so I know the fears of that and the excitement of that at the same time.

Tony Ray Baker: Right and there’s ways to navigate that so we’ve actually we actually go to the property with our phone in hand. We can work through a couple different apps whether it’s Droid or Apple and we walk through the house with the buyer and we let the buyer dictate where we show and what we look at so we can move the camera. Round up and down and we can give our opinion on hey, there’s a stain on the ceiling. We need to investigate that more. This is the house you like but the cool thing is with technology like 360 degree virtual tours where buyers can do the walkthroughs and walking through with FaceTime or or Duo those things really help our buyers see that sellers home. So that all being said it’s imperative that the seller understands that and that their agent understands it. Because we need the selling agent to have the the means and connections to get the 360 amazing photo shoots the floor plans everything done pre-marketing so that the buyer can see all that before they need to go to the sellers house.

Tony Ray Baker: And I think that’s super important and in just my conversations lately with agents. I’ve actually had some that said when they did the 360-degree walk through there. Lies the house floor plan wasn’t going to work for them. So they never went and saw the house in person. And I’ve had the opposite effect on our 360 degree virtual tours is that they said we were sold on it just because we got to walk through every room of the house and so they just went to the property to verify so it’s a big shift that it’s it’s huge right now. And you know, I know some people that do these types of videos and 360s and Nothing and they actually told me they’ve been busier now than they’ve ever been during a pandemic.

Tony Ray Baker: So I hope so and and I’ll tell you it’s an enlightening situation because I’m a total nerd geek. I love building websites and playing with every type of gear. I love all that stuff and I never knew what I didn’t know which is the efficiency that comes with all this. We took two listings last week and I haven’t met the client or seen the house yet. But with technology I was able to walk with the client through their home create the honey do list talk about staging and actually get their home ready to go to market one has already sold. I’ve already put it on and sold within 6 hours.

Tony Ray Baker: So I still haven’t had the privilege of meeting my client and then buyers were doing the same thing. We’re working with the buyers were walking through and they’re coming in for inspections, but not actually seeing the And it’s a beautifully we have all closed. They’re all happy and man. It really has changed how much time we spend on the road and and how much time the consumer is out there. It’ll be interesting to see how all this lays out later because I think we’re learning there’s some new ways and new cool things we can do to help everybody in this in this time and Beyond because I don’t I don’t know if we’re ever going to go back to where you were or are. I’m getting enlightened on technology. I think.

Ray Lane: Oh, no doubt. We’re getting thrust into it whether we like it or not. So Tony Ray if you could tell everybody how they can reach you to make sure that when they’re ready to buy or sell a home they know exactly who to speak to and how to get it done quickly and efficiently, thank you.

Tony Ray Baker: Yeah, just call me at (520) 631-8669. That’s my cell phone. You can text me there as well. And my email is TonyRay@csonnsSeeTucsonHomes.com. And that is our website as well SeeTucsonHomes.com and yeah reach out anyway, and I’m also on facebook.com Tony Ray Baker so you can find me there and follow me on that and add love to hear from you.

Ray Lane: All right. Well, Tony Ray, thank you for joining us today. We really appreciate you taking the time to Enlighten us on the new world of real estate in this covid-19 pandemic and of course for all of you that are going through this if you’re ready to start buying or selling Selling a home.

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