October 25, 2007 by donna.

I am constantly exploring houses that are for sale at Sabino Mountain to keep up with the market or to show buyer clients. Lately I have viewed some vacant houses listed for sale that need some of the following: trimming of landscaping so it does not overcome walkways; weed control; battery changing of smoke detectors (the chirping is very annoying); removal of dead plants, etc. On all my vacant listings, I visit at least twice a week and report to the Sellers any maintenance issues that come up and also want to check to make sure doors are locked and that there are no plumbing issues, etc. I am wondering if their agents are not going in their vacant listings or if they are telling their Sellers about the above-mentioned issues and they are just ignoring them. In the present day market it is essential to have the property look as good as possible and most of these shortcomings I have found would cost little to address.

Two other recommendations are to have a reputable roofer check your roof to see if it needs repairs or recoating. Jon’s Precision Roofing will do an inspection at no charge. Also, it is a good idea to have a termite company do a termite inspection. The cost is usually under $60. All homes in Tucson should continue with termite warranties; the cost is usually around $130 per year. There is an old saying in Tucson, “If your house does not have termites now, it will in the future”. Better to address these issues before the buyer finds them in a home inspection. That way you have more time to get competitive bids should you need remediation.

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October 15, 2007 by donna.

I have just listed an exquisite property at 4099 N Ocotillo Canyon Drive. This almost 2,600 square foot, 3 bedroom + den, 2 bath Outpost custom one- story has gorgeous Catalina, Rincon and Desert views. There is inviting custom artistic landscaping front and back. It has wonderful features galore: newly upgraded master bath with custom tile everywhere; rear yard has a custom barbeque, 608 square feet of flagstone and very beautiful plantings with water fountain; the front entry has flagstone steps, and banco seating area to drink in the beautiful views; the gourmet kitchen has stainless appliances and granite counter tops; large tile floors abound, multiple skylights throughout, the family room is in the popular position off the kitchen and breakfast nook and has an elegant gas fireplace with ceramic surround. This light -filled home really sparkles! Please call me at 918-2410 if you would like to see this beautiful home.

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October 6, 2007 by donna.

I thought many of the owners at Sabino Mountain would like to know how Catalina Foothills-District 16 has handled open enrollment in the past. This is a timely issue since it is likely that Unified Status will be reached for TUSD, and if this happens many of you will want to transfer your children into Catalina District 16 schools. Arizona is a school open enrollment state, so once Unitary status is obtained you can attempt to open enroll your children into other school districts. Since District 16 schools are closer to Sabino Mountain than TUSD schools and the test scores are usually higher, there may be a mass exodus out of TUSD from Sabino Mountain and other area families. In the past few years, District 16 has started taking applications for open enrollment for the next school year on December 1st; this year Dec 1st falls on a Saturday, so my guess is that it will start on November 30th or December 3rd. Last year there was an application on the internet that could be faxed in; the years before that you had to bring the application in person to their central administrative office. This year there should be many more who want to open enroll, so if you want your child to go to District 16 for the next school year, you should call the District 16 administrative office at 299-6446 (located at 2101 E River Rd just before River meets Campbell) to find out how they will handle open enrollment this year. District 16 definitely has room for more students than are presently enrolled since it has been under-enrolled ever since there were many apartment to condominium conversions two years ago. Historically there were many renters in this district since the parents wanted to send their kids to what they perceived were the premier schools in Arizona. However, my guess is they will not have room for all the students who will want to enroll once TUSD reaches unitary status. Maybe there will be a lottery system; maybe it will be first come, first served, but it always pays to be prepared.

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October 4, 2007 by donna.

4553 N Little Rock Drive listed for $359,000 by Long Realty is under contract. This is a great list price for this pristine one-story, Pepper-Viner house that has 1,841 finished square feet. When Sellers list their houses at aggressive prices they sell within a short period of time.

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