Ninety eight years ago today Arizona officially became a state.  We were the last of the 48 contiguous states to be admitted to the union.  This is my favorite AZ history story:

Senator Henry Ashurst presided over the convention that adopted AZ’s state constitution and later became one of our first 2 Senators.  He used to tell on himself the story of his maiden speech in the U.S. Senate. “Mr. President,” he began, “The new baby state I represent has the greatest of potential. This state could become a paradise. We need only two things: water and lots of good people.” A gruff senior senator from New England interrupted, “If the Senator will pardon me for saying so, that’s all they need in Hell!”

Happy Statehood Day, AZ!

Yours Truly,

An AZ Native

Oh, and Happy Valentines Day!

I am forever amazed at the number of people who tell me they only have one main requirement in a neighborhood: they want a safe one.  It sounds like this:

Would you put your mom in this house?  Would you live in this neighborhood?  I wonder if there are any sex offenders in the neighborhood?

While I would love to be able to tell you that a neighborhood is safe and you’ll never be harmed if you purchase a house in there, I just can’t make those promises:

1.)  Because I’m not allowed -

REALTOR CODE OF ETHICS: Standard of Practice 10-2

When not involved in the sale or lease of a residence, REALTORS^® may provide demographic information related to a property, transaction or professional assignment to a party if such demographic information is (a) deemed by the REALTOR^® to be needed to assist with or complete, in a manner consistent with Article 10, a real estate transaction or professional assignment and (b) is obtained or derived from a recognized, reliable, independent, and impartial source. The source of such information and any additions, deletions, modifications, interpretations, or other changes shall be disclosed in reasonable detail. (Adopted 1/05, Renumbered 1/06)  [my emphasis]

You see, I am only half of those emphasized items: I am reliable and independent but surely not a recognized or impartial source.

2.)  I don’t know -

This is the real key here.  What is your definition of safe?  I have no doubt in my mind that your definition of safe is different than mine, and mine is different than the next person’s.  Safe is very relative.  I have clients who live in a neighborhood that I don’t like going to in the daylight let alone at night and they tell me that they feel the safest there than anywhere they’ve ever lived.

I’ve lived in a neighborhood where I didn’t feel safe (see I can’t even trust myself).  I had neighbors with severe drug & domestic violence issues two doors down.  We regularly had Police helicopters circling (see I told you).  It wasn’t unusual to see the SWAT team moving in with full shields walking across my yard.

3.)  Is perception reality? -

Are the perceived safe areas really safe?  Or are crimes just different or less reported or less noticeable?

Once, when my husband was out of town, in an attempt to escape the afore mentioned neighborhood, I decided to take my young girls and stay with my in-laws in  their high-end, gated, golf course subdivision.  Someone threw a brick through my car window in their driveway.

My current “safe” neighborhood is 1/2 a mile away from the old one.  Is half a mile really enough to constitute safety compared to the fear that I used to feel?  Probably not.

So what’s a buyer to do?

• Check out Arizona Association of REALTORS’ Buyer Advisory.  It is periodically being updated and offers many live links which will offer you various ways to learn about the house and community you are considering.
• Talk to the neighbors.  You know there is always that gabby one who knows the scoop on everything/everybody.  Find them.
• Drive through the neighborhood in the morning, in the afternoon when school is getting out, at dusk and in the evening.
• Google the community name.  See what anyone else has to say about it online.
• Ask the seller why they’re leaving.

While it’s not me flat out giving you the go ahead that you’ll be safe, these items will help you with due diligence and that’s better than taking my word for it anyway.

Here’s a quick snapshot of the Phoenix real estate Market as of today: 

Things to make note of include:

• The active listings – see how they are coming down, that means that houses are selling and/or expiring and not being replaced with new listings.
• The pending (under contract) listings – nearly twice as many as this time last year!  The buyers are getting it…
• Sales are up too!
• Months Supply of inventory is way down.  If no other houses came on the market at the rate things are selling it would take 4.3 months to deplete the inventory on the market.  

Things are a-changing…

Greatschools.net is a researching parent’s dream.  From public to charter to private schools, you can learn about everything from student and teacher statistics, spending per child, test scores (see Las Sendas Elementary 4th grade AIMS scores above), demographics, extra cirricular activities, parent & student reviews, and much more.  You can also compare schools or school districts.  

If you have something to say about a school your kids go to make sure to leave feedback for others there, too and then sign up to receive updates about your specific schools.  

Don’t miss Great School’s blog, too!

The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced this morning at the National Association of Realtor’s (NAR) Midyear Conference that the Federal Housing and Administration (FHA) will allow it’s lenders to offer first time buyers the opportunity to use their $8,000 federal tax credit toward their down payment.  

This is HUGE!   

Now, if you qualify for the first time home buyer tax credit you don’t have to wait until you buy the house, close on it and then file or amend your taxes to get the $8,000.  The $8,000 will be offered in the form of a small bridge loan that will be paid back after you get your tax credit.  To find out more about the tax credit, check out this informative website. 

With the interest rates at historically low numbers, prices at 10-year lows and an $8,000 tax credit there has never been a better time to buy a home!  And I’m not just saying that because I get paid to.  

If I can help you with your dream of home ownership, please don’t hesitate to ask.

**(Some limitations and exclusions apply, yada, yada, yada…see your friendly loan officer or Realtor for specific details.)

This evening we went back for dinner too…because the girls wanted to go.  ;~)  Here’s a fun aerial view of the lines as we saw them:

The red marking is the longest we saw the line and the blue spots are where we waited from (the closer one being lunch).  This evening we waited just under an hour.  

I’ve been following @JoesRealBBQ on Twitter today and these are some of the stats that were released: 

• 4500 lbs of meat
• 500 dozen bakery fresh buns
• 1800 quarts of homemade sides (the best beans in the world and yummy coleslaw)
• 6184 free meals

Now that’s giving back!  Thank you, Joe.  We appreciate your appreciation of us and our patronage throughout the rest of the year.  And to your hard working staff:  YOU ROCK!!!

(I posted about their sister restaurant Joe’s Farm Grill in November…check it out, too!)

We are a couple of days into the new AZ license plate cover law:

A.R.S. 28-2354 (section) A person shall maintain each license plate so it is clearly legible and so that the name of this state at the top of the license plate is not obscured.

If your license plate frame (you know, that cheapy frame that your dealership put on your car or that cute little saying that you enjoy sharing with everyone behind you on the freeway) is covering up the “ARIZONA” at the top of your license plate you could be fined to the tune of $135 plus court fees (on average).  

This will allow law enforcement officials and eye witnesses to distinguish between in and out of state plates.  AZ currently has over 60 styles of license plates so being able to tell quickly that it is an AZ plate is beneficial.  The law was put into place in 2006 but not implemented until now to allow dealerships time to make changes to their cheap advertising on our cars.  

Based upon my observations driving down the freeway yesterday I’d say that there are many people around town who still aren’t aware of the change.  

You also need to understand that this is a primary offense, meaning that you can be pulled over specifically for this offense.  In fact, I just received a tweet from a friend who said that there was an officer walking through the parking garage at her work and ticketing people!  Yikes!

Go check your plates and share this with your friends.

Here’s the updated info for 2010/2011

Now that the presents are unwrapped and put away laying all over the family room floor (maybe that’s just at my house), it’s time to pack away the ornaments get rid of the Christmas tree.  If you are in posession of one of the 23-30 million live Christmas trees sold each year it’s time to find a location to treecycle.  In a national survey, 93 percent of consumers who used a real Christmas tree recycled their tree in some type of community program.

Christmas trees are recycled for five main types of large-scale uses for post-harvest trees.  These are:

• Chipping (chippings are used for various things from mulch to hiking trails)
• Beachfront erosion prevention
• Lake and river shoreline stabilization
• Fish habitat
• River delta sedimentation management

Check out or more fun facts about Christmas Trees and Recycling here.

I’ve rounded up all the information for most of the Phoenix Metro Cities and their treecycling programs below.

**NOTE** Residents are asked to remove all nails, stands, tinsel, lights and ornaments from trees and most locations require no bagging of the tree. Flocked trees are not typically accepted because the flocking does not break down in the environment.

Apache Junction – The City of Apache Junction is providing two FREE  Christmas Tree drop off points. The Apache Junction sites available to accept trees for recycling will be open 24 hours/day for free drop-off from January 1 – 26, 2009. Those sites are:

Prospector Park, 3015 N. Idaho Rd.
Animal Control, 725 E. Baseline Ave.

Avondale – Residents of Avondale can recycle their live Christmas trees at no charge.  Trees can be dropped off at the City of Avondale Municipal Operations Service Center, 395 E. Lower Buckeye, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Dec. 26 through Jan. 6, with the exception of Jan. 1 when this Service Center will be closed in observance of the New Year’s Day holiday. For more information about Christmas tree recycling, call Avondale’s Field Operations Department at 623-333-4700. (2008)

Buckeye – Buckeye is offering curbside Christmas tree collection.  Residents whose recyclables and solid waste are collected on Mondays and Thursdays should have their Christmas trees curbside on Saturday, Dec. 27, Saturday, Jan., 3 or Saturday, Jan. 10.  Residents whose recyclables and solid waste collections are on Tuesdays and Fridays should have their trees at the curb on Wednesday, Dec. 31, Wednesday, Jan. 7 or Wednesday, Jan. 14.

Once the trees are placed curbside, residents are asked to leave them at the curb until they are collected.  For more information call the Buckeye Public Works Department, 623-349-6805.

Chandler – Curbside Collection for Christmas Trees (December 26, 2008 thru January 16, 2009).  Chandler residents, paying for City-provided solid waste service can place their trees at the edge of their driveway before 6 a.m. on their scheduled recycling collection day (between 12/26/08 and 01/16/09) for curbside Christmas tree collection.

• DO NOT block the sidewalk
• DO NOT place the tree in the blue recycling container, or in the street, or alley.
• DO NOT place tree in refuse, recycle or alley containers.

For more details, call Solid Waste Services at 480-782-3510.

Christmas Tree Drop-Off Sites (December 26, 2008 thru January 18, 2009)  Chandler residents can drop off their Christmas trees at one of several neighborhood drop-off sites. For the location nearest you, check out Chandler’s list of Christmas tree drop-off sites.

Gilbert –  Trees can be dropped off from Dec. 26 through Jan. 5 at:

• Hetchler Park, at Greenfield and Germann roads
• Nichols Park, at Higley and Guadalupe roads
• A to Z Rentals, 1313 E. Baseline Road

Living trees can also be donated to the town for planting in parks and open spaces across the community.

Residents can schedule an appointment to have their tree picked up by calling (480) 503-6274. Trees can also be can dropped off at the Parks Maintenance Facility, 658 N. Freestone Parkway, starting Monday through Friday.

Glendale – The Sanitation Department has established several sites throughout the city where residents can drop off trees for recycling. From Friday, Dec. 26, through Sunday, Jan. 11, bring a single, unbagged tree to one of the following convenient sites (be sure to remove all decorations, tree stands, metal stakes and nails):

• Acoma Park – 53rd Ave. & Acoma Rd.
• Fire Station No. 156 – 67th Ave. & Deer Valley Rd.
• Western Area Regional Park – 83rd Ave. & Bethany Home Rd.
• Foothills Park – 57th Ave. & Union Hills
• Sahuaro Ranch Park – Southeast corner of 63rd Ave. & Mountain View Rd.
• O’Neill Park – 64th Ave. & Missouri Ave.
• Rose Lane Park – 51st Ave. and Marlette Ave.

Goodyear – The City of Goodyear is offering a new curbside collection service as part of its Public Works Sanitation program. Goodyear residents are no longer required to take their Christmas trees to a drop off site. Your tree must be placed out on the curb for collection no later than 6 a.m. as scheduled below. Christmas trees must be separated from your bulk items. Weekly bulk trash will be collected as normally scheduled.

NOTE: The City will also provide extra roll-offs for residents to use for their extra holiday packaging. The roll-offs will be located at the Moose Lodge, PebbleCreek, as well as an additional container at Estrella. They will be available for use from Wednesday, December 24 to January 8th. All items accepted in our curbside recycling program will be accepted at these locations.

City of Goodyear, Public Works Department, 623-932-1637

Maricopa – From December 26, 2008 through January 24, 2009 residents are able to drop off their Christmas trees at the corner of Garvey and Honeycutt on the west side of State Route 347. The area is fenced and signage is posted. This drop-off area is only for previously cut live trees. Please do not bring artificial trees, ornaments or any plastics. There is no charge to drop-off trees.

Mesa – The City of Mesa offers its residents a variety of environmentally friendly ways to dispose of their Christmas trees after the holiday season.  Collected trees are taken to the Salt River Landfill and chipped into nutrient rich mulch.  Benefits from recycling these trees include extending the life of our landfills and reusing our natural and limited resources.

2008/2009 Drop-Off Collection Sites

The following 24-hour drop-off sites will be available Dec. 26-Jan. 11:

• East Mesa Service Center, 6935 E. Decatur St.
• Solid Waste Division, 730 N. Mesa Dr.
• Superstition Springs Police/Fire Station, 2430 S. Ellsworth Road
• Mountain View Park, 845 N. Lindsay Road (enter off of Adobe St.)
• Dobson Ranch Park, 2363 S. Dobson Road

Green Waste Barrel Program – Residents participating in the Green Waste Barrel Program may place their trees inside their green barrel.  To ensure collection, the tree must fit completely inside the container with the lid properly closed.

Curbside Pickup – Curbside pickup of your Christmas tree is available for a nominal fee.  Simply call (480) 644-2688 for more details or to schedule a pickup time.

Salt River Landfill – Christmas trees may be taken directly to the Salt River Landfill, free of charge, with a current Arizona driver’s license anytime Monday through Saturday between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. during the month of January.   The Salt River Landfill is located at Gilbert Road and the Beeline Highway.

Live Christmas Tree Donation Program – The City of Mesa also accepts the donation of live potted Christmas trees, five feet or taller, for planting at City parks.  Residents may drop them off at any Mesa fire station.

The Christmas Tree Recycling Program is a joint partnership between the City of Mesa and Salt River Landfill.  If you have any questions, call the Mesa Recycling Hotline at (480) 644-2222.

Peoria – The Solid Waste Division will pick up Christmas Trees at curbside from Monday, Jan. 5, through Monday, Jan. 12. Residents must call the Solid Waste Division at 623-773-7431 or 623-773-7836 to schedule tree pickups. So that collections run smoothly, please do not bag trees and place trees at the curbside by 6:00 a.m. on the assigned day.

Phoenix – The city of Phoenix and A to Z Equipment Rentals & Sales will provide opportunities for residents to recycle Christmas trees.  Fourteen city parks will accept single trees from residents any time beginning Friday, Dec. 26, through Sunday, Jan. 4. Trees should be placed in designated areas where special collection bins are located, with all tree stands, lights and ornaments removed.  The Christmas tree drop off sites are:

North Phoenix

• Deer Valley Park, 19th Avenue and Utopia Road
• Sereno Park, 56th Street and Sweetwater Avenue
• Paradise Valley Park, 40th Street, south of Union Hills Drive
• Cactus Park, 38th Avenue and Cactus Road
• Mountain View Park, 7th Avenue south of Peoria Avenue

Central Phoenix

• Marivue Park, Osborn Road and 59th Avenue
• Washington Park, Maryland and 23rd avenues
• Madison Park, Glenrosa Avenue and 16th Street
• Los Olivos Park, Devonshire Avenue and 28th Street
• Desert West Park, Encanto Boulevard and 67th Avenue

South Phoenix

• El Reposo Park, 7th Street and Alta Vista Road
• Mountain Vista Park, 50th Street north of Ray Road
• Desert Foothills Park, Desert Foothills Parkway and Chandler Boulevard
• Cesar Chavez Park, 35th Avenue and Baseline Road

Single trees will be accepted at the city’s transfer stations at 3060 S. 27th Ave. (south of Lower Buckeye Road), and at 30205 N. Black Canyon Fwy. (exit I-17 at Dixileta Road). Sites are open 5:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekends. The 27th Avenue site is closed Sundays. Both sites are closed New Years Day. The service is free to Phoenix residents.

A to Z Equipment Rentals & Sales also will accept trees at no charge from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 26 through Jan 5, except Sundays and Dec. 31 when stores will open 9 a.m. to noon. Stores are closed New Year’s Day. Phoenix stores are located at 4050 E. Indian School Rd. and 15634 N. 32 St.

For additional information, call 602-262-7251, e-mail pwserve@phoenix.gov, or visit phoenix.gov/publicworks.

Queen Creek – The Town is again offering residents a free Christmas tree recycling program. Residents participating in the Town‘s Christmas Tree Recycling Program will be offered three opportunities to drop off their trees. On each date, Town staff will be available to assist with unloading and disposal of the trees. Before depositing trees, all tree stands, lights, ornaments and other tree decorations must be removed.

In addition to clean trees, flocked trees (fake snow) are also accepted. Trees from fund-raising projects or commercial tree lots will not be accepted at the drop-off location.  Trees may be dropped off from 8 a.m.-noon on three consecutive Saturday mornings: Jan. 5, 12 and 19. This year’s drop off location will be on the southwest corner of Crewse Lane and Ellsworth Road. The site is just south of Town Hall. For more information about the program, call 480-358-3700.

Scottsdale — Scottsdale is offering both curbside collection and drop-of locations.

Curbside Collection – The City of Scottsdale will hold its annual citywide Christmas Tree Roundup the week of Monday December 29th, 2008 to Friday January 2nd, 2009. If you have residential collection services please have your Christmas tree curbside by 5:00am on the morning of December 29th. Please remove stands, lights and ornaments! No artificial trees will be collected!

Drop-Off Locations – On Saturday January 3rd from 7:00 AM to 2:00 PM. the City will be collecting Christmas trees from two park locations. If you missed the Christmas Tree Roundup or do not have residential collection services you can drop off your tree at either location listed below.

Scottsdale Ranch Park: 10400 E. Via Linda (North of 104th Street and Via Linda)

Eldorado Park: 2311 N. Miller Road (Southeast of Miller and Oak)

Surprise – The City of Surprise offers a Christmas Tree Drop-Off from December 26, 2008 through January 5, 2009. Please remove all decorations and place trees in designated areas only. Limit two trees per household.

• Gaines Park 15837 N. Nash Street at north end of the parking lot
• Surprise Recreation Complex 15795 N. Parkview Place across from Valley Vista High School

Tempe – Tempe residents have handy options for disposing of their Christmas trees – which should not be placed in garbage containers. Trees can be dropped off from 7 a.m. to noon on Fridays and from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays at the city’s Household Products Collection Center, 1320 E. University Dr. Additionally, trees can be dropped off at the parking lot west of Kiwanis Park Recreation Center, 6111 W. All-America Way, 24 hours, seven days a week. Both sites will accept trees through Jan. 20. The city also collects trees during normal monthly collection for brush and bulky items. Visit www.tempe.gov/recycling/uncontainedschedule.pdf to find out when your neighborhood is scheduled for monthly collection. For information, call 480-350-8265.

Nearly each morning we are greeted by a handful of these beautiful creatures chattering atop one of the trees in our front yard.  The Peach-faced Lovebird is a small brightly colored parrot native to Southwestern Africa.  There is a large feral (n. wild and menacing-though I don’t believe them to be menacing)  population in the Phoenix Metro area.  A breeding pair was first reported in 1998 in Scottsdale and unlike most accidental releases the lovebirds have been able to adapt to the dry heat of AZ.  Since then they have really made themselves at home in the Valley of the Sun.  Check out a map of the Phoenix area and the lovebird sightings.  Don’t forget to update it with your own lovebird sightings.

Fun facts about our (I call them our) lovebirds:

• They are quite social and nearly always arrive in pairs, frequently in groups of 6-10.  
• They are also VERY vocal.  The loud chattering announces their arrival and departure.  In fact, last spring a couple of them were nesting in the roof tiles above my master bedroom.  It was fun but a little loud earlier than I appreciated in the morning.  My husband says that sometimes they are quite annoying to golfers when they number in the hundreds around some of the golf courses here in the NE Mesa area.  
• They are also a little feisty and “bicker” back and forth with each other as well as with the sparrows and finches.  
• We have discovered that they really enjoy fruit flavored birdseed.  We bought the cheaper stuff one time and they kind-of boycotted our feeder. 
• They don’t spook to easily.  They will usually allow us to walk outside under the tree they are perched on without flying off as other birds do.  

In writing this post I have also discovered that lovebirds have taken up habitat in London and parts of Scotland as well.  

So as you are out enjoying the wonderful AZ winter (or whilst in London or Scotland) keep your eyes and ears out for these cute little guys.  In my opinion it is more fun to have them out in the “wild” than to pay $59 for them at a pet store.  

Whoever says there is no such thing as a free lunch hasn’t met Joe Johnston yet.  

Today is Customer Appreciation Day at Joe’s Farm Grill.  Joe Johnston (famous for Joe’s Real BBQ and Joe’s Farm Grill as well as the concept of Agritopia and many other things) knows how to do customer appreciation.  He’ll pack out the block with people waiting in line for a free hamburger, fries and a drink.  He’ll give away free food and lots of it today, but what he’ll really do is give back to the customers who happily wait in a quick line each time they visit one of Joe’s establishments.  He’ll showcase the service, quality and fantastic food that has made his restaurants THE place(s) to visit if you’re in Gilbert.  The likes of Guy Fieri & Diners Drive-ins and Dives aren’t mistaken when they pick this place as the essence of Gilbert.  

If you’ve not been, I’d encourage you to go.  The lines really aren’t that bad (even if they look horrendous) and who knows, you might even make a new friend or two as you enjoy the beautiful weather AZ has to offer this time of year.  

See you in line!