The Tortolita Times has been a 4 page mailed piece sent out over the last 10 years. We are proud to annouce that we will now change formats to reflect the lifestyle of the Tortolita Mountain Area in a colored magazine format. The first issue will appear this summer, will likely be distributed free in area grocery and other stores, on a quarterly basis that could become monthly if advertising revenue dictates this.  The really unique features of our magazine is that it is community based, rather than city, and will have this website to follow up and expand on any stories, interests, and advertising. If you have ideas, stories, photos, or want to place an appropriate ad in the Tortolita Times Magacyberzine combo call us at 907-9107

It’s Back

By popular demand I have revived the Tort Times. I have been selling Tortolita homes, property, and ranches for almost 20 years.  I took a couple of years off to get the non profit children’s dinosaur museum started, at no pay.  It is now well under way, though you can find me there almost every day.  But many of my long term clients are asking for advice & help in the Torts . So without further adieu let's get started:

What’s Happening in the Torts Real Estate?

Well, in case you’ve been off planet and didn’t notice… the Tortolita Mtns are the in place to be right now. We always knew we had a great lifestyle here. But now it is nobody’s secret.  The easiest way to tell that is to look at the price jumps.  And while it is not the same in all areas, the overall prices are up, sometimes way up.  A home I sold 3 years ago on 5 acres for $225,000 has recently sold for $475,000.  Does that mean most homes have doubled in value?  Welllll, no.  But some have.  Has yours?

Some land parcels have also doubled in last 3 years, but most have not. Again, it depends on the lot, where it is located, what exactly is around it, what CC&R’s are on the books, paved or non paved, access, which utils, cost to put in septic system, etc. Two examples.  A lot next to Saguaro Canyon sold for $85,000 3 years ago and was recently sold for $400,000. 

Another on the NW side near Owlhead Buttes sold for $125,000 and now is on the market for $250,000. I am
happy to give you my opinion of your value at 792-2500.
But let me be honest with you, as always. It is generally not a Sellers market anymore.  In some areas it is neutral, but in others it has become a buyers market.  After the tremendous run up the last few years, this is likely just a “cooling off” period.  Prices are very up, but days on market have stretched to 131 days on average, and multiple offers are a thing of the past.  Now, more than ever, it is good to have an expert guide you through the many details and correct marketing to get your highest price.  I have personally sold more Tortolita property than all other Brokers combined.  Need an expert.  Give me a call.  I also believe that this recent softening in the market is going to lead to some panic selling at some point.  People who bought a year ago and are forced to move or sell now may find they will be taking a loss or having to sit on their property for 6 months or more and then being forced to sell by circumstances… reduce the price drastically.  This signals the buyers and “sharks” that low ball offers will sometimes be accepted and thus the prices are driven lower.  I have seen this played out 3 times in the last 20 years and right now we have all the appearances of that kind of market.  Any little thing could touch it off:  Stock market, political showdown in Iran or Korea, falling Asian stock market.  It is hard to predict.  But if it happens we may lose 10 to 30% of market value quickly.  That still means a profit for most people.  Or you can wait it out.  The last wait was only 3 years and the one before was 5. I do not subscribe to the doom & gloom that some “pundits” predict. No Worries.

Have A Heart

With all the road building, land clearing, and general disruption going on because of the build in the Tortolita area there are a lot of problems facing the wildlife and vegetation. But we can all help.  In normal circumstances if someone is putting in a new house, many of the animals that are effected can move over to an adjacent non built parcel.  Sometimes the other local critters can adjust, but it can take a little time. If you see a snake, Gila Monster, tortoise, or other influx of reptiles, DON’T DO ANYTHING! They are simply passing through while looking for new territory. If you panic and kill or harass them you are doing nobody a favor.  They may just be moving though or simply taking a break on their way to elsewhere. If you ignore them and just do not interact with them they will be gone in a few hours or days. The same is true with mammals like bobcats, foxes, coyotes, Ring Tail Cats, etc.  If they appear injured call the Fire Department and stay away.  This rabies scare is generally overblown, but do not take a chance. Call an expert; whether it is the above, the Desert Museum, or Fish and Game. But have some sympathy and cut our wildlife a break. They were here before we were and should always be treated with respect, love, and perhaps a little awe that they can survive at all here in this hostile area.

The New T Rex Museum of Dinosaurs, Kids, and Fun

Some of you may have noticed that I haven’t been distributing the Tortolita Times the last couple of years. The reason is simple, I have put my time, money, mouth, and limited talents behind Tucson’s first Dinosaur Museum. It is located at 100 E. Drachman St. which is one light North of Speedway and one block East of Stone. For more info check out www.trexmuseum.org. It is Tucson’s first dinosaur museum as well as North America’s only “Children’s Dinosaur Museum. It is very hands on and interactive for children of all ages. It is open 7 days a week and if you bring this T.Times (not a replica) they will give you One Dollar off each admission from now until Sept. 31st. If you love dinosaurs and interacting with children we are looking for volunteers and docents. It’s way cool and a lot of fun. And check out our website to see the new museum in the planning stages. And yes, we will need a lot of community help for fund raising, exhibit ideas, site selection and much more. Give them a call at (520) 792-2884 with any questions or for directions to the current 6000 sq foot museum. And yes, there is a T Rex there.  And 3 skulls including the one I found. Very few museums of any size have that many Rex skulls.

T Rex Realty Web site

If you haven’t been to this site you may want to visit it.  Or if you are just looking for information on NW Tucson and the Tortolita Mountain area check out the award winning www.tortolita.com.  Here is info on dining, golf, hiking, history and much more. And the real estate site has constantly changing articles about how to sell yourself, mortgage rates, how to pick a mortgage company and other timely and informative articles I have written or asked other experts in their fields to write. You will also notice that I have gone heavily toward “sustainable” or “green” real estate.  We can still do it right, before we end up like the worst of California.

Don’t Like Phone Sales?

Who does! But here is a tip you may find very useful. Most have heard of the “do not call list.” But not many know exactly how to get on it. Here it is: go to www.donotcall.gov. There are some simple instructions that take a few minutes to do.  Then 31 days later you will be on the list. How’s that for a good tip?

What is happening to rural land in the Tortolita’s?

In a word; a lot!  Lots I have sold just a few years ago are up as much as 500%.  Still they are good buys compared to other areas.  You can still find beautiful 5 acre parcels for under $100K.  And if you are an out of state owner you may want to give me a call to see what your “retirement” lot is worth today.  But again a word of caution.  I have noticed a definite a definite fall off in rising prices the last few months.  It is too short to call it a trend, but if it keeps up we will see an erosion of profits from earlier this year.  Prediction;  a downturn in luxury lots and homes and a cooling off of median priced homes and rural land.

Latest Dinosaur Story for AZ

One of the staff members of the T Rex Museum has found the leg-bone of a Brachiosaurus down near Patagonia. It’s species has not be clearly identified at press time, but you can come see a cast of it at the Museum.  It is awesome at over 44inches and was really big.

What Is Green Real Estate?

Well, it’s not about cactus hugging. Instead it has become apparent to many people that we are completely out of balance when it comes to developing our precious and limited real estate resources. First off, only a small amount of Arizona is actually in private hands. Next, too many developers need to make a quick buck so they basically scrape the desert bare and build stick house and then sell quickly, take their profits and go back to where they came from.  Have you visited Southern California or Las Vegas recently?

This is called “unsustainable growth” or sprawl;  and while it is legal it certainly isn’t wise. If we wanted to live like Angelinos we would move to L.A. Isn’t it time we tried to do something constructive about this “quality of life” issue?

That is what true “Green Real Estate is about, making better choice and knowing full well we will make compromises and mistakes along the way.

T Rex Realty has decided to go “Green” in a professional way. If you have read even one of these Tortolita Times you know how much we love this unique lifestyle found her in NW Tucson, the Torts, and the rural areas around us.  No, we can’t stop growth; but we can make decisions now to try and redirect it.  So, T Rex Realty will no longer sell quick-build “track homes” (unless in a sensitive community), mobile homes or trailers, properties that have scraped bare their lots, or anything that is clearly a blight on Mother Earth.  After all, ”Under All Is Mother Earth. Helping her is helping all.”

What am I looking to do?  For sellers I wish to help market their product as green.  In other words we need to embrace passive or active solar, heavy insulation like adobe, rammed earth, concrete formed, and other sustainable technologies including permaculture, water harvesting, tankless heating systems, xeriscape landscaping, and so on.  Nobody is perfect and compromises often have to be made.  But we can do better and I will happily give your home a free green test to offer suggestions on how to improve.

For buyers I research what is on the market that can in any way be considered “Green” with your definition and parameters. If you want to get a lot and build then I can really help you.  Help you to be sustainable, help you to save money, learn survival skills for what ever level of security your family and you are looking for.  And how to be as light on Mother Earth as you can be, given your unique circumstances.

We have a team composed of Lenders, Architects, Builders, Sub-contractors, Appraisers, Solar Energy Consultants that all will help you realize your dream; whether it is an off-grid compound, a custom home that is Earth Friendly, to retrofitting your place to become more green and cash in on the surging market for this type of product.

The only way you can make any decisions about this is to meet me. I really am a competent professional who believes in this stuff. I am Tucson’s first “Green Broker” and likely the only one. Please prove me wrong! See the next article to see what others think of this Green Thing!

It’s About the Kids Future

Some of you know that my wife and I have 7 children between us. We have also founded the T rex Museum of Dinosaurs  for the kids of all ages in Tucson. And we naturally worry about the future or kids will face.  We can’t always do much about world or even our own country’s politics, but we can set good examples in our own regions, towns, and even neighborhoods.  So what can someone do who is trying to survive the normal stresses that come from just raising a family?

Well, to start with we can make some simple but better choices. I look down the block where we are currently living, and see about a dozen garbage cans outside, but only a couple of recycling bins! That’s a real shame.  It costs no more money and only a little time to partially separate that which can be reused.

There is no question that we are either running low on many natural resources, or are going to have to compete on the world market for them. A good example is cement. Prices have doubled in the last two years and almost entirely because China is now buying over 55% of all the worlds supply to fuel their growth.  Gasoline is the same and the demand will only go up and the supplies down.  If you don’t like it at $3.99 you surely won’t love it at $7.99. It will absolutely happen in our life time.  And much of what we are wasting can be recycled. 

It is estimated that we could recycle enough materials to save each household up to $25,000 each year if we did it right.  Of course we won’t, but there are big pay-offs in dollars and for the environment if we can figure out how to.  And it will be our children left to pay the tab when the music stops if we don’t start taking some personal responsibility right now.

Desert Tortoises

We recently received a box on our doorsteps.  It was a dozen desert tortoises ranging from an inch and a half to an almost full grown one.  Since we do not know who they are from and weather they were wild caught or captive raised we can not release them into the wild.  We hope to get permission to display  them up as a “colony” at the museum and if so will have a naming contest. Stay tuned for further information on them.

Desert Trees

Because of the prolonged drought in our area, many large and small trees are seriously at risk. People tell me ‘”Oh I never water them any more and they have been here for years.”  That may be true, but this is an unusual situation.  The U of A has recommended doing deep trickle watering (all day or even overnight) to any tree showing signs of the draught, even desert adapted or feral trees.  If the branches are starting to turn brown, are withering and dying, or if you see any signs of unhealthiness… it is time to help out.  Look around you.  Even very old trees are actually dying.  Across town hundreds of large trees have or will shortly come down because of the draught.  It’s now help out or lose time. Only we can make the choice now, they can’t seek water like animals and we can.  And just because we have had a good monsoon doesn’t mean we can ignore our trees the rest of the year. Keep the above advise in mind, please.

Book On Tortolitas

I’ve been asked many times if I was going to ever write a book on the Tortolita Mountains or area since I have been studying it for about 30 years.  Finally I decided it was time.  So I have finished about half of it and am researching the rest. If anyone has interesting information that is verifiable on history, natural history, trails, or such please email me at info@tortolita.com or call me at 792-2500.

The following is an unedited excerpt;

Early Indigenous Natives

Prehistoric Paleo Indians (the” ancient ones”) entered Arizona as early as 15,000 BC,(some theorize even as early as 30,000 B.C.) following the large game animals as they migrated south from Asia. When the animals died off about 6000 BC, a desert culture evolved and the people turned to gathering and hunting smaller game and began the cultivation of maize or corn as well as beans and chili peppers. Growing crops allowed them to settle into permanent villages. They developed distinct cultures, which became known as the Anasazi, Mogollon, Patayan, Salado, Sinagua and Hohokam. They are also called the Desert People and the Cochise People.

The Anasazi were known as the basket makers for their fine yucca fiber baskets. They cultivated corn, squash and beans. The bow and arrow had come into use and their pottery was primarily white or gray and black. They lived in pueblos and, later, cliff dwellings.

The Mogollon were a mountain people who lived in single family units made up of one-room pit houses constructed of twigs and logs covered with mud. Although they cultivated corn they were primarily hunter-gatherers. Their pottery was decorated with surrealistic designs and animal scenes.

The Hohokam were a highly developed civilization of farmers who built extensive irrigation canals and lived in permanent villages of walled compounds. Their crops consisted of corn, beans squash, cotton and tobacco. They made pottery and traded with the Mesoamericans to the south.

There appears to be a strong Mayan influence on these early peoples and especially the Hohokam. We have discovered “ball courts” nearly identical to the ones used earlier by the more southern Mayans even here in and near Tucson, And trade goods from the Desert Dwellers have been found in the Mayan empire all the way to Central America.

Between 1250 AD and 1450 AD, these cultures disappeared and were replaced by the Hopi and Pima or Tohono O’odham. The Navajo and Apaches arrived from the north around 1100 AD.

T Rex Realty 
100 E. Drachman
Tucson, AZ  85705
520.792-2500
www.trexrealty.com