Nick Bastian's Blog

Not long ago, I came up with the term RailGating. Basically, it is a new way for people to enjoy the football games at Sun Devil Stadium while avoiding traffic and parking nightmares. Now that we have light rail available to drop people off right in front of Sun Devil Stadium, many people are using it to get to the games and a new term has been introduced to light rail riding Sun Devils. RailGating is here… Soon, it will be an art form. There is no right or wrong way to railgate, just have fun. There will be people that join existing tailgaters, people will use one of the FREE park and Ride lots and then stop at restaurants and bars near Sun Devil Stadium, downtown Phoenix students can take light rail to the game and meet up with friends, etc.

This weekend, we are gearing up for for some serious RailGating action and a Homecoming showdown with the Cal Bears on Halloween.

In fact, everyone is invited to come hang out with the cool AT&T SparkyCentral camera man before, during (if you don’t have tickets") and after the game. While there, you will have a chance to enter the “Grand Puba” contest to win a bunch of cool stuff. If you can’t make it or are not going to enter the contest, please make sure to VOTE FOR ME. <—yes, click that link and vote so that I win…

According to the AT&T Sparky Central site, these are some of the things up for grabs…

1. Free passes to home games.
2. Sideline seating.
3. FREE AT&T Sparky Central merchandise.
4. Exclusive V.I.P. Tailgating Railgating events.
5. More cool stuff that you can find on their site or ask em’ Saturday!

The Homecoming game against California has been picked up by ABC for a 12:30 PM kickoff. We will be there by 10:30am to hang out with friends before the game. (SparkyCentral will be there by 11:00am) The early afternoon kickoff time leaves plenty of time for RailGater’s to enjoy trick-or-treating and other Halloween festivities that evening. Be there, be loud and in gold to carry on the home field advantage for the Devil’s.

ASU has a bunch of great stuff planned for Homecoming. Make sure you check it out and make sure you stop by and say “Hi!”

To come hang out with me and SparkyCentral, take the light rail to the station at 5th and College and head South on Forest to 6th street. At 6th street head west to where the street ends, we will be in the lot on the South side of the road at 101 E 6th Street. Here is a Google map for “RailGating” with us.

For people that are enjoying the games in Tempe, we have set up a new RailGating group on Flickr to share the experiences with friends and with the community. I'll be adding more pics from this weekend so come back and check it out. Finding ways to have fun in Tempe is what it is all about!

See you Saturday… Go Devil’s!

Foreclosures are a huge part of the real estate market in Arizona. For some, foreclosures are an opportunity, for others, they are a nightmare. Over the past several months, I have had many conversations with people about what happens to a tenant when an owner loses the home. We have all heard the horror stories of people coming home to an eviction notice and the terrible situation it can put them through. The National Association of Realtors "supports programs to reduce the impact of foreclosure on communities." In fact, they have talked about tenants rights quite a bit this year. From a NAR article we learn:

 Under the new law, which went into effect on May 20th, tenants will have to receive 90-days notice prior to being evicted, when their rental home is foreclosed upon. In addition, tenants must be allowed to stay in the property through the end of their lease, with two exceptions: * The new owner wants to occupy the property as a personal residence, and * There is no lease (month to month), or there is a lease but state law allows the lease to be terminated at any time upon notice.

Unfortunately, not all people are aware of their rights. The fact is, most people would prefer to be notified prior to a notice being served.

After my friend Jeff called recently to ask me to look into a potential foreclosure situation for a friend of his, I called my friend, Bill Risser and also decided to meet with the guys at LemonLandlord.com to learn more about their service. Take a look at this video. If you have any questions... " Just Call Nick!"

You can also follow Bill on Twitter and follow along with Lemon Landlord there, as well.

Oktoberfest at Tempe Town Lake is this weekend! With the weather looking good and the huge list of fun things being offered, who could say no?

The Tempe Oktoberfest will be held Friday, October 2nd through Sunday, October 4th at Tempe Town Lake. Of course, the easiest way to get to all of the cool events at Town Lake ( in our opinion) is for you to take the light rail to 3rd Street and Mill. The FREE light rail park and ride lots make the trip very convenient.

This year’s event looks to have something for everyone. There will be a ton of kid-friendly activities with Kinderfest at Oktoberfest* along  with non-stop music and entertainment for all. In fact, this year’s music lineup is being billed as their “best ever” with “20 bands on 4 stages.”

Other features and “Fest Facts” for the Oktoberfest include:

Six Beer Gardens

Splash Park/Rock Wall

Bungee Jump

Six Beer Gardens

Bavarian Bakery

Carnival Rides

Six Beer Gardens

Two Wine Gardens

Non-Stop Polka (whatever that means)

Six Beer Gardens

FREE admission is always good, too.

The Tempe Oktoberfest will be held:

Friday 10/2/09 from 5pm – midnight

Saturday 10/3/09 from 10am – midnight

Sunday 10/4/09 from 10am - 6pm

If you want to save a few bucks, “special family pricing allows for the purchase of 25 food / activity tickets for just $20.00 during the following hours: Friday:  5:00 pm –  7:00 pm  Saturday: 10:00 am – 6:00 pm and Sunday: 10:00 am – 6:00 pm.” ( normally, tickets are $1.00 each )

Flickr photo by Mark Briola

*Kinderfest hours are slightly different than the rest of the event. Please see their web site for details.

Tempe Town Lake is located at the North end of the Mill Avenue district and is home to all kinds of cool events, festivals and concerts year round. If you want to keep up on some of the fun things to do in and around the Mill Avenue and Lake district, follow along by reading the Rail Life Blog.

Have a great weekend!

Wow... This is some hard hitting information about mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures. Take a look at these charts.