Nick Bastian's Blog

Nick Bastian's Blog http://nickbastiansrealestatereport.activerain.com/ Nick Bastian is the preferred REALTOR for www.RailLife.com. This blog will allow you to learn more about the dynamic areas near Arizona's Light Rail system. en-us http://nickbastiansrealestatereport.activerain.com/post/1329384/2009-turkey-drive-for-phoenix-rescue-mission 2009 Turkey Drive for Phoenix Rescue Mission <p>Once again, it's time for our (7th) <a href="http://nickbastian.blogspot.com/2008/11/time-for-nicks-annual-turkey-drive.html" title="Nick's Turkey drive" target="_blank">annual turkey drive</a>! On Sunday Nov. 22nd, I will be delivering turkeys to <a href="http://phoenixrescuemission.org/" title="Phoenix Rescue Mission" target="_blank">Phoenix Rescue Mission</a> as they prepare to feed the homeless on Thanksgiving Day.</p> <p>I believe that many people have a desire to help others this time of year but find it difficult to do so because our lives are so busy. This year, the shelters need a LOT of help. If you would like to help by making a financial donation, we will do all of the work for you! I'll be purchasing frozen turkeys Sunday morning to deliver to the Phoenix Rescue Mission. (I can provide receipts from the mission if needed.) Please feel free to contact me with any questions or donations.</p> <p>If you are able to donate one dollar or a hundred ( or more), I am able to purchase frozen turkeys all at once for delivery to the mission on Sunday morning. Over the years, we have found this the easiest way to help the most people. I can give you my address or I can pick up donations up until Saturday the 21st. You can always email me at nick (at) nickbastian (dot) com or call me for more info! I am out and about a LOT, so it makes picking up your donation pretty easy! :-)</p> <p>Last year, with the help of my friend Rob, we were able to deliver over 875 pounds of turkey for needy families! Big thanks to Rob Sell at Sell Home Inspections for all he does. Thankfully, Rob has really stepped in to be a huge help to me in hauling all of these birds. We both have a BLAST delivering them and want to thank everyone for your donations to such a great cause.</p> <p><a href="http://raillife.com/blog/2009/11/09/join-the-annual-rail-life-turkey-drive/" title="2009 Turkey Drive" target="_blank">Please help</a>. Every single penny is GREATLY appreciated. We want to make it easy for everyone to help others this Thanksgiving. I would also like to wish you and your families a wonderful holiday season!</p> <p><img title="2008 Turkey Drive" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/9/1/5/0/1/ar12578254210519.jpg" height="240" alt="2008 Turkey Drive" width="300" style="border: 5px solid black; margin: 5px; vertical-align: bottom;" /></p><div class='agent_signature'><p><a title="Nick Bastian" href="http://www.nickbastian.com" target="_blank">Nick Bastian, Tempe AZ Real Estate agent</a>.</p> <p>      Buying or Selling Real Estate?</p> <p>            <a title="Nick Bastian" href="http://www.justcallnick.com" target="_blank">"Just Call Nick!"</a></p> <p>        602-803-NICK (6425)</p></div> Nick Bastian - Tempe, AZ Real Estate Agent (Realty Executives) Mon, 09 Nov 2009 22:02:38 -0600 http://nickbastiansrealestatereport.activerain.com/post/1329384/2009-turkey-drive-for-phoenix-rescue-mission http://nickbastiansrealestatereport.activerain.com/post/1325240/help-walk-score-update-their-transit-information Help Walk Score update their transit information <p>If you are an agent that sells <a href="http://raillife.com/homes-near-light-rail/" title="Homes near light rail" target="_blank">homes near transit lines</a> or that feels like living near a light rail system could be a benefit to home owners or investors, I would ask that you <a href="http://www.walkscore.com/transit-feed.shtml" target="_blank"><strong>contact your local transit authority</strong></a> to get your area added to the Walk Score system.</p> <p><strong><a href="http://blog.walkscore.com/?p=344" target="_blank">Walk Score</a></strong> is a great tool we have used for quite some time to allow people to “score” a home based on it’s “walk-ability.” While I believe it is a great tool, I hadn’t really been quite as excited as one might think, mostly because <a href="http://www.walkscore.com/how-it-works.shtml" target="_blank">their algorithm</a> hadn’t included public transportation, mainly, light rail.</p> <p>Recently, that excitement has changed <em>slightly </em>as I have seen several blog posts about <strong><a href="http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/kbenfield/walk_score_incorporates_transi.html" target="_blank">new transportation data</a></strong> being used in <a href="http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/010728.html" target="_blank"><strong>evaluating a Walk Score</strong></a>. The reason I say slightly is because the Phoenix Metro area does not yet have the super cool transit functionality built into the search. ( Flagstaff has it!?!)</p> <p>Getting the data necessary to add transportation to the Walk Score system is easy. There is a <a href="http://www.walkscore.com/transit-feed.shtml" title="Walk Score form" target="_blank"><strong>form we can all fill</strong> <strong>out</strong></a> to request our transit agency to submit a transit feed to make it happen. If you are interested in transportation or are interested in living near the light rail line, please fill out that form and let them know.</p> <p>Please feel free to leave a comment here and add to the discussion BUT, please also head over to the blog post I wrote about this topic on the <a href="http://raillife.com/blog/2009/11/07/walk-score-transit-data-needed/" title="Rail Life Walk Score post" target="_blank"><strong>Rail Life blog</strong></a> and leave a comment there as well. I would like to get some reactions from some of the "transit geeks" that read the Rail Life blog and it would be great to have them see what some of the people from Active Rain have to say about the Walk Score information. If you are not familiar with Walk Score, you might want to check them out. It is a fun way to tell people how "walk able" their neighborhood.</p> <p> </p> <p><img title="Walk Score" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/6/1/8/3/9/ar125761950093816.jpg" height="310" alt="Walk Score" width="294" style="border: 10px solid black; margin: 5px 10px;" /></p> <p> </p> <p> </p><div class='agent_signature'><p><a title="Nick Bastian" href="http://www.nickbastian.com" target="_blank">Nick Bastian, Tempe AZ Real Estate agent</a>.</p> <p>      Buying or Selling Real Estate?</p> <p>            <a title="Nick Bastian" href="http://www.justcallnick.com" target="_blank">"Just Call Nick!"</a></p> <p>        602-803-NICK (6425)</p></div> Nick Bastian - Tempe, AZ Real Estate Agent (Realty Executives) Sat, 07 Nov 2009 12:53:37 -0600 http://nickbastiansrealestatereport.activerain.com/post/1325240/help-walk-score-update-their-transit-information http://nickbastiansrealestatereport.activerain.com/post/1314644/google-wave-enclave Google Wave Enclave <p> </p> <p>Ok, who is using Google Wave? As you can see form the following blog post written by my friend <a href="http://activerain.com/billrisser" title="Bill rocks" target="_blank">Bill Risser</a>, we are going to meet on Monday to try and dive a little deeper into some of it's features.</p> <p>You are welcome to join us in person or online. If you have a Google Wave account, please feel free to connect with me so that we can chat on Monday at 10am ( AZ time) I am nickbastian@googlewave <dot>com</p> <p>I have heard good things and not so good things about Google Wave which is understandable for a new product. I have nt used it much yet but see some interesting possibilities. Please feel free to join us!</p> <p> </p> <div id="reblogging_tag">Via <b><a href="http://activerain.com/blogsview/1311297/google-wave-enclave">Bill Risser (Chicago Title Insurance Gilbert, Arizona)</a></b>:<br/><blockquote><p><big><big>OK, the title <strong>Google Wave Enclave</strong> is a bit pretentious, but I hope it caught your attention.<br /><br />I'm putting a call out to anyone lucky enough to have received an invite to Google Wave.  <a href="http://www.raillife.com" target="_blank">Nick Bastian</a> (@raillife) and <a href="http://www.mytitleguypaul.com" target="_blank">Paul Guenther </a>(@mytitleguypaul) and myself are getting together next Monday, Nov 2nd at 10am in Tempe to experiment, play, and hopefully learn some of the finer points of the Wave. </big></big><img title="Wave Logo" src="http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:m9kpVFaYESr0PM:http://www.s44.at/_f_blogged/images/uploads/technosexual/google_wave_logo_final.jpg" height="128" alt="Wave logo" style="margin: 20px; float: right;" width="150" /><big><big> <br /></big><big></big></big></p> <p> </p> <p><big><big>Nick was lucky enough to receive an invite, and he's agreed to let us use his account for our workshop.  If you have a Wave account, and would like to join us, simply leave a comment or contact me at<a href="mailto:billrisser@gmail.com"> billrisser@gmail.com</a>.  The more Wave accounts the better.  This will enable us to see just how real time some of the Wave features really are<big> <small>and develop some user strategies.</small></big><small><br /><big><br /><a href="http://www.activerain.com/blogsview/1166519/yin-and-yang-or-ping-or-ning-"></a></big></small></big></big></p> <p><big><big><small><big><a href="http://www.activerain.com/blogsview/1166519/yin-and-yang-or-ping-or-ning-">Click here</a> to see the video of the Google Wave Developers Conference.</big></small><small><big>  It's at the bottom of the linked post.</big><br /><br /><br /></small></big></big><small><br />  </small></p><div class="agent_signature"><p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><em>Click on the Google Card to connect with me socially...</em></span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.google.com/profiles/billrisser" target="_blank"><img title="Google Profiles" src="http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:qdg6kzd6z9Bq4M:http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_7ZYqYi4xigk/Se4iHQ5z0OI/AAAAAAAADo4/1_jr20EyxNs/s1600/googleMeCard.png" height="86" alt="Google Profiles" width="130" /></a></p></div></blockquote></div><div class='agent_signature'><p><a title="Nick Bastian" href="http://www.nickbastian.com" target="_blank">Nick Bastian, Tempe AZ Real Estate agent</a>.</p> <p>      Buying or Selling Real Estate?</p> <p>            <a title="Nick Bastian" href="http://www.justcallnick.com" target="_blank">"Just Call Nick!"</a></p> <p>        602-803-NICK (6425)</p></div> Nick Bastian - Tempe, AZ Real Estate Agent (Realty Executives) Sun, 01 Nov 2009 16:10:59 -0600 http://nickbastiansrealestatereport.activerain.com/post/1314644/google-wave-enclave http://nickbastiansrealestatereport.activerain.com/post/1311466/asu-fans-enjoying-railgating- ASU fans enjoying "Railgating" <p><img title="Railgating in Tempe" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/6/8/0/9/6/ar12569186669086.jpg" height="224" alt="Tempe ASU football fans enjoy Railgating" width="300" style="border: 10px solid black; margin: 10px; float: left;" />Not long ago, I came up with the term <a href="http://raillife.com/blog/2009/10/03/railgating/" title="Railgating rocks" target="_blank"><strong>RailGating</strong></a>. 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 <a href="http://raillife.com/phoenix-light-rail-park-and-ride-locations/" title="light rail park and ride lot" target="_blank"><strong>FREE park and Ride lots</strong></a> 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.</p> <p>This weekend, we are gearing up for for some serious <strong>RailGating </strong>action and a Homecoming showdown with the Cal Bears on Halloween.</p> <p>In fact, everyone is invited to come hang out with the cool <strong><a href="http://www.attsparkycentral.com/" target="_blank">AT&T SparkyCentral</a></strong> camera man before, during (if you don’t have tickets") and after the game. While there, you will have a chance to enter the “<strong><a href="http://attsparkycentral.com/#/grandpuba/home" target="_blank">Grand Puba” contest</a></strong> 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 <strong><a href="http://www.attsparkycentral.com/#/grandpuba/33" target="_blank">VOTE FOR ME</a></strong>. <—yes, click that link and vote so that I win…</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>According to the AT&T Sparky Central site, these are some of the things up for grabs…</p> <ol> <li>Free passes to home games.</li> <li>Sideline seating.</li> <li>FREE AT&T Sparky Central merchandise.</li> <li>Exclusive V.I.P. Tailgating Railgating events.</li> <li>More cool stuff that you can find on their site or ask em’ Saturday!</li> </ol> <p>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. (<strong><a href="http://twitter.com/SparkyCentral/statuses/5236495300" target="_blank">SparkyCentral will be there by 11:00am</a></strong>) 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.</p> <p>ASU has a bunch of <a href="http://homecoming.asu.edu/" target="_blank">great stuff planned for Homecoming</a>. Make sure you check it out and make sure you stop by and say “Hi!”</p> <p>To come hang out with me and <strong><a href="http://twitter.com/SparkyCentral" target="_blank">SparkyCentral,</a></strong> 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 <strong><a href="http://www.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&t=h&hl=en&msa=0&msid=114401998183882726655.00047509426123c556688&z=17#fb" target="_blank">Google map for “RailGating”</a></strong> with us.</p> <p>For people that are enjoying the games in Tempe, we have set up a new <a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/railgating/pool/" title="Railgating pics" target="_blank">RailGating group on Flickr</a> 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!</p> <p>See you Saturday… Go Devil’s!</p><div class='agent_signature'><p><a title="Nick Bastian" href="http://www.nickbastian.com" target="_blank">Nick Bastian, Tempe AZ Real Estate agent</a>.</p> <p>      Buying or Selling Real Estate?</p> <p>            <a title="Nick Bastian" href="http://www.justcallnick.com" target="_blank">"Just Call Nick!"</a></p> <p>        602-803-NICK (6425)</p></div> Nick Bastian - Tempe, AZ Real Estate Agent (Realty Executives) Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:15:31 -0500 http://nickbastiansrealestatereport.activerain.com/post/1311466/asu-fans-enjoying-railgating- http://nickbastiansrealestatereport.activerain.com/post/1268873/foreclosures-tenants-rights-and-lemonlandlord-com Foreclosures, Tenants Rights and LemonLandlord.com <p>Foreclosures are a huge part of the real estate market in Arizona. For some, <a href="http://raillife.com/blog/2009/06/23/foreclosures-near-light-rail/">foreclosures are an opportunity</a>, 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 "<span style="font-size: x-small; font-family: verdana;"><a href="http://www.realtor.org/fedistrk.nsf/c2c6e17e27e92119852572f8005cd953/da4798432b86ced1852575ca00483bd9?OpenDocument"><i><strong>supports programs to reduce the impact of foreclosure on communities</strong></i></a>." </span>In fact, they have <a href="http://www.realtor.org/fedistrk.nsf/files/government_affairs_tenant_protect_faqs.pdf/$FILE/government_affairs_tenant_protect_faqs.pdf">talked about tenants rights</a> quite a bit this year. From a NAR article we learn:</p> <p> <i><span style="font-size: x-small; font-family: verdana;"><strong>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.</strong></span></i> </p> <p>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. </p> <p>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, <a href="http://www.billrisser.com/" target="_blank">Bill Risser</a> and also decided to meet with the guys at <a href="http://lemonlandlord.com/">LemonLandlord.com</a> to learn more about their service. Take a look at this video. If you have any questions... <a href="http://www.nickbastian.com/">" Just Call Nick!"</a></p> <object height="300" width="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/c0_vw-zZfCY&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b&border=1"> </param> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"> </param> <param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"> </param> <embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/c0_vw-zZfCY&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="300" width="350"></embed></object> <p>You can also <a href="http://twitter.com/billrisser" target="_blank">follow Bill on Twitter</a> and follow along with <a href="http://twitter.com/lemonlandlord" target="_blank">Lemon Landlord</a> there, as well.</p> </p> <div class='agent_signature'><p><a title="Nick Bastian" href="http://www.nickbastian.com" target="_blank">Nick Bastian, Tempe AZ Real Estate agent</a>.</p> <p>      Buying or Selling Real Estate?</p> <p>            <a title="Nick Bastian" href="http://www.justcallnick.com" target="_blank">"Just Call Nick!"</a></p> <p>        602-803-NICK (6425)</p></div> Nick Bastian - Tempe, AZ Real Estate Agent (Realty Executives) Sun, 04 Oct 2009 14:05:24 -0500 http://nickbastiansrealestatereport.activerain.com/post/1268873/foreclosures-tenants-rights-and-lemonlandlord-com http://nickbastiansrealestatereport.activerain.com/post/1265614/enjoy-tempe-oktoberfest-this-weekend- Enjoy Tempe Oktoberfest this weekend! <p><strong><a href="http://tempeoktoberfest.com/" title="Tempe Oktoberfest" target="_blank">Oktoberfest at Tempe Town Lake</a></strong> is this weekend! With the weather looking good and the huge list of fun things being offered, who could say no?</p> <p>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 <a href="http://tempeoktoberfest.com/index.php?id=28" title="Tempe Oktoberfest" target="_blank"><strong>take the light rail</strong></a> to 3rd Street and Mill. The FREE <a href="http://raillife.com/phoenix-light-rail-park-and-ride-locations/" title="Light rail park and ride lots" target="_blank"><strong>light rail park and ride lots</strong></a> make the trip very convenient.</p> <p>This year’s event looks to have something for everyone. There will be a ton of kid-friendly activities with <a href="http://tempeoktoberfest.com/index.php?id=9" target="_blank"><strong>Kinderfest at Oktoberfest</strong></a>* along  with non-stop <a href="http://tempeoktoberfest.com/index.php?id=4" target="_blank"><strong>music and entertainment</strong></a> for all. In fact, this year’s music lineup is being billed as their “best ever” with “20 bands on 4 stages.”</p> <p>Other features and “<strong><a href="http://tempeoktoberfest.com/index.php?id=13" target="_blank">Fest Facts</a></strong>” for the Oktoberfest include:</p> <p>Six Beer Gardens</p> <p>Splash Park/Rock Wall</p> <p>Bungee Jump</p> <p>Six Beer Gardens</p> <p>Bavarian Bakery</p> <p>Carnival Rides</p> <p>Six Beer Gardens</p> <p>Two Wine Gardens</p> <p>Non-Stop Polka (whatever that means)</p> <p>Six Beer Gardens</p> <p><strong>FREE admission</strong> is always good, too.</p> <p>The Tempe Oktoberfest will be held:</p> <p><strong>Friday 10/2/09 from 5pm – midnight</strong></p> <p><strong>Saturday 10/3/09 from 10am – midnight</strong></p> <p><strong>Sunday 10/4/09 from 10am - 6pm</strong></p> <p>If you want to save a few bucks, “<em>special family pricing allows for the purchase of 25 food / activity tickets for just $20.00 during the following hours: Friday<strong>:</strong>  5:00 pm –  7:00 pm  Saturday:<strong> </strong>10:00 am – 6:00 pm and Sunday: 10:00 am – 6:00 pm.</em>” ( normally, tickets are $1.00 each )</p> <p><img title="Oktoberfest at Tempe Town Lake" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/5/9/2/4/6/ar125445607364295.jpg" height="237" alt="Tempe Oktoberfest" width="350" style="border: 10px solid black; margin: 10px;" /></p> <p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/marcobrioni/255417417/in/pool-wiesn" title="beer" target="_blank">Flickr photo by Mark Briola</a></p> <p>*Kinderfest hours are slightly different than the rest of the event. Please see their web site for details.</p> <p>Tempe Town Lake is located at the North end of the Mill Avenue district and is home to all kinds of<a href="http://raillife.com/?s=fun+stuff" title="Tempe light rail info" target="_blank"><strong> cool events, festivals and concerts</strong></a> 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 <strong><a href="http://raillife.com/blog" title="Tempe light rail information" target="_blank">Rail Life Blog</a></strong>.</p> <p>Have a great weekend!</p><div class='agent_signature'><p><a title="Nick Bastian" href="http://www.nickbastian.com" target="_blank">Nick Bastian, Tempe AZ Real Estate agent</a>.</p> <p>      Buying or Selling Real Estate?</p> <p>            <a title="Nick Bastian" href="http://www.justcallnick.com" target="_blank">"Just Call Nick!"</a></p> <p>        602-803-NICK (6425)</p></div> Nick Bastian - Tempe, AZ Real Estate Agent (Realty Executives) Thu, 01 Oct 2009 23:14:09 -0500 http://nickbastiansrealestatereport.activerain.com/post/1265614/enjoy-tempe-oktoberfest-this-weekend- http://nickbastiansrealestatereport.activerain.com/post/396093/phoenix-light-rail-a-good-fit-for-phoenix-convention-center Phoenix Light Rail a good fit for Phoenix Convention Center <p>Interestingly enough, the <a href="http://www.ci.phoenix.az.us/CIVPLAZA/plazaidx.html" target="_blank">Phoenix Convention Center</a> is expected to be complete in <strong>December 2008</strong>. The last of the construction, the "North Building", will open to conventions in January 2009. It just so happens that our <a href="http://www.valleymetro.org/METRO_light_rail/" target="_blank">Light Rail</a> system that will connect Phoenix to Tempe and Mesa is scheduled to begin carrying passengers in <strong>December of 2008</strong>. Sounds like some pretty good timing for both as they will surely compliment each other.<br />The following picture looks at the new Light Rail stop at <a href="http://www.valleymetro.org/METRO_light_rail/How_to_Ride/Stations/3rd%20Street%20and%20Washington.htm#TopOfPage" target="_blank">Washington and 3rd St</a> which is right next to the 2 new buildings called the West Building and the North Building. (There is also a "South" Building)</p> <p><img title="3rd st and Washington Rail Stop" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/1/0/2/9/4/ar12040400049201.JPG" height="217" alt="3rd st and Washington Rail Stop" width="300" /></p> <p>I took all of these pictures while I was down town last week as I thought the construction of this huge, $600 million expansion of the Convention Center was a very interesting project. The tie in between the Convention Center and Light Rail makes a lot of sense to me. I can see a huge benefit to convention goers and business travelers wanting an easy way to get around town to restaurants, shopping or to take in some sights at a near by museum, hit <a href="http://raillife.com/blog/2009/04/03/phoenix-symphony-via-light-rail/" title="Phoenix Symphony" target="_blank">the Symphony</a> etc. The first picture below is a West bldg entrance from 2nd street. This building has already been opened for business. The other pic is from 3rd Street and shows construction of the North Building. There will be a walk way over 3rd Street connecting the two buildings. The <a href="http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0225conventioncenter0226.html" target="_blank">North building</a> alone takes up a whole city block, has 635,000 square feet of event space and a 45,000-square-foot ballroom.</p> <p><img title="Phoenix Convention Center - West Building " src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/2/8/3/9/0/ar120404145009382.JPG" height="225" alt="Phoenix Convention Center - West Building " width="300" />     <img title="Phoenix Convention Center - North Building " src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/8/4/4/0/9/ar12040417290448.JPG" height="225" alt="Phoenix Convention Center - North Building " width="300" /></p> <p>The construction in this area has been a massive undertaking for a very long time. Between the Convention Center and Light Rail, you can imagine how the near by business owners must feel. Of course, the benefits should be great once these two projects are complete. There are programs to help business owners but the reality is that these projects will probably not help out much until they begin getting people in the seats. The pic below shows a sign located at the S/E corner of Washington and 3rd which is next to the "South" building. It shows a sign for Kincaids notifying people that they are open during construction. Just so you know, Kincaids is a really good spot for lunch! :-)</p> <div><img title="Business owners are getting some help" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/9/5/0/6/8/ar120404227486059.JPG" height="263" alt="Business owners are getting some help" width="350" /></div> <p> </p><div class='agent_signature'><p><a title="Nick Bastian" href="http://www.nickbastian.com" target="_blank">Nick Bastian, Tempe AZ Real Estate agent</a>.</p> <p>      Buying or Selling Real Estate?</p> <p>            <a title="Nick Bastian" href="http://www.justcallnick.com" target="_blank">"Just Call Nick!"</a></p> <p>        602-803-NICK (6425)</p></div> Nick Bastian - Tempe, AZ Real Estate Agent (Realty Executives) Tue, 26 Feb 2008 10:25:49 -0600 http://nickbastiansrealestatereport.activerain.com/post/396093/phoenix-light-rail-a-good-fit-for-phoenix-convention-center http://nickbastiansrealestatereport.activerain.com/post/1264458/mortgage-delinquencies-the-coming-storm Mortgage Delinquencies - The Coming Storm <p><p>Wow... This is some hard hitting information about <a href="http://nickbastian.blogspot.com/2009/10/tenants-rights-and-lemonlandlordcom.html" title="mortgage delinquencies and Foreclosures" target="_blank">mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures</a>. Take a look at these charts.</p></p><div id="reblogging_tag">Via <b><a href="http://activerain.com/blogsview/1262848/mortgage-delinquencies-the-coming-storm">Jeff Geoghan MBA - Lancaster PA Real Estate Expert (The Jeff Geoghan Realty Group, Coldwell Banker Lancaster PA)</a></b>:<br/><blockquote><p>This is one of those posts where I wish I didn't have to write it, but felt <strong>it was so important</strong> to my readers that I would be remiss not to at least talk about it.</p> <p>Everyone out there probably knows somebody who is behind on their mortgage payments, looking for alternatives and likely also just finding out that their home's value has dipped below what their loan amount is.  I know some within my own personal circles. <strong> It's a tough situation for me to advise them</strong> as a professional because it's such a personal challenge to their pride and self-worth, not to mention their plans and dreams for the family. The question we're asking is "when is this going to stop and where are we heading?"</p> <p>I'm going to put up a few graphs that show the trends nationally with regards to mortgage delinquincies:</p> <p><img title="Mortgage delinquency rates" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/3/6/9/9/5/ar125432506859963.jpg" height="369" alt="Lancaster PA foreclosures, Lancaster County Mortgage, Delinquencies" width="622" /></p> <p>This chart is by quarter - Single-family mortgages set a new record delinquency rate in the second quarter of 2009, according to a quarterly survey by the Mortgage Bankers Association. Those of us in the real estate business see the foreclosure process (just visit the local Sheriff Sale docket to see the current numbers) but the looming delinqency-to-foreclosure issue is far, far larger.</p> <p>The Wall Street Journal on 8/3/09 reported the following quote: “While subprime mortgages sparked the first round of housing problems two years ago, now "troubles are lurking further up the food chain," says Joshua Shapiro, chief U.S. economist at MFR Inc. <strong>White-collar job losses have accelerated while more adjustable-rate loans to prime borrowers are resetting to higher payments.</strong>  ‘You put all that together, it leads me to believe that the next leg down on home prices is going to come from the top,’ he says.”</p> <p>The first objection someone may have would be to say "yes, but historically those who are delinqent usually get their act together and come current on the mortgage after a while".  That WAS true, but not anymore!  We call that the <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>"Cure Rate"</strong></span>, that is the rate of delinquencies that go back to current.  The Wall Street Journal reported on 8/24/09 about a Fitch analysis that found that <strong>the Cure Rate from 2000-2006 was 45%</strong> (which means about half of people fix their delinquency).  However, <strong>as of July 2009 the rate had dropped to just 6.6%</strong>!  That means that over 90% of delinquent customers are going to foreclosure.  Take a look again at the above chart...</p> <p>The next thing someone will say is "well, that's the 'sand states' and not my area".  Here's the chart for all 50 states showing the same breakdown of delinquencies and foreclosures.  Guess what - <strong>most states have a significant problem</strong>, especially compared to historical figures.</p> <p><img title="Mortgage delinquency rates by state" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/4/6/7/1/4/ar125432516041764.jpg" height="403" alt="Lancaster PA foreclosures, Lancaster County Mortgage, Delinquencies" width="620" /></p> <p>Now the next thing someone may say is <strong>"aren't those loans going to get 'fixed' by a loan modification?"</strong>  I know several people right now who are applying for a Lancaster County loan modification but are waiting and waiting.  I hope it works out for them...</p> <p><strong>In reality, loan modifications are hardly making a dent.</strong>  To me, that's a burning question.  Why arent banks being more aggressive in giving customers the option to extend their loan and/or reset to a lower rate?  Why are they being SO difficult? The people I know don't want to be foreclosed.  They CAN make payments.  They just need the terms redrawn to allow them to catch & keep up.  Loan modifications are not helping us get this crisis under control.</p> <p><img title="Lancaster County loan mod modifications PA" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/1/4/4/0/6/ar125432520360441.jpg" height="485" alt="Lancaster PA foreclosures, Lancaster County Mortgage, Delinquencies" width="593" /></p> <p>What are the causes of all these delinquencies?  Here's a chart that is enlightening:</p> <p><img src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/7/2/5/2/9/ar125432676092527.jpg" height="455" alt="" width="639" /></p> <p>We hear a lot about adjustable rate mortgages being the culprit, but the reality is that <strong>it's the loss of jobs and the tanking real estate market</strong> that's the perfect storm.  See my <a href="http://activerain.com/blogsview/1261424/unemployment-in-lancaster-county-vs-pennsylvania-the-us" title="Lancaster County PA unemployment" target="_blank">previous post on unemployment in the nation, the state and Lancaster County.</a></p> <p>Keep in mind, this post is not intended to give us "good news".  You may be experiencing good things in your market and that's great.  <strong>My intent is to get us thinking about the challenges</strong> that aren't going away and how we're going to address them as homeowners, agents and professionals.  I'd love to hear your ideas!</p> <p> </p> <p> </p></blockquote></div><div class='agent_signature'><p><a title="Nick Bastian" href="http://www.nickbastian.com" target="_blank">Nick Bastian, Tempe AZ Real Estate agent</a>.</p> <p>      Buying or Selling Real Estate?</p> <p>            <a title="Nick Bastian" href="http://www.justcallnick.com" target="_blank">"Just Call Nick!"</a></p> <p>        602-803-NICK (6425)</p></div> Nick Bastian - Tempe, AZ Real Estate Agent (Realty Executives) Thu, 01 Oct 2009 11:03:26 -0500 http://nickbastiansrealestatereport.activerain.com/post/1264458/mortgage-delinquencies-the-coming-storm http://nickbastiansrealestatereport.activerain.com/post/1210091/it-s-a-party-at-a-ball-park-and-you-are-invited- It's a party at a ball park and YOU are invited! <p>If you know me, you know that I love hanging out with family and friends. If you are family or consider me your friend, I would love to invite you to a fun Friday night at Chase field!Heck, even if we aren't friends yet, I hope you will join us.</p> <p><a href="http://raillife.com/blog" title="Rail Life" target="_blank">RailLife.com</a> and I are teaming up with a bunch of friends in the "<a href="http://raillife.com/blog/2009/08/24/dbacks-night-rail/" title="Night Rail" target="_blank"><strong>Night Rail</strong></a>" spirit for a great time on Friday, September 18th. We have prime seats in the very cool <a href="http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=diamond%20club&w=29009620%40N07" target="_blank"><strong>Diamond Level</strong></a> at a discounted rate of just $20.00 to watch the Dbacks vs the Rockies at 6:40 pm. It’s the perfect venue for all of us to get together and have some fun.</p> <p><img src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/1/0/9/7/1/ar125122370717901.jpg" height="188" alt="Diamond Club at Chase Field" width="250" style="border: 5px solid black; margin: 5px; float: left;" /></p> <p>Here’s the scoop…</p> <p><strong>Game:</strong> D-backs vs Rockies, Friday September 18<sup>th</sup> @ 6:40pm</p> <p><strong>Simple </strong><strong>process to purchase tickets:</strong></p> <p>1. Click on the following link: <a href="http://www.dbacks.com/groups">www.dbacks.com/groups</a><strong></strong></p> <p>2. Log in with the following information:</p> <p>sign-in ID – <strong>rail</strong> </p> <p>password – <strong>life</strong></p> <p><strong>Special discount ticket option includes:</strong></p> <p>$20 (reg. $30) in the <a href="http://mlb.mlb.com/ari/ticketing/diamond_club.jsp" target="_blank">Miller Lite Diamond Club</a></p> <p><em>The Miller Lite Diamond Club is an upscale club located in right field on the main concourse level at Chase Field. It  is a PERFECT place for a bunch of people to hang out. No assigned seats, special lounge seating throughout the entire location, full service bar (cash bar), pool tables, and HD TV’s make for a great night where will have some of the best seats in the house. Plenty of standing / mingling is possible in the Diamond Club with it’s cool lounge style seating.</em></p> <p>We’ll be joined by many of the ultra-cool <a href="http://www.phoenixfridaynight.com/" target="_blank">Friday Night crews</a> as well as friends from <a href="http://azhardball.com/" target="_blank">AZ Hardball</a>, <a href="http://www.thesociallatte.com/" target="_blank">The Social Latte</a>, <a href="http://www.cenpho.tv/CenPho.TV/CenPho.TV.html" target="_blank">CenPho.tv</a>, <a href="http://www.downtownphoenixjournal.com/" target="_blank">The Downtown Phoenix Journal</a> and others. I’m sure people will have plenty of ideas about other fun things to do after the game, should anyone be so inclined! :-)</p> <p>Yes... Everyone is invited. This section is perfect for having fun with friends. Agents, mortgage professionals, people we know and don't know are invited. Use this as an excuse to invite friends to watch a game and have some FUN. No sales pitches, just a good time with hot-dogs, baseball and probably even apple pie.</p> <p>Remember: To purchase tickets for the game, just visit <a href="http://www.dbacks.com/groups">www.dbacks.com/groups</a> and use the sign-in ID of <strong>rail </strong>and the  password - <strong>life.</strong> You will get the discounted price of $20.00.</p> <p> </p> <p>See ya there!</p> <p><strong> </strong></p><div class='agent_signature'><p><a title="Nick Bastian" href="http://www.nickbastian.com" target="_blank">Nick Bastian, Tempe AZ Real Estate agent</a>.</p> <p>      Buying or Selling Real Estate?</p> <p>            <a title="Nick Bastian" href="http://www.justcallnick.com" target="_blank">"Just Call Nick!"</a></p> <p>        602-803-NICK (6425)</p></div> Nick Bastian - Tempe, AZ Real Estate Agent (Realty Executives) Tue, 25 Aug 2009 13:22:38 -0500 http://nickbastiansrealestatereport.activerain.com/post/1210091/it-s-a-party-at-a-ball-park-and-you-are-invited- http://nickbastiansrealestatereport.activerain.com/post/927633/-nichefy-your-market-watch-out-rebarcamp-in-seattle- "Nichefy" your market? Watch out REBarCamp in Seattle <p>Niche marketing isn't exactly new to the real estate business but it can be a very fun and effective way to "build a community" within a region, market or area of expertise. I feel very fortunate to be heading to Seattle this week to attend "<a href="http://rebarcamp.com/" target="_blank">REBarCamp</a>" (has nothing to do with alcohol) at the Zillow headquarters. There, I will learn a lot more about social networking, blogging and more ways to promote my business. One of the many reasons I am heading to Seattle is because of my friend, <a href="http://activerain.com/blogs/rich" target="_blank">Rich Jacobson</a>. You see, Rich has agreed to join me in a session at this "un-conference" to talk about "<a href="http://www.raillife.com" target="_blank">niche marketing</a>." To be honest, I am really looking forward to it, partly because I think it will be a lot of fun and partly because I have a LOT of respect for Rich and for many of the people that will be attending the conference.</p> <p>The timing is interesting as just yesterday my friend <a href="http://www.diversesolutions.com/blog/" target="_blank">Mike Price from Diverse Solutions</a> called and asked me to do a "podcast" with him about a niche market that I have been working on. Mike took some time to talk to me about the work I have been doing with RailLife.com and put together this very nice blog post titled "<a href="http://www.diversesolutions.com/blog/2009/02/10/nichefy-your-idx-running-the-rails-with-nick-bastian/" target="_blank"><strong>Nichefy Your IDX - Running The Rails With Nick Bastian</strong>"</a> One of the many things we talked about in the podcast is how we have used the Diverse Solution product on the <a href="http://raillife.com/homes-near-light-rail/" title="homes near light rail" target="_blank">Rail Life Real Estate pages</a> to show people what types of housing is available near many of the light rail stations. Their product has been really great to work with and I am looking forward to adding a lot more options in the near future, I can't thank their design and support staff enough...</p> <p>The term "nichefy" might be a Mike Price original but it sure was fun to talk to him and it was a great "warm up" to what I hope to share with my friends in Seattle. If I'm lucky, all will go well and I won't trip over too many of my words. Rich has promised to do all of the heavy lifting as his experience as one of the "Active Rain All Stars" certainly qualifies him for much more than I. </p> <p>The niche I will be talking about has to do with homes located near the new, 20 mile stretch of light rail line in Arizona which travels from Phoenix to Tempe and into Mesa. If you can't join us in Seattle but you have questions about the communities along the light rail line, please feel free to contact <a href="http://www.nickbastian.com/" target="_blank">Nick Bastian - Realty Executives, Tempe AZ</a> via the web or feel free to call me at 602-803-6425. You can aslo get some great information on the subject by visiting <a href="http://www.RailLife.com">www.RailLife.com</a>.</p> <p> </p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img title="Diverse Solution podcast with Nick Bastian" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/5/5/4/1/4/ar123433815741455.jpg" height="150" alt="Diverse Solution podcast with Nick Bastian" width="295" /></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.mlbroadcast.com/raillife2.mp3" target="_blank">You can listen to the Diverse Solution podcast here...</a></p><div class='agent_signature'><p><a title="Nick Bastian" href="http://www.nickbastian.com" target="_blank">Nick Bastian, Tempe AZ Real Estate agent</a>.</p> <p>      Buying or Selling Real Estate?</p> <p>            <a title="Nick Bastian" href="http://www.justcallnick.com" target="_blank">"Just Call Nick!"</a></p> <p>        602-803-NICK (6425)</p></div> Nick Bastian - Tempe, AZ Real Estate Agent (Realty Executives) Wed, 11 Feb 2009 02:00:54 -0600 http://nickbastiansrealestatereport.activerain.com/post/927633/-nichefy-your-market-watch-out-rebarcamp-in-seattle- http://nickbastiansrealestatereport.activerain.com/post/905970/light-rail-real-estate-a-fun-niche-time-to-expand- Light Rail Real Estate - A fun niche, time to expand... <p><a href="http://raillife.com/homes-near-light-rail/" title="homes near light rail" target="_blank">Homes near the new light rail line</a> in Tempe, Phoenix and Mesa have had my interest for quite some time now. In fact, well before the grand opening of this 20 mile stretch of "a city within cities," I began to study the many different types of property along route. In looking at the diversity of neighborhoods, one can quickly realize how much sense the "city within cities" analogy makes.</p> <p>I am really excited to be working with our team at <a href="http://www.raillife.com" target="_blank">RailLife.com</a> to begin rolling out the real estate sections to bring some of this fun (to me) information to the public. We will also be working with other agents to help create awareness for the areas we find so interesting. (more on that in the near future)</p> <p>For now, we have a "Real Estate" section on RailLife.com which will continue to evolve and improve in the near future. We will be looking for ways to improve these pages but wanted to get these "basic" sections out as soon as possible. I'm working with some good people to help us improve on how we can best serve this niche. People can also access the section via RailLifeRealEstate.com which will be used on some of our upcoming market reports and different real estate related material. This is designed to make it easier for people to find the information they desire. Within that section, you can choose a "city" button which will show them <a href="http://raillife.com/homes-near-light-rail/homes-near-mesa-light-rail/" title="mesa homes for sale" target="_blank">homes near Mesa Light Rail</a>, <a href="http://raillife.com/homes-near-light-rail/homes-near-tempe-light-rail/" title="homes Tempe light rail" target="_blank">homes near Tempe light rail</a> and <a href="http://raillife.com/homes-near-light-rail/homes-near-phoenix-light-rail/" title="homes near Phoenix light rail" target="_blank">homes near Phoenix light rail</a>.</p> <p>Examples of neighborhoods near light rail include:</p> <p><strong>Affordable neighborhoods at the end of the lines</strong>, some homes can now be found in the sub $100k range, a number that was unheard of in the recent past.</p> <p><strong>Tempe Light Rail real estate</strong>, cozy and quaint neighborhoods in Tempe near the ASU campus are a gem in my opinion, Some of these neighborhoods have nice irrigated lots and have a great "style" that just feels like the heart of Tempe. The Mill Avenue District has some amazing "urban" settings which has garnered most of the attention from people thinking light rail and that does make sense as well. These homes range from the amazing lakeside community of Bridgeview to several really great and somewhat surprisingly affordable units on and near Mill Avenue.</p> <p><strong>Downtown Phoenix is coming alive</strong>: It is amazing at what is happening near downtown Phoenix as huge projects like <a href="http://www.downtownphxrising.org/" target="_blank">Cityscape</a>, the new Convention Center and overall renewal or interest in a more urban lifestyle slowly becomes a reality for Arizona. Yes, there have been some challenges but I feel the future for the downtown core is very exciting.</p> <p><strong>Midtown and the  Arts Districts:</strong>We have some amazing neighborhoods along Central Avenue along the light rail line. From gorgeous historic districts to new high rise developments and yes, even some demand for infill projects. The vibe is changing, the demand for convenient, less car dependent lifestyles "might" just catch on in our sprawling city.</p> <p>So, I hope you will take a look at the real estate section for Rail Life and that you feel free to offer suggestions as to how we can improve them in the future. I hope to find another agent or two to help with this insanely fun project. There are MANY things we already have planned for the site but I wanted to begin with what we have as I feel it is a time where people are ready to start getting back into the real estate market. In my opinion, homes in these areas make a lot of sense...</p> <p>If you have any questions about the communities along the light rail line, please feel free to contact <a href="http://www.nickbastian.com/" target="_blank">Nick Bastian - Realty Executives, Tempe AZ</a> via the web or feel free to call us at 602-803-6425 or toll free at 1-888-343-6425.</p><div class='agent_signature'><p><a title="Nick Bastian" href="http://www.nickbastian.com" target="_blank">Nick Bastian, Tempe AZ Real Estate agent</a>.</p> <p>      Buying or Selling Real Estate?</p> <p>            <a title="Nick Bastian" href="http://www.justcallnick.com" target="_blank">"Just Call Nick!"</a></p> <p>        602-803-NICK (6425)</p></div> Nick Bastian - Tempe, AZ Real Estate Agent (Realty Executives) Thu, 29 Jan 2009 08:04:11 -0600 http://nickbastiansrealestatereport.activerain.com/post/905970/light-rail-real-estate-a-fun-niche-time-to-expand- http://nickbastiansrealestatereport.activerain.com/post/1175772/phoenix-light-rail-riders-joining-forces-for-night-rail Phoenix Light Rail Riders joining forces for Night Rail <p>Recently, the <a href="http://raillife.com/blog/2009/05/21/metro-extending-weekend-light-rail-hours/" title="Light rail hours extended" target="_blank">Metro Light Rail board of directors</a> voted to extend the weekend <a href="http://raillife.com/light-rail-hours/" title="light rail hours" target="_blank">hours of light rail</a> in Arizona on Friday and Saturday nights. This extension allows Phoenix light Rail riders to ride until after 2am on Saturday and Sunday mornings.</p> <p>Given the fact that the extension is said to be implemented on a "trial period" of one year, a group of people have decided to help with an awareness campaign for the newly appointed hours.</p> <p>Enter <strong>"Night Rail</strong>" which is being held tonight, 7/31! From the Rail Life blog we see that...</p> <p>"<em>If you are a fan of the extended light rail hours, a friend of business owners along the line or just a fan of having fun, join us for Night Rail. Several groups will be getting together along the line throughout the evening and then meeting at the Roosevelt Station at midnight to show support for the extended hours. After midnight, we will head to a couple of nearby places before calling it a night. You can join our friends at “Light Rail Friday Night” who will be meeting at Rula Bula on Mill from 6-9 pm. After that, people will be meeting (10:00 pm) at Monti’s and at Maizie’s, which is just south of the light rail station at Central and Camelback."</em></p> <p>The response from the <strong><a href="http://raillife.com/blog/2009/07/25/night-rail/" title="ride the light rail" target="_blank">Night Rail blog post</a></strong> has been great with many local groups picking up and showing their support. A few examples of blog posts and media interest are...</p> <p><a href="http://www.cenpho.tv/CenPho.TV/Night_Rail.html" target="_blank">CenPhoTV is promoting it a ton</a>!</p> <p><a href="http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2009/07/30/20090730tr-rail0731.html" target="_blank">AZCentral picked up the Night Rail story</a></p> <p><a href="http://urbanaffair.cmail5.com/T/ViewEmail/y/B2F19D6637EB4FAD/EA3B6316EB468848F6A1C87C670A6B9F" title="Night Rail Media advisory" target="_blank">Urban Affair Media Advisory</a></p> <p><a href="http://www.downtownphoenixjournal.com/2009/07/28/raillife-repost-christina/" target="_blank">The Downtown Phoenix Journal</a></p> <p><a href="http://www.yelp.com/events/phoenix-night-rail" title="Night Rail" target="_blank">A cool Yelp mention</a></p> <p><a href="http://phoenixcyclechic.blogspot.com/2009/07/tonight-is-night-rail-will-you-be-there.html" target="_blank">The Phoenix Cycle Chick blog is rockin' Night Rail</a></p> <p>Heck, even <a href="http://twitter.com/CWaterhouse/statuses/2952484716" target="_blank">radio coverage for Night Rail</a></p> <p>So, if you want to have some fun, Light Rail style, be sure to check out this first Night Rail event!</p><div class='agent_signature'><p><a title="Nick Bastian" href="http://www.nickbastian.com" target="_blank">Nick Bastian, Tempe AZ Real Estate agent</a>.</p> <p>      Buying or Selling Real Estate?</p> <p>            <a title="Nick Bastian" href="http://www.justcallnick.com" target="_blank">"Just Call Nick!"</a></p> <p>        602-803-NICK (6425)</p></div> Nick Bastian - Tempe, AZ Real Estate Agent (Realty Executives) Fri, 31 Jul 2009 13:26:54 -0500 http://nickbastiansrealestatereport.activerain.com/post/1175772/phoenix-light-rail-riders-joining-forces-for-night-rail http://nickbastiansrealestatereport.activerain.com/post/1007476/mesa-light-rail-expansion-plans- Mesa Light Rail Expansion Plans <p><a href="http://www.azcentral.com/community/mesa/articles/2009/03/26/20090326metro-extend0326.html" target="_blank">Light rail expansion plans</a> have been quite the topic of discussion lately due to reports in the paper and because of a Mesa city council presentation where Metro recommended the extension of light rail down Main Street in Mesa. The route appears to make a lot of sense to Metro and to the council, as the questions and comments at the presentation appeared to favor an extension along Main Street. Many of the reasons to favor the plan have to do with demand, development and potential for growth. The high cost of light rail was analyzed against other options and is thought to be superior in long term costs and return to the community, by moving more people and creating economic development opportunities in the region.</p> <p>There has been a great deal of study and analysis on three different routes for light rail expansion in Mesa, as well as bus and rapid bus along the same corridor. Several months ago, discussion centered around Mesa expansion, costs and parking questions, and the feeling was (in my opinion) that Main Street made a lot of sense. Some new options have been made since then, with one ending the line just east of Mesa Drive at Lesueur Street, instead of at Horne. Apparently, some opposition has come up near the Horne area due to parking challenges and neighborhood concerns. For those familiar with Main Street in Mesa, Lesueur is directly west of Pioneer Park on the north side of Main with the mormon Temple on the south side of the street. Currently, there is vacant land at the NW and at the SW corner of Lesueur and Main where they could add a small park and ride structure. This park and ride lot could be closed or re-developed if a new park and ride lot is built after future extensions are added. </p> <p>There are some neighborhoods nearby that would likely see some real change, and the proximity to Pioneer Park could bring a fun and interesting dynamic to the equation. Historic homes and small businesses near this area could benefit from the fixed mode of transportation that would run through downtown Mesa, where there have been revitilazation plans for as long as most of us can remember. Many are of the opinion that the direct route along Main is the best choice.  With it's street-facing shops, Main could really thrive with these transit-oriented developments. Other benefits are the fact that less property would be needed if they go straight along Main, as opposed to heading to 1st Street or First Avenue before continuing east; and the fact that a direct route east on Main is faster, because of the time it takes to make the additional turns. If the goal is to get further east and to move people efficiently, then taking the tracks off of Main Street would be un-wise.</p> <p>While funding is always a huge hurdle, it appears the current extension is a piece of the larger puzzle whereby the system can be extended to Gilbert Road and even serve the Gateway area in the distant future. This morning, I recall <a href="http://raillife.com/blog/2008/08/06/mesa-mayor-scott-smith-talks-light-rail/" target="_blank">Mayor Scott Smith </a>saying that it "<em>opens up a whole new world if we get to Gilbert Road</em>", and he went on to mention that the return on investment getting to Gilbert Road is significant. Plenty of talk surrounded the fact that billions of dollars in economic development have been attributed to light rail in Phoenix and Tempe via the initial 20 mile "starter line." Mesa, with just a mile of track, is looking to get some of those large economic development dollars to their city, which may seem odd to those that still think of Mesa as having a "small-town-mentality".</p> <p>For now, no "official" decision has been made as to the light rail extension, but there is mention of a city council meeting on May 18 where a decision could be made.</p> <p>Expansion plans are interesting in that, the entire line benefits from the "city within cities" mentality that is catching on here in the valley. These neighborhoods are changing and it is fun to watch. If you have any questions about the communities along the light rail line, please feel free to contact <a href="http://www.nickbastian.com/" target="_blank">Nick Bastian - Realty Executives, Tempe AZ</a> via the web or feel free to call us at 602-803-6425. You can also learn more about these communities and about the Phoenix Light Rail system by visiting the <a href="http://raillife.com/homes-near-light-rail/" title="Homes near light rail" target="_blank">real estate section of RailLife.com</a>.</p><div class='agent_signature'><p><a title="Nick Bastian" href="http://www.nickbastian.com" target="_blank">Nick Bastian, Tempe AZ Real Estate agent</a>.</p> <p>      Buying or Selling Real Estate?</p> <p>            <a title="Nick Bastian" href="http://www.justcallnick.com" target="_blank">"Just Call Nick!"</a></p> <p>        602-803-NICK (6425)</p></div> Nick Bastian - Tempe, AZ Real Estate Agent (Realty Executives) Sat, 28 Mar 2009 20:35:19 -0500 http://nickbastiansrealestatereport.activerain.com/post/1007476/mesa-light-rail-expansion-plans- http://nickbastiansrealestatereport.activerain.com/post/1141341/tempe-tweetup-a-great-networking-opportunity Tempe TweetUp - A great networking opportunity <p>Most people know, the world is a Twitter. This social networking platform has MANY uses for many types of people. The effectiveness of it's use depends on the effectiveness of the person sending the "tweets." Of course, there is worthless dribble on Twitter but there is also a TON of breaking news, community specific information and opportunities to communicate with people you may have never had the opportunity to meet "in person." </p> <p>I am really looking forward to this <a href="http://www.thesociallatte.com/mj-is-gone-but-the-80s-live-on/#more-617" target="_blank"><strong>Wednesday's TweetUp in Tempe</strong></a> at the <a href="http://www.signofthewhaleaz.com/home" target="_blank">Sign of the Whale</a>. Why? Because I know it will be a FUN time and a great chance to network with some really talented Tempe business owners. This TweetUp is being promoted by Jack Smith of <a href="http://www.thesociallatte.com/" target="_blank">The Social Latte</a> which is a great resource for anyone interested in Social Media. As a Tempe resident, Jack really has a good feel for our community and is always looking to give back, help small business owners and have some fun. Jack and I worked together on helping the Tempe Chamber of Commerce implement social media as a business strategy. The Tempe Chamber is a <a href="http://tempeaz.usachamber.com/blog/index.php/2009/03/the-best-city-with-the-best-chamber/" target="_blank">great Chamber of Commerce</a> and some of their members will be joining us as well. People like <a href="http://www.nickminer.com/" target="_blank">Nick Miner, a commercial real estate broker</a> that I have enjoyed meeting at other Chamber events. The guy knows Tempe! I believe Joan Jakel, a very talented <a href="http://www.azbusinessresource.com/" target="_blank">Tempe business attorney</a>, past "Business Woman of the year," personal friend and all around great gal will be joining us as well as a bunch of other really cool people.</p> <p>From the invite we hear...<em> "We'll have a private room with Happy Hour pricing from 5-7 for networking and socializing and then I'll be bartender from 7p - 10p with DJ Mike..." <a href="http://twtvite.com/4mcfga" target="_blank">More info on the twtvite page</a>!</em></p> <p>All are welcome! So, come see "Jack the bartender," have some fun, hang out with some really cool "Tweeps" and write it off as a business expense! Ok, scratch the business expense thing because I'm not your accountant or a CPA so, just come have fun!</p> <p><img src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/3/2/9/5/7/ar12468518175923.png" height="150" alt="" width="125" /></p> <p><strong>When: July 8th</strong></p> <p><strong>Where: Sign of the Whale 1706 E Warner Rd Tempe, AZ</strong></p> <p><strong>Happy Hour and networking, 5-7pm - DJ and heckling of Jack while tending bar... 7-10pm.</strong></p> <p> </p><div class='agent_signature'><p><a title="Nick Bastian" href="http://www.nickbastian.com" target="_blank">Nick Bastian, Tempe AZ Real Estate agent</a>.</p> <p>      Buying or Selling Real Estate?</p> <p>            <a title="Nick Bastian" href="http://www.justcallnick.com" target="_blank">"Just Call Nick!"</a></p> <p>        602-803-NICK (6425)</p></div> Nick Bastian - Tempe, AZ Real Estate Agent (Realty Executives) Sun, 05 Jul 2009 23:03:44 -0500 http://nickbastiansrealestatereport.activerain.com/post/1141341/tempe-tweetup-a-great-networking-opportunity http://nickbastiansrealestatereport.activerain.com/post/1137199/new-startup-timu-officially-launches New startup Timu officially launches <p> <p>Most of my friends know that I am a huge sports fan and that I "sort of" like the way social networks can help people reach large audiences of people. I think the new site that our friend Matt has developed is a really cool idea. I was fortunate enough to get to hear a little bit about it at a real estate conference that I attended last year with Matt and I can tell you, the guy knows his stuff. If you have kids that are involved with sports, this is a great way to communicate with everyone involved. I know there are other applications but, you will have to check it out for yourself.</p> <p>Have fun!</p> </p> <div id="reblogging_tag">Via <b><a href="http://activerain.com/blogsview/1111113/my-new-startup-timu-officially-launches">Matt Heaton (Timu Corp - CEO, ActiveRain - Co-founder)</a></b>:<br/><blockquote><p>Yesterday was a big day for me, after 8 months of planning and product development work finally launched my new startup, <a href="http://timu.com" target="_blank">Timu</a>.  Timu gave me a chance to apply many of the lessons learned with designing and building ActiveRain to another market, amateur sports.</p> <p>It's a social networking platform specifically built to solve the communications problems encountered by athletes, sports teams and their fans.  Online social networking is a natural way to solve many of these problems. Yet, existing social networks provide disjointed solutions that do not handle sports specific features, such as player rosters, game results and statistics. At the same time existing sports web site offerings provide little interactivity and user engagement.</p> <p>                                                     <a href="http://timu.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/1/9/3/8/4/ar124473807648391.png" height="200" alt="" width="325" /></a></p> <p>Individual athletes can setup an profile on Timu in minutes.  Profiles can be customized with information about the sports they participate in, teams they play on, and their competitive highlights.  Photos, videos can be uploaded, and various “widgets” can be added or modified. These profiles serve as one center of communication within Timu. </p> <p>Coaches, players, or parents can create a team center for your team on Timu.  Team centers provide many features like team news, schedules, player rosters, photos, game results, statistics, statistics and a wide range of commmunication tools.  All of the people associated with the team can be invited to become members of the team center, which can then function as a hub for team communications.</p> <p>A few examples of team centers: <a href="http://bellevueblaze.timu.com/action/image/team_photo_page">http://bellevueblaze.timu.com</a> <a href="http://dreadsox.timu.com/">http://dreadsox.timu.com</a> <a href="http://baseball.timu.com/">http://baseball.timu.com</a></p> <p>Currently Timu supports about <a href="http://timu.com/sports">30 different sports</a> ranging from baseball and soccer to unicycling.  Each of these sports has it’s own section or hub on Timu including photos, videos, game results and discussions.  Timu members can participate in the conversation at these hubs about their sport.  As Timu grows we will be providing the ability to view these hubs by region, subsection of a sport, or even by sporting venue.</p> <p><a href="http://timu.com/action/user/signup" target="_blank"><strong>Create a Sports Profile</strong></a></p> <p><a href="http://timu.com/action/user/signup?add_team=true" target="_blank"><strong>Setup your Team on Timu</strong></a></p></blockquote></div><div class='agent_signature'><p><a title="Nick Bastian" href="http://www.nickbastian.com" target="_blank">Nick Bastian, Tempe AZ Real Estate agent</a>.</p> <p>      Buying or Selling Real Estate?</p> <p>            <a title="Nick Bastian" href="http://www.justcallnick.com" target="_blank">"Just Call Nick!"</a></p> <p>        602-803-NICK (6425)</p></div> Nick Bastian - Tempe, AZ Real Estate Agent (Realty Executives) Wed, 01 Jul 2009 20:03:16 -0500 http://nickbastiansrealestatereport.activerain.com/post/1137199/new-startup-timu-officially-launches