I am lucky and blessed beyond measure -- I live on the BEAUTIFUL Colorado River where summer is all about watersports and soaking sun with toes in sand.

The most fun thing to do, I think, is float on a huge raft, with radio and cellphones in plastic bags. :)

With my Blackberry which can retrieve faxes, browse MLS and all, it's easy peasy to continue to do business while we enjoy life on the River with our friends. I take pride in that we can ALWAYS be found and are always willing to help.

It's a simple but very gratifying lifestyle here.

So what exciting things are YOU doing this Summer? And how do you keep business going while you enjoy down time? Do you multitask like we do or do you get someone to cover you and just escape?

That's fun (and necessary, on occasion) too . . . recharge the batteries.

Whether you already live in the Bullhead City, Fort Mohave or Laughlin, Nevada areas, are considering a move or purchase here or are just enjoying your visit to the area, it's great to know what some of the locals like me do about the great places to eat--and the deals on good meals that are all over!

Of course, you can always hit the casinos, and indeed one of the best deals I know about right now is Monday thru Thursday at the beautiful Harrah's Resort Casino in Laughlin, where, if you have a local resident identification card (a driver's license or state ID), you can hit their really good buffet very inexpensively -- 2 for one and a third for half price! So around twelve bucks and change for two, or eighteen plus tax for three. They have a good selection, like prime rib, seafood, decent salads and yummy desserts. Worth trying!

The trick is always to get out past the rows of slots. But you can do it! (I didn't say I could, but you are strong!) :)

Here are some of my favorite non-casino spots for face-feeding:

On the Nevada side, there's Minato. Okay, a bit less affordable than the area's best deals, but try a similar quality of sushi in LA, Palm Springs or Vegas and compare! This is just as good as the 'big city' sushi if not better and my husband and I generally get out of there under a C-note plus tip.

The newest hotspot in Bullhead is Buffalo Wild Wings, and it is a total thumbs up! If you like HOT HOT HOT wings, you are in for a treat! They use habanero sauce in their 'Extreme' wings and if you can eat a dozen in under 6 minutes, you get your picture on the wall. I'm trying it tonight! (Will let you know how I do) If the idea of really hot wings makes you feel a bit weak in the tummy, you can ask for the mellower versions. They have great salads and desserts and lots of cool TV screens and online games you can play with others in the bar or a national group of 'buzzheads' and you'd better be both good and quick on the draw. And the panoramic views of the river and town from the outdoors dining area will remind the locals how awesome it is to live here! Our bill for two, with drinks, appetizer and dessert came to 53 bucks not including tip. A good deal!

A perennial locals' favorite is Yo-Yos Tacos in Fort Mohave. They have a little salsa bar with a selection of fresh salsas, which goes great with the seasoned tortilla chips they immediately bring to your table. I don't think I have ever been there where it took longer than 10 minutes to get your order. Great for lunch time crunch! The fish and chicken tacos are delish. If you have a huge appetite, the Gringo or Special Burritos are loaded with meat, beans, rice, veggies and sour cream cost 5 - 7 bucks. Friday is all you can eat fish taco night. Our bill for two dinners (taco salad, fish tacos, regular tacos and two beers (and they have a great selection of drinks, by the way!) came to . . . 25.49.

And China Buffet is another good place to eat good on a budget in Bullhead. ( Read Rick's Restaurant Review for more area restaurant reviews) and I will add that if you want to have decent sushi on this side of the river for cheap cheap cheap, this is the place. The sushi selection is limited and nothing exotic, but if you like salmon, tuna, shrimp sushi and tuna and California rolls washed down with a Tsingtao, you're golden. Last check I paid there was for 3 guests -- 34 bucks plus tip.

Just what we need after a month of excess, right? :) I know, I'm mischievous like that!

Bon Appetit!

And by the way, I sell real estate along the beautiful Colorado River! 866-228-2643 or 928-704-5181 Candice@RealEstateBHC.com

www.RealEstateBHC.com
www.CommercialBHC.com
www.RealEstateBHC.biz

I teach MLS classes, and always try to include this if we have time:

Our wonderful Mohave County GIS is SUCH a great tool for viewing properties. You can see topo maps, aerials, even recent sales information.

Check this out! It's available to everyone.

http://gis.co.mohave.az.us/  

http://co.mohave.az.us

Take advantage of Mohave County resources, which we're lucky and proud to have in abundance.

1. Slept late?
2. Planted something in your yard?
3. Prepared yourself something nutritious and took the
time to enjoy eating it?
4. Picked up the phone and called a friend, just to
talk?
5. Soaked up sunshine?
6. Went for a swim?
7. Played a board game?
8. Worked a crossword puzzle?
9. Shopped for perfume/cologne?
10. Hand wrote a 'Thank You' note?
11. Went for a walk?
12. Played with a pet?
13. Played on the swingset with a child?
14. Lit a scented candle or stick of incense?
15. Soaked for an hour in a hot tub?
16. Let the telephone ring?

From a story told by Alan Cohen in his book: Wisdom Of The Heart
	When a woman in a certain African tribe knows she is pregnant, she goes out into the wilderness with a few friends and together they pray and meditate until they hear the song of the child. They recognize that every soul has its own vibration that expresses its unique flavor and purpose. When the women attune to the song, they sing it out loud.  Then they return to the tribe and teach it to everyone else. When the child is born, the community gathers and sings the child's song to him or her. Later, when the child enters education, the village gathers and chants the child's song. When the child passes through the initiation to adulthood, the people again come together and sing. At the time of marriage, the person hears his or her song. Finally, when the soul is about to pass from this world, the family and friends gather at the person's bed, just as they did at their birth, and they sing the person to the next life. To the African tribe there is one other occasion upon which the villagers sing to the child. If at any time during his or her life, the person commits a crime or aberrant social act, the individual is called to the center of the village and the people in the community form a circle around them. Then they sing their song to them. The tribe recognizes that the correction for antisocial behavior is not punishment; it is love and the remembrance of identity. When you recognize your own song, you have no desire or need to do anything that would hurt another. A friend is someone who knows your song and sings it to you when you have forgotten it. Those who love you are not fooled by mistakes you have made or dark images you hold about yourself. They remember your beauty when you feel ugly; your wholeness when you are broken; your innocence when you feel guilty; and your purpose when you are confused. You may not have grown up in an African tribe that sings your song to you at crucial life transitions, but life is always reminding you when you are in tune with yourself and when you are not. When you feel good, what you are doing matches your song, and when you feel awful, it doesn't. In the end, we shall all recognize our song and sing it well. You may feel a little warbly at the moment, but so have all the great singers. Just keep singing and you'll find your way home. Alan's Quotes   Alan's Website   Wisdom Of The Heart   Some Rights Reserved.

This struck a chord with me on many levels. Lotsa complaining going on all around me in our business. Very easy to get sucked in. Very difficult to be bigger than problems. But I am.  :)_______________________________________________________________________________

2 Habits of Highly Ineffective People

By Matt Furey  (Matt Furey is a motivational writer)


(Excerpts from article in Early To Rise pubication, May
20, 2006)

There are two lousy habits that most people have - and
these two habits take up quite a bit of their schedules
these days. No, I'm not talking about smoking,
drinking, or swearing.

I'm talking about ...

1. Criticizing others
2. Criticizing yourself

One of the reasons is because criticism increases
emotional tension and stress in your mind/body.

Whenever you criticize yourself or others, a frown
comes to your face, and you unconsciously begin to
tense and tighten your muscles. Internally, your organs
respond to the attack, too. Even when you think your
attack is singular in focus - directed only toward a
person you dislike, for example - your body responds as
if you're attacking yourself as well.

Another reason is that criticism derails you from
furthering your growth as a human being.

Criticizing others is a major waste of your time. It
keeps you stuck. It takes your mind off what you should
be doing with your life.

Get creatively alive. Get involved in doing something
good. Eliminate as much criticism from your life as you
can

Do your best to avoid personal attacks on yourself and
others. Start observing yourself a little more closely.
Take note of when you get sucked into discussions about
others that are nothing more than personal attacks. And
when you find yourself in such a situation, say to
yourself, "Wait a minute.I'm wasting my time. Instead
of attacking this person, I should be making MY life
better."

If you think this way, I'm betting that you'll start
coming up with ways to spend your time that will help
propel you forward.

___________________________________________________________________

The statement below came from a different source, which I can't recall. But it seems to fit:

DON'T GET INTO A PISSING CONTEST WITH SKUNKS!  :)

WOW! The weather just turned HEAVENLY!

This is the time of year we wait all summer for . . . breezy and in the 90s. Evaporative cooler's on in the garage with the door between it and the house open. A house full of fresh, 70 degree air.

SUBLIME!

Luna has found her 'happy place' the dog trainer told us to create . . . on the tile in the entry, right where the cool air blows into the house. If bliss had form, her face as the air blows onto it must be what God was thinking.  :)

With that and our buyer's market, it is TIME TO COME OUT AND BUY IN BULLHEAD CITY AGAIN . . .

Welcome in advance!

Okay . . . here's what I want to know . . .

 . . . and this is directed to the people who come to my website, call and e-mail me for info over and over again . . . but use another agent for their transaction:

Why doesn't your agent have a website . . .  or the availability . . . or the resources?

Why would you choose that?

Hi Everyone! Luna here . . . just to let you know I turned 6 months old on July 17! I already weigh almost 50 lbs and am about 3/4 of my total size. My favorite foods are, steak from Laughlin Ranch or Moonshadow Grill (I'm not what you would call a cheap date!), yogurt, apple pieces without the skin, green beans, Pup Corn (cheezy poofs for dogs), Milk Bones and most of all , DINGO BONES! Do you know what Dingo Bones are? They are rawhide bones with a kind of chicken jerky twisted all throughout them. Candice says they're 'heroin for dogs' which I don't understand--but I know I LIKE 'EM!

I saw my first monsoon-season lightning storm and I was scared! So much thunder and wind! I made Candice go outside with me when I needed to go outside, which is usually every couple of hours--for 3 days straight. By the way, what's a 'wuss'? 

Talk to you soon!

WOW, everyone! An MLS broadcast just crossed my inbox, and it appears that there's a brand NEW construction in the gorgeous lakeside community of Los Lagos (in Fort Mohave, on 3 man made lakes) that is currently listed at 299,900! Newsflash! Since writing this blog, another one has appeared on market at 289,900! This is a site built only, gated community with all utilities. HOA dues are around 300 per quarter.   Under 300k is awesome! Custom lakeside homes in this area have been listing as high as the 800s and smaller new builds for closer to 400-500 than 300k in the past years. But our market is inventory-rich and sellers are 'getting' that to sell, you have to be competitively priced.   This may or may not be a trend, but boy, that is a neat little community across the street from the Desert Lakes Golf Course (a PGA course open to the public) and within a couple of miles of the brand new Valley View Medical Center. Fort Mohave's a great place to live--it's my town and I gave up the 'state tax-less' Laughlin, Nevada where I lived for 8 years to move here. Glad I did! It's one of the nicest parts of the river communities and still near everything.   Drop me a line if you need a buyer's agent for Los Lagos subdivision or any of the other beautiful Fort Mohave subdivisions. There's something for everyone here and I personally love it . . . Your referrals are welcome and will be cheerfully honored.

HI! I'm Luna, Rocky's big sister and the first born of the litter (I'm a Capricorn too, but I have a Leo Moon so I'm beautiful, stubborn and quite the diva!). 3 days after Candice lost Rocky, my mommy dog's family said I could go live with Candice. Candice was still so sad from Rocky, but she loves me too and I like it here. I REALLY like my daddy, Clayton! I had NO IDEA how spoiled I would be--WOO HOO! I keep hearing about 'military school when I get older' but don't quite understand.

I've had all my shots and the vet has given me a clean bill of health. I will turn 4 months old on the 17th of May and I already weigh 36 pounds! Candice calls me "Meatball", "Lunie Toonie". "Luna the Tuna" and "Little Miss Kahuna".

I don't care much for riding in the car yet . . . but I love lying on the leather couch watching cartoons. What? Don't all puppies like cartoons?

Talk to you soon with more pictures!

After only 3 weeks together, my beloved Rocky fell ill suddenly, and Parvo was the diagnosis. He fought for 3 days, and we tried so very hard (us and the vet) to save him. But Parvo is a very serious disease, and he was lost to us April 11.

We didn't have enough time together. He was our baby and now he is our angel.

In memory of Rocky, January 17, 2006 -- April 11, 2006.

Hi Everyone! I'm Rocky, Candice's new adopted child. I was named after 'The Rock' and Rock and Roll, but I think I should have been named after Rocky Balboa! I'm part Chow-Chow and part Pit Bull. I was born January 17, 2006-- a Capricorn with a Virgo Moon so Candice and I really have a lot of fun together (she's a Capricorn with a Taurus Moon) as long as I don't mess with her stuff too much and she does what I tell her.   :)

I'm teaching her patience (she needs it!).

I LOVE my new real estate office! It has epoxied speckled concrete floors so it's nice and cool for me to take naps on while Candice works on her files. I'll be talking to you again soon!

Newsflash! We have a TON of listings now--almost 1700 in Bullhead MLS, almost 1000 in Kingman MLS (my office belongs to both associations of REALTORS and soon, with our upcoming regionalization, Lake Havasu City's listings will also be included in our metropolitan area) so you will need to be SURE of your purchase.

A LOT of agents will try to sell you ANYTHING, whether or not the property is a good 'fit' or you're truly ready to buy at all.

I will NOT. I can only advise you when something is a good deal that might not be around at a later date.

But one thing I can say for sure is that you will NOT want to turn around and sell immediately in our current market and turn a profit. Too much competition!

So it's really IMPORTANT that you be prepared for your purchase and especially, our area. If I had a dollar for every out of area buyer who got remorseful when they realized:

1. It's REALLY HOT in Summer (can be nearly 130 on some days!And it does NOT cool down at night so temperatures are often still over 100 for a low in mid July)

2. It's REALLY NOT a great place to earn a living unless you are in business for yourself or can telecommute. Arizona is a 'right to work' state and our casinos (major source of employment) often won't get you better than a 30k annual salary including tips unless you make it to upper management. Not exactly a good income for a 300k home with 100% financing!  But mortgage brokers hungry for their commission don't worry about that. And you might not get an agent who cares about that either. BE CAREFUL!

3. Our way of life is a lot SLOWER PACED than our LA, CA or Las Vegas counterparts. Some can't deal with how 'country' we still are.

4. If you are inclined to overindulge in food, drink or gambling, this town, with its 24 hour casinos and bars within a 10 minute drive, could very well be your downfall.

So PLEASE, investigate this area well before settling on it. I won't be crushed that you decided not to rush forward on what might be an unwise move.

HOWEVER, if you think this may be the place for you--and it is a WONDERFUL, BEAUTIFUL, FUN place for those who understand 1 - 4 above-- here's a

REALLY SMART PLAN: make a 'reconnaissance mission' trip prior to any property touring to cruise the area solo. That way, you can really figure out what areas you are attracted to without distraction, and at your own pace (I roll at warp speed!)  Listings, maps, directions, not a problem. Just ask.

THEN, when you are certain you like our area and can handle the extremes of heat and cold, slower pace than big city living and the occasional unwanted 'critter', we make an appointment and see a list of the properties that fit your criteria BEST just prior to making your OFFER to PURCHASE. Just before that, we have a CONSULTATION where I EDUCATE you about the PROCESS of buying property in AZ. So you enter into your TRANSACTION comfortably, confident that you're making a sound DECISION.

Remember that working with me is a team effort--YOU, preapproved or funds-ready, knowing what to expect from our area PROPERTIES, willing and able to buy or sell through ME, NOW--and ME, ready to share my MARKET KNOWLEDGE and BUYING or SELLING STRATEGIES with you as a CLIENT.

NEWSFLASH! Mapquest MAPS of our area are rarely accurate. It's not their fault--our area is just too much a 'work in progress' with all the new subdivisions and streets.

Not to mention that up in the 'hot real estate' areas du jour of Golden Valley and Dolan Springs, so many of the parcels for sale are on unmarked dirt roads (oh, they have street names--you just won't see them on the streets!) even if you have a plat map in those remote areas, you could still get lost. That's what you need ME for.

If one more tragic person comes into my office, hopelessly lost because they relied on Mapquest directions to get to one of our fabulous RIVER properties, I'm gonna CRY!

But help is on the way! Want a MAP of the BULLHEAD CITY, FORT MOHAVE, MOHAVE VALLEY, KINGMAN, GOLDEN VALLEY, DOLAN SPRINGS, WHITE HILLS OR MEADVIEW area and you're not currently working with another agent (if they don't know the area, why are you working with them)? Drop me a line and let's chat.

OUCH! Every day, we see more and more PROPERTIES falling out of ESCROW . . . almost all of the problems have some basis in FINANCING ISSUES. The buyers could be supremely PRE-APPROVED, but often the PROPERTY is not. Examples of this include FHA or VA financing on older homes or manufactured homes, or a manufactured home that's been reclassified as a SITE BUILT HOME (how? drop me a line and ask . . .)

The moral of the story is, be INFORMED about the possible pitfalls of the property you choose, and make CERTAIN your FINANCING SOURCE is solid. A smart idea is to make sure the property is appraised and your loan package sent off to UNDERWRITING during your INSPECTION PERIOD. Why waste time on a deal that's not going to go the distance!

When I recently purchased property in Washington State, I was asked to make the earnest money 'hard' (non-refundable) after 5 days. No loan contingency, nothing.

Knowing that I have excellent credit and a reputable, experienced loan officer (Jayne Lasco at Bank of America, Las Vegas--the chick rocks), I was able to conduct my inspections of the property and sign off at the 5 day mark. But you can bet I had all my paperwork in to my loan person and was good to go! I didn't want to lose my 2500 bucks earnest deposit, but was resigned to doing so if unforeseen circumstances made that happen. Still, I hedged my bet with complete documentation and did not commit any of the cardinal sins during an escrow:

Buying anything on credit

Moving money

Changing job or financial status

Changing credit status (ie not paying any bill on time)

All went fine, we closed on time and I will double my money on the investment.

Since then, and I know this is done in many other areas, I have been suggesting to seller-clients that we negotiate 'hard money' at end of inspection period. The buyer should be responsible for choosing a decent loan person--then performing and cooperating with them--so they can be financed.

If their loan person drops the ball, it will cost the buyer their earnest deposit. Why should the seller suffer lost time on market with incompetent lenders or non-creditworthy buyers?

Real estate is serious business. Why treat it as anything less?

I'm one of those dreaded "converted ex-smokers" which are worse than lifetime non-smokers, and it's definitely my defect -- I have to hate smoking in order to keep from doing it every time I have a drink on Friday night with the buds!  :) 

But I do know I feel better not smoking. I saw this article on a website, while I was looking for cures to that awful bronchitis that has nailed me and everyone else out here (I rarely fall ill, even when everyone else 'has it', but this was a rare exception). It was enlightening!

This is what happens to your body, etc. after you stop smoking and how long it takes for the changes to kick in.

Courtesy of MamasHealth.com: