Real Estate Language: Who Wants a Swamp Cooler in the Desert?

Sellers and buyers in Arizona's real estate market better know these terms, but if you are buying real estate in Arizona for the first time, there's a few definitions you need to clearly understand, before diving in to their first purchase.Free real estate booklet racks everywhere offer stacks of colorful pages of real estate in all price ranges. However, in reading your first Arizona real estate booklet, and you will find some interesting terminology, including: swamp cooler, straw bale, rainwater catchment, and burnt adobe.

Now, why would you want a swamp cooler in the desert? Well, they are pretty handy during the driest, hottest months of the year. In Tucson, it gets so dry that, when newcomers step outside their first few times of high-noon heat, it takes their breath away. Dry, hot air is to the lungs much like dry, cold air is: A major shock! Swamp coolers, also called evaporative (or evap) coolers, take in the dry, hot air, and turn it into cool, moist air. What a relief! The only time of year a swamp cooler is not helpful in Arizona is during the summer monsoon season: July through September. Yes, heavy rains nearly every afternoon keep humidity higher, so swamp coolers are less effective. Some Arizona homes have both swamp coolers and high efficiency heater-a/c units. Newer homes in Arizona don't have swamp coolers at all, unless it's a custom feature added-on, since electric high efficiency heating and cooling systems are readily available at a resonable cost. Swamp coolers are a common sight on the roofs of Tucson area's ranch-style, single-level homes built between the 1950's and 1970's.

Straw bale refers to a type of home construction that is gaining in popularity, particularly in Southern Arizona. Often it is more expensive than standard construction at the onset. However, it compensates with excellent insulation qualities and energy cost savings on heating and cooling bills. A straw bale home is exactly what it sounds like, a home made of straw bales.

Water conservancy is of great importance all across the state of Arizona. Rainwater catchment systems have become increasingly popular in Arizona. The monsoon season easily provides enough water for maintaining the landscaping of a half acre lot, and more homes are adding these systems to catch and use the monsoon rains in their daily home life. Some homes even have greywater systems. Greywater systems make use of the drain water from showers, tubs, washing machines, dishwashers, and sinks to water landscaping.

Real estate advertisements in Southern Arizona often list homes as burnt adobe. These homes are generally the oldest homes in the Tucson Basin. Burnt adobe refers to the type of bricks the homes are made from. Adobe is the Spanish word for mud. A burnt adobe brick "is a mud adobe that's cooked in a fire to give it a hardness and orange-red color that traditional mud adobe doesn't have." (From: www.tucsongardner.com, article titled: Saving My Burnt Adobe, accessed 13 Mar 2007)) Burnt adobe is a most beautifully unique look to older Tucson area homes, but it does require a regular maintenance commitment by the homeowner. The bricks need sealing against the desert winds and monsoon rains, along with occasional repairs. Burnt adobe brick does not have the intrinsic durability enjoyed with other types of brick. However, adobe brick walls are much thicker by nature than other walls, so insulation and protection against the intense Sonoran Desert heat is excellent.

Not found in most Arizona real estate or homeowner's insurance booklets, is a most important term used in Arizona real estate language. Both real estate and insurance agents tend to take it for granted that "everyone knows," but most newcomers to Arizona cities are sorely surprised to learn the term "subscription or contract emergency services." If they are lucky, a fireman will randomly knock on the homeowner's door and ask if they would like to begin or renew their contract. If they aren't, the homeowner will dial 911 in a panicked emergency, and will receive a $2000 statement for services rendered. "Subscription emergency services" means that, in urban areas, such as Tucson and its suburbs, the property taxes paid for ambulance and fire services by city and suburb dollars in Arizona, does not stay in that city or suburb. The money goes to rural areas that only have volunteer emergency services. If a homeowner in an Arizona city needs to call for help, they can either pay up to $2000 per visit to their property, or they can "subscribe" to their local fire department and ambulance service. They pay the same property taxes with or without subscribing to their local fire department and ambulance service. The homeowner's subscription price, like property tax, is based on the square footage of the home. A 3,000 square foot home in Tucson, for instance, subscribed to service for the 2006-07 year at about $350.00. Of course, the homeowner does have the option of not subscribing and hoping they don't need to call 911.

Arizona is a great place to live, and compared to many parts of the United States, is an economical place to make a home, whether seasonal or year-round. Familiarity with its unique real estate terminology empowers the buyer and the seller to take full advantage of Arizona's competitive real estate market.