The Property Professor - Kevin Shufford, PhD

10/18/2026

Hondo Rodeo Fest Brings Tim McGraw and Blake Shelton to Chase Field in Phoenix November 13 to 15

The Hondo Rodeo Fest hits Chase Field in downtown Phoenix November 13 to 15, 2026, with Tim McGraw, Blake Shelton, and nightly rodeo. Here's what you need to know....

The Hondo Rodeo Fest hits Chase Field in downtown Phoenix November 13 to 15, 2026, with Tim McGraw, Blake Shelton, and nightly rodeo. Here's what you need to know.

10/18/2026

80-10-10 strategy:

80% first mortgage + 10% second + 10% down = avoid PMI, avoid jumbo.

Works great if you have the 10% cash but want lower monthly + flexibility.

Most lenders don't lead with this option.

Who's heard of it? 🧠

10/17/2026

FHA gets a bad rap. It shouldn't.

Lower down (3.5%), more credit flexibility, assumable in some cases.

The stigma is from sellers who don't understand it. Educate your offer.

Who's been pushed to conventional when FHA was the better play? 🏠

10/17/2026

Arizona Craft B**r Fest Hits Downtown Mesa on Halloween 2026

The Arizona Craft B**r Fest lands in downtown Mesa on Saturday, October 31, 2026. Here's what you get at each ticket level, where to park your plans, and who's pouring....

The Arizona Craft B**r Fest lands in downtown Mesa on Saturday, October 31, 2026. Here's what you get at each ticket level, where to go, and when to arrive.

10/16/2026

5 pumpkin patches and corn mazes around the Valley. I pulled the satellite on all 5, and you can actually see 3 of these mazes from space.

No. 5 Mother Nature's Farm in Gilbert. Open every day, 9 to 9, and it runs the longest of the group, all the way through Nov 1. Pricing goes by height: $15 under 42 inches, $17 over, and your pumpkin is included. Under 1 is free. Easiest one if you have little kids.

No. 4 MacDonald's Ranch in Scottsdale. No corn maze here, because it is a working horse ranch sitting on 1,280 acres of Sonoran desert. Hay bale maze, petting zoo, gold panning, pedal carts. $15 a person, open 9 to 5 and closed Tuesdays, closing at 3 on Halloween. They have been in Scottsdale since 1956.

No. 3 Tolmachoff Farms in Glendale. A 5-acre interactive maze with a brand new design every year, plus a mini maze, petting zoo and jumping pillow. Starts around $20 and under 1 is free. Four generations of the same family have farmed that land. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.

No. 2 Vertuccio Farms in Mesa. Another 5-acre maze, and the deepest activity list of the 5: mini golf, zip line, jump pad, barrel train. $17 a person, under 2 free. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays except the last week of October.

No. 1 Schnepf Farms in Queen Creek. The Pumpkin and Chili Party, Wednesday through Sunday until Halloween. More than 25 farm activities on 1 ticket starting around $26, more on weekends, with paintball and a mining experience available separately.

Here is the part that stuck with me. Zoom out on any of these and there are rooftops on all 4 sides. These are the last working farms in the Valley, and you can watch the subdivisions closing in on them from the satellite.

Are you going this weekend or waiting for the last week? Tell me which one in the comments, share this with whoever plans the weekend, and follow along for more of what is happening around the Valley.

10/16/2026

A past client told me the thing they were most worried about before we started was the paperwork and the terminology. Not the money. Not the market. The vocabulary.

This is one of the most common first-time buyer fears I hear, and almost nobody says it out loud because it feels like admitting you are behind.

You are not behind, and it genuinely is a lot to take in. The Arizona purchase contract runs 9 sections before you get to a single addendum.

So I made the walkthrough. Plain English, section by section, no form pages on screen, just what each part is actually doing and which lines decide whether you can still walk away.

Not under contract yet, and buying in Arizona in the next 6 months? Comment CONTRACT and I will send it over.

I am a licensed agent, not an attorney. This is education, not legal advice on your specific contract.

10/16/2026

USDA loans = $0 down for eligible rural/suburban areas.

Not just farmland. Many suburbs qualify. Check the USDA eligibility map.

Income limits apply. Rates often beat FHA.

Who ruled this out without checking the map? 🌾

10/16/2026

That's one way to silence those

10/16/2026

Sell As-Is or Fix It Up First in San Diego?

Selling as-is saves time and upfront cash, but fixing the right things can net more. Here's how to decide in San Diego — and what you still must disclose....

Selling as-is saves time and upfront cash, but fixing the right things can net more. Here's how to decide in San Diego — and what you still must disclose.

10/16/2026

Salad and Go is coming back to Arizona, but most of the old stores are not.

Quick recap: the chain started in Gilbert in 2013, grew to about 70 drive-thrus in Arizona and Nevada, then filed for Chapter 11 in August and closed every store. This week, a bankruptcy judge approved selling the Arizona locations. The Salad and Go name, trademarks and recipes sold for $180,000 to a company formed by co-founder and chef Daniel Patiño, who is partnering with Valley entrepreneurs Mike Myers and Tom Misitano.

Here is where about 60 Arizona stores are headed:
7 Brew: 36 stores
Swig: 9, plus 1 pending
Dutch Bros: 5
Brew Culture: 4
Just Salad: 3
Salad and Go: 1 in Gilbert, plus 1 pending in Mesa

The goal is to open at least 1 Salad and Go before the end of the year, then reopen or build more.

How far would you drive for Salad and Go? Share this with your salad friend, and follow along for more Valley openings.