Living and learning: Renaissance man revels in career, personal experiences

Call him a renaissance man.

Province resident Doug Mossing has seen and done it all — well almost, anyway.

He spent two decades as a real estate investor with hands-on property management as part of the mix and played a key role in the development of Maricopa’s first apartment complex.

He wrote a book, “Successful Real Estate Investing in an Ever-Changing Market,” based on firsthand lessons learned in the business as a licensed general contractor, Realtor, real estate broker and home inspector.

But Mossing has plenty of experience in life’s pursuits, too.

He’s been a musician for the last 15 years, reprising a professional career from 50 years ago in his native Ohio, and leads three groups.

He also travels the globe; he and his wife, Cherie, have visited 63 countries.

“We realize how fortunate we have been,” Mossing, 69, says modestly.

But good fortune comes to those who earn it.

A new home and career
Mossing rode a motorcycle across the country in 1980 — all his possessions on the back — to house-sit for his parents in Paradise Valley. He’s been an Arizonian ever since.

With some accounting experience, he started a small bookkeeping service and worked for several CPA firms. In that role, he met someone involved in real estate and admits he “started investing in apartments and houses at the worst possible time.”

Between 1983 and 1986, he accumulated 45 rental units through six apartment complexes and two homes. But he bought during a “seller’s market,” paying high prices with low down payments and substantial mortgages. The elimination of the capital gains tax break contributed to his accelerating debt.

Mossing decided to pay off the mortgages rather than declare bankruptcy. The first three years of the payback period, he writes in his book, were particularly difficult.

“It took me seven years to dig out of that hole, but I paid back everything I owed,” he said.

With lessons learned from his initial setbacks, Mossing began successfully investing in and managing properties throughout the Valley in the early 2000s. He had as many as 17 people working for him at one time, but he was always heavily involved in everything from maintenance to collecting rent.

In the process of compiling his book from 2000 to 2001, he noted “credit card debt had reached unprecedented levels and per-capita savings were lower than ever.”

“Because many unworthy people have been extended credit in recent years, I predict that defaults, foreclosures and bankruptcies will increase in record numbers during the 2000s,” he wrote at the time. “With that, inflation will rise and (predictably) unemployment will increase. With increased unemployment, the number of defaults, foreclosures and bankruptcies will continue to rise.”

That, of course, all came to bear during the Great Recession from 2007 through 2009. According to a 2011 report by the Federal Crisis Inquiry, the period of sharp economic decline was brought on by a housing market bust after total mortgage debt ballooned due to federal policy encouraging home ownership and low interest rates. Subprime and adjustable mortgages made it possible for borrowers who otherwise might not have qualified for generous home loans, which they could not afford when variable interest rates climbed and housing prices stagnated.

Market matters
Real estate market trends have been incredibly consistent since the 1930s, according to Mossing. The differences occur in just how long a seller’s or buyer’s market (for investors) will last before a shift takes place.

“It’s a natural progression,” he said. “They say the stock market is motivated by greed and fear; well, the real estate market is as well. Right now, we’re going to continue for two, three, four years, then have another bubble. But not as significant as 2007 or 2008.

“Even though markets will go down significantly, say in five years or so, it’s not going to be as dramatic in communities like Province because of the Baby Boomers. They are a huge population, and they’re going to keep up the demand for this type of retirement community.”

Maricopa, of course, has been working to diversify its housing portfolio. Mossing worked part-time for 17 years for Indiana-based Englewood Group, serving as the Arizona broker for its property management arm. He estimates the company had as many as 2,000 apartment units across the state.

Mossing saw the need for more affordable housing alternatives in Maricopa.

“The City had come to that same conclusion. Officials really greeted us with open arms,” he recalled. “I told Englewood, ‘You guys need to explore Maricopa because there is a tremendous shortage of apartments there.’” In fact, there were none.

Mossing scouted potential sites for the Oasis at The Wells complex that opened in 2021. (He retired from his work with Englewood in 2019).

The Mossings moved to Maricopa in 2005 as an escape from the rapidly expanding Phoenix area. Despite the boom in population here, the benefits remain, he said.

At the time, his wife was hired as lab director at the Casa Grande Medical Center. Mossing knew the area from his seven years in home inspections.

“We surveyed the whole area and just felt the best value was here in Maricopa,” Mossing said. “The traffic is nice compared to driving through the Valley. Maricopa is kind of on its own island and I like that.”

Global perspective
Speaking of islands, the Mossings have visited more than a few in their travels. Together for two decades, Doug and Cherie have traveled every year except for COVID-impacted 2020.

Some trips involve three or four countries (Australia, New Zealand and Fiji, for example), while others focus on just one. Sardinia and Sicily, the two largest Mediterranean Sea islands, are a possibility for 2022.

“I think I’ve pretty much completed my bucket travel list,” Mossing said, “but Cherie has some places she wants to go. We haven’t been to India, and Italy is a fantastic place to go. I want to go again, especially to Rome. The history of the world really soaked in there. You can see the evidence, and the Italians really take care of their artifacts.”

Mossing has snorkeled on the Great Barrier Reef and scuba-dived surrounded by 50 sharks (with no cage) in Fiji. That remains one of his most exhilarating experiences.

Those aren’t his only adventures, however.

“We’ve done African safaris in Tanzania, Botswana and South Africa, Zimbabwe and Zambia. I got to ride in a little prop plane, and we had trouble landing because there was a giraffe on the runway,” he recalled. “We walked up to cheetahs, and they just sat there and watched us.”

The Mossings like to visit art museums and bring home souvenirs to remind them of their travels. They also enjoy television programs such as “The Amazing Race” and seeing sites they have visited in person.

Scaling the heights
Closer to home, Mossing is preparing for his 14th Grand Canyon hike. It’s an avocation he says he picked up as soon as he crossed into Arizona after coming from the flat landscape of northeastern Ohio.

“One time in August, we camped on the North Rim. The first night my water froze. By the time we reached the bottom the next day, it was 110 degrees — an 80- to 85-degree temperature change in eight or nine hours.”
Mossing helps lead a local hiking group and enjoys the solitude of being on his own.

“I love it. I love being out in the nature,” he said. “Our cabin (in Forest Lakes) is in the largest ponderosa pine forest in the world. I go hiking by myself. All the animals that you run into — mountain lions, bears, hundreds and hundreds of elk, maybe a hundred deer. It’s just kind of fun to stop and watch them.”

Hiking, he says, has many benefits.

“One of the reasons I hike is because, as a saxophone player, I need the cardiovascular work. Otherwise, I’m not going to make it those eight years (he hopes to continue playing).

Musical melodies
Mossing started playing the saxophone in school. Friends later formed a rock band, where he picked up the keyboard and later the flute and other instruments. The classic rock focus led to as many as 300 gigs a year in Ohio and Michigan. Disco and its growing presence in clubs was one of the factors leading to a career change.

But 25 years later, a tiny saxophone gift from his sister helped reignite his passion. He played in a musical group at his daughter’s church and “I just felt all the emotion, how wonderful it was to perform.”

After moving to Maricopa, he formed a band with other Province residents. They played as many as 40 times a year before COVID. Today, his three bands include Jazzona (jazz), 11th Hour (variety dance band) and Classic Winds (classical music, show tunes and big band songs). They perform at corporate events, holiday programs, restaurants and more.

Mossing’s first instrument, the saxophone, remains his favorite, leading to a special affinity for the Jazzona performances.

“It’s such a release to perform for people that are really enjoying it, and they acknowledge you for the work,” Mossing said. “I told [singer] Elise [Hurst] I would try to play for another eight years; that’s my target. She goes out of her way to pick out songs that have really good sax parts in them.”

Just consider it one of many high notes in Mossing’s most interesting career and life.

This story was first published in the April edition of InMaricopa magazine.