Newcomers:What do U wish U knew buying home? (Phoenix: lease, HOA)

[dpepsi]

What words of wisdom can you share with a newbie to AZ looking to purchase a home?

[DetroitN8V]

Words of wisdom? ‘You’ is spelled y-o-u. Oh, and two-story homes are less than ideal.

[dpepsi]

U got me! I just wanted to make sure it all fit, so I abbreviated.

[DetroitN8V]

Sorry, just messing with you. If you go with a two-story house, I consider a dual zone HVAC system to be a must.

Pools are way cheaper to buy with the house than to put one in after the fact. Pools are very nice to have here.

There is a real premium to pay for a centrally located house. Don’t discount the cost of fuel, wear and tear on your car, and a lesser quality of life due to a long commute. In other words, don’t let a big, cheap house in the boonies cloud your judgement when it comes to overall value.

[ghdana]

Buy within 30 minutes of your workplace DURING RUSH HOUR. If you work downtown Tempe, Phoenix, or Scottsdale I'd say most of Chandler and Gilbert are not options because the 101 is screwed.

Pools are nice, but you get adjusted and then don't use them until it is over 100. All tile is a must if you have dogs and cats, it keeps them comfortable in the summer, and makes all the dust easier to clean.

Niceness of areas very block to block. On here you'll see people calling Glendale and Mesa ghetto, but they have neighborhoods that are just as nice as the nicest in Scottsdale.

[DetroitN8V]

^I get your point but there is nothing in Mesa or Glendale that even remotely rivals Silverleaf, for example. It’s just not true and much of Scottsdale doesn’t have the “spottiness” mentioned.

[ghdana]

From a quick Googling I'm not sure what makes Silverleaf nicer than the nicer parts of Las Sendas neighborhood for example.

Like this house is bigger and half the price of places on Redfin in Silverleaf. https://www.redfin.com/AZ/Mesa/4346-.../home/26915053

And I would say Northeast Mesa is similar in that it doesn't have spotty areas. Plus no city property tax.

[Storm27m]

1. Look for dual zone A/C if you buy a two story, preferably with the zones split by floors rather than front and back of the house.


2. Some areas that aren't in city limits (even though it might seem like they are) and even some smaller cities will be required to pay an annual contract fee to Rural Metro Fire for Fire/Emergency services. You don't HAVE to pay but they will bill you for services if you aren't a paying member. It's like paying for insurance...you may need it or you may not. I'm on the west side and the two areas that come to mind are Waddell and Litchfield Park. The price is based off your home size and attributes. Our home is about 2400sqft and it runs us $600 a year. This was definitely a new thing to us. Even though it works out to only $50 a month, the Rural Metro fee was our biggest shocker. No one told us about it at any point in the process of buying our home. If a coworker hadn't mentioned it, we could have been hit with a huge bill later on.


3. Homes with lots of big glass windows and vaulted ceilings may look nice but they're going to be expensive to heat and cool...especially if they have a southern exposure.


4. Utility costs are fairly high and very much home dependent (size, # of windows, exposure, A/C efficiency, etc). Our home is two story with no huge windows and no vaulted areas...our highest electric bill has been $284 and we keep the house pretty cool compared to most at around 76 degrees. Some of my coworkers have houses around the same square footage but with lots of windows and vaulted areas. They keep their houses warmer (about 80) and have bills that regularly run in the $400-500 range in summer.


5. HOAs are very common here. Consider the monthly fee and what amenities it gets you. One might be $50 and cover nothing but "normal" neighborhood costs. Some will be $150 plus but will include things like trash, a community pool, splash pad, maybe the Rural Metro fee, etc.


6. READ the HOA CCR's, bylaws, and such before you sign a contract. A lot of them are available online on the HOA's website. Some have some things you will not be willing to accept. For instance, ours doesn't allow RV's, even in the back yard if they are visible over the fence to the road or neighbors.


7. Some subdivisions have special tax assessments. The way I understand it is that the builder gets to spread the infrastructure cost of building the neighborhood out to the individual homes (a builder incentive). This will be a set amount and divided up annually over maybe 10 years. The amount can be equal to or even higher than your regular annual property tax. For the homes we were looking at, these fees have equaled out to around another $100-180 a month onto the mortgage.


8. Not all solar is paid for. If you're buying a home with solar, know whether the solar is paid for or under a lease. The paid for system will probably save you more money than the leased system will because you'll have to assume the lease (most have a monthly fee I think).


9. Landscaping can be expensive. We looked at a lot of homes that had bare dirt backyards. We had to factor the cost of landscaping the yard into what we were willing to pay. Kids, dogs, dirt backyards, and rain don't mix well.


10. Familiarize yourself with the various problems stucco can have and indications of home settling. The issues will probably be found during a home inspection but by then you may have wasted a few hundred bucks (inspection cost) and a bit of your time.


That's about all I can think of off the top of my head...

[AndyDwyer480]

Make sure there is a grocery store and Gas Station within five to ten minutes walking distance.

Anything else I can think of has been said.

[Prickly Pear]

Originally Posted by ghdana

Buy within 30 minutes of your workplace DURING RUSH HOUR.*

*in the winter time

(Winter commutes can double depending on where you are going. For example I work in north Scottsdale near the Barrett Jackson, Phoenix open, etc. my commute almost triples headed into the office especially when these events are going on.)