Where to purchase a home in phoenix area ? (Peoria, Flagstaff: apartment, to rent)

[dragracer]

Looking to purchase a home in the Phoenix area and would be using the home mainly in the winter months. Which area would be a good investment as well low in crime since we would be absentee owners? I was thinking of Queen creek but open to any reccommendations.

cheers

[MotleyCrew]

Are you retired? If so, then some of the active adult communities would be a good start. There are lots of snowbirds living at Trilogy/Vistancia which is up in north Peoria. It is a beautiful development and the ammenities are fantastic. Robson communities are also nice devlopments, Pepple Creek is in Goodyear. Some of the Del Webbs in Surprise are also nice. There is a Trilogy/Encantera down in Queen Creek that has a tremendous golf course.

[Howard Roark]

Some of the burglaries in Phoenix in the off-season are indeed of unoccupied dwellings of snowbirds. In my neighborhood, high school graduates who did not go on to college have been nabbed in burglaries over the years.

I second MotleyCrew's suggestion.

Myself, I live in a gated apartment community and spend most of my time in other states. I keep no paper with my name in my apartment. No computers, no financial documents, no social security numbers. Keep very few valuable things that can be easily moved. I learned my lesson from a burglary against me in another part of Phoenix a few years ago. Eventually I would like a residence in the Phoenix area and a residence in Flagstaff. But if costs are too prohibitive, I probably would be happy enough to rent a cabin for a month in Flagstaff, like every August!

[dragracer]

We are semi-retired couple in early 50's and want a retreat somewhere with no rain or snow...
We are thinking of a single family dwelling with a garage as i still drag race and would be leaving a car at the house. Thanks for the information from both of you.. What do you think of Queen creek
or Coolige .. Cheers

[Howard Roark]

Since you will probably not be commuting (presuming it's a retirement winter home), Queen Creek or Coolidge would be nice places. I worry about the high price of crude oil returning. It will, meaning high gas prices.

You may find some gated communities in Queen Creek. I drove in some new developments a couple of years ago and the homes were huge single levels (I don't like multi-story homes). Huge may be bad if you don't like to spend much time maintaining.

[roundball]

If you like pre-season baseball the NW Valley is a good place. 6+ teams are close by.

If I was retired I would look for a place close to downtown to take advantage of the cultural events during the winter.

QC is just to far out there for me. It's close to the airport that has Allegiant flights, which is nice if you have family from the midwest/great plains.