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sdduuuude
Participant[quote=bearishgurl]They can find comparable properties to these three in Santee, Lakeside and Ramona for $350K.[/quote]
Yes, but then they’d be in Santee, Lakeside or Ramona. Scottsdale is not the “Santee” of Phoenix.
ParticipantIn my opinion, Paradise Valley is like Rancho Santa Fe or La Jolla. Scottsdale and Awatukee more like Carmel Valley – newer tract homes for families with good schools. Haven’t spent much time anywhere but Awatukee, though.
Don’t know if these are nice neighborhoods or not. Big lots. Big enough to hide a boat. May not even be an HOA on the second one.
http://www.redfin.com/AZ/Scottsdale/11003-E-Sunnyside-Dr-85259/home/27941351
http://www.redfin.com/AZ/Scottsdale/10457-E-Becker-Ln-85259/home/27623333
http://www.redfin.com/AZ/Scottsdale/7520-E-Via-Estrella-Ave-85258/home/27225280
Participant[quote=bearishgurl]Ha! I didn’t realize that allergy problems caused YOU to leave your home state, sdduuuude![/quote]
It didn’t, but it keeps me away. I left for graduate school and realized how awful it was after I left. I went home for Spring Break after a year of allergy-free living and thought I was going to die.
While I think Paradise Valley is nicer, more like the La Jolla of AZ than Scottsdale, I think the AZ transplant is going to be just fine. I just hope their respiratory system is amenable to the desert environment. Winter in AZ is like paradise, really, and few things are more pleasant than rain in the desert.
I’d suggest getting one of those Southwest Airlines credit cards. Charge everything on it, earn free flights and use them to go surfing in SD.
Or, substitute wakeboarding for surfing. If I recall, there are more boats per capita in AZ than any other state. They must store them somewhere.
ParticipantSo, you don’t think you could squeeze an RV or boat in somewhere on that 13,000 sq. ft. lot ? Really ?
Participant[quote=bearishgurl][quote=sdduuuude]sdduuuude, you’ve been looking in CV for awhile now to purchase a primary residence and you’re actually FROM AZ! Had you given any thought to moving back there to get the “home of your dreams” for half the price?
…. just making a suggestion (in case you hadn’t considered it) :=][/quote]
Clearly, you didn’t read the part about choosing between falling asleep and breathing clearly vs. being wide awake but unable to breath and suffering from sneezing fits.
Participant[quote=bearishgurl][quote=sdduuuude][quote=bearishgurl]And if you don’t mind indulging me, I have several questions about these “theoretical” 4/3 2500 sf homes for ~$350K in PHX:[/quote]
Been in this house. For $325K plus another $20K in improvements, they are living in something nicer than the $900K places we are looking at in Carmel Valley AND it is a huge lot. Same type of location as CV, too, with one of the best school districts.
http://www.redfin.com/AZ/Phoenix/2106-E-Taxidea-Way-85048/home/28112471
The Pix are horrible, and it is updated now. Plus, they have seen appreciation. Probably $450K now.[/quote]
sdduuuude, I can’t see the pics because I don’t belong to Redfin. But you just made my point. The type of property the OP’s friend is looking for TODAY IN Phoenix proper (NOT out in the stix) is approx $450K.
Thus it is likely out of his price range.
…which leaves him back to consideration of Santee, Lakeside and Ramona, where “david” can freely park his boat :=][/quote]
I’m thinking he could go for the standard size lot instead of the .3 acres and shoot for 2,000 sq. ft instead of the 3000+ and be just fine under $350K in that neighborhood, which is a few (hundred) steps up from Lakeside, Santee, and Ramona.
As long as the dude doesn’t have allergies, he’ll do great in Phoenix.
Consider the the CA 9% income tax and that’ll pay for all the AC you need.
ParticipantHere’s a fun comparison:
Awahtukee
http://www.redfin.com/AZ/Phoenix/13835-S-Canyon-Dr-85048/home/27824519
5834 sq. ft.
2.32 acres
Backs to a wide open preserve with hiking.
$821,000Del Mar Mesa
http://www.redfin.com/CA/San-Diego/5739-Meadows-Del-Mar-92130/home/4524947
5839 sq. ft.
0.32 acres (1/7th the size).
$2,449,000Carmel Valley, for the same price:
http://www.redfin.com/CA/San-Diego/3857-Banfield-Ln-92130/home/4484133
2393 sq. ft.
Lot is smaller than the AZ house at 4660 sq. ft.
Cost is $24K moreYou are in dreamland if you attempt to argue in any way that Phoenix housing remotely approaches San Diego in terms of cost for a given quality.
Participant[quote=bearishgurl][quote=SK in CV]That area is not like CV. And the school districts are decent. Nowhere near as good the CV districts.[/quote]
I don’t know about the schools but I agree with this statement. “Well-irrigated and lushly landscaped” CV (SD) and this (relatively barren) PHX subdivision are night and day :=][/quote]
For the difference between a similarly appointed home in Awatukee vs. CV, (about $500,000), I think you could have some pretty lush landscaping.
You can split hairs all day over whether or not you can get a particular house in SD or PHX for 350K. The bottom line is, $350K gets you crap in SD and a great place in PHX. No two ways about it.
ParticipantIf winter is so great, why do all the east coasters fly to Florida every winter ?
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm ?
Participant[quote=bearishgurl]And if you don’t mind indulging me, I have several questions about these “theoretical” 4/3 2500 sf homes for ~$350K in PHX:[/quote]
Been in this house. For $325K plus another $20K in improvements, they are living in something nicer than the $900K places we are looking at in Carmel Valley AND it is a huge lot. Same type of location as CV, too, with one of the best school districts.
http://www.redfin.com/AZ/Phoenix/2106-E-Taxidea-Way-85048/home/28112471
The Pix are horrible, and it is updated now. Plus, they have seen appreciation. Probably $450K now.
Participant[quote=bearishgurl]And sdduuuude and other “experts” forgot to mention silverfish infestation … just another fun fact about living in the desert :=][/quote]
I didn’t forget. I lived in the desert for 21 years and didn’t know what a silverfish was until I moved to California.
We had crickets, though.
Good info from Want_to_retire about Phoenix. That is exactly what I meant about he benefits of a big city.
ParticipantI can fly the whole family to Reno for $840 on Southwest and ski Tahoe. Don’t want the snow anywhere near my house.
ParticipantI grew up in Tucson – spent the first 21 years of my life there. I have only been back to visit friends and parents since leaving in 1989. My parents eventually followed me out here about 8 years ago. My mom doesn’t miss the critters or the heat at all.
I tell people that Tucson is a great place to be from. Had a great time as a kid. We lived up in the foothills and the desert was our playground. It is generally boring, though, for a 20-something. I was glad to get out to a place where there was more to do than get drunk and go hiking.
I have occasionally said that I would rather live in Phoenix than Poway. It is hot enough in Poway that it makes sense to save the money and move to Phoenix.
I am familiar with the South Mountain/Awahtukee area. It is pretty nice. Can get 5K sq. ft. homes backing up to beautuful desert preserve for 900K. Great family homes nearby for $300K. Very good schools. If you can live with the problems below, go for it. The high-end homes in AZ are pretty nice.
I compare Tucson and Phoenix to San Diego and LA. LA/Phoenix about 100 miles north. They are bigger cities with the benefits and drawbacks of bigger cities. San Diego / Tucson are smaller, more laid back.
Yes, its hot. If you can’t deal with it, there is no hope. I lived with it for 21 years. I could deal with it if I had to. It is highly preferable to a cold climate where you have to take off and put on bulky clothing every time you go in or outside.
A long-term trend in Phoenix is that the population boom is changing the climate for the worse. More AC means the indoors are cooler, but the outdoors are hotter because they pump heat to the outside. Turns out there are enough of them that the ambient temperature of Phoenix is rising. All the pools and lawn irrigation have increased humidity as well. I’m not a big environmentalist, but I actually wonder about the long-term sustainability of life in Phoenix.
In the 70’s and 80’s, folks from the east coast moved to Tucson by the boatload (joke intended) and planted plants all over town that measurably raised the pollen count in Tucson. This is a serious consideration. If you have any kind of allergies to dust or pollen, the desert can be unlivable. I would occasionally have to leave class because of sneezing fits. The choice was – breathe freely and fall asleep due to medicine, or suffer and be alert. I didn’t know how bad I had it until I left. I have no allergies in San Diego but when I am in Arizona, I wake up with a nose full of gunk every morning. Even if the pollen doesn’t get you, the dust can.
People think Summer is the worst time and suggest living through a Summer before you decide you like it. I say – be sure to spend some time in AZ in the Spring to make sure you can tolerate the pollen and dust. It is a unique form of personal hell if you can’t.
Politically, Phoenix is so much more conservative than Tucson. They do stupid things, just like any government, but they are stupid in an entirely different direction.
ParticipantI would second finding a Provident broker.
I had a friend go direct through the provident web site.
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