We can't believe our good fortune, but... (Phoenix, Cave Creek: for sale, rental market)

[FB 1951]

...we are feeling it could be too good to be true, but pray it isn't too good. We live in Ohio & wish to relocate (I lived in southern AZ before), so most of the looking for a place to live has to be done remotely. We do have family there to check some things out for us.

My husband and I (and our 2 dogs) have an opportunity to move into a home (rental) in the 85022 zip of north Phoenix. The home is just west of N. Cave Creek Rd., South of Lookout Mountain Park & Preserve, north of E. Cactus, W. of Mountains Preserve. What do you think of this area? The house we would be renting is huge (2,000+SF) with 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, and the pool is quite large. There is a 3 car garage. There are lots of ceiling fans in the house but it also has central ac. It's a beautiful home. I've been in frequent contact with the owner, being honest about the rent they wanted to charge, etc., and the debt we had a few years ago having to vacate our own home due to the economy. We corresponded about the house, bartering, etc. The owner is willing to rent it to us for the cost of the (also nice) house we currently live in ($900, not including utilities) which is amazing. We just "clicked" because of our belief systems, etc. He is a missionary out in the field and they want to rent the house for approximately 3 yrs. He had his house up for sale but decided not to get rid of it. BTW, our heating bills in northern Ohio are high; we are in the snowbelt. We do use AC in the summers.

I am retired, husband is not (can run own business remotely). We like to dine out (good restaurants), go to movies, events, and be with friends; we also love entertaining at home and swimming is my favorite thing to do. We go to church (non-denominational Bible-believers), but we don't just want to hang with church people. Even though we are older, we think we're pretty cool. We like the arts (I am a fine artist), too. Would we be so far out that everything is too far??? Any help you could give me, we would really be grateful. I like the sunshine and heat, but the desert not so much, and I won't be visiting those great outdoors, away from people. When we miss trees (and we will), we can visit them north, and the snow, too.

Any questions, feel free to ask. And thanks.
FB

[AZgarden]

You know what they say: If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
Have you been here? Is the lease for THREE years? That's a loooong time, and your needs and wants may change. I think you need to make a trip out here and actually see the house and the area before commiting to this deal. At least, that's what I would do.

[pandaundercover]

You mentioned he reduced the rent from its original for you guys, so the original $1000+ rent was probably accurate for the house and its location. Do to its location, the home is probably on the older side, (compared to the 10+ or newer homes I've been in the past 3.5 years out here), so that would also determine the rent shouldn't be in a super high range. Even if he rents it to you guys for $900, with the pool, your water bills will be pretty high, and probably higher than you're use to coming from Ohio where there's tons of rain/water. And summer electricity is also high out here, and could run anywhere from $200 to $500 depending on how you use the A/C. I'm not familiar with the water district over in that area, but I'd estimate it'd be at least $50 a month, on water alone, possibly up to $100. These utilities are not including sewage, trash, internet, phone(s), rental insurance (optional, but should be considered), and gas, if it uses gas. So... keep all that in mind on top of the rent. And you should see pics of the house if you haven't yet, and possibly request street views. Always try to view the house yourself before signing any papers too.

[khuntrevor]

Originally Posted by PhxBarb

You know what they say: If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
Have you been here? Is the lease for THREE years? That's a loooong time, and your needs and wants may change. I think you need to make a trip out here and actually see the house and the area before committing to this deal. At least, that's what I would do.

I agree with Barb. No one rents to someone based on what their out of state rent is. If he is out of state, they will be required to have property management. The OP seems to try and minimize a tight rental market, and the house itself...."just get rid of it"..........If you give us the address, we can find out a lot about it. Maybe it's a manufactured home.....Someone with bad credit is going to be very hard pressed to find a nice SFH rental in this market.

[shadow91]

I get these emails all the time, from some missionary looking for someone to rent their home, SCAM big time.

[azdr0710]

don't sign anything without seeing it in person....like Barb said, if it's too good to be true..........

just because you have common "beliefs" isn't a good enough reason for this "missionary" to give you a screaming deal....do you even know this guy?...how exactly did you even find this house and/or the guy?.....

be careful....don't rush in to this

[ReadyFreddy]

I would rent an out of state home through a realtor.

[Kentstate57]

Actually I think the OP is a scam.

[Kimballette]

Agreed. This sounds like a scam that shows up on Craigs List fairly often. I even had a co-worker who almost fell for it. In that case, the o/p was a "missionary" living in South Africa. They provided great photos and the rent was lower than market value for the area. Turned out to be 100% scam.

[azdr0710]

Originally Posted by Kimballette

Agreed. This sounds like a scam

are we thinking the one-post wonder poster is the scammer (since she says to ask questions) or that the proposal she mentions is the scam??....