Itinerary advice for July trip (Phoenix, Mesa: rental car, fit in, for sale)

[ILikeEveryone]

This will be our first trip to the PHX metro area and we will be staying in Tempe with a rental car for 7 days. The purpose is to get a feel for the area, look at real estate in several areas, and look at potential places of employment for relocation.

We are not rich people and we would be looking to sell a house in one part of the country and buy a house in the PHX area without taking back a mortgage. Our house budget would be between 100K and 160K. We are two early 50s, no kids, and are looking at quiet areas in Goodyear, Litchfield Park, Avondale, North Phoenix, Sun Lakes, Sun City and Sun City West. We have ruled out Mesa and Gilbert. Also, areas we like in Tempe are too pricey. Basically we are looking at 2BR/2BA minimum with 2 CG in good shape with a minimum of 1500 sf. After years of dealing with shoveling snow in NJ and mowing lawns in both NJ and NC, xeriscape is very appealing.

Are there any other areas that would fit into our budget that we should look at? I'd like to get as much accomplished in the time we have, but still have time left over for a day trip or two.
Thanks for your suggestions.

[AZgarden]

I think the best plan is to contact a realtor here and let them drive you around and look at houses, based on your requirements. A week is not that long, and you will spend too much time trying, on your own, to figure out where you are. JMO.

[Seaflip]

If commuting is not an issue, Surprise would be a good match for your budget. Im from Seattle and started researching Phoenix for about two months before flying in to hobnob with the Zonies. We liked what we saw and decided to make an offer on a house that got accepted. We're in escrow right now and excited we now can high tail from the wettest to the driest climate in just 2.5 hours, LOL. We're a few years from retirement but it's reassuring to know that Phoenix took into consideration the 55 and over population, there's a CVS Pharmacy almost in every strip mall that you see in every city :-). When our bones start to creak and a high blood pressure medication is needed, a CVS Pharmacy wont be too far away.!

[observer53]

You talk about looking for employment. Where you live needs to be relatively close to where you work. You don't want to be driving from the places you've named that are more on the outskirts into central Phoenix on a daily basis.

[Zippyman]

Are you locked into the hotel in Tempe?

Those places you've mentioned are a bit of a run from Tempe.

That's a lot of driving for a vacation.

[jdahunt]

We just did that trip a month ago.....a couple of weeks before we left was when we started realizing that things were moving upward in the area and quickly.

On the first house we looked at that came on the market that day already had 11 offers on it by the time our realtor contacted their realtor.....what a surprise...a couple where sight unseen.

I think you better plan to be at the high end if you care about the neighborhood and also be prepared to go against multiple offers and offers above asking price....and expect to have to bring extra money to the table since the house more than likely won't appraise for the price you will have to offer.

We offered $142,000 on a house in Marley Park Surprise, the appraisal came back at $131,000....we agreed to bring $3,000 more to the table and have an agreement at $134,000....we think it is still a great deal.

[azdr0710]

Originally Posted by jdahunt

and expect to have to bring extra money to the table since the house more than likely won't appraise for the price you will have to offer.

I think they said they're going to be cash, so appraisal may not matter....

if you must have >1500 sq. ft., it may be somewhat hard to find a good location at <160K since that price range is hot now....and you definitely should find the best location you can....location, location, location is still very much the first three rules of buying a house.....if you can, stay away from cookie-cutter homes <10-15 years old....may not be possible, though....look for 'hood pride, clean home, weird neighbors, noise on Friday nights, etc....get a home inspection and bargain with it if needed....your realtor should help with all this

you do need to find a realtor first before coming out....be very specific what you must have, what you might like, etc....

Gilbert is a great area and are you sure you want to eliminate it?....is there a reason?....

remember it will be humid (for us) in July, very warm, and we don't have daylight savings time, so the sun will be up at about 5:30 and blazing by 7

[CheyDee]

I could be mistaken but from what I've been observing, houses in your price range in Active Adult Communities tend to sit just a tad longer on the market than in "family" areas - which are flying out the door, as was previously mentioned. You may find your best deals there, (i.e Sun Lakes, Sun City, Sun City West).

Another poster mentioned having a CVS on every corner, for when their bones creek and they need medication. It's worth mentioning that one of the big supermarket chains, Safeway, offers online grocery shopping, (including dairy, meat, produce & frozen foods), along with home delivery, to some areas. You may want to check potential zip codes on their website before making a final decision. Also, in some communities it's common to drive around in golf carts, which may interest you as well.

[ILikeEveryone]

Wow, thank you so much for the advice. Unfortunately, the best time to buy was last year, because except for the retirement areas, the other areas are going up in price and I am shocked to see how much. I kept telling DH last March we need to get out of here NOW. But nooooooo....

We would still have to come back from the trip and put our house in NC up for sale to have the cash for an outright purchase. I would not want to waste a broker's time unless we were totally serious and ready to buy with the cash. And then, I would want a buyer's broker who knows the specific area we've decided on.

And then there's the commute factor as well, not knowing where we might end up in terms of employment. We are only (lol) 50 and 52 and we both have to work, probably for long past the standard retirement age. I think with all of the retirement communities at least one of you has to be 55 and over to live there.

We are not locked into the hotel at Tempe. That could change if I wanted.

We've ruled out Mesa and Gilbert because of, (and correct me if I'm wrong), the big religious factor. We now live in an area where everything revolves around church and religion, and if you don't go to church (and the right church), you will have no friends. I don't ever want to make that mistake again. From what I have read, Mesa and Gilbert are very churchy.

All I know is I like the desert. We both do. If the house prices hadn't risen so much out there, we were looking to locate to the Nevada area back in 2003 and 2004. NC was my 2nd choice and I hope I don't have to spend the rest of my life here. Don't get me wrong, it's nice here, but it's not for everyone.

Thanks for the info, especially about the price range and the multiple offers at this point. I knew it was getting competitive, but I didn't realize how much. It is a buyer's market here.

Any other suggestions would be appreciated. Nothing is set in stone yet except the dates we are flying out.

[Jkgourmet]

Your reasons for ruling out Mesa and Gilbert are falsehoods. Both areas are places you should consider.

And no, it's not THAT competitive here. A house in a good area in which great condition that has been properly priced will sell quickly, maybe with multiple bids. But those are not too common.

But the best advice you've received is from Observer. It really doesn't matter where you want to live so much as where you are going to work.

Spend the week enjoying the area, and make sure you will find you are comfortable here. Maybe look at some houses in your price range -but you'll need to hire a realtor for that.

One other slightly OT comment. While I admire your desire to be mortgage free, it may even worth considering taking a mortgage with rates at historical liws. We are selling our mortgage free house and building one in NC. We are retured, 55 and 68,and could easily pay cash for the new house. But we're gonna mortgage about 60% of it. Financially, that is a smarter way to go for us, but YMMV.