Homeowner bothered by criticisms of Maryvale (Phoenix, Mesa: middle-class, transplants, real estate)

[abgal]

I keep seeing posts that Maryvale is a crime riddled dump. I live west of 83rd and south of Thomas; my gated HOA is well run and the residents are middle income while collar types from what I can see. There are other gated communities around me which are also very nice. Yes, when I head east and north, things definitely change literally from block to block - some well kept and spotless, and the next section a mess.

Because I'm west of 83rd and very close to Avondale AND note - the extreme west Marvale boundary is adjacent to Litchfield which I consider upper middle income, I always say I'm in WEST Maryvale and nowhere near the rough areas further east.

I just don't want a broad brush stroke used for this part of Maryvale.
Any comments?

Oh I will be trying to sell my home soon so i need some suggestions on encouraging buyers in 'west" Maryvale. I am not moving because of the area at all; it is just time to change my investment strategy as I head towards retirement.

Thanks in advance for your comments!

[PHX Newbie]

I feel your pain. I'm in a great community in South Phoenix and recently had an on-line "discussion" with someone who kept asserting that the whole neighborhood is a crime riddled dump. You will likely have that same sort of person show up on this thread within a few hours.

[quote]Oh I will be trying to sell my home soon so i need some suggestions on encouraging buyers in 'west" Maryvale. I am not moving because of the area at all; it is just time to change my investment strategy as I head towards retirement.[?QUOTE]

If you use a Real Estate agent, he/she should have some inventive ways of describing your area of the community. If you're writing your own for-sale-by-owner listing, here's how I would start out. I would use redfin or zillow to look at other homes in your zip code. I would read as many listings as I could, and see how the agents have described the area. I think most will mention the amenities of the HOA and will leave the wider area out of it.

[Ponderosa]

I lived in South Phoenix at one point in my life and dealt with the same bias from people. When it came time to sell my house, though, it really did not matter. There are buyers in every area and range of prices. What did matter house-wise, was that the rate of appreciation of my home over those years was less than identical homes in more desirable areas. I did not lose on the deal; just got out less than if I had lived in Mesa or somewhere.

[Java Jolt]

Originally Posted by bgoeres

I keep seeing posts that Maryvale is a crime riddled dump. I live west of 83rd and south of Thomas; my gated HOA is well run and the residents are middle income while collar types from what I can see. There are other gated communities around me which are also very nice. Yes, when I head east and north, things definitely change literally from block to block - some well kept and spotless, and the next section a mess.

Because I'm west of 83rd and very close to Avondale AND note - the extreme west Marvale boundary is adjacent to Litchfield which I consider upper middle income, I always say I'm in WEST Maryvale and nowhere near the rough areas further east.

I just don't want a broad brush stroke used for this part of Maryvale.
Any comments?

Oh I will be trying to sell my home soon so i need some suggestions on encouraging buyers in 'west" Maryvale. I am not moving because of the area at all; it is just time to change my investment strategy as I head towards retirement.

Thanks in advance for your comments!

Very well-stated.

Although a good part of Maryvale has crime and some bad neighborhoods this has a way of putting a negative stigma on all of west Phoenix including the area you live, and the same stigma even spills over to nearby suburban areas like Avondale.

I know exactly what you're going through because I live in northern Avondale in a very nice middle-class area but many people wrongly assume it's a crime-infested slum because it's in the west valley and not far from Maryvale.

The general attitude about the west valley tends to be unfairly negative for this reason, and I think it contributes to why we have been shunned on things like light rail and freeways compared to the east valley.

[kell490]

My wife was Born at Maryvale hospital 1969 she grew up in the area 63rd or 83rd ave & Indian School. Her parents bought a John F Long Model home new development in Marvale I think in 1965-1967 time frame. In 1980's there home was robbed 3 times and a few years later 1986 someone high on drugs chased her mother and friend with a butcher knife yelling, "I'm going to kill you". They were able to bang on someones door and hide while calling the police. The man ended up at some fast food place on Indian School and he was hold up in the back of the restaurant when Phoenix Police showed up and shot and killed the man. Her brother when walking to school found a dead body in front of a home early in the morning someone selling drugs was killed the night before left there. These are true first hand accounts of how they saw Maryvale go down hill. While Gated Community's have been successful in keep crime out the older parts of Maryvale are still crime ridden.

[Valley Native]

The problem with Maryvale is Maryvale itself. What was originally intended to be an "affordable" community has allowed itself to be overrun with crime, gangs, drug houses, and undesirables. I realize that some parts of Phoenix adjacent to (and perhaps within) the Maryvale district might be OK, including the gated areas, and might be unfairly getting a bad rap ... however, just being associated with Maryvale is automatically associated with the not so nice element. The ones I feel sorry for are some of the original residents who moved there with good intentions and became stuck there ... however, even they should have known what they were getting into. Very little that is considered "cheap" can be a good long term investment.

[ijamez]

Just a brief search on Coldwell's sight shows not even one Maryvale property listed for more than 279k, and you can still find many homes listed under 100k...Depending on the stage of life one is in, this can be an affordable option, but if you have kids, that's the last kind of area I would want them growing up/going to school in...

[Renegade007]

Maryvale has a negative stigma or stereotype about it... perhaps it's the unfortunate circumstance of bad name recognition. You think Maryvale, and immediately crime, gangs and drugs come to mind. There are parts of Maryvale that are nice, and parts that look like Calcutta. That's true of Mesa, Glendale and just about every other suburb, even Scottsdale. Maryvale has some nice parks, a golf course, swimming pools and some of the best Mexican restaurants in Phoenix, even if they are little hole in the wall, mom and pop joints. These restaurants don't get any reviews or press. Maybe the newspaper reporters are too scared they'll get shot driving down west McDowell or Thomas.

[TempeAZnative]

Maryvale has been on the decline for decades 43rd Ave and McDowell is probably the worst area in the entire valley so you will get some blowback even in your nice new house in a gated community. A lot shifted in the 80's with the Maryvale cancer cluster everyone left leaving it to people in the lower income brackets.

For you noobs and transplants do your research because regardless if the house was just built the areas reputation will bring it down like in Maryvale and South Phoenix. You can live in your new house in a gated community, but it's still Maryvale and South Phoenix these are not some nice gentrified areas. They are still the hood whether you like it our now.