Verrado Vs Eastmark

[J_Bone]

Originally Posted by AZJD

For $400k, get an entry level home in McDowell Mountain Ranch in Scottsdale. Perfect location, top notch schools, at the base of the mountain, your own golf course owned by Phil Mickelson's group, and a ton of amenities and aquatic center.

What development are you referencing? I was looking in Scottsdale, since I work there, and I couldn't find anything less than 500k and that was a condo.

I just bought in Eastmark to get closer to work. I was in South Queen Creek and I would commute to North Scottsdale (McDowell area).

[wase4711]

what great info, MN!

Its more the endless drone of noise that annoys my wife; the planes in a holding pattern over midway or ohare, as you know, goes on for several minutes at a time, for several hours a day; for us, its night time when we hear that the most..Also, we live about 1/4 mile for a major expressway, and, until the foliage comes in completely in june, the expressway noise, can be heard pretty clearly early in the am, and at rush hour in the afternoon; and, because my wife
listens for it, she has now taken to wearing ear plugs when she walks the dog in the am, and in the pm, because it really annoys her..
And, when you mentioned the landscappers and that kind of noise, interestingly, she never complains about that..probably because that only lasts a few minutes and goes away, versus the expressway noise, and landing pattern from the airports noise, which is there for many hours during the day.

we downloaded the Lake AFB noise notification map, and we see the areas that are identified as high DB areas, so we will probably avoid those specific areas when we decide on where to buy. But is seems like those high noise areas are pretty narrow and well defined, so, as long as we arent living there, the short bursts of jet noise that you have talked about, should not be that big of a deal for her..

[loriwass]

Which SPL app for your smartphone would you recommend? As the lady who wears earplugs to block expressway traffic (which is louder than the birds chirping) while walking my dog at 6:30 in the morning, I'm curious about the apps. I'm on Android and it looks like they have several apps for this.

[AZJD]

Originally Posted by J_Bone

What development are you referencing? I was looking in Scottsdale, since I work there, and I couldn't find anything less than 500k and that was a condo.

I just bought in Eastmark to get closer to work. I was in South Queen Creek and I would commute to North Scottsdale (McDowell area).

There are numerous single family homes in that area in the $400's. There's some in the $300's too.

Gosh I really hope you're joking that you bought a home an hour + away in a non desirable area and city when you could afford one in Scottsdale where demand will always be high.

[coffeebreakwhatever]

Are there HOA fees for these "planned communities"? if so, how much and what are the property taxes like?

[coffeebreakwhatever]

MrsMac.... I am looking to relocate to this general area also...we are seniors, no kids, no pets, not party people and just want the calmness of being out of the city. What are the basic prices of homes....about 1800 sq ft and what are property taxes per year? Also, the price of homes.. can you get the 1800 for under $200k? I have to go to AAA tomorrow and get a map as the one I have doesn't show Marley park ot others mentioned here!

[observer53]

Originally Posted by coffeebreakwhatever

MrsMac.... I am looking to relocate to this general area also...we are seniors, no kids, no pets, not party people and just want the calmness of being out of the city. What are the basic prices of homes....about 1800 sq ft and what are property taxes per year? Also, the price of homes.. can you get the 1800 for under $200k? I have to go to AAA tomorrow and get a map as the one I have doesn't show Marley park ot others mentioned here!

AAA maps are not going to show subdivisions. Marley Park is in Surprise.

[MN-Born-n-Raised]

Originally Posted by AZJD

There are numerous single family homes in that area in the $400's. There's some in the $300's too.

Gosh I really hope you're joking that you bought a home an hour + away in a non desirable area and city when you could afford one in Scottsdale where demand will always be high.

Wifey wanted to look into Scottsdale just for fun / thinking out loud about a possible move. So we looked around many spots in decent neighborhoods. In summary, all of the $400K homes have their 1995, 12 inch ceramic tile with their dated countertops, more closed in layouts, roofs well on their way for replacement et etc. Add $150K (or $550K) where I would find something barely acceptable. To get what I really want would be DC Ranch and their $400 a month HOA and even more $$. So for now, we are staying put.

That said, we all have hot buttons. For you, it seems you want to be closer in and despise the concept of living in Surprise. For you, that obviously makes the most sense. I cannot stand an old looking style home and a generic neighborhoods. Even at $400K and in Scottsdale, it's substandard to what I see in my development. But I am in my home M-F for 20 hours a day. If I woke up at 5AM, then on the road at 6AM, spending my entire day in a cubical, back in the house at 6:30pm, off to a kid event 3 days a week etc, I too would be willing to accept a different set of tradeoffs because I would barely be in my home. In short, you cannot apply your value system to someone else's. People who mandate a walkable lifestyle like downtown would rather poke their eyes out than live in a quiet home in Scottsdale. So by definition, they are right too. And for you, you are right (and so am I). The bottom line; there are trade-offs.

If I want it all, then I want to live in La Jolla, CA. But gee, that's only $800/square foot or over triple Scottsdale. Add a 4 more million if I want to be on the ocean. Yea, there are trade-offs. If I could pick up our neighborhood and plunk it in Scottsdale, I would do that in a heartbeat. But add about $500K (really) to get the same caliber of feel. We concluded that he would have to spend around $900K+ to get the same neighborhood feel. It's just not that important to me at that price. So while you could not stomach Surprise (I read that loud and clear), I predict I could not stomach living in your home unless it is worth at least $750k. And then barely that. Because I need my room (>3000 square foot). At $250 a square foot, that means $750K. As I said, we are both right because it is our wallet.

But we will agree, that for resale, that $400K Scottsdale home is a smarter economic move right now.

[MN-Born-n-Raised]

Originally Posted by loriwass

Which SPL app for your smartphone would you recommend? As the lady who wears earplugs to block expressway traffic (which is louder than the birds chirping) while walking my dog at 6:30 in the morning, I'm curious about the apps. I'm on Android and it looks like they have several apps for this.

On the Google Play Store, type in "SPL Meter" and pick one that is free. They all work the same way. Their weakness is the Android microphone. But it is good enough (within a few Db).

I occasionally playing golf at Falcon Golf Course https://www.playfalcongolf.com/ . I easily hear >>120 Db more than a few times a round (you can get a close-up of some of the F-35's on the runway adjacent to the fairway). There are some brand new nicer homes that they are putting in (Toll Brothers) right by Luke in Litchfield Park. I think it's the Latest Palm Valley phase. I don't know how those neighbors could possibly stand "the sound of freedom". It's intense. But they know what they are getting into; it's not exactly subtle.

[J_Bone]

Originally Posted by AZJD

There are numerous single family homes in that area in the $400's. There's some in the $300's too.

Gosh I really hope you're joking that you bought a home an hour + away in a non desirable area and city when you could afford one in Scottsdale where demand will always be high.

No, I bought there. The town of Scottsdale is not desirable to me at all. I work there 4 days a week. Everything else I do is in the East valley or up in the Northern country. So my activities after work are in the East valley and everything thing I do on my 3 days off are in the East valley.
All the upgrades I wanted in my home were more affordable than a home with 1,000 sq ft less and old and out dated. I prefer to have what I want and where I want than to say I live in Scottsdale. Yuk.

Originally Posted by MN-Born-n-Raised

Wifey wanted to look into Scottsdale just for fun / thinking out loud about a possible move. So we looked around many spots in decent neighborhoods. In summary, all of the $400K homes have their 1995, 12 inch ceramic tile with their dated countertops, more closed in layouts, roofs well on their way for replacement et etc. Add $150K (or $550K) where I would find something barely acceptable. To get what I really want would be DC Ranch and their $400 a month HOA and even more $$. So for now, we are staying put.

That said, we all have hot buttons. For you, it seems you want to be closer in and despise the concept of living in Surprise. For you, that obviously makes the most sense. I cannot stand an old looking style home and a generic neighborhoods. Even at $400K and in Scottsdale, it's substandard to what I see in my development. But I am in my home M-F for 20 hours a day. If I woke up at 5AM, then on the road at 6AM, spending my entire day in a cubical, back in the house at 6:30pm, off to a kid event 3 days a week etc, I too would be willing to accept a different set of tradeoffs because I would barely be in my home. In short, you cannot apply your value system to someone else's. People who mandate a walkable lifestyle like downtown would rather poke their eyes out than live in a quiet home in Scottsdale. So by definition, they are right too. And for you, you are right (and so am I). The bottom line; there are trade-offs.

If I want it all, then I want to live in La Jolla, CA. But gee, that's only $800/square foot or over triple Scottsdale. Add a 4 more million if I want to be on the ocean. Yea, there are trade-offs. If I could pick up our neighborhood and plunk it in Scottsdale, I would do that in a heartbeat. But add about $500K (really) to get the same caliber of feel. We concluded that he would have to spend around $900K+ to get the same neighborhood feel. It's just not that important to me at that price. So while you could not stomach Surprise (I read that loud and clear), I predict I could not stomach living in your home unless it is worth at least $750k. And then barely that. Because I need my room (>3000 square foot). At $250 a square foot, that means $750K. As I said, we are both right because it is our wallet.

But we will agree, that for resale, that $400K Scottsdale home is a smarter economic move right now.

If my house was in Scottsdale, it would not be 400k either. So I get what I wanted in my home, in an area that gives me all my activities, and more freedom to build my retirement. Sounds like a great trade-off for a 45 minute commute. Not only to mention I'm now 20 minutes closer than I was before.
The new builds are selling fast and resale homes are going just as fast and for a great price.