What's the easiest way to relocate? (Phoenix, Goodyear: relocating, real estate, foreclosures)

[mamom1]

If all goes well, we will be relocating to the Phoenix area within the next 6-8 months. We have a house in Mass. to sell and would like to buy a house in Goodyear. How does that work? What is the best way to find a good house? Should we come out a couple of times for a week or so while we are waiting for our house to sell? Should we wait until we are out there permanently to start house searching? HELP!!

I need suggestions for where to live while we are waiting to find/close on a house. Should we rent an apartment for a couple of months? Should we live in a hotel? We have two kids who will be in the school systems so I don't want to move somewhere temporarily and have them change schools twice.

[StillLookingToo]

The more you visit the better. PHX metro is a big area and you need to get a feel for the different parts. I understand not wanting to move into temp housing due to kids school but I would recomend renting in the area you think you want to be in and start looking seriously to buy after you get here. If you have identified the school or area you want to be in, more then likely there are plenty of homes to rent and after 6-12 months of living there everyday and you know its the best place for you then buy, great. Moving twice is much better being stuck in a house you can't sell and come to find out you don't like the school, the drive to work or who knows what (its does get warm here in the summer). Mass and Az, it can't be much more different. There are plenty of houses to rent and with 2 kids I am sure you'd be much happier then in an apartment. Negoiate a 6 month lease witha 6 month option. Good luck.

[Phoenix lady]

Rent first. We flew out here and rented a house first. Then we put our house on the market (this was years ago). By renting, you'll get a chance to look everywhere and get a feel for what you do and don't want.

[Stevyp]

Going to have to agree with the above posters. I'm in the process of relocating here. I'm here waiting for our current house to sell, and then move the family out. Our original plan was that I'd find an area / house to buy and once we had a contract on our existing, I'd get the ball rolling here. Of course, once I was out here and started seeing all the areas I quickly decided against that in fear of not being 100% where I'd want to set roots.

Our new plan is once our house has a contract we'll be renting where we "think" we want to live and by the schools, that being Estrella (in goodyear). Worst case, we'll rent there for the remainder of the school year so as to not have to transfer in the middle if we decide we like an area better as a family.

It just seems in this market, and with so many different very interesting areas it's better to be here and experience it for a bit first before jumping in and potentially regretting it later. From what I've seen of Goodyear you may not regret it, but at the same time, you may find an area that you might like just a tiny bit more, perfect example being depending where in goodyear, you might have wanted something like Estrella instead.

Best of luck though

[mamom1]

Thanks for the advice everyone. We were looking at the Canyon Trails area as I don't think we will be able to afford anything in Estrella.

Are there any areas in Goodyear to stay away from? I started looking at house rentals and found there were quite a few all on the same street. It that typical?

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by mamom1

Thanks for the advice everyone. We were looking at the Canyon Trails area as I don't think we will be able to afford anything in Estrella.

Are there any areas in Goodyear to stay away from? I started looking at house rentals and found there were quite a few all on the same street. It that typical?

Depending on how soon you move, you might be able to find a place in Estrella. Rents are reasonable and before the place caught fire, they built some affordable homes (Avalon subdivision comes to mind). These homes were mostly built before the boom so I doubt there are a lot of foreclosures there, but there are always a couple. Most of the stuff being built now is 400K or more even in this market. Anyhow, Canyon Trails is nice with lots of interconnected green spaces. There are also several non-master planned areas that were built around the same time. The "bad" part of Goodyear is east of Litchfield Road in the original neighborhoods of the town - although I don't think it really bad, just old. Just about everything else is new. It would not be unusual to see a lot of rentals on the same street. The newest neighborhoods took a huge beating in the aftermath of the boom.

[vegaspilgrim]

Do what I did-- load everything you can possibly fit into the back of your car, pawn the rest, step on the gas, and go! And then when you get to Phoenix crash at a friend's house until you find a place to live (or get kicked out, whichever comes first) Seriously, unless if the money doesn't matter, it just isn't worth hauling your **** all the way here from Boston.

[mamom1]

Where can I get some info on house rentals? I did a search on the internet and came up with one real estate company who did house rentals but they all had one year leases. I'd prefer 6-9 month lease.

[lildevil01]

I also agree with Phoenix Lady I moved here almost 2 yrs ago and I rented and looked in area that I thought would be nice to live in. I am originally from Upstate NY but lived in NC for about a year . They only advantage to looking for a house now is that prices are good and many foreclosures so you can actually get a nice home for a good price . If I can help you with any info feel free to send me a message I also have a freind thats been out herefor 15 yrs and is from Boston .