City of Maricopa - turning into a rental community? (Phoenix: hoa, cheap house)

[adam85225]

My wife and I (and our two kids) currently rent a house from family in Chandler (near McQueen and the 202).

We're looking to buy a house, but my wife stays home and my salary is 75k plus medical gets taken out of that. (which is quite a bit less than my salary back in Michigan, but thats a whole other story) I'm a software developer.

We're looking at Maricopa because I do not have a huge down-payment and I cannot justify anything over 210k or so. We can get into a new home (or one that is 1-2 years old) with four bedrooms in Maricopa for that price. We like Maricopa (we go down there a couple times a month to look at houses and grab a bite to eat) and the drive is not an issue because I can work from home if we have a 4th bedroom setup as an office. My only concern is that I am seeing more and more "For Rent" signs in the developments down there. I'm concerned that it will become a big rental community since it is cheaper there.

Can any Maricopa residents throw their two cents in?

Also, what is your take on the schools? I know they built the new junior high and new elementary schools, but the high school has to be packed by now. My kids are both below age 4, but we do not plan to move again for a long time.

[sablebaby]

What you are seeing in Maricopa is what just about every other city/town has seen in the past. Investors buy up all they can and rent out for a few years and then sell. So, yes, you will see a LOT of renters in Maricopa. That's just how it is here. If you want an area without a lot of renters go to an established neighborhood/city.

[adam85225]

Yeah, I figure as much. Unfortunately an established neighborhood (at least one that is fit for kids and not run down) does not fit my salary in metro-Phoenix. At least not with a wife, two kids, and other bills.

I wish I could have brought the Michigan home prices with me and left the weather and lack of jobs there

Originally Posted by sablebaby

What you are seeing in Maricopa is what just about every other city/town has seen in the past. Investors buy up all they can and rent out for a few years and then sell. So, yes, you will see a LOT of renters in Maricopa. That's just how it is here. If you want an area without a lot of renters go to an established neighborhood/city.

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by sablebaby

What you are seeing in Maricopa is what just about every other city/town has seen in the past. Investors buy up all they can and rent out for a few years and then sell. So, yes, you will see a LOT of renters in Maricopa. That's just how it is here. If you want an area without a lot of renters go to an established neighborhood/city.

I'm not sure that has been the pattern here over the years. To my observation, it is more along the lines of less expensive subdivision/area attracts first time buyers - first time buyers incomes rise and families grow and they move out renting their properties to lower income people or selling them to same - the renters and lack of HOAs lead to neighborhood decline.

In Maricopa what has happened is a lot of investors bought cheap fringe homes expecting to make a quick profit and then got stuck with them when the market slowed. Maricopa is a long ways from build-out or decline (it is just starting out). Once the market comes back, the rentals will disappear as investors sell to get out. I think that Maricopa will go back to primarily owners when that happens. Whether it turns into a cheap run-down area over the next 20 years remains to be seen. I think the HOAs will help with that, but you never know.

[ibarrio]

Why not visit Surprise? Surprise is much closer to the city and the homes are still priced in your range.

[adam85225]

I have a friend that lives in Surprise. Seems so far away Which sounds silly since we're looking at Maricopa, but it only takes us about 20 minutes to get there from our current home.

I know the big issue will be that my brother-in-law lives in the east valley and my in-laws will live in the east valley within a year.

We may have to revisit it again, though.

[ibarrio]

I know the big issue will be that my brother-in-law lives in the east valley and my in-laws will live in the east valley within a year.

I have the same issues and believe me..having some separation from the In-Laws is not a big problem...LOL

Unless you are planning to carpool or need family for baby sitting then a little distance is always nice. I got from Val Vista in Mesa to Surprise in about an hour or so at 4p.m. on a weekday afternoon. <-- No lie, this was the last time I was at my house. We make the final move at the end of June. I will have to adjust my driving habits because in Cali it is 90 on the freeway (when it isn't bumper to bumper). Also many major surface streets in our area (Palmdale) have a speed limit of 55. These are streets that have school crosswalks and cut through residential areas

Anyways, Good Luck with the house hunting!

[adam85225]

Well, they currently live in Michigan and are moving to Chandler in the next year. We're renting their house right now.

We definitely want to use them for watch the kids since we've been alone out here, other than the bro-in-law who we don't see too much, for two years now.

But, I know if we moved up that way, they will not be far behind. I cannot imagine them staying in Chandler if we moved to the northwest valley.

Originally Posted by ibarrio

I have the same issues and believe me..having some separation from the In-Laws is not a big problem...LOL

Unless you are planning to carpool or need family for baby sitting then a little distance is always nice. I got from Val Vista in Mesa to Surprise in about an hour or so at 4p.m. on a weekday afternoon. <-- No lie, this was the last time I was at my house. We make the final move at the end of June. I will have to adjust my driving habits because in Cali it is 90 on the freeway (when it isn't bumper to bumper). Also many major surface streets in our area (Palmdale) have a speed limit of 55. These are streets that have school crosswalks and cut through residential areas

Anyways, Good Luck with the house hunting!

[Master Shake]

One thing to keep in mind is that Maricopa does not have any apartments or condos. The number of rentals you see are all for houses, and probably not too many more than some of the other outer edge cities have. Since you will be able to work from home, Maricopa would be a very good choice for you, especially given the amount you have available to purchase a house. Most new homes start in the $170's for around 1,000 sq feet (with no options). You could probably get a good 3/2 or 4/2 1500-1700sq for $210k. Almost everything is 5 years old or less.

The school system is currently over capacity, but as you probably have noticed, there are at least 4 new schools currently being built, 4 new schools opened so far this year, and another 4 already planned. Basically, each new major development includes 1 or 2 new schools as part of the master plan.

As for Surprise vs. Maricopa -- the difference is about 10 miles further out (from downtown PHX) for Maricopa. Maricopa is roughly 20-25 miles away from Chandler.

[jco]

I moved into a community in QC that did not restrict investors from purchasing. It did become a rental community, and we sold our house ten months after moving into it. It was horrible. When we moved to Surprise, I was happy to find out that most communities here don't allow investors. We are MUCH happier with our neighborhood. People care about their houses and yards, and people are respectful of each other.

To avoid the rental community, I think you should consider two things. The first is the restrictions placed by the builder. Did they allow investors? Do they require you to live in the home for a certain amount of time before moving out? If you're buying a resale home and it's selling less than a year after it was built, you have your answer. Not every neighborhood in QC went sour. If we'd known what we do now, we could have avoided what we experienced there. The second thing to consider is the pricing of where you live. In Queen Creek, we got a lot more for our money, but so did lots of other people. If you move to the cheapest area in the valley, you're going to move around other people looking for a cheap house.

My belief is that it's better to live in the smallest house in a great neighborhood than to live in the biggest house in a bad one. That's just me!