Tucson Rental Homes (Tanque Verde: extended stay, apartment complexes, condos)

[e1even]

Hi.

My wife and I will be moving to Tucson in January. We're coming in from overseas and neither one of us has any experience with the area. Hoping to secure a lease on an apartment, sight unseen. In that regard, does anyone from Tucson have experience with Tucson Rental Homes?

Thanks!
e1even

[sierraAZ]

Originally Posted by e1even

Hi.

My wife and I will be moving to Tucson in January. We're coming in from overseas and neither one of us has any experience with the area. Hoping to secure a lease on an apartment, sight unseen. In that regard, does anyone from Tucson have experience with Tucson Rental Homes?

Thanks!
e1even

I was looking into them on a couple of occasions. There are models you can see, but it appears that the actual homes don't quite look like the models - Tucson Rental Homes Apartment Ratings, Reviews, Map, Rents, and other Tucson apartments for rent from ApartmentRatings.com Some are newer, some are quite old, don't have ACs. They're located in somewhat iffy neighborhoods and have only carports, I believe. They do have evaporative coolers (or swamp coolers as we call them here), but they're not as effective IMO. There was a thread about them recently. You can search for it. The new ones are in nice neighborhoods. Maybe a couple are located even in exclusive areas. Naturally, the rent reflects this fact. Just recently read somewhere they're building a new community right now, somewhere on the NW side and it's being pre-leased already. Tucson Rental Homes also tend to raise the rents quite a bit quite often.

P.S. Don't know why the links are not being parsed properly sometimes, but you'll figure it out.

[Bummer]

Originally Posted by e1even

Hi.

My wife and I will be moving to Tucson in January. We're coming in from overseas and neither one of us has any experience with the area. Hoping to secure a lease on an apartment, sight unseen. In that regard, does anyone from Tucson have experience with Tucson Rental Homes?

Thanks!
e1even

Remember, e1even . . . Tucson is spread out with no freeway system. Before you commit to a lease or a purchase, determining where you will be employed (or playing if no work is planned) is extremely important.

Bottom line . . . commuting is a BEAR and you'll be very unhappy if required to drive to the other side of town each and every day.

Good Luck

[mdtoaz]

I checked into them before moving out here, but we were looking for a short term lease. Their prices seemed okay for a 12 month lease, but basically doubled for a 6 month lease. The girl I talked to simply said that the 3-month lease was "really expensive".

I ended up finding a weekly rental from Craigslist on the Westside (nice area 1/2 mile out of city limits). The monthly cost basically boils down to around TRH's rate on a 12-month lease, but we're not tied down to a lease. It's pretty convenient if you just want somewhere to camp out while you look for a house to buy.

[e1even]

Thanks to all of you for your responses. We have heard about the horrific commuting, and as we will be at the University, we're a little hesitant to live far outside of Tucson.

It is tough trying to find a place through the Internet (the glossy online photos may well offer more than the actual accomodations). Since we are overseas we cannot visit the area, so any recommendations are appreciated.

Seems like the "Sam Hughes Area" near the U is recommended. Any comments? If not Sam Hughes, any other areas you all might recommend we look?

Thanks!
e1even

[Bummer]

Originally Posted by e1even

Thanks to all of you for your responses. We have heard about the horrific commuting, and as we will be at the University, we're a little hesitant to live far outside of Tucson.

It is tough trying to find a place through the Internet (the glossy online photos may well offer more than the actual accomodations). Since we are overseas we cannot visit the area, so any recommendations are appreciated.

Seems like the "Sam Hughes Area" near the U is recommended. Any comments? If not Sam Hughes, any other areas you all might recommend we look?

Thanks!
e1even

Ok, e1even . . . now you're making things a little easier.

If the University of Arizona is your "work base" then I would suggest Central and the areas North and West of the campus for both safety and convenience.

The San Hughes area is very nice with lots of character and convenience, however, you will pay considerably more and get less in most cases. Also, you will be surrounded by students who tend to be a little noisier if that is an issue. Also, parking seems to be a problem in many sections of that area.

Roughly how much space do you require and/or want plus how much do you want to spend?

[sierraAZ]

Originally Posted by e1even

Thanks to all of you for your responses. We have heard about the horrific commuting, and as we will be at the University, we're a little hesitant to live far outside of Tucson.

It is tough trying to find a place through the Internet (the glossy online photos may well offer more than the actual accomodations). Since we are overseas we cannot visit the area, so any recommendations are appreciated.

Seems like the "Sam Hughes Area" near the U is recommended. Any comments? If not Sam Hughes, any other areas you all might recommend we look?

Thanks!
e1even

Ha-ha, yeah, Tucson Rental Homes certainly have glossy pictures! I have gone only to one of their communities, on Tanque Verde. Looks nice on the outside. I'd presume the homes are not bad inside, either. To me that's not too taxing of a commute. The area is very nice and safe. It's close to the roads to Sabino Canyon and Mount Lemmon. There's shopping around and Restaurant Row is nearby. TRH do have some communities closer to U of A, as you saw on the map, but they're the older ones - without garages and ACs.

Sam Hughes is the most expensive area in central town. A house for rent (not too many of those) would be very expensive. They tend to rent guest houses in this neighborhood. There are a lot of houses (pretty old) for rent around U of A. Naturally, they're inhabited mainly by students and are quite rowdy. Don't know if you go for that... I wouldn't recommend them. Finding a house between Broadway and Speedway (just between these two; try to stay away from 22nd St and Grant Rd) starting from U of A all the way East to about Craycroft or even Kolb would be a good bet. There are some apartment complexes in this area that are not necessarily full of students. There are some new condos by U of A, too. Some of them may be for rent as well. You can check craigslist - tucson apts/housing for rent classifieds - craigslist Oh, yeah, don't rent anything with utilities included - it means they'll turn on the heat or the AC whenever they feel like to. I wouldn't rent off the Internet without getting a feel of a neighborhood, though, unless you absolutely have to. I would stay at first in Extended Stay America on Grant Rd (Grant's fine in this stretch) for a few days or a week (they have kitchenettes), for instance - Extended Stay Hotels - showcases hotel suites, discount lodging and short term housing. and look for a place to live.

[e1even]

Ok, thanks again to all of you. This board is a wonderful asset.

Bummer: We are looking for a place with 2 bedrooms / 1 bath. Willing to pay up to $800 ~ $900 / month. Square footage isn't a big priority - we have lived in an unbelievably small place for the past 3 years (~400sq ft). Our wants are basically 3: quiet (serenity now!), safe, and at least covered parking. The University will be our work base.

sierraAZ: We don't want to end up in the midst of a party zone of rowdy students (well, that's what my wife says anyway). We won't be in Tucson for long - just 6 months - but we want to live in a place that offers peace-n-quiet as well as safety for the duration of our stay. I will check out Craig's List - and thanks for the utilities tip!

[sierraAZ]

Originally Posted by e1even

Ok, thanks again to all of you. This board is a wonderful asset.

Bummer: We are looking for a place with 2 bedrooms / 1 bath. Willing to pay up to $800 ~ $900 / month. Square footage isn't a big priority - we have lived in an unbelievably small place for the past 3 years (~400sq ft). Our wants are basically 3: quiet (serenity now!), safe, and at least covered parking. The University will be our work base.

sierraAZ: We don't want to end up in the midst of a party zone of rowdy students (well, that's what my wife says anyway). We won't be in Tucson for long - just 6 months - but we want to live in a place that offers peace-n-quiet as well as safety for the duration of our stay. I will check out Craig's List - and thanks for the utilities tip!

You're welcome. Hope you find a place to suit your needs. He-he, I'm originally from Europe, so I can testify you'll get a lot more space! 400 sq.ft. here means the cheapest of the cheap studio. You'll have room to roam! You sound like an American, though... in which case you should know. If you don't mind a smaller space, then a guest house in Sam Hughes may work for you just fine. Btw, you can try some apartment locator services, too - like this one Free Tucson Apartment Locator Service .I've never used any of them and can't tell you how helpful they are.

[Bummer]

Originally Posted by e1even

Ok, thanks again to all of you. This board is a wonderful asset.

Bummer: We are looking for a place with 2 bedrooms / 1 bath. Willing to pay up to $800 ~ $900 / month. Square footage isn't a big priority - we have lived in an unbelievably small place for the past 3 years (~400sq ft). Our wants are basically 3: quiet (serenity now!), safe, and at least covered parking. The University will be our work base.

You're very welcome, e1even.

I live roughly 15 to 20 minutes North of the campus and the 2 and 3 Bedroom Patio Homes in my area (about 1200 to 1400 sq ft) usually rent in that range (rarely available) but I believe you'd be looking at a one year lease.

Good Luck