Lennar Homes in Sahuarita AZ (Tucson: apartment complexes, custom home, water heater)

[brrrinmass]

We did not take a look at Rancho Del Lago while we were in the area. I looked at their website and all the Lennar homes appear to be sold out. The only builder that still has homes left there appears to be K.Hovnanian and they do not appear to have any 3 car garages. Looks like Pepper-Viner may be starting a new development there in 2009. We are indeed only looking at new construction. I think another reason we like Lennar is the fact that everything is included in the price. No upgrades, no million and one choices to raise the price. It is true that perhaps you can not get everything you hoped for but for the most part they offer everything you need.
I hear that the HOA's are much more strict in age restricted communities. Any truth in that rumor? Seems to be the case around here on the east coast although those age restricted neighborhoods are probably the only ones with HOA's around here. Not sure we are ready for an age restricted community ha ha ha, although it would probably be quiet. When we were there in May we drove into Green Valley and were quite amused to see people driving to the grocery stores in their golf carts. Can't say we have ever seen that around here in Massachusetts. I don't own any plaid pants or white shoes just yet. Sorry to anyone out there who does.

How is the water pressure in AZ. Ever have any problems taking a shower or anything like that? I once lived in a house that was on top of this steep hill and the water pressure was terrible at certain times of the day. The pump that the town had installed was insufficient to pump water to the top at peak usage times during the day. What a nightmare that was.

I hope you "guys" don't mind..... but I do have a million and one questions that I would like to ask.

Snow and freezing rain here today. Welcome to winter!!!

[sierraAZ]

Originally Posted by brrrinmass

We did not take a look at Rancho Del Lago while we were in the area. I looked at their website and all the Lennar homes appear to be sold out. The only builder that still has homes left there appears to be K.Hovnanian and they do not appear to have any 3 car garages. Looks like Pepper-Viner may be starting a new development there in 2009.

I was surprised you said only Hovnanian is still in Rancho Del Lago. It looks like Sterling is there, too - AF Sterling--Rancho Del Lago, master planned community in Tucson, Arizona, USA . Or perhaps the houses are not big enough for you? Hmm, I could swear there were about 4 or 5 builders there a few years ago... Btw, I don't follow the builders' sagas lately, but Hovnanian was on the brink of bankruptcy at some point. Just FYI. Well, if you can wait, Pepper Viner is a very reputable builder in town.

How is the water pressure in AZ. Ever have any problems taking a shower or anything like that?

No, never... in various locations.

[twojulybabies]

Originally Posted by brrrinmass

I don't own any plaid pants or white shoes just yet. Sorry to anyone out there who does.

Ugh, and please don't buy any!!

Originally Posted by brrrinmass

How is the water pressure in AZ. Ever have any problems taking a shower or anything like that? I once lived in a house that was on top of this steep hill and the water pressure was terrible at certain times of the day. The pump that the town had installed was insufficient to pump water to the top at peak usage times during the day. What a nightmare that was.

No problems. Although, every house I have been in.....you have to hold the handle to flush. I don't know what's up with that!

Originally Posted by brrrinmass

I hope you "guys" don't mind..... but I do have a million and one questions that I would like to ask.

That's what we're here for, ask away.

Originally Posted by brrrinmass

Snow and freezing rain here today. Welcome to winter!!!

Pointing and laughing! I don't miss Buffalo at all. It's been snowing for over a week according to my computer weather monitor.

Originally Posted by sierraAZ

I was surprised you said only Hovnanian is still in Rancho Del Lago. It looks like Sterling is there, too - AF Sterling--Rancho Del Lago, master planned community in Tucson, Arizona, USA . Or perhaps the houses are not big enough for you? Hmm, I could swear there were about 4 or 5 builders there a few years ago... Btw, I don't follow the builders' sagas lately, but Hovnanian was on the brink of bankruptcy at some point. Just FYI. Well, if you can wait, Pepper Viner is a very reputable builder in town.

How about Miramonte in Rincon Trails? I have toured many of their homes in Vail, they're in your price range and have 3 car garages.

I'll check on Tuesday to see if there are any pocket listings anywhere for Lennar and Pulte. I work out of the Rita Ranch locale, so I'll ask around.

Originally Posted by sierraAZ

No, never... in various locations.

Yeah, as far as the showers go, Sierra is the official shower tester of Tucson. Frequently, you can find her running around town, naked, looking for the next shower to test. Of course, this tends to only happen in the summer when it is a tad warmer.
<giggle>

[brrrinmass]

I think we looked at some Sterling homes while we were there. Not sure where though. I think I remember that we were not really impressed with what they offered. I remember we really only liked the Pulte and Lennar homes. We did not see any K.Hovnanian while there. We "worked" with a real estate agent who didn't seem very knowledgeable of the area. I was telling her where we wanted to go after having looked on line. She did not offer any suggestions. Didn't seem to know the area very well even though she had lived there all her life.

Are all you "guys" real estate agents? ha ha ha

How is the area east of Houghton as far as crime goes. I know that real estate agents can't sway people in any direction so I am asking those of you who are not agents ha ha ha. While we were there we noticed that we probably didn't want to live on the south side or even the SE side. Seemed to be a run down area. Also the East side of town seems a little shady. I thought about Oro Valley and even Marana but the wife thinks the commute to Raytheon would be too long. What do you think? We only drove to Oro Valley once and it did seem kind of far although we didn't really know where we were going and probably took a couple of wrong turns that made it seem a little longer than it actually was.

I really enjoy talking to you "guys" on this forum. You are very informative and helpful.

[brrrinmass]

oops sorry I meant the west side of town seemed a little shady, not the east side

[michael krotchie]

Originally Posted by brrrinmass

How is the area east of Houghton as far as crime goes. I know that real estate agents can't sway people in any direction so I am asking those of you who are not agents ha ha ha. While we were there we noticed that we probably didn't want to live on the south side or even the SE side. Seemed to be a run down area. Also the East side of town seems a little shady. I thought about Oro Valley and even Marana but the wife thinks the commute to Raytheon would be too long. What do you think? We only drove to Oro Valley once and it did seem kind of far although we didn't really know where we were going and probably took a couple of wrong turns that made it seem a little longer than it actually was.

I personally like the area east of Houghton. You're talking pretty much the Vail area (SE) and like previous posts mentioned it's just a hop skip to everything. Although Rancho del Lago doesn't have a shopping center just yet it should be getting one soon; as of last month they still hadn't started construction on the Safeway but it appears to be bladed and ready to go. The Walgreens is already up across the street and probably open by now.

Keep in mind that Houghton Road at some point will be widened significantly to accommodate the increased traffic flow from the SE side of town and may even become a state highway. Read up on that here.

Oro Valley is probably a solid 40-45min to Raytheon, and Marana is a bit faster since it is closer to the freeway (for Airport or Rita sites). If you are still considering Oro Valley keep in mind that Camino de Manana will eventually be extended to I-10 and connect over top of the freeway with Twin Peaks Road on the west side. This would probably be the fastest way to get to Raytheon without slugging through town traffic. The road opening is supposed to coincide with the opening of the Marana Spectrum shopping center, although ground hasn't been broken on that yet.. let's hope the current economic downturn doesn't turn that into a casualty also.

Also consider the Camino Loma Alta/Old Spanish Trail area. It's SE, just north of Rancho del Lago, and just south of the Rincon Trails area twojulybabies mentioned, and there are a ton of brand new semi-custom homes that are available (reasonably priced too). The only downside is that you are just a bit further out in the sticks.

[CDL-A]

Originally Posted by michael krotchie

Also consider the Camino Loma Alta/Old Spanish Trail area. It's SE, just north of Rancho del Lago, and just south of the Rincon Trails area twojulybabies mentioned, and there are a ton of brand new semi-custom homes that are available (reasonably priced too). The only downside is that you are just a bit further out in the sticks.

That's right, I'd forgotten about this area! You mentioned your price ceiling going as high as $300 I think, so yes, you could afford to check out Old Spanish Trail. Talk about some gorgeous homes!!!!

[sierraAZ]

Originally Posted by brrrinmass

I think we looked at some Sterling homes while we were there. Not sure where though. I think I remember that we were not really impressed with what they offered.

I believe they have an OK reputation, but I'm not sure really.

Are all you "guys" real estate agents? ha ha ha

No, I'm not, so I can say whatever the heck I want. I just had a new house built fairly recently, so I'm somewhat up to speed on the subject.

How is the area east of Houghton as far as crime goes. I know that real estate agents can't sway people in any direction so I am asking those of you who are not agents ha ha ha. While we were there we noticed that we probably didn't want to live on the south side or even the SE side. Seemed to be a run down area. Also the West (per your own correction) side of town seems a little shady. I thought about Oro Valley and even Marana but the wife thinks the commute to Raytheon would be too long. What do you think? We only drove to Oro Valley once and it did seem kind of far although we didn't really know where we were going and probably took a couple of wrong turns that made it seem a little longer than it actually was.

I really enjoy talking to you "guys" on this forum. You are very informative and helpful.

The areas East of Houghton are very safe. East is a pretty small area, though - East of Wilmot, only between Speedway and Golf Links. South of Golf Links and East of Houghton is technically SE. Vail is also in this direction, so I'm a bit confused with your preferences...

I could be biased because I've always lived on the East side and I like it better, but I'm not very fond of the West, either. Well, short of the million $ homes on the way to Desert Museum... There are probably other nice enclaves. I'm just not that familiar with it. Traffic is most definitely worse, though. Which is not to say it's not getting worse on the East side, but at this time at least it's not nearly as bad.

[brrrinmass]

Hi again all. I believe that I mis-spoke on my last post. What I meant to say was that the south side of town and the south WEST part of town seemed a little bit shady. The west side also seemed a little undesirable.

I took a look at Miramonte homes and they were a bit out of our price range it seemed. There was only 1 model that started at $300,000, the rest were in the $350,000 range. We are not particularly fond of the style of homes that they offer. Pardon my ignorance but I am not sure what you call that style (the ones that look like a fort ha ha to us easterners) with the flat roofs. We like more of the contemporary???style with the red clay tile roofs. What do you call the two different style of houses?

I was really hoping to have some people who have recently bought new homes in the area to talk about their satisfaction or lack thereof with their new homes and their builders. Are there any other forums that would discuss these issues that you "guys" are aware of. We have looked at J.D.Powers & Associates but I was wondering if there were other places to see people's satisfaction with their new homes.

Maybe all the real estate agents could explain why all the homes are on cookie cutter lots of 5k-7k sq. ft.? There do not seem to be any on any significant size lots (1/4 acre +) unless you go into the $400-000 price range. We are on 1 acre here in Mass. What size lot would I need to have a pool and a hot tub installed and still have room for the wife to have a few flower beds in the back yard? How do the contractors get into the back yards to do the work. There doesn't seem to be enought room to get the equipment between the houses they are so close together?

What would the real estate taxes be on a $300,000 home be? What is the state income tax rate? I know there are county sales taxes as well as state taxes. Do you pay a county sales tax when you purchase an automobile?

OK enough questions for 1 day ha ha ha. I will be back tomorrow, hope you are all as well. Really enjoy hearing from you all. Thanks again!

[michael krotchie]

Originally Posted by brrrinmass

Hi again all. I believe that I mis-spoke on my last post. What I meant to say was that the south side of town and the south WEST part of town seemed a little bit shady. The west side also seemed a little undesirable.

I took a look at Miramonte homes and they were a bit out of our price range it seemed. There was only 1 model that started at $300,000, the rest were in the $350,000 range. We are not particularly fond of the style of homes that they offer. Pardon my ignorance but I am not sure what you call that style (the ones that look like a fort ha ha to us easterners) with the flat roofs. We like more of the contemporary???style with the red clay tile roofs. What do you call the two different style of houses?

I was really hoping to have some people who have recently bought new homes in the area to talk about their satisfaction or lack thereof with their new homes and their builders. Are there any other forums that would discuss these issues that you "guys" are aware of. We have looked at J.D.Powers & Associates but I was wondering if there were other places to see people's satisfaction with their new homes.

Maybe all the real estate agents could explain why all the homes are on cookie cutter lots of 5k-7k sq. ft.? There do not seem to be any on any significant size lots (1/4 acre +) unless you go into the $400-000 price range. We are on 1 acre here in Mass. What size lot would I need to have a pool and a hot tub installed and still have room for the wife to have a few flower beds in the back yard? How do the contractors get into the back yards to do the work. There doesn't seem to be enought room to get the equipment between the houses they are so close together?

What would the real estate taxes be on a $300,000 home be? What is the state income tax rate? I know there are county sales taxes as well as state taxes. Do you pay a county sales tax when you purchase an automobile?

OK enough questions for 1 day ha ha ha. I will be back tomorrow, hope you are all as well. Really enjoy hearing from you all. Thanks again!

I'm on my phone so pardon typos and lack of helpful links. If you're looking for homes with a decent lot you aren't going to find it in a subdivision for under 300k. Those homes I mentioned out near Old Spanish Trail are 1 acre lots so you may consider those.

If it was me I would look pretty close at the Vail area. I think you mentioned Corona de Tucson was too far so you'll probably want to stick north of I-10. I remember seeing some listings recently, newer homes off of Colossal Cave Road, that were on 1+ acres.

As far as taxes go, you can check specific taxes for each property on the Pima County Assessor's website (just search on google). I'd say a guesstimate would be around $3k/yr.

My fingers are tired so I'll revisit this later haha.