need some info please!

[lillyrose81]

Sorry, forgot to add some things. We do/did plan on heading down there if we could find a few decent areas with houses in our price range to look, get a feel for the area, and place any bids if any struck our interest. Who knows? Maybe sometime in the future. Maybe it's just not meant to be right now? I don't know.

[Bummer]

Originally Posted by lillyrose81

I need to stop thinking about here being like anywhere else.. and anywhere else being anything like here....

Very valid point, Lillyrose.

Another point to consider is the overall cost of living. From what you are stating, more than likely you'll pay more for a comparable home here but you may save in other areas. As an example, I have friends in Wisconsin paying $600 plus per month (minimum 4 months) for heating alone while my electric bill (total electric, no gas) rarely runs much above 50 bucks a month except during July and August. Also, not much need for heavy Winter clothes here so for a family of 5 that could be significant.

Another big savings will be in bug spray. Those big ole mosquitos up there must require lots of spray.

Once again, Good Luck

[sierraAZ]

Originally Posted by lillyrose81

Oh, and thanks for the personal attacks...

Could you, please, show some examples of that? Because my impression is we all tried to steer you away from a major mistake. Or is the definition of "personal attacks" also different in your neck of the woods?! Guess no good deed goes unpunished... Many times I wonder why I'm wasting my time here...

Originally Posted by lillyrose81

The price of that foreclosure is the same as what many houses where we live sell for (in the "modest" neighborhoods).

I for one got the impression from your post above you think we're exaggerating and you believe that if decent houses in modest neighborhoods can be found in this price range where you live, that's the case everywhere else.

I see below you've gotten that point.

Originally Posted by lillyrose81

I need to stop thinking about here being like anywhere else.. and anywhere else being anything like here....

[szupergipsy]

Anything in Tucson under a 100K, I would be extremely careful with. Unless you are a handyperson or have another 50K to bring it up to 2009 standards.

[Spot]

Originally Posted by lillyrose81

Well, we were looking for Phoenix area but decided to look more into Tucson instead. Need to know what anyone can tell me about "Miracle Manor" neighborhood with the zip code 85705. We're looking for a home that is in a decent neighborhood for raising kids. My husband and myself are in the late 20s to mid 30s age group, with a 10 year old, 8 year old, and 2 year old. We'd be bringing our dog and 2 cats as well. We're currently living in Minnesota but both my husband and myself love Arizona. The types of houses we've been looking at are super cheap foreclosures that need work done. Any input would be awesome! Thanks all!

One thing you will likely want to consider is the type of work you are planning to do when you get to AZ. Tucson's economy is not nearly as strong as PHX, so keep in mind that you will probably make a lot more money in PHX. This is particularly true if you or your husband are college educated, because the opportunities for professionals in Tucson are somewhat limited.

If you are set on Tucson, my advice would be to forget about buying anything when you first get there. Rent for awhile and get familiar with the neighborhoods, traffic patterns and figure out where you will be working. The traffic in Tucson isn't as bad as some large cities, but the surface streets still get pretty clogged up during rush hour. For some reason the city engineers never figured out the concept of sequencing traffic lights, so you will likely sit at several red lights during your daily commute.

As for schools the options are pretty limited. Schools in AZ are not very good generally and will likely not compare to the quality of schools you have there in MN. That being said, if you must relocate your family there, you will want to target the Catalina Foothills School District if you can. My choice would be private schools if we were raising our kids in Tucson and some of the private schools have good scholarship programs, so keep them in mind. I should confess that my wife and I actually left AZ specifically in part because the schools there are so bad now.

As for neighborhoods, Catalina Foothills is to the North of the city. That entire area along the base of the Catalina Mountain range is really the best part of the city for raising a family and quality of living in general. It's also the safest area. You definitely want to avoid the area that you were looking at previously. You also want to avoid the entire Southern area of the city. Anything South of Broadway is a bad idea. There are some okay neighborhoods down there, but by and large it's a very economically depressed, high crime area. If you want to live in the Central parts of the city, look in the Sam Hughes neighborhood. Otherwise, stay North of River Road. Other options you may want to consider are the "suburbs" of Marana, Vail, and Oro Valley. As other posters have mentioned on here, you cannot purchase a home in a decent area of Tucson for anything close to $50k. I would say that $150k is a better base number to start at and realistically you will spend even more than that. Save until you can afford to buy in that range.

In sum: Rent for at least 6 months. Figure out where you will be working before you buy. Target Catalina School District if possible. Avoid the entire South Side of the Tucson Metro area. Consider Marana, Vail and Oro Valley. Save until you can afford the right place.

Good luck with your move.

[ruready1st]

The Catalina Foothills District isn't the end all be all that people make of it.

Tanque Verde and Vail, I feel are just as good.

You might look at some condos, there were some condo conversions made in the Foothills. Condo conversions in general are not a good investment, but you can get some cheap right now. The communities are in decent areas, have covered parking and pools.

Also, you could check out some manufactured home areas in Oro Valley and Vail. I know there are some decent properties with double wides on some lots in Vail if living in a trailer is okay for you. No tornadoes to worry about.

There are options. Best bet is to figure out where you will be working, then decide where to live. If you choose wisely, you can live in a decent neighborhood and still only have a 15-20 commute to work.

[lillyrose81]

Manufactured homes are fine with us. Had our eye on one in another area of AZ. We've got a lot to think about. We could go just about anywhere we want and still have jobs. It's just the pain of finding something decent with a decent neighborhood, or just a small quiet community/town. Have one agent in the Phoenix area looking into stuff for us, should probably find one in the Tucson area as well! Hoping to come out in the next couple weeks to look at places!

[lillyrose81]

And once again, thank you to everyone who's been so helpful!

[Ritchie_az]

"We had looked some in Phoenix, no real luck there either."

If you didn't find anything in the Phoenix area, you won't find anything in Tucson.

"In my small city I live in, on the market right now for 4+ bedroom houses range from $55,000 - $695,000 (that house is on 32 acres and is 4478 Sq ft living quarters). When we moved into our current house (about 2 years ago) there were 4 bedroom houses for $25,000 - in good neighborhoods, just a run down house that needed work."

If you have $100,000, you should be able to find something right now. But anything under $100,000 is going to be much more difficult. Under $50,000? Nearly impossible, and you wouldn't want it anyway.

[Marcy1210]

It's going to be awfully hard to even find a condo or townhome for $50K in Tucson. Or at least in an area suitable for raising kids and having a "get to know your neighbors" lifestyle. Part of the problem is that the west and southwest areas of the country are some of the fastest growing, partly due to snowbirds (yes, I resemble that remark somewhat) who are able to afford having a winter home here, and a summer home somewhere in the cooler climes, and the availability of higher paying jobs for well educated professionals.

As with any city in America, there are going to be areas that are highly desirable, and areas that are totally undesirable, with the remainder somewhere in between. The thing anyone transferring to any city needs to be aware of is what THEY want from the city. So, your most important tool is research. The web can probably answer most of your questions which is something that didn't exist 20 years ago. Do your research, find out which parts of town would fit in with what you need, and then explore housing options. If finding a job isn't a problem, then your main concerns become housing and schools, which are usually mutually compatible. The better the schools, generally, the better the neighborhood. Some places like Oro Valley, are cities unto their own. There is a school district, shopping, housing and really, other than entertainment, malls or restaurants, not much need to go to Tucson, but, you'll pay higher prices there. Conversely, you may find an area of town that fits your financial criteria, but not your social or educational criteria, and then that area isn't going to work for you. So, it becomes a balancing game. What you can afford vs. what you would like. When you can answer both those questions with one area of town, then you can dig deeper and find the house you'd love, whether it's a rental, apartment, townhome, condo or single family home.