Moving to Flagstaff - best and worst neighborhoods? (Phoenix, Scottsdale: foreclosure, houses)

[alic]

Hi - we will be relocating to Flagstaff this spring/summer and are looking for homes now. I'd welcome any advice on great neighborhoods, or neighborhoods to avoid.

If it's not asking too much, please try to describe where the neighborhood(s) is/are so I can look on my map - eg. bordering streets, etc.

I know a lot of people on this space are down on Flag, and I have read all about the lack of jobs, etc. This does not worry us. We are a young family looking for a nice intermediate home that we will not have a ton of trouble selling in ~5 years.

Thanks for your help!

[grippit]

Good a.m. - Like most areas, Flagstaff has a wide price range in regards to housing. What price or monthly payment are you comfortable making? Any other needs/wants? Regards

[alic]

I'm looking to buy for about $400K-$450K. We do know that this will be a transition home - will be looking to sell it in about 4-5 years, and "upgrade". The key is to live in a neighborhood where it will be easy to resell.

I have a realtor helping me with the buying process, but wanted more input as to which neighborhoods are considered "desirable", and which are "no way!"

Thanks!

[grippit]

Anything in your price range will be desireable, unless you have specific issues you are trying to avoid. There are neighborhoods near the country club that would work for you (i.e., Amberwood,Forest RIdge),Boulder Pointe,Ponderosa Trails and University Heights are nice areas on the south side of town. To the north (HWY 180 or Ft. Valley Road) , with nice mountain views are Lynwood, Chesire and other similar areas. This list is not all inclusive and your REALTOR will surely have more info. There are also historic properties around town. Hope this helps. I'm sure you'll enjoy Flagstaff as most of us that live here do. Regards

[azdr0710]

yeah, your realtor isn't, officially, allowed to say what are good and bad neighborhoods....

you're lucky to be in that price range and shouldn't have a problem, even in expensive Flag.....

the several areas off W University (west of the Home Depot/theater area), are very nice and should be in that price range...small-ish lots, though.....University Heights is one small level beneath, but is also very good.....if you can afford it, Forest Highlands and Pine Canyon are the top, but may be out of your range....Continental CC has a mix, including very good stuff...if you want large lots (>1.5 acres), you may need to go out east to areas off Townsend-Winona Rd., like Slayton Ranch and other nearby areas

don't want to mention the name of what's known as the "worst" area in Flag, but it's in the area off 4th St N of Rt. 66....it's not at all horrible, just not really neat and clean...you won't be involved with it anyway!

yes, I think it will take at least 3-5 years for things to start appreciating again at a "normal" rate....

check out:
Northern Arizona Multiple Listing Service
and click on "find properties"....put in your parameters or leave them blank...you want zip 86001 or 86004

[alic]

These are great suggestions - thanks!

Any other input is also welcome

[flg]

Originally Posted by alic

These are great suggestions - thanks!

Any other input is also welcome

Best clearly depends on your interests. At 400K you won't be in a "bad" neighborhood, just possibly one that's less than ideal for you.

If you have kids you probably want to be in one of the better school neighborhoods (although there are a number of good charter schools). This currently favors the Westside neighborhoods for younger kids.

If you're a young metro-sexual or health care professional, you probably want to be close to downtown - Cherry Hill, Linwood Heights, Skyline. If you want a lot of house for the dollar "Foreclosure Heaven" (aka Ponderosa Trails) is a good bet. It also tends to have youngish families but is served by poorer schools.

If you're and urban escapee and and still think a 15 minute commute is short and like the idea of a a couple acres of land then Doney Park and a lot of the areas east of the Mall are an option.

At 400K you'll want to avoid any neighborhood that starts with an "S"... Sunnyside, Southside.

I would avoid the high-end golf communities (Flagstaff Ranch, Pine Canyon, Forest Highlands). They would probably be just out of your price range and half your neighbors will be in Phoenix so your kids won't have any friends.

I'd also avoid Boulder Point and the areas near Home Depot and Walmart (the other poster mentioned). They are newer houses but there are bounded by big roads with no forest access. (Living in Flagstaff you want easy forest access through your neighbor hood.) They also have a lot of close by chain retail stores and office space so there's a more urban feel. I think it's populated by former Phoenicians that didn't know any better when they bought their houses.

If you're into mountain biking and hiking I'd try to get close to the mountains. From West to East with 400K houses: Linwood, Fremont, Cheshire, Appalachian (Shadow Mountain), Skyline, Swiss Manor, and then out past Townsend-Winona Rd. (Note nothing between Swiss Manor and Townsend-Winona.)

If you look at Trulia.com you can get an idea of what houses are going for in different areas and searching by neighborhood on the Northern Arizona MLS will show you the names of the areas. Your Realtor should layout a map and show you the names of all the areas. If your trying to figure it out yourself you need a new Realtor. There are bad Realtors so get one that is serving you.

[alic]

This is really helpful - thank you for the insight!

[cd1212]

Originally Posted by alic

I know a lot of people on this space are down on Flag, and I have read all about the lack of jobs, etc. This does not worry us. We are a young family looking for a nice intermediate home that we will not have a ton of trouble selling in ~5 years.

You do not say where you are from however Flagstaff unemployment is at 9.5% and rising. There are many other SW towns w/ similar geography and demographics to Flagstaff that might also be of interest to you w/ perhaps better employment prospects, such as Durango, CO.; Boulder, CO; and Ft. Collins, CO.

[alic]

Our jobs are secure. My husband will be working in tuba city, and I work from home, traveling into the Scottsdale offce periodically. Thank you for the heads up, but our jobs require us to be in arizona.