[sdreloc]

sI drove by the Painted Desert gate last month and ignored it because I assumed everything in there was going to be out of the price range I was considering.

I was looking at condos online today and came upon a 2 bedroom Fannie Mae foreclosure listed at $79,900 with HOA fee of $105 per month. Other 2 bedroom as listed in the 80's, 90's and $100K plus. I see the community is also on the VA approved condo list and that unit is eligible for HomePath Mortgage and the HomePath Renovation financing programs.
I see it is a guard gated golf community, so the $105 HOA fee sounds cheap to me assuming that also includes exterior painting, roof, insurance, garbage etc..
It was not meeting all criteria I was looking for because the condos are older, not single story and there is nothing much to do within walking distance (so a car is needed even to run out to just grab a loaf of bread or a taco) but at these numbers for a guard gated community, they are something I'll look at. Older build and two-story layout will probably mean higher electric bills in summer and higher gas bills in winter than a newer 1 level condo though.

Are two bedrooms actually closing in the $80K ranges? Any opinions on the condos and the community?

[PinkString]

The community itself is very nice. And it will continue to be for a long time to come. Having a 2 story layout feels like you have more home than just one level. Yes you will have higher electric bills in the summer with a 2 story. But on the good side, you can sleep with a window open upstairs with no worries about someone climbing in. Plus the guard gate will help in that regard as well.

[sdreloc]

It seems nice. I will have to go back out there and look. I also just found a listing at 5415 Crimson Crest Place that has a single story townhouse that's a bit newer (2002) listed for $79,000, but that's a short sale that may be a bogus asking price and the HOA is a bit higher at $130.

[eventusstultorummagister]

Originally Posted by sdreloc

...nothing much to do within walking distance (so a car is needed even to run out to just grab a loaf of bread or a taco)

It's actually fairly close to shopping (under a mile). I looked around in that area and decided it was too close proximity to the cemetary (historically a bad component for resale). Y.M.M.V.

[sdreloc]

Originally Posted by eventusstultorummagister

It's actually fairly close to shopping (under a mile). I looked around in that area and decided it was too close proximity to the cemetary (historically a bad component for resale). Y.M.M.V.

I don't see a cemetery adjacent to Painted Desert on Google Maps.
One concern I might have is, due to the golf course and all the irrigation and landscaping, it may be a scorpion magnet. Scorpions may be a more practical problem.
I also notice Google Street View goes partially inside the gates. Is the guard gated community open to the public during the day?

[olecapt]

There are basically four sets of condo/townhouses in there. Solana del Mar - which is newer three unit over garage units to the east along the freeway. Villas on the Green - which are up down condos and line the Ann road fairway. The Indian condos at the back entrance off Lone Mountain and some very nice town houses in small complexes off the internal main street.

The list prices are somewhat misleading. Solana del Mar however has gotten as low as $72K. The Villas had one sale at about 89K but all the others cluster just above $100K. The Indian Condos go down into the 80s. Both the townhouses and regular SFRs in there start around $110K.

The Indian condos are very convenient to the Casino right across the freeway...the others are very convenient to the massive shopping center across Ann. Lots of good stuff in there including a big Walmart/Sams. And the Cracked Egg - best breakfast in town...is right outside Solana del Mar.

[happyhunting]

I don't see a cemetery adjacent to Painted Desert on Google Maps.

Bunker's Memory Garden's......it's on Lone Mountain at Tenaya, just southwest of Painted Desert entrance on Lone Mnt. All my family is burried there, I remember back in early 1990's late 80s when they were first building the home developements around there, people were leary of buying. Now it is surrounded by homes and apartments, the city fire station 9 has always been there, and the pet cemetary is just south, closer to Craig Road. I never knew Painted Desert to be affected in any negative way.

[jhiker1o]

Originally Posted by happyhunting

Bunker's Memory Garden's......it's on Lone Mountain at Tenaya, just southwest of Painted Desert entrance on Lone Mnt. All my family is burried there, I remember back in early 1990's late 80s when they were first building the home developements around there, people were leary of buying. Now it is surrounded by homes and apartments, the city fire station 9 has always been there, and the pet cemetary is just south, closer to Craig Road. I never knew Painted Desert to be affected in any negative way.

The area definitely developed fast in the last two decades, we'll just have to wait and see if it reaches Indian Springs further up North.

[sdreloc]

Originally Posted by happyhunting

Bunker's Memory Garden's......it's on Lone Mountain at Tenaya, just southwest of Painted Desert entrance on Lone Mnt. All my family is burried there, I remember back in early 1990's late 80s when they were first building the home developements around there, people were leary of buying. Now it is surrounded by homes and apartments, the city fire station 9 has always been there, and the pet cemetary is just south, closer to Craig Road. I never knew Painted Desert to be affected in any negative way.

I would not even think about a cemetery unless it was right next door and I saw it whenever I looked out the window at home.

[happyhunting]

Originally Posted by jhiker1o

The area definitely developed fast in the last two decades, we'll just have to wait and see if it reaches Indian Springs further up North.

Absolutely! When my faimly built at Lone Mountain in the 1970s there was nothing, I mean nothing. No Summerlin, no Aliente, no Centennial Hills.....No 215 or any outlying communities. Rancho was the freeway, all the roads out there were dirt and I was bussed from the base of Lone Mt. passed the spaghetti bowl for the closest elemntary. We had family that would come in town once every five years or so from the late 80s through the 2000s and each time the city and roads were unrecognizable to them. We are moving next year, I'll be coming in once a year for family and can bet this place will change each time. It's morphed so much over the last 30-40 years it's amazing.

I thought that Coyote Springs was going to blow up, and then development from there, all the way back through Vegas would ensue........I guess things are really on hold now.