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Old 02-01-2015, 03:37 PM
 
Location: Seattle, WA
144 posts, read 170,222 times
Reputation: 42

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Hello folks,
We are from India and I am working on L1 visa in Torrance, CA (my wife is non-working). In another two months, I will be moving to Phoenix. My employer and client will remain same. Also my company is applying H1B for me. If that picks up in lottery, I will stay for another 3+ more years. If H1B doesn't work for me, they will apply L1 visa for me. Now I have two very broad questions, if somebody can give some insight/opinion on them.
1- My workplace will be in 85004. Where should I look for decent apartments ? I have car to drive and not looking for high rents. In Torrance I am paying 1200/month (+gas and electric). I would like to save some money on rent in Phoenix. Few of my friends are in Scottsdale. As per them Scottsdale is cheap. Is it true ? Will it be difficult to search apartment near to 85004 ? I am not looking to go ONLY in Indian community. Anything should be ok, as far as it is safe to walk in evening/dusk and have gas (not electric) in kitchen :-)
2- This one is broad and long term planning. I will be staying for 36 months for sure and later depend on my company if they want to file GC for me. If I assume 1000/month rent, I will end up paying 36000$ in rent. Can anybody advise, if I should go with mortgage loan and buy a small 2 bedroom house ? I understand that there are multiple factors like bank interest, economy risks, house maintenance (everything will get old and over period of time, I will have to repair or replace them), closing costs and other costs which I am not aware of. How is Phoenix real estate market ? In worst case (if I assume, I will not stay beyond 36 months), I can re-sell it OR just give it on rent and plan to come back again to US in a year or so after completing my legal visa formalities.
I will appreciate, if people can help me in deciding.
Regards
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Old 02-01-2015, 07:41 PM
 
Location: Phoenix
1,110 posts, read 1,382,151 times
Reputation: 902
Your friends are probably Indians too, and they are very well paid here, hence they thought Scottsdale is cheap

I am interested on the "buying real estate" part.
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Old 02-02-2015, 09:36 AM
 
Location: Seattle, WA
144 posts, read 170,222 times
Reputation: 42
I have never been to Phoenix, so not sure about Phoenix or Scottsdale. Any other thought on my both questions ?
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Old 02-02-2015, 10:15 AM
 
Location: Leaving, California
480 posts, read 846,297 times
Reputation: 738
Quote:
Originally Posted by abhisheks77 View Post
2- This one is broad and long term planning. I will be staying for 36 months for sure and later depend on my company if they want to file GC for me. If I assume 1000/month rent, I will end up paying 36000$ in rent. Can anybody advise, if I should go with mortgage loan and buy a small 2 bedroom house ? I understand that there are multiple factors like bank interest, economy risks, house maintenance (everything will get old and over period of time, I will have to repair or replace them), closing costs and other costs which I am not aware of. How is Phoenix real estate market ? In worst case (if I assume, I will not stay beyond 36 months), I can re-sell it OR just give it on rent and plan to come back again to US in a year or so after completing my legal visa formalities.
I will appreciate, if people can help me in deciding.
Regards
This is a really interesting angle on the relocation decision. It's a lot like the math you'd use to determine whether it's better to lease or purchase a new vehicle.

I'd say most of the people here who buy homes are looking for something specific. They want stability for their kids, control over their living environment, privacy, fewer rules, or what have you.

Apartment living can be transient (people coming and going on lease cycles, lots of strangers in parking lots, that sort of thing). Also, if you rent someplace that's pet-friendly, you could run into issues with other tenants leaving "inconsiderate items" in the landscaping. You'd be subject to the apartment management's decision about whether appliances need to be replaced, rather than being able to go replace the dishwasher if you felt it wasn't performing well. Also, apartments do subtle things to cut costs that would never fly with a single family home (or that you could change yourself in a SFH). However, you'd have the advantage of paid-for and maintained amenities.

You could perhaps do a condo or townhouse, but then you could get some of the issues you might encounter with an apartment.

Over a 3-year period, I'd say you would pay significantly more than $36k for a single-family home here. Plus, it's unlikely that you'd gain a lot of money on your house, and you could run into major repairs that could significantly increase your costs. For example, in addition to your P&I, taxes, HOA, and so on, you'd need to plan on closing costs on both ends, realtor costs on the sale, as well as any repairs or issues that come up in your buyer's inspection. On a 3-year calendar, the risk may be more than you're willing to deal with. The numbers are different on a 5-10 year calendar.

The biggest factor is your general sense of the value of each of the living environment options. I personally think a single-family home is superior despite the cost.
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Old 02-02-2015, 11:03 AM
 
Location: Seattle, WA
144 posts, read 170,222 times
Reputation: 42
Thanks WriterDude for your deep insight. Now I am getting clarity on 'why I should' and 'why I should not'.
Buying is definitely a plus, if we consider privacy, ownership, fewer rules, etc. But I do not want to end up in loss. And if I rent, I would be going in a 1 BHK apartment whereas if I buy it would be single-family home, which will be bigger (and nice ). Renting single-family home may be more expensive from rent point of view (may be, I am still checking rental rates in Phoenix).
Immediately after reading your mail, I had a serious talk with my manager, where I work and explained him my situation and long term planning. I will be definitely staying for next 3 years in Phoenix. Later they will apply visa extension for me. If it approves, I will stay for next 3 years. If not, I will go back to India for 6-8 months and will come back again on new visa. Meanwhile, he said, I can rent it out.
I understand that other costs like P&I, taxes, HOA, closing costs on both ends, realtor costs can rule total benefits. Major one can be repair and maintenance costs. I am really not sure, how are maintenance costs here. Will it still big (for next 3-4 years) if I get comparatively newer house ?
What are your thoughts on this ?
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Old 02-02-2015, 03:19 PM
 
Location: Leaving, California
480 posts, read 846,297 times
Reputation: 738
Quote:
Originally Posted by abhisheks77 View Post
I understand that other costs like P&I, taxes, HOA, closing costs on both ends, realtor costs can rule total benefits. Major one can be repair and maintenance costs. I am really not sure, how are maintenance costs here. Will it still big (for next 3-4 years) if I get comparatively newer house ?
What are your thoughts on this ?
You're welcome. I'm happy to help.

If you get something newer (or a recent remodel, or an investor flip), you will probably not have to deal with a lot of major maintenance over that time frame. Over time, you could need to fix stucco, paint, deal with exterior issues for your HOA, or other tasks. If you have a pool, or a lot of landscaping, or what have you, you could also be in for some extra maintenance. Fortunately, those are all things you'd know up-front and could plan for.

I do encourage you to get a home warranty (lots of companies will do this for an existing home or a new build).

I didn't mean to make it sound as though Arizona houses require extraordinary maintenance, just that with any house anywhere, you'd be paying for anything that wears out or breaks.
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Old 02-02-2015, 06:14 PM
 
Location: Seattle, WA
144 posts, read 170,222 times
Reputation: 42
Alright. For now, I will move to that new city and will rent out a 1 BHK apartment. Meanwhile, I will get a feel about various places in Phoenix and some of market sense.
Would you like to comment on first point in my initial post for renting apartment near to my work location ?
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Old 02-03-2015, 04:15 AM
 
1 posts, read 951 times
Reputation: 10
I'm being relocated to Phoenix from Boston for 6 months in the beginning of January. As you can imagine, I'm quite nervous about the location. I've been there once to drive up north to the national parks and grand canyon, but haven't spent more than a day in the actual city. Any Good Advice?
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Old 02-03-2015, 09:31 AM
 
4,235 posts, read 14,076,577 times
Reputation: 4253
Quote:
Originally Posted by abhisheks77 View Post
1- My workplace will be in 85004. Where should I look for decent apartments ?

if anybody is wondering, 85004 is a slender north-south strip in downtown Phx running from Thomas down to I-17 between Central and about 7th St
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Old 02-03-2015, 09:34 AM
 
4,235 posts, read 14,076,577 times
Reputation: 4253
Quote:
Originally Posted by makonvict View Post
I'm being relocated to Phoenix from Boston for 6 months in the beginning of January. As you can imagine, I'm quite nervous about the location. I've been there once to drive up north to the national parks and grand canyon, but haven't spent more than a day in the actual city. Any Good Advice?

do you mean January of 2016?.....

what makes you nervous?....where will you be working approximately?.....

"Good Advice" is sprinkled all thru the Phx forum here....tell us your specific concerns
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