the most shocking thing about buying a home in the valley (HOA, landscaping)

[MN-Born-n-Raised]

Originally Posted by DougStark

MN raises some good points, but I'd disagree with him on these points:
-Water softeners are not a necessity. I do fine without one. Just realize you'll be cleaning your sinks/showers with an acidic type cleaner (I use citric acid powder and dish soap. Worlds great.)

Allow me to change the words. If you don't mind intense hard water, you may need a softener. Buy the softener loop option!

For my wife, she NEEDS a softener. I tried putting it off. She has dry skin and mandated I buy one so I did. I too appreciated the difference.

Originally Posted by DougStark

-I love carpeting. If others can't stand it, too bad.

I like Carpet too. It "warms" the home. Too bad? It's called resale. I pay close attention to it. Another possibility is to choose wood and have rubs on top. Again, wood and carpet warms it to the eyes and feet. Now you have high resale value. But remember, wood floors fade and top throw carpets will create bleaching patterns.

Originally Posted by DougStark

-Forget the winter lawn and what MN calls "scrap." Once fall comes, I'm SO glad to give my lawn a rest and let the bermuda grass go brown. I don't overseed with rye grass seed ever.

Green grass always looks better than brown grass. The Op might contemplate artificial grass. The new artificial grass looks great AND has thin blades. That is much less surface area and doesn't get as hot. I'd personally chose rocks out front. But the wife MANDATES green natural grass. It's the only way she would sign off on AZ.

[farmgirlsuz]

Thanks so much for all the advice! I guess I am not so far off in my thinking about new homes in AZ as I had originally thought. Decided to go ahead with a north facing front facade to utilize the sun as much as possible for heating the pool. I realize it might be Uber hot in the summer but the WHOLE valley is hot in the summer! Definitely getting the water softener and reverse osmosis. Sorry - valley water sucks. Artificial turf WILL be installed, as will trees for shade (eventually) and an irrigation system. So far not a lot of surprises but there is always tomorrow!

[SageCats]

1) LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION. Think of this for potential resale in the future!
2) Depending on where you buy, you should consider commute time and where you spend most of your time. Some people buy homes out in the outskirts of town (Queen Creek and San Tan on the east side, Buckeye and Avondale on the west side) because they want an inexpensive large home and then commute 50 miles one way to get to work in Phoenix, Scottsdale, Glendale, etc.
3) No matter where you buy in the valley, coyotes are a problem. They are even in densely populated Tempe due to its proximity to S Mountain. (I learned this the hard way when they killed one of my pets on my own patio.)
4) Do you have kids? Try to get into a city that has a good school system. (See item 1 on this list.)
5) HOAs have their pluses and minuses. Older homes usually built before 1990 do not have HOAs. Newer homes, also known as "cookie cutter" or tract homes, tend to have HOAs. If you don't want to live in a HOA managed community but want a newer construction, that will be a challenge.
6) If you want to live near ASU or Old Town Scottsdale, those areas are more crowded but more happening. If you want to live in quieter areas, avoid these.
7) Find a good real estate agent! PM me and I will give you the name of an agency I consider top notch. They helped me buy a couple of homes in the valley (after going through a lot of headache with other real estate agents who were crappy.)
8) This one is just my recommendation: since AZ is a desert, avoid having a green lawn. Try to contribute to the conservation of water and adopt desert landscape. You can have beautiful desert landscapes that barely use water.

[SageCats]

Originally Posted by farmgirlsuz

Thanks so much for all the advice! I guess I am not so far off in my thinking about new homes in AZ as I had originally thought. Decided to go ahead with a north facing front facade to utilize the sun as much as possible for heating the pool. I realize it might be Uber hot in the summer but the WHOLE valley is hot in the summer! Definitely getting the water softener and reverse osmosis. Sorry - valley water sucks. Artificial turf WILL be installed, as will trees for shade (eventually) and an irrigation system. So far not a lot of surprises but there is always tomorrow!

Oh yes!! Definitely get both! Yes, valley water sucks. It tastes bad and it does quite a number on your dishes, sink, or any surface it touches in terms of hard water marks. (Just think, you bathe and drink this! yikes!)

[MN-Born-n-Raised]

Originally Posted by farmgirlsuz

Thanks so much for all the advice! I guess I am not so far off in my thinking about new homes in AZ as I had originally thought. Decided to go ahead with a north facing front facade to utilize the sun as much as possible for heating the pool. I realize it might be Uber hot in the summer but the WHOLE valley is hot in the summer! Definitely getting the water softener and reverse osmosis. Sorry - valley water sucks. Artificial turf WILL be installed, as will trees for shade (eventually) and an irrigation system. So far not a lot of surprises but there is always tomorrow!

Re; water softener. I studied the topic with intensity and picked the guy who was the head service technician for a local manufacture. I picked the right guy at a great price. If you want his name, PM me.

[DougStark]

I agree the water here leaves a lot to be desired. But installing a salt using water softener is an environmentally selfish thing to do.

They put sodium in the water and need to eliminate chloride as waste. Neither sodium or chloride are good for the soil, waterways, groundwater or native ecosystems.

I'd look into alternative water treatment systems like nuvo H20.

[Jkgourmet]

Originally Posted by DougStark

I agree the water here leaves a lot to be desired. But installing a salt using water softener is an environmentally selfish thing to do.

They put sodium in the water and need to eliminate chloride as waste. Neither sodium or chloride are good for the soil, waterways, groundwater or native ecosystems.

I'd look into alternative water treatment systems like nuvo H20.

Is thete any reliable, third party evidence that neuvo h2 works? Last I looked into it, it was a scam. But that was several years ago.

[hikernut]

Originally Posted by farmgirlsuz

Decided to go ahead with a north facing front facade to utilize the sun as much as possible for heating the pool.

This is probably my first choice for home orientation. Whatever glass is under the patio will likely be shaded during most or all of the summer. And depending on how wide the patio is, you may get some sun inside during the winter. If possible try to have the garage on the west side. So with the usual home plan the garage will be on the northwest corner of the house, and it will take the brunt of the setting summer sun.

[DougStark]

Originally Posted by Jkgourmet

Is thete any reliable, third party evidence that neuvo h2 works? Last I looked into it, it was a scam. But that was several years ago.

Poster, I don't know if there's been any third-party evaluation of the Neuvo H2O systems, but check out the information about citric acid in Wikipedia. The chemical is widely used to "chelate" minerals.

In the case of hard water, it "chelates" the hardness minerals (calcium and magnesium), plentiful in our water, by preventing them from precipitating out (falling out of solution.) Also, FYI- It's an excellent cleaner. I use the citric acid powder with dish soap to clean showers, sinks, toilets, etc- anything that our hard water touches. I buy mine on ebay- inexpensive.

I'd say the main downside of the Nuevo H2O system is the HUGE markup of the replacement cartridges. There is no way time-released citric acid should cost as much as they charge. But that's marketing...

[ScottsdaleMark]

Originally Posted by DougStark

I agree the water here leaves a lot to be desired. But installing a salt using water softener is an environmentally selfish thing to do.

They put sodium in the water and need to eliminate chloride as waste. Neither sodium or chloride are good for the soil, waterways, groundwater or native ecosystems.

I'd look into alternative water treatment systems like nuvo H20.

Really good point, I want to underscore this. Salinity is already an issue in Arizona water and it's so bad down by Yuma that farmers have to take all kinds of countermeasures just to keep the salinity from killing their crops. On a domestic/urban scale, we are already polluting our waste water with plenty of contaminants such as unused prescription pills, salt, etc., and thus the quality of water is a long-term concern, not just the availability of it.