Curious about older 1970's neighborhoods (new home, to buy, areas)

[43north87west]

Originally Posted by New Horizons

I live in a house in Sun City with my mom and brother. We all get along and save a ton of money this way. Sometimes though we'll be driving around more working class areas such as older neighborhoods in North Phoenix, that endless grid of 1970's ranch homes, and it looks very appealing to me. Young people living there, your motorhome parked beside the house, maybe a little project car outside in progress. It looks so all American, those neighborhoods remind me so much of the inland empire cities of Los Angeles. My "roommates", don't see at as I do though. All they see is pickup trucks and riffraff, and that the people are mostly cigarette smoking, beer drinking types with the occasional gun shot heard in the neighborhood.

Does anybody here live in neighborhoods like these? There's got to be normal types that live in these hoods too.

The normal types don't live in the riffraff neighborhoods. They live in nicer areas. There are a lot of nice neighborhoods in the valley that have well kept 60s and 70s ranch homes, but no riffraff.

[petlover8]

Originally Posted by ArrisSevvin

my first house here was brand new and it was falling apart after only three years.

What exactly do you mean by "falling apart"?? Didn't it come with a 10 year new home warranty like most ALL do?

[tijlover]

Originally Posted by ElleTea

Yes, the 70's is when home construction took a step back, IMO. Not as sturdy, not as many built-ins, not as well made.

My cut-off date searching for a home to buy is 1975. After that, in a rush to build faster, they turned away from cinder block/slump brick construction and I won't even consider a house with wood-frame construction as I have an unreasonable fear of fires, and it's also less "candy" for the termites to eat. And if I have to re-plumb, re-wire, put on a new roof, a small price to pay for feeling more secure in my dwelling.

I did that with my 1948 home in the Fairview Historic District back in 1993-1996.

[petlover8]

Originally Posted by tijlover

My cut-off date searching for a home to buy is 1975. After that, in a rush to build faster, they turned away from cinder block/slump brick construction and I won't even consider a house with wood-frame construction as I have an unreasonable fear of fires, and it's also less "candy" for the termites to eat.

That is simply not true. There is a neighborhood right across from mine with block construction that was built in the mid 90's. There are several still being built that way today. You need to look around more, they're out there.

[ArrisSevvin]

Originally Posted by petlover8

What exactly do you mean by "falling apart"?? Didn't it come with a 10 year new home warranty like most ALL do?

1. The dishwasher fell out of the counter. The installer never secured any but the front top mounts.
2. The doors showed light most of the way around. Dust would build daily in the entry.
3. The sliding windows and door stuck. Never adjusted.
4. Cracks developed vertically on the southern wall.
5. The plumbing burst in the attic. A terminating end (that blue and red stuff) cracked and popped off. The attic flooded. The builder was out of business. The plumber refused to even contact me.
6. Other small annoyances not worth recalling.

This was our first new house. We bought it under construction. My lack of experience left me vulnerable to the builder's ascendance. He didn't want us on the property while they were working. I should have made myself foreman.


My favorite house was a big white farm house on a big farm; built in 1870. It caused some problems of its own but the house had character. If I ever get the chance for a century house again I'll snatch it up.

[ArrisSevvin]

Originally Posted by tijlover

My cut-off date searching for a home to buy is 1975. After that, in a rush to build faster, they turned away from cinder block/slump brick construction and I won't even consider a house with wood-frame construction as I have an unreasonable fear of fires,

*Raises hand* Survivor of two house fires.

My current house is block, built 1977. I am happy with it, but I want to move some doors around and that means light switches, too. I'll curse the block until the project is done, but then I'll be happy with it again. Block really is a pain in the ass if you have to do anything with it but leave it alone. But it's nice to lean on an exterior wall and get a solid thud rather than a wiggle.

[ArrisSevvin]

Originally Posted by 43north87west

The normal types don't live in the riffraff neighborhoods. They live in nicer areas. There are a lot of nice neighborhoods in the valley that have well kept 60s and 70s ranch homes, but no riffraff.

I just left a 1973 neighborhood that was quite nice and very well kept. It isn't the age of the homes but the mentality of the residents that sets the appearance. I avoided making an offer on a big 70's house that was just remodeled, looked good and was well worth the price, but, the neighborhood was unappealing. You don't know until you get there.

Same with the nice neighborhood. Everything looked so nice initially I didn't think I could afford it.

Don't avoid a house for it's age. You at least need to visit it.

[petlover8]

Originally Posted by ArrisSevvin

1. The dishwasher fell out of the counter. The installer never secured any but the front top mounts.
2. The doors showed light most of the way around. Dust would build daily in the entry.
3. The sliding windows and door stuck. Never adjusted.
4. Cracks developed vertically on the southern wall.
5. The plumbing burst in the attic. A terminating end (that blue and red stuff) cracked and popped off. The attic flooded. The builder was out of business. The plumber refused to even contact me.
6. Other small annoyances not worth recalling.

This was our first new house. We bought it under construction. My lack of experience left me vulnerable to the builder's ascendance. He didn't want us on the property while they were working. I should have made myself foreman.


My favorite house was a big white farm house on a big farm; built in 1870. It caused some problems of its own but the house had character. If I ever get the chance for a century house again I'll snatch it up.

Your first mistake was purchasing a new home with no warranty expressed or implied. The other was buying from a no name builder. There are several reputable builders in the Valley. I purchased a new home from Lennar back in 1997, 19 years ago. It came with a 10 year warranty. About 6 years into it, I had to have my patio roof replaced. They did it without incident or cost. They still make good new homes. You as the consumer have to be careful WHO you buy from. Older homes can quickly become an expensive nightmare far more readily than newer, warrantied one's can.

[tijlover]

Originally Posted by petlover8

That is simply not true. There is a neighborhood right across from mine with block construction that was built in the mid 90's. There are several still being built that way today. You need to look around more, they're out there.

That's really encouraging, that they were building them into the mid-90's in Phoenix. As I scout around for a house to retire in, in Tucson, it appears that block construction went out in the 70's some time. Here, in Las Vegas, block construction ended around 1970.

[ArrisSevvin]

Originally Posted by petlover8

Your first mistake was ...

No. My first mistake was having a Realtor that showed me what he wanted to sell rather than what I wanted to buy.