Looking to move to AZ in October - Need help! (Phoenix: low income, real estate)

[busy-lil-traveller]

Hi!

My family and I are trying to find a decent apartment, condo, or home with 3 bedrooms and possibly 2 bath to rent and also accepts a small cat in the Paradise Valley area, Scottsdale, or Tempe. My family is sort of in an unusual circumstance, meaning it is my boyfriend, myself, my widowed mother, and younger sister who are all trying to find a place.

We are all kind of at a loss for what place would be willing to work with our situation! My dad passed away in 2015 leaving my Mom with the house they once owned together (that got foreclosed) and pretty much left everything off on her, and currently she is caregiving for her dying father. Our circumstance is anything but simple.

We are having a difficult time trying to find a good affordable place that works with someone with lower income and bad credit due to unpredictable circumstances. I've been trying to find different places online, but finding it difficult as my family and I currently reside in Washington so I cannot physically go and look. And most places I have contacted require 3x more the monthly rent and our circumstance makes it difficult with low credit and struggling income due to circumstance.

I am not sure if I should look into contacting a real estate agent with help or not considering we are trying to budget at least $1200 or $1300 per month as a renting goal, which would include utilities.

My boyfriend and I are flying to Phoenix next week (the 24th) and plan to try and look at apartments, condo's, or homes.

Any advice or direction on where to go would be great!

Thanks guys!

[dvxhd]

Originally Posted by busy-lil-traveller

Hi!

My family and I are trying to find a decent apartment, condo, or home with 3 bedrooms and possibly 2 bath to rent and also accepts a small cat in the Paradise Valley area, Scottsdale, or Tempe. My family is sort of in an unusual circumstance, meaning it is my boyfriend, myself, my widowed mother, and younger sister who are all trying to find a place.

We are all kind of at a loss for what place would be willing to work with our situation! My dad passed away in 2015 leaving my Mom with the house they once owned together (that got foreclosed) and pretty much left everything off on her, and currently she is caregiving for her dying father. Our circumstance is anything but simple.

We are having a difficult time trying to find a good affordable place that works with someone with lower income and bad credit due to unpredictable circumstances. I've been trying to find different places online, but finding it difficult as my family and I currently reside in Washington so I cannot physically go and look. And most places I have contacted require 3x more the monthly rent and our circumstance makes it difficult with low credit and struggling income due to circumstance.

I am not sure if I should look into contacting a real estate agent with help or not considering we are trying to budget at least $1200 or $1300 per month as a renting goal, which would include utilities.

My boyfriend and I are flying to Phoenix next week (the 24th) and plan to try and look at apartments, condo's, or homes.

Any advice or direction on where to go would be great!

Thanks guys!

I'd start with not looking in some notoriously expensive parts of town. While Tempe isn't that expensive, because it's landlocked and thanks to ASU can take advantage of mommy-and-daddy money and/or student loans, prices can be a bit inflated compared to other areas.

[busy-lil-traveller]

Originally Posted by dvxhd

I'd start with not looking in some notoriously expensive parts of town. While Tempe isn't that expensive, because it's landlocked and thanks to ASU can take advantage of mommy-and-daddy money and/or student loans, prices can be a bit inflated compared to other areas.

What area do you think would be the most affordable?

[dvxhd]

Originally Posted by busy-lil-traveller

What area do you think would be the most affordable?

You can certainly find cheaper, but this is more or less a gigantic suburb connected by thoroughfares of strip malls with a smattering of office buildings and a, pardon the expression, "downtown" area. As most will advise you, your source of income will be a better determination of where you ought to consider living. In your case (budget only, excluding potential commutes) you could find some better options in Phoenix proper. You mentioned that you have a few days until you come here, so I'd get right on looking at apartments in a more central location (Phoenix proper, specifically) that meet your budgetary requirements and see if the areas seem comfortable for you based on your financial situation, and you may need to lower your standards for the time being. A benefit to Central Phoenix is that it puts you in a more convenient spot for finding jobs (which will matter), as it seems you're moving without any lined up. While you're at looking at alternative neighborhoods, I would also cross-check with other websites about local crime rates (emphasis on this), schools, or whatever else might matter to you.

[Dewey59]

Agreed. The areas you identified are the most expensive in the Phoenix metro area. If you have jobs lined up, tell us where and we can help you find more affordable areas nearby, if you don't have jobs lined up, I think you may have a tough row to hoe as most landlords will want employment history.

Here's a website I found that may have some helpful info and links:

https://affordablehousingonline.com/...rizona/Phoenix

[asufan]

Originally Posted by dvxhd

I'd start with not looking in some notoriously expensive parts of town. While Tempe isn't that expensive, because it's landlocked and thanks to ASU can take advantage of mommy-and-daddy money and/or student loans, prices can be a bit inflated compared to other areas.

I agree with this, the budget stated would get a 1 bedroom 1 bath in the places listed, but not 3/2. For the budget I think the fringes of town are more likely, places like San Tan Valley, East Mesa, Surprise, Buckeye or maybe an older home in some closer in areas like NW Phoenix.

[grad_student200]

Originally Posted by asufan

I agree with this, the budget stated would get a 1 bedroom 1 bath in the places listed, but not 3/2. For the budget I think the fringes of town are more likely, places like San Tan Valley, East Mesa, Surprise, Buckeye or maybe an older home in some closer in areas like NW Phoenix.

Exactly. I live in Scottsdale. I moved back from Florida to my home state of AZ last February. The job search was very good for information technology or software. After having been gone from AZ since 2002 I found modern Scottsdale to be much more expensive than the past. I love being back in AZ, but the situation for me is I am an experienced senior tester in data warehousing, so I can afford Scottsdale.

But for someone struggling financially with many family responsibilities, Scottsdale would be high in costs. I would highly recommend lining up a job before moving here. Great web sites for a job search are:

indeed.com
dice.com (software or information technology)
linkedin.com

In the poster's case, linkedin or indeed might be more realistic. The "dice" site is mainly for software or computer-technology.

[deep in trouble]

Busy lil traveller,

I wish you and your family the best of luck, success,and happiness with your move it will be tough but in the end it will pay off

[john3232]

Much of East Mesa 85205 isn't too bad and within your price range.

However, bad credit and a low income can make renting difficult. You just have to keep looking

Best of luck!

[belgirl]

If you have low credit and struggling income, most apartments that are decent won't rent to you unless you have some other proof that you can make rent. And with that budget, there are a ton of other people you will have to compete against since the average rent for a home here is $1400 or more depending on location. Throw in the property management company and you are facing an uphill battle. I would suggest you look for a home that isn't managed by a PM company and focus on Mesa, Queen Creek, Maricopa or Surprise. No way you will find something in PV or Scottsdale. Good luck!