Dipping My Toes in the Housing Market!! (Phoenix, Mesa: foreclosure, rental)

[Jnvlv247]

Hey everyone,

I have been in AZ for a little over 10 years now and am finally ready to get out of the rental cycle and into home buying. I know it's a weird time but there still seems to be good inventory. I am not looking to actually buy anything now but am just looking at what there is. I know things change a lot. When I am ready in about 6 months, I am sure it will be quite different as we get into 2021. I am looking at what I like and most importantly what I could afford and WHERE to live. I am looking more so into condo/townhome than a single family home. I think the condo/townhome lifestyle would fit me best as I do not have kids or even pets. This would be my first home buying experience.

So my question, as many have asked on here is WHERE to go? I have done calculations and have had some conversations with lenders just to get some basic info. My budget looks to be no more than $250K. I am trying to keep an open mind when it comes to where to live. I have seen places with reasonable HOAs and cost per sq ft from Fountain Hills to Mesa and even out in Goodyear. I find myself wanting to get away from central city Phoenix but not sure how I feel about living out THAT far. I know about cities in general but really don't KNOW all the different neigborhoods within them. Like what is bad and good in Tempe and Mesa? What are the pockets of bad and good up in N Phoenix? All those questions that would be answered best by actual citizens of those places

[GoldKona]

You should make an appointment to talk to Realtors that service those areas. If they can show you how values have increased in each neighborhood over the years that would generally signify which area is a good investment From there is is just a matter of personal preference.

[john3232]

Originally Posted by Jnvlv247

Hey everyone,

I have been in AZ for a little over 10 years now and am finally ready to get out of the rental cycle and into home buying. I know it's a weird time but there still seems to be good inventory. I am not looking to actually buy anything now but am just looking at what there is. I know things change a lot. When I am ready in about 6 months, I am sure it will be quite different as we get into 2021. I am looking at what I like and most importantly what I could afford and WHERE to live. I am looking more so into condo/townhome than a single family home. I think the condo/townhome lifestyle would fit me best as I do not have kids or even pets. This would be my first home buying experience.

So my question, as many have asked on here is WHERE to go? I have done calculations and have had some conversations with lenders just to get some basic info. My budget looks to be no more than $250K. I am trying to keep an open mind when it comes to where to live. I have seen places with reasonable HOAs and cost per sq ft from Fountain Hills to Mesa and even out in Goodyear. I find myself wanting to get away from central city Phoenix but not sure how I feel about living out THAT far. I know about cities in general but really don't KNOW all the different neigborhoods within them. Like what is bad and good in Tempe and Mesa? What are the pockets of bad and good up in N Phoenix? All those questions that would be answered best by actual citizens of those places

$250,000 might still get you a 3 bed/2 bath 1300 sq ft. in East Mesa not too far from the 60 freeway.

Look in the 85205 area.

[locolife]

I'd make sure you do your own in depth research on the various areas you're considering before pulling the trigger. You'll find it very enticing to move further out, more house for your $, brand new build versus older, up and coming area, etc.. etc... but my own experience with that was a disaster, I bought in the SW valley initially being enticed by all of those things and quickly learned the error in my ways. Traffic on I-10 to my job just east of downtown was a total nightmare, there was very few things to do nearby, I found myself driving all the way back to the city or even worse to Scottsdale or downtown Tempe for things to do. It was not my cup of tea at all and I couldn't wait to get out. Personally, I'll never live east of the 101, west of downtown, North of Northern or South of the 60 again. I enjoy a somewhat urban lifestyle but still live in an SFDU.



Once you figure out some areas do research online for crime stats etc but also go hangout in the area, drive through at different times of the day, take a bike ride around the parks and the greenbelts or canal paths nearby to see what it's like, hangout at the local parks, shop in the stores, see what it's like a bit day in and day out. What will you like or dislike about it, what's missing from what you like where you live today, do people seem friendly, what amenities do you like and how are the varieties nearby the location? Jobs play a factor of course, where will you be commuting too from and right now unfortunately it's almost impossible to judge a real commute but look at historical traffic patterns pre-covid to know what it will likely get back to when things eventually get back to normal.


Best of luck in your search.

[john3232]

Originally Posted by GoldKona

You should make an appointment to talk to Realtors that service those areas. If they can show you how values have increased in each neighborhood over the years that would generally signify which area is a good investment From there is is just a matter of personal preference.

True, but the OP needs to do his own research as well. The more the OP knows about the home values in the areas he wants to live the better.

My advise would be after choosing an RE agent have them email info. on properties sold recently.

This will show how long the properties were on the market, the asking price and what they sold for.

Also get listings of home currently on the market.

The RE agent should be able to set up the parameters for the kind of property the OP is looking for and have listings sent automatically daily.

Example:
85205 zip
3 bed/2 bath minimum.
1200 sq ft. minimum
4000 lot size minimum
Pool or no pool
HOA or no HOA
price range: 200,000 - 250,000

[Jnvlv247]

Originally Posted by locolife

Traffic on I-10 to my job just east of downtown was a total nightmare, there was very few things to do nearby, I found myself driving all the way back to the city or even worse to Scottsdale or downtown Tempe for things to do. It was not my cup of tea at all and I couldn't wait to get out. Personally, I'll never live east of the 101, west of downtown, North of Northern or South of the 60 again. I enjoy a somewhat urban lifestyle but still live in an SFDU.

Jobs play a factor of course, where will you be commuting too from and right now unfortunately it's almost impossible to judge a real commute but look at historical traffic patterns pre-covid to know what it will likely get back to when things eventually get back to normal.


Best of luck in your search.

Well, I guess I should mention that my job is remote and has been since March. Even before that I was only 3 days in the office which was going to be decreased to 2. Most people at my job work from home and had to come in once a week and the once a month for a staff meeting. We have been indefinitely remote since March and will most likely be this way till the end of the year. Even if we are called back, it may be once a week like before. I am not so worried about traffic as I am just being that far out as you mentioned. I did visit a friend the other weekend out in Buckeye and there are nice developments but she mentioned the crazy HOA expectations as well as just the remoteness of the town. I felt it especially remote in comparison to other places as it was just very flat with little flair like Cave Creek and FH would have.

The only places I see for Tempe are Guadalupe and Baseline from the 10 to the 101. Not really any places mroe south than that. Makes me nervous in terms of what to expect. Will there be a lot of college kids renting in the condo complex or living in the townhomes? Not sure how far south that extends in Tempe. I know south Tempe tends to be more suburban and "older" money.

Same goes with Sdale and even Mesa.

[DetroitN8V]

So, proximity to work isn't important, but what about proximity to other things? Where do you hang out, shop, eat, work out, where do your friends live? It seems like you should be able to narrow down the general area a bit more after spending 10 years here. What do you want to be close to? Being near an office is only a piece of the puzzle.

[MN-Born-n-Raised]

To the op. As far as timing. While the market is RED HOT NOW, realize this is going on behind the scenes https://www.npr.org/2020/06/03/86785...and-evictions-

i.e. 9% of people with a mortgage are behind on their payments. I'm going out on a limb and suggest most of the folks are in lower paying careers. So if you are looking for that coveted <$300K pricing, I suspect some more inventory will be coming up. How many go into foreclosure is the $64,000 question. Right now, there are plenty of buyers able to absorb any and all that come on the market. But it may give you less competitive situations in the coming months. After all, people are coming from out of state to the FASTEST growing county in the USA.