The death of the Suburban dream... (Phoenix, Gilbert: real estate, foreclosed, renters)

[HX_Guy]

Is America's suburban dream collapsing into a nightmare? - CNN.com

Is America's suburban dream collapsing into a nightmare?

By Lara Farrar
For CNN

(CNN) -- When Shaun Yandell proposed to his longtime girlfriend Gina Marasco on the doorstep of their new home in the sunny suburb of Elk Grove, California, four years ago, he never imagined things would get this bad. But they did, and it happened almost overnight.

"It is going to be heartbreak," Yandell told CNN. "But we are hanging on."

Yandell's marriage isn't falling apart: his neighborhood is.

Devastated by the subprime mortgage crisis, hundreds of homes have been foreclosed and thousands of residents have been forced to move, leaving in their wake a not-so-pleasant path of empty houses, unkempt lawns, vacant strip malls, graffiti-sprayed desolate sidewalks and even increased crime.

Moderator cut: Copyrighted Materials

[Prinny]

That just drives me up the wall! People not taking pride in their communities and not learning from a young age to respect property and take care of things, be it their own or not. I feel bad for people who work hard their whole lives to achieve and have what they have and thugs wreck it for them cause they have too much time on their hands.

[KK85297]

This is an interesting article- it really reflects what is happening in some parts of Power Ranch right now- formerly a real "model" community. We are moving this week (thank heavens!) and not a moment too soon. The weeds on our block are 6 feet tall and so are the vandals roaming the parks in the early evening and late night hours. The community pool areas have been vandalized and are now teeming with groups of beer-swilling, cussing, smoking fools who clearly are NOT what was pictured in the brochures if you know what I mean. You can't even take your kids swimming on a weekday afternoon anymore without feeling unsafe around the new neighbors moving in (and I'm talking about almost exclusively white people, in case anyone thinks I'm a bigot or a racist).

Our neighborhood is almost all rentals and the quality of renters is going downhill fast- not one home has been occupied by the same tenant (that I can tell) on our entire block in the year that we've been here. Every single home has either remained vacant or been through at least two groups of tenants in that year's time.

Mark my words- without real vigilance on the part of the HOA's in these communities (Power Ranch's has done nothing, btw) they will soon become the Cabrini Greens of Arizona. Debris piles up on the street, weeds overgrow entryways, unsupervised teens run the streets at all hours, knocking down trash cans and scrawling on community mailboxes...sounds like Elk Grove!

What a shame

[ITChick]

Originally Posted by HX_Guy

Is America's suburban dream collapsing into a nightmare? - CNN.com


"The American dream is absolutely changing," he told CNN.

This change can be witnessed in places like Atlanta, Georgia, Detroit, Michigan, and Dallas, Texas, said Leinberger, where once rundown downtowns are being revitalized by well-educated, young professionals who have no desire to live in a detached single family home typical of a suburbia where life is often centered around long commutes and cars.

Instead, they are looking for what Leinberger calls "walkable urbanism" -- both small communities and big cities characterized by efficient mass transit systems and high density developments enabling residents to walk virtually everywhere for everything -- from home to work to restaurants to movie theaters.

Excellent article!

The "walkable urbanism" sounds just like my American Dream. Too many suburbs of different cities I've visited are filled with investor owned homes rented out to whomever agrees to pay the rent. I've visited a lot of cities looking at property to purchase and I've seen this over and over again and always wondered why. That article sums it up beautifully.

[azjack]

There definitely are large houses being rented room by room to five, six, or more different people in Arizona. There are many such listings on Phoenix Craigslist. And I am not counting the ones where people are trying to rent out their spare bedroom, but more like a California specuvestor renting out various rooms in a house to random bunch of people.

When people worry about houses in their neighborhood being used as rentals, they should focus on these arrangements. You can not simply block someone from using their house as a rental, but there actually are ordinances against long-term occupancy by many unrelated persons in a single family house. The cutoff numbers vary.

[43north87west]

I think this is accurate. The trend began years ago in some eastern US cities, and is finally spreading to the west. People realized that commuting for hours per day, just so they could have a job to support their house and cars, is not worth it. Living in the city takes sacrifices, but it pays back in other ways. People who said they would "never" live in a city, now live in cities. It isn't suburban living, but nobody said that you have to have a big backyard and a swingset to raise children well. Or two SUVs. In cities, you don't.

My guess is, energy prices will push this trend along faster than before. I know that hopefuls are saying that real estate will return to what it once was, and agents are saying Now Is The Time To Buy™, but the dynamics are going to change significantly. Things always change, and people find the easiest path, even if that includes not having 4 bedrooms, 30 miles from their place of work. Energy prices and traffic congestion are going to push this trend along.

Since most of the outlying employers are service industry or otherwise low-paying, the short-distance commuters will not be wealthy like the city dwellers. They won't be able to afford the same things.

Again, I'm only observing what has been happening for a LONG time in other parts of the US and the world.

[Prinny]

Originally Posted by azjack

There definitely are large houses being rented room by room to five, six, or more different people in Arizona. There are many such listings on Phoenix Craigslist. And I am not counting the ones where people are trying to rent out their spare bedroom, but more like a California specuvestor renting out various rooms in a house to random bunch of people.

When people worry about houses in their neighborhood being used as rentals, they should focus on these arrangements. You can not simply block someone from using their house as a rental, but there actually are ordinances against long-term occupancy by many unrelated persons in a single family house. The cutoff numbers vary.

We have a place that has a tenant and the HOA doesn't like renters at all. They are trying to change the CC&R's to make it an owner occupancy. I don't always agree that is the right way. Especially for people like us who make sure our lease states no one else is allowed to live on the property or stay there without us knowing if it's for more than a certain length of time. We also have our tenant sign a copy of the CC&R's to insure the tenant follows the rules in the event we get fined for any of the actions of the tenant. Some of us really do care about the property values for other people as well as ourselves. It's terrible that too many people just don't care. I don't understand what the problem is that it seems almost out os sight out of mind.

[Sockeye]

Originally Posted by HX_Guy

Is America's suburban dream collapsing into a nightmare? - CNN.com

Is America's suburban dream collapsing into a nightmare?

By Lara Farrar
For CNN

(CNN) -- When Shaun Yandell proposed to his longtime girlfriend Gina Marasco on the doorstep of their new home in the sunny suburb of Elk Grove, California, four years ago, he never imagined things would get this bad. But they did, and it happened almost overnight.

"It is going to be heartbreak," Yandell told CNN. "But we are hanging on."

Yandell's marriage isn't falling apart: his neighborhood is.

Devastated by the subprime mortgage crisis, hundreds of homes have been foreclosed and thousands of residents have been forced to move, leaving in their wake a not-so-pleasant path of empty houses, unkempt lawns, vacant strip malls, graffiti-sprayed desolate sidewalks and even increased crime.

Moderator cut: Copyrighted Materials

Add to this the totally car-centric suburbs and exurbs. With energy prices skyrocketing, and oil's razor thin demand/surplus margin, coupled with declining production and few new discoveries of significance, you have a potential nightmare scenario applicable to any large U.S. city.

[ArizonaBear]

Originally Posted by Sockeye

Add to this the totally car-centric suburbs and exurbs. With energy prices skyrocketing, and oil's razor thin demand/surplus margin, coupled with declining production and few new discoveries of significance, you have a potential nightmare scenario applicable to any large U.S. city.

Yes; there will be permanent changes in the overall US lifestyle......which were starting to occur prior to $4 a gallon gas.

Yet; for some reason, things will be OK overall--------and, possibly better once the economy improves.

[azjack]

"We have a place that has a tenant and the HOA doesn't like renters at all.
They are trying to change the CC&R's to make it an owner occupancy. I don't always agree that is the right way."

I would not worry about your HOA changing the CC&Rs. That kind of change would require a full-scale vote and most of these HOAs can't even muster a quorum.

But treating a single family house in the suburbs as a boarding house/motel can definitely be stopped by the local housing/code enforcement body. Renting out your extra bedroom is fine and roommates are great. But "The Real World: Gilbert" is pushing things a bit.