Early 40's, childless, job moving to Mesa (Phoenix, Chandler: middle-class, real estate) - Arizona (AZ) - City-Data Forum

lilsvrgrl · 07-21-2008, 09:14 PM

We will be moving to Arizona through a relo. My husband will be working close to Williams Gateway Airport in Mesa. We live in Wichita, KS in an upper middle-class neighborhood on a golf course and want to find similar type neighborhood that's within 30 minute commute of the Williiams Gateway airport but yet in a decent area with low crime, close golf, good re-sale values on homes, close grocery shopping and nice restaurants, etc. All our children are grown so looking on realtor.com, I notice "adult" listed for schools. Can someone explain that? Does that mean 55 and over or just no children? We'd like to "down-size" so we're thinking of houses in the $250-300k range so no mansions, thank you. I notice there are a few houses that do have a little grass. Does it cost a ton to water a yard or are there laws against lawn watering? stupid question --- but can you have a irrigation well? I've never been to Arizona and am a Kansas native ... so moving to a desert is something I'm not that familiar with... I'm excited about year-round-golf, though, and having a pool we don't have to close 6 months of the year.

JDish2000 · 07-21-2008, 11:39 PM

If you desire green in the Phoenix area...

Look at acre-plus real estate in the East Valley (Mesa-Gilbert-Chandler-Apache Junction-Queen Creek).

Some older parts of the valley neighborhoods that have acreage (often referred to as horse property) will also have water irrigation rights that are deeded with the property.

In other words, the water irrigation is opened up and you will get plenty of water so your property will always be green and you'll have big trees, etc.

lilsvrgrl · 07-23-2008, 08:47 PM

That's good information. thank you. I have been looking at houses in Queen Creek on-line. Even though the distance between the Mesa airport and some of those houses isn't that far, what would a commute be like? if mapquest says 20 mins, should I plan for 40 or more?

crazyazmom · 07-25-2008, 10:55 PM

Have you looked at Gold Canyon? It's beautiful out there with lots of golf and not too far at all from Williams airport.

AZ Tracy · 07-26-2008, 08:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lilsvrgrl

I notice "adult" listed for schools. Can someone explain that? Does that mean 55 and over or just no children?

HI, and welcome to AZ! When you see "adult" listed as schools, it means at least one of you need to be 55 or over. There are often some exceptions to that rule, if the community has its quota of that age group. They don't allow kids to live there...they can visit, but not permanently live.

Try the site Phoenix Arizona Discount Golf Tee Times If you look on the left column at courses in SE - Phoenix, you'll see a list of courses that are quite close to Williams Gateway airport. The closest courses would probably be Superstition Springs, Augusta Ranch, Western Skies, and Trilogy at Power Ranch, which is a 55+ community. There is lots of shopping, and "new" shopping all around that area.

RCR · 07-26-2008, 12:39 PM

Toka Sticks Golf Course is right at the turn from power road into the airport. No houses on this course but it is not a bad place to play and much cheaper than the others in the area.

Paiger1 · 08-30-2008, 09:29 AM

If you would like a nice golf course with reasonably priced membership, you should look at Red Mountain Ranch. We moved to AZ from CT and found that most of the golf courses in this area are public courses. So if your house is on a golf course, you don't know who might be in your back yard. Red Mountain Ranch Country Club is private. It is a very nice area. To get to Williams Gateway Airport, it is a straight shot down Power Road. There are large homes and smaller homes. Some of the areas within RMR have grass in the front yard. There is not a lot of land with the house but that is the case with a lot of properties in this area unless you buy a ranch type property.

Captain Bill · 08-31-2008, 06:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lilsvrgrl

We will be moving to Arizona through a relo. My husband will be working close to Williams Gateway Airport in Mesa. We live in Wichita, KS in an upper middle-class neighborhood on a golf course and want to find similar type neighborhood that's within 30 minute commute of the Williiams Gateway airport but yet in a decent area with low crime, close golf, good re-sale values on homes, close grocery shopping and nice restaurants, etc. All our children are grown so looking on realtor.com, I notice "adult" listed for schools. Can someone explain that? Does that mean 55 and over or just no children? We'd like to "down-size" so we're thinking of houses in the $250-300k range so no mansions, thank you. I notice there are a few houses that do have a little grass. Does it cost a ton to water a yard or are there laws against lawn watering? stupid question --- but can you have a irrigation well? I've never been to Arizona and am a Kansas native ... so moving to a desert is something I'm not that familiar with... I'm excited about year-round-golf, though, and having a pool we don't have to close 6 months of the year.

lilsvrgrl, your criteria eliminates Queen Creek. The re-sale values there are poor, and there are not a lot of restaurants there. Commuting from Queen Creek down Hunt Hwy is very bad right now. Also, there is the issue of fissures in the Queen Creek area. At this link you can begin to learn about fissures.

Watering your lawn is no problem. There are communities that require green landscape and don't allow desert type landscape. There are communities that allow all types of landscape.

For crime statistics you can go to the City of Mesa web site and check them by districts. Mesa Police Department - Requesting Crime Statistics

The closest communities that seem to fit your criteria are Power Ranch in southeast Gilbert, and Augusta Ranch in east Mesa. There are golf courses near Power Ranch, and there is one in Augusta Ranch.

Power Ranch has a larger population of young families than Augusta Ranch.

In either area you are not far from restaurants.

The city of Mesa does not have real estate property taxes, (the state does) so the property taxes are lower in Mesa.

Mesa has some areas that do not fit your criteria. However, east Mesa is a great area and has a lot of very high end million$+ homes. The 85209 zip code is a nice area, where Augusta Ranch is, and in that community there are nice homes in your price range.

This is a random address that is in Augusta Ranch: 9321 E Lompoc Ave. Mesa 85209. You can use google earth or google map to find that address, and then use the satellite view to see what the community looks like.

The home prices in the Phoenix Metropolitan area are still declining. However, the homes in the $250k range and below, that are in good condition and priced right, have sold pretty fast during the past few months.

So my advice is to decide on the community first. Then begin a serious look at the homes in the community that fit your criteria, so that when you find the right home you'll be able to make an offer right away.

Find a good realtor that knows the community where you'll be relocating and s/he will provide you with a lot of guidance on how to get the best bargain.

Howard Roark · 08-31-2008, 05:41 PM

Before you pick a Mesa neighborhood, please use the internet for homework about the neighborhood:
Locate, Rate, and Share Good and Bad Neighbors Before and After You Move

That is one example. Your prospective neighborhood may not be mentioned, but at least you can steer clear of bad areas. There are some web sites that report crime stats per neighborhoods and zip codes. You just need to do your research. I think I used to be able to find crime stats and demographics of zip codes through www.realtor.com in some indirect link. Sorry I cannot be more specific. I would hate to see you invest a lot of hard-earned money into a neighborhood you cannot stand.