Possibly a Stupid Real Estate Question About the Phoenix Area... (Chandler: for sale, foreclosure) - Arizona (AZ) - City-Data Forum

davidafan · 02-17-2009, 01:33 PM

When we were looking at books of homes in the Gilbert/Chandler area recently, I noticed that many of them have an association fee to help fund the upkeep of the landscaping, pool, playground, etc. which is fine. My question is, say the fee is $246, which is one that I saw for a house in Gilbert. Is that $246/month or $246/year? Around here they charge about that much per year, but the amenities are not nearly as nice, so I am wondering if fees out there are considered more along the lines of a condo fee, in which case it would be that much per month. That would make a huge difference in what house we would end up buying. We haven't spoken to a realtor yet because at this point we are still undecided on what to do as far as moving to AZ and we don't want to put the cart before the horse.

Thanks!

cap1717 · 02-17-2009, 01:36 PM

My best guess would be that the fee quoted is monthly. A $200 + per month fee is far from
"unheard of", especially in communities with amenities that are being professionally cared for (landscapes, parks, pools, etc.)

ibarrio · 02-17-2009, 01:41 PM

Sounds like it is monthly...Only was to know for sure is to call the Realtor or HOA...

homesweetazhome · 02-17-2009, 01:45 PM

Yes, if it is a newer neighborhood with lots of amenities, that would be monthly. On the other hand, some of those newer neighborhoods have short sale and preforeclosure homes that you can obtain very, very reasonably and this may offset the monthly fee.

thegirlinaz · 02-17-2009, 02:22 PM

Definately call the HOA and find out. It just depends where it is at, some are monthly, some quarterly, and some yearly. If it is monthly that seems really high so I am assuming you are looking in high end neighborhoods?

davidafan · 02-17-2009, 03:36 PM

No, not really high end neighborhoods. Our top price would be around $275,000, and I have seen much more upscale areas than that. We were looking at some of the newer subdivisions in Chandler and Gilbert. I can't remember names off the top of my head except for one that we found that we can't afford in Gilbert called Artemina.

Thanks for the info. There is one house for sale in Artemina right now that is wayyy below the price of the others there, so I think I will call the realtor and see what the deal is.

AZ Tracy · 02-17-2009, 04:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by davidafan

When we were looking at books of homes in the Gilbert/Chandler area recently, I noticed that many of them have an association fee to help fund the upkeep of the landscaping, pool, playground, etc. which is fine. My question is, say the fee is $246, which is one that I saw for a house in Gilbert. Is that $246/month or $246/year? Around here they charge about that much per year, but the amenities are not nearly as nice, so I am wondering if fees out there are considered more along the lines of a condo fee, in which case it would be that much per month. That would make a huge difference in what house we would end up buying. We haven't spoken to a realtor yet because at this point we are still undecided on what to do as far as moving to AZ and we don't want to put the cart before the horse.

Thanks!

My first thought is that if it is a single family home, it would be $246 per quarter. If it is a townhome, or condo, it may be monthly....it just depends on what is included in the fee. For a condo, it could included common area and front yard maintenance, community pool, maybe gates, exterior maintenance, roof maintenance, water, sewer, garbage, and maybe even a blanket insurance policy. If you are looking at listings, you may see "HOA includes_________"

AZ Tracy · 02-17-2009, 04:48 PM

Oh, and by the way....there are no stupid questions!

d2snow · 02-17-2009, 05:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by davidafan

No, not really high end neighborhoods. Our top price would be around $275,000, and I have seen much more upscale areas than that. We were looking at some of the newer subdivisions in Chandler and Gilbert. I can't remember names off the top of my head except for one that we found that we can't afford in Gilbert called Artemina.

Thanks for the info. There is one house for sale in Artemina right now that is wayyy below the price of the others there, so I think I will call the realtor and see what the deal is.

That's where I live. I know the house you're referring to - it's $299,900 and used to be a rental so may not be in the best condition (haven't gone to look at it, though).

HOA fees here are $246 quarterly. That covers the common area maintenance, kids playground, BBQ ramadas, basketball court, sand valleyball court.

davidafan · 02-17-2009, 05:42 PM

Thanks for the info. I actually did call and speak to the listing agent, so he told me the same thing. I cannot believe how cheap property taxes are out there! Ours are twice as much and our house is valued at about the same amount. I did notice on the pictures of that house that many rooms weren't shown, so that was a bit of a red flag for us. However, we can't afford a $400,000-$500,000 house to consider anything else in Artemina, so we will probably just look elsewhere.