Please help me find best apartment in Scottsdale, AZ... relocating!! (Phoenix: for sale, apartments)

[cutecaliblossom]

First thanks for your time in helping me,

I am from Irvine, CA ( Orange County) my husband and I are relocating to Scottsdale Arizona and am looking for a good apartment or town home community to move into.

I am looking for 2/bedroom 2 bath, all appliances, washer dryer hook-ups or washer and dryer. Need 2 car garage, Gated community great but not required. We are two professionals that manily want peace and quite the reasons for not looking in tempe or phoenix. Any tips of surrounding areas would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in Advance,

syl

[joninaz]

What's your price range? Like OC, the places range from basic to high end.

And wanting quiet isn't city specific. There are loud places in all areas, as are quiet spots. Scottsdale is about 30 miles long, from tip to toe, with some parts being very urban/suburban and others along the edge of the desert and feeling very rural. Generally, the more north you go, the more quiet it becomes, as the residential mingles with protected lands.

[ivanabacowboy]

If you want quiet, go north. Don't rule out NE Phoenix-some of the newest and nicest apartments are in the Kierland/Desert Ridge area. I live in this area. Lots of luxury end apartments/townhomes. All of these would have all appliances, washer/dryer, and I think all are gated. These are all NE Phoenix or North Scottsdale. These will all be in the higher end price ranges for a 2/2, especially the newer ones.

That said-where will you be working? You could end up with a killer commute if you work on the opposite side of town.

Barossa at Paradise Ridge (just completed in the last year, parts may still be under construction)
90 Degrees at Paradise Ridge (under construction still I think but taking reservations)
Desert Club
Pillar Scottsdale
Shade Desert Ridge
Paragon, Legend and Tradition apartments at Kierland
Glen Eagles (didn't impress me but I do recall their having 2 story with garages so I added it to the list-tho wouldnt be very quiet for the couple weeks early int he year when TPC tournament and Barrett Jackson auto auction invade as this is right on the TPC course I think)

If you want peace and quiet, my top choices would be the first 3. (I live at Desert Club). One or more of the Kierland apartments puts you right off a main road in/out of Kierland Commons and/or Kierland Golf Course. Glen Eagles is on the TPC Course. Shade is right across from a fairly busy Desert Ridge Marketplace. All of these are in a fairly close radius. I can walk to Kierland (and to Desert Ridge if I was so inclined and it wasn't 112'), but am far enough off the path to avoid major traffic and noise. There is shopping right across the street (Whole Foods, movie theater, Borders, restaurants, Starbucks, Bed Bath Beyond, LifeTime Fitness is right across the street, as are office buildings etc etc etc etc) but with the layout and the office buildings actually open to the interior rather than to the street, I can't hear any of it as most traffic approaches off Mayo rather than taking the backstreets by the apartments.

Some of these are 2/3 floor (I think Glen Eagles, one or more of the Kierland apartments, Shade and maybe Pillar), but I strongly suspect if they do have 2 car garage, it will be difficult to find. In many complexes that dont do the 2/3 floor, you can get a detached garage-and I suspect if you pay for 2 you may be able to get 2. But garages are a hot commodity in apartments and I wouldnt hold my breath at getting more than one.

Another option: Alexan Frank Lloyd Wright (I think they have units over garage). Or I think some units at Desert Parks Vista in DC Ranch had garages. A little off the beaten path, but part of DC Ranch. I liked the units, but the community seemed a little older than the demographic I was looking for.

[Perlagirl25]

Try the townhouses around the 51 and 101 interchange. You can get a 3 BRM/2.5 B townhouse with a 2 car garage and a backyard for 1250/mth. It's gated and near a golf course. Some are listed on Realtor.com. I think it's on 32nd st.

[cutecaliblossom]

Ivana,

Thanks for all your help, I will be checking out all these places out this weekend. I appreciate your help. I notice they say North Scottsdale is Nicer and as you mentioned the prices get higher too. The prices range from 800- 1500 for 2 bedroom to bath. At the high point it already compares with California rent prices. Right now I pay $2350 for a 2 bedroom condo but could get a 2 bedroom for 1700 here. I am a little scared of the rent prices in N Scottsdale, the only reason is I hope the salaries are comparable to what I make right now then it would not be a problem. If I can find a sales job that makes around 50k which is around what I make then I don’t mind paying the higher end rent. But overall I think it would be best to locate to NE phoenix, maybe it would be a center place to look for work, since my hisband would be the only one with a job at the beginning, I am not planning to move out there until I at least land some interviews that way I could stay in Cali with a reative while my husband relocates to Arizona.

Syl

[cutecaliblossom]

Well right now I live in high end orange county 2 bedroom 1700 with everything upgrades + garage. Wherever I live I don't mind price as long as I could find a comparable salary to around 50k. I wonder what a sales officer/banker would make in that area too. My price range I think would be 1200 max for a 2 bedroom, can I find something nice for this price????

Thanks so much!

Syl

[pbenjamin]

Originally Posted by cutecaliblossom

Right now I pay $2350 for a 2 bedroom condo but could get a 2 bedroom for 1700 here.

Originally Posted by cutecaliblossom

Well right now I live in high end orange county 2 bedroom 1700

Wow. Your rent went down $650 a month in three minutes.

[observer53]

Finding a sales job like the one you have/had will be much harder than finding housing. If you need the second income, you may need to aim lower until you find it.

[ivanabacowboy]

Most rents in this area at the places I listed (N Scottsdale/NE Phoenix) for a 2/2 probably "list" at guessing $1100-$1400 up to oh about $2000 maybe for the larger units based on what I found when I was looking-especially if you want the townhome over garage be prepared to pay at the higher range. If you are finding $800 for a 2/2, I don't think it is any of the properties I listed you are looking at unless they are running some incredible specials. Pillar would probably be the cheapest, and I dont think they are even that cheap.

One option I didn't put on the list if you are interested and have money to burn: CityNorth (you can google and should find it-it is right by Desert Ridge) was supposed to originally be all for sale condo but I think some have come online as rentals-at what I heard was $2 SF. So if you really want CA prices, you can find them. ;-)

Do keep in mind "list" is probably not what you will pay however. They tack on "incentives" (ie "we will prorate 2 months free rent") that can bring that amount down considerably. I have 2/2 with a detached garaged and my lease lists about $1400 as "market rate" for my unit. I don't pay that much.

There are plenty of nice places in the valley that aren't Scottsdale too. All depends on your preference and priorities. What you get in this area of town: convenience, an airport (Scottsdale Airport ie private business flights not commercial), lots of restaurants, lots of grocery stores, lots of shopping, resorts, golf courses, fancy car dealers (in fact a lot of car dealers)--->and cool desert "open spaces" and scenery. (Also there is a hospital up here: Mayo Clinic.) The vibe is "live (and pay) like you are on vacation". ;-) I am not sure if this is unique but this made me laugh: valet parking...at the GYM. So you go to do your 2 hours of cardio but can't walk to your car in the parking lot lol!

Sorry can't help on sales jobs. One company I know is either headquartered or has a big office nearby that may do sales stuff is godaddy-the internet domain registrar company.

Also a little geography-NE Phoenix is basically adjacent to North Scottsdale rather than "central". Trust me-you won't notice the difference of whether you are in NE Phoenix or North Scottsdale. (And interestingly enough, when the sign says you are in Scottsdale you may geographically really be in Phoenix, and when the sign says Phoenix, you may really be in Scottsdale as my sister explained to me. All depends where they drew the lines for city services.)

Definitely find where your husband will be working before you start lining up apartments. As I mentioned, he could end up with an unnecessarily nasty commute. Ideally you would both know where you are working and be able to plan between the two. One thing I like about my job-I don't have to go into the office, I can telecommute whenever I need or want to and work from home. Makes my commute effectively about 5 feet from my bedroom lol! My office is exactly 10 miles straight down Scottsdale Rd-I don't even need to take the freeway, and if I time the lights just right, just enough time for a cup of small coffee and a cigarette.

I think observer53 had some good advice: until you are certain you have the income to carry an uber-expensive townhome over garage in Desert Parks Vista (one of the priciest on the list) or be doing CityNorth type rents, opt for something you know you can afford just in case until you get your "bearings". I was lucky that I had been to the area various times before moving here. I knew where my office would be. I knew where my family out here lived. I wanted to be close to both and not have to take the freeway to work. I had actually made mental note of many of the complexes I saw that may interest me on my trips, so by the time my company paid to send me out here for official "househunting", I already knew the neighborhood and had a list-and knew how to get to the office.

PS I am a banker. I didnt get bailed out or get a multi-million $ retention bonus, but I do make well over $50K.

[TurcoLoco]

Originally Posted by cutecaliblossom

Well right now I live in high end orange county 2 bedroom 1700 with everything upgrades + garage. Wherever I live I don't mind price as long as I could find a comparable salary to around 50k. I wonder what a sales officer/banker would make in that area too. My price range I think would be 1200 max for a 2 bedroom, can I find something nice for this price????

Thanks so much!

Syl

Do both of you have jobs lined up or you were planning on moving down here and finding jobs? If it is the latter, you could be in for a huge shock.
First of, the salaries in Phoenix/AZ in general can be at an average 10% to 20% less than CA salaries so unless you have a job lined up, I'd be a lot more concerned with the job situation than the housing situation.

Originally Posted by pbenjamin

Wow. Your rent went down $650 a month in three minutes.

Lol, I noticed it too, perhaps a typo hence the re-post?

Anyhow, if you guys are not going to slash you rent by at least 40% then I'd think there are other, more important factors for you guys to consider this move...

Either way, good luck!