New Build Developments Around Scottsdale (Phoenix, Paradise Valley: for sale, foreclosure, mortgages)

[rammie]

I think its about 2 hrs from phx. I just went there in April. Prescott is more of a upper class neighborhood then Prescott valley and its much more laid back then in Phx but have more of yr round temps. All his houses have been gorgeous in Az and you get a lot more for your money there then you would in Ny, thats why he moved out there. As long as you have that much money to spend, you should be in a fabulous neighborhood no matter where you go. Good luck...

[joninaz]

Originally Posted by wildmark

As the title suggests, were flying over for 4 days on the 17th Dec, we don't want to look at specific houses but we would like to see what we can get for our money, could anyone suggest links to developments that have show homes?

Were looking at the Scottsdale/Paradise Valley areas 750k-1m range.

Regards

Hard to answer without knowing your interests. What kind of lifestyle do you seek? In that range you can be adjacent to nightlife, shopping, restaurants - busy and more compact. Or be in a really nice, but burb-like situation. Or be on the fringes, with a lot of room between neighbors and amenities.

Some like unspoiled views of nature, others like city lights. As an aside, Scottsdale and PV have pretty much reached build-out, so there's not a lot of large, new developments. But there are lots of deals on individual places all over - so it's best to match interests with location.

[wildmark]

Originally Posted by rammie

I think its about 2 hrs from phx. I just went there in April. Prescott is more of a upper class neighborhood then Prescott valley and its much more laid back then in Phx but have more of yr round temps. All his houses have been gorgeous in Az and you get a lot more for your money there then you would in Ny, thats why he moved out there. As long as you have that much money to spend, you should be in a fabulous neighborhood no matter where you go. Good luck...

Thanks Rammie,

2 hrs is going to be a bit too far, we want to be within an hour of Phoenix for business reasons, but I'm sure we'll take a look, thanks.

[wildmark]

Originally Posted by joninaz

Hard to answer without knowing your interests. What kind of lifestyle do you seek? In that range you can be adjacent to nightlife, shopping, restaurants - busy and more compact. Or be in a really nice, but burb-like situation. Or be on the fringes, with a lot of room between neighbors and amenities.

Some like unspoiled views of nature, others like city lights. As an aside, Scottsdale and PV have pretty much reached build-out, so there's not a lot of large, new developments. But there are lots of deals on individual places all over - so it's best to match interests with location.

I agree, we won't really know until we see for ourselves.

We had the same problem when we moved from the UK to tampa, we had an area all planned out then when we drove around realised it was not for us.

Regards

[KatrynS]

Sorry you're getting so much grief for not being poor. Didn't know that was a crime. Come subsidize property taxes for the rest of folks!

We bought a house on a recon trip once (in CO, not AZ). I would recommend finding a good realtor. Pump them for neighborhood info. A good realtor should be able to send you listings and based on your feedback help you hone into interesting areas. Then take you around the first day your there to scout. Have a day off to roam on your own, then perhaps look at new props Day #3 (based on your feedback from Day #1). Contemplate and hang out Day #4. GO home and think some more. <g> Anyway, something like that.

BOttom line is I think working with an agent now is worthwhile -- get the most bang for your trip. It's no cost. DO be upfront with the agent about how you want to plan the time -- may not wnat them to schedule 4 full days of house hunting but may want more set up than they want...won't know unless you talk about it. If you decide you don't gel with the agent or the area, you're not locked into anything. I've found most good buyer agents don't ask for a rep contract until you are ready to put in an offer. IMO an agent pushing you to sign an exclusive contract with them from the get-go is more interested in your commission than your happiness.

There's a lot of info on the web, but nothing like visiting in person. One issue to keep in mind which being from FL you are probably already familiar with: chinese drywall was used in metro AZ (and a lot of the country) during the housing boom between 2002-07. Not as obvious a problem or as easy to detect as in FL because of the dry climate in AZ. I don't know how much of a problem it is (don't think anyone does), but just something to put on your radar.

Good luck!

[wildmark]

Originally Posted by KatrynS

Sorry you're getting so much grief for not being poor. Didn't know that was a crime.

Clearly seems to be, what's annoying is that I have never been given anything for free in my life, I grew up in a very poor family what I have I have earned!

I understand in what your saying but on this trip were going to get a feel for the areas, figure out where we want to live, when we have figured that out employ an agent, or we may decide to build.

Thanks for the reply.

[Greg Rider]

Quote: Sorry you're getting so much grief for not being poor.
You don't get it, but apparently you haven't checked out wildmark's other posts. I was just razzing this wise cracker in the same spirit he's been doing it all over the forum. And there's hardly been a more nonsensical post than the opener for this one. So if one is not expecting a ribbing, perhaps one should not be handing them out.

[Howard Roark]

House prices in the $750k to $1m range do exist in Scottsdale, but I'd wait another year for the shadow inventory to start to be released. The high end house prices are about to come down further, I'm afraid. If $750k to $1m are less than 1/6 of your net worth (excludes Real Estate) then anytime is a good time to buy. Otherwise if 80% of your net worth, it's foolish to commit that percent to real estate in light of the following:

Worst to Come for Foreclosures, says Zandi (http://tinyurl.com/y9a5rvf - broken link)

[fcorrales80]

Originally Posted by Howard Roark

House prices in the $750k to $1m range do exist in Scottsdale, but I'd wait another year for the shadow inventory to start to be released. The high end house prices are about to come down further, I'm afraid. If $750k to $1m are less than 1/6 of your net worth (excludes Real Estate) then anytime is a good time to buy. Otherwise if 80% of your net worth, it's foolish to commit that percent to real estate in light of the following:

Worst to Come for Foreclosures, says Zandi (http://tinyurl.com/y9a5rvf - broken link)

I think the OP just wanted people to be straight to the topic and not linger on side conversations or sarcastic remarks like what was happening at first. Doesn't seem like the OP will be using 80% of their net worth and doesn't read like an "investor" so buying in that market segment, at this time wouldn't be as much of an issue as someone who wanted to "flip" and make a profit in the next 2-4 years. Also, that article makes an assumption that there are about 4.9 million "at risk" homes in the nation that could go into foreclosure based on falling values in other markets save the lower end and middle (which has been hardest hit, especially exurban regions). Although some probably will fall to this "walkaway" scenario, a large portion of those won't because the financial consequences of doing so would be worse over time.

Also, I wouldn't rely on "shadow inventory" as many new banking regulations (proposed and in play now), will derail foreclosure numbers meaning banks will have to/or at least try to "refinance" existing mortgages to keep people in their homes.

To the OP; even though you won't have much time, I think you'd be better off finding what area most interests you before getting a realtor and then finding one that is an "expert" in that smaller market...

[ITChick]

Originally Posted by Howard Roark

Worst to Come for Foreclosures, says Zandi (http://tinyurl.com/y9a5rvf - broken link)

Good article! Thanks for posting it! I love the logic the author gives at the end questioning why the banks won't try to renegotiate with the mortgage holders before the homes go to Auction.

To the OP: Get settled with a Realtor before you fly out to Scottsdale. My mistake doing like you want to do in the past was thinking that I could find a good Realtor when I got to my destination. Unfortunately, with only four days to spare, you won't have enough time to know if the Realtor you picked is working for you (Buyer's Agent) or for only their commission.