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Old 03-22-2014, 06:33 PM
 
99 posts, read 244,093 times
Reputation: 144

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I drove out to Continental Ranch - Sunflower today to check out the neighborhood and look at the houses. I was thinking about possibly buying a house out there, but now I am not so sure. I saw at least 2 dozen houses (maybe closer to 20) for sell in the small neighborhood just North of Sun Flower. I didn't even drive through all of the streets, so there might be more for sell.

Is there a problem with the HOA ? The houses themselves ? I would hate to buy into a problem'd area. The Community Center looked ok, but why are there so many houses for sell ?
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Old 03-23-2014, 09:27 AM
 
25 posts, read 50,446 times
Reputation: 51
Default Continental Ranch

You might consider private messaging Tom4416 who has been a frequent poster on this forum.He moved to Sunflower from D.C. recently and seemed very pleased with his choice.Even more importantly he was a knowledgeable observer and advisor on matters of real estate and economic issues.
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Old 03-24-2014, 03:32 PM
 
Location: GoJoe
713 posts, read 1,454,148 times
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you went that far and didnt visit Saguaro Bloom (the old KB Home site, now DR Horton)???

that area is fine.... many of those homes built/sold during that peak era in 2005-2007. people are starting to break even and want out, or, due to dismal jobs need to move. this is all over Tucson.

the CR and SB area is backed by national forest, so it is on the edge of developer sites. SB is creeping into Marana (gladen farms), and, avre valley and twin peaks are getting new shopping malls. the CR area has ez access to i10 and dove mtn.

HOA? well, every HOA has pros & cons. "problem" homes are typically those newly built, and depends on who the builder is. a house that is 5+ years old typically has all the problems taken care of, but every home requires maintenance.
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Old 03-26-2014, 12:20 PM
 
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Are the streets where those homes are for sale 55+? In senior communities I have lived there are frequent 'turnovers' off and on because a spouse dies and the other goes back to the city he/she came from to be with family, owner died and family selling the home, plus a lot of people come here when they retire, can't take the heat or miss their families and move back to where they came from.

If you like the looks of the homes, try 'cruising'. Look at the people outside - if they look happy. You can stop and ask how they like the neighborhood, if they are happy with their HOA. If people are cautious about what they say on that subject I would wonder why.
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Old 03-26-2014, 01:43 PM
 
99 posts, read 244,093 times
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Yes they are in the 55+ area. Everything you say makes too much sense, duh. It still just seems a little weird to see this many homes for sale in such a small area. The homes and surrounding streets looked really nice. A few people were out walking, a couple were on bicycles, the swimming pool area had a lot of people there.
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Old 04-01-2014, 01:54 AM
 
Location: Tucson for awhile longer
8,869 posts, read 16,239,233 times
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That's a nice area. There are a lot of homes for sale in every Northwest subdivision I've been in lately. People have been very reluctant to put homes up for sale for the past couple of years because there were no buyers and prices were so depressed. There's more of a market now, so people who've been waiting for years are using this spring to test the waters.

Prices are still far below what those of us who bought at the height of the market paid but at least now there are buyers. We still don't have people coming from California flush with a ton of cash, but there are some retiring from there who can still get more for their money here. And a few younger buyers who couldn't touch a loan for a couple of years now qualify under new programs. The buyers have encouraged the sellers. No need to assume it means anything bad.
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Old 04-01-2014, 01:12 PM
 
Location: GoJoe
713 posts, read 1,454,148 times
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the DR site over twin peaks is not a 55+ community, but i am not 100% if DR has plans to build a sub division there that is 55+. the build site is huge and they only started on one section.
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Old 04-01-2014, 03:36 PM
 
10 posts, read 27,554 times
Reputation: 40
Default CR compared with Sun City Vistoso and Saddlebrooke

There are at the moment 91 houses for sale in Continental Ranch out of a total of over 3,000 – not at all excessive. You may find it interesting that I recently vetted houses in Sun City Vistoso (Oro Valley, NW of Tucson) and Saddlebrooke (around 9 miles further north in southern Pinal County – Tucson and Oro Valley are in Pima County). We were looking because new generations are moving into CR and there would be many more people our age in SCV or SB where there are warm pools and other facilities designed for older residents.

The houses in SCV and SB cost around 150% of the houses in CR of the same size (e.g., a 1600’ house in CR = $150,000, in SCV or SB =$220,000), and the HOA fees are much higher: CR = $25/mo, SCV = $135/mo, SB =$200/mo. What was most surprising was that the houses in SCV and SB did not compare in quality or condition to ours or others we’re familiar with in CR. Moreover, the smaller houses, especially in SCV, have the furnace (the compressor’s outside, the furnace/blower inside) in a closet backing on the living room and facing the bedrooms, spreading noise and vibration throughout the house, whereas in CR our furnace is in the attic and is virtually undetectable in most rooms; and don’t forget that you will run the A/C 24 hours a day for at least 4 months and most of the day for another 4 months.

As noted above, CR is largely for young families (except for the retirement community Sunflower which is included in the master plan) which means lots of kids, 3 elementary schools (with 3 school traffic zones to navigate at 15 mph), and pools kept at 82 degrees and often filled with noisy, splashing children. It also has sidewalks (few in SCV, none in SB), supermarkets (Safeway, Fry’s), drug stores (2 Walgreens and a CVS), pizza places, restaurants, cleaners, &c within its boundaries, whereas SCV only has a few amenities (but is near the major shopping areas of Oro Valley) while SB has almost no public shops and is some 10 miles from the shopping areas of Oro Valley.

Conclusion: Continental Ranch is a terrific deal –well-built, affordable houses; low HOA fees; everything you need within a 5-minute drive – if you can stand the kids and are robust enough to swim in 82-degree water (SCV has at least 1 pool kept at 88 degrees, SB at 86 degrees). Hope this helps.

Last edited by George666; 04-01-2014 at 03:46 PM.. Reason: To enlarge font
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