Hi, I am in the very beginning stages of investigating retiring in Sun City AZ. To date my research has been online and I plan to visit the area when I feel it is safe to do so. In the meantime, I've been watching the real estate sites and thinking that perhaps I would be most interested in purchasing a condo or town home to live in. I've always lived in a single family residence, so I have some concerns: Are the condos/town homes well-constructed? Do you hear your neighbors who live above and beside you (i.e. doors slamming, toilets flushing, cars revving up)? What would be the average electric bill of a 100o sq ft condo/town home (figure I would keep the house at 78 degrees in the summer and 65 in the winter)? How often would I require pest control? Are scorpions and roaches a problem in the condos/town homes? Are the HOA's generally well-funded for major repairs? Are their reserve records audited? Is sufficient parking a problem? Of the few condos/town homes that allow renting, is that causing problems? Are single-family homes more popular and/or better re-sale? Are we allowed to construct fences around the backyard of our property? Do you find the HOA rules to be very onerous? Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
DDD........I am one of many that can probably answer your questions but it would probably more beneficial to you so anwers can be qualified and explained to discuss the information by email. Our community has some unique features and history that usually leads to longer conversations. If you have an interest in email my address is "gary@homeinfoplease.com". If you prefer not to that is ok. Gary Cotten
Welcome DDD. The best place to start getting answers is to log into Talk of Sun City and put "Condos" into the search box. There are many threads with information about the pros & cons of condo living vs owning a single family home. Keep in mind that virtually all of the single family homes in the original Sun City have no mandatory association fees(instead a voluntary $25 per year!), homeowners are responsible for their utilities including water & trash and homeowners are also responsible for keeping their homes in good repair/condition. Please note that there is a busy railroad system that runs along Grand Avenue(60) and if you are noise sensitive to train horns at any hour of the day it would be wise to avoid that area.
Hey Triple D, welcome. Aggie's idea was spot on. We've written volumes on Sun City living on Talk Of Sun City (TOSC). Rather than make you search for attached living options, here's one i started years ago that will help you get a feel: Click here. Take a quick read and we can talk more or answer questions.
Thank you BPearson. I have taken Angie's advice and have been reading copiously. I have been reading your posts.
Lots to digest there DDD. I'm no realtor, but i have had this discussion with dozens of people, so here's my take on where you should start. Decide what your wants are and what your budget is. 1, 2 or 3 bedrooms. How many bathrooms? How much square footage do you need/want? Remodeled or vintage? Single family or attached home? Garage or carport? Lots of green space, or as little as possible? A good realtor can pinpoint the models that address your wants/needs quickly and save you time looking at places you would never buy. As an example, when we were looking in 1999, we told the realtor we wanted 1900 plus square feet. We wanted a single family home and preferably with a fenced lot. 2 bedrooms, 2 bath and direct access from the garage to the kitchen. That eliminated 90% or more of the potential homes we were interested in. We ended up going over our budget by about 20k but the house had 2800 sq feet. You can see it in a thread entitled "selling the compound." Funny thing is i told my wife it was perfect and in the 18 years she redid everything inside and out. Next up is where you want to live. Phase 1 has the earliest homes (for the most part), phase 2 is in the middle of the community and phase 3 is predominantly the newest and most expensive. All of which is of course impacted by renovations or still vintage. Comps are an interesting animal because you could have the same model on the same block and with renovations or recent flips there could be 100K difference in price (or more). Golf course lots add about 50k and lake lots add roughly 100k. Neither of which appealed to us. You had mentioned your interest in attached. About a third of the 27,000 roof tops are in that variety. Lots of options and lots of things to consider. There are 384 small HOA's in the community that cover each of the cluster of these and they have a wide variance on the monthly fees. Some are as low as $170 with some as high as $300 per month. They often have stipulations regarding rentals and pets so doing your homework is critical. You absolutely need to see copies of their financials before you buy. Some are in great financial shape, some not so much. Again, that is where a qualified realtor becomes so important. Finally, if you have certain things you are looking to do in retirement you will want to know what activities are a what rec centers. Dang, more legwork, but really easy to do. Any questions, just ask.
