Best place to buy in Phoenix

So anyway I get to ask a question for a change...

The greater Phoenix area is so huge I have no idea where to look to buy a vacation home, any good ideas? It's only for vacations so being close to downtown etc. doesn't really matter. The problem is when I go down there I'm in the business areas so I can't really get a grip on the residential areas.

I bought a place in Phoenix last year so I can understand your concern. I spent a couple of days checking out real estate throughout Phoenix however I was more interested in how the area felt to me at present and how I figured it would mature and develop through the years. My suggestion is that you need to understand what you want to do with it first both now and in the future. The trouble I experienced is that generally once you hook onto a Phoenix real estate agent and his/her mls search site - they try to sell you on themselves and how you have to do something fairly quickly. Generally they like to sign you to a buyer's agreement so you become committed to them however the area they specialize in or are familiar with might not be the area you finish up buying in.
I'm hopefully about 6 years from retiring - figured if I waited too long I'd be like alot of other cdn retirees - the highlight of their day being - heading to Tim Horton's in the dead of winter.
We use our brand new golf course foreclosure home with our kids (13 & 15) which has been great - 2 courses to choose from $5/kid and $15 for me which includes a golf cart. Our location has a giant salt water swimming pool, tennis courts, etc however we pay next to nothing in HOA (Strata) fees. There's restaurants everywhere, activities everywhere - Baseball, Hockey, Basketball, Nascar raceway, Football, etc - it's great knowing we have a ticket out of the Canadian winter for now and the future. Figured if I waited till retirement to take a leap of faith it'd never happen - as the income deminishes I believe so does the courage to go out on a limb.
Remember, what and where I bought may not be right for what you want to do with it, so good luck and let me know if you need any further help or advise.

Thanks for the comments!

I was sat next to someone at the airport who was in a similar situation (maybe it was you, lol) and they had just gone down to their house and found a golf ball had gone through one of the windows.

So that's put me off living near a golf course, in fact I used to live near a golf course and contrary to the normal belief that it would be quiet they seemed to spend a fair chunk of the summer doing pest control with shotguns which could get annoying.

Have you got any suggestions for neighbourhoods?

Scottsdale is too expensive for a vacation home (at least for me), I was looking at the north edge of the city where that new mall is.

Hello Ian and Steve

I am heading down to Phonix the end of the Month (July 09) to get a feel of the different areas and the potential of purchasing a property. I am a golfer and am looking for a home near some amentities to use as a potential vacation rental when we are not there. Ian waht area did you end up purchasing (if you dont mind me asking) also Steve how has your hunt been going?

Is there any other dtails you could share about what to look for would be appreciated.

thanks all
Ronald

This is the best website I've found so far: http://www.arizonaforcanadians.com/page11.aspx because it gives you a basic outline of each area although there is another one which gives some detail too: http://www.canadiansinarizona.net/find.html

Anyway, basically what I did is bring up a zip code map in Google Earth, make a note of the zip codes that look interesting then banged them into: www.realtor.com (if you just bang in Phoenix you get thousands of properties so zip codes narrow it down). That website is one of the better ones because it usually gives you the street address of the property, so then you can use Google Streetview to have a look around the neighbourhood it's in.

Obviously though only a small percentage of properties are on any one website and you can only stare at streetview for so long before you go cross-eyed.

Hi Steven:
No, it wasn't me you sat next to at the airport.You definitely have a point about golf balls and broken windows, etc with regards to owning a home on a golf course - I've had a couple of wayward shots in my backyard in a year (3) and as yet I've had no broken windows. I think the location of you home in conjunction with where the tees and the greens are very important - I also have a man made lake at the back of my property that acts as an additional buffer zone as well. However,I do find at times that the early morning mowing of the tees & greens to be annoying however the pluses for me outway the minus.
Must admit I'm surprised that someone like yourself who seems to have an endless wealth of technical knowledge in finance, immigration and in many other areas would need assistance with suggestions of locations that might work best for them. Good luck with finding a place.

Never hurts to ask!

And Phoenix is a really big city.

Hi Steve,

I used to live in Phoenix 4 years ago.

It really depends on what you are looking for.

If you are looking for the 65+ crowd and Scottsdale is out of the question then go for Sun City West, or even Surprise. A short drive north of Phoenix you will find Anthem, another great community. Homes can get a bit pricey there though. The areas around Anthem are nice as well -less people.

Areas in the South East of the city like Gilbert, Chandler and Queen Creek are all really nice and safe areas. There are a lot of younger families there.

Also Fountain Hills is a nice place to look at as well. Again, can get pricey.

Other notable mention cities:
Litchfield Park
Goodyear
Peoria
Sun City
Cave Creek
Ahwatukee Foothills
Apache Junction

Areas I would avoid (not that there are bad, but there are better):
West Mesa (East Mesa can be really nice)
Tempe (college crowd)
Glendale
Inner Phoenix
Guadalupe (little mexico)

Hope that helps!

Thanks for the info, that is really useful.

-- Fri Jul 24, 2009 12:36 pm --

Someone suggested Paradise Valley to me, and all I can say is they clearly thought I'm a lot better off than I am.

Ahwatukee looks promising.