Brand New to the Forum, Let Me Introduce Myself

Right, they share a common wall and have common area outside. There is one group of 72 homes on Del Webb Blvd that were called Patio Homes and are unique. They have both front and back patio's, are attached but have no HOA. I'm told it's because they have no outside common area's.

They come in 3 square foot models; 1900, 2100 and 2200 square feet and have either 2 or 3 bedrooms. They are quite interesting for people who don't want much outside maintenance and don't like sharing the costs with neighbors you find in condo's.

 

Andria,

I passed along the name of our realtor, check your private messages. She has done, and continues to do a great job for us.

Seems like you have perused this site pretty well, can you tell everyone is excited to have someone new to communicate with?

Like you, I thought hard surface floors throughout would be the norm. The home we purchased has carpeting in the bedrooms and family rooms. For now, we are ok with that. What am I saying, one of us hasn't even seen the place yet. That changes tomorrow, so I'll get back to you on that.

For year round living, we decided that we could deal with the heat the way we deal with the clouds and rain. We also figured that with the cost of living being 20% - 25% less in Sun City, if it got to hot we could rent a place somewhere cooler for a couple of months in the summer. But I don't think we will need to do that.

There is a "Trader Joe's" and a "Sprouts Farmers Market" off Bell. From October to April or May there is a Farmer's Market in Sun City. There's a "Total Wine and More" between Bell and Union Hills (in Glendale) and a "Bev Mo" on Bell near 75th. WA wineries can ship to AZ. Until we can find something more local, those chains can fill the bill. We've been known to cook too much, host game nights and a throw a "Cabernet and Chocolate" fundraiser every once in a while. This is something we hope that we can continue doing once we move.

Right now, from our experience, Sun City is not as diverse as Seattle/Tacoma/Everett. There is no obvious "Pink Door" or "Wild Rose", but I think Drag Queen Bingo would be a huge hit. (Come on now, you know you guys would love it. Ok, maybe not...but in a couple years.) I think there is a small fear of what the boomers will bring to Sun City. Resistance is futile, however, and I think we are going to move in, have a blast, and keep Sun City a great place to live.

As for the phases and the home types, I've sure you read a lot of what has been written here. Advice - question all home additions and some remodels. Make sure the work is permitted.

 

Welcome to the forum Andria !

 

Welcome Andria,

My wife and I are only 2 - 3 month residents in Sun City - Phase two and will be retiring in a couple of years and then will only be 6 month " Snow Bird's". We bought a couple of years ago and just love it. You will find lots to do.

Cheers - Grant

 

OK - correction - I checked out favorite WA winery (Lou Facceli) and he DOES NOT ship to AZ. I apologize for the error.

See - we have one person in line for Drag Queen Bingo, there would be others. Full Disclosure, I have never attended. But I know folks who go and love it. Seriously, I haven't been.

 

Congrats you made it home. What did J_ think of the new mansion?

 

All the single and future S.C. home owners, welcome to this forum. I'm glad to hear that there will be more single home owners. I'll be one of them. I have done research to Sun City and Sun City West. Although I feel that S.C. discriminates against singles as far as the annual owner dues are concerned, I'm still considering buying and moving to S.C fall of 2016. I believe originally it was per person not per household. If you are married you and your spouse pay half what singles pay. Singles pay 462.00 annually and married person 231.00. Sun City West the annual fee is per person and I feel that's how it should be. Keep it 462.00 but each person should pay the same amount. Do you believe single home owner uses the amenities more and wears them out than a married person?
In any case I'm sure S.C. is a wonderful place to live. I'll plan on visiting next spring.

 

Hi Sue, welcome to the forum. Your comments regarding single cards has been voiced often and is a point of contention for most singles. From a historic standpoint, rec fess (now called lot assessments) have flip-flopped a couple of times along the way. There's been board's who have looked at this issue and moved in both directions. The last change was away from single assessments; their argument was the challenge to consistently budget was hampered by the ever changing demographics within the community.

While most don't want to hear that, there's certainly some validity to the point. As you mentioned, Sun City West does in fact have a single rate. It is $420 per person. Years back we when we were looking for a home, we almost bought in SCW. In 1999, their rec fees were near on identical to Sun City's. Since that time, several things have happened, the most glaring being the change to a flat rate per Sun City property. Obviously there's some challenges to try and budget singles rather than a per lot assessment, because they are now well above our rates for a couple ($840 compared to $462.)

I'll be the first to admit, that doesn't help you as a single home owner. That said, convincing the powers that be to switch back will be a tough sell. Clearly it has worked to keep costs lower than our counter-part in Sun City West. The argument is you can buy here knowing how it works and if you aren't happy with it, you can go elsewhere. I'm not trying to sound callus, just reiterating the argument.

Who knows, in coming years we may have more singles buying in the community and willing to become active in the governance of it. It's why, at least for me, why Sun City is such a great place to live. In the short run, I'd love to see the board acknowledge the disparity and give single owners paying the higher rate punch cards to use for guests. While it would be a token gesture, it would at least keep single owners feeling like someone was aware of the inequity.

Sun City is a wonderful place to live, and the best way to experience it is to move in on a temporary basis to see if it is right for you.

 

Sue - I think the cost is "per household".

Although I do not yet live in SC, my hope is that in this community you have a voice and there are steps you can take to invoke change. If one feels strongly enough that the RCSC annual fee should be "per person" instead of "per household" take action to get it changed. I would have no problem paying a "per person" fee, so when you need signatures to take to the board, I will happily sign.

BPEARSON - has anyone every taken the "per person" vs "per household" fee complaint to the board in a fashion it would be seriously considered? Maybe we need a new thread on community activism.

 

The reality is there are far more couples than there are singles. It's further compounded by the fact we have "grandfathered" singles who only pay the single rate (as long as they stay in the property they owned pre 2003). In essence, people tend to vote their pocketbook. If by changing the current structure they would incur higher costs, don't look for that to happen anytime soon.

There is some truth in the budgetary process being simplified by a single lot assessment. With 27,000+ rooftops, the fluctuations of single payers compared to couples could be significant. Mortality charts show, men die sooner, and when that happens with single rates in place, it does impact revenues. While this isn't the only thing that impacted Sun City West's rates, there's little doubt it had some affect.

From a practical point of view, I would like to see a study on what the lot assessment would be if we had a single/couples rate to generate the same dollar revenue we are currently collecting. We know it wouldn't be double the single assessment rate, and from a pure WAG (wild ass guess) standpoint, I doubt it would be much different from what it is now, other than it would be far less for singles. What you would need to process it would be the total number of singles currently paying the full rate.

Obviously this would be a tough sell, especially given the current management team would be dead set against it.

 

Sue, I was glad to see your post. And that you've gotten responses. Some of my harder questions didn't fair so well.

And I look forward to meeting you in person one day. I am planning to purchase in original SC.

The discriminatory practice was not lost on me either. But I see it this way:

1. It is a fee per home available for up to two people. And a fair amount no matter what at the end of the day for all it provides.
2. All couples in the community one day will find one of them to be a single. And my business is all about planning well for the second half so I am into statistics all the time. Nearly half of the US population is single. It will become a bigger issue over time.
3. It would be more fair if all households were given two 'slots' so that a single could have one available for long term guests or 'special friends' who might spend extended time without the need to disclose that they are not part of a formal couple, but have a different non-traditional relationship. That's the change I'd like to see when I live there. Every home has two 'slots'. If my 'friend' stayed for several months a year with me, I'd hate that person to have to purchase monthly passes. I'd be livid.
4. Having been on the board in my community and a former biz manager, I can see this from a strategic planning and budgeting perspective: It is easier to multiply the number of front doors by one sum to get a line item budget number.

 

Afternoon Andria,
Can you lob those harder questions back out here so they can be addressed?

 

We did indeed make it back to the Seattle area. It's a balmy 61 degrees here this afternoon.

I'm pretty sure J loved the palatial estate. Looking back, we have decided the phrase most used this weekend was "where are you".

It was nice to meet you and Lori, and thank you once again for the book. We'll be back in November and we hope we can get together with you all again.

 

Speaking from a married household perspective, I'm completely on board with each household being issued two rec center passes. This only seems fair. It eliminates any budgetary arguments that arise if a separate "single" rate is created. Not to mention any issues that arise from domestic partnerships. I think it would be hard to oppose this arrangement without looking selfish.

 

I have objected to this before in the forum. I also feel It's only fair that if we pay for two we should get two passes.

 

I think in the long run, we'll be able to make the question of cards more equitable. In the short run, recognizing singles who pay the full rate would be better served if we at the very least gave them punch cards to use for their guests. We bought when we were 51 and could not get membership cards. They gave each of us punch cards with 20 visits allowed; and while it wasn't cart blanche use, it acknowledged we were paying for the facilities and when we visited, we weren't digging to pay again.

I don't know when that practice stopped, but it was something I will never forget. It's always the little things that make a difference and I would hope we never lose sight of that. It's why I always say, Sun City is about the community first and the corporation second. Though from time to time, boards and staffers begin to drift. It's why anyone buying here should understand how and why we work and what our role is when we become an owner.

 

I should clarify: We weren't given passes per se, but punch cards so when my parents signed us in, the cost of using the facilities was covered. We bought back in 1999, so we're talking years ago. It just seemed like such a simple thing and we never forgot it. Making people/buyers feel welcome is so important; and the reality is you can buy a home here at any age.

Typically buyers under age will be renting them out. When they do come to visit for a couple of weeks out of the year (legal by the way), it's a nice touch to make those buyers feel like they are a part of the community and not just a money trough.

 

We purchased 3 years ago and we are under 55 and we were never offered any type of punch cards or a certain amount of visits either.

 

Hi Andria,
Thank you for your reply and comments. I just want to add that all the married folks might feel differently about this "singles rate" issue after they become widows or widowers.
Looking forward to meeting all the singles in S.C. All those who have lived in S.C. for a while I would really like to see your comments about the S.C.