1. I am thinking of purchasing a single family home now and renting it out in anticipation of moving to Sun City down the road (10 years or so). I would be an absentee landlord from afar. The idea is to lock in today's favorable real estate prices. Does this seem like a good idea? Are there good property managers that would manage the property? Is the demand for rental units strong? 2. Can anyone recommend a good real estate agent that is extremely knowledgeable about the area and would act as a buyer's broker - vigorously protecting the interests of the buyer and not just trying to make a sale? PM me if you would prefer. 3. Where do you see Sun City heading over the next 10 years? Do you think they will be able to maintain their infrastructure at current fees with adjustments for inflation? What changes do you see at Sun City over the next 10 years as the Baby Boomers move in? 4. Where do you see Sun City real estate prices heading in the short and long term? 5. Any general recommendations about buying at Sun City? Thank you for your assistance. P.S. Just to clarify, I am only asking about the original "Sun City" community and not Sun City West or any other Sun community.
I'll take a crack at these R; lots of meat on the bone and I love this kind of intuitiveness: 1. I am thinking of purchasing a single family home now and renting it out in anticipation of moving to Sun City down the road (10 years or so). I would be an absentee landlord from afar. The idea is to lock in today's favorable real estate prices. Does this seem like a good idea? Are there good property managers that would manage the property? Is the demand for rental units strong? This one made me chuckle because we bought when we were 51, though we rented only for 4 years till we were 55. Perhaps the best money we ever spent and I suspect it would be a wise investment for you as well. Property managers is another story for another time. 2. Can anyone recommend a good real estate agent that is extremely knowledgeable about the area and would act as a buyer's broker - vigorously protecting the interests of the buyer and not just trying to make a sale? PM me if you would prefer. Great question and one I will skirt (kind of). There are some exceptional Realtors here, but a good share of them are retirees looking to supplement their retirement with an occasional sale. Shop wisely, or PM me for more. 3. Where do you see Sun City heading over the next 10 years? Do you think they will be able to maintain their infrastructure at current fees with adjustments for inflation? What changes do you see at Sun City over the next 10 years as the Baby Boomers move in. Literally, I see nothing but blue sky and lots of sunshine. We are moving in a remarkable direction and the boomers will add to the equation, not take from it. Our biggest challenge is the number of golf courses within the walls but with proper planning, we may be able to turn that into an asset, not a liability. Putting in solar as we did will help keep costs down and reinvesting in the community by looking at it big picture has the potential to do things most can't even begin to imagine. We are using our PIF for the big expenditures which keeps our yearly increases as moderate as they are (50 cents a month for each of the last two years). 4. Where do you see Sun City real estate prices heading in the short and long term? In the short term, I expect them to rise quickly as the marketing we are doing will expose a whole new generation of buyers to the community. Longer term they will level off (there are limits to how much 50 year old home are worth). That said, the value will always be here and availability is also ever-present. As an age restricted community, there is always turnover. People die, move home or into continuing care facilities and so there's never a shortage of homes to be had. 5. Any general recommendations about buying at Sun City? Visit before you buy, get a lay of the land. Phase 1 is older and has more opportunities for bargains. Phase 2 is centrally located, virtually in the middle of everything. Phase 3 has the newest homes and lots of them have spectacular renovations; but, they are farther removed from the bulk of the activities. The 4 million dollar remodel of the Marinette Rec Center (beginning this fall) will be a welcome addition to folks living on the North end. Get to know the community and you will be far better off. All great questions R and it's nice to see someone doing their "homework." If this big picture Sun City workshop we are looking at comes together, we can begin to explore the future of Sun City in ways that has never done. I guess the best aspect of where we have gone in the past 4 or 5 years is a return to that sense of community. It was how Meeker saved Sun City and it is a blueprint for making us one of the top destinations for seniors for years to come.
Riggo, We visited Sun City in March. Not ready to buy yet (well I am, but lots of reasons we can't buy just yet). I randomly called a realtor in Sun City, explained that we were not ready to purchase just yet. The lady I talked to was very nice and helpful (a 25 year Sun City resident). Probably more helpful with Sun City in general than actual real estate. It was obvious she only wanted to make a sale. Bill is right, get a realtor that is more interested in helping you find what you want and less about just making a sale. I suspect recommendations from folks in the know would help. The realtor showed us a home that was empty and needed a little work. It met my criteria for the most part, but not so much for my wife. My wife and her friend only saw that it needed work and was dated, I saw the potential of what it could be and fell in love with it. Just need to find an extra $150K laying around. BTW - I have been watching SC home prices since last July and a similar 1800 sqft home we looked at for $150K was going for closer to $125K back in July. Bottom line, great time to buy if you can. Can't say much about rental potential since I don't actually live in SC yet.
Thanks Bruce, exactly the point I was making. I've long argued Sun City is unique and housing is one of those areas that makes us so. While the total build took 18 years, the variations of types of housing are significant. Single family, twin homes, quads and garden court apartments are all intermingled. The first 5 years were block while the last 13 years were predominantly wood framed. The styles of homes from mid century modern to Spanish influenced and all points between can be found. Then throw into the mix renovations that have gone on for 50 plus years and it is a virtual potpourri of outcomes. Some of the earlier ones were tacky at best and shoddy at worst. Nothing wrong with being frugal, but my lord there were some truly bad "improvements." Now days it's not surprising to see a home sold and the massive dumpster rolled in to perform some wonderful home surgeries. And that is exactly where I find some distress with Realtors. They are trained to use comps (nothing wrong with that) but...the same $125,000 1600 square foot home on the same block can have as much as $100,000 difference in value. Take one that is wholly original and another with new windows, doors, new air conditioning, totally renovated kitchens and baths, new roof and new flooring and it's not the same house. Realtors that haven't seen them simply work from the data derived from the computer search they perform. Then we have that whole square footage game they play. The reality is the models DEVCO built were essentially the same from year to year, often just changing the exterior and adding a few new touches (before anyone gets too excited, there were significant increases in size and look, but even Meeker admits in his memoirs they kept costs down by tweaking not wholesale redesigns). This gets Realtors into determining the value based on the square footage, again, all too often forgetting the enhancements. We bought our house in 1999 for $135,000. It was 2700 sq feet and needed some work. If I listed the things we've done in the 15 years we've owned it, I could go on for hours. The point is, we've put some money in it, but Realtors look first at the size and model and say we can only get X amount out of it. Really? Nope, we're not selling so it doesn't matter. It's my humble opinion that before you buy anything you get a good handle on the various model of home(s)that appeal to you and get comfortable with what remodeling costs here. I still get crazed when I visit an open house and see price tags based on comps where they haven't spent 5 cents on updating. Sorry for being long winded, but this is one of those subjects that gets me cranked (and no I have no interest in being a Realtor).
You cannot go wrong by investing in Sun City AZ. Whether it's for your own long term use or even just as an investment, the community is rock solid. We are positioned to take the community top whatever heights we want to reach...really, the only limits are how willing we are to open our minds and go get it.
We bought a little fixer that was listed as "Well taken care of", along with"dual pane windows" (my favorite). I tried to open the window and the handle came off in my hand, the ac was over 20 years old and the roof needed replacing. So we charged ahead and tore everything down to the studs and replaced electrical, insulation, windows and doors etc. This house is nothing like the original floor plan now. Comps are worthless for a home that has been totally remodeled in my opinion.
