The wife and I were pretty set on a detached home but the more I think about it, I wonder if we shouldn't reconsider. I'd be interested in anyone's comments. Our initial concern would be space. Coming from the country, would we feel confined? We both have bad memories of apartment living in our younger days. One advantage I can see would be security, especially considering we will be snowbirds. I know there are members of this board who live in each. Have any of you transitioned from one to the other? Thanks.
My cousin lives in phase 1 in a duplex and says it is just OK. She loves her home, but is not crazy about her neighbor and the HOA fees. She did say the HOA fees cover a bunch of outside maintenance things, so there is a plus to the fees. She would also like it more if she had a garage instead of a carport.
I have a condo. I didn't want to have to take care of a yard. I have a garage. It was a must. I don't want anyone to see whether I am home or not. My condo is 1400 square feet. I have an end unit and cannot hear my next door neighbor.
My home is 1600 sq ft with an enclosed double garage. I was advised against a flat roof. I had an acre in the state of Washington, and I'm very happy not to have to do any gardening at all. I have grass, not gravel. HOA pays for lawn maintenance and all the other things Emily mentioned. The outside was painted this year. Also, because of the HOA you get to know your neighbors. One neighbor has a weekly get together at her house. People bring their own drinks and food to share. Today is the day! One person I met lives in a house and after several years has never even met her neighbors.
Lots of good advice here Mullet to mull over. I'll approach it from a little different perspective in that I own a single family home. I do watch 2 properties for Canadian friends of mine who go back home every summer. One now lives in a single family home on the golf course (though they lived in a condo the first 10 years here). The other is in a garden court apartment, a little over 1200 square feet. Clearly there is more work for a single family home. I'm headed over to put fertilizer on the two fruit trees this week. We turn the water off so I stop by twice a month to give the trees a good soaking. The condo takes virtually no maintenance, other than pulling an occasional weed from the small garden area in the patio and starting the car in the garage every other month. My friends that sold the condo and bought the home on the golf course got tired of sitting out back and looking at a block wall. He grew up on a farm and loves the wide open spaces. His dream was to buy on a golf course and sit on the patio watching life go by. They absolutely love the move and hate to leave every year as Canadians must do. The point here is, you aren't locked into a home once you buy it. In fact, Sun City is notorious for the number of times people buy and sell as they upsize or downsize. My other friend loves his condo. It works out perfectly for his needs. The unit next door to him just sold for $97,000; last year it was listed at $77,000 but for some reason pulled the listing. Again, the point is to get into something here and you can move once you get established and figure out if what you have meets your needs. I could easily live in an attached home, though I will tell you my first choice would be in the 72 original Patio homes on Del Webb Blvd. They have no yards, but 2 courtyards (front and back). They have no HOA fees and there are 3 floor plans (the smallest at 1800, the largest at 2100 square). There are attached walls, but there is no common grounds, hence no home owners association. Directly across from them are also patio homes that have an HOA. They too are some of the largest (if square footage is an issue) with some being upwards of 2200 square feet. All in all you have an abundance of choices. I've talked about mom's quad and it too is quite lovely. And as Emily mentioned there's Gemini twin homes with front and back green space if you need to see grass growing. Simple eh?
Thanks all for the replies. Anyone care to reply specifically about Moria Court near Del Webb on Thunderbird? Area? HOA? Traffic? Noise from Grand?
Emily: thank you for the link and your additional insight. We are awaiting additional info from our realtor. Please don't make a special trip to the area on our behalf. If you do find yourself in that vicinity, we would be interested in your impression. If anyone else is familiar with that area please feel free to chime in. Thanks everyone. This board is so helpful!
I live half way between Thunderbird and Bell and I can hear the train whistle if I am outside. Can't imagine how it would sound if I was closer. I suppose you get used to it. I have a great location. One mile from Sundial RC & Lakeview RC and my church and 1.5 from Frys & Safeway. Didn't know how convenient it was when I purchased. Look at a map. You can get one free at the Visitor Center. They have maps of Arizona and specifically one for Sun City.
In 2008 I attended a family reunion not far from Sun City (my aunt and uncle lived there). The place did not have enough rooms to stay in their complex so my mother and I found a small motel. I didn't know the area at all so we just drove around to find the only place close. Now I know it was on Grand and the railroad tracks were just across the street. Very late at night the train came through. Wow, it felt like it was coming through the motel room with the vibrations..it also sounded the horn. I grew up about 4 blocks from train tracks and don't mind hearing them but I've never heard any quite that loud before.
That's an outstanding report. Thank you for that, Emily. You certainly went above and beyond. Your assessment actually served a purpose beyond your valued opinion. I hadn't thought of this until now but it provided a comparative assessment to the one our realtor provided yesterday evening. They were quite similar and that's comforting.
