Move to Arizona

[alfy65]

Still thinking of relocating to Arizona in 2016...looking in the Buckeye area but have heard some really bad things about the HOA's that rule that area. Anyone have any insight...no HOA where I am at in Florida and I can pretty much do what I want on my property..thanks...

[fordracing65]

Every sub division here is different, some neighborhoods have them, then a block away another does not, just buy a house with no HOA, I don't have one in Tempe, a block away they do...

[DWRAT]

My last home purchase search was specifically "No HOA".
I don't care how much you like a particular house, you will hate the HOA that governs it if it's in a HOA.

Now on the other hand, If you voted for Obummer and you like government control, you may like an HOA.

[twobjshelbys]

We will never buy again with a HOA. Our HOA in Colorado started off benign and then the Californiaites came and decided they wanted to control everyone. They quickly got that that wasn't in the cards and many moved on. Either my wife or I were on the board for all of the 18 years we lived there so we knew when they were cooking something up.

We had a NO HOA requirement when we moved to NV. Our MLS listing showed association dues, but it is for a "Landscape Maintenance Association" (LMA) not a full HOA, so no worries about placing a storage shed that peeks above the fence, no permission for satellite or solar (which they can't legally restrict any more anyway), and none of the "you can't leave your garage door open or wash your car on the driveway crap.

We had considered the Phoenix valley before we came here, and if you don't have commuting concerns, we found areas in Mesa, Gilbert, and especially Queen Creek that don't have HOAs.

I think you will find that most new developments will have an obtrusive HOA, while older developed areas (back 20+ years) won't have one at all or it will be fairly passive.

As a planning oriented person and also a real estate broker, HOAs are appropriate for common property developments like condos and townhomes but have no place in detached single family developments. I actually weakened our subdivision code that required a HOA and all sorts of the covenants everyone hates - they are not required in a municipal code. All we required was covenants but didn't say what they had to contain. A community that was developed based on a community kitchen and heavy social involvement had lots different covenants than a subdivision of single family homes on .5+ acre lots.

[427SSSS]

Not to hijack the thread....but it is semi-related...anyone want a lot in Rio Rico Estates?
twobjshelbys, you posted:

"As a planning oriented person and also a real estate broker...."
I'm in need of a real estate broker, I think, or maybe a real estate attorney in Arizona?
Inherited a one acre lot in Rio Rico Estates, Santa Cruz County, South-Eastern Arizona. It's only appraised at a four or six thousand, (conflicting paper) so I really don't want an attorney; but it's still in my Dad's name, and he passed 20 years ago. I need to get transferred so I can try and sell it.
My Mom's Trust Attorney, did not know what to do with it, in fact he had not done anything with it the past 18 months, so I told him to hand the information over to me so I could do his job for him.
Thanks, Wayne

[likenu2]

If you buy a house in a sub division with an HOA and within that subdivision there is a small gated community, well then you get the double whammy, you get 2 HOA's. I lived in one and every day the Association Nazi's would wald the community with a pen and paper and write down whatever they didn't like. Never again .

[moore_rb]

Not much to add to the viewpoints others have already expressed - It depends on the neighborhood.

Some HOA's are benign, and focus on common area landscape maintenance, and on coordinating community yard sales... The HOA in the neighborhood where we own our rental house rarely gets more offensive than sending a nasty gram about the weeds in the front yard, or a car that has been parked on the street for more than a few days.

Other neighborhoods? Well, the term "neighborhood nazi" is not so popular without good reason...

Our primary residence now is in a 50 year old neighborhood with no HOA, and I'm never moving again...

The primary thing to do is to have your real estate agent pull up the CCR's for any neighborhood you might be interested in, and give them a good read.

- If the policies are focused more on enumerating the HOA's primary duties, and if it has clauses that limit the amount of time a particular person can serve on the HOA board, than it will probably be an ok neighborhood - If the rules and regs focus more on what the HOMEOWNER is and isn't allowed to do, then that neighborhood is at risk of becoming a "socialist paradise" the moment the wrong person is elected to be HOA chairman...

JMHO

[twobjshelbys]

Originally Posted by 427SSSS

Not to hijack the thread....but it is semi-related...anyone want a lot in Rio Rico Estates?

I'm in need of a real estate broker, I think, or maybe a real estate attorney in Arizona?

PM sent...

[snakebitekit]

An HOA is the same as the US Government, you get what you vote for. The apathy in most HOA's is pathetic and that is when you get the wrong boards, because no one wants to step up the plate.
I will not live in a non HOA again, too many times I have had neighbors that don't give a rat's butt about how their home looks or how their "habits" can affect my value.
Is it perfect, no, but the home values in HOA's go up faster than non HOA's.
HOA's have their place and work well if there is owner participation.

[Mesa Mike]

Buckeye is on the far west side of Metro PHX. I call it "east LA". It has one of the worst commute traffic lanes in the Metro area. Where are you going to work? Check Chandler and Gilbert, they are building new homes all over that area. East Mesa is exploding right not too. Look up "Eastmark" or Mesa Area. Most any sub division with club house, pool, ball parks, parks, etc will have HOA's. Many smaller ones do now. I would guess to say that all brand new sub divisions WILL have HOA. I live in a community called "Las Sendas" and we have a HOA. I have owned here since 1998 and really don't have any problems with them. I actually like that they don't allow motor homes, boats, trailer and junk allowed on the property. Drive a mile away and see all of above sitting all over the property. Looks like trash or "Ma and Pa Kettle" live there.

[Karl Bebout]

M Mike, were you really happy with your HOA when you had to dismantle your storage shed because it showed above your fence line 6"? Your points about the Ma and Pa Kettle are certainly spot on. Some "reasonable-ness" by HOA rules could both ensure property values and aesthetic virtues while not totally impinging on personal choice rights.

[moore_rb]

Originally Posted by Karl Bebout

M Mike, were you really happy with your HOA when you had to dismantle your storage shed because it showed above your fence line 6"?

JMHO, but THOSE are the exact types of "rules" that aggravated me enough to move out of my old neighborhood -

I've seen where people have had to dismantle storage sheds, pool slides, and even their kid's swing sets, just because they were visible over the top of a 6 foot concrete block wall... To me, that is fundamentally absurd.

Maybe such policies make more sense in a neighborhood (like Las Sendas), where you pay a premium for "the view" but not in a flat subdivision, 20 miles from the nearest mountain range.... Again, JMHO.

[LMH]

Mountains? There are mountains in the Phoenix area?
Larry

[Danr55]

There are mounds in the Phoenix area. Due to the extreme repression with regard to areas of extreme elevation, anything taller than the backyard fence becomes relegated the title of mountain. Usually named with extreme alacrity. The tall hill north of Phoenix, is called North Moutain.. the one just south of downtown is call South Mountain. The big red hill east of town is called Red Mountain and the hills way east of town with all of the strange stories about ghosts of indians and chupacabras and cowboys and Lost Dutchman ... Those are called the Superstition Mountains.. oh, and those hills west of Phoenix with the big bathtub in the saddle that is used for a watering tank.. Those are called the White Tank Mountains.. Tremendous application of imagination and forethought went into naming the "mountains" in the Phoenix area..

[LMH]

Got it! "Mounds"... I like that! You guys really go in for those descriptive names too!

Actually, I really love going up the Phoenix area. Gives me a chance to see where my tax dollars are spent!
Larry

[Karl Bebout]

"Actually, I really love going up the Phoenix area. Gives me a chance to see where my tax dollars are spent!"

I, personally, don't know of a more fitting repository for your tax dollars....unless of course, its the Federal Government.

[twobjshelbys]

Originally Posted by Danr55

There are mounds in the Phoenix area. Due to the extreme repression with regard to areas of extreme elevation, anything taller than the backyard fence becomes relegated the title of mountain. Usually named with extreme alacrity. The tall hill north of Phoenix, is called North Moutain.. the one just south of downtown is call South Mountain. The big red hill east of town is called Red Mountain and the hills way east of town with all of the strange stories about ghosts of indians and chupacabras and cowboys and Lost Dutchman ... Those are called the Superstition Mountains.. oh, and those hills west of Phoenix with the big bathtub in the saddle that is used for a watering tank.. Those are called the White Tank Mountains.. Tremendous application of imagination and forethought went into naming the "mountains" in the Phoenix area..

And you forgot the one that, from the right viewing angle, resembles an abstract camel's hump, surprisingly called, Camelback Mountain.

Because of these mountains that create the valley with temperature inversions cause some very nasty looking air at times (the "Brown Cloud")

[Gofastoldguy]

I live in a open community w/o gates for about 20 years. It's called "Rancho Santa Fe" in Avondale (near Luke AFB). After all that time my dues are $140/month. It's mostly for landscaping of the common areas. All homes are Mexican tile roofing, stucco construction with small front lots and nice size backyard...big enough for pool. No community property to maintain. Google the property for pictures. Our association is not anal and the homeowners are standup citizens. No mobile trailers, junk cars, etc., you are only responsible to maintain the front yard. Some homes have solar and small satellite dishes. Was a good choice in 1996 and still is. Good property values and rising. Good luck to you.
Bill B
bbryan00@cox.net

[mikiec]

Dan, loves to turn mole hills into mountains.

[DWRAT]

Originally Posted by Gofastoldguy

After all that time my dues are $140/month. It's mostly for landscaping of the common areas.

$140 a month for landscaping common area?
Your OK with that?
That sounds very high to me.