Casita Real Townhomes of Scottsdale
After seeing our first place, a Park Orleans townhouse in Scottsdale, AZ, our next stop was to the Casita Real townhomes located on Indian School Rd in the 8500-8600 range. There were three on our list and two of them were the lowest priced units we were going to see. One kept reducing as I watched it before our trip.
We didn’t have high expectations but we wanted to view them. I figured if they were halfway decent, we could fix them up since they were priced so low. It seemed to be a good investment, especially since the 3rd unit was priced much higher.
We were only able to view two out of the three units. As we drove into the complex I was once again thinking that we just weren’t going to get what I hoped we could in our price range. These buildings were very square and industrial looking, gray and nondescript. It just didn’t seem like a very inviting complex. In fact, I question whether these were a conversion, although townhouse style units have not normally started out as apartments, although maybe it’s different from AZ to IL (as so much is different with the real estate market in the two states). They were built in 1973.
The first one we saw was the one I was most excited about as it was the one that kept reducing price. From the online photos it didn’t look too bad. Boy, were those pictures wrong!
This was the only occupied unit we had seen so far. And it was in the worst shape of any property we saw. These were two-floor townhouse type units and the first one was a real mess. The owner was there working upstairs in his messy bedroom on a computer. I’d be so embarrassed that I wouldn’t have shown my face! But when some people live this way they don’t care. No matter the price, I just didn’t see any redeeming qualities in the place.
The other unit was also priced low and was vacant. It was in better shape than the previous one we saw but I still didn’t like the complex and I can barely remember the unit itself now. It just didn’t move me. I realized we weren’t going to find any real bargains since these were the lowest priced units that had the amenities we wanted and allowed pets and renting. Off to the next one!
Note: The owner-occupied unit I saw made it sound like the seller was in distress and was losing his townhouse. The other one we saw was already lender owned. They are not currently on the market so I’m not sure if they both sold or the owner-occupied unit went into foreclosure. There are currently 3 more available priced under $115,000 as low as $76,900 for 3 bedroom, 2 bath townhomes. Two are bank owned and one is a short sale. Seems like a lot of distressed units in one complex, but I guess that’s happening all over. In IL I’m seeing more foreclosures and short sales coming on the market and I don’t think we’ve been hit as hard as Arizona.
