Our first stop was to the Presidio Condominiums which was the only gated complex we viewed.  Our agent was very knowledgeable and professional but I chuckled when she couldn’t find the entry to the complex.  She had been there before and I guess we drove past it.  I was glad that I’m not the only one who has trouble finding condo complexes sometimes.  Buyers assume we’ve shown every single property out there and every single subdivision/complex.  But a single agent can only show so many properties and an agent like me, who works in a very large area, can only view so many properties every year.

The address for Presidio Condos is 9600 N. 96th St., Scottsdale, AZ  85258.  We viewed this because it allows renting and pets.

I loved the gated and well maintained community and it had the style I wanted.  The unit was beautiful (and also at the top of our price range).  It was updated and neutral and I’m sure someone else appreciated it.  But to me it had no charm.  Looked like something I’d show back in Illinois.  I don’t want to be in Illinois, I want to feel like I’m in Arizona, even on the inside of my place.

I passed up this beautiful unit and I think my agent understood that we preferred older and/or unique places with charm.

If you’d like to search Scottsdale condos or homes or properties in any state, use the search box below.

That is, until we arrived at the Village One complex. These were built in 1983 and I guess that’s when the “southwest style” was being accepted, vs. the “bring the Midwest to the Southwest” building styles of the 60′s.

I was delighted when we pulled into a more modern looking complex with stucco buildings and the southwest feel I was hoping to find (although from what I’m reading lately a lot of Arizona natives are trying to get away from). I was really excited to view the Village One townhome for sale.

I wasn’t too happy when I saw the high, exterior staircase we’d have to climb just to reach the 2nd floor unit that was available.  Once we went in I was falling in love.  This was a 2 bedroom unit with a living room, dining room plus a nice sized family room/den with a fireplace and two bathrooms.  The kitchen was nicely updated and the layout made this townhouse feel more like a single family home.

But when I went to the balcony my heart fell.  I realized that the unit’s balcony faced a busy street (Via Linda).  The traffic was enough to make me change my mind.  We loved the unit though so it wasn’t completely off our list.

Before we left I had to do the pool check.  It was farther away from the unit than I preferred so although the unit was lovely we passed it by.  This was a nice sized complex and not all units were on the busy street side.  Some units are farther from the pool, some are closer.  The one we looked at just wasn’t in a location we wanted and there weren’t any others available at the time.

We viewed Villages One townhomes (I’ve seen them printed with and without an “s”) because they allowed pets and renting. They were in a great location with close access to the 101 highway.

Use the search box below to search for Scottsdale homes and condos and townhomes, or any area in the United States! The zip code for Villa One townhomes is 85258. The address is 9275 E. Mission Ln., Scottsdale, AZ 85258.

I wasn’t sure which one I should choose.  And I wasn’t sure if I wanted them to know my personal business.  It was one thing to “converse” on the Internet but another thing to actually work together.  How do I choose one without it possibly getting back to one of the others?

So I found someone else

I think one of my problems was that all of these agents were men.  I love working with other women.  I always try to give women my business. 

I read a post on a real estate social networking blog site written by an Arizona agent and I liked what she wrote.  I sent her an e-mail but told her I wasn’t quite ready yet.  I was kind of surprised that she didn’t keep me on some kind of e-mail list.  In fact, when I was getting closer I had to do a search to find her.

And then she referred me out

I was a little sad that I wouldn’t be able to work with her but I trusted her judgement that she felt more comfortable referring me to an agent that actually lives in Scottsdale and that she felt was a Scottsdale expert.  And that is how I met the agent I would end up working with to find a Scottsdale condominium for sale.

I gave her our price range and amenities (amount of bedrooms, baths and the fact that we wanted to have the ability to rent it if we wanted to and it had to allow pets).  I doubt my current dogs will ever see the place but when we do actually use it as snowbirds in the future I’m sure we’ll still have pets that we’ll be bringing with us.

I didn’t like her website

Her site was a cookie-cutter real estate website that looked like it was provided by her brokerage.  I didn’t care as I now was relying on her automated MLS search.  However, I wasn’t crazy about that search and the personal website it created.

I have MLS knowledge but this sit was not very user friendly.  As far as I knew, this was just how the Phoenix MLS search was set up. 

Creating lists and charts and print-outs

I was told it was difficult trying to find complexes that allowed renting since many listing agents did not put it in their listings.  Searching the MLS on other sites didn’t help me about the pets issue, either.  So based on what my agent sent directly from the MLS, I got to know the names of the complexes that did allow both renting and pets.

It’s really too bad that many listing agents are doing their sellers a disservice by not listing everything the property has to offer.  Especially in a town like Scottsdale, where shorter term, winter rentals are popular.  Listing agents all over make mistakes and omissions or just don’t do any digging to see if there would be amenities that could help sell the property more quickly and/or for more money.

Once I had a list of the complexes in my price range that allowed rentals and pets, when I was on another broker’s MLS search (which was much better than my own agent’s), I knew which complexes to look at.  I kind of felt bad using another agent’s site just to search but I’m sure it’s happened to me.  It depends on the 3rd party provider or the local MLS on how different sites present the multiple listing service search. 

I created excel spreadsheets.  I purchased a software program called Snagit that allowed for great screen and photo capture.  I started printing out the listings that looked interesting with a photo of the location of the unit to the pool.  I added my own notes. 

I have purchased many of my own properties in the past, but this was the first time I was going to buy out-of-state and only have a short window to view the properties.  I almost felt like a first-time buyer.  And getting to the point of actually setting up the properties I was going to see started getting me very excited and eager to make the trip.  I was like a kid in a candy store!  But this was pretty expensive candy.

Before really searching for particular units, I checked out listings on Realtor.com.  This is where I was easily able to check out what you’d get in my price range in different areas.  My first searches were in Scottsdale, Fountain Hills and Tempe.

I was surprised to find a better selection in Scottsdale than the other two areas.  I think I also checked out Mesa and Chandler because my parents lived in Mesa and our friends live in Chandler.  But I’d always go back to Scottsdale.

I just think Scottsdale will offer more of the lifestyle we want and the ease of renting our condo out if we want to. Basically, it is our future retirement condo and we’re just getting it in advance. We want to use it and share it and we want to have access to shopping and dining and entertainment. I’m a city girl and I’m not interested in living too far out.

Realtor.com can leave a lot to be desired

They have since upgraded their website and it’s better and I can’t blame the site for the lack of information and photos.  That is how the listing agent presented their listing on their MLS.  I can’t understand why some agents provide zero or only one photograph.  Sometimes the one photo was of the community pool and not even the unit for sale.

Since I was just in the beginning stages of my search, I spent the most time on Scottsdale condos for sale with a description and multiple photos.  I wasn’t ready to buy yet and at this point was simply window shopping, just to see what was being offered.  I was pleansantly surprised to see that we could get a decent place in our price range.

I started my search probably about a year prior to actually looking.  This is how many buyers begin their search.  They go to a national site and do a search, just to get an idea.

Potential buyers need to understand that these large real estate portals do not carry every available property for sale.  They’re fine in the beginning stages of house hunting.  But when it gets down to the time when you’re ready to buy and really start choosing your properties to view inside and out, you need to utilize a local MLS search. 

Some of these portals do not clean up their listings and you could be interested in a property that was sold and closed a long time ago.  Realtor.com used to do this but they are more timely and once a property closes it is removed from the site.  Other sites do not do this as they don’t have direct MLS access like R.com does.

Better yet, get on an automated e-mail search where properties are sent directly to your e-mail, or a website set up for the listings in your price range and with the amenities you want.  To do that, you’ll need to have chosen the real estate agent that you will work with.  Happy Scottsdale real estate house hunting!

Let me know if you need a great Scottsdale REALTOR so I can refer you.  Call me at 708-536-8200 or leave a reply below.

My husband and I had been talking about retiring to Scottsdale, AZ for some time.  To clarify, we want to be snowbirds as I can’t imagine leaving my family (the grandkids) and friends full-time.

We never thought we could afford to buy anything in Scottsdale because we thought the prices were too high.  With the current recession and how hard Arizona has been hit with this buyer’s market, we were delighted to learn that we could afford a Scottsdale condo for sale.

We’ve been introduced to Mesa, Gilbert, Tempe and Fountain Hills but I’ve always been drawn to Scottsdale.  For one thing, I just loved every trip I ever took there.  For another thing, I feel it is a popular retirement area and it would be easier to rent our place out to other snowbirds if we ever felt the need.  And it’s close enough to the airport that it’s easy on us, our visitors and any renters we might have.

I love Florida, I love California, but when I leave Arizona my heart aches.  I don’t want to leave!  And then I can’t wait to get back.  Yep, I was born in the wrong state, or maybe living in Illinois makes me appreciate Arizona that much more.

So eight girls ordered our airfare together one night and waited for our trip. On the flight, we were actually approached by a flight attendant who smilingly told us to keep it down. We were spread out over a couple of aisles and some innocent people had to sit with us. One of our social butterflies struck up a conversation with a gentleman and we found out that we knew his ex-wife and her new beau.

Needless to say, there was a lot of storytelling and laughter. Even the flight attendant who chastised us joined in at one point. The funniest thing was when we landed, I overhead two people being pushed in wheelchairs telling the story about us perfect strangers knowing the ex-wife of another passenger. He and his ladyfriend were laughing as they were being pushed through the airport. We left our mark on that flight.

Our Abode

I brought my portable GPS with and it brought us to our destination, a gated golf community located in Laveen, Arizona.  We rented a van and a sedan so we could have one car that would fit us all (once the luggage was out) and another car in case people wanted to do different things.  Eight girls isn’t our biggest group, but it’s difficult getting everyone to agree on one destination all the time.

The house was newer and nice with a pool and a view of the golf course.  It was decorated very nicely and we all fit in well.  Normally, on our weekends it’s first-come, first-served with bedrooms.  That works when we’re driving and coming in at different times of the day.  But we had to figure out a more diplomatic way to assign bedrooms so we pulled names.  There’s usually nicer bedrooms and with our group someone had to sleep on the sofabed in the loft area.  I got a bedroom.

One of the girls in our group was a runner and would go out in the morning to do her run.  She said she ran into an area that she didn’t feel very safe in so she stayed away from that area on subsequent days.  Otherwise, we felt comfortable and safe in our rented house.

Having fun at the pool

We Had Fun Visiting Surrounding Towns

We took a trip to Sedona (I had been there once before), a night trip to Tempe (a bunch of older broads mixed in with the college kids), a day and evening trip to Scottsdale (shopping, dining and drinking) and one of the girls even visited a friend of her late mother’s who had retired to AZ many years ago.  That was a trip in itself as her Mom’s friend lived with her sister and husband in a house that was full of French provincial furniture with sofas and chairs covered in plastic!  I mentioned it in my Bringin’ the 70′s to Arizona post.  These sisters were better than most stand-up comedy acts I’ve seen.  Three of us went together to drop off our friend that was spending the afternoon with them and we went in the house to meet them.  It was non-stop laughter.  I hope I can keep my sense of humor into my 80′s and 90′s.

One of my good friends and I drove to the new location for Out of Africa, which I will write a separate post on.  I’ve been there before with my son and I’m not sure if I like the new venue better or not.

Old and new friends in a Scottsdale bar

Friends, Fun and Food

Just like most of our other girl’s weekend aways, but IMO a much better area.  We normally go to Michigan, Wisconsin and have gone twice to Galena, IL.  We even traveled as a group to Key West, FL to surprise my friend on her 50th birthday (that was probably the best but I ended up getting the flu really bad and was sick most of the time, although I never stayed in my room).

This had to be a close second to Key West and is probably only 2nd because I didn’t know everyone in this group.  I always like meeting new people but there was a little tension sometimes about where we were going to go and how to split the cars up. 

My First Sand Storm

I’ve been to Arizona many times and have never been in a sand storm until this visit.  We were coming home from Sedona and all of a sudden were in the middle of a bad sand storm.  Kudos to our driver who didn’t panic and got us through it.  There was no visibility!  I have since been told we should have pulled over and stopped, but we ended up being OK.  That was scary.

Laveen?

Several people we met were kind of surprised we were staying in Laveen.  I guess it’s kind of out there and doesn’t offer much to do.   So I have no reason to ever go back there but it worked out fine for an inexpensive trip that was close enough to other towns that we didn’t feel like we were too far away from everything.

I told him I’d stay outside and finish my ice cream and that I didn’t want to accompany my son into an adult store.  I finished my dessert and was waiting on a bench.  I see a disheveled man walking toward me.  He was pretty scary looking. 

So I ran into the adult store.  I was greeted with “I.D. please.”  I said, “You’ve got to be kidding.  I’m in here looking for my 20 something year old son.”  The store worker replied, “Sorry, those are the rules.”  I had to dig out my driver’s license.  You know, following rules are fine, but I was in my late 40′s, early 50′s at the time.  Give me a break!

Anyway, I reluctantly helped my son pick out a cute black nighty for my daughter-in-law, who I knew could care less about lingerie.  I couldn’t wait to get outta there.  That’s just not a place to be with your kid, even if he’s married with children.  Ick! I haven’t been in that store since.

Photo courtesy of docKaos

We visited a couple different bars and I was even carded at one of them.  I don’t remember who was playing but the music was good.

I loved the area so much that my husband and I went back during the day for some shopping and dining.  It’s a real fun place with plenty of college kids.

In fact, I loved Tempe so much that when I first started thinking of becoming a snowbird I thought Tempe would be my destination.  I did check out some condos while in the “Arizona dream stage” but didn’t find anything at that time that interested me.  I really think that for us it will be a better place to visit than live.