Making a list and checking it twice – or more

It’s a couple of weeks before our trip.  I’ve got homework to do!  I want to see as many properties as possible in the short time we’re going to be out there plus it’s a holiday week.  So I had to choose the listings carefully.

I mentioned before that I printed everything out, I wrote notes on each listing and embedded Google earth photos showing how close the pool was and highlighted important things and on and on.  As the date was approaching I was growing more and more excited.

Our criteria

At first I only wanted 3 bedrooms and at least 2 baths, a dishwasher and in-unit laundry.  It had to allow pets and renting.  Not only did it have to have a community pool but if it appeared to be too far away I wasn’t interested.  I narrowed down my search and there didn’t seem to be enough available properties.

So I went through the 2 bedroom Scottsdale condos for sale looking for an extra room like a loft or den.  I found a few and added them to the list. 

Another thing that was important was the monthly maintenance or HOA fee.  They varied greatly and I gave up looking at patio homes as the HOA fees were in excess of $400.00/mo.  High even if it would be a primary residence, way too high for a 2nd home.  We really wanted the fee to be as low as possible and not to exceeed $200.00/mo.  So that was another criteria to sort by.

I couldn’t help re-reading each print-out, looking at the location in Scottsdale and how close the pool was.  I’d go back online and view the photos and any virtual tours.  Over and over and over. 

But then it happened……..

Buyer’s remorse!  (to be continued)

Posted in Searching for a Scottsdale condo by judyo  1 comment   

My musician husband had a gig in Scottsdale

My husband has been in quite a few bands in his life (he actually lived in AZ with some bandmates for almost a year – that’s a different story).  He is in a popular band in Northern IL called The New Invaders (do a search) and they play all over.  Their most recent out-of-state gigs were in Colorado and New York.  They’ll be playing in Wyoming and Florida this year besides back home in Illinois.

His good friend, a prior bandmate, is a full-time musician and plays in Scottsdale and other towns in Arizona.  His name is Steve Kostakes and he is a piano man and a one-man band.  He plays at the Ocean Club in Scottsdale and just got a new gig in Chandler and somewhere else.  He was a regular at Maggiano’s in Scottsdale but due to the current recession they dropped their live entertainment. 

Steve, me and Jimmy at the Ocean Club
Steve, me and Jimmy at the Ocean Club

My husband has joined him in the past for several New Year’s Eve gigs including a local drummer and bass player and a sax player from California.  It’s always been fun and several times other friends and family came to the gigs.  Steve set up a New Year’s Eve gig at Maggiano’s this past holiday so we planned on that week to finally start looking at places.

It gave us a reason to commit to our search and also gave us a timeline to get ready for and plan on buying during our short stay.  The closer we got to the New Year’s gig, the more exciting things got.  I started really doing my homeword, trying to pare the listings down to a manageable amount that we could view during our trip.

And we had a great time at the gig as my brother, sister-in-law and niece came in from California and their friends own a Scottsdale condo so they made it out, too. We had a great time at the gig and we all got together for some fun dining, drinking and shopping experiences.   I’ve never had a bad time in Scottsdale!

Posted in Fun Things To Do, Searching for a Scottsdale condo by judyo     

Choosing Our Scottsdale REALTOR

I had a dilemma most buyers wouldn’t.  I knew too many Phoenix area real estate agents.  Most of the agents I knew had great websites that were ranked high on the search engines.  Because of that, I assumed they were heavy hitters.

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.

Posted in Scottsdale, AZ, Searching for a Scottsdale condo by judyo  2 comments   

The beginnings of our Scottsdale condo search

I’ve mentioned before that I have a handful of Arizona real estate agents to choose from.  Most of them were heavy realtorcomhitters and I wasn’t sure I’d even be working with them personally or if I’d be working with one of their buyer agents.  I wasn’t quite ready yet so figured I had time to choose who I was going to work with. 

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.

Posted in AZ, Intro, Scottsdale, AZ by judyo     

Scottsdale Dreams

mountainview101
Mountain view driving on 101 through Scottsdale

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.

Posted in Scottsdale, AZ by judyo     

Out of Africa Wildlife Park in Arizona

lioness at Out of Africa Wildlife ParkI have mentioned my fun trip to Arizona to visit my Mom with my son Chad (my middle child who was in his 20′s during our visit).  One of our most memorable trips was to visit Out of Africa that was located in Fountain Hills, before its move to Camp Verde.  At the time they were much closer to my Mom’s house in Mesa, AZ.

We’re animal lovers

My son Chad and I (and his wife Jeanette) are true animal lovers.  My Mom had mentioned Out of Africa Wildlife Park so without knowing what it was all about, Chad and I decided to make a day trip.  It was 110 degrees that day and although the sweat was dripping down my back, I turned to Chad and casually mentioned, “It’s a little hot today.”  This coming from a Chicago native.  By the way, we were there in June or July, so it was summertime in Arizona – and we loved it.

It looked like a dump

When we pulled up my heart sank and I almost turned around and left.  We sat in the car a minute and asked each other if we wanted to go in.  As animal lovers we decided to give it a try.  We’re both so glad we did.

We have a couple of great zoos in the Chicago area, Brookfield Zoo and Lincoln Park Zoo.  But nothing prepared us for the closeness to the animals at Out of Africa.  I swear, we were separated from wolves with a heavy duty chicken wire looking fence.  You could feel the breeze as they walked past and I swear you could feel their breath!  It was amazing!

Cougars and bears and college students – all in the same cage!

As soon as we arrived we were told a show was beginning so we hustled over to a large caged-in area with a pool in the middle.  There we witnessed a show combining bears, cougars and some college kids playing with them.  The kids would run around with a toy dangling from a stick and a bear or cougar would be behind them.  They would make it around the pool and throw the toy in the pool and the animal would dive in after the toy.  We sat there with our mouths open, and I was wondering what kind of rider these kids had to sign to work there.  I also wondered how many mishaps occurred over the years.  These were full grown animals.

During the show we were told a story explaining that the bears and cougars actually shared an enclosure.  They used to share it with wolves but it was discovered that the wolves would scare the bears and the cougars into the trees.  So they removed the wolves and the other two species got along OK.

A very interactive place

feeding a big snake at out of africa at Fountain Hills, ArizonaWe were able to feed the giraffes and there was a tiger feeding time slot – but unfortunately we spent so much time there and knew my Mom was making dinner for us and had to leave before the next tiger feeding time.  Darn!

Another “show” was watching a humongous snake put out in a fenced area get fed.  They had a dead rabbit and the snake wasn’t hungry.  As we watched this not hungry snake just kind of lay around, it started to feel like watching water boil so we left and viewed the rest of the animals.

We didn’t want to leave

We were having such a good time we did not want to leave.  Time flew by and we knew Mom would be upset if we didn’t make it home for dinner.  We could see we were going to be late and I guess we didn’t bring our cell phones with as the staff let us use their phone to call home.  We reluctantly left to make it home before the food got too cold.  I figured Mom would be upset but she wasn’t.

As hot as it was that day, Chad and I decided to take a dip in the pool after dinner.  We got into our suits but when we went outside and dipped our toes in, we both thought the water was too cold.  We didn’t go in.  Mom couldn’t believe it.  Remember, it had hit 110 degrees that day.  We do not represent Chicago very well, do we?

They had to move

Unfortunately, we caught them at their last year at that location.  My Mom told me it was on Indian land and Out of Africa had to move.  They moved around an hour and a half away to Camp Verde.  But they were closed for some time before the move, so we never saw them at their original spot again.

My photos of this trip must be on our external hard drive so I’ll have to hook it up one of these days to get them on here.  This photo is of the original Out of Africa location in Fountain Hills, AZ and is courtesy of j klo.

Posted in Fun Things To Do, Out of Africa by judyo     

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