Rancho Sahuarita to Basis Tucson (foreclosure, rent, HOA)

[azdr0710]

hey moving....


blunt opinions ahead!

me again with some quick thoughts.....I'm going to actually go by the 6th St place and poke around in the next few days.....I think it's vacant?.....will let you know what I think.....I already told you the 6th St concerns I have....but Sam Hughes is a very famous and desirable 'hood here....and pricey....if you can $wing it, try to find something other than on a busy street in Sam Hughes....6th St is not Times Square, but just busy enough to feel like a semi-major thoroughfare....never ever close to bumper-to-bumper

patios are very nice out here....well worth it....you might be able to add one, but be careful so it doesn't look too added-on and dumb!!....south facing patio is good (best?), and that might work with the 6th St place in the backyard.....

garages can be added if necessary....good to have, but many don't....

to me, Rancho Sahaurita is just a large subdivision a ways out of town full of tract homes built when real estate prices got too high in Tucson proper....a builder was looking for cheaper land, it seems....nothing really be-all-and-end-all about it.....my blunt opinion and you may not care about these points....I guess they have some sort of fantastic rec center??....

there are many great neighborhoods in central Tucson...usually older, desert-style architecture....some areas will appear junky to some midwesterners/easterners used to grassy, green, more lavish neighborhoods.....some out here park in the gravelly front yard because the carport or garage is full of junk....all of central Tucson is "old" and much is student-oriented, so that doesn't help the appearance in some cases.....but there are some excellent, clean central areas, too.....

adobe is not terribly common, but some places will look adobe-ish....most places are just block (concrete) stucco'd over.....or exposed brick....much newer places are mostly frame construction with chicken-wire-like stucco'd surfaces.....

you may still have walks of several blocks in central just to get to businesses because most are only on the major "mile apart" roads (Grant, Speedway, Broadway, etc.)...much smaller clusters are on lesser roads every half-mile like at 6th St and Tucson Blvd....but N Campbell from Grant to Prince is full of fantastic business and very walkable (for Tucson)....it's known as a bit of a '"gem" for unique shops and wide variety.....

Mt Lemmon is about a solid 60-90 minutes to "the very top" from central Tucson....lots to see along the way and you don't have to go to the top....paved all the way....trails, picnic areas, campgrounds, views, and a very casual, quiet, small community, Summerhaven, near the top...mostly all managed by the US Forest Service....we're very lucky to have it nearby....road can get busy at times with drivers anxious to cool off....

[Moving To Tucson]

azdr0710,

Serious Post: Your post wasn't serious AT ALL after I pictured someone (you) "poking around" the residence... Too funny.

South Facing Yards: why are they the "best"? (something to do with the sun, I know...)

Patios: Someone once posted (you?) that I should look at homes with nice patios because outdoor living is important. (I understand the "dumb" look with regard to add-ons.)

6th Street Traffic: I am just hoping that we don't mind it. Can you do a bit of car-counting (15 seconds - traffic that passes on both sides of the road) while in the area? I'd love to compare your count with roads here in order to get a better idea...

If The Owners Are Home: if the owners are there, would you mind asking them about the status of their home? (I'd love for them to share regarding the offers that have come in so far, but maybe that is private information? Ultimately, I want to know if this home is even within what we want to spend. Maybe they have a ballpark idea regarding what the bank hopes to get for it.)

Walking Several Blocks To Get To Businesses: is it common to see people walking along the extra space in front of homes? Just wondering whether people use it regularly as a sidewalk...

Sorry... more answers often lead to more questions.....

Thanks for the Mt. Lemmon info. 60-90 minutes sounds awesome. I knew I'd love living in central Tucson. Having such things at our fingertips..... JUST SO AWESOME.

Have a wonderful weekend and thanks for whatever you can/cannot do. We'll most likely not get this home, though, so no pressure to do anything. Our potential buyer seems to be dragging her feet for some reason.... so we may not be moving anytime soon. So frustrating!

Anyway, thanks again for your insights.

[beTucsonan]

Originally Posted by Moving To Tucson

BajaAZ,

(my second post to you today)

I am re-reading all the posts on my thread so far and had a question regarding Catalina Highway. When you say "drive it all the way to the top", do you mean all the way to Mt. Lemmon? About 2-3 hours both ways? Looks like an awesome trip.

Yep - Azdr0710 was right about the travel time. There's a lot to do - there's camping, tons of hiking, rock climbing, there's a small lake (Rose Canyon), the southernmost ski resort in the country (yep - there's skiing an hour outside of Tucson, not great skiing, but it's there), and a cool little town in Summerhaven. You can ride your bike up it, and there's even a marathon up it ... the hardest thing I've ever done!

There's also a lesser known and little used "back road" up the mountain, which sometimes requires a four wheel drive since it's a dirt road which can vary wildly in condition from smooth to very rough, but there's spelunking to be had in peppersauce cave back there.

All in all it's an excellent resource for Tucson, and a great place to take children to learn about nature (you go through 3 or 4 different different climate zones on the drive - the forest service says it's the equivalent of driving from the Mexican desert to the Canadian forests ... in 27 miles).

[Moving To Tucson]

Thanks BajaAZ. It sounds like you love life and live it to the fullest. A breath of fresh air. Have a great Sunday.

[Moving To Tucson]

borregokid,

Thank you for the informative post regarding the placement of the heat pump/swamp cooler. I visited the Tucson Assessor's website. Lots to read! Thanks. They even have jobs available. I will have my hubby read through those.... He may need to find something else to do if he cannot get a job transfer. He's presently a civil/environmental engineer, so if you have any ideas regarding changing careers...... please share them.

Heat Pump/Swamp Cooler: It is amazing that a 1.5 or 2 ton object can be stored up on a roof! Seems like it'd eventually make a building lopsided. (Of course I say this ignorantly... knowing nothing about structural strength / integrity.)

Patios: Wow, your patio sounds really spacious. My dream patio is an "indoor/outdoor" living space. A full wall of sliding glass that opens to the outside. Very expensive, I'm sure.... so it may remain "my dream"....

760 SqFt: I didn't know, initially, that the home was only 760 sq ft, but did stumble upon the information a few days back on a non-real-estate site. This is actually THE REASON I began asking for input in this forum regarding the placement of the heat pump/swamp cooler. I wanted to know if any square footage within the home could be reclaimed.

Thanks so much for posting! Have a great Sunday.

[borregokid]

One ton, two ton, three ton, etc refers to cooling capacity. A one ton air conditioner is equal to the largest window AC. One ton is equal to 12000 BTUs. Two tons is 24,000 BTUs. A BTU is short for british thermal unit. Generally in the desert one ton is needed for every 400-600 feet. The model number for an air conditioner will start with one or two digits which tell you the capacity. When you walk around a house or have an inspection done you will find out the capacity of the unit. Two tons will be 24...., three tons 36.... They dont weigh that much but they have to be placed on a roof with a small crane. Roof top placement is really common in Tucson. If you look at most flat roofs in Tucson they are coated white. The house you are looking at is grey. White reflects the heat. I put a new roof on and the roofers automatically include coating the roof in the bid.

The outdoor room you are looking at is called an Arizona room. Pretty common 40 years ago. In my neighborhood most have simply been enclosed and typical use is a den. My house they did it pretty cheap. Plus they arent ducted for heat or AC. I can imagine years ago people sleeping outside in the Arizona room. A few people who are really into outside living have swamp coolers on their patio. Those are nice.

[Moving To Tucson]

Thanks borregokid. Great information. Have a great week!

[Moving To Tucson]

These questions are repeats from my first list - page 1 of this thread. Just wanted to re-post them. Anything come to mind?

1) Allen's Organics / Bountiful Baskets / other organic options...
2) Aquatics - best year-round facilities (Reid Park seems closest...)
3) Basis - what is life like for families sending their kids here?
5) Gymnastics World Central
6) Classical Conversations / Passion Church / GAP Ministries ...
7) Central Tucson - what is it like raising a family in Central Tucson.... (Sam Hughes and surrounding areas...). What do you like to do for fun?

[beTucsonan]

Originally Posted by Moving To Tucson

2) Aquatics - best year-round facilities (Reid Park seems closest...)

You'll want to doublecheck, but I think only the therapy pool is open year-round at Reid Park - it's listed as the Edith Ball Center if you have any trouble finding it. If this is for swim practice rather than just recreation, we used to use the Catalina High School pool and we'd also take trips to area lakes on warm weekend days to get long distance training in. Patagonia or Parker Canyon Lake were most common back in the day - a lot of the long distance swim team folks and triathletes and such would go out there.

[Moving To Tucson]

BajaAZ,

We are definitely trying to find the best recreational, outdoor (preferred), year-round pool. Not sure if this exists. I thought this is what the aquatics page said.

Thanks again.