Any AZ Pelicans living in 55+ gated communities?

[2porscheguy]

Hi guys! Not that I'm 55 yet!...ok I'll be there in 3 years....but here is yet another Canadian looking at purchasing a second home in AZ. I value your opinions....the good and the bad! What communities would you recommend and which ones to avoid? Anything else?....this will hopefully start a good thread!

Cheers!

Alex

[lane912]

oju has a gated comunity....
some think the hoa pres thought provoking-

[ODDJOB UNO]

i do not LIVE in a freeking gated community. i work at a gated airport with goofy azzd HOA!



there aint NO WAY IN HELL I WOULD EVAR LIVE IN A GATED COMMUNITY AFTER WHAT WE HAVE EXPERIENCED WITH HOA"S!


NEVAR NEVAR NEVAR!


all it means is the bad guys get good at climbing walls or fences. and thats ANYWHERE!


grab a piece of any county land. park what ya want, do damn near what ya want build what ya want etc etc. i mean within reason. i imagine all counties kind of frown on haz mat

[genrex]

Some of the 55+ crowd in the Seattle area buy $50,000+ RVs, and drive to the Southwest towing a regular car behind their RV. I think they belong to cliquish clubs like the Good Sam (good samaritan?) Club, and they park at the same RV parks year after year, and play cards with the same people. That sounds really boring, especially compared to what you have in mind.

I think your plan is an excellent plan, Alex. Good luck!

_

[vash]

Does your wife need to be 55?

[stealthn]

Alex, my brother in law has several properties in AZ in gated communities. He buys them then rents until the economy picks up. He lives in greenvalley which is south of Phoenix.

I can put you in touch if interested

Bob

[2porscheguy]

ODDJOB......you've had bad experiences with HOAs?

GENREX.....thanks!...still just a plan....would like to hear more from other Pelicans!

VASH....a buddy of mine is looking at Trilogy in Vistancia, which is just west of Phoenix. Apparently if you buy a new home from the developer, someone has to be at least 45. Whereas if you buy a pre-owned home, someone has to be 55 (wife could be younger). In both cases no one under 19 is allowed as a permanent resident.

STEALTHN...Bob...our timeline is from 1 to 3 years from now but, sure, I'd be interested in listening to someone who actually resides in one of these areas to hear the pro's and con's.

Alex

[ODDJOB UNO]

bad experience??????????????????



never evar would i live in an HOA!


you may as well be living in freeking NAZI GERMANY w/SS GUARDS surrounding YOU!


heres the standard drill : lil wormy guy who got beat up and bullied all his life suddenly finds HOA opening and "thinks" hes going to "change" things around for the better. reality is he now has the only "power" he has ever had and suddenly turns into a FREEKING TYRANT telling his "subjects" what how when why to do things.


seen it alot of times here. and the MORE DOUGH per zip code................the more bigger the LAWSUITS!


i work in one of the most snobbiest pretentious parts of maricopa county. the wealth is STRATOSPHERIC! makes new port la jolla beverly hills look like the freeking ghetto.


i have seen lawsuits about lil dawgs pooping on property, trailers being parked outside, too many cars bikes,flags flying,freeking basketball hoops not put away and on and on.


its damn good way to get in a fist fight or worse and i have seen the fist fights.


want security here?


buy guns

buy quality fireproof gun safes and anchor them to core/mantle of the earth

buy a dawg

buy insurance



when ya leave the house slam the safe shut, feed the dawg and give him water and never ever worry about NOTHING!



screw HOAS and the horse they rode in on. what a joke. and you WILL GET TO PAY FOR THE ABUSE! MARK MY WORDS sooner or later some lil shrimp HOA NAZI will bust you for some lil minor infraction that not one of us ever thinks about, and you will be off to the races with a lawsuit or worse.


my buddy has had $2900 in fines accessed to him because his truck trailer ball was hanging off his truck 3" over sidewalk. he has REFUSED TO PAY! and they keep leveling more and more fines and penalties on him.


this last xmas he took a blow up female sex doll and placed a santa hat on her and placed it in his front lawn with a sign "FREE TO ALL HOA BOARD MEMBERS!"



that sent the HOA over the freeking TOP and now its WWIII!

[ODDJOB UNO]

p.s im damn near 6 months short of being 55 yrs old.


i would slit my wrists and cut off my dinger donger before EVAR LIVING in some stoopid azz HOA!

[2porscheguy]

WOW! ODDJOB thanks for sharing!...frivolous lawsuits from your "good neighbours"...it never crossed my mind! Can I ask in what "community" does your buddy live in?

[ODDJOB UNO]

hes over on the west side roughly 59th ave and happy valley rd.


but be forewarned........................these are NOT ISOLATED INCIDENTS.


many many many if not vast majority of these HOAs are corporate entities that run 100's and 1000's of communities.

yer not squaring off over yer dawggie pooping on the common area with just another neighbor or an HOA board member who has a crap attitude or napoleon complex........................YER SQUARING OFF WITH A PREETTY DAMN BIG CORPORATION that HAS the assets to BURY YOU FINANCIALLY with heavy duty HIRED GUN LAWYERS!


my boss and i REFUSE to EVEN ATTEND any/all HOA meetings here after ALL THE CRAP we have ENDURED! problem is....................we have (5) properties here which = (5) VOTES................MORE THAN ANYBODY ELSE! and we will VOTE FOR ONLY WHAT SERVES US BEST! aka we dont give a RATTS AZZ about ANYBODY ELSE!


why? because WE ARE KING RATZ! and when a bunch of RATZ get crammed into a confined space...........the 1st damn thing they do is EAT THEIR YOUNG and THEN EAT EACH OTHER!



you wanna retire here, i would look at prescott/sedona/flagstaff(sometimes heavy winter), showlow area/alpine area/tucson foothills(lower temps then phx.)



phx is 2 seasons now..............really damn hot and kind of cool. the rest of the areas mentioned are mild 4 seasons except alpine area which does get lots of snow.

[creaturecat]

you sure about all this, OJU?
: )

[ODDJOB UNO]

yes i am SURE!

where i work on the present board we have i think only (2) of (6) members who actually live here. it will be a cold day in hell when a non resident tells us what to do or how to do it. they dont live here therefore they havent a CLUE what goes on daily /hourly.


this HOA MGMT gig has been picking up big steam as of late. HUGE BUCKS in IT with all the corporate greed included.


actually have employed HOA NAZI's driving around daily/nightly looking for violations.



and take a wild azz guess who they hire: COPS! REAL COPS. that way they get armed security who DOES HAVE A BADGE! which in actuality is a good smart move, but their incentive IS TO BUST PEOPLE NO MATTER HOW BIG OR SMALL the infraction.

[2porscheguy]

ODDJOB you're quite right! I did a quick google on HOAs and found plenty of sites dedicated to complaints about HOAs. As I had maybe mentioned a good buddy of mine is checking out Trilogy at Vistancia at the end of June for a look-see. There appear to be fewer complaints about that community's HOA so I'll see what his experience is.

I was in Sedona about three years ago and really enjoyed it there.... beautiful scenery with a lot of great hiking! I'd consider that area as well. Our plan is to spend 3 to 4 months "down south" and the rest of the year north of the 49th. But...yah never know!

[LakeCleElum]

Alex: To each their own, but I've been to many of these gated over 55 hoods in AZ and Vegas. I have to agree with OJU. Here's what I could not handle:

1) All homes too close together, look the same, painted the same.
2) Barely to room to park a car in your driveway w/o hanging over sidewalk.
3) Tiny 2 car garage, no room for toys.
4) Guests have to get a permit to park overnight on the street.
5) Nazi's with nothing better to do - snooping for violations.
6) Monthly fees.
7) Fees go up when others default and get foreclosed.
8) Too hot in summer
9) Too many people in the area
10) Not enough green for me.
11) Wipe up oil drip on your driveway or they bill you for doing it.
12) Get permission to do anything: paint, prune, build shed, etc.

I live on 3 acres with only 5 neighbors - Wouldn't have them any closer. If your wife has grandkids, you will be returning to the frozen north shortly anyhow!

Enjoy...

[scottmandue]

Originally Posted by vash

Does your wife need to be 55?

Or how about like 25?

[2porscheguy]

Originally Posted by scottmandue

Or how about like 25?

Better yet...check out the "Chest thread"

[59GS]

Listen to OJU. I am President of an HOA ... out of self defense. The year prior to running for the board I was cited 37 times for violations all but 5 of which were appealed and I won. We had people jumping out the bushes taking photos of my 7 yr old grandson riding his skateboard in OUR driveway. I ran for the board not because I wanted to but I had to in self defense. The board has more power over other people's lives than the Taliban! Avoid it at all costs.

DO NOT EVER BUY A PROPERTY SUBJECT TO AN HOA. Did I mention NEVER?

[JavaBrewer]

Originally Posted by LakeCleElum

Alex: To each their own, but I've been to many of these gated over 55 hoods in AZ and Vegas. I have to agree with OJU. Here's what I could not handle:

1) All homes too close together, look the same, painted the same.
2) Barely to room to park a car in your driveway w/o hanging over sidewalk.
3) Tiny 2 car garage, no room for toys.
4) Guests have to get a permit to park overnight on the street.
5) Nazi's with nothing better to do - snooping for violations.
6) Monthly fees.
7) Fees go up when others default and get foreclosed.
8) Too hot in summer
9) Too many people in the area
10) Not enough green for me.
11) Wipe up oil drip on your driveway or they bill you for doing it.
12) Get permission to do anything: paint, prune, build shed, etc.

I live on 3 acres with only 5 neighbors - Wouldn't have them any closer. If your wife has grandkids, you will be returning to the frozen north shortly anyhow!

Enjoy...

Bob, I guess you are imparting your take on the general AZ conditions - cause the HOA specific ones I have bolded. The rest are not unique to HOA properties and are instead AZ in general.

3 of my last 4 homes have been in a HOA. My current residence of 10 years is also managed by a HOA and behind a gate. Give and take. For now at least the HOA Nazis have taken a break and all is pretty peaceful as long as I (or visitors) don't park overnight in the street, my portable basketball hoop is not out longer than 3 days, and my yard looks respectable. No skin off my nose. Like I said it's give and take. I don't like giving them $128 monthly but I do appreciate that my neighbor can't indulge in a VW bug bone yard or decide that his home in bright pink would look good. Give and take.

[356racing]

I think the reality is that if you want a lock and leave lifestyle you will be dealing with a HOA on some level. Vistancia is a nice community if you just want to come down for the winter and defrost but it's pretty far removed when it comes to the airport and various social activities that may interest you. Your best bet is to come down for a few weeks (in the winter!) and check out the various areas to see what fits your expectations the best, there are plenty to choose from.