Planning A Trip To See Arizona Homes
You are planning a trip to Arizona to begin to look at homes. Perhaps you have been shoveling snow for many winters and are interested in a 2nd home here in the Valley of the Sun. Or maybe you have decided to sell your current home and move to Arizona permanently.
Often times buyers come to the Valley who have never been to Phoenix, or maybe it was many years ago. Here are some things to think about as you embark on your trip.
- If you are planning to come in the summer plan it will be warm – very warm. Many summer days in the Phoenix area have temps in excess of 100 degrees. In you come in the summer, plan that you will need to carry a towel, gloves, or even a pot holder (its ok to laugh here, but seriously it gets HOT) to open your car door and touch your steering wheel until the car cools down with the A/C.
- Plan to carry a LOT of water with you in your car. You will need more water than you think you will to stay hydrated. If you get dehydrated you will end up with headaches and generally your experience here will not be at its best. Not a good idea to become dehydrated. Having a few snacks in your car is also a good idea.
- Bring your GPS which will make it easier to get around. Maps are ok, but a GPS is much better.
- Bring a camera. This makes it easier to record the many things you will see.
- Bring your cell phone. Also bring your laptop or plan to stay where there is computer and Internet access. You will need to be able to look at property info on line most likely and be able to send e-mails.
- If you have not been to Phoenix before, or its been a long time, plan a few days to simply drive about on a self-guided tour, before you plan to want to schedule to see homes. You need to decide on the community(s) that will best work for you. Just drive about and see the things you will want to do once you are here. Then pick communities close to those things that are in your price range. Once you have decided on the communities near the things you like to do, or with the things you need to be close to, then its easy to narrow down homes.
Note – under Federal Fair Housing laws, your real estate agent cannot direct you to certain communities, or discourage you from communities as to do so would give the appearance of “steering”. Sorry, but the Feds can remove an agent’s license if an agent does this. A buyer needs to decide on the communities where they want to see homes on their own.
- Once you have decided on the community(s) where you want to see homes, it can take your agent at least 24-48 hours, or longer depending on the property, to make arrangements for you to be able to see a home(s). Just because a home is listed in the MLS does not mean it is instantly accessible to see.
- Phoenix is wider than it appears on your map — or at least it will take you longer to cross it than you think it may. In traffic, it can easily take someone 2-4 hours to get from one side of town to the other. And it can be an easy 75-150 miles in your car.
- Plan that you will need to be pre-qualified for a home loan before you see homes if you are going to need to pay for a home with a loan. Plan that you will need to be able to have bank verification and proof of funds if you are planning to pay with cash. Don’t be offended when you are asked to do this. It’s necessary in this market. We can provide you with lender info. (As full disclosure, we do not get any refund or rebate or referral fee from suggesting a lender to you — we merely suggest lenders who have done a good job for clients in the past. The lender you plan to use will need to have an Arizona license.) Here is a link to more information about Arizona home buyer financing issues.
- You will be asked to sign a group of standard Arizona real estate pre-buyer forms that will include disclosures, advisories, agency designation, etc before you go out to see homes. Again this is standard in this marketplace. If you have contacted us in advance of your trip, these will have been sent to you via e-mail for your review and signatures.
- When you are taken to see homes, a good idea is to bring your digital camera and take a series of photos of the home beginning with the address as the first photo of the home, and then other photos of the inside of things you want to be able to remember. As you see a few homes, this will help you to remember later all the features of the particular home.
Arizona is a great place to consider buying a home. Currently in this market there are great buying opportunities for buyers.
Contact us if you are considering buying in Arizona. We look forward to being able to assist you.
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