Moving to AZ - research thread

Walls keep most of the critters out, which keeps snakes from looking for food. My backyard was up against desert. Never saw a rattlesnake. Shovelenose snakes, yes. Like garter snakes.
Keep crickets out of your garage and scorpions won’t come looking for food.
Bayer total control in a sprayer is great.

Here in Northern VA, most people don’t have fences/walls. Was very strange to me.

 

Snakes are really good friends! Not all are bad, but I understand your concern. They have dog snake bite prevention kinda classes out here too. We see rattlers and also all kinds of other snakes when we go to sabino canyon; we’re living in their world…..
But I’ll also harvest a tail on a run over one…….
Honestly I’d be more worried about scorpions

 

So I’m researching the ESA program , that is remarkable you can get 7k to any private school or homeschool, really cool

I also see Hobbs tried to income cap it but did that get shot down ?

 

I have been taking pictures of property in southern AZ for almost a decade now, lived here for several.
New construction is going up all over the edges of wherever pavement goes around Tucson. To not end up near a new 30 track homes on that 5 acres of what was desert last month, then see it happen again and again every 2 years like a checkerboard..
Tucson is surrounded by mountains, like a bowl it generates amazing weather, all of them are national forest. The closer you are to them the more likely you are to find an area that's going to remain "away" from the new construction congestion.
Most of the land surrounding the central metro area was once really big ranches, as those sold to developers in the 60's to early 80's a lot of really good brick houses were put up on .5-1.5 acre lots. A lot of them still have very inexpensive/unintrusive HoA's and really good placement on the lot itself. If not in the Veil area (massive construction going on there over the next forever years, its going to track home all the way to the freeway to the west and north) but its still a great area, north of River Rd is where you want to be "20 min from the city". NE up Tanque Verde is a great area, almost no places for new track. Marana to Red Rock, Tucson Mountains to Picture Rock should be right up your alley too.

If you are going to build be careful with the Big Box Builders the amount of corners they can cut along the way can really be a hassle to deal with. A custom one is going to cost 35-75% more for the same sqft too.
We built in 2018, sold 5 years later, into a 50 year old slump block single story and couldn't be happier! As we have been remodeling, a framer called the wall beautiful after removing the drywall, and then half the wall.
Your tax and insurance will vary quite a bit based on what you're insuring and the zipcode. Your electric bill is where a better house saves you thousands a year. The local govt is NOTHING like Chicago, you'll find MANY happy Midwesterners all over the state.

Living south of Tucson greatly increases your chances of a migrant interaction. I have had a dozen or so over the years and never had any real interaction, a wave or they duck down and "hide"; but I know that's not the same for everyone.
Elgin and Sonoita are beautiful and WAY WAY better weather when its hot out with WAY less snow then Northern AZ when its cold; but you're much more likely to come across migrants. They have been walking those mountain path's for hundreds of years.

Phoenix Metro is always Hotter, and like living IN Chicago, Tucson is like a freeway fork gas station that grew to the mountains in every direction, 30-45 min driving; a Il state road intersection where there is nothing for miles but a tractor store that ended up slowly eating the surrounding 5 farm towns.

Dan's Ugly steaks from Dickman's are top notch, though I really miss when they were 3.99/lb.
Home Inspection from not your realtor's suggestion, Scope the sewers and through Termite Inspection are three things I would not mess around with when buying a not new build.
Best way to keep most unwanted critters away from you is to clear the dead cactus and low brush 20 yards out from any structure, otherwise you'll find packrats are a headache.
When you get tired of laughing and cleaning large windows of the funky bird prints they'll leave, 1ft mylar ribbon strip will prevent 95% in a surprisingly large area.

 

wow, lots of info there

I haven’t decided on new or existing, pro and cons to each , custom is just too pricey I think , the ones I’ve talked too are really wishy washy on the price, I could see it escalating significantly once engaged

wife wants to not be out in the abyss so I may have to settle for a subdivision of some sort , but I think if it’s 1 acre or more lots it would work , construction doesn’t bother me all that much I cut my teeth on job sites and my house have now was first and then built around us

I have seen a few old homes but not sure what to make of it, I don’t want to inherit someone else’s mods, or have to be roofs HVAC ac etc with a year or two , but not ruling that out either, but metro area isn’t for me

 

Took me eight months to find us a 50 year old that was basically untouched. Two years of construction later we are really getting close to exactly what we want instead of someone else's dreams/consequences.
I like AZ a lot, and Tucson is the right amount of small town these days. I don't miss living in Phoenix, only the freeway system and its just 90 min away anyway. Also living NE up Tanque Verde adds almost an hour before your on the freeway going north, really the only downside living there.

Be sad at the lack of basements, but don't be afraid of the strange "flat" roofs, the 1/12 pitch is just fine for the weather. Houses are not built the same out here, no fear of the frost line, more important is N/S facing, tall non native trees are a big plus.

 

Im coming across some houses that are propane only, but then use electric for most things. Im looking at one now that is propane for the range and fireplace only, everything else is electric. and it has a heat pump which Im not very well versed in

Propane fueled house must be pricey?

Im guessing if you then want a spa and or heated pool you going with electric or propane for that , but won't that make it stupid expensive to run?

 

this is a newer custom home only a year or two old, I just don’t think they have natural gas in the area.

just wondering how that works with a pool etc, if you want it heated , so I have a bit more to look into

thanks for the info on the heat pump , you don’t see a ton of those around here so wasn’t sure about it.

 

Propane sucks for heating out here, stove and fire place are ok. I don’t like heat pumps(yours is sweet though) because they run 24/7 using the same energy in heating or cooling. Our natural gas bill jumps about 100$ during winter to heat the house, peak summer time electric bills are over 300$ on a 1200sqft house, so basically that same electric bill during the winter for a heat pump.

 

When you see propane its often a Manufactured Home or too far out. If you have a gas line with any issue, they demand they replace it for free; can be 1k+ per 100ft to get it to the house - no idea what a service to refill your tank would cost. If the pavement brings you electricity and water it likely brings gas and sewage too. When you get too far out of the city, it only brings electricity, you're on your own for the rest. More and more completely remove gas from being needed, just going electric.
Don't be afraid of heat pumps, they work great. We added one per each pair of rooms we added on; reduced the load on the original house and cost less to heat and cool with, extending the life of both units.
You heat a pool here best with gas, seconded by solar heater(black tubes), their obvious con is night, and then electric. It's 50-100 per weekend for my parents to heat theirs to the upper 80's in the winter with electric. One of many costs of being grandparents!
The above ground swim spa's are getting more and more popular. Add it anywhere without a lot of normal associated costs, just need supply, drain and a 20a 220 on a concrete pad.

 

your saying for an electric heat pump right , so the same cost year round?

good info thanks.

I would just rather have gas so I can also run my grills , heat lamp etc without thinking about running out of propane I guess , have to think that one over a bit

 

I’m surprised to not see a lot more solar panels with how much sun you guys get out there

this one crib I’m looking at with everything electric but the stove (propane ) and no solar panels , I bet the electric bill is stupid high, I did ask them so we’ll see.

but I’ll likely keep looking anyways , thanks again for all the help and info

 

Yeah natural gas is the way to go out here, followed by electric and propane last probably. Propane last because the bill isn’t gradual, it’s all at once; fuck the tank is empty I need a delivery now!!!

 

Solar is everywhere out here. Not on a lot of new builds as the residents needs are unknown. If you get solar my biggest piece of advice is do not lease it; makes selling the property a real headache. If your roof is E/W its not worth the cost/headache.

 

got more details

Structure

•Structural slab with nearly 200 feet of interior footers, not just around the perimeter.

•All columns are solid concrete, not wood that will eventually rot.

•The entire exterior perimeter and interior rear wall of house is sheathed in plywood, not just

foam. This makes the house extremely strong which reduces cracks in drywall and stucco.

•The “roof to wall connection” is structural with “SPAX” lags and 2 hurricane straps per

connection.

•Roof has solid wood blocking at all plywood joints, not just metal clips – no roof sag.

•Garage roof is designed for weight of solar panels.

•Stucco is synthetic, which is far superior to standard stucco with paint. Less maintenance and

better performance.

•All parapets are sealed with the roofing system and the stucco system for double protection.

•All Door jambs are “kerfed” to accept the metal curved drywall corners. This creates a sleek

“caseless” design and less maintenance.

•All interior walls are framed 16” on center, not 24”. Stronger wall.

•There is a continuous soffit running throughout the house to make any mechanical additions

possible.

•All doors are solid wood, metal, or fiberglass.

•All joints caulked and re-caulked with premium caulk.

HVAC

•2 High efficiency heat pumps ( 5 ton and 4 ton)

•Both Heat pumps have 5000 Watt heat strips for back up heating.

•There are 2 temperature zones for flexibility and efficiency.

•All bedrooms and common areas have air returns to the heat pump. Not just 1 located in the

center of the house. This allows for even temperature control and efficiency.

•2 low air returns for maximum air circulation.

Electric

•The main panel is 400 amps and there is a 200 amp panel located in the garage. This makes any

future electrical need no problem.

•All electric receptacles are wired with 12 gauge wire and are 20 amp circuits, not 15 amps.

•All lighting is LED with CCT technology.

•All ceiling fans have separate fan/light controls. No pull chains.

•5 exterior convenience electric receptacles.

•Garage door openers have battery back-up.

•Roof has multiple electric receptacles.•Future exterior landscape lighting.

•All bedrooms, rear porch, garage, and mudroom are wired with cable.

Plumbing

•All main water lines are 1” so there is no water pressure loss.

•Refrigerator has a filter loop under the kitchen sink

•The water system has a water softener loop.

•The water system has a hot water return loop.

Further Warranties Details

•HVAC

o5 years on parts with 4+ years left

o10 years on compressor with 9+ years left

•Roof

o5 years warrant

o4+ years left.

 

They told me their

water is 25 (ish) a month
Electric ranges from $120-200 a month
Propane had 80 gallons when they moved in and havent filled it yet.
homeowners is about $2,000 a year

My guess, is if they are being truthful, they dont cook much or use the fireplace much.
I cant see how the electric bill is that low, but perhaps a new high quality custom house with two heat pumps is efficient more than I think?

 

Pretty sure just the service fee for water is more than $25/month…

confirmed - I have $35.64 in service fees monthly before they ever start charging me for water.

 

ya, even if that BS, call it 100 or 150 thats not going to make or break it, but I thought the same thing, thats stupid low

any thoughts on the rest of it?

 

Not really. I’d have a hard time going to a place that had no natural gas. A 5 year warranty for a roof seems kinda sketchy.

 

ya, Im really struggling with that myself. I guess I can run a line from a propane tank to my grill and heat lamp type deal.

but I think Im out of luck with a spa or heated pool, which blows and not sure that works

 

My spa uses propane to heat it. Not a big deal at all. I was told by our pool designer to skip on the heated pool with propane though.

 

how do you heat your pool, or don't you heat it?

Im not thinking all year round, but the wife is always damn cold so I can see warming it up a bit will be needed at times.

do you have natural gas at your house as well and just elected to use propane only for that?

what size tank and how often do you fill and for what $$?

thank you

 

We don't heat the pool. It's honestly not something you really need except at the very beginning and end of the pool season.

We don't have natural gas in our section of town, though we've had a bunch of new builds around us and might have access nowadays. All my appliances are electric - we just added the propane tank for the spa. I think it's a 110 gal tank and we haven't had to refill it yet, but also don't use the spa as much as we were expecting. It's nice when we do use it though.

 

interesting , sounds like your exactly like this set-up

 

Comes down to how air tight the house is and the wall construction itself.
I have done a new build with 2 layers of brick, stucco outside framed inside you end up with a 19" thick exterior walls, and a 100-200 electric bill at 3.5k sqft, it is very possible.
Electric, gas and water each have a 10-20 a month hookup/service fee.

So that style of heat pump, isn't quite as advantageous as smaller ones with more units. Keep the unit shaded and it will be good for 10 years, 1 and 2 room units are about ~1k per room, the 4+ room ones end up on the roof, don't last as long and are 2x the replacement cost. Still out the door+lifetime is only 75% of traditional hvac cost.

Not heating the pool is very common, also common to not use it Nov-Feb because of the cost to heat it.

 

ok, well maybe they are telling the truth then on the electric bill

good info on the heat pumps, but a typical HVAC lasts 20 years or more, if you replace the heat pump like these every 10 years, isnt that going to wind up being way more?