Green Valley Moments

So you’ve decided you want to take a hard look at Green Valley, Arizona, as a potential retirement area. Great! But where do you start? Here’s what I would suggest you do.

Ready? Here we go!

1. Gather as much information as you can before you come.

Read the Green Valley News online. Check out the MLS real estate listings (Search for Homes/Land). Get acquainted with Green Valley Recreation. Continue to read this blog (unabashed self promotion). Let your fingers do the walking; use the internet as a research tool.

OK, you’ve done all that and you still want to see it for yourself. Good idea. You can drive here or fly into Tucson (20 minutes North) or Phoenix (2 hours North), and rent a car. Book yourself into one of the several lodging facilities in town, or rent a villa.

2. Stop by the Chamber of Commerce.

Once you’re here, start investigating by yourself. Your first stop is at the Green Valley Chamber of Commerce.

The Green Valley Chamber of Commerce office is located at 270 W. Continental Road. Here you can gather information about our community and chat with one of our knowledgeable embajadores (volunteers.) You may also reach us toll free at 1-800-858-5872.

Friendly volunteers will load you up with all kinds of info. Take everything of interest. Get a map of Green Valley. Ask for a recent phone book. Later, look in the book and find the section that lists residents by city and town. Maybe you know someone who lives here. Have lunch with them. Pick their brain.

3. Acquaint yourself with the major streets.

Green Valley lies along I-19, which goes North to Tucson, or South to Nogales, AZ. On either side of I-19 are two main arteries, Abrego to the East, and La Canada (can-ya’-da) to the West. There are three major exits off of I-19, Duval Mine Road to the North, Esperanza Boulevard in the middle, and Continental to the South. There are a few other streets you should know; Camino del Sol and the two frontage roads along I-19, going South from Continental. Know these streets, and you can easily go anywhere in Green Valley.

4. Investigate the various neighborhoods.

Green Valley is unincorporated, and under the jurisdiction of Pima County. I like to refer to it as a community of neighborhoods. For the most part, each neighborhood was built by a certain developer, and you will notice that the homes in each neighborhood generally have the same look and feel. There is also a different level of construction quality in the various neighborhoods.

I know you want to look at some of the homes that are for sale, but resist the urge to do so for just a bit. Drive around. Be aware that the mountains are to the East. Why is that important? Well, for at least two reasons; the view and the sun.

Most people want a mountain view. If it isn’t important to you, you better believe that it will be important to prospective buyers when you sell. And if you’re like me, you approach every home purchase with the understanding that it will be sold by you or someone in your behalf.

Later, as you begin to compare home prices, you will notice that the presence or absence of a mountain view affects the price of homes. Also, if you are going to live here year-round, the orientation of the sun will influence your use of the outdoor living areas. A west-facing patio can be comfortable in the Winter, but almost certain death in the Summer. Some East-facing patios will have shade somewhere throughout the day.

5. Drive, drive, drive!

Continue driving. Investigate the Bashas - Wal-Mart mall area at Duval Mine Road and Abrego. Check out the Green Valley Mall at La Canada and Esperanza Boulevard. Finally, go East from La Canada on Continental and drive through the Continental mall area. There are many other businesses scattered here and there, but those are the three major shopping areas. Note their location since you will probably want to be reasonably close to one of them.

6. Pick up For Sale Fliers along the way.

Now that you have a good feel for the area, it’s OK. Stop by any of the homes that are for sale and start collecting the sale fliers. Note the sale price and the square footage. The cost per square foot is a good way to “roughly” compare the market. If you happen by an Open House, stop and go inside. You will find a number of open houses listed in the newspaper on Wednesday and Friday. Buy a copy of the latest Green Valley News.

7. Look at neighborhoods, not just individual homes.

Remember, your first goal is to find the general area that interests you. As you travel though the various neighborhoods, stop your car, turn off the engine, roll your windows down, and listen. Do you hear the traffic noise from I-19? Does that bother you? If so, drive a bit further East or West and do the same thing. Remember, you will spend a lot of time on your patio, and the steady drone of traffic can be a real turn-off for some.

Do you like the architectural style of the neighborhood? Are there people outside walking or working? You will find most of the residents here do their walking in the morning. If you see people walking, wave at them. Do they wave back? Might be an indication of the friendliness of the neighborhood, but remember, they may be far from home as well.

Try to select a neighborhood with homeowners similar to you. I don’t have any real way for you to accomplish this except to suggest that you might be guided by the price range of homes in the neighborhood. If you previously lived in an upscale neighborhood, you will probably be happier here in a more expensive home. On the other hand, if you are planning a move from a more middle class neighborhood, look for homes that are mid-priced. Generally, but not always, your neighbors will tend to have life styles in common with you.

8. Become knowledgeable about GVR.

There are twelve (12) recreational facilities, sprinkled throughout the Green Valley community. Most of the homes you will look will be GVR. What does that mean? It means that you, if you buy the house, will be a member of Green Valley Recreation whether you want to or not. You will be required to pay annual dues (currently $385.00) but you will also have admittance to all of the facilities. If the home is not GVR, the owner can join, but there is an initiation fee of $1,988.00, currently.

Each center is different, and may host one or more of the various clubs. Most, if not all, have pools. Some have an exercise room. Others offer pottery, computer classes, lecture halls, etc. Stop by a center or two as you are driving. Notice what they offer and how busy they are. If proximity to one of the centers is important to you, checkout the nearby neighborhoods.

9. What you should know about Homeowner Associations.

Also, be aware that in addition to GVR dues, the homes you will be looking at will probably be governed by a Homeowners association, or HOA. More than likely, there will be several hundred dollars in annual dues payable as well. Most of the fliers you will pick up along the way will list the amount of dues.

While we are talking about Homeowner’s Associations, If you haven’t been a part of one in the past, there are some things you should know. If you eventually buy a property here in Green Valley, you will be provided with a copy of the CCRs, or Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions. Unfortunately, you probably won’t see your copy until time of closing. CCRs will regulate and restrict your use and occupancy of your premises.

HOAs are all different. Some are loosely run; others knit pick their owners to death. We in Esperanza Estates are blessed with a great HOA. We have dedicated board members who devote a lot of time and effort towards making our neighborhood of 351 homes a better place to live. While I don’t necessarily agree with everything they do, they are a valuable asset to our neighborhood. It’s surprising to me that they seem to be able to recruit conscientious homeowner’s as directors. There are some HOAs who can find no one to sit on their board.

On the other hand, there are also HOAs in Green Valley who are managed by individuals who, how should I say this and be politically correct, have too much time on their hands. They pester homeowners about view obstruction, cars in the driveway, open garage doors, and anything that might be the slightest deviation from a strict interpretation of the CCRs.

What to do? I suggest that you investigate the HOA before you buy in a particular neighborhood. Get a copy of the CCRs before you buy and read through the provisions. If possible, attend a HOA meeting. Most meet monthly. At the very least, stop and talk with people in the neighborhood. It’s amazing what you can find out. We’re all friendly here, for the most part.

10. When should you contact a Realtor?

Have you noticed that I haven’t mentioned the word “Realtor” yet? It was not an oversight. That will come later. I have several friends who are realtors, and in hopes of not upsetting them, I will tell you why I suggest that you work with a realtor later.

If you contact a realtor as soon as you first come to Green Valley, it will be confusing. Without doing your homework by driving around, getting the lay of the land, becoming knowledgeable with the major streets, identifying the various shopping areas, and having some general idea of where you might want to live, sitting in the back seat of the realtor’s car and being whisked from one home to another can be a frustrating experience. Been there; done that.

It’s already been a long day. Get something to eat and review where you’ve been, what you have done, and what you’ve seen. Get a good night’s sleep; there’s more work to do tomorrow.

Ready for Part 2?

This entry was posted on Friday, January 27th, 2006 at 11:08 am and is filed under Green Valley. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.