Arizona Sucks

In case you missed it, the Associated Press just put out an article titled, ‘People in Sunny States Happiest, New York Least’. The article went on to state that people in sunny and outdoorsy states are among the happiest in the country. People are supposedly most happy in states with good climates, low crime rates, good air quality, and good schools. All of these factors makes perfect sense to me except for one small part of the article. How in the world does a state filled with crime, extreme temperatures, illegals, piss poor schools, no jobs, and nothing to do but drink to excess rank fifth in the entire country? That’s right, Arizona has been ranked in the top five states with the happiest people.

The only thing Arizona even comes close to having on the ‘happiness checklist’ is abundant sunshine and more often than not the sunshine is filtered through the brown cloud which is just about permanently planted over the Phoenix area these days. If you have considered moving to Arizona for the sunshine or the supposed glorious weather, remember just this one thing. Abundant sunshine isn’t going to pay your bills and it surely isn’t going to stop your children from being robbed at gun point while on the school bus.

Arizona is not an outdoorsy state and there really aren’t many exciting outdoor activities if that is your thing, especially so in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The main outdoor activity in Arizona is hiking and that can only be done safely for about half of the year or so. The most popular outdoor activity amongst most Arizonans is getting plowed outside on a bar’s patio.

You’d be an idiot to think a state full of uneducated degenerates and illegals is going to have low crime rates. The crime in Arizona has been continually on the rise and it is only going to get worse. Not to mention the crimes in this state are truly like something out of a horror movie.

The brown cloud and the traffic backups speaks enough for the air quality in Arizona. While, Arizona’s dead last ranking in public education tells the whole story of Arizona’s education system. Remember, it doesn’t matter if you think you are in a good school district – your kids are still far behind the rest of the country.

In the end, it couldn’t be more obvious that the writer of this article has never been to and has certainly not lived in Arizona, but this ranking is still worth a laugh especially for those of us who know the truth about Arizona and aren’t living in some sort of fantasy state of mind. Share your thoughts about Arizona’s ranking below.

Merry Christmas!

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-12-18-happiest-states_N.htm

First things first – there is absolutely nothing wrong with bike riding whether you do it for fitness, pleasure, to save on gas, or because your car recently got repossessed. However…

The fact is that riding a bike on Arizona roadways is really not a smart decision, whether you can manage to keep yourself in the bike lane or not. With Arizona being a state where the majority of people don’t even feel safe in their own cars, I really have to wonder about where the common sense is when I see people who willingly choose to ride a bicycle on Arizona’s busy roadways. You would think the terribly hot weather for most of the year and the amount of pollution precipitates would be enough of a deterrent to keep people from biking on the roads. But somehow it will be 110 degrees outside and you still see these idiots peddling down the road. It also doesn’t sound like the smartest idea to try and share the road with the amount of terribly reckless or drunk drivers we have around the state at all hours of the day. With all these potential dangers on Arizona’s roads, you really got to give it to those bikers who brave the roadways with no helmet on or the ones on the cell phone with a cigarette in their other hand.

Some cities in Arizona have done their best to paint themselves as having biker friendly streets by putting in a limited amount of bike lanes. It is important to note that these lane designations are often ignored by both auto drivers and the cyclists. It is an all too common occurrence to see or read about an Arizona cyclist being taken out because somebody wasn’t paying attention, failed to stay in his or her lane, or ignored the rules of the road. A lot of cyclists seem to think none of the driving rules apply to them and I frequently see them running stop signs/red lights or driving the wrong way or holding up traffic one way or another. Of course, most drivers in Arizona don’t really follow any of the rules of driving a car or use any common sense either. It is no excuse for unsafe driving, but if you do something stupid with your car, you are at least reasonably protected. One mistake on your bike and you’re dead.

So, Arizona cyclists, how the hell do you do it? Have you been hit yet or almost hit? It will happen and it won’t be pretty, so best of luck to you.

It is just about the middle of September, and a quick look at the 10 day forecast for the Phoenix area shows highs over 100 degrees for the next week and a half. Night time lows have finally dipped into the 70s, but it is still quite hot during the days here. A lot of people who get suckered in to moving to Phoenix are often quite shocked when they realize it will still be October, and we are still fighting with temperatures that do top the 100 degree mark. It probably isn’t until near the end of October, that you can really say goodbye to the extreme heat in Arizona for a few months.

A lot of people are use to summers that only average about three months per year. It can be quite frightening when you move here and realize that the summers in Arizona not only last at least two months longer than your typical summer elsewhere, but the summers here are that much hotter and just downright boring. Surviving an Arizona summer year after year is really not something to take lightly – it really does affect the millions of residents out here and it shows especially on the road, at work, in restaurants, and at the store. The summers out here are nothing but vicious and it absolutely will take its toll on you if you choose to suffer through summer after summer out here. Just imagine having to lock yourself indoors for nearly six months a year – it is too out to be outside, and many days it is downright unsafe to be outside. If you have children, you really have no choice but to keep them indoors and many just put them in front of the television all day. Arizona summers tend to bring out the worst in people and just an all around feeling of disgust.

Many outsiders are use to looking forward to summer and the warmer weather, outdoor activities, the summer holidays, and barbecues with family. In Arizona, you pretty much spend your summers stuck inside wanting to blow your head off. And somehow a lot of Arizona residents still think the weather out here is worth bragging about for nine months a year. I know we have a ton of meth heads, alcoholics, and pill poppers in Arizona, but, really, what are these people on?

In case you missed it or are fortunate enough to be outside of the Phoenix area, a local Arizona news station ran a piece last week about how life out in Arizona might be portrayed to the rest of the country. Viewers were left to ponder the question of whether or not the state of Arizona has a national image problem. Surprisingly enough, this is a great example of the typical Arizona attitude for you – instead of considering what the necessary steps are to begin fixing the multitude of problems currently plaguing the state and its millions of residents, even the news stations out here are more concerned with only how Arizona and its people LOOK to the National eye. With that being said, it is pretty clear to most people these days that Arizona does have an increasing image problem because the truth about Arizona has been exposed as the population growth went way up in recent years, and also as a result of the mortgage fraud and subsequent real estate meltdown out here in the last few years. Here are just a couple of Arizona’s many problems grabbing attention in the national spotlight:

Worst school systems in the country – that’s right, every single other state around the country outranks Arizona when it comes to public schooling. Education is not valued in Arizona and this certainly affects all facets of life out here from the workplace to the grocery store to eating out at a restaurant. You can continue to make excuses, move your children to another Arizona school district, or even continue lying to yourself – it does not matter though – you are putting your children’s safety and future at risk by sending them to any of Arizona public schools. If you have kids or plan on having children, you really should re-evaluate settling down in Arizona at least until your children are in college.

Increasing violence and hate crimes – every single year, the violence in Arizona seems to be getting worse and increasingly more violent. Nobody wants to admit to it, but these crimes are increasing and becoming even more commonplace – and don’t think you can escape it by moving to a supposedly higher income zip code or to a gated community. Arizona boasts some of the craziest, most unbelievable crime stories that you could not even make up if you wanted to. Watch just one day of the local Arizona news and you will never want to step foot in this place again.

Weather – the one problem that can never be fixed, but it is still important to continually point out how dreadful and depressing the summers can be out here. You know the weather in Arizona is terrible when even people who are just quickly passing through on a cross-country road trip still feel the need to complain about how high the temperatures are out here. It’s never going to get any cooler in Arizona, so stay far away unless you are prepared for month-after-month of the extreme heat, and the famous Arizona dry heat argument goes right out the window when the temperatures are over 100 degrees.

Economy – what economy? Arizona population growth is dwindling, construction is way down, there were never any great jobs in Arizona, and now we have a surplus of houses and commercial buildings. How is Arizona going to turn it all around this time? Can Arizona rely on its economic growth strategy with such a poor national image? Probably not – Arizona is a retirement and winter golf state, at best, and that is all it should have ever been provided there was enough water for all this grass out here.

What it really comes down to is what does the state of Arizona have to offer you? Is it the comparatively warmer winters? Or is it all the congestion, pollution, violence, and blowing dust storms? What does Arizona offer you that you can’t find anywhere else, except for those 4-5 months of temperatures over 100 degrees? Don’t wait for Arizona to try and fix its deteriorating image – get out while you still can and still have your sanity.

Many thanks to member, Out of AZ, for recently posting this invaluable, honest look at how life really is in Arizona. I wanted to be sure everyone got a chance to read it, so enjoy!

I lived in the Phoenix area of AZ for eight years and just moved back to CO this summer. There are definitely negatives about anywhere, but there seems to be more in Phoenix than most. I’ve lived in NY, CA, CO, and NE and AZ is definitely the worst of all the places I’ve been.

For the nation’s fifth biggest city, there is absolutely nothing to do. You can go to one of 1235 shopping malls around the valley to escape the heat or go watch a movie, but you can do that anywhere in the country. You can go to an indoor baseball game if you can afford it. If you don’t have a swimming pool, your time in Phoenix will be miserable. If you do have a pool, expect crazy APS/SRP electric bills due to the pool and 24-hour air conditioning your house will need to keep it livable.

Your car will take a beating, the heat notwithstanding, but also the AZ drivers that you’ll drive defensively to avoid slamming into. Constant road construction is also a negative. There is approximately 15 miles of valley freeway closed every weekend for construction.

The job scene isn’t all that great. Not only is this place a right-to-work (more like right-to-get-fired-for-no-reason) state, the economy is heavily dependent on construction, which has all but ceased to exist right now.

There are like 21236 strip malls in Phoenix that look exactly like the 21235 others in the area. Same stores, same restaurants, same landscaping. It’s pretty hellish. And now, roughly half of most of the strip malls stand empty because of Arizona’s economy (and the broader US economy as well).

There’s no culture here. I’m not kidding. The best Mexican food here comes from chain restaurants. Or at least that’s what most Phoenicians think. Most Phoenicians love spending long weekends in Mexico but look down on Mexicans, Mexican food, and Mexican culture. Any other culture? Forget it, the best Italian food in the valley is at Olive Garden, the best Chinese is at Panda Express. For a metro area with a population over 4 million, it’s pretty pathetic.

The homes/neighborhoods/cities all look the same. Stucco brown boxes with eight tons of crushed rock in the front yard. You don’t know if you are in Ahwatukee, Tempe, Peoria or Chandler. It’s all the same.

I don’t know about public schools, I don’t have kids. But I will say that if you really think you’re going to receive a world-class education in a college with 70,000 others like at ASU or by paying tens of thousands for a degree people may or may not take seriously like at University of Phoenix, this may be a good place.

Phoenix is a waste. Truly. They waste water for miles of grass for golf courses or huge resorts. There are fountains and fake lakes everywhere. It’s great if you want to live near a body of green water so you can be eaten alive by mosquitoes. They waste electricity. How else do you justify living in a town that can get upwards of 120 degrees?

Phoenix is a demonstration of human accomplishment and hubris all at once. The fact that you can take a desolate, uninhabitable desert and turn it into the nation’s fifth-largest city shows what we can accomplish as a society. But for what purpose? So your kids can stay indoors for six months watching tv and playing video games because it’s too hot to play outside. So you can drive in your air conditioned car to your air conditioned office and back to your air conditioned home. So you can earn less money than most people doing the same job in the rest of the country. All this, with fluctuating real estate values, increasing crime, decreasing job opportunities, it’s all reason to stay out of Phoenix.

The secret is out – the quantity of quality jobs in Arizona is extremely low. Finding one of the few great job opportunities in Arizona is nearly impossible, but these days people are struggling in their hunt for any sort of job out here. Obviously, the economy across the country isn’t doing too great right now, but the employment situation in Arizona probably won’t be rebounding any time soon as it will be in many places. Arizona has always been known for its call center and construction jobs, along with a number of positions tied directly to the building, leasing, and selling of local real estate. There are very few companies headquartered in the area and a limited number of jobs out here outside of the construction, real estate, and service industries. The majority of Arizona residents have always relied on working these retail, foodservice, and construction jobs and many were happy to do so – remember, the majority out here have little desire to get ahead. The great Arizona housing crash has not only successfully dropped Arizona housing prices back to reality and then some, but has also led to a depressing situation in the Arizona job market for many residents here.

As Arizona experienced record population growth in recent years, it led to a false sense of security for many and a very temporary job market. Construction teams were busy building up house after house, along with the adjacent community shopping centers. More and more service jobs were created to service all the residents in these newer communities and strip malls which shot up around Phoenix. Many people jumped into real estate and mortgage jobs in order to keep up with the temporary demand and most saw it as their gold ticket to early retirement. The mindset in Arizona seemed to to be that the population growth would continue, home values would continue to go up, and jobs were more than secure. So, now that the real estate bubble burst and took tons of real estate and construction related jobs with it, what is your now out of work Arizona Realtor or mortgage broker to do? Well, you have probably seen many of them out and about as many now work at Safeway, Burger King, Bashas’, or Applebees – jobs that a lot of people in Arizona had always relied on being available. And in a place like Arizona, this trend is likely to continue for quite some time as all those excess mortgage and constructions jobs just aren’t needed anymore.

Times are tough for your average Arizona resident and they aren’t going to be getting better any time soon. More jobs aren’t going to appear out of thin air – if anything, the number of available jobs in Arizona is actually declining. Next time you head out, count how many strip malls have vacant openings or how many grocery stores have closed down or the now empty fast food restaurant buildings. And it seems like someone finally wised up to the fact that it might be time to slow down all the new home and commercial property builds – many of which sit vacant regardless of location. These retail and service jobs were the jobs Arizona’s people had relied on for so long and many of these jobs are now done by out of work Arizona Realtors and construction workers. It was bad enough that there were never really any good jobs in Arizona, but now that there is pretty much NO jobs in Arizona – good luck!

Have you thought about relocating to Arizona and wondered what the average weather was like through out the year? Or have you moved to Arizona and realized that the summers are a lot longer and hotter than your Arizona Realtor had you believing? Maybe the winters aren’t as warm and comfortable as you imagined? For some reason, whenever people talk about the weather anywhere they love bringing up the average temperatures going month by month. While, average temperatures do in fact give you a vague idea of what to expect, can you really rely on these Arizona average temperatures to tell you the whole story?

Unfortunately, in a place like Arizona that has experienced so much growth and construction and everything else in recent years, you really cannot count on these given temperatures which are often averaged from the daily temperatures over the last 100 years or so. As the Phoenix area blew up into a sprawling mess of concrete, asphalt, strip malls, houses, and plastic people it really solidified hotter days and nights for the entire area. All these buildings, homes, and roadways have no choice but to retain all that heat and energy from the never-ending sunny days, and then this heat is slowly radiated back into the atmosphere. Thus, creating a situation where it ends up even hotter during the day than it ever was in the past and there is no relief when the sun goes down either. The entire Phoenix area has unquestionably become a great deal warmer now than when the area was significantly less populated and built up. What really makes this scenario quite interesting is how the entire Phoenix economy was tied to increased growth – so, just to ensure the city’s survival it meant more buildings, roadways, and houses and with this came the higher temperatures for everyone to enjoy.

If you were to only look at the averages, then Arizona summers suddenly look quite a bit more survivable. Averages would tell you that Arizona summers have highs only in the very low 100s with night time lows hovering around the 80 degree mark. Unfortunately, the truth is that is is getting hotter every summer across the Phoenix area and this past July was the hottest month ever recorded in Arizona. It is now early September, and we are still suffering from temperatures approaching 110 degrees. These summers, you rarely see days where the high temperature is below 105-108 degrees and the number of days where the temperature is over the 110 mark seem to be increasing every year. Night time lows during an Arizona summer are often closer to the uppers 80s with quite a few nights not even getting out of the 90s.

You can’t really put into words just how hot, brutal, and long the summers are in Arizona so if you are thinking about relocating here, you might want to make an extended trip during the peak of summer to see how bad it really is. Whatever you do, don’t simply rely on the average temperatures given to you and certainly don’t move here or anywhere just for the weather.

The few people out here who actually have not been foreclosed on and are still making those monthly mortgage payments have got to be wondering what their home is actually worth in this brutal Arizona housing market. Many have realized they will never come out ahead as they significantly overpaid for their house a few years back, others are under the impression that Arizona property values will rise as much and as quickly as they did in recent years, and there are some others who just want to return to the days of living in a neighborhood that is not filled with vacant houses and houses which are desperately rented out to herds of illegals. I recently came across an article in regards to the top signs that your home may be losing value. Obviously, there is really only one way to know what your home is truly worth and that is to clean it up and put it on the market. Unfortunately, despite what your Realtor, neighbors, and coworkers may claim, it does not look like Arizona home values will be turning around anytime soon. Here are just a few of the reasons why:

Foreclosures in your neighborhood – we all know by now that Arizona is home to a plethora of 30k millionaires, wannabes, fakes, and those stuck in the constant struggle of keeping up with everyone else’s material possessions. It started with just clothes, cars, alcoholic beverages, and upscale electronics and then turned into having to have the most elaborate house with the lavish swimming pool, and the largest garage on the block. As Arizona home prices inched upwards and these people continued to buy, a lot of people put themselves in situations which they could never recover from. You will lose every time you try and keep up with someone when you don’t have the right assets – in this case, financial wealth. So, what do we have in Arizona? Thousands of people who bought homes they could have never dreamt of affording and have been foreclosed on. And all those foreclosures lining your community surely aren’t helping your property values. While it is fact that people have been foreclosed on in every area and zip code across Arizona – the neighborhoods that are really going to feel the downfall of all these foreclosures will be those who bought fringe properties assuming the population growth and rise in home values seen in recent years would continue.

Homes lingering on the market – if you were to drive around your block right now, how many ‘home for sale’ signs could you count? In fact, you probably have a pretty good idea without even stepping out your front door since so many Arizona homes have just been sitting on the market for so long. The further out from the city you go, the more likely you are to encounter multiple homes for sale on each street you drive down. There are so few desirable areas or communities in Arizona and all the houses/subdivisions are essentially the same anyways – so why buy somewhere when it is cheaper a few streets over? If a home sits around long enough, it’s price certainly isn’t going to go up; banks, investors, and former owners are only going to hold properties for so long before they give up and slash the price, which will drag down the value of your Arizona home as well.

Increasing unemployment – the future of employment in Arizona looks anything but promising. Unlike most other places, there is not going to be a rebound in jobs available as the economy turns. Job growth in Arizona will probably remain fairly stagnant even in the construction, fast food, and retail industry. Just about the only reason it looked like there was job growth in Arizona in recent years was that someone had to build and then work in the newly created strip malls to service all the new residents of the Valley’s newly built up fringe cities. Those days are long gone – and with so few jobs out here it is going to be hard for people to qualify for a mortgage with no income. Excess homes and a low number of qualified buyers means people are going to shop around and the value of your home will go down unless you really have something to offer potential buyers.

Homes in disrepair – vacant homes, homes filled with questionable renters as a last resort to falling into foreclosure, and homes needing repairs which just aren’t in the budget. It won’t matter how nice you keep your property when the vacant property next door has boarded up windows and weeds taller than your cars. On the other side of your home is a three bedroom house filled with 19 illegals with two more on the way. They blare their annoying music all day, are constantly rotating out wheels in the continuous quest for the smallest wheels that stick out the most for their barely running Explorer, their lawn is littered with Bud Ice cans, and their kids will treat your lawn as their own. Then there are the homes that are not kept up since nobody has any money – many Arizona homes need paint work, roofing work, and other improvements which are certainly bringing down property values through out the neighborhood.

So, the real question is who is going to be able to afford these Arizona homes? In the past, Arizona always relied on growth to fill these overbuilt, overpriced, miles-from-anything homes. The growth is drying up just like everything else is out here except for the few native plants left. If you don’t have people out here who have the desire or the finances to purchase these homes and you have fewer people moving here then what do you have? A severe excess of homes which is only going to keep prices down for a long time.

Just a few years ago, there were so many in Arizona who didn’t have a complaint in the world except for the hot weather, the abundance of rude people, and a severe lack of anything to do. Homes were selling quicker than they could go up, Arizona Realtors were making unheard of commissions, and others were successfully flipping home after home to out of state investors. The construction industry was moving right along and there were tons of new construction jobs and retail/service jobs in the endless communities which shot up around Phoenix. Just about everywhere you looked in the Phoenix area – if there was flat, open land – there were homes or strip malls being built. Logic tells you this couldn’t go on forever, but it was as if some in Arizona were actually under the impression that everyone across the country would relocate to Arizona at some point in the near future. It is quite comical to watch this suburban sprawl in Arizona especially since everything looks exactly the same except for maybe the color of the street signs.

Community after community went up, with the adjacent strip mall, fast food restaurants, and the corner Chilis restaurant in typical Arizona fashion. As each community was built, each became increasingly farther and farther away from the central hub of downtown Phoenix – which is what I would call just about the center of this mess we call the Phoenix metropolitan area. Fortunately, few people are actually tied to the downtown area and there really isn’t shit to see or do there – maybe with the exception of the Suns and the Diamondbacks when they are having better than average seasons. However, I would wager most of your larger job centers in Arizona are within a 15-20 mile range of downtown Phoenix. What does this mean for people who bought homes in the newer communities built out in Buckeye, Queen Creek, far North Phoenix, east Mesa, Surprise, and Maricopa – long and extremely dangerous commutes if you actually have a job. If you happen to live in one of these communities and work there too, then you have really lucked out, especially by Arizona standards – you have a job, you spend less time on Arizona’s unsafe roadways, and you have access to much cheaper real estate. The question is how will these communities survive? Now that the Arizona home rush is over, less people are moving here, and home prices are back to reality – who is really going to want to live that far out from everything that some say Phoenix has to offer? What is going to happen to those communities where every other house is in foreclosure and houses have been sitting vacant for months? How low are home prices in these areas going to go?

Looking at the current situation we are in here in Arizona, it is hard to believe that just a few years back houses could not be built quick enough out here. People were ready to buy and many homes were selling before they even hit the market. It was during this time that apartment conversions skyrocketed in the Phoenix area to try and keep up with demand, especially in areas like Scottsdale. It is certainly much easier, as well as a great deal cheaper, to take these preexisting apartments and drop in a few upgrades, instead of building from the ground all the way up. Transforming former Arizona apartments into so-called condos also allowed you to make the most out of older apartments that are located in areas which are seen as more desirable. You can charge quite a bit more for real estate that is more centrally located in the Phoenix area, as opposed to all the new builds way out in Buckeye or Apache Junction. Sure the location might be great and these newly named condos might look super nice when you first step inside, even though the outside of most still screams trashy apartment, but are they really a wise buy for your money?

Looks can surely be deceiving and this could not be any more apparent than when it comes to most of these Arizona condo conversions. It was imperative that these Arizona condo conversions were done quickly, cheaply, and efficiently in order to maximize profits before the market turned – if not, you would be the one taking the financial hit when Arizona’s housing market went south. So, how much time, effort, and cash was actually put into the majority of these recent conversions? Well, it’s not that hard to rip out the brown or green 1970s appliances and replace them with new, bottom of the line stainless steel appliances. Add cheap, knockoff granite counter tops and update some of the archaic light fixtures and you have already made the place look a thousand times better while keeping your costs extremely low. Now just repaint the aging walls and replace the stained carpet with the cheapest tile you can find, and you have successfully finished your Arizona condo conversion. This is reality – most Arizona condo conversions consist of not much more than new paint, appliances, lighting fixtures, and flooring.

The motto and underlying sales tactic for anyone trying to sell you one of these properties is, when in doubt or questioned about anything, rave about the resort like pool. A number of these Arizona conversions spent a significant portion of the cash set aside for the conversion on upgrading the pool area. Many added new palm trees, maybe some tiki torches, and newer bamboo chairs and umbrellas. Some spent a fair amount on resurfacing the old pool, while others did nothing except for making things appear better than they actually are. Almost every one these Arizona condo conversion brags about having resort/Vegas style pools with all the same amenities you would find there which is really not the case. Don’t be fooled – how much time do you think you will actually be at the pool anyways and don’t forget you are sharing this pool with all your loud, drunk, disease ridden, meth dealing neighbors.

Before you even consider buying one of these properties, you must remember that many of these units were sold without consideration for the future of the community or its residents – this is not a planned community, it is essentially a get rich and get out scheme. HOA fees are often absurdly high to ensure maximum profit for those part of the conversion process – funds in the HOA capital reserve for potential large expenses such as pool maintenance and roofing repairs are pretty much non-existent until you have owners regularly paying their dues. But, remember most of these properties were sold when the housing market was at its peak and everything was way overpriced. Many have since been foreclosed on or have renters who are paying extremely low rent, and many units still sit vacant because most were picked up as investments. When you rely on HOA funds for general maintenance, pool upkeep, and other community repairs with so many units in foreclosure, you really have an issue on your hand. A number of these condos also suffer from being poorly managed and developed since these old apartments were purchased to get them on the market as quickly and cheaply as possible. If you still plan on purchasing an Arizona condo conversion, make sure you know exactly what your monthly dues are, what they cover, and how the reserve funds are handled.

Are there are condo conversions that might be worth looking at in Arizona? Sure, there might be, but good luck finding them. Many of these Arizona condo conversions were done as quickly and cheaply as possible in order to get them on the market while it was still promising. Be warned, most of these Arizona condo conversions are the equivalent of a cheap paint job – it might look nice the first few weeks but will quickly show just how imperfect it is. And unlike the apartment it once was, you can’t just terminate your mortgage like you could with that lease. Condo conversions are often cheaper than original condos/townhomes because all they really are would be apartments with stainless steel appliances and often a large HOA fee. You are still living with paper thin walls, aging and possibly deteriorating plumbing and electrical lines which are often overlooked since they are hidden from view, and usually a thoughtless design and layout inside your unit and that of the entire community. Save your money and buy a real condo or a house or just avoid the mess of Arizona real estate all together.