Phoenix Arizona Waterfront Homes

Chandler Waterfront Properties and Lake Community Homes at Pecos Ranch

The Pecos Ranch  lake community in Chandler Arizona,  just south of the 202 freeway, was developed in the early 1990’s, with approximately 120 waterfront residential homes. Mature landscaping including tall pine trees, lakes, a community pool and tennis courts,  and a nearby city park all  make Pecos Ranch an attractive setting for families.

Pecos Ranch is in the Chandler School District. Students attend Ann Marie Jacobsen elementary school, Bogle Jr. High, and Hamilton High School.  Access to the freeway could not be any closer, with the 202 freeway entrance just around the corner,  making the commute to the greater Phoenix area very reasonable.  Pecos Ranch is less than three miles from the Chandler Fashion Mall, and less than 4 miles away from Intel and other semi-conductor companies.

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Ocotillo Residents Enjoy Awesome Waterfront and Golf Course Views

Some of the best views from lakeside  homes in Chandler may be the result of a balanced blend of lakefront property bordered by  lush greens and fairways of well maintained golf courses. This is definitely the case for Ocotillo homes in subdivisions such as Crown Point, The Island at Ocotillo, The Vistas at Ocotillo among others.

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Severe thunderstorms bring needed rain but cause flooding

It  is almost pointless to talk to someone in July when the temperature is 110 degrees about what happens in Phoenix when it rains. You want to point out how planned communities have drainage plans and retention basins, etc.   The situation in the summer  may be that no precipitation has been seen for months, so they wonder why you’re even bringing it up. Well, the last couple of day we’ve been drenched and now those plans and preparation are very much needed and appreciated.  Meteorologists are even saying that we may see as much rainfall in this 5 day period as we saw all of last year!  Yesterday there was even a tornado warning,  and many roads have been closed because of  flooding.  The picture above is not a lake water feature for a subdivision.  It may be for the time being, but actually it is a retention basin with grass in the community common area that accumualtes the runoff from storms such as the one we are having that has dumped over 3″ inches of rain in a 24 hour period in some parts of they valley.

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Phoenix Lakeside Property Offers Views and Amenities

Phoenix lake community condos and townhouses are appealing because of the waterfront property views, low maintenance and community amenities such as a community pool and spa.  This is especially attractive to Canadians and those from the mid-west with harsh winters that want more moderate weather with a turn key vacation or second home.  No yardwork or maintenance to worry about, just bring your suitcase and front door key.

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Cantabria Shores Townhouse Surrounded by Ocotillo Golf  Resort and Waterfront

Cantabria Shores is located in south Chandler in the Ocotillo area and has some of the best views of any waterfront community in the valley.  This is because of the lake and golf course combination that offers a view not characteristic of typical townhouse developments.  Floor plans of these chandler townhomes for sale range from 1,100 sq.ft up to 2,217 sq.ft with a 1 or 2 car garage and include single and two story designs.  As late as 2007, larger townhouses sold for over $400K.

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Chandler and Gilbert Average Prices for Sold Homes in  2008 & 2009.

I heard a saying that accurately describes our current media.   It is credited to Mark Twain,  “If you don’t read the newspaper, you’re uninformed.   If you read the newspaper, you’re mis-informed”. I guess the more things change the more they stay the same! This description also applies to those  5 second sound bites regarding real estate in Arizona.   I feel more comfortable when I can see the data and draw my own conclusions.  It is an oft used phrase but all real estate is local so what applies to the country does not necessarily apply to our corner of the state.   Here’s a local look at two desirable cities in the Phoenix area, Gilbert and Chandler.

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Have You Ever Wondered About Those Ocotillo Lakes?

Ocotillo neighborhoods  in Chandler are known for their lakes and waterways  but do you  know what goes on behind the scenes to keep the lakes functioning? The picture to the right is one of 15 pumping stations that keep the water recirculating,  moving from lake to lake, and irrigating over 1,900 acres.  But where does the water come from? How many gallons per day are used to  irrigate and maintain the Ocotillo Community?  What keeps the water from seeping into the ground beneath the lakes?  What species of fish are stocked in the lakes and what purpose do they serve?  Unless you know the answer to these questions, then maybe you should click the “Read the rest of this entry” button that follows.

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Lakeshore at Andersen Springs Condos  in Chandler

Lakeshore at Andersen Springs condominiums are located on the east side of the 10 acre man made lake at the southeast corner of  Ray and Dobson.  Originally built as apartments in 1989, they were converted and sold as condominiums in 2006. The floor plans range in size from 597 sq.ft. with 1 bedroom and 1 bath up to 1,070 sq.ft.  with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.  Two bedroom floor plans have approximately 800 sq.ft.   Parking includes cover car ports.

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Post Tension Slabs  reduce settling issues

This giant checker board is actually the “guts” of an unbonded post tension slab.

Post tension slabs are used to create a monolithic slab that is stronger than the typical slab and foundation that is poured in stages.  Post tension slabs are used in many parts of the country where the soil has high shrink / swell potential, also commonly know as expansive soil because they resist soil movement.   Many parts  of the Phoenix area have soil that is expansive  and exhibits a high shrink / swell potential.  The USDA has published a shrink / swell potential map for Phoenix which identifies the cities or towns most affected by this condition.

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The Ins and Outs of a Short Sale

Short sales have gone from being a rare and infrequent occurrence a couple of years ago to a significant number of the real estate transactions in Phoenix due to the number of homeowners with negative equity that need to sell.

Simply stated,  a short sale is when the proceeds from the sale are less than the amount owed and the sale is contingent upon an acceptable agreement between the seller and the seller’s creditor(s).

The chart above furnished by The Cromford Report shows the percentage of distressed sales for each city for August 2009.  The blue bars represent the portion of total sales that were short sales.  As banks are increasingly reluctant to foreclose, short sales are on the rise.  For example, short sales accounted for more sales than bank-owned homes during August in Anthem.  And in Fountain Hills, short sales were equal to the number of foreclosure sales.

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