Tucson has a range of active adult communities which run the price gamut from the $80,000 range to more than a million dollars and likewise span a distance from Catalina down to Green Valley and Tubac, a distance of about 60 miles; and from the foot of the Rincon Mountains in the east, to west of the Tucson Mountains approximately 40 miles.
In each area, the topography is different and although many people believe the desert southwest is flat and barren like the Sahara, nothing could be further from the truth. Topography and landscape may be a factor in deciding where to put down roots. And there is the question of how urban one wants to be. This harkens back to our discussion yesterday why making the list of what is important for you when retiring is crucial.
There are town home communities as well as mobile home communities, condo communities, manufactured home communities, and single family residence communities. Each type of community offers different living conditions and different ammenities. There are golf course communities and non golf course communities, newer homes and older homes. And all are governed by CC and R’s, Covenants, Codes and Restrictions.
The CC and R’s are legal documents which residents can be held to uphold. It is important that you read these for not only do they indicate how many pets you can have and how big, or what color you can paint your house, they often also govern the ages of children who can live in the community or purchase property in the community.
I know of communities where anyone younger than 55 cannot purchase a home, and proof of age is a requisite. A child younger than 55 cannot purchase a home for a parent even if the sole purpose is for the parent to live there. There are communities where rentals are not permitted. Someone who is 55 plus and desires to purchase a winter home which will be rented until retirement is prohibited from doing so by the CC and R’s. Such a covenant may impact on your financial planning.
If you are expecting children and grandchildren to visit for a month, know what the C C and R’s say. In some communities, children younger than 18 years cannot stay in the community for more than a few days. And certainly, if you ever anticipate that a grandchild will live with you on a permanent basis, definitely understand the provisions in the C C and R’s. There was a situation where a grandmother took in her grandchild and was forced to sell and move from the community. It didn’t matter that the grandmother became the legal guardian, the law upheld the C C and R’s.
Active Adult Communities bring together people of like mind, they offer camaradie, activities, and peacefulness to those who purchase there. As in any property purchase, it is important to know what you are buying and how you can use your property. Your Realtor is crucial in helping you wade through the do’s and don’ts of purchasing in an Active Adult Community.

Tags: Relocation to Tucson, Tucson Active Adult Communities, Tucson Real Estate

This entry was posted on Monday, December 8th, 2014 at 7:05 am and is filed under Find a Tucson Home. 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.