Saturday, February 23, 2008

Welcome Home to Seville, Gilbert, AZ

I grew up in what I now realize, was an idyllic neighborhood. It was one of Arizona's first "master-planned" communities. There was main street with the grocery store, the drugstore, the florist, the bank. The elementary school was smack in the middle of town. There was a huge golf resort in the middle too but I never paid much attention to it. For me, it was where we watched the 4th of July fireworks and made for great bike paths. We just weren't the country club/golf resort kind of family.


And I'm still not. When I first heard of the Seville neighborhood, I dismissed it as "country club snobs". Stereotypical I know but realistic. There just aren't that many country clubs in Arizona so it's easy to stereotype.


But when friend after friend told me how friendly and fun Seville neighborhood is, I decided I needed to proceed with an open mind and check it out for myself (and my readers).

Turns out, Seville is way more like my idyllic childhood town than anything else I have found in the East Valley. Why, you ask?

It's country club but laidback-Arizona style. Let's start with the country club itself. It's smack in the middle of the community, making it accessible to everyone. It has a beautiful center that houses a workout and social facilities. It has tons of basketball, tennis, and volleyball courts. The pools are amazing with two different water slides. This solves the question every parent hears after they've told the kids "We're moving to Arizona." But what are we going to do there?


In fact, the Seville club answers that question more fully by providing tons of social activities every week. From family movie nights to MOMS clubs to hiking clubs, transplants to Arizona can get fully socialized quickly and easily. This is important to me for my clients. When they move to Arizona, leaving behind their friends, babysitters, dinner groups, etc. I want to help them feel like part of a community again, quickly and easily. Seville fits the bill for that.

The elementary school is Riggs Elementary in the Chandler school district. Yes, even though Seville is located within Gilbert, Arizona the school districts boundaries are kind of funny. The school is within walking or bike riding distance to everyone in the community. There is a playground and park within walking distance to almost every home. On my last visit this past Saturday, I wanted to take pictures of the parks but every single one was filled with kids and I didn't want to worry their parents so I didn't take any.


Since the golf course is right in the community, it appeals to a broad spectrum of people. From the busy dads who know they want to golf but don't want to take time away from family driving to the range, to the empty nester who is excited to finally have the time to golf every day if he wants, to the second home buyer who wants to spend every Arizona winter on the links. And don't forget the daddy who's out there with his girls, getting ready for that golf scholarship!

Finally, the thing I love the most about Seville. Besides the friendly feelings, the great community layout, and the social activities: I love the view of the San Tan Mountains. Every time I turned a corner, there they were, gorgeously green from the rain we just received. The sight of them reminded me that even in the middle of stereotypical suburbia, Mother Nature rules.

Details:

Homes in Seville range from $189,900 for a 1,200 sq ft courtyard home to $239,000 for 2,300 square feet and up, including some really amazing custom luxury homes. Contact me today for a list of available Seville homes.

Membership to the club is not required and therefore not included in the HOA dues, which are about $70 a month.

You can have the Seville Sports package which is includes the use of all the sports, aquatics and social facilities for you and your guests. It costs a $500 Initiation fee and $140 monthly family dues. (fyi: most families I know spend about $100 a month at their local gym).

Or for the golfer in the family you can so the Seville Sports Golf package. Allows you to use all the golf, sport, aquatics and social facilities. Golf members are not required to pay greens fees and enjoy 13-day advance tee time reservations. This costs a $16,523 Enrollment fee (cash incentives and financing available), $440 family monthly dues, $385 individual monthly dues.

All pictures used in this article came from the Seville Club page.

Labels: family friendly neighborhoods, gilbert az homes for sale, schools

Elena Thurston, Family Realtor @ 5:08 PM
1 comments

Friday, February 22, 2008

Find me THAT neighborhood...

Elena Thurston, Family Realtor @ 8:42 AM
0 comments

Monday, February 18, 2008

Gilbert AZ Homes for Sale - What can you get for less than $200k?

What kind of house is for sale in Gilbert, AZ for less than $200,000? Most people would think, "not much". There's actually a ton of variety available. If you are willing to look at short sales, there's even more to choose from.

Please remember this is just a current snapshot of the market taken at the time of writing this article. There is no guarantee these home will continue to be available but I know we can find the perfect home for you!

This gorgeous downtown Gilbert condo has 2 bedrooms plus a den, 2 baths, 2 car extended garage plus granite countertops and a community pool! It is being offered at $154,900.

This great home is 1533 sq feet, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, 2 car garage, plus a loft! There is an island in the kitchen and a cute backyard. This home is listed at $185,000.

This is an incredible deal that I just found while writing this article. I doubt it will be around long. 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, 2 car garage, in the beloved community of Power Ranch. That means a great elementary school, tons and tons of walking paths and parks, a fishing lake, and multiple community pools and splash parks. It's listed at $189,900.

This is a new build "spec" home that is waiting for it's first owner. It has 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, and a 2 car garage, with 2,188 square feet. It has a great location close to the new Gilbert mall and it's a really lovely subdivision with lakes, walking paths, etc. The base price on this model is $199,950.

The idea for this article came from Jason Crouch in Austin, TX. Thanks Jason!

If you are thinking of moving to Gilbert, AZ consult your Local Expert! Learn about Gilbert schools, crime stats, activities, etc.

Labels: gilbert az homes for sale, gilbert real estate

Elena Thurston, Family Realtor @ 7:14 PM
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Monday, February 11, 2008

Dining and Entertainment in Gilbert, AZ *Bring on the Fun!

I work hard and I play hard, I admit it. My husband has to schmooze clients and staff for most of his lunches during the week so by the time we're together on the weekends, the poor guy has to be dragged out to play with me, when he'd probably rather eat a home-cooked meal and watch a game.

Solution: become a real estate agent! Take clients out to eat and it's even tax-deductible! Just kidding. You can read why I do what I do in another post. But I will admit, taking clients to my favorite Gilbert dining places is a huge perk of the job. Not only do I get a great meal but I get to experience it for the first time through their eyes.

So here's a list of my favorite places to go, with fun clients or with my fun husband, especially after college football season.

Something so unique to Gilbert, AZ is an amazing meal in historic downtown Gilbert at Joe's BBQ. It's hands down the best BBQ in Arizona and the atmosphere is just plain fun. Nothing stuffy, no table cloths, just real pecan smoked BBQ and some of the best home made root beer in the West. It has a nice outdoor seating area where we sit with the kids, they can run around the trees and the grass and everyone could care less.

Joe's sister restaurant is Joe's Grill, in the famed neighborhood of Agritopia. Most men seem to really enjoy the BBQ Blue Bacon Burger. I always have a hard time deciding between the Fontina Burger, the Pesto Chicken Sandwich, and the yummy pizzas. But even better than the food is the atmosphere. The trees are some of the biggest and oldest in Arizona, everything is a little 50s/modern/kitchy with the most entertaining bathrooms I've ever seen. You forget you're in the middle of suburban sprawl while you're at Joe's Grill.

Once in awhile I get some really fun clients that enjoy sushi as much as my husband and I do. Sushi is really new to Gilbert and you can understand when I say that trying out new sushi restaurants can be downright scary. So when we're in Gilbert, I stick to the sushi bar at AJ's. It's really an upscale grocery store but the sushi is always very fresh and very tasty. And that way, when there's a spouse or someone who's not really into it, they can enjoy some of the other delectable delights. AJ's is located at the Dana Park shopping area, which is lots of fun for walking around and relaxing.

Once my clients have relocated to Gilbert, I usually get phone calls asking for a nice night out. I usually recommend Bolero's at Seville. It has incredible ambiance, yummy food, and gorgeous views of the golf course and San Tan Mountains, especially at sunset.

After you move here, the family and visitors will start coming to see just how great Arizona life can be. For a rockin' good time, take them to Rockin' R Ranch. Technically it's in Mesa but right on the Gilbert border. With a live stage show and real cowboy food, everyone can have a good time, especially the kids.

Speaking of a real good time, sometimes when my husband is in the mood for a good steak and I want a little dancing to a live band/shooting pool/people watching action, we go to San Tan Flats, we call it "Footloose in Arizona". Technically it's in Queen Creek, which makes it even more fun. Apparently there's some kind of ordinance in Queen Creek that limits public dancing and San Tan Flats is right in the middle of it. There's signs everywhere "Dance at your own risk" that make the atmosphere a little political and a little rebellious. Now that's a good time!

When you're ready to relocate to Gilbert, AZ, do some research and give me a call. It's a great place to live (and eat)!

Note: This article is part of a relocation package for the Gilbert, AZ area. To learn more about Gilbert including schools, shopping, neighborhoods, family activities, crime stats, etc, click here.

Labels: dining and entertainment, gotta know

Elena Thurston, Family Realtor @ 9:39 AM
0 comments

Friday, February 08, 2008

Family Activities in Family Friendly Gilbert

When past clients have decided to relocate to Gilbert, AZ, many of them stated that the abundance of family activities made their choice easy. However it's not easy to find a list of all the fun things in the area in one place. Here's a good first attempt:

Something specific first clued me in to how family friendly Gilbert is when I first moved here a few years back. I loaded the kids up for the first trip to the closest grocery store. Not looking forward to battling two young ones, shopping cart, unfamiliar store, etc, I was pleased to realize the store had free child care while you shopped. This was a revelation to little me! The boys played in a very secure and fun environment and my shopping was done in half the time with a quarter of the stress. Imagine that!

Then we got the town newspaper with the schedule for Gilbert Parks and Recreation. Page after page of city sponsored children's classes that ranged from Mommy and Me sign language classes to Little Tots sports classes to Hip Hop for Teens. The classes are affordable and sign up is easy with the online system. Hint: the popular ballerina and sports classes fill up the quickest.

After awhile we decided it was time to join a gym and work on Mommy and Daddy's fitness. There were two within easy driving that BOTH had free child care and child fitness classes. Mountainside Fitness was definitely more affordable and my boys loved their fitness class. But I have to say, as they grew older they got kind of bored in the child care. We moved to Lifetime Fitness, which is definitely more...posh. I mean, seriously, a treadmill is a treadmill. But the child care is a children's nirvana and they never complain about hitting the gym.

As we got to know more neighbors and friends, we started getting those birthday party invites. Which introduced us to a whole new realm of child activities. There's the Little Gym which is like kids gymnastics at Disneyland (think really happy thoughts). Then there's Bounce U, a party playland of huge blowup slides, obstacles courses, etc. My five year old has decided if he doesn't have a Bounce U birthday party, life isn't worth living. Finally there is Rolly Pollies (which has the most affordable playgroups), trampolines, balance beams, climbing walls, an entire hodge podge of ways to get out the child's crazy energy. All of these are very useful in the summertime, when play is limited to indoor, air-conditioned places.

Speaking of which, let's wrap this up the outside activities for the eight months of the year that its fun to be outside. The City of Gilbert requires developers to build playgrounds in every neighborhood they build. The concept behind it is every child will have a playground within walking distance. The outcome is of course, tons of playgrounds maintained by HOA's, but also the city doesn't build many city parks. Versus a city like nearby Chandler. They have a few huge, amazing city parks, that the majority of the population can't walk to. It's a trade-off.

The city parks Gilbert does have are soo much fun. Start with Freestone, which has a lake, playgrounds, batting cages, a skate park, and a mini-carnival that runs on the weekend with a train, carousel, etc. Then there's Cosmo Dog Park, voted nicest dog park in the United States. And don't forget the Riparian Preserve, what I consider one of the most unique features of Gilbert.

The Riparian Preserve is located behind the Gilbert Library. It's 110 acres of a protected, water-fish-animal preserve. They also have an observatory, camping spaces, and ranger-led bird walks and even dinosaur digs. It's a really special part of Gilbert.

Since Gilbert is easily accessible by two major freeways, the family activities of the entire Valley are at your fingertips. These include the Phoenix Zoo, the Arizona Science Center, Tempe Town Lake, Arizona Museum for Youth, and tons more. But that's another post. :)

As a Gilbert resident and your Local Expert, I am here to help you in your relocation to Gilbert, AZ. As a Family Real Estate Specialist, I assist my clients in finding the right home at the right price for their families.

Email me today to see how I can serve you and your family!

Labels: family friendly neighborhoods, family real estate, gilbert real estate, mommy news

Elena Thurston, Family Realtor @ 8:18 AM
0 comments

Monday, February 04, 2008

Short Sales in Gilbert, AZ

As Short Sales are all the buzzword these days, I decided it was time to give my readers a snapshot of what that translates into for my homebase, Gilbert, AZ.

First, let's define Short Sale. Many of my clients first interpret it to mean like a "fire sale". People need to sell their home really quick, fast, and cheap. That's almost true. Short Sale refers to the fact that the lender has agreed to take less than what is owed on the home. They have agreed to do this because the borrower (seller) has proven financial hardship and the lender would way rather do a short sale than a foreclosure.

Sellers would prefer to do a Short Sale over a foreclosure because a short sale only stays on their credit for 1 year vs a foreclosure will stay on for seven years. However, Short Sales are anything but Short.

Because every single document has to be reviewed by the lender, it can take up to 3-4 months for a buyer to even receive a response to their offer. That can be very frustrating. A really good listing agent who knows how to work the system can significantly cut that time down. Because it is possible that the home can go into foreclosure during that 3-4 month response time if the agents are really on top of things. That would be bad.

But let's localize things. What is the Short Sale market like here in Gilbert, AZ? Well, like all areas of the Southwest, we experience our incredible boom and like all areas, some people got in over their head so we're seeing a distinct increase in Short Sales and Foreclosures. Luckily for us, Gilbert's school system has remained superior, our crime rate is loooow, and our family-friendly atmosphere hasn't changed a lick.

This means people are hunting for deals and their hunting ground is Gilbert, AZ. I just spent this past Saturday looking at Short Sales with some clients and I'll tell you a little about what we found.

First we saw a 2,200 sq ft home for $220,000. It was one story, north/south facing, on a cul-de-sac, large and private backyard, and a 2 car garage. Inside it had 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, and separate formal and informals. It needed new carpet and new paint. I would say this one had great investment potential, if it was a normal sale it would probably be on the market for $275-300k.

Next we saw a Bank-Owned home (meaning it's already been foreclosed on) in the prestigious Seville community. It was one-story, north/south facing, walking distance to the elementary school, views of the fairway, and a lovely pool. It had 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, a great room, plus a den for $285,000. It needed new carpet in the den and new baseboards. It was nicely upgraded with surround sound, granite counters, and really nice cabinets. I thought it was priced a little high for a foreclosure but the agent listing did say "Don't be shy to Bring Offers."

We saw one more but it looks like my clients are going to put an offer on that tonight, so I'll decline describing it. Now don't forget, when my clients put in an offer on a Short Sale, they won't be able to ask for any history on the property or even ask for repairs. They can have the property inspected but again, no repair requests will be honored. This is a major reason some people veer away from Short Sales.

Short Sales in Gilbert, AZ can range from condos to mansions and everything in between. If you have the right amount of patience, both in searching and then in deal-making, you can really save some dough. Make sure the location is ideal and then really comb the neighborhood. As an experienced Family Real Estate Specialist, I can make sure your Short Sale buying experience is worth your time and your money.

Labels: AZ, gilbert real estate, killer deal, short sales in Gilbert

Elena Thurston, Family Realtor @ 9:27 AM
0 comments

Saturday, February 02, 2008

Around Town: News for Gilbert, AZ

For those looking to relocate to Gilbert, AZ and it's family friendly neighborhoods, I thought I would summarize some info that came from our monthly city paper. It can give you a good idea of city government priorities as well as citizen involvement groups.

Artists between 5 and 18 years can submit original art work to be showcased at the 2008 Global Village Festival. Work should be inspired by the theme "A Reflection of Your Community." Deadlines is March 3. For more info or to receive an application, call 480/503-6895.

Free composting bins are available from the city. To have one delivered call 480/503-6400.

Jacki Hartman Foundation 1 Mile Walk and 5K Fun Run is Saturday, February 16, 9 am. Proceeds benefit the Jackie Hartman Foundation, an organization that assists families searching for missing young adults and provides nursing scholarships to Arizona students. For more info check out www.jackiehartman.org

Jackie Hartman was a Gilbert resident who was found missing. Days later her body was found northeast of Gilbert and her boyfriend was found guilty of murder. I'm so happy to see that as a town, we have a way of supporting her family and her memory.

Free Concert in the Park. Thursday, March 6, 6:30-8:30 pm. Bring your friends and family to enjoy a free concert in the park as Gilbert's own Clint Clarkson performs his unique blend of country western. Freestone Park Amphitheater, Juniper Avenue and Lindsay Rd.

Father/Daughter Dance, sponsored by the City of Gilbert, is Friday April 4 from 6:30-9 pm at the Gilbert Community Center, 130 N. Oak Street. Cost is $16 per couple. Young Ladies ages 3-17 and their dad, favorite uncle, grandpa or family friends are invited.

As you can see, the city of Gilbert is directly interested in supporting families and their various needs. As a Gilbert resident, I think it's a great place to live with my family. If you are thinking of relocating to Gilbert and have some questions, feel free to give me a call or email me at info@elenathurston.com. I would love to hear from you.

Labels: family friendly neighborhoods, gilbert events, gilbert real estate

Elena Thurston, Family Realtor @ 9:24 AM
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