Sun City Grand Real Estate & Arizona Retirement Communities

Avid golfers love challenging courses.  Trail Ridge Golf Course in Sun City West is considered the most challenging of any other Sun City West golf course.  It is an 18-hole regulation course that is located at 21021 N 151st Avenue.  

Each year one Sun City West golf course is selected for closure during the summer for refurbishment.  This year Trail Ridge was selected for complete summer maintenance.  Trail Ridge will be closed from July 28 through October 13.  All of the other Sun City West golf courses will be open for the summer.  I polled my golfer clients and found that they will probably golf at either Deer Valley, Grandview or Pebblebrook courses while Trail Ridge is closed. 

 During the time that the golf course is closed the resident swans will still be cared for.  Homeowners are asked to still keep an eye out for the swans. 

If you have forgotten the name of each swan, they are: Lake hole number 3 Grace and Gus, lake hole number 11 Lucy and Spencer, lake hole number 14 Georgia Girl and Misty, lake hole number 16 Opal and Pearl, and on lake hole number 17 Ozzie and Harriet. 

Leolinda Bowers
I live here, I work here, I know this community!

I have business cards for personal attendants and personal shoppers.  Today I got a new and different business card to include in my business card book that is shared with my clients.  Clients frequently rummage through the book looking for prospective people to do business with - such as plumbers, electricians, handymen and the like.

I was at the Sun City West Veterinary Clinic with my Pekingese Shareik.  After seeing the vet, I waited at the front counter for medication and to make Shareik's next appointment.  The clinic had numerous business cards in their holders displayed on the counter.  Naturally, I looked through the card holders to see if I knew anyone or perhaps if there was a specific service that I would consider adding into my business card book.   I fingered through the business cards on the counter and found that there were business cards from almost every real estate company in town.  One industrious agent from another company (I don't remember which one) had color flyers on the counter for one of his new listings.

There it was - a new business card! It was a business card for a chauffeuring service.  This was not the typical escort or chauffeuring service that you would normally think of.  The business card had a picture of a pooch peering out from the passenger side of the car. 

A PETSCORT service! The business is an escort service for pets.  They will pick up your pets, drive them to the vet, to the groomer, or just take them from one house or business establishment to another.  What an awesome idea.  If the pet owner cannot take the animal, the pet chauffeuring service will. 

The service is available only in Sun City West, Sun City Grand, Arizona Traditions and some areas of Surprise.  The cost is minimal considering the price of gas and the time saved.   

I spoke with the proprietor who even offered me references. Yep, references.  After all, what is the most prized possession in your home???

Leolinda Bowers
I live here, I work here, I know this community!

I am a full-time Sun City Grand Realtor.  My long workdays are full of client interaction and negotiations.  Fortunately I also live in Sun City Grand making my commute home less than 5 minutes from my office.  As a top producing agent for Ken Meade Realty, I have clients arriving in Arizona almost daily.  Fatigue and long hours has forced me to take some time for myself.  I was able to take one day off last month and one day this month.

Last month I went to Mormon Lake which is southeast of Flagstaff.  This week I decided to go to visit the Blue Ridge Reservoir which is located on the Mogollon Rim near the Blue Ridge ranger's station in the Coconino National Forest .  The trip takes about two hours from Sun City Grand.  My husband and I drove there via Camp Verde then north on Highway 260 (General Crooks Trail).  If traveling from Scottsdale, go north on the Beeline highway, past Payson and north through Pine and Strawberry. 

Blue Ridge Reservoir was developed by Phelps Dodge to provide the Phelps Dodge copper mining operations with water, specifically for its mine in Morenci.  In 2005, Blue Ridge Reservoir was turned over to SRP.

It takes about 4 1/2 miles on gravel road to reach the reservoir.

A little past Rock Crossing campground, we began to follow a new silver Lexus with temporary plates.

The Lexus turned around a mile before reaching the boat dock.   

They missed the majestic and picturesque beauty of Blue Ridge Reservoir!

Tall Ponderosa Pine Trees hug the sides of the canyon.

Blue Ridge is very quiet.  You have time to think and see the natural wildlife.

The beauty that surrounds the canyon is outrageous! 

 Blue Ridge also has a boat ramp.  Only 10hp boats are allowed.

 Blue Ridge is very popular for kayaking due to its calm water. 

  There is a different and more spectacular view around every turn!

Leolinda Bowers
Sun City Grand ~ I live here, I work here, I know this community!

Today I ran into a good friend of mine.  She has been in real estate for about 5 years and specializes in the Arizona west valley retirement communities.  I had not seen her for a couple of months and noticed she was wearing a new nametag.  She changed companies!  Why?  She was very happy with her office, fellow agents and with the company.  She was one of the top producing agents.  She was a successful agent who had built an extraordinary clientele.  I've done several transactions with her - an excellent agent to work with!  She knows the Arizona real estate purchase contract and she knows how to write a contract well.

It was a business move, she said.  What is the difference between her old company and her new company?  The agents in her new company are helpful.  Her new company has excellent technology capabilities.  Most of all, a better commission split. 

She told her manager, and sobbed.  He sobbed and wanted to know what it would take to have her stay.  She did not leave in the middle of the night without notifying anyone.  She was upright and truthful with her manager, and her colleagues.  She told all of her clients.  Most responded, "You are my realtor for life, just bring me your new business cards".   Her mind was made up.  She would be second guessing herself had she not made the move. 

The bottom line is she feels that she can serve her clients better.  You must make difficult choices in life.  After all, it's all business!

Leolinda Bowers
Sun City Grand ~ I live here, I work here, I know this community!

Today I received a telephone call from a bewildered client.  The client received several telephone calls within a couple of days from various individuals asking to purchase her home which was being sold in a short sale.  The callers indicated that they found her home listed on the area multiple listing and on various internet websites.

Each of the callers told the homeowner that if the homeowner signed over her title to them, then the caller would bring her mortgage current and save the homeowner's credit. 

The homeowner called her mortgage company and confirmed that her mortgage was always current. I sold the property to the homeowner a little over three years ago and kept in contact with her on a regular basis.  Her next step was to call "Her Realtor®".  I cannot express the joy that I felt when she referred to me as "Her Realtor®".   

How could this happen, she asked, I have signed no listing contract.  OK!  I had a job to do!  I searched MLS under the property address, and found no listing.  I then searched only by the property house number.  There it was! 

The homeowner lived at 1234 West ABC Street.

The short sale property was at 1234 East ABC Street. 

A measurement for any sales person is not only what or how you market yourself or represent your product, it's also what people think of you at the end of the transaction.  I am "Her Realtor®".

Leolinda Bowers
I live here!  I work here!  I know this community!

There are 249 homes presently listed in Sun City Grand, none of which are presently in foreclosure. 

That is not the case in other communities in Surprise.  There are presently 1,386 homes in Surprise (excluding Sun City Grand) presently listed for sale in MLS.  I counted the short sales, REO, and foreclosures and stopped at 322.

The sheer number of foreclosures has resulted with numerous homes in disarray with weeds and overgrown yards.  On Surprise Pride Day, volunteers will be cleaning up the occupied and unoccupied homes that need sprucing up.  The cleanup day should result in a pride of ownership and accountability for living in this fast growing west valley city. 

Volunteers are asked to meet at Surprise Stadium at 15960 N. Bullard Avenue on Saturday, June 21 at 6:15 am to pick up tools, bags, gloves and directions.  Don't forget to bring lots of water!  The Surprise clean up will end at 10am with lunch at the Surprise Stadium and a raffle.

Come and join your friends and neighbors by keeping Surprise clean!

Visit here for more information about Sun City Grand in Surprise, Arizona.

It's the little things that count! Sometimes we loose sight of the small things that make people feel warm and fuzzy.

Not long ago I was showing property to some people from Bellingham Washington. They were purchasing a second home in Sun City Grand for the winter months useage. I would safely guess that about 20% of current sales will be used by Washingtonians as a second home. I haven't been to Washington in a few years but I know that it is pretty wet. Just like the Big Island of Hawaii - namely my hometown of Hilo.

The prospective homeowners met me at my office in Sun City Grand. They had already checked out the listings on my website and knew exactly which homes they wanted to see and they were very excited.

We met early in the morning and I showed them all of the homes on their list. They just didn't find anything that they could say "this is it!" We stopped at JB's Restaurant and had lunch looking out on the 18^th green of Granite Falls South Golf Course. I listened intently to their conversation as they described their Bellingham home. Then it rang a bell. I thought of a few homes that I had shown over the couple of weeks.

After lunch, we went back to my office and I selected a few homes for them. I forgot to mention that the temperature was 104 degrees. As we walked into each home that I selected, they commented about the floor plan, model, exteriors and décor etc.

At the third home, the listing agent left a note on the counter to help ourselves to a bottle of water in the refrigerator, and we did. The buyers sat on the comfortable furniture relaxing, drinking their cool water and getting a feel for the home. You know she said, "I like this home". "Yea, it's warm and inviting" he said. They took their time and just studied the home. This was it! A sale was made because a seller and their Realtor® had taken the time for the little things that count. CHILLED WATER WITH AN INVITATION TO HELP YOURSELF!

Leolinda Bowers
I live here! I work here! I know this community!

SOLD in SUN CITY WEST May 2008

When selling or placing an offer on a property, the buyer or seller should review the absorption rate for the community.  The Absorption Rate is the rate in time (months) that it should take to sell all of the houses on the market to sell.  It is a easy calculation that your realtor can do within a few minutes.

Sun City West absortption rate for May 2008 was 7.3 months.  It has decreased from April 2008 which was 7.9 months.

 This list contains only single family detached properties and does not include condos, apartments or like-kind.  Properties on this recently sold list have been listed or sold by various participants in MLS, including Ken Meade Realty.  Information deemed realiable and accurate but not guaranteed.

Everyone love a freebie and this is an excellent one!  The Surprise police department is being proactive in protecting us from the bad ones who borrow our cars and it's FREE!

On June 7th, the Surprise police department will be providing FREE vehicle identification number (VIN) etching. 

It will be held from 8:00am until 11:00am at the Safeway Store located at 13828 West Wadell Road.  This is located about 10 minutes from Sun City West and Sun City Grand. 

The first 50 vehicles will receive steering wheel locks.

SUN CITY GRAND May 2008 Sales Golf Course Properties
11 Sun City Grand Golf Course properties sold and closed in escrow in May 2008. 
The Ashbury, Cambridge and Mission models were most sold.
The lowest sale price was 629,900 and the highest was $1,025,000
The average days on the market was 228
The average price per sq ft was $235

SUN CITY GRAND May 2008 Sales Non Golf Course Properties
32 non-golf course properties sold and closed in escrow in May 2008. 
The average square footage was 1,769
The average sales price was $268,016
The average price per sq ft was $147.
The average days on the market was 146

When selling or placing an offer on a property, the buyer or seller should review the absorption rate for the community.  The Absorption Rate is the rate in time (months) that it should take to sell all of the houses on the market to sell. 

Sun City Grand Absortption rate for May 2008 was 7.6 months.  It has decreased from April 2008 which was 8.1 months.

See a comprehensive list of all properties sold in Sun City Grand in 2008.