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INSIDE THIS ISSUE

April 2017 Powered by

2 High-Rise/Low-Rise Condos;

CONDO TOWNHOME &LOFT

Builder’s Warranty

3 Termite Warranty; Downsizing 4& 5

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Look before you leap Five things condo buyers need to know By Susie Steckner

he Valley is experiencing a condominium and townhome boom with new projects that are on the drawing board or ready for grand openings at every turn. Here are five things to consider before picking out your new home. Location. Do you want to walk out your door and hop on light rail? Or bike to dinner with friends? What’s the things-todo quotient of the area? You will want to consider whether a property matches your lifestyle — and that means taking a look at location. If being in the “middle of it all” matters, think about whether the area is up-andcoming or one that is established with restaurants, shops and activities that are important in your daily life, said Paul Williamson, principal with True Craft Residential, developer of the Novella at Arcadia townhome project in Phoenix.

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The ‘smart’ stuff A bit of 411 on bandwidth and infrastructure in condo communities

By Debra Gelbart

Novella at Arcadia

Walkability is also a driving force in many of today’s condo and townhome properties which often tout close proximity to restaurants, bars, shops, public transit, entertainment and more. Liv URBN’s Contour on Campbell, for instance, is a short walk or bike ride to restaurants, grocery stores and shops.

Contour on Cambell

Construction. The type of construction can impact a property’s long-term stability, how a property holds its value, how much noise residents will hear from their neighbors and more, said Scott Fisher, principal with Liv URBN, which also is developing The Mason townhouse project in Phoenix. Construction costs are higher with concrete — which translates into higher purchase prices for buyers — but Fisher

LOOK BEFORE YOU LEAP; continued on page CL5

he term “smart” refers to technology in the home from automation to energyefficiency, according to Keith Mishkin, owner of Cambridge Properties, a company that represents several new condo developments in Greater Phoenix.

New condos and townhomes may be equipped with broader bandwidth that enables faster downloads and uploads compared to a new single-family home, explained David Newcombe, a real estate broker with Launch Real Estate in Scottsdale. In the Valley, at least two condo communities feature some of the latest bandwidth infrastructure, including Portland on the Park in Phoenix and The Cays at Downtown Ocotillo in Chandler. “Statesman invested and paid for a cabling infrastructure…to deliver gigabit (a unit measuring the speed of data transfer) service to the property at an affordable price to the owners,” said Shantelle Monongye of the Statesman Group of Companies; Statesman developed The Cays at Downtown Ocotillo. “This infrastructure is necessary so that condo owners will have the ability to connect all of their home automation devices as well as stream ultraHD video content at speeds greater than industry standards.”

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“It is much more cost-effective to run all of the inside wiring at the time of construction rather than after the condo is completed.” —Shantelle Monongye, Statesman Group of Companies

What some communities offer Some condo communities offer home automation services as standard features. For example, Two Biltmore Estates in Phoenix “is one of the few communities where every home has a programmable pad that controls all your lighting, sound, automatic windows/sliders/blinds, sets the temperature and controls certain appliances,” Mishkin said. “You can turn on and off your lights with one button. You also can program your front lock with a code for vendors or guests or choose to go keyless.”

What’s available after-market “Smart-home technology has never before been as desired as it is now,” said Dennis Sage, owner and president of Phoenix-based Dennis Sage Home Entertainment (DSHE). “With the multitude of choices available in the marketplace, there is a system for any budget or setting. The choices of what can be monitored and controlled continues to grow every year.” Condos and townhomes are typically smaller than single-family homes, Sage said, “making the economy of scale work for the buyers. Less wire, smaller spaces and smaller areas to monitor make it easier on the budget. Smart systems can lower energy costs by programming, monitoring and reporting on a real-time basis.”

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THE ‘SMART’ STUFF; continued on page CL5

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