Moving?

Links below lead to external websites which are not affiliated with The Phoenix Agents. Some sites below even list real estate agents other than us (gasp!). Those agents aren’t necessarily better than us, they just paid to be listed on these websites.

Check Out the Neighborhood

• Zip Skinny
• Zip Code Stats from the US Census Bureau
• WalkScore.com
• Arizona Neighborhoods.com (note, this site displays Realtors other than ThePhoenixAgents. They’re not better, they just paid for advertising on the site)
• Phoenix Restaurant Guide
• Get a bird’s eye view of the neighborhood using  Google Maps, Google Earth, and MSN Maps Live

Check out local schools

• Arizona school websites, listed by district
• Find Arizona Charter Schools – through the AZ Dept of Ed website
• GreatSchools.Net – find and compare schools nationwide

Crime Check

We frequently get questions on crime in local areas. As licensed real estate agents, we are not legally allowed to give our opinions on an area’s crime rate. But we can (and do) provide ways for our clients to get this type of information. The links below contain a great deal of information and analysis on local, city and state crime.

• Family Watchdog (national sex offender registry)
• Arizona’s Sex Offender Registry
• Phoenix Police department’s interactive crime statistics (if they move that site, use their main webpage, here Phoenix Police Department)
• Phoenix Fire Department
• Crime Reports from AZ Central (The Arizona Republic, the region’s major daily newspaper)
• The Ripoff Report (note this site is created by consumers, content isn’t verified or checked)
• Phoenix Metro Area (Search by Zip Code)
• Arizona Department of Public Safety 2003 Annual Crime In Arizona Report
• Sex Offender Information (Search by Zip Code, Area, Etc for registered sex offenders)
• FBI Crime Statistics,  FBI Uniform Crime Reports site
• Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office

City, County & State & Other Gov’t Websites, including TAX information

These websites are useful for looking up police & fire, local park information, finding government jobs, finding historic neighborhoods, and just about anything else touched by local government. In Maricopa County, the tax assessor’s website contains detailed property tax information. Most of the Phoenix metro region is located within Maricopa County. Access the Maricopa County tax assessor’s website <here>.

• City of Phoenix
• City of Phoenix – Building Permit Records division, 602-262-7800
• City of Scottsdale
• Town of Carefree
• Town of Cave Creek
• Town of Paradise Valley
• City of Glendale
• City of Peoria
• City of Surprise
• City of Goodyear
• City of El Mirage
• Town of Buckeye
• Maricopa County
• Maricopa County Parks & Recreation Department
• Maricopa County Floodplain Management’s brochure about flood hazards
• State of Arizona
• Arizona Geological Survey – earth fissure info & map
• HUD statement on mold & radon gas – NOTE: this only applies if you’re buying a HUD-owned home

Pool Barrier Law Information

• Arizona Division of Public Health Services on pool barrier laws
• The Arizona Association of Realtors on pool barrier laws, including info on fines for those found in non-compliance
• The Arizona Association of Realtors on pool fence specifications

What about termites?

Termites in Arizona are a reality for most of the home owning population. But Arizona termites are different from their cousins in the Midwest and South. Chris and Heather have written several posts about spotting termites, treating termites, and why they’re just not that big a deal. Our Tucson branch manager, The Housechick Kelley Koehler covers the same termite territory.

Local News Sources

• First, sign up for our Viewpoint – this is unlike any other news source available, it’s stats & charts about the local real estate market plus explanations in plain English about what it all means and what you should do about it
• Second, sign up for our periodic ZIP code reports – stats & home prices, arranged by Valley ZIP code
• Arizona Republic, the metro region’s biggest daily print newspaper
• The East Valley’s daily newspaper: East Valley Tribune
  
• ASU’s Realty Studies department – great source for local stats & charts
• Downtown Voices Coalition – news & advocacy for a better downtown Phoenix
• Sonoran News (Cave Creek & Carefree, not a daily paper)
• The Phoenix Business Journal
• The Greater Phoenix Better Business Bureau

Starting Your New Life In Arizona

Get your driver’s license, register your car, contact local utility providers, find a job…

• Two movers we recommend are: Two Men and a Truck and Camelback Moving
• AZ Department of Motor Vehicles
• Speaking of driving, get the lowdown from the locals: here, here, here and here and get local driver’s humor here
• Phone, Internet and TV – You can get these from Cox or from Qwest
• Water, sewer, trash, etc – contact the city you’ll be moving to, or check this utility-list-pdf
• Electric – Contact either SRP or APS
• Southwest Gas (a minority of homes in Greater Phoenix have gas on property)
  
• Try Meetup.com to find groups
• Check out local businesses at the Phoenix Chamber of Commerce, the Scottsdale Chamber of Commerce, the Southwest Valley Chamber of Commerce or the Glendale Chamber of Commerce
  
• The Arizona Republic, the Valley’s local daily newspaper, is a great place to start a job search

Recreation Activities

• the Phoenix Mountains Preservation Council and the Phoenix Parks system
• the world famous Desert Botanical Gardens or the Phoenix Zoo
• the Diamondbacks baseball team, the Phoenix Suns basketball, the Phoenix Coyotes hockey, the Arizona Cardinals football or the Arizona Rattlers arena football

See Pictures of the Area

Our favorite photos of the area are collected on Chris’ photoblog. But you can also see professional photos of the area, below. And don’t forget to visit the photoblog of a local resident, ShutterMike. Beautiful pics!

Not every house in the Greater Phoenix area is white stucco with a terra-cotta colored tile roof. For pictures of Phoenix’s beautiful historic homes, visit The Downtown Phoenix Journal’s photoblog series, From the Arizona Room.

LocalPhotoTours.MetroShot.com (“The largest and highest quality local photo tours of only the stuff you need to see!”) has really great pics of spots around various towns.

Note: these links lead to exterior, independent websites and ThePhoenixAgents.com take no responsibility for their content or accuracy.

• Phoenix
• Scottsdale
• Peoria
• Surprise
• Mesa, Gilbert, Chandler and Tempe
• The gorgeous area called Fountain Hills
• Queen Creek, as well as Chandler, Apache Junction and Tempe/Mesa/Gilbert