Resort and Second Homes in Scottsdale
Buying a second home in Scottsdale, from someone who holds the Resort and Second-Home Property Specialist designation.
A house you live in part of the year is a different purchase
Buying a second home looks like buying a first home and is not, because the questions that decide whether you are happy with it are completely different.
What happens to the house during the months you are not in it. Who watches it. What the HOA maintains while you are gone and what it does not. Whether you can rent it out when you are away, and what the documents actually say about that rather than what someone told you. What a pool costs to maintain when nobody is swimming in it. How the utilities behave in an empty house in August.
Those are not details to sort out afterward. They are the purchase.
I hold the Resort and Second-Home Property Specialist designation, which is the certification for exactly this kind of buyer.
Talk to me about a second home
Lock-and-leave, and what it really requires
Lock-and-leave gets used as a marketing phrase for anything with a small yard. In practice it means you can close the door for six weeks and not worry, which is a much higher bar.
It usually needs low-maintenance landscaping rather than a lawn, an HOA that genuinely handles the exterior, a community where an unoccupied house is normal rather than conspicuous, and systems you can monitor or have monitored remotely.
Some communities here are built around this and do it well. Others look similar in photographs and will have you arranging a landscaper, a pool service and someone to check on a leak from another state. I know which are which, and it is one of the first things I will tell you.
Rental rules, and reading them before you offer
If any part of your plan involves renting the house when you are not in it, the HOA documents decide whether that plan is legal, and they need reading before you write an offer rather than after.
Communities vary enormously. Some allow short-term rentals. Many have a minimum lease length that rules them out entirely. Some cap how many homes can be rented at once, which means the answer can be no even where the rules say yes. Some have changed the rule recently, which matters if you are relying on what a neighbor told you.
This is one of the most common expensive surprises for a second-home buyer, and it is entirely avoidable. In Arizona your HOA documents and disclosures are reviewed inside the inspection period, which is built into the contract at ten days and can be negotiated. The timeline is here.
Where second-home buyers are looking
DC Ranch, Grayhawk, McDowell Mountain Ranch, McCormick Ranch and Fountain Hills.
Buying from out of state? Most of the early work happens without you flying in, including live walkthroughs where I am in the house and you are not. Relocating properly rather than part time is covered here.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I rent out my second home when I am not using it?
It depends entirely on the HOA documents, and they need reading before you make an offer. Many communities have a minimum lease length that rules out short stays, and some cap how many homes can be rented at once. This is the most common expensive surprise and it is avoidable.
What does lock-and-leave actually require?
More than a small yard. Low-maintenance landscaping, an HOA that genuinely handles the exterior, a community where an empty house is normal, and systems you can monitor remotely. Several communities here do it properly and others only look like they do.
What is the RSPS designation?
Resort and Second-Home Property Specialist, the certification for agents working with buyers purchasing property they will not live in full time. It covers the things that make this purchase different: seasonal use, remote ownership, rental restrictions and HOA obligations.
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