AZCENTRAL.COM
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FRIDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2021
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A S P E C I A L P U B L I C AT I O N C R E AT E D B Y R E P U B L I C M E D I A C U S T O M P U B L I S H I N G
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October 2021
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DISHWASHER PRIMER
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Cachet Homes
SE AND NE DEVELOPMENTS OF THE MONTH PRE-QUALIFICATION VS PRE-APPROVAL
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Home Locator Maps See pages 6 & 7
FLOORING 101
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Rules for kids and pools "Drowning is the most preventable death among children in the Valley.” Capt. Rob McDade, Phoenix Fire Department
By Debra Gelbart
M
any folks in Arizona are opting to have a beautiful pool built in their new home’s backyard. But did you know that if you have a child under age 6 in your household, you need to have a barrier fence between the house and the pool? It’s not just common sense — it’s the law.
General requirements Listed below are the general requirements for a pool enclosure in Arizona (check with your city or town for more detailed requirements). • A pool with at least 18 inches of water that’s more than eight-feet wide — whether in-ground or above-ground — must be surrounded by a fence that’s at least five-feet high and is located no less than 20 inches away from the water’s edge. • No object with a diameter of four inches or more can fit through the links or slats of the fence. • Footholds or handholds are not allowed on the exterior of the fence. • The access gate into the pool must be self-closing and self-latching and the latch must be at least 54 inches above the ground. • Pool gates must be equipped to accommodate a locking device. • The access gate must open outward, away from the pool.
“Make sure you put the lock on any doggiedoors leading out to the backyard. Every year, we have a child fatality in a backyard swimming pool where they made access through a pet-door.”
Chris Mayer Photography for Shea Homes Active Lifestyle Communities
What you need to know about today’s hot new-homes market
Chase Capture Photog raphy via Cachet Hom es
These days, patience is definitely a virtue when shopping for a new home
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By Debra Gelbart oday’s sizzling-hot residential real estate market can be daunting to navigate — meaning patience and flexibility are key to purchasing your new home.
New versus resale ndford Homes Mark Boisclair via Bla René Lopo, builder sales manager for loanDepot in Scottsdale, With regard to the supply and demand of new homes, points out what she believes to be the clear advantage of a Stapp added, “demand can occur in very short time periods, new-home [versus a resale home] purchase. but supply takes a long time. There are many issues beyond She states: “Would you rather bid $20,000 more than the builders’ control that constrain the supply of new homes asking price for a resale home due to the inventory shortage and push costs upward. Builders are under or would you prefer — when you close “There are many pressure to deliver and although demand months down the road — to discover that the value of your brand-new home is issues beyond builders’ is good for their business, few — if any — higher than your sales price due to market control that constrain builders like this stress and would prefer slightly less pressure on performance.” increases? I know what my answer is.”
the supply of new homes and push costs upward.”
Construction timelines Market not cooling Current construction timelines from “This market has not cooled,” said Mark purchase to completion range from eight to Stapp, director of Real Estate Programs —Mark Stapp, W. P. Carey School of 10 months, roughly two months longer than in the W. P. Carey School of Business at Business, Arizona State University historical timelines, said James Attwood, Arizona State University (ASU). Stapp is division president of Tri Pointe Homes Arizona, formerly also the Fred E. Taylor Professor of Real Estate at ASU. Maracay Homes. “It [the market] has tempered a little (since the spring of 2021) Meanwhile, Cachet Homes, a Scottsdale-based luxury for a variety of reasons but the demand/supply imbalance builder, didn’t open any new communities in 2020 (and hasn’t remains with no substantial change in the near future. Our economic expansion is greater than any time in our recent (NEW HOMES MARKET, continued on page NH5) history, and new jobs…keep pushing housing demand.”
—Capt. Rob McDade, Phoenix Fire Department
Preferred fencing material Wrought iron is the preferred material for a pool fence, said Lori Schmidt, president of the Drowning Prevention Coalition of Arizona and public information officer for the Scottsdale Fire Department. “We don’t like chain-link fences because they provide toeholds for little ones to scramble over,” she said. “The law may allow them, but they really aren’t a great barrier to keeping people out of a pool area.”
(POOL SAFETY, continued on page NH5)
Mark Boisclair, Mark Boisclair Photography, Inc. via Tri Pointe Homes Arizona