Arizona Real Estate Notebook

I would have to agree that there is a lot of interest in Arizona homes priced under $200,000. This is also a price point that is very popular with Canadians looking for vacation homes.

Shawn and Charlene McNeely, who live in Mesa, jumped into the low-end market to generate retirement income. They have bought three homes with the help of real estate agent Marie Nowicki of Re/Max Elite in the past six months ranging in price from $200,000 to $220,000. Two of the homes are in Gilbert and one is in Chandler.

One of the Gilbert homes was owned by a 65-year-old woman whose 95-year-old mother has Alzheimer’s disease and lives with her. The women were about to lose their home because they couldn’t keep up with their mortgage payments, which ballooned to $3,000 a month on an adjustable-rate loan.

The McNeelys said they now rent the home back to the women for $1,200 a month.

“She was very happy because for months, she was in fear of losing her home and being displaced,” Shawn McNeely said. “Unfortunately, somebody’s misfortune becomes somebody else’s opportunity.”