San Tan Heights

I agree

I have to agree with ''Bob'' on what street do you live on? First off why are you still ''rebuilding'' your life if it was just your car broken into (unless I read incorrectly).

Personally, having spoken with a Pinal Sheriff's deputy who lives in the community we are one of the lowest for crime in this area with the size that we are at. I are actually going to be moving but only so my husband can be closer to work and we can be closer to ammenities, not because of the subdivision. Personally, I have no problems with Simonton Elementary which my son attends and I enjoy having it only a couple of blocks away, the tot lots are nice to have, and there are a TON of kids in the subdivision as well. I would say it is very ''family friendly'' but as with any area that is increasing in size there IS some crime so you still have to use common sense to help to keep yourself and your family safe. We have been here over 2 years and, knock on wood, we have not been crime victims. If you are looking to move to Queen Creek itself and simply looking for a particular subdivision I would recommend Castlegate as one that you look into. My property taxes only went up $600 or so this year and that is because they are building more schools in the area. A lot of people do not realize that typically the first year your taxes will be lower because your house wasn't added into that figure, just the land. From last year to this year our property taxes went up $600 but our loan company compensated for that at the beginning of the year and so we have the money in an escrow account. As long as you plan ahead and keep in touch with what is going on you shouldn't be blind sided by stuff like that. Also, in 2 years my house has INCREASED in value, not decreased. It hasn't increased by much but it has by some and it surely has not decreased. IMO, as far as subdivisions in building up communities go this one is nice and would probably choose this one over the majority of the others in the area.

Good luck to you in your move!

Shapinsay

I live on Shapinsay in the KB Homes. I personally know two homeowners who have had their walls graffiti'd - no response from the HOA so they finally painted it themselves.
My vehicle was parked in my driveway with my doors locked and my alarm set; the window was shattered out and personal items were stolen - including my identity - unfortunately, my bag was underneath my seat and that contained my blackberry, wallet, etc; it will be months before I am done dealing with that nightmare.
To the woman who thinks Simonton Elementary is just fine- a below-average education may be okay with you, but it's not okay with me.
As for crime on my street, the same night that my vehicle was vandalized and my belongings stolen, and the deputy was in my front yard taking my report, another neighbor from my street came rushing over to say that both his car and his fiance's were broken into, cleaned out, including garage door openers, and that as he came downstairs, THE THIEVES WERE RUNNING OUT HIS DOOR. The apathetic deputy shrugged and told him to go home and make his own report. After not looking at my vehicle at all, the deputy handed me his card and said to call him later with a list of what was stolen. He then shlubbed across the street to take another neighbor's report, and then moved 2 doors down. Our whole neighborhood of KB homes was gotten that night, and these people took their time, cleaned out cars, and entered at least one home. Two nights before my 2 neighbor's walls were graffiti'd. There are section 8 renters in both houses behind me, and several more down an adjacent street. Anyone who thinks that our neighborhood being taken over by not only renters, but section 8 housing, isn't a problem... is just delusional. My (wonderful, wonderful, responsible, clean, friendly) neighbors directly across the street are going to let their home go into foreclosure because they are unable to refinance due to the fact that thier home is now worth about 60% of what they paid for it, and have an ARM at over 12%. Despite high incomes and perfect credit, they cannot refi when our property values have bottomed out.
I will admit, I'm afraid.

By Melissa

Re: Shapinsay

I am also on Shapinsay in the KB Homes and I have yet to have any problems in 2 1/2 years. Then again I actually use my garage as a garage and park my vehicles in it. And if my car is parked outside (ie in a parking lot) I under NO circumstances leave my purse in the car. Why on earth would you leave sensitive personal belongings in a vehicle that is OUTSIDE???? I also would never leave my garage door opener in my vehicle if it was parked outside of my home. Again, some stuff is just common sense because as unfortunate as it is that is the world that we live in today.

We refinanced a year and a half ago with absolutely NO problems and will be putting our home on the market soon, again with no problems, hopefully making a profit of $20K or so from what we bought it for 2 1/2 years ago.

I also do not feel that Simonton is a sub standard school. It has gotten good ratings on tests and reports, and I feel that it is a good school with good teachers.

As for renters, they are everywhere in Queen Creek simply because houses were cheap, investors got in, and now they are renting them. It is in every subdivision not just Castlegate, but regardless of the renters I think it IS a family friendly subdivision minus a few overgrown weed houses and vacant houses.

Very funny how 2 people who live on the exact same street can have 2 VERY different opinions of the neighborhood.

IMO, it is one of the nicer subdivisions to live in if you are thinking about moving to Queen Creek. We just personally are not happy with Queen Creek itself and prefer to go to another city, but overall I have been happy with this subdivision itself. Then again, I take proper precautions to make sure things are secure (ie putting my vehicles in the garage, locking the garage door that goes into the house just in case the automatic garage door was ever opened, etc). It has nothing to do with this subdivision but the world as a whole. It doesn't matter where you live, if you live in a ''big city'' there will be theft, vandalism, break ins and crime in general. Unfortunately it is a fact of life in this day and age to secure things and be smart about what you leave unattended that someone could easily take. Again, leaving personal items that are sensitive (wallet, check book, credit cards, garage door openers, etc) in an unattended vehicle no matter where it is parked probably isn't the best idea. I am very sorry that you are now having to deal with identity theft, I know that has to be difficult, but overall I would say it's a pretty good subdivision within the Queen Creek area, especially for the size that it is. I can honestly say that I have felt pretty safe living here.

By Meghan

Castlegate

I have lived here for almost 2 years and am very happy living here. I don't live in the KB area so I can't speak for your part of the community but in my area we haven't had any issues at all. Other than the quads, people parking boats and trailers in the drive/rock and the occasional speeder, its relatively quiet and normal.

I too agree that you should never ever leave anything personal in your vehicle if its sitting outside. IMO, you are asking for your identity to be stolen. AZ is the number one state for id theft.

Its too bad that you have had such a bad experience living here. I am not suprised that the Sheriff's office would say we have low crime. I am just hoping it stays that way.

As far as home values go...We all know that in this day housing values are going to dip. But they will rise again as well. Phoenix is very cylical that way. However, I guess we were lucky to not get in over our heads and buy more than we could afford. I would never have an ARM that is just a trainwreck waiting to happen. To each his own, I suppose.