As Arizona residents watch for signs of a housing recovery, home renovations appear to be rising.
Several contractors have been spotted at houses in Sun City. While no specific area statistics are kept by Maricopa County officials, building permit applications have increased, according to Tom Ewers, county planning division manager.
“Last year we were processing between 400 to 500 permits a month countywide, now that up to about 500 to 600,” he said.
In most communities with homeowners associations, a renovation triggers a series of processes at the community level. The first step is to present plans to the HOA architecture committee for approval, then go through a permitting process either in a city or Maricopa County, if the property is in an unincorporated area of the county. However, Sun City property owners do not have to face guidelines as stringent as others.
“We don’t have design guidelines per se and we don’t have an architectural; committee,” said Bill Szentmiklosi, Sun City Home Owners Association general manager.
That leads to some homes taking on an interesting appearance in a community completed in the late-1970s.
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