Meet The Forkenbrock Group

Here's what $550,000 gets you in Mesa, AZ! 2,210 sq ft, 4 bedrooms + den, a large backyard with mature landscaping and fruit trees, and access to all the amenities Dobson Ranch offers like lakes, pools and pickleball courts. One of my favorite things about looking at homes for sale in Mesa is finding houses that have character and a little personality. Visit dobsonranchhouse.com for all the details and be sure to send this to a friend who’s thinking about buying a house in Mesa, Arizona. Dawn Forkenbrock, Mesa Realtor w/ Real Broker #MesaAZ #DobsonRanch #MesaRealEstate #ArizonaHomes #MesaArizona

Navigating Basements in Gilbert Real Estate: Rarity, Costs, and Value Impact Scroll through Gilbert listings and you’ll almost never see the word basement. In most of the country a basement is a normal part of the house, but in the Phoenix area it’s a rare feature that can make a home stand out, and it also raises real questions about cost, water, appraisals, and resale. Why are basements so rare here? In colder states, builders must set foundations 48 to 72 inches deep to stay below the frost line, so a basement is a small step beyond what’s already required. In the Phoenix area, footings need to go only about 18 inches deep, so a basement means significant extra excavation. Many East Valley soils also contain caliche, a hard, cement-like layer that’s difficult to dig and inconsistent from lot to lot, making the cost of a dig hard to predict. Production builders focus on fast, low-cost slab construction, so basements mostly show up in custom homes and one-off builds. An Arizona State University architecture professor told KJZZ that basements would actually make sense here, since underground temperatures run cooler and more stable than the air above, which is part of why buyers who find a basement home often love it. Basement homes tend to be custom builds, rebuilds, and one-off properties rather than standard production floor plans. Redfin listed 14 Gilbert homes with basements for sale at a median listing price near $600,000, compared with about $625,000 for Gilbert homes overall, with Agritopia and Power Ranch among the popular neighborhoods. Recent asking prices show just how wide the range runs: a two-story home with a full finished basement in Willows at $575,000, a Colonia Grande home with a basement and no HOA at $599,900, a 4-bedroom Agritopia home with a full finished basement (HOA about $245/month) at $1,089,000, a Power Ranch home with a finished basement and 3-car garage at $1,150,000, a Felty Farms home with a basement at $1,544,900, and a six-bedroom Agritopia ground-up rebuild with a finished basement and detached poolside casita at $2,100,000. Other neighborhoods with recent basement listings include Vintage Ranch, Gilbert Commons, and more. Building a basement runs about $40 to $50 more per square foot than above-ground construction once you factor in excavation, waterproofing, and drainage, with hard caliche adding unpredictability. Finishing an unfinished basement runs about $25 to $65 per square foot, roughly $12,500 to $32,500 for 500 square feet or $37,500 to $97,500 for 1,500 square feet, with waterproofing adding another $2 to $10 per square foot. Specialist waterproofing contractors in Phoenix charge about $190 to $220 an hour, reflecting how few local specialists exist. Here’s the appraisal surprise many sellers hit: under the Fannie Mae standard appraisers must follow, gross living area counts only finished, above-grade space, and any partly or fully below-grade area is reported separately, even when fully finished. (Under the updated appraisal data standard that became mandatory November 2, 2026, the term gross living area is being replaced with finished above-grade area.) That doesn’t mean a finished basement has no value, it can still contribute, but because basement homes are rare in Gilbert, there are few close comparable sales to support the adjustment, so price from the best available comparables and keep the below-grade area on its own line. Before buying a basement home, check for moisture and drainage issues (staining, musty odors, efflorescence, and signs of past water, especially given monsoon runoff), confirm permits on any finished space, verify any basement bedroom has proper egress, ask how the space is cooled and ventilated, hire an inspector with actual Arizona basement experience, and check with your insurance agent on how water intrusion and sump failure are covered. Dawn Forkenbrock, Gilbert Realtor w/ Real Broker

Old Chandler vs. South Chandler: Historic Charms vs. Modern Master Plans Chandler offers two very different ways to live. One is an older home on a tree-lined street near downtown, close to Arizona Avenue, local restaurants, and the historic buildings that shaped the city. The other is a newer home in a South Chandler master plan, with lakes, trails, parks, and an HOA that looks after the shared spaces. Neither is better. They suit different buyers, and the choice shapes your budget, your maintenance, your renovation freedom, and your daily routine. Old Chandler generally means downtown Chandler and the older neighborhoods around it. Silk Stocking, a 25-acre neighborhood just north of Chandler Boulevard and east of Arizona Avenue, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, developed between 1912 and 1973 with early ranch homes as the most common style alongside Craftsman and Spanish Colonial Revival examples; in 2024, the City Council approved a Historic Preservation District zoning overlay within part of the neighborhood. Southside Village is a historic conservation district with older homes within reach of downtown, and Historic Downtown Chandler is home to the San Marcos Hotel, the Chandler Commercial Historic District, and Chandler High School, whose Old Main building dates to 1922, with restaurants, shops, and events a short walk or drive away. The City is also updating its Downtown Region Area Plan, looking at land use, historic assets, and nearby neighborhoods, so it’s worth asking what changes could affect a street you like. South Chandler grew through planned communities built around lakes, trails, and parks. Fulton Ranch, a 520-acre community south of Ocotillo Road between Arizona Avenue and Alma School Road, was billed in the mid-2000s as Chandler’s last large master-planned community, with a 28-acre system of lakes, streams, and waterfalls and a custom-home enclave called The Island; Realtor.com data showed a median listing price near $648,000 there. Sun Groves offers lakes, walking paths, and parks near Basha High School and Navarrete Elementary, with 2026 listings ranging from about $509,000 to $600,000. Layton Lakes, a Lennar community built from 2007 through 2023, spans Chandler and Gilbert with a lake, picnic areas, walking trails, and a range of floor plans and price points. The two areas differ in real ways. Old Chandler homes date from the 1910s through the 1970s, many older single-family streets carry no HOA (though condos and townhomes near downtown can), and historic preservation overlays or conservation districts may require design review for exterior changes, so budget for older roofs, wiring, plumbing, and cooling systems. South Chandler homes date from the 2000s through the 2020s with modern floor plans, typically carry HOAs with dues and rules varying by community and parcel, and usually require HOA architectural review for exterior changes, though even 2000s-era homes are starting to reach the age for roof or cooling replacement. A local market report showed Chandler’s median sold price near $540,000 in October 2026, down about 6.5 percent from a year earlier, with homes closing near 99 percent of asking and about 3.1 months of supply; ZIP code 85225, which includes downtown and the older neighborhoods around it, shows medians in the high $400,000s on sales sites, though that ZIP covers much more than Old Chandler alone. Chandler requires a signed declaration and waiver from 60 percent of owners to include properties in a historic preservation district, and homes inside an overlay may face design review for exterior changes, so confirm status with the City before planning any work. In South Chandler, request HOA dues, rules, reserves, and any assessments before making an offer, since they vary by community and parcel. Both areas fall under Chandler Unified, though school assignments depend on the exact address. Old Chandler tends to suit buyers who love character, mature streets, and architecture they can’t find in a new subdivision, want to be close to downtown dining and events, enjoy renovation projects and a repair budget, and are comfortable with design review where it applies. South Chandler tends to suit buyers who want newer systems, modern floor plans, and fewer surprise repairs, value lakes, trails, parks, and pools and don’t mind HOA dues, want a choice of communities and price points, and prefer a predictable, uniform neighborhood with maintained common areas. Dawn Forkenbrock, Chandler Realtor w/ Real Broker