Gina Kaegi, Live The Arizona Life

04/04/2022

When rates go up remember 1985. We paid a 9.5% rate when we moved to Arizona in 1994.

03/15/2022

Mark and I bought our Carefree home in 2003 for $250,000. It's 2,600 sq. ft. and sits on 1 1/3 acre. In this "Sellers Market" we could receive offers for over $1.1 Million. With rates still VERY LOW we could "buy up" and still harness the same house payment! What you would do with your EQUITY? Buy up? Buy a second home? Retire?

03/03/2022

Small but mighty! Did you know here in Carefree we don't pay a town imposed property tax? Yes, you heard me correctly.

With a quaint town square and abundant natural beauty, Carefree is a charming small town in Arizona that certainly lives up to its name.

03/01/2022

When in Arizona this is a must stop on the vacation trial!

Carefree, Arizona - My Happy Place

We came to Carefree in the early 70’s, I was a young teenager, from the Pacific Northwest. My parents were looking for a reprieve of endless dark, rainy days of Washington State and we all fell in love with Arizona.

At the time Scottsdale Road was 2 lanes (as was Carefree Hwy) with rolling pavement (a bit like a mini roller coaster) with intermittent cattle guards spaced evenly apart for the roaming cattle. It was “open range” which translated to cattle having the right of way. Pima road ended at Pinnacle Peak and there were few homes north of Bell Road.

Not many children populated the area at that time. There was an elementary school in Cave Creek for grades K-8th. After that you went into Scottsdale for your remaining school years.

There were two groups of kids as I recall, those who rode horses and those who rode dirt bikes – I opted for the later while my sisters chose the horses. There was lots of swimming, dirt bike riding and shopping at Spanish Village. I remember my mom would give me a dollar and off I’d go to Spanish Village on my mini bike to go to the drugstore, candle shop or wherever for candy, a postcard or some silly souvenir.

My father, JD Dutton, together with Don Dickinson and Ken Rabidoux developed, bought, and sold a lot of land in this area in the early days. We were some of the first inhabitants of The Boulders and the early days were filled with a lot of fun neighbors.

There is a wide array of activities today in the area, hiking, art & wine festivals, fine dining, horseback riding and leisure activities involving lots of nature. Our extensive flora and fauna species provide all who visit fun stories to share.

The Carefree gardens can be compared to a mini–Desert Botanical Garden – it’s specimen cacti are that brilliant.

Carefree is truly a one of kind destination- come experience the magic.

by, Laura Dutton Shutt, Carefree Ambassador

03/01/2022

Delighted to be working alongside this powerhouse real estate team. Heather Rodriguez, The Rodriguez Group, Powered by EXP Realty! Heather and I have both held executive leadership roles within the Arizona real estate industry and I’ve admired her tenacity and ability to pivot her corporate skill set into a fast growing, thriving business. Some of you know, I started in the real estate industry leading the marketing efforts for one of the largest brokerages in the country and I soon earned my license in 2005. I’ve represented some well known brands in the Valley and over time, with the encouragement of my husband of 30 years, Mark, founder of On the Mark Residential Real Estate Appraisal, I'm glad to be back in the real estate circle among this talented , knowledgable, kind and collaborative group of professionals.