Leslie Prest, Owner, Assoc. Broker, ePro Prest Realty, Payson, AZ

A year or two ago $1300-$1400 a month or more was not uncommon in Payson. Now there there are many more homes on the rental market because they are not selling, so the competition has brought rents down somewhat. If you are looking for a higher-rent home you now have many to choose from.
Many Owners are trying to rent the homes out themselves, and we say "Tenants beware". Why is it to your advantage to rent through a management company?

* We KNOW the laws governing rentals, and we WILL follow them
* We will NOT come into your rental without your permission (except emergencies)
* We run the company as a business, so we won't get emotional at you
* We do walk-throughs, we're "firm but fair" about cleanliness, we deal with the deposits when you leave (we would MUCH rather you leave it clean and get all your money)

In short- it protects YOUR rights as much as it protects the Owners.

These are our 3 bedroom rentals currently available:

a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, large site-built home, 2-car garage, great views from the deck, an extra room (outside access), $1100

a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, large site-built home with TWO garages (a 1-car and a 2-car), fenced yard, $1200

a 3 bedroom, 3 bath, condominium by the town lake, 2000 sq ft, 2 story (1 bedroom/bath downstairs) $1200

a 3 bedroom, 1 bath site-built home, corner lot, deck, $850

a 3 bedroom, 1 1/2 bath, manufactured single-wide with add-on, extra room, large carport, fenced yard, $750

a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, manufactured home single-wide with add-on, $775

AND a (rare) 4 bedroom, 2 bath, newer manufactured double-wide, $1150

Visit our web site RentinPayson.comfor more rentals, our applications, and info about Payson.

This is the 125th annual, and is billed as the "World's Oldest Continuous Rodeo" It is a Pro-Rodeo event, with professional Cowboys, big time prizes, and lots of excitement. There are events with Cowboy Story Tellers, events for youngsters, a Rodeo Parade down Main St. on Saturday (Aug. 15th) at 9am, as well as the main Rodeo performances.

Here is a link to more information.

What could be more fun than a small town Fourth of July celebration?

Payson offers a great fireworks celebration down by the main Green Valley lake, family fun during the day, this year the town is adding a free-to-enter parade (more about the celebrations coming soon).

Some Payson people are also starting up a Farmer's Market. beginning on the Fourth at 8 a.m. till noon, and continuing every Saturday until October. The Market will be held at Community Presbyterian Church, on West Main Street, near the lakes. Vendor fees are $5 plus 2%, and co-ops are welcome for smaller vendors. The organizers aer hoping for many local vendors, as well as vendors from other parts of Arizona; and are hoping to offer fruits and vegetables, goat cheese, fudge, jams and jellies and fruit butters, and ice cream.

Now, I'm a gardener, and I LOVE that they are starting a Market. I will be a customer (looking for vegetables I don't have room for), and hopefully, if the harvest for some things is good enough, maybe occassionally a vendor.

Here is a link to the Payson Farmer's Market web site,

sunflower graphic is mine.

Part one dealt with location. This post deals with climate.

Payson has four distinct seasons.If you are familiar with the Arizona deserts, you'll know that the desert basically has TWO seasons, warm and hot. But Payson, at 5,000 ft. elevation, truly has FOUR.

Winter:
Nights get cold, with 20s, and even teens not unusual. We may get rain, sleet, hail, or snow. But there are also a LOT of sunny days. Even in the middle of Winter, if it is sunny, it isn't unusual for the daytime temperatures to be in the 50s. We are now at the end of February, and they are predicting 72 degrees, we've had an unusually warm and mild Winter so far.
About Payson snow: Payson has the best snow in the world- it falls, it looks beautiful, and mostly it melts before it gets to be a problem. Most of our snow falls in the Spring- I've seen two feet over Spring Break, but usually it is inches, not feet.

Spring:
Payson goes back and forth from Winter to Spring through March, April, and sometimes even May.Last year it was in the 30s at night on Memorial day and I couldn't put tomatoes out in my garden until early June. While the unpredictable weather may play havoc with gardens, most of Spring is very pleasant.
Spring flowers and shrubs pop up, fruit trees blossom, lilacs are all over town.

Summer:
Some years May is warm as Summer, and June is always warm. Often there are dry winds. Just before the Monsoon (the rainy season in July and August) the humidity may creep up and make days uncomfortable, but once the sun goes down the evenings cool off nicely. Monsoons storms may bring high winds, thunder and lightning, and rain by afternoon from July through August, and often into September.

Fall:
When the Monsoon dries up Payson has lots of lovely sunny days, with cool enough nights to start the leaves changing by October. The great weather may last into November.
Cool days, crisp nights, beautiful leaves, what more could you want.

If you can't tell, I LOVE Payson weather. I like changes in the weather, and I like storms. While mostly sunny, Payson has enough of both changes and storms to suit me just fine. Payson is ideal for a four season climate without extreme conditions, not TOO cold or TOO hot.

Here is a link to long term weather data for Payson from weather.com It gives average highs and lows monthly, as well as average precipitation (last year we were ABOVE the 30 year average for precipitation, so MAYBE we are out of the drought).

Pictures by ME- isn't Payson pretty?

Payson is just so convenient!

It is an hour to two hours drive to various parts of the Phoenix metro area. That means one can drive down to shop, for business, for entertainment, or anything else available , and can drive back to Payson when finished. Imagine a shopping or business trip when the temperature in Phoenix is 110 and traffic is awful- that road back to Payson looks extremely good.

It is about the same driving time to ski areas at either Snowbowl or Sunrise. If you ski (or snowboard) you can drive up for the day and still be home that evening.

The picture is looking out over the town from a new homesite off Airport Road.

Payson is not as hot as the Phoenix area and not as cold as Flagstaff or Pinetop, so we can enjoy both areas without suffering the temperature extremes, breathing the Phoenix "brown cloud" of smog, or sliding on snow and ice all winter at the higher elevations. (Another post will come about our great climate and clear, blue skies).

Payson is about an hour's drive from many beautiful lakes on the Mogollan Rim, it is also close to Roosevelt Lake for those colder months. Hiking, hunting, camping, boating; outdoor activities are always available and popular.

California, and the Las Vegas areas are convenient driving distance; so are the Grand Canyon, the Painted Desert, and other tourist destinations.

Payson is located just about in the center of Arizona, and is the center for all kinds of activities.