Your first year
Year one in the East Valley, the way I'd tell it to you over dinner.
Okay, so you've decided on the move. What does the first year actually ask of you? I'd say four things: a summer, a few new bills, the direction your backyard faces, and a trip to MVD. None of it is hard. Honestly, all of it is easier, and cheaper, when you know it before you buy the house.
Summer.
I'll be honest with you, the first summer is the thing people ask me about most. At Sky Harbor, the official weather station for the Phoenix area, the National Weather Service's 1991 to 2020 normals come to 111 days a year at 100 degrees or more, and 21 days at 110 or more. The first 110 day lands around June 11 on average and the last around August 26. The record is 70 days at 110 or above, set in 2024.
Monsoon season, as the Weather Service defines it, runs June 15 to September 30. That's when the storms and the dust come through, so patio furniture gets tied down or put away.
So what does that mean day to day? I tell people the thing that changes is your schedule. Early mornings become normal, midday slows down, and evenings come alive. Walks, errands and yard work move early. And 110 is 110 anywhere in the Valley, so the way I look at it, the house decides how your summer goes: the shade on the patio, a garage for the car, an AC system that's been looked after.
National Weather Service Phoenix figures, as of October 2026.
Utilities.
Your electric company comes with the address, and honestly, it's one of the first things I check on a house. Most of the homes we show are on SRP or APS, and their summer pricing works differently. Around downtown Mesa, about 5.5 square miles are on the City of Mesa's own electric utility instead.
- SRP, Conserve 6-9 p.m. and Save. The expensive hours are 6 to 9 p.m. on weekdays, all year. The cheapest are 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., every day. Summer pricing covers May, June, September and October, and July and August are priced higher again as Summer Peak. SRP's own tip is to cool the house down from 3 to 6 p.m. The monthly service charge is likely $20 for a condo or townhome, $30 for an average single-family home, and $40 for a larger home with high use.
- APS, Time-of-Use 4pm-7pm Weekdays. The expensive hours are 4 to 7 p.m. on weekdays. Summer rates apply to May through October bills.
The other thing is, I'm not going to guess what a summer bill runs on a house neither of us has seen. Want a real number? I'd ask for the last 12 months of bills on the house you're buying.
Water is a separate bill from the city, and each city sets its own rates. I'll use Mesa as my example. On its schedule effective January 1, 2026, a 3/4 inch meter costs $32.97 a month and includes the first 3,000 gallons. After that it's $3.81 per 1,000 gallons up to 6,000, $5.81 for the next 8,000, $7.11 for the next 10,000, and $8.03 above that. So a 10,000 gallon month comes to $67.64 for water alone, before taxes, sewer and trash. Mesa's council takes up rate changes on December 8, 2026.
The water question I hear most is whether there's enough of it. The Arizona Department of Water Resources designates providers that have shown a 100-year supply. As of September 9, 2026, Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa and Tempe are on that list; Queen Creek isn't. A designation doesn't always match city limits, so on a specific house we check who actually provides the water. Any new subdivision here also has to show a 100-year supply before its lots can be sold.
SRP and APS plan names, hours and charges as of October 2026. Mesa rates from the City of Mesa Utility Rate Book; designations from ADWR's list dated September 9, 2026.
Which way the yard faces.
This one's easy to miss from a listing. If the back of the house faces west, the patio and the back rooms take the late-afternoon sun in July, right through the hours SRP and APS charge the most. Face the backyard east and the house shades it by afternoon. I mean, it's not a dealbreaker either way. It's a number on your bill and a few hours a day you can or can't sit outside.
What Jacqui and I check on a showing:
- The compass, not the listing. Which way the back of the house actually faces.
- The patio cover. Whether it reaches far enough to shade the sliders in the afternoon.
- The west windows. Shade screens, film or trees on that side.
- The AC. How old the unit is and when it was last serviced.
Registration and your license.
Bringing a car? The order matters here, and this is the order I'd do it in.
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Register the car once you're a resident.
MVD says a vehicle brought from another state has to be registered as soon as you become an Arizona resident. By MVD's test, working here, registering to vote here, or being here 7 months or more in a calendar year each counts, and the full list is longer. It's an in-person visit with no appointment needed. Bring the title and registration from your last state.
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Pass emissions first.
In the Phoenix metro, a vehicle has to pass an emissions test before it can be registered, unless it's exempt. Model years 1967 and newer need it once they're past their first 5 registration years. A fully electric car doesn't; a hybrid does. Gas cars from 1981 on test every 2 years after that. The standard test is $16.15.
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The license tax.
Your registration bill includes Arizona's vehicle license tax. In the car's first year, the value is 60% of the manufacturer's base retail price, taxed at $2.80 for every $100. Each year after, that value drops 16.25% and the rate is $2.89 per $100. That's why the bill on a newer car can surprise people, and why it gets smaller every year.
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Your Arizona license.
A license from another state works here for nonresidents. Once you're a resident, plan on the Arizona license too, and I'd do it in the same MVD visit. Want a Travel ID? You'll need two documents with your Arizona address, and a utility bill counts, so set up the utilities early.
From ADOT MVD, ADEQ and A.R.S. 28-5801, 28-3151 and 28-3152, as of October 2026.
Your first tax bill.
This is the one I see catch people most. The tax number on a listing is the seller's bill, not yours. In Maricopa County your bill is figured on the Limited Property Value, which under the standard rule can rise up to 5% a year. New construction is one of the things that makes the Assessor recalculate that value, so on a new build, the early bills aren't the ones to plan on.
The other piece is the class. A sale can change it. The affidavit recorded with your deed at closing says whether the home will be owner-occupied or rented, and a primary residence is its own class, Class 3. Is this going to be your home? Make sure the affidavit says so. If the class comes out wrong, a correction filed and approved before July 1 covers that year and the next.
Bills come out in September. The first half is due October 1 and late after November 1. The second half is due March 1 and late after May 1. At closing the year's taxes are prorated and you get a credit for the seller's share, so it's worth reading that line on your settlement statement.
Maricopa County Assessor and Treasurer, and A.R.S. 11-1133, as of October 2026.
Planning your first year here?
Tell us where you're coming from and when you're thinking of moving. Josh or Jacqui replies personally.