Rental houses are often older properties owned by part-time landlords, or homes would-be sellers might not be able to unload.
But one Tucson company is taking a different approach by building single-family rental homes from the ground up.
Tucson Rental Homes, a company that designs, builds and rents Southwestern-style homes, will open a second development on the Northwest Side within a mile of another Tucson Rental Homes site.
Cortaro Casitas, 3869 W. Cortaro Farms Road, will open in phases and should be completed by the end of the year. The first phase is expected to be done in September.
When finished, the community will feature 135 homes.
Less than a mile east of Cortaro Casitas is Tucson National Rental Homes, 3205 W. Cortaro Farms Road.
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"We are very picky about the selection of where we put our homes," said Tucson Rental Homes owner Brent Sandweiss.
"We've passed up a lot of sites. That area has easy and convenient access to Interstate 10. A lot of people really desire that location," he said.
"We always have a big demand for Tucson National" — the nearby golf course.
An unusual approach
Tucson Rental Homes' approach is unusual, said John Restivo, owner of rental-property owners Web site Rental Housing On Line, based in Irvine, Calif.
Many other single-family-home landlords are likely renting out their houses because of the slowdown in the real estate market, he said.
But with mortgages becoming more difficult to obtain, Restivo said, some would-be buyers might be showing an interest in renting houses, as opposed to apartments.
"Maybe more people would be in tune to renting a house versus purchasing it," he said.
The build-to-rent-home concept stands out in a single-family home-rental market dominated by individual landlords.
A 2006 study by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University showed that individuals owned more than 80 percent of single-family rental homes in 2001, and their properties tended to be older houses.
Terry Feinberg, president of the Arizona Multihousing Association, said the company's idea was "very intriguing," provided the homes are under common management to ensure they all stay in good condition.
Tucson Rental Homes owns and manages its developments, according to its Web site.
"There are people who really enjoy the privacy and lifestyle that can come from single-family rentals," Feinberg said.
Three models available
Meanwhile, most of Cortaro Casitas is pre-leased, Sandweiss said.
The site will feature three models including a three-bedroom, two-bath home equipped with a fireplace, a Jacuzzi, maple cabinets and a kitchen island.
Rental rates are about the same as for a typical apartment unit. Three-bedroom homes start at $1,020 a month. One-bedrooms start at $730, two-bedrooms at $880.
All of the homes are free-standing, with private yards.
Cortaro Casitas is one of 13 Tucson Rental Homes communities. Others are on Tucson's East Side, in the Catalina Foothills and in central Tucson.
Resident Brenda Hughes and her family live in a three-bedroom in Tucson National Rental Homes. Though they just moved in last month, they already have a list of things they like.
"We just wanted something more like a home, and it is," said Hughes, who had previously rented an apartment. "We don't have people living above us. We have a little bit of a yard here, which we've never had before."
Hughes' two children, 4-year-old Jazmyn and 7-year-old A.J., found something they like, too.
"The pool is very cool," A.J. said as he lounged in an inflatable duck in the community pool. "I like living in a house."
Southwest style is goal
When Sandweiss moved to Tucson in 1977 from St. Louis, he didn't find the Southwest-style homes he expected in the desert. He and childhood friend Daniel Kautz founded Tucson Rental Homes in 1982 intent on offering homes that reflect the Southwest.
Neither Sandweiss nor Kautz has a home-building background, but they say that lends itself to their unique business philosophy.
"From Day One, we have thought that rental housing shouldn't be born out of complex financials," Sandweiss said. "We've been driven by the needs of our residents and that alone."
Early on, Sandweiss and Kautz held focus groups to determine what residents want in a rental home. They asked for gourmet kitchens, Jacuzzi-style baths, cathedral windows and open, spacious living areas, Sandweiss said.
"It's always driven by what people want and not what's easy to deliver," he said. "People want a lot of custom features. They want to bring the outside desert into their homes. They don't want an apartment they can find in Michigan."
Tucson Rental Homes
For more information on Tucson Rental Homes, go online to tucson rentalhomes.com or visit the leasing center at 4647 N. Campbell Ave., open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day.