The quick comparison

Can you buy at The Grand before you turn 55?

Often yes, and this is the single biggest practical difference between the three.

The Grand’s rules allow people aged 45 to 54 to own and live there without a 55+ occupant in the home, as long as at least 85% of occupied homes community-wide still have someone 55 or older. Sun City and Sun City West both work on the standard 55+ rule: at least one resident has to be 55.

Founder Jarl Kubat has spent 22+ years in Arizona’s active adult communities, and this comes up constantly with buyers who retired at 52, or who have a younger spouse. If that is you, The Grand may be the only one of the three you can actually buy into right now.

How old are the homes?

This is the difference you feel the moment you walk in the door.

All three are overwhelmingly single-level, which is one of the main reasons buyers choose Del Webb communities in the first place.

The honest trade-off: an older home in Sun City can cost substantially less than a comparable home in The Grand. What you give up is ceiling height, kitchen layout, and closet space. What you often gain is that the roof, air conditioner, and water heater have already been replaced, with years of life left. We check that per home rather than assume it either way.

Golf: how much, and who owns it?

All three are golf communities, but they are structured differently, and buyers should know how before they assume anything.

Sun City has the most golf of the three — eight courses owned by the residents through their recreation centers, plus three private clubs inside the community. Sun City West has nine, seven of them resident-owned. The Grand has four, all run by the community: Desert Springs, Cimarron, Granite Falls North, and Granite Falls South.

Amenities and clubs

Sun City is the biggest by a wide margin: eight recreation centers, a 33-acre lake, and well over a hundred clubs. Sun City West has four recreation centers and 26 pickleball courts. The Grand has three activity centers — Village, Palm, and Cimarron — two staffed fitness centers, and 20 pickleball courts.

More is not automatically better. Sun City’s scale means there is a club for absolutely everything, but it is also spread across a much larger footprint. The Grand is more compact and newer, and its clubs skew toward a younger, still-working-part-time crowd — which follows directly from that 45+ rule.

One feature at The Grand worth naming for anyone who travels: C.H.A.P.S., the resident volunteer patrol, runs a Vacation Watch that checks your home while you are away as part of living there. For snowbirds and lock-and-leave buyers, that is a real, practical benefit.

What it costs to get in

Every one of these communities charges something at closing on top of the purchase price, and out-of-state buyers are regularly caught off guard by it.

At Sun City, the recreation centers charge a Preservation & Improvement Fee and a Capital Improvement Fee at purchase, plus transfer costs — roughly $6,000 all in for 2026, on top of a $680 annual assessment. At The Grand, a CARE fee is charged at conveyance, and new owners also pay an architectural review fee at close of escrow.

These numbers move. Ask us for the current figures on the specific community you are considering before you write an offer — it belongs in your math from the start, not as a surprise on the settlement statement.

So which one fits you?

Let’s narrow it down.

I’m Jarl Kubat — a licensed Arizona agent with 22+ years in the state’s 55+ communities across the West Valley, East Valley, and surrounding cities. Tell me your budget, your age situation, and whether you golf, and I’ll tell you which of these three to look at first. Call or text me anytime. You’ll always reach me, and there’s never any pressure.

Call or Text: (480) 710-6326 Email Me Watching for the right home? Tell me your must-haves and I’ll reach out the moment one fits.

Frequently asked questions