CantaMia at Estrella - Goodyear, AZ

I have lived in Canta Mia for quite awhile and am saddened to write this review. CM used to be a beautiful well maintained and managed community. It is being run into the ground now. You can tell Taylor Morrison, the HOA team lead by Nicole DO NOT care about this beloved little community.

We used to have rolling green grasses throughout or lakes, now huge burn outs for extended periods of time occur. Promises that it will be addressed and then nothing happens. AAA landscaping is useless and uneducated on how to maintain our grasses, shrubs and trees. Plants struggle to survive because watering times have been cut back,

Yet, go to any neighboring communities and they still continue to have lush green belts, vibrant bougainvillea’s, thriving plants and trees, regardless of time of year.

Pigeon mitigation is a joke here! Bird droppings, nest debris, broken eggs are a common daily visual as you exit building and head towards pool. Most chairs and loungers at cafe, pool, firepit are always covered in bird droppings. Pigeons regularly fly into glass windows and doors. A few years ago they “attempted “ to mitigate but since then there has been absolutely no follow up.

General maintenance and upkeep here is non existent. Little things are allowed to grow into major issues because no one walks community or has the eye to catch these issues. Broken sidewalks, park benches that were never addressed, repaired or painted are now covered in splinters. Irrigation lines that no longer work, yet AAA still will place new plantings in those areas, only for plants to die. No one is literally of overseeing this joke of a landscape company. What a waste !!

Our Community board is never updated, The rotating lifestyle coordinator is never present / involved with community. She never thinks outside of the box.

We only have a part, part time Compliance manager on site. Rarely drives through community, so many unseen violations that are allowed to continue without violations or redirections. Our prior was an actual resident! Talk about conflict of interest! Who’s making these poor decisions that do not benefit our community l???

The latest kicker is our beautiful pool will be closed for atleast a month during the hottest month of August (2026). What schmoo approved this ? Taylor Morrison is more than likely getting a kickback for doing this in the height of summer, while its residence struggle to find comfort during the heat.

This the THIRD time in 5 years they have had to resurface the pool area. All because of shotty workmanship and no intellectual follow up (by HOA) when things were still under warranty immediately after completion of work.

It’s apparent no one cares about this community anymore. It’s so sad because we truly have the potential to be what we once were. I have tried many times to bring these and many other concerns to the board and literally get told to attend meetings at the community center. When I have it’s a lot of run around excuses to wear you down and get no resolve except frustration. Nicole along with Taylor Morrison is destroying Canta Mia, with excuses, all talk and no action. Shame on you all for destroying what Canta Mia once was.

If you are thinking about building or moving into this community, I suggest you walk it first and see for yourself. This place is literally falling apart in front of your eyes. Is that what you want for your retirement? You deserve better, ask these questions when you visit the sales office. Don’t take their passive answers as reasoning. For example, if they tell you, the grass is burnt out because it’s been hot. It’s not true because it’s been like that summer spring winter fall yet other communities still have green lush grasses. Shame on you Taylor Morrison and the HOA. We pay well over $300 a month and to see this community slowly disintegrating makes this so upsetting.

When you drive into the front entrance at the guard house and enter CantaMia, it looks on the surface as a gorgeous oasis and is beautiful – at first glance. We’ve been here 7 years, made wonderful friends and taken advantage of the many fun activities organized by volunteer residents and paid for by residents who attend these activities. All very good things that we enjoy. What’s concerning is that when you take a closer look at the community, you see the deterioration due to Taylor Morrison’s refusal to invest in maintaining the community at an acceptable level. This is not to say Taylor Morrison does not make any improvements – they do. The community is 16+ years old, however, and many parts of the infrastructure are constantly breaking. Instead of purchasing good quality parts, Taylor Morrison purchases cheap parts that continue to break. Recently per the HOA manager, she spent hours on Amazon trying to purchase pool parts to bandaid the issue until 2027 when the budget will allow for a proper repair. The two pools are continuously closed for repairs. If you visit CantaMia, take a good look at the dog park which is mostly dirt. Taylor Morrison has stated they will not put one more dollar into the park and it will be up to the homeowners to fix when Taylor Morrison exits the property in several years. You can freely drive in and out the back gate which is open most of the day every day except Sunday – so much for a “gated” community. Landscaping is one of the largest budget expenses. There have been ongoing serious issues with the landscape company for years, but Taylor Morrison refuses to put the contract out for bid. Highly questionable as a business best practice to say the least.The noise level at the Village Center is often so loud you can’t begin to hold a conversation. This could be improved with reasonably priced sound panels, but Taylor Morrison refuses to spend the money. Homeowners have actually volunteered to chip in to cover the cost! These are just a few of the many incidents where Taylor Morrison refuses to spend any $$ to maintain the property properly. Bottom line, Taylor Morrison subsidizes the operating budget and each year, by spending as little as possible, and passing more costs on to the homeowners in the form of hefty increases in HOA dues, they reduce the amount they have to subsidize budget. Every community has pluses and minuses, but do your research so you are well-informed before buying in CantaMia.

Think twice before buying here, do your due diligence!! The residents are fabulous, and so many things to do. Unfortunately, the current builder has let our community crumble and is only making bandaid repairs at this point. In about three years they will pull out once the build out is complete and while the residents will be ecstatic for the day in some respects, we will be left with severely depleted reserve funds. That will mean large assessments to try and bring the community back to it’s glory days. It really is a beautiful community with lakes, wildlife, mountains to hike, walking paths, etc…
Best part of living here is less crowds, wonderful friends, and all the activities!

We really enjoy it here. We looked at several other communities in the Goodyear and Buckeye areas. What we liked the best about CantaMia is the fact it is gated. We didn’t say Fort Knox but there is definitely sense of security we didn’t see at other communities. We enjoy the quietness and peacefulness of being at the “end of the road”. We love all the amenities that are available from the pools, art studio, billiards, pickleball and many more. Our neighbors are fantastic.

Nice community but too many rules.