Considering buying...where...when...why?

[ironchefyogurt]

Originally Posted by ATL Golfer

Check out Aqua.

You may not like HOA fees of that amount, but they do pay for a lot...bulk of insurance, water most cases, trash most cases, and in other cases majority of the utilities.

You buy a 500k house and you're paying $100 per month in insurance + water + sewer. Watering a yard can be $250+ a month alone in Fulton Co.

That is a good point. What's the average monthly home maintenance cost in Atlanta (Midtown, Va-Hi, etc)?

[nefariousmuze]

I purchased over at Aqua, and while the HOA fees are pricey compared to other highrise condos, the building is kept in amazing shape and they have a great concierge and maintenance staff. It's a small building (only 84 units) so for that reason alone, I'm happy to pay a bit more for what I get in terms of service and privacy.

I looked over at Luxe and 1010 midtown before purchasing at Aqua, and while I loved their proximity to the park, I wasn't crazy about living amongst 400+ homeowners at 1010 - nor did I care for the floor plans available at the time over at Luxe.

I'm also a bit spoiled with the private elevators at Aqua - visiting a friend recently over at 1010 midtown, it felt like something out of The Shining to me...long way from the elevator to her unit at the end!!

[jsvh]

Check out Glenwood Park: Atlanta's New Urban Community | Glenwood Park

It is right on the Beltline and they are about to start construction on their final wave of single family homes starting in the $300s. And you can find condos and townhomes for cheaper than that there.

[ATL Golfer]

You may also want to check out the town homes about to go up behind the Brookhaven Costco. Other thoughts are:

- 2/2 at Block Lofts (right on beltline, walking distance to ponce city mkt). Reasonable HOAs for a 2/2 ...the Master is a loft FYI, other bedroom is enclosed. Cool units with 2 story window wall. Just remodeled and sold one there. I know of someone going to market one soon.

- The Brookwood.

[noah]

Not to mention a good HOA will put money aside for end of life repairs like roofs, HVAC units etc, something that is recommended to any homeowners but most don't factor that into their money home costs. Rule of thumb is to save 3% of the home value each year for home repairs. So on a $400k home that would be $12k or $1,000 per month. All of a sudden, the HOA dues look very reasonable, assuming they are planning for these major replacements.

Also, don't forget water/sewer is very expensive in the city of Atlanta and I believe could be upwards of $100/month for a SFH.

Originally Posted by ATL Golfer

Check out Aqua.

You may not like HOA fees of that amount, but they do pay for a lot...bulk of insurance, water most cases, trash most cases, and in other cases majority of the utilities.

You buy a 500k house and you're paying $100 per month in insurance + water + sewer. Watering a yard can be $250+ a month alone in Fulton Co.

[roxyrn]

I never thought I would ever consider a condo until we looked at Aqua (could not quite take the plunge, though for various reasons). I recently toured a $17 million dollar (4300 square foot) condo in Manhattan and it did not have a master bath that came close to the one we saw at Aqua.

I live in Fulton County, now, on one acre of property that is irrigated and have extensive gardens with waterfall, etc. and the $250/month water bill is only during the hottest summer months (June/July/August) with much lower monthly bills- I think around $30-40 dollars the rest of the year.