Home resale value in Smyrna and Mableton (Atlanta, Marietta: new house, neighborhoods)

[emma31]

Originally Posted by blackrabbit

Don't even conside Mableton as its a bad comute these days with horrible infrastrucure and a bad reputation for schools.

Don't consider? I've heard some pretty positive things about certain parts of the area. I'll be checking out the commute next weekend, but I've been told it's not bad.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by casualobserver

rcs, there you go again.......trying to be logical!!! How about this, you and I shall properly refer to Vinings, Smyrna and the eastern half of Mableton as Southeast Cobb. In this way, not only shall we initiate a logical labeling system, we'll usurp some of the secret panache of "East Cobb" by sneaking the "east" into our moniker. Your home value shall increase forthwith.

Hehehehe.

Actually, my wife tells me that she's heard a couple of cow orkers call the whole southern half of Cobb County "West Cobb" as well, so apparently it's not just folks here in this forum.

I think it's weird, but so are a lot of things down here (to me, anyway).

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by blackrabbit

Right now the market is very bad in Smyrna. I have two friends both trying to sell townhomes with no luck. Both dropped 50k from last year. Both wish they had bought smaller homes further in. The whole Smyrna area is overbuilt.

I agree with this -- there are a zillion half-finished subdivisions in the southern part of Smyrna. Some of them are very nice places, at least potentially, but I think someone was a bit on the overoptimistic side when it came to building.

Don't even conside Mableton as its a bad comute these days with horrible infrastrucure and a bad reputation for schools.

Horrible infrastructure? Where? Howso? We're pretty happy where we are in the Mableton area, but Mableton extends quite a distance south and west (and east) from our house.

The commute can be great depending on where you are, where you're going, and WHEN you're hitting the road. My commute in the morning between Cooper Lake Road and the Cumberland Mall on the E/W Connector is almost traffic-free, for example, and the commute home isn't all that bad, either, but I'm leaving at 9:45 in the morning.

[netdragon]

Originally Posted by emma31

Don't consider? I've heard some pretty positive things about certain parts of the area. I'll be checking out the commute next weekend, but I've been told it's not bad.

It's not bad. It isn't as good as Smyrna and Vinings in my opinion, but it's the next best thing and definately better than anything else in Cobb County. The unfortunate thing about Mableton is there's no time advantage to taking highway over regular roads (e.g. Bankhead Hwy or Marietta Blvd) except not having to worry about stop-lights and trucks pulling out. In Smyrna, on the other hand, 75 is a clear winner (I did an experiment and tried every possible route). Mableton could really benefit from some road and highway infrastructure improvements right on the other side of the perimeter (Bankhead) so 20 would be a better option and Marietta Blvd and/or Bankhead Highway would move better.

[emma31]

Originally Posted by netdragon

It's not bad. It isn't as good as Smyrna and Vinings in my opinion, but it's the next best thing and definately better than anything else in Cobb County.

Now that is reassuring to hear. For someone looking for "newer" construction, basement, house price - 300k, with the potential of a decent commute to work, this just seems to be the best area (right now). Oh the joys of moving.

[kagmypts]

Originally Posted by emma31

Now that is reassuring to hear. For someone looking for "newer" construction, basement, house price - 300k, with the potential of a decent commute to work, this just seems to be the best area (right now). Oh the joys of moving.

For that price, you could check out Brookmere or Brookmere West, both swim/tennis neighborhoods. My BIL lives there and really likes it. The houses are spacious... the neighborhoods are located right off Buckner (right next to the Publix at Providence).

[casualobserver]

Emma,

If I accept the job offer in ATL, I am going to be in a similar boat as you. Here is the way I feel "reassured" with "South/West/and other than East" Cobb. Mableton is just too close in to be passed over by the developers. J Weiland is not a fly-by-night operation. They would not have several Mableton developments currently in progress if they didn't have a pretty good feeling their 8-900K spec homes would move. The "Vinings-labeling thing" may be a bit of a marketing scam, but it sure seems to be actually working! You start pushing that type of well-heeled consumer further into Mableton and guess what......Publix, Kroger, Walgreen's, restaurants, etc. start scooping up the commercial parcels. Vacant and dilapidated spaces start getting razed and rebuilt. Hell, even those damn public schools start getting better! If you're going to be up and out in 2 years, well, OK, I'd hesitate. But, if you think you have a horizon of 5 years, I see the same thing happening here that has/is happening in every high-growth, job creating city in the US.....in close, low-yield property gets redeveloped into high-yield property.

[emma31]

Originally Posted by kagmypts

For that price, you could check out Brookmere or Brookmere West, both swim/tennis neighborhoods. My BIL lives there and really likes it. The houses are spacious... the neighborhoods are located right off Buckner (right next to the Publix at Providence).

I'll definitely check this out, thanks for the tip. I'm pretty picky so I'm even wondering if I'm better renting for 6 months in the Mableton area and then buying.

[emma31]

Originally Posted by casualobserver

Emma,

If I accept the job offer in ATL, I am going to be in a similar boat as you. Here is the way I feel "reassured" with "South/West/and other than East" Cobb. Mableton is just too close in to be passed over by the developers. J Weiland is not a fly-by-night operation. They would not have several Mableton developments currently in progress if they didn't have a pretty good feeling their 8-900K spec homes would move. The "Vinings-labeling thing" may be a bit of a marketing scam, but it sure seems to be actually working! You start pushing that type of well-heeled consumer further into Mableton and guess what......Publix, Kroger, Walgreen's, restaurants, etc. start scooping up the commercial parcels. Vacant and dilapidated spaces start getting razed and rebuilt. Hell, even those damn public schools start getting better! If you're going to be up and out in 2 years, well, OK, I'd hesitate. But, if you think you have a horizon of 5 years, I see the same thing happening here that has/is happening in every high-growth, job creating city in the US.....in close, low-yield property gets redeveloped into high-yield property.

I have the exact same hopes!

[netdragon]

Originally Posted by kagmypts

For that price, you could check out Brookmere or Brookmere West, both swim/tennis neighborhoods. My BIL lives there and really likes it. The houses are spacious... the neighborhoods are located right off Buckner (right next to the Publix at Providence).

The two neighborhoods I liked the best were Brookmere and and The Retreat and Vinings Lake. Cobblestone looked ok, but it's hard to get an idea because it was hard to get an idea because it is only partially built. Providence was out of our price range and I wasn't impressed with the homes I saw in my price range in Vinings Vintage. Pebblebrook looked nice but nothing was for sale when I was looking.

Originally Posted by casualobserver

The "Vinings-labeling thing" may be a bit of a marketing scam, but it sure seems to be actually working!

It won't be necessary when Mableton develops its own identity like Smyrna did. Mableton has the infrastructure for a really cute downtown if it could be redone, and unlike Smyrna, practically all roads lead to downtown making it feel like it has a real grounding there, as opposed to just being "chosen" as the center. All that hinges, though, on either the Mableton Improvement Coalition getting the darned county to go through with the downtown redevelopment plan they cancelled, or the Georgia Township Act passing in full.

As far as labelling things Vinings... Anything unincorporated isn't off-limits. Anyone can argue that the "Vinings association" has no right choosing what is "truly" Vinings since they have no real authority.

Anyway, I'm banking on the likelyhood that my neighborhood off of Camp Highland next to E-W in Smyrna will appreciate faster than most Mableton neighborhoods due to scarcity of land in Smyrna and the spending Smyrna is doing on redevelopment and schools. At some point, years down the road, my plan is to sell this place and move to Mableton when it's a little further along, as long as I can bank some of the equity I'll have.