Relocation/New home incentives/SAfe Good Areas/towns (Atlanta, Marietta: foreclosures, rental)

[ann201010]

Relocation/New home incentives/SAfe Good Areas/towns
We are planning to relocate to Atlanta and buy a new house. Which areas are good and how are the schools, we were looking at the below areas:
East Cobb - Marietta, Smyrna?
Gwinett- Duluth, John's Creek?
Lilburn?
We are Asian indians.
1) We heard that most of the people prefer to send children to private schools as the public schools might not be that good- is that true? What about the areas above?
2) Are the water /drought issues improving? What is the average water bill like in these counties?
3) What are the approx prices people are buying a new 4 bedroom/2 garrage - no basement home for ? Any deep buyer discounts/incentives with Pulte, Ryland, Bowen Homes, Centex etc?
Thank you so much for your time and answers.

[wxjay]

IMPT: Where will you be working?

[kaday]

East Cobb schools best choices for highschools would be Walton, Pope and Lassiter in that order and the elementary and middle schools that feed into them. I find them to be equal to if not better than top notch Northeastern schools.

[ann201010]

How about these schools:are they good?
Blackwell Elementary School
Daniell Middle School
Sprayberry High School

I would be working at downtown Atlanta.
-Are the water bills very high due to the water issues?
-Are there any good new home incentives being given- will the builders accept an offer of 20% below asking price?
Thanks for your time

[BobKovacs]

Originally Posted by ann201010

I would be working at downtown Atlanta.
-Are the water bills very high due to the water issues?
-Are there any good new home incentives being given- will the builders accept an offer of 20% below asking price?
Thanks for your time

They haven't really increased the water rates- our bill is still around $30/month for water and sewer combined.

Regarding builders accepting offers 20% below asking, most of them aren't. The Atlanta market ahs slowed, but it's not taking the beating that places like FL, CA, and NV are. Most of the smart builders have already adjusted their pricing to reflect any recent shifts, and aren't moving much further. I know that in our development (a Pulte project), they reduced the sales prices slightly a few months ago, and sales have picked up dramatically- they aren't moving at all from the current pricing unless you're considering a standing inventory house, and even then they aren't making too many concessions.

You may get better deals from some of the smaller builders that may be in trouble, but then you've got issues down the road if they aren't around to service your warranty.

[jpowalowski]

Check out greatschools.net for good comparisons on schools. I know that some builders like Pulte are offering some small incentives but Bob is right, they are adjusting their prices to the market slowdown. The bank-owned new construction prices are great right now. Maybe you should consider even looking at foreclosures and newer (1 year old?)resales?

[ann201010]

Are these schools good?
Blackwell Elementary School
Daniell Middle School
Sprayberry High School

How much do the taxes and utilities run:
electric-
gas-
water-
taxes-
Is this a good area for families? Was looking at a Ryland construction-Canterbury Georgian. Any information on this new construction?

[RainyRainyDay]

Blackwell/Daniell/Sprayberry are probably decent schools. People commonly rate the East Cobb high schools by SAT scores, on which criterion the best high schools are Walton, Pope and Lassiter, as stated by kaday. However, see http://www.city-data.com/forum/3088125-post8.html for a post claiming that Sprayberry is a better school than those.

My kid will be a freshman at Lassiter this coming fall, so for my part I naturally hope Lassiter lives up to its good press.

[aries4118]

Blackwell, Daniell, and Sprayberry are excellent schools! You will be happy with them.

Blackwell is dynamic elementary school with a strong PTA and great academics.

Daniell was designated a 2008 Georgia School of Excellence.

Sprayberry is know for its top-notch academics, excellent athletics/extracurriculars, and strong PTA/community support.

*The area is great for families. Noonday Park is nearby. Kennesaw Mountain is also close. Plus, all the shopping you can imagine is within 10 minutes. The new Canterbury neighborhood by Ryland is a wonderful choice.

Good Luck!

[netdragon]

If you're working downtown, you should probably also consider commute. Smyrna has the best commute (it's actually South Cobb, like Vinings and Mableton). but its schools aren't as good as East Cobb in terms of parental involvement (though they are getting better and are better than most of metro ATL). There's also Mableton (South Cobb as well) and West Cobb (Powder Springs, etc). Both of those have communities with move-in incentives. Some parts of West Cobb have good schools. Mableton -- you'd probably need to consider private schools. Vinings (real Vinings) has a great elementary (Teasley), but it's already very established so you aren't going to find many deals there. There are some older homes for the $300k-$400ks near Spring Hill Rd, but none have 4br in that range.

Since you asked about what prices people are paying for 4br, 2 garage newer homes (I'm assuming 2-3 baths) -- in Smyrna, that's $300ks-$500ks. In Mableton or West Cobb, you'll be looking at $250k-$350k and sometimes more near Kenessaw. In Vinings, $500k-$700ks. In East Cobb, $400ks-$600ks. Marietta varies widely from $500k-$700ks near Kenessaw Mountain to $200ks-$300ks near Austell Rd. Of course, amount of land, proximity to a live/shop community, distance to recreation (parks, Chattahoochee River, walking/biking trails), commuting distance, swim/tennis and associations, skyline views, proximity to wealthy areas and school districts will all come into play.

I'd also consider taxes. Smyrna, for instance, has higher taxes than East Cobb, Mableton and Vinings. However, in exchange Smyrna has a city library and city parks. Marietta (city limits, not East and West Cobb Marietta addresses) has many parks and lower taxes as well, however a longer commute. So there are a lot of trade-offs and things that will need to be considered on what you're getting for the taxes.

Finally, I'd also consider demographics. Lilburn and Duluth have the most Asian Indian (~3%) and Asian populations. All on the list are diverse, though.

In terms of trends, 4br prices are holding steady. Smyrna took a slight dip late last year and bounced back. Builders are slowing down, but not dropping prices too much. Instead, they are often offering financing deals or better kitchens or finished basements.