Buying in Atlanta for under 100K? (Smyrna, Vinings: foreclosure, mortgage, home)

[plessthanpointohfive]

I'm afraid you have a very naive perspective on the real estate market here. Homes that are farther out from the city are going down in value that has nothing to do with the national economy. In 3 - 5 years I would not be surprised if you could not sell the house for the same price you bought it.

The previous poster is talking about their particular experiences in a county that has recently lost it's public school accreditation, which also has nothing to do with the economy.

I must tell you that are very resolutely turning a deaf ear on the good advice of people who really know the markets here and the reality of homeownership and the reality of living in the Atlanta MSA (not even sure you can afford to live in the MSA - don't even know if you can live in Jefferson for that little) in favor of your dream of owning your own home. This closed mindedness worries me in regards to your financial future.

At least do yourself a favor and seek the advice of a professional financial adviser. I believe that you can get this service for free through GATech.

[rileymac]

Sorry for the interuption but I am new on here tonite and I'm having a difficult time navigating this site to post a question. I am trying to make a descision about moving to Albany, Georgia. My daughter and son in law will move there this summer and want me to also make the move. I am at a crossroads in my life and a move to a new place is definitely a option, but I'm not certain if Albany is the best option. I am in my late 40's. RN so I can probably get a good job there. I am divorced and look forward to meeting someone in the future. I have read some pretty harsh things about Albany, but mostly from younger people under 30 so I would like to get some feedback in regard to my situation. Thanks for your input.





With the housing prices now, if you're going to be here 5 years then it may not be a bad idea if you're willing to put some real sweat equity into it, but you may want to get a slightly more established areas like West midtown and Grant Park versus areas like Bankhead Highway and Lakewood which probably have more than 5 years before you'll see major increases in value and I don't consider it worth being in a more dangerous area.

Otherwise, you'll need to settle for an older small condo in the 'burbs to get anything in the $100ks. For instance, Smyrna has some in the $100ks on Spring Rd, which is pretty nice.



Actually, land is cheaper for a lot of the less established areas of Atlanta (Bankhead, South Atlanta, etc) than some of the close Northern suburbs (Smyrna, Dunwoody, Vinings, Sandy Springs, etc) since those parts of Atlanta are less established. They may be good for pioneers (like those first moving to Grant Park and "West midtown" part of Bankhead used to be). I think when ignoring the Northern suburbs and talking about sparsely populated areas to the East, West, and South, what you say more or less holds true. For the Northern suburbs, you have to go out to Bartow, Forsyth, and Cherokee counties to see a major break in land price.[/quote]

[misstristyn]

Why is it that you think that the suburban areas around Atlanta are losing value? Specifically, what factors are you thinking of that are not related to the recent sub prime mortgage crisis?

My own experience suggests to me that real estate tends to accrue value over the long term and that it is a sound financial investment. This experience seems to coincide well with the historic trend of human migration to urban centers with healthy economies. Add to this the recent recession that has severely deflated home values (probably undervaluing the housing market to a certain extent) and I would think now would actually be a good time to invest.

[hindsight2020]

The problem with that "common wisom" is that the definitions have been fudged to death. People consider 5 years long-term. It isn't. 15 years is long-term at a minimum. For the amount of time you'll remain in ATL you won't make an appreciable turnover on a sub-150K property to be worthwhile the hassle (i.e. transaction costs, maintenance costs, outright desirability of neighborhood/opportunity cost, ability to dump the house when you relocate). That property will become more of a financial liability than anything for a couple in your position. Considering your income level and what your husband is trying to accomplish, mobility is the main assest you need to have, not a non-existent equity. Nothing worse than getting a decent job offer that will inevitably take you away from ATL, just to deal with the pain of having to unload this STILL sub-150K property in a MSA with a median price of 225K. All that talk of "rent is a waste" just now came true in the location where you guys are supposed to start getting ahead because you can't unload that anchor. Honestly, if you want to speculate on the valuation of properties go right ahead, but I would respectfully suggest that it might not be the best timing for y'all in your income and job situation to be getting into home ownership. Good luck.

[RainyRainyDay]

I like hindsight2020's name - it's so apt.

The notion that real estate always appreciates was true for a long period post-war(*) in the US and Canada, which made people assume it was a fixed fact of life - like flowers blooming in spring. This led my husband and me to buy a house under very similar circumstances to the OP here, back in the early 90s. We were having a baby at last, my husband was taking up a post-graduate multi-year internship type position in his new field after a mid-life career change, we did have some money saved and all our friends and family said "Buy a house, it would be a smart move."

As it turned out, my husband did well in his work but didn't "click" well with his supervisor, and when a permanent position somewhere else became available to him, sooner than expected, we moved again after only a couple of years. Meanwhile the real estate market had taken a dip. We considered renting out the house, but it's difficult being long-distance landlords, and while the roof and carpets were OK for selling at the time, they weren't going to hold up too much longer. We eventually chose to sell at the loss of all the money we'd put into the place. Even in retrospect, this was the right decision.

The occurred in Canada, but economic reality is much the same on both sides of the border. We didn't overpay for that house, and it was a nice house in a good neighborhood and community. We all want buying our own home to be a sound investment, but that's just not guaranteed. It's a much better bet if you really expect to be in the house indefinitely. But when your stay is circumscribed by graduate school or the like, the risk is greatly increased. Obviously, if I could go back to 1991, I'd rent rather than buying.

(*) Edit: Sorry, Canadianism. The reference is to WW II.

[plessthanpointohfive]

Just FYI RRDay, in the US when people talk about post-war architecture, etc, they are also talking about WWII... From what I understand, the architecture of this period came about from a need to rapidly put up housing. It resulted in a lot of similar looking cottages and I believe birthed the term "tract housing". Back them it simply meant the same house built over and over with small changes in materials. Now it refers to cheaply made homes...

[RainyRainyDay]

Thanks v. much, pless. I just had this belated thought that the US has been in several significant wars since WWII, so perhaps "post-war" would not mean the same. So it's useful to know that I'm OK to use that expression after all.

Canada also has lots of post-war bungalows. However, just in case anyone is confused by this thread, my lamented house in BC was much newer and nicer than those.

[lastminutemom]

misstristyn

first I can tell your mother is a realtor -- optimism clearly runs in the family.

Suburban Atlanta is far from built out -- so you buy a home for say $90,000 and within two years there are another 3 subdivisions that are new brand new in basically the same price range. We have even seen this occur in some closer in areas. But certainly in the areas that would be acceptable to you, low crime etc, this is the case.

Many neighborhoods that have seen rapid depreciation are not NICE. They are full of renters, often Section 8, or mulitiple families that occupy one home.

Frankly, even some of the less nice neighborhoods that I know about are far above your price range.

[atlantagreg30127]

Originally Posted by lastminutemom

Many neighborhoods that have seen rapid depreciation are not NICE. They are full of renters, often Section 8, or mulitiple families that occupy one home.

Frankly, even some of the less nice neighborhoods that I know about are far above your price range.

Ditto on that. Stone Mountain is an excellent example of a community that such as this. Once (years ago) a desireable area, then "soso" as the renters and Sect 8 folks moved in, then now poof - many areas around there you can't give a house away. It's happening in some other suburban areas as well. This isn't to say that occasionally bad areas turn around when developers come in and revamp them, but they're usually overcooked with higher-end stuff that the "average" person cannot afford.

[constancec]

There are lots of homes in Atlanta in your price range. Some need repairs and some are ready for move in. If you would like to search from the comfort of your home here is a link to a website that will give you the option to do so. Moderator cut: no advertisement, pleaseGood Luck!