Buying in Atlanta for under 100K?

[gtgrad]

Originally Posted by 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?

I can speak more for south Fulton and the southern suburbs, but in addition to school issues, there are significant job issues. The Ford plant closed, JCPenney closed the huge catalog center, our two military bases are closing. These things happened before the recession. Company after company is deciding that this is not the place they wish to be. Now, Delta is close to layoffs or possibly even moving. Sources of honest work are drying up (so many have turned to less savory sources of income). It took the builders a bit to catch on, so there are so many vacant properties that you've got to just have a perfect house to unload it. Even without the enormous foreclosure rate here, we were in trouble. It was just insult to injury.

That all said, I do believe the value will come back up. This area will turn around just like Grant Park and others, but I wouldn't want to bet on it for a five year time scale.

I just commented on the above since you asked the question. To add some more positive advice: Try to find something close to a MARTA train station. Atlanta doesn't have the super transportation system that many big cities do. Being close to a bus route may not really be helpful if you have two transfers before you can get to the train. [As an example, we lived in an apartment in the Morningside area. To get to Tech then, we would have had to take a bus north to a train station, take the train south to another station (past our place) and then take a bus to Tech. It was over an hour to go less than four miles (as the crow flies). Naturally we chose to just walk, or drive like the rest of Atlanta.]

[noah]

I disagree that Atlanta is unaffordable, however it depends on your point of view and what you compare it to. It is a major metro area with a fairly strong job market so you do pay more then some towns but compared to many parts of the country it is cheap. Most the major cities on either coast are at least double what atlanta is for a average home. I bought a 130k home before on a $30k salary but had some down payment money from a previous home, the tough part, depending on how you spend your money, is how to get into a home when you don't have anything to put down.

[lastminutemom]

When I was at GT grad school (I graduated 19 years ago this spring), we studied Grant Park and the surrounding area. While it is coming back, I am surprised (so surprised) that the surrounding areas have taken so long to improve.

In terms of Clayton, I recently heard, that if they do lose accrediation, it might be 5 years before they get it back, so that will have a huge impact on home values.

With gas being $4 a gallon or headed that way, people need to figure that into their costs. So, you can afford a $130,000 home in the far suburbs or exurbs, but can you afford the commute costs.

Last years, when gas so expensive, the AJC ran an article on people whose commutes cost more than their mortgages.

[steppie827]

I would recommend Vinings/Smyrna area. Georgia TEch housing department has a great website that has several "inexpensive" midtown/buckhead/vinings suggestions. I would also sugget renting for now because you may fix up something for a few years and still want to leave.