Atlanta area house hunting - easy commute to downtown/airport

[EZPZ]

SC - We're considering new homes first, and have not yet considered resales. In Tributary, we were considering an inventory home, as that was as far as our money would take us and we feel we'd get a better deal on it. At Cobblestone Creek, we are seriously leaning toward building something new because in terms of home size, and upgrades, and in comparison with Trib, we would be getting more home for our money with an easier commute and in Cobb County vs. Douglasville for Trib. Given our needs at this time, schools are not as much a priority as pre-schools, because there is no telling where the schools will be by the time our bun in the oven is ready for school.

JP - With as diverse as it seemed driving around, (I saw white families, an Indian couple, AA couples, mixed race couples, etc.) we feel we wouldn't feel out of place in the neigborhood. I also checked with the BBB on McCar and they seem to match up well when compared against other new home builders we have considered. It seems like they all have problems.

As far as filling it up, we initially went out there in April, and it has filled up quite a bit without us there, and in this economy, they must be doing something right! I have spoken directly with other folks who bought single family homes in Cobblestone Creek and have heard good things - unless they were shilling for the sales office. As far as Bankhead goes, I understand it will be going away in the next year or so. Do your neighbors have kids?

What were the specific problems that you had and have you had any resolution as yet from the builder? I'd be interested in your experience and input.

[JasonPaul]

Originally Posted by EZPZ

SC - We're considering new homes first, and have not yet considered resales. In Tributary, we were considering an inventory home, as that was as far as our money would take us and we feel we'd get a better deal on it. At Cobblestone Creek, we are seriously leaning toward building something new because in terms of home size, and upgrades, and in comparison with Trib, we would be getting more home for our money with an easier commute and in Cobb County vs. Douglasville for Trib. Given our needs at this time, schools are not as much a priority as pre-schools, because there is no telling where the schools will be by the time our bun in the oven is ready for school.

JP - With as diverse as it seemed driving around, (I saw white families, an Indian couple, AA couples, mixed race couples, etc.) we feel we wouldn't feel out of place in the neigborhood. I also checked with the BBB on McCar and they seem to match up well when compared against other new home builders we have considered. It seems like they all have problems.

As far as filling it up, we initially went out there in April, and it has filled up quite a bit without us there, and in this economy, they must be doing something right! I have spoken directly with other folks who bought single family homes in Cobblestone Creek and have heard good things - unless they were shilling for the sales office. As far as Bankhead goes, I understand it will be going away in the next year or so. Do your neighbors have kids?

What were the specific problems that you had and have you had any resolution as yet from the builder? I'd be interested in your experience and input.

Yes there are a few neighbors with kids. We seem to have a diverse
neighborhood for sure I just thought from your orginal post you were looking for a more "Jewish" area. I'll post below what I had posted on another topic within this same forum about my issues with Cobblestone.

http://www.city-data.com/forum/atlan...30126-a-2.html I made this post 7-14-08
I know this post is a few months old but I purchased a townhome in Cobblestone Creek recently. We actually bought a townhome that had been built and sitting in the community since November. We signed the contract in March and closed on it June 30th. The back yard overlooks a desolate looking junk yard kind of and we were told that’s why the townhome had not sold in so long but still the view from the porch is a pretty impressive view of the Atlanta and Buckhead skylines and hopefully the "junk yard" will eventually become something better. So we made a deal on the house and basically got a basement "thrown in" for free. (The original asking price was high 200's we made a deal in the low 200's and got a built out basement included).

Well we have had a hell of a time and not in a good way. We hired an independent inspector who found major issues in the hardwood flooring on the main floor. The builder agreed that there were issues (the floor was not level) and said he would fix them which involved placing 2 beams under the floor to straighten it out. Apparently they forgot to put these beams in when they build the home. Well by adding the 2 new beams it changed the layout in our basement, we have a beam splitting the main wall and it totally dismissed the cable jack that they charged us $100 to put in. Anyway they added another jack and we were still excited about the purchase although we felt there were more than should be issues on a brand new home, but they fixed alot of them in the walkthrough. Well since we moved in July 4th it's been horrible.

The first night in our home we took a shower and it flooded the main floor ruining most of the hardwood. We called the emergency numbers that were given to us multiple times and of course we got no replies from the plumbing company or builder. we went without water (I turned it off not knowing the issue) for over 12 hours and 3 days later got the builder and plumbing company out there to inspect the issue. Anyway they determined that the floor needs to be replaced again. So they sent a crew out this past Saturday who ripped up most of the hardwood and began replacing it. Previous to this we had asked if they would cover our furniture knowing how much dust and debris was about to accumulate but they said they wouldn't cover anything and they would send out a cleaning service after they were done. Well they started laying the floors and 2 guys layed it from one end and the other 2 guys from the other end and guess what it doesn't match up when they met in the middle. Anyway I am "supposed" to meet with the builder and the flooring "boss" today to figure out a solution. Supposed to being the main word because we cannot get a reply from anyone on any issues unless we call. the realtor said she would call us right back on the cleaning service Saturday night and she never did. We have had so many issues we have a 3 page letter waiting to be sent to someone in upper management.
The first day we were to move in the keys didn't fit the locks, 2 days later we got new keys for the new locks they installed yet for some reason the didn’t change the lock on the door that leads to the garage so we don’t have key for it still. We cleaned Saturday night because of the flooring, we have issues in our basement where the water seeped through the floors, we haven’t received a pool key, we had to chase down the mailbox key, no welcome basket or private residence sign yet, and no sorries for this or what can we do to make up for all the issues your having on your brand new home.

At the beginning they put in the black appliances without or consent, we wanted stainless, and then said to take them out they would have to charge us. So I have black appliances sitting in my garage that I have to sell. It's just crazy, my girlfriend has taken off a day to meet with them and now I will have close to 3 days meeting with them to try and fix these issues. Anyway this is long I know but I wanted to warn and give examples of some of the issues going on. I have never seen anything like this, I would think they would want to kiss our butts to make us happy but they want even return our phone calls on their own issues. Hopefully they make some concessions to us when we send this letter to upper
management we just don't know who that person is or where to find them.



Since the above issues things have improved. But after this above post the plumbing flooded again 3 days after they re-laid the floors for the 2nd time and 3 days after the plumbing company and builder were there.

We did get in touch with the Divisional Manager of the area which we felt we had to because the realtors and builder were just giving us the run around. Like telling us we will call you to set up a time to look at the issues and then calling our home number when we are at work and then our work number when we are at home, real undermining stuff. But the Divisional Manager recognized that they messed up and he has compensated us to a degree for what we have been through. But I have never seen worse flooring in a townhome. Ours have been laid now 3 times and we still have issues with them. There are some areas where the wood has "popped up" a little bit. It's 3 weeks old. And there are things they fixed that still looks terrible. We walked this house many times before we bought it and it's amazing what you will find once it's yours and once the independent inspector has looked at it. But in closing my next door neighbor is in the process of writing up a letter to the divisional manager as well and another family also had issues it seems with their flooring as well. Our neighbor was telling us that she stood outside their home with a sign saying do not buy a home in the subdivision because her hardwood flooring was "bubbling up". They did fix it though from what she said. If you do decide to get a home there, just make sure to get an independent inspector, it helped us get some of the issues out of the way up front before the major issues happened after we moved in. Of course it's not nessecarily the builders fault that the plumbing flooded our floors 2 times but it's the way they handled it. The builder doesn't work past 4pm and doesn't work on the weekends, so any issues have to be resolved during the work week, which costs me time off to get my brand new home fixed where I can live in it. We understand issues happen but a simple call back or reply will a long way with anyone, and it took contacting the Divisional Manager to finally get some replies from the realtors and builder. And these are just the BIG ticket items that happened to us, there are other issues as well.

[Native Georgian]

Tributary would be a great choice as far as convenience. I live about a mile from there (my house is for sale by the way, but is is an older brick house on 3.5 acres, so doesn't sound like what you are looking for - it is beautiful, but I don't think what you are looking for - let me know if it is). I worked in Atlanta, buckhead and Wash. D.C.(from Atlanta) I have made it from my kitchen to my seat on the plane in 25 minutes with a bit of sweat. It is a unique location that allows you to bypass a lot of traffic going to the airport or into Downtown Atlanta. I took all backroads to Buckhead without ever hitting the interstate. I believe my location is one of my home's best features and truly a hidden jewel. The schools here and in Mableton are ok at best (we optend for private school). There is a private school 5 miles from my house and we love it. It is not too expensive and it is just the right size. We used local private preschools and love them too. I wish you would buy mine , tee hee hee. Good luck. By the way, I would not live in Mabelton - it is getting better, but I would give it another 10 years of change and improvement before I considered raising my family there. It has nice new areas, but the bad areas are really really bad areas.

[JasonPaul]

Originally Posted by Native Georgian

Tributary would be a great choice as far as convenience. I live about a mile from there (my house is for sale by the way, but is is an older brick house on 3.5 acres, so doesn't sound like what you are looking for - it is beautiful, but I don't think what you are looking for - let me know if it is). I worked in Atlanta, buckhead and Wash. D.C.(from Atlanta) I have made it from my kitchen to my seat on the plane in 25 minutes with a bit of sweat. It is a unique location that allows you to bypass a lot of traffic going to the airport or into Downtown Atlanta. I took all backroads to Buckhead without ever hitting the interstate. I believe my location is one of my home's best features and truly a hidden jewel. The schools here and in Mableton are ok at best (we optend for private school). There is a private school 5 miles from my house and we love it. It is not too expensive and it is just the right size. We used local private preschools and love them too. I wish you would buy mine , tee hee hee. Good luck. By the way, I would not live in Mabelton - it is getting better, but I would give it another 10 years of change and improvement before I considered raising my family there. It has nice new areas, but the bad areas are really really bad areas.

This couple has already purchased a home in Cobblestone Creek. This community is in a convenient location also, we are 1 mile from 285 and 1 exit away from I20. Sure Mableton has it's bad areas but it's getting better, I don't think it'll take 10 years. Hopefully the rumors about Bankhead court coming down next year are true and that'll improve the area greatly. Then we can work on going the other way (towards Floyd).

[Georgia1113]

I live in Mableton and love it! Yes, the Bankhead Court apartments are coming down and a new subdivision will be built. This area is changing fast, but at this time very affordable. From South Cobb & 285 to the airport is about 15 min. Lots of very nice subdivisions and some new subdivisions on Veterans Memorial. Worth checking out.

[JasonPaul]

I guess I should post an update for anyone looking at McCar homes or Cobblestone creek. We moved in July 4th and while we did have some initial problems I think as of now that this is a great community. It took me to go out and re-look at some other homes I was interested in and some friends homes down the road to make me understand that some things just happen and homes aren't perfect. The plumbing issue I understand was not the builders fault and we did get new floors out of the inconvenience we had to live with, along with the other upgrades that were given to us as a compensation. The mixture of the homes and the nice size townhomes and the community as a whole has really been positive. And the view from the pool, the clubhouse and more specifically my back porch is amazing. (I can see the Atlanta skyline and buckhead). Anyway now that I have been at this community for a couple of months now and in my new townhome and after the initial episodes I believe this to be a good community. I posted negatives about it, so here are some positives.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by JasonPaul

I guess I should post an update for anyone looking at McCar homes or Cobblestone creek. We moved in July 4th and while we did have some initial problems I think as of now that this is a great community. It took me to go out and re-look at some other homes I was interested in and some friends homes down the road to make me understand that some things just happen and homes aren't perfect. The plumbing issue I understand was not the builders fault and we did get new floors out of the inconvenience we had to live with, along with the other upgrades that were given to us as a compensation. The mixture of the homes and the nice size townhomes and the community as a whole has really been positive. And the view from the pool, the clubhouse and more specifically my back porch is amazing. (I can see the Atlanta skyline and buckhead).

I'm actually jealous of your view over there by the river valley. How exposed are you to the wind and such?

Our neighborhood is down at the bottom of a valley to the north and west of you, which is very nice in that we almost never see wind and I think would be somewhat sheltered from storms (and train/highway noise), but it's not so nice because our only views are of our neighbors' yards. At least those are mostly composed of trees, tho.

[netdragon]

Cobblestone Creek seems like a pretty good value and sound investment.

[Urbanobserver]

Originally Posted by EZPZ

My wife and I are expecting our first and we're house hunting. We are due at the end of this year, and we would like to get into our home in advance of the baby. We are in an apt. in Smyrna currently and are pretty flexible in finding our new place, but would like to find an area with a low crime, good pre-school & elementary school that has an easy commute to downtown and also to the airport. We are Jewish, and while proximity to a reform synagogue is important, it is more important to us that we are not the only Jews in the neighborhood. Not really looking at Dunwoody due to traffic, and also because our money doesn't seem to take us very far there. We'd like to see ethnic diversity in a young middle class neighborhood with newer construction. Our budget is between 250-300k. So far we have considered Tributary in Douglasville and Cobblestone Creek in Mableton but haven't pulled the trigger on either. Any additional feedback on either of these neighborhoods or suggestions about neighborhoods that we have not yet considered would be appreciated.

Thanks,

-EZPZ

I wouldn't shoot for anywhere near the airport. Not a good idea and not family friendly. The Virginia Highlands and Druid Hills areas are intown, in great family friendly areas, near Emory University. There are at least 2 synagogues nearby with a strong Jewish community. Pretty much anything south of Midtown Atlanta is a bad idea unless you head to Fayette County, which is a serious drive. Anything around Emory/ Toco Hills is a good locale with a child.