Want to Buy in Mid-Town... Spire, Maybe? (Atlanta, Buckhead: for sale, real estate)

[AussieAussie]

G'day everyone! My name is Penelope and I am currently living in Miami. My husband and I are moving to Atlanta in four months. We have heard lots about Midtown and I've been researching it on various real estate websites and on here.

The condominium high-rises going up in Midtown look very appealing. We've heard the usual glowing reviews of this area from real estate brokers, but I would really love to hear from folks who have actual day-to-day experience living in Midtown.

1) Spire Midtown... any reviews? Good? Bad? Too expensive? How would you describe the average buyer/renter? What percentage of these condos are rented? How quickly did these go up? Would you trust the infrastructure of the building?

2) The Metropolis... same questions as above. Anyone here familiar with it?

Any other possibilities for condo living? Perhaps someplace you think is superior?

3) Shopping in Midtown... good?

4) Playtime... good parks? Cafes? Easy to get around?

Everyone's two cents would be GREATLY appreciated! Thanks everyone!

Pen

[Go Blue 99]

I lived in Midtown for 2 years (14th and Peachtree). The area is amazing (especially between 8th-16th and Peachtree). Piedmont Park is in that area, and the area overall is easy to navigate by foot.
For shopping, you have Atlantic Station, which is 2 miles away. Pretty nice indoor-outdoor mall, with some good restaurants.

In terms of Spire and Metropolis, I've heard there are a ton of units for sale, and prices are dropping. You might be able to get a great deal if you hold out.

[jjordan]

Midtown is BOOMING! Even downtown is getting in on the action with billion-dollar plus Allen Plaza development. I'd say as long as you're buying the condo to live in and not flip you should be good. Also, if you can afford to wait there are more condos going up @ The Atlantic in Atlantic Station, 1010 Peachtree, Viewpoint, etc. Also, the Midtown Mile initiative, a plan to transform Peachtree from North Ave to 14th St into a walkable, shopping destination are underway with the latter two developments I mentioned being the first REAL elements of the plan. All in all, Midtown is hot and only going to get hotter. But be careful on here, I'm sure someone will tell you you should move to the northern suburbs.

[darkone]

Why are you moving to Atlanta, out of curiousity? (What Jobs, etc. ?) Will you be working in midtown/downtown? Thx.

[gt6974a]

Midtown is booming with condos, as is Atlanta. I've heard/read that the market is saturated so you can find a good buy. Being that's saturated they are still building. I haven't looked for a place myslef though. Just news articles and word of mouth that I've heard this.

At around 200-300K seems to be the average before the condo fees. Yes these places are nice but some of these condo fees seem pretty crazy to me but each person has their own preference.

A good site to read about real estate in Atlanta(from citizens) is www.clarkhoward.com and go to his message boards.

I wouldn't say shopping in midtown or downtown is great but Buckhead is right next door, Atlanta shopping is getting better.


Parks aren't what I would consider great, you do have Piedmont which is very big. I'll get slammed for this but if you have kids, they MAY be asking questions about other patrons in the park. Mainly just bums and the occasional gay make out session. It's really not that bad but you will occasionally see it. They have alot of festivals and activities in the park (they have a website). 'Screen on the Green' is one of the best, nothing like 5-10K people watching 'Ferris Buellers Day Off' on a summer night. There are some other parks but you only have to go a few block to get out of the 'concrete' jungle. Yes it's a city but I'd say there's more recreational areas here than most big cities. You just have to look them up.

[AussieAussie]

Thanks everyone for the replies!!! I will take ALL your comments into consideration!

Darkone, my husband and I both work for Qantas, and we'll be relocating to Atlanta.

gt, thanks for your advice and tips! Very good to know. I wish I could hear from someone who could tell me what exactly it's like to live in these new condominiums. Is the craftsmanship good? High quality? Safe? Insulation good? Friendly people?

I have to say, I've checked out websites and floorplans, and these new condominium developments seem VERY VERY EXPENSIVE for what they are. 700 square feet??? Good lord, that's a glorified broom closet! But since it's just hubby and me, we do want something cosmopolitan and in the heart of everything! I heard downtown was rather dodgy.

Thanks again everyone, I'll keep checking back for more replies!

[lastminutemom]

You might consider renting at first, especially since it doesn't sound like you have kids to worry about disrupting. The condo market in Atlanta may be over built -- I was at a meeting last night and a developer basically said as much. It is fairly easy to find condos to rent -- and I think if you can hold out a while the deals will get much better.

Also, how long do you think you will be here and if you buy and are relocated, will your package include the company purchasing your home if you can't sell it. Something to keep in mind, is that this month's new building is next year's old one -- there is so much building going on that resaling these things is not so easy.

[utrc28]

lastminutemom -

Do you know a good source for finding Condos that area available for rent? The condo mkt appears to be very saturated and will probably get worse before it gets better considering the new construction under the works.

This make me think that condo owners should be looking to hold onto the property until the mkt demand picks up(and avoid selling at a loss right now).

Yet I haven't been able to find much condo rental information? Any help from you or anyone else on this matter would be much appreciated! heck I want to pay someone's mortgage! One would think it wouldn't be hard to find someone to do that with.

Thanks

[jxu66]

How about craiglist? I saw one bedroom condo at Spire for lease and the person is asking for $1495.

[gt6974a]

lots of incentive right now to buy new home/condos. The ajc.com had mentioned one buckhead condo offering 42" plasma and 3K decoration costs.

http://www.ajc.com/homes/content/printedition/2007/02/11/hfmarket0211a.html (broken link)

If your set on buying make sure you check out the incentives as well. It's a buyers market.