Anneewakee Trails in Douglasville...good, bad, ugly??? (Atlanta, Jersey: section 8, rentals)

[possible-relo-mama]

We are considering a move from Orlando to the Douglasville area (I know, I know another FLA family moving to GA ). I've been doing some research and noticed there are LOTS of new homes and rentals available in this neighborhood - Anneewakee Trails (5 BD, 3000 SqFt, for $275K - WOW! and rentals for $1500). It looks like a great community, walking trails, lazy river, playground, Chapel Hill schools. But what's the catch? Anyone know about the construction quality of these homes? Is that why it's so reasonable/available? We're driving up to take a look at the area but wanted some input. My husband will be traveling a bit for work so we wanted to be close to the airport plus he will be driving to Birmingham frequently.

Thanks in advance for any comments.

[DoveDiva]

The problem with that S/D is that it's been overdeveloped. It's VISUALLY nice, yes, but a lot of investors bought in that S/D and decided to rent those homes out section 8, advertising them as far away as New York. This has caused some less than desirable individuals to move into the S/D.

The schools are still pretty good, but I've heard complaints from parents about the lack of discipline from some of the new kids--as our mayor likes to put it, "some of the families moving here don't hold the same values as we do."

Traffic coming out of that s/d is horrendous in the AM b/c it's such a large s/d and the small roads can't quite handle that type of volume.

There are other much nicer subdivisions in that area within your price point.
Check out the Chapel Hill subdivision. VERY NICE! Brookmont is another one that is building up in the area, it's nice as well.

[kayrob]

When we came down in the summer of 05 to look around we absolutely fell in love with Annawakee. But we weren't ready to buy at the time. In fact we just moved from Jersey last month. We were of course blown away by the size of the homes for the cost as well as the amenities of the property. Now it seems from a lot that I've heard that HomeLife Communities which is one of the main builders at Annawakee is not very highly regarded. I imagine the traffic through there is heavy because I'm sure those homes were selling like the proverbial hotcakes.

A friend of my wife has been really pushing for us to check out a s/d names River Breeze which she says is close by so I'm gonna try to do that soon. Wish they had the same amenities of Annawakee with a more reputable builder though. With a young child the layout of that place with the huge pool, play area, lazy river, large clubhouse etc would have been ideal.

[kayrob]

Originally Posted by DoveDiva

The problem with that S/D is that it's been overdeveloped. It's VISUALLY nice, yes, but a lot of investors bought in that S/D and decided to rent those homes out section 8, advertising them as far away as New York. This has caused some less than desirable individuals to move into the S/D.

The schools are still pretty good, but I've heard complaints from parents about the lack of discipline from some of the new kids--as our mayor likes to put it, "some of the families moving here don't hold the same values as we do."

Traffic coming out of that s/d is horrendous in the AM b/c it's such a large s/d and the small roads can't quite handle that type of volume.

There are other much nicer subdivisions in that area within your price point.
Check out the Chapel Hill subdivision. VERY NICE! Brookmont is another one that is building up in the area, it's nice as well.

What are your overall impressions of Douglasville. I'd say it tops our list right now. Seems to have a lot of what we'd be looking for in a community to settle in. And I believe the Chapel Hill school district is well-regarded. How about the other districts? Those being the ones that feed into Alexander and Douglas high schools.

[amma5]

I have lived here for over two years and I can tell you that this is a wonderful subdivision. The pool, tennis courts, basketball courts, and other ameneties are fantastic. Other nearby subdivisions are going for $50k more and the houses are not as nice. The builders in this subdivision, David Weekly Homes and others, are well regarded.

There is "no catch." The downside, which is the same for any suburb of Atlanta, is the commute.

[dncngrl1964]

Originally Posted by possible-relo-mama

We are considering a move from Orlando to the Douglasville area (I know, I know another FLA family moving to GA ). I've been doing some research and noticed there are LOTS of new homes and rentals available in this neighborhood - Anneewakee Trails (5 BD, 3000 SqFt, for $275K - WOW! and rentals for $1500). It looks like a great community, walking trails, lazy river, playground, Chapel Hill schools. But what's the catch? Anyone know about the construction quality of these homes? Is that why it's so reasonable/available? We're driving up to take a look at the area but wanted some input. My husband will be traveling a bit for work so we wanted to be close to the airport plus he will be driving to Birmingham frequently.

Thanks in advance for any comments.

there is no catch paulding and douglas counties have been basically very rural areas until about 5 yrs ago so now ALL THE BUILDERS IN THE WORLD have decided they need to build a subdivision here too many homes they have to drop the prices and give more perks for people to pick theirs also look for builder closeouts in Paulding county there is so much growth that in 6 yrs we have built 2 new high schools a middle school and a couple of elem that I know of (there may be more) PM me for more info

[kayrob]

Originally Posted by amma5

I have lived here for over two years and I can tell you that this is a wonderful subdivision. The pool, tennis courts, basketball courts, and other ameneties are fantastic. Other nearby subdivisions are going for $50k more and the houses are not as nice. The builders in this subdivision, David Weekly Homes and others, are well regarded.

There is "no catch." The downside, which is the same for any suburb of Atlanta, is the commute.

Yeah I've been told that out of the 2 builders there that David Weekly is far the better of the 2. Homelife being the other.

[dncngrl1964]

Horton homes aren't too bad

[dville momma]

I have been in Anneewakee Trails for just over 2 years. My family LIVES at the pool in the summer! We love the amenities here- the walking trails, my kids ride their bikes while I push the stroller to the playground, the tennis courts- besides tennis, they have been a great place for the little ones to ride bikes and my older son to practice on his heelys, and of course the pool with lazy river and sprinkler park. The kids never get tired of that pool!

Unfortunately we have our home on the market, due to a job transfer for my husband, across country, but we certainly would stay in this great neighborhood if we could. The homes are large and reasonably priced, we have wonderful neighbors and my kids have made great friends here. I actually have some of my friends over to swim in the summer because it pretty much beats all around here for swimming! They do make you pay for guests at the pool, to keep it from getting too crowded, but that is ok. The first one is free, then it's $2 per person up to 5 guests. They have lifeguards on duty, and do parties at the pool for holidays.

Recently someone has started doing tennis lessons for the kids.

As someone else said, I too have heard of investors buying houses and renting them to section 8, but we have yet to run into this bad element. Everyone we meet here is friendly. I think the section 8 issue is all over the area- it is a fast growing area in general, not just this neighborhood. The property management seems really agressive with keeping up with that sort of thing and making sure eveyone is following covenants. I got cited recently because my trash can was on the side of my house instead of the back!

I homeschool, so I can't directly speak to the school quality or what is going on in the schools.

All in all, I could easily recommend this neighborhood!

[kayrob]

Originally Posted by dville momma

I have been in Anneewakee Trails for just over 2 years. My family LIVES at the pool in the summer! We love the amenities here- the walking trails, my kids ride their bikes while I push the stroller to the playground, the tennis courts- besides tennis, they have been a great place for the little ones to ride bikes and my older son to practice on his heelys, and of course the pool with lazy river and sprinkler park. The kids never get tired of that pool!

Unfortunately we have our home on the market, due to a job transfer for my husband, across country, but we certainly would stay in this great neighborhood if we could. The homes are large and reasonably priced, we have wonderful neighbors and my kids have made great friends here. I actually have some of my friends over to swim in the summer because it pretty much beats all around here for swimming! They do make you pay for guests at the pool, to keep it from getting too crowded, but that is ok. The first one is free, then it's $2 per person up to 5 guests. They have lifeguards on duty, and do parties at the pool for holidays.

Recently someone has started doing tennis lessons for the kids.

As someone else said, I too have heard of investors buying houses and renting them to section 8, but we have yet to run into this bad element. Everyone we meet here is friendly. I think the section 8 issue is all over the area- it is a fast growing area in general, not just this neighborhood. The property management seems really agressive with keeping up with that sort of thing and making sure eveyone is following covenants. I got cited recently because my trash can was on the side of my house instead of the back!

I homeschool, so I can't directly speak to the school quality or what is going on in the schools.

All in all, I could easily recommend this neighborhood!

Damn I wish we were ready to buy now. But if you don't mind me asking what are the specs on your home, is it a David Weekley or Homelife and finally the asking price? You can PM me if you don't mind answering but just not on board.