Smyrna or Dundwoody /Chamblee ,pls help me decide!!!!! (Atlanta, Dunwoody: renting, townhomes)

[northface]

Hello ,
Me and my husband have been renting near the North Springs marta station since Fed 09. Finally, saved up some money and think that we are ready to buy our first home.

My husband is works for clients and might change job locations once in yr or so. Currently , I take the marta to work downtown and he works remotely or commutes based.
We wanted to look at only new SF homes that fit our needs and budgets and can be customized a bit

After initial search, we have come down to 2 options and are stuck with them. We have been trying a lot to decide on a place that will make a good home for both of us. Here are our options :

#1 Buy a new construction in Smyrna- Registry at Park Ave ( abot 370K) , although schools aren't that great, we might not have kids for 2-3 yrs

#2 Buy a new construction near Dunwoody/Chamblee Danbury Parc ( abt 450k) , nice location but will need to go way way over budget( 350k +). Which we can , but prefer to not become 'house poor'

Given these options, what would you guys suggest ?

If we go with #1 how bad is the commute from Smyrna to the northern suburbs( rowell,alpharetta etc). Also, what is the growth potential in Smyrna ? Asking because there are so many new developments in the area .. and school's are abt OK

If we go with #2 , how good an investment it is ? the location is great , but is it worth the extra 80k ?

Please please share your thoughts and opinions ...

Thanks !!

[KevK]

Originally Posted by northface

Hello ,
Me and my husband have been renting near the North Springs marta station since Fed 09. Finally, saved up some money and think that we are ready to buy our first home.

My husband is works for clients and might change job locations once in yr or so. Currently , I take the marta to work downtown and he works remotely or commutes based.
We wanted to look at only new SF homes that fit our needs and budgets and can be customized a bit

After initial search, we have come down to 2 options and are stuck with them. We have been trying a lot to decide on a place that will make a good home for both of us. Here are our options :

#1 Buy a new construction in Smyrna- Registry at Park Ave ( abot 370K) , although schools aren't that great, we might not have kids for 2-3 yrs

#2 Buy a new construction near Dunwoody/Chamblee Danbury Parc ( abt 450k) , nice location but will need to go way way over budget( 350k +). Which we can , but prefer to not become 'house poor'

Given these options, what would you guys suggest ?

If we go with #1 how bad is the commute from Smyrna to the northern suburbs( rowell,alpharetta etc). Also, what is the growth potential in Smyrna ? Asking because there are so many new developments in the area .. and school's are abt OK

If we go with #2 , how good an investment it is ? the location is great , but is it worth the extra 80k ?

Please please share your thoughts and opinions ...

Thanks !!

Why do you say the schools are not good? The schools in Smyrna are fine. I sent 4 kids through them (the last one is in now). And if they do not make APP, you can send them to other Cobb schools (Campbell did not for a few years and I sent my daughter to McEachern because it offers more in the way of Performing Arts).

[LovinDecatur]

These are both good choices.
Some reasons Dunwoody might have the edge:
Rail access to Downtown (3 MARTA stations stop in the Dunwoody area)
Shopping - better due to the Perimeter area and easier access to Buckhead via 400 or P'tree Dunwoody Rd. I'm not a fan of the Cumberland Mall area.
Better overall 'cachet' (Smyrna may well catch up soon on this score)

[sweettea1]

I agree with LovinDecatur on all. Having recently moved from Smyrna to Dunwoody myself there's just something about it that keeps home values a bit higher.

[Smokipenelope]

I live in Danbury Parc and love it!

Have you thought about their townhomes vs. the single family homes? That would bring you well under 350K. We live in one of their two story townhomes and it feels like a single family home once inside, and we never hear our neighbors.

[northface]

Thanks a lot everyone !!
Smokinpenelope .. the reason why we were inclining towards SF homes was due to the overall prospects of resale value. Thanks for giving the feedback about TH's at Danbury parc .... its great that you are enoying your new place !!!

Although, we were driving thru Danbury parc the other day and saw SOLD signs on many of the SF homes.. intresting that they went so fast in a abt a months time.

[BringBackCobain]

Technically, Danbury Park is not Dunwoody. I guess you would call it Brookhaven. Either way, I would still choose it because this area, unlike Dunwoody or Smyrna, is inside the perimeter. Having your house inside the perimeter goes a long way in terms of resale value and appreciation in Atlanta.

Also, being walking distance to blackburn park and restaurants might give it an advantage down the road that the smyrna one doesnt.

[chailatte]

We are also looking in that area, for our budget we were considering the 2 story TH's. As smokinpenelope mentioned earlier, you probably get the same amount of space for a lot less , if you don't mind sharing your walls !! :-)

Maybe you don't have to spend 80k m-100k more unless you are really going to enjoy that yard. OK ...My opinion might be biased since the SF homes are priced out of my budget. But the value of owning a TH vs SF home in that area is debatable , so I will let others chip in here.

Overall I think its a great buy due to the huge location potential and proximity to the malls, marta and parks.

smokinpenelope , how does the traffic going to 285/400 in the mornings ? I usually leave around 8:45 ...

[Smokipenelope]

It takes me about 10 minutes at most to get to 285 and Peachtree Industrial - I head up 85 for work.

We walked through the single family homes at Danbury Parc after we'd moved in - I was actually surprised at how similar in terms of living space the single family and the two story townhome were (granted it could have just been the floorplan we were in). If we could have afforded the single family that definitely would have been my preference - for privacy and for resale, though I don't believe there are two many two story townhomes like ours in the area (at least that I have seen) so I am not too worried about it.

I was worried about sharing walls but have never heard the neighbors on either side of us, but we don't hear anything. We have a fairly loud stereo and I was really concerned someone would stop by and tell us to turn it down, but so far we have had no complaints.

I absolutely love how close Buckhead and Perimeter are, and going towards midtown and downtown is very easy and we generally don't hit much traffic when we go out on weekends.

[Go Blue 99]

I also live in a 2-story townhome at Danbury Parc and love it. The area is fantastic and like Penelope said, it's easy access to all the top spots in Atlanta.

Chailatte- I do 285 to 400N in the morning. It's very easy..sometimes I'll hit a little traffic on Ashford Dunwoody, but 285 and 400 are wide open. Never any traffic (the evening traffic is sometimes worse though).