Baton Rouge Bound too (Zachary, Denham Springs: new construction, school district, subdivision)

[CindyM]

Originally Posted by BRMan

I'll probably get some flaming arrows for this opinion, but Southdowns is pretty overpriced for what you get. However, it has its charms, and it's well located.

You get what you pay for. You're not going to find the same quality construction in a new home. We considered moving and looked all over BR and surrounding parishes, but nothing compares. Finally decided to remodel and add on. The process was a nightmare, but it's the wisest decision we ever made.

[darylwi]

I like the older construction. I've been in way too many newly constructed homes and apartments now where the construction was a joke and there were already problems evident just from walking in the door. They don't build them like they used to.

[BetaBeta]

Originally Posted by darylwi

I like the older construction. I've been in way too many newly constructed homes and apartments now where the construction was a joke and there were already problems evident just from walking in the door. They don't build them like they used to.

True I looked at some lovely new homes in one area outside the city, went upstairs and saw hairline cracks in the wall and ceiling. The builder rep said, "well this model home is about 3 years old and there has been a lot of banging in the area from construction causing vibrations" Gee do I look like I just fell off the turnip truck?? Even if true, it couldn't withstand house construction vibration? Not... I have a sneaky suspicion on a bad foundation pour... or foundation not suitable for the type of ground and weight... think Tons of money in repair if it goes uncheck for another 3 - 6 years. Now the higher end new homes might be different, these were in the 210 - 280 range.

[BRMan]

Originally Posted by BetaBeta

True I looked at some lovely new homes in one area outside the city, went upstairs and saw hairline cracks in the wall and ceiling. The builder rep said, "well this model home is about 3 years old and there has been a lot of banging in the area from construction causing vibrations" Gee do I look like I just fell off the turnip truck?? Even if true, it couldn't withstand house construction vibration? Not... I have a sneaky suspicion on a bad foundation pour... or foundation not suitable for the type of ground and weight... think Tons of money in repair if it goes uncheck for another 3 - 6 years. Now the higher end new homes might be different, these were in the 210 - 280 range.

To be honest, it seems like homes built since the 90s seem to be of lower quality. Not to mention that you get WAY less yard.

[BetaBeta]

Good point about the yard BRMan... I think those of us with the older, traditional, large backyards will have some good selling points if we can keep the neighborhoods up and stay in them for another 10 - 20 years. I saw this happen in some parts of Northern CA where land became a premium and new homes were built on postage stamp lawns but three stories in height. People started to yearn for a place where their children could run around in a safe fenced in back yard vs going to a park or something. Thus the property values in the parts of the city that had larger yards started to rise higher than the newer homes in the suburbs.

[jewelbart]

Will be moving from Atlanta to Baton Rouge soimetime this spring. Would like to move to a nice established neighborhood. We would like to keep the price under 500K. I have heard or read about areas off of Highland. One area mentioned to us is Oak Hills Place. Any thoughts or recommendations?

[Broncojoe]

Hello BRMan and BEtaBeta,

did some house shopping this past weekend in BR. Narrowed it down to two areas and need your opinions. Carrington Place and Shenandoah Estates. Your thoughts on pros and cons for each area. Should I be concerned about the apartments that line Coursey near Carrington Place. Beta, you live in Hickory Ridge which is essentially the same neighborhood. Do you like the location? Any issues with all of the appartments or traffic? I like Shenandoah because it has a nice neighborhood feel with Shenandoah Elementary right there in the Neighborhood. Seems harder to get to but nice once you get there. Both seem like good neighborhoods and I have had a hard time weighing the pros and cons myself. My family seems to approve more of the Carrington location because it is the closes to them but again I am not too sure about the surrounding area. Thoughts?

Thanks,

[yat70458]

Originally Posted by osunshine

Neighborhood question
We are in the process of relocating to B.R. Have a budget up to about $350k for home, but of course would like to be below $300k. We would like to find a home with at least 4 br and a decent size yard.

We really don’t know much about the area and need advice.
I saw a house on the internet in the subdivision Broadmoor. Is this a good safe neighborhood for a family to bring up young kids in (ages 4 & 2)? Or should we look farther out like in Shenandoah or else where? Would we be better off looking at some of the newer constructed neighborhoods? My husbands office is off O’Neal and he really doesn’t want a long commute to and from work.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I have heard many great things about B.R. and I am really looking forward to moving.

If work is off of O'Neal Lane then you'd like to live where you have as short of a drive to work as possible...traffic can be brutal. For the amount you want to spend on housing you should have no problem finding something in the Shenandoah area or along the corridor of Coursey Blvd. between Jones Creek Rd. and Sherwood Forest. There are several very nice subdivisions along this
area. Plus, along Coursey Blvd. you have every imaginable retail establishment you would need...groceries, banks, movie theater, car oil change, car repairs, dry cleaners, restaurants, etc...

And all of this area is close to O'Neal Lane. Will you be working north or south of I-12?

Adjacent to the Shenandoah homes is an area called Green Trails which are building very nice up-scale homes and, of course, it's close to all conveniences. Also, the Shenandoah/Green Trails area is very family friendly.

Hope all this help in your decision making.

[osunshine]

My husbands office is located right at Choctow & N.Sherwood Forest Drive. (Not the best area.) I am a stay at home mom, so drive time to work is more important to him after a long day at the office.


I want a family friendly area, where kids trick or treat in the neighborhood, a place where I feel safe taking a jog in the evening. We also like to dine out. It seems the yards in Baton Rouge are small compared to what we have here, but I am willing to make that trade off for a safe neighborhood. We did look at GreenTrails and my realtor said that the builders went with the minimum on yardage.

I am considering Central for the school system, but am still concerned. I visited the elementary school (k-grade2). Last year they had an enrollment of 500, this year 750 and next year expect over 1,000 students at the elementary school alone! I was concerned with where they would put all the students and if the quality of education would go to the pits.

Thanks for all and any more suggestions.

[katMason]

My son is in the k -2 school. I am quite impressed. The teachers are amazed by the help from the parents. I love that. Good luck!