House hunting trip (Huntsville, Decatur, Madison: insurance, rent , job)

[Big Ken]

Hi,
I've accepted my job offer and my wife and I are flying in Saturday for an 8 day house-hunting trip. We took a whirlwind tour over 4 days the beginning of April and got a very quick sense of the city and where things are located. I'll be working at the Jet-Plex and was wondering outside of Madison City, with regards to a commute time of of 30 minutes or less, where are some reasonable places to be looking? We did look briefly in Hampton Cove and were going to make a point of heading there again on Sunday but we really didn't get to too many other areas when we were there previously. Any and all suggestions are appreciated!

[Keeper]

What is your price range? Rent or buy? Schools a concern?

[NicoleC]

Hampton Cove is going to be outside your 30 minute range with traffic, but the western side of Huntsville, Madison, Decatur, Priceville and Athens will be within your commute time plus a lot of unincorporated areas. The closer parts of south-east Huntsville and the old town areas will be a rougher commute traffic-wise than coming from the other direction, but in your desired time frame it should be doable.

You'll have lots of choices. Has your agent suggested an itinerary yet?

[Big Ken]

No, she hasn't come back to us with an itinerary yet, hoping to hear from her this evening. Thanks for the replies, we'll try to concentrate our energies on the west side then - thanks!

[Charles]

Originally Posted by Big Ken

We did look briefly in Hampton Cove and were going to make a point of heading there again on Sunday but we really didn't get to too many other areas when we were there previously. Any and all suggestions are appreciated!

We're visiting Huntsville Sunday afternoon and we're going to drive everywhere too.

What did you think of Hampton Cove? What differences did you see? Sense?
How does it compare to neighborhoods (mention them or their locations) in Madison?
I've been to the Jetplex a couple times, there is a fitness facility in the NW corner.

[Big Ken]

Well, we didn't get to spend much time in Hampton Cove as we were running around pretty wildly to see as much as we could in the short time we had, but to me, it had a much more rustic feel to it as you were out of the "city" and there were longer distances between things. I liked that part of it, but I was concerned about the distance to work and having to drive over the hill twice a day in the winter time if it was icy out.

Another area that we did like was the southwest part of town going down Zeirdt rd., specifically Lake Forest (my wifes preference) and Legacy cove. To me, Legacy Cove was similar in that it seemed to be out of town without too much around it, but yet you could be in town in 10 minutes. Lake Forest to me seems as if it's going to be too big of a community. 1200 homes with one way in/out and that out to a 2 lane road - I think this could turn into a traffic mess in the future when all the homes are finally built. We're also going to look at a place called Natures Pointe off of Zeirdt, this appears to be a new sub-division in the back of the Reserve. Any other new sub-divisions will be the realtors choice, after that we're going to look at resales. I've gone through the Valley MLS web-site and sent a list of homes to our realtor that we'd like to see so hopefully we come across something we really like and want to make an offer on.

We may end up running into each other in some model home over the weekend, good luck in your search.

[KWCopeland]

Hi Ken,

I just wanted to add a few comments concerning your visit.

Lake Forest is very nice. My wife and I were actually under contract there at one time. You are right about the 1200 homes. Also, Zeirdt road is a nightmare during Rush hour and it's going to get worse. It is going to be widened, but my understanding is that it is pretty far out. I've heard that a lot of Lake Forest Builders are in trouble. As a result you can get a good deal. But who knows how many years of construction you would have to endure.

Natures Points has some nice homes on small lots. But similar to LF there is only one road leading back into the subdivision.

I believe Legacy Cove is floodplain X or worse. But Jeff Benton homes offer great value from a production builder.

I am not sure what your criteria you are using to select your next home, but you might consider these neighborhoods in Madison:

Off County Line Road -Cambridge, Browns Ferry Crossing, or even Ambergate if you are looking for a kid friendly neighborhood.

Off Balch - Walden Preseve (home) or Chapel Hill

Off Hughes - Clifts Cove or Whitehall

Off Browns Ferry Road - Oakstone

Hope this helps. Direct message me if I can be of further assistance.

[Big Ken]

I'm not sure what floodplain x means but it doesn't sound good What exactly does the x mean? I'm going to have to google this.

My primary criteria is that the house be a single story house. I've got 2 bad knees and am putting off knee replacement surgery as long as I can and if I don't have to do stairs the better off I am. I wish I could do a 2 story home as we've seen some amazing 2 story houses there!

I was very impressed with the Benson homes, that's why we were looking a the Legacy Cove development, but if that development is going to require me to keep a canoe handy I may have to rethink that one.

We're pretty open as to area I think at this point, I just didn't want to have a long commute if I didn't have to.

Thanks for the inputs

[KWCopeland]

I am sure others are more qualified to answer this but I believe it means there is very little chance that the subject propery will flood in the next 100 years. But Legacy Cove backs up to Wheeler Wildlife Refuge, which is swampy in that area. But it is very peaceful back there.

[NicoleC]

Flood Zone X can be outside the 100 year floodplain (meaning in any given year there is 1% chance of a flood in that zone), within the 100 year floodplain where sheeting depths are less than 1 foot, or 100 year floodplain areas protected by levees. Often Zone X is given to indicate area where drainage is the primary issue, not overflow from nearby rivers and springs.

It's a low risk zone, but not a no-risk zone. (Relatively high risk if it has been designated over drainage issues.) Flood insurance is not required... but highly recommended and should be pretty cheap.