400-600K Budget - Where to Look? (Memphis, Franklin: for sale, real estate)

[HastingsJD]

So we're moving to Nashville.....in two years (sigh). I won't bore you with the details of why we have to wait but we do. We're coming to town to visit family and help my sister-in-law house shop next month though and thought we'd check out a few neighborhoods ourselves (just to get a feel for things.)

Any suggestions on where to look? We've already got Williamson County on the list as we've got little kids (well one now, will likely have another by the time we move if all goes according to our master plan ) Maybe Hendersonville? Any particular subdivisions you'd suggest? Not too concerned about commute as we live in LA right now and are used to 1.5 hour commutes. Likely working downtown though I would guess. Anything 45 minutes or less would be acceptable.

We're looking for about 3000 sq feet. I know, I know, some people think that's too big but we're cramped into a 1000 sq foot condo and are hankering for some space. We definitely want a sizeable yard - sick of having nothing but a patio as outdoor space. I think we'd lean more towards a newer place since we are not exactly handy and have learned we HATE coordinating renovations. Would definitely consider anything built in the last 30 years. I'm guessing the newer places will be the ones that are over 3000 sq feet?

Also, what can we expect in this price range? In a newer subdivision would it be the type of place where the houses all look the same or could we get something that looks more unique in that range?

Any help would be appreciated!

[Hootie&theBlowfish]

in the 550-600k range you can get 5 bed/4 bath houses in brentwood (which is one of the richer suburbs of nashville) which are well over 3k sq ft. even in the 400-450k range you can get 4/3 with more than 3k sq ft

so you could scale down if needed. im sure it seems like a lot for the money since youre coming from LA but just be careful, wages are lower too.

im looking here btw: Nashville Real Estate: Nashville TN Homes for Sale & MLS Listings

[YallWantHam]

use this site: RealTracs Real Estate Mid-South Property Finder

you can search by county, city, subdivision, etc.

[Why_Am_I_Here]

Yeah I recommend Realtracs too. Consider Rutherford County too, at the price you are looking at, there are some great homes here.

[derricktfox]

I agree that searching through Realtracs is much better than using sites such as Trulia and Zillow- The data is far more accurate. I found a listing on Zillow last week that had been closed for 3 months- it was featured on the front page!

Your price range is very broad, so you will have plenty of options. I would focus on Brentwood, Franklin, and possibly Hendersonville and the Green Hills area of Nashville. The best school systems are going to be in Williamson County. You could also look into some of the private schools in Nashville. Sumner county schools are good as well. Rutherford and Wilson county have good school systems, but you won't find as many homes that meet your requirements.

I would go to Realtracs, enter the city and price range (make sure you select Davidson county areas 2 and 3 as well as Williamson county when searching in Brentwood), then find homes you like. From there, google the names of the subdivisions to see what you can find. Many of them have websites.

In Brentwood, you probably want to look into Brookfield, Southern Woods, Shadow Creek, and Sonoma. In Franklin- Avalon, Fieldstone Farms, McKays Mill, and Westhaven are the larger communities. Many of these communities have amenities for children, such as a pool. Many homes in this price range are in communities where there are a variety of home styles, so you can definitely find something unique if you look hard enough, although you will find many large brick homes with a similar look. Make sure that you are advised about which of these communities sustained flood damage. I know that Fieldstone Farms was one of them.

There isn't as much available in Hendersonville, although you may be able to get a home on the lake for that price, but you'd likely be a little further out!

Green Hills is another option (Davidson co. area 2). This is an area in downtown that is close to most of the high end shopping and private schools in Nashville. Many of the homes in Green Hills are older, but extensively renovated. There are also many newer homes that are mixed in among the older homes. These homes will likely be more expensive, but this area is very desirable for many wanting to stay close to downtown.

I would look at the community's amenities, the proximity to downtown, schools, and distance to your family as primary factors.

[HastingsJD]

Thanks all - will take a look.

How common is flooding in Nashville? From what my husband has gathered (a native of TN, but from Memphis) it rarely happens. Is that true? Are these homes (for example Fieldstone Farms) in flood plains areas where flood insurance will be sky-high or do we really just need to make sure that we're not looking at a particular house with damage that occurred as a result of rare flooding?

We live on the coast here in CA and there are few homes (much closer to the ocean then are wee little budget was able to allow) that have been designated as being built on unstable earth (pretty much that they could slide into the ocean if "the big one" ever comes.) As you might imagine these homes are not worth much and those owners can't get homeowners insurance. We don't want to move to TN and buy property and end up in a similiar situation (ie a house in a flood plan that can't be insured and isn't worth much)!

[septimus]

Originally Posted by HastingsJD

Thanks all - will take a look.

How common is flooding in Nashville? From what my husband has gathered (a native of TN, but from Memphis) it rarely happens. Is that true? Are these homes (for example Fieldstone Farms) in flood plains areas where flood insurance will be sky-high or do we really just need to make sure that we're not looking at a particular house with damage that occurred as a result of rare flooding?

We live on the coast here in CA and there are few homes (much closer to the ocean then are wee little budget was able to allow) that have been designated as being built on unstable earth (pretty much that they could slide into the ocean if "the big one" ever comes.) As you might imagine these homes are not worth much and those owners can't get homeowners insurance. We don't want to move to TN and buy property and end up in a similiar situation (ie a house in a flood plan that can't be insured and isn't worth much)!

I'd like to think flooding is rare. Parts of Fieldstone Farms flooded and they weren't in a flood plain, just use some common sense. If there is a creek on the property ask how it handled the flood and FWIW flood insurance is relatively cheap if the house isn't in a flood plain. Parts of FF are high on a hill.

[HastingsJD]

Thanks septimus - good info.

Hootie - Good point on the wages. We're hoping we've guessed right on estimated salaries. My hubby and I are both attorneys and he is a Vandy Law grad. He asked career services what we could expect to make with X number of years of experience in Nashville. Lower than LA, but still decent (but of course no guarantees...) Our big wildcard is whether we'll be able to sell our property here in CA for what we paid for it initially (after owning it 5 years by the time we move.) Sigh....

Derricktfox - Similiar looking homes are a-okay by us. I'm just hoping to avoid what we often have here. The same house over and over again - literally the same house in a different color (or sometimes they repeat the same three house over and over but even that's not much better.)

[BirdieBelle]

There was a so-called 500-year flood here in May. Major flooding is rare, but certain homes for sale on Realtracs in some Brentwood neighborhoods right now were underwater in the May flood. I saw them myself.
If flood insurance is required by the mortgage company, though, I would not let that scare me off. Our house in technically in a flood plain, and we have flood insurance, but we somehow did not flood in May. If you are interested in a certain house, look at it on Google earth. If it backs up to the Harpeth River, it probably flooded in the May flood.
One reason water can be an issue here unlike in Memphis (where I also grew up!) is because the limestone is so close to the surface that many yards may have a high water table, meaning if you dig a little ways, you'll hit standing water. That also may warrant flood insurance. Rates vary by company.
Just be thorough in your due diligence and ask as many questions about it as you can.

Here is a link to the Williamson County flood zones. It shows flood plains.

http://www.williamsoncounty-tn.gov/D...w.aspx?DID=110

[septimus]

Originally Posted by HastingsJD

Thanks septimus - good info.

Hootie - Good point on the wages. We're hoping we've guessed right on estimated salaries. My hubby and I are both attorneys and he is a Vandy Law grad. He asked career services what we could expect to make with X number of years of experience in Nashville. Lower than LA, but still decent (but of course no guarantees...) Our big wildcard is whether we'll be able to sell our property here in CA for what we paid for it initially (after owning it 5 years by the time we move.) Sigh....

Make sure you have jobs before you come. If you want to be in a firm, your book of business needs to be portable. Firms aren't hiring worker bees these days. Only rainmakers. In-house jobs are few and far between. Partnership track in Nashville is still about 7-8 years unlike major markets where it has slowly moved to 10-12 years.