possible move to Hanover County (Richmond, Mechanicsville: real estate, houses, safe area)

[phlute23]

My husband and I are considering a move to Hanover County from the west coast. We are looking to buy a home in the range of 150-200k. I would appreciate any info or feedback on these questions:

1. any unsafe areas to be aware of?
2. good schools?
3. how is the commute to VCU and are there tolls?
4. how are the property taxes?
5. any other info worth mentioning?

We will be visiting in 2 weeks and I wanted to make the most of our time there. Thanks in advance for any replies to this!

[richmondpics]

You should easily be able to get to VCU without crossing paths with any tolls.

The real estate tax rate in Hanover is $0.81 per $100 dollars assessed.
Here's a good link related to taxes for Hanover: Commissioner of Revenue's Office

[smokinghot]

You will have difficulty getting into a home for that price range - depending on the size house you want, etc. We moved from the west also, and went by real estate ads and other information thinking we could get into a home for a reasonable price. You may have more success now, if people are really wanting to sell. Mechanicsville is one area of the Greater Richmond area that people want to live in for many reasons, you pay for that. Hanover is safer than Chesterfield by a long shot, even though Chesterfield is cheaper.

[phlute23]

Thanks for the info. I will keep researching and look forward to other posts here.

[SpringOakFarm]

Hello and good luck on your move.

We live in Hanover County and love it...here are some things to consider:

- Housing between 150-200 will be difficult to find, but they do come available every once in a while - in the 200-250 range, there are many options

- Taxes are much lower than other counties

- No tolls between Hanover and VCU - so no worries there...

- Hanover is mostly very rural, unless you live in the city of Ashland. Therefore, many of the conveniences like fast food, gas stations, groceries, etc are a good 10-15 minute drive. However, we like it that we are only 15 minutes from the west end of Richmond (in the Short Pump area) where we can get anything and everything we need - a huge mall, tons of restaurants, lots of other shopping, etc.

- No areas that I can really say to stay away from in Hanover...there are many of them in the city of Richmond that I would stay away from, but for the most part, Hanover is pretty tame!

- We used to live in Short Pump, in the west end of Richmond - (very pricey, very crowded, but very convenient) - but have never regretted our move to Hanover a couple of years ago. We leave our jobs and the craziness of the city behind us and drive through gorgeous farm lands and houses to our humble little farm.

- If you're in to horses - there are TONS of horse farms in Hanover - it is horse country for sure!

Best of luck to you.

[niccodaemus]

Hanover county is a gem of an area. Interesting mix of people, 35 minutes or so from Richmond, great schools. Lots of new development in the works too, but with a sense of sanity.

[kevinm]

Try MaCauley Park in Aylett. Brand new single family homes in that price range. Aylett is east of Kings Dominion.

[niklex]

Not all areas of Hanover are 35 minutes away. We live in the southeastern part of Mechanicsville and my commute to downtown is an easy 20 minutes w/ almost no traffic. Granted, I shoot through a seedy area just before hitting the downtown area so maybe going around would add 5 minutes...