Looking to purchase home. Not sure exactly where. (Sacramento, Roseville: for sale, to rent)

[mc916]

Another thread asking for your suggestions on the Sacramento area. I lived in Sacramento for 5 years, but never really explored the suburbs. I prefer to live on the outskirts of Sacramento or any town in particular. I don't want to purchase in a really busy area.

My wife and I are looking to purchase a our first home, around $250K. We are currently expecting our first child. I work in downtown Sacramento and she works in Roseville, so we do have to consider both commutes. We currently live in the Arden area.

The initial area we saw interest in, due to its location, was North Natomas. There are nice homes that are affordable. We also read about the issues being a flood area, but aren't too sure how serious this really is.

Also considered Elk Grove, similar homes to Natomas in pricing. My wifes parents also live in the area and can possibly help with babysitting, which is a great benefit. This will be very far from my wifes work, but we can probably carpool to my work.

Another option would just be go Roseville/Rocklin area, which I would have to commute to downtown Sacramento. I am not sure how bad this commute really is yet. This area seems preferred by most, according to what I read so far. Homes are also more expensive. We would need a full time babysitter for sure.

I know the choice will come down to each individual needs(pros/cons). I just want some feed back on the areas I mentioned, and possibly any other area that I would want to look at. Also any information about specific neighborhoods will be even better.

Any feedback, suggestions, advice is greatly to a first time buyer is appreciated. Thanks.

[NewToCA]

Given your situation, I'd pick Roseville over Elk Grove, and Elk Grove over Natomas. Primary consideration for me would be schools, and secondary would be future home appreciation.

[NinaN]

^^^Yes.

[Think About It!]

Originally Posted by NewToCA

Given your situation, I'd pick Roseville over Elk Grove, and Elk Grove over Natomas. Primary consideration for me would be schools, and secondary would be future home appreciation.

This is pretty much dead on.

I read your post and I wanted to make sure I understood it right. Your in laws live in Elk Grove area? That is a big deal to have free and dependable baby sitting that you can trust. The main problem with this is that it makes both you and your wife commute. I think the commute to Roseville would be pretty bad from Elk Grove and would get old very fast.

Personally I would pick Roseville / Rocklin first out of your options. It keeps your wife's work close to home and only one of you would then have to commute. It's always nice to be a couple minutes away from your children.

[NineOneSix]

Maybe Folsom or Eldorado Hills. You could cruise down Hwy 50 into Downtown for your commute.

[lgt]

I'm not sure if you've looked at daycare prices, but if you haven't you may want to. I know I could do a lot more if I didn't have that expense, but then again kids can lean a lot at daycare.

[mc916]

Originally Posted by Think About It!

This is pretty much dead on.

I read your post and I wanted to make sure I understood it right. Your in laws live in Elk Grove area? That is a big deal to have free and dependable baby sitting that you can trust. The main problem with this is that it makes both you and your wife commute. I think the commute to Roseville would be pretty bad from Elk Grove and would get old very fast.

Personally I would pick Roseville / Rocklin first out of your options. It keeps your wife's work close to home and only one of you would then have to commute. It's always nice to be a couple minutes away from your children.

Yes, my in-laws are in the Elk Grove area and would help with babysitting. But like you said, Im not so sure about the commute for my wife. We can carpool though; she would drive from downtown to Roseville.

I would definitely choose Roseville over Elk Grove if we didn't have family down there to help out. I would rather do the commute from Roseville to Downtown, than have my wife do it. Roseville seem overall nicer/safer, thus being more expensive.

I guess I am stuck at the moment. Daycare is a huge expense, so we would be better on finances if we did have help. I will have to make this decision soon though.

[Think About It!]

Originally Posted by mc916

Yes, my in-laws are in the Elk Grove area and would help with babysitting. But like you said, Im not so sure about the commute for my wife. We can carpool though; she would drive from downtown to Roseville.

I would definitely choose Roseville over Elk Grove if we didn't have family down there to help out. I would rather do the commute from Roseville to Downtown, than have my wife do it. Roseville seem overall nicer/safer, thus being more expensive.

I guess I am stuck at the moment. Daycare is a huge expense, so we would be better on finances if we did have help. I will have to make this decision soon though.

You could possibly just rent in Elk Grove for the time being until your kids are old enough to go to school and then buy in your desired area. That would allow you to keep the free-family babysitting for the time being which is a very big plus. Then once the kids are old enough to go to school you can buy in Roseville and only have to worry about afternoon daycare of some sort or after school activities. It would limit the years of the miserable commute to just a few years. Which is a lot more bearable than the alternative.

This is just another idea whether it is plausible for you or not, that's up to you.

[mc916]

Originally Posted by Think About It!

You could possibly just rent in Elk Grove for the time being until your kids are old enough to go to school and then buy in your desired area. That would allow you to keep the free-family babysitting for the time being which is a very big plus. Then once the kids are old enough to go to school you can buy in Roseville and only have to worry about afternoon daycare of some sort or after school activities. It would limit the years of the miserable commute to just a few years. Which is a lot more bearable than the alternative.

This is just another idea whether it is plausible for you or not, that's up to you.

Well I was thinking, if I am going to rent a house and live in it for ~5 years, you might as well buy right?

[shelato]

How comfortable is your wife with the commute from Elk Grove to Roseville? How comfortable are you with the commute from Elk Grove to Downtown? Did you budget in transportation costs of driving back and forth from those two areas? Given your budget and where you and your wife work, have you considered Mission Oaks North? In your price range you should be able to find plenty of nice housing with good schools more importantly neither of you nor your wife would have to spend so much time commuting everywhere, by living somewhere between where both you and your wife work, both you can be home reasonably quickly after work to spend more time together as a family.

http://www.msa2.saccounty.net/planni...ion%20Oaks.pdf

For elementary schools you would have access to James Cowan or Mission Oaks Open School, for middle schools you would have access to Churchill or Arcade and for High School either Mira Loma or El Camino.

Mission Avenue Open Elementary School - 2925 Mission Ave, Carmichael, CA - Homes for sale, reviews & ratings | Redfin
James Cowan Fund Elementary School - 3350 Becerra Way, Sacramento, CA - Homes for sale, reviews & ratings | Redfin
Mira Loma High School - 4000 Edison Ave, Sacramento, CA - Homes for sale, reviews & ratings | Redfin
El Camino Fundamental High School - 4300 El Camino Ave, Sacramento, CA - Homes for sale, reviews & ratings | Redfin