Help a Newbie. Why Are Homes in College Greens Rosemont So Cheap?

[KidBlue]

The large undeveloped area south of Folsom (on the other side of Hwy. 50 from Bidwell and Prairie City) used to belong to Aeroject and McDonald Douglas. Some of the land closer to Aerojet Road was used to test rocket engines. Most of the land is apparently not contaminated but there has been a lot of legal issues with opening up the land for development. I think I heard the land near Old Placerville Road and Scott Road will be open for development in the not too distant future. Too bad though, I love the open grassland and oak trees.

[pba]

It's easy to forget just how old the houses in that area are. 10 years ago it seemed ok to buy a house built in the early 1970's because they didn't seem too old. Those houses are approaching 40 years old now! If you're planning on staying for 10 years then you'll be saddled with trying to sell a 50 year old house. With all the newer developments (Mather, Anatolia, Natomas, Folsom, etc.) that all have big, beautiful homes built that are surrounded by new parks and good schools it just becomes very difficult for a lot of family oriented people to move into the older neighborhoods.

[ugofiguhritout]

I've lived here for 5 years now and my garage door is always open, one of my vehicles are parked on the street and I have never had problems with anyone ever trying to break into my home. My 15year old son and I live alone and yes there has been some crime here but no different than anywhere else. It's a bit smaller of a community with a few homeless, well I'd call em (street walkers) but they've been here ever since I moved here and they grew up here and they wouldn't hurt a fly. The homes here are very nice I think, every community has a few bad apples, but its not as bad as there making it out, at least I don't see it that way. I am very happy with my neighborhood everyone is nice and they all look out for one another, or maybe we've just been lucky. To be sure you can go to Sacramento County Sheriff's Department John McGinness California USA and look up the crime stats in this area and you can see for yourself. You are going to take a chance wherever you move, but the schools here are very good and the grammar schools even have daycare. I have been very happy here maybe it's the type of people they were hanging around because I haven't seen any gangs around my neighbor hood or street just young teenagers that hang out together.

[pba]

It's actually much different than other places. You can't tell me that Oak Park is the same as living in Folsom or Granite Bay. Sure there is crime everywhere you go but you at least don't have to surround yourself in it by moving to bad neighborhoods. I work in Rancho Cordova and let me tell you I've seen more drug busts near Folsom Blvd. and Mills Park Road than I've ever seen anywhere else. And of course when you have drugs then that brings crime, lowers property values, etc.

The schools in Rancho are mostly terrible. Extremely low test scores which generally reflects a poor family life. Typically, a lot of single parents that are struggling to make it. A lot of these kids are from families that have parents in jail or have at least been in jail at some point.

My wife used to teach in Rancho but switched over to the San Juan district just across the river and has found the switch to be 'night and day' different for the better. Student attendance it much higher, parent involvement is greater, suspensions are much less likely to occur, etc. Basically, when you go to the 'good schools' you're helping to surround your kids with the 'good kids' instead of exposing them to kids that we would unfortunately call the wrong crowd.

Looks like a pretty easy choice for me when you're looking for somewhere to live and want to raise a family.

[pba]

Did you find a place?

[Supersonicblond]

My understanding is that Rosemont begins at Watt Ave and spans east, and College Greens (College Glen, Glen Brook, La Riviera) occupies the north side of Folsom Blvd between Watt and Howe. With that said, my partner recently sold a home in College Greens (Wisseman Dr area) after living there for six years. Having spent a lot of time there myself, I can say that it is a great neighborhood with well-kept homes, mature trees, and many friendly, long-time residents who care about their homes and the neighborhood at large. The only negative I can think of is for the excessive freeway noise for the homes closer to Hwy 50. Overall, it's a great neighborhood with a lot of nice older homes, but without the midtown/east Sac price tag.

While hearing mixed opinions about Rosemont, it doesn't seem like a horrible place either, though a little more spotty than College Greens, with clusters of good streets and bad--at least that what friends that live there tell me. You'd probably have to do a little more footwork in scoping out the area before buying there, whereas CG tends to be more consistent in the level of care evident in the homes there. Given the choice, I'd go with CG, but wouldn't completely rule out the other.

[JRKRL]

We lived in the Arden/Eastern area called "Garden of the Gods" for the past 10 years just a few miles from the Rosemont area. It is a great location if you need to be close to Downtown and it is within walking distance to shopping and a few restaurants. Crime is pretty low, and I always felt safe walking the neighborhood in the evening time. I personally know of a nice 3 bedroom home in that area for sale under $350k.