Subdivisions of El Dorado Hills (Sacramento, Richmond: HOA, new home, employment)

[Rob98LS1]

I've been doing research for possible locations to move to in the future (currently a resident of Rocklin), and plan to keep in the Sacramento area. One of the subdivisions that I have been considering is Serrano, the large master-planned community along Serrano Pkwy in El Dorado Hills. I have had the opportunity to walk through the million dollar+ model homes there (I suggest you do the same), and I was very impressed! I've driven through all of the villages, and was able to get a visual appreciation for all of the architechure, as well as reading through all the literature I could find about the area. But, what I do not have is the life experiences of people that settled down there, and how it has been for them so far (for being a new community). Has anyone had the opportunity to live there, and if so how has it been for you? How is the HOA? Is it comfortable living? And most importantly, was the investment worth it?

If anyone else has ANY information regarding homes in other subdivisions in El Dorado hills such as the promontory, highland hills, summit, timberline ridge, oak tree village, marina woods, waterford, windsor point, toscana, lakehills Estates, park village, bridlewood canyone, etc... I would love to hear your experiences.

[Rob98LS1]

bump for the day!

[Calidreemer]

Hi Rob - I've asked about EDH and not gotten much of a response in this forum. I am beginning to think this community is not well represented here. My husband and I are planning to relocate to the Sac area and loved 1. EDH, 2. Whitney Oaks (Rocklin), 12 Bridges (Lincoln), and 4. Folsom and I have tried very hard to get feedback about what these communities are like and have only received general information. Not that people haven't been nice, they have been very nice, but I want more specifics.

We visited Serrano and had a couple of thoughts about it. One is that we loved the uniform, clean look of the villages. They seemed quiet and calm. We were not pleased that they wouldn't allow our realtors to have access to their by laws. Serrano seems like a fairly restrictive community which is fine to a degree, but I don't want to live in a neighborhood where my neighbor is going to make a Federal case out of a wind chime in someone's back yard. We've lived like that before and it's not fun (it wasn't our wind chime BTW). When they wouldn't let us review the by laws it made me a little nervous about what they might be hiding. I also questioned the proportion of amenities vs the HOA. It seems you pay a lot and don't get too much in return.

Remember mine is only an opinion based on a very superficial experience with this community. The write ups about it and it's reputation are quite good. I wish you the best with your house hunting. Perhaps you could share what you know about Whitney Oaks and Whitney Ranch in Rocklin. Any other neighborhoods in Rocklin with solar homes and a little bit of elevation? Good luck!

[Rob98LS1]

Originally Posted by Calidreemer

Hi Rob - I've asked about EDH and not gotten much of a response in this forum. I am beginning to think this community is not well represented here. My husband and I are planning to relocate to the Sac area and loved 1. EDH, 2. Whitney Oaks (Rocklin), 12 Bridges (Lincoln), and 4. Folsom and I have tried very hard to get feedback about what these communities are like and have only received general information. Not that people haven't been nice, they have been very nice, but I want more specifics.

We visited Serrano and had a couple of thoughts about it. One is that we loved the uniform, clean look of the villages. They seemed quiet and calm. We were not pleased that they wouldn't allow our realtors to have access to their by laws. Serrano seems like a fairly restrictive community which is fine to a degree, but I don't want to live in a neighborhood where my neighbor is going to make a Federal case out of a wind chime in someone's back yard. We've lived like that before and it's not fun (it wasn't our wind chime BTW). When they wouldn't let us review the by laws it made me a little nervous about what they might be hiding. I also questioned the proportion of amenities vs the HOA. It seems you pay a lot and don't get too much in return.

Remember mine is only an opinion based on a very superficial experience with this community. The write ups about it and it's reputation are quite good. I wish you the best with your house hunting. Perhaps you could share what you know about Whitney Oaks and Whitney Ranch in Rocklin. Any other neighborhoods in Rocklin with solar homes and a little bit of elevation? Good luck!

Thank you for the response. In regards to the way the serrano community is ran and the by laws of the hoa it is something that steers me away, but I must confess the country club side of the subdivision is unforgettably gorgeous in every sense of the word. I had to stop and walk down the street of Gresham dr, greenview, breese circle and sur mer because I couldn't believe the beauty of these homes. But recently what I found was that subdivision of Kalithea is located on the opposing side of el dorado hills blvd and seems to be less restrictive. The homes there (which some are still being built) seem to be just as beautiful as the ones in serrano's north side. There you get views of the entire sacramento valley and very close views of folsom lake, closer than serrano anyways.

About Rocklin (whiney oaks), I would advise you to check out Clubview, The Enclave, and Springfield. I got the flyer they sent out for the meeting to discuss the use and development of the Solar Electricity but I believe I missed the meeting unfortunately ( wanted to attend). Clubview is centered around the golf course and makes a loop along the bottom of the hills that enclose Clover Valley (big in the news). These homes are some of the most luxurious of Rocklin, and the custom estates on the hillside are worth just a visit in itself. The enclave is directly across from clubview, a small road and subdivision set against the back of the golf course. As well some of the biggest in rocklin, I wouldn't be suprised if they had the use of solar yet. But, Springfield on the other hand, on Park drive is on the hills and surrounds and overlooks both the enclave and clubview. Now these homes are less expensive than the other two but are still among the best in rocklin. You said you were looking for something on the hill, you might want to be sure to take a tour because there is a good variety of price ranges (whichever you are) to choose from. As far as all of these as a whole, they are probably the best part of Rocklin in my opinion, having seen them develop throughout the years back in the 90's.

Do you by chance have any info regarding the Francisco Dr. area on the Folsom lake end of EDH?

Thank you

[Calidreemer]

Hi Rob,
Thank you for your post. I will make a note of the locations you recommended and when we are in Sac next month we will take a look. I was also wondering if you knew anything about the Blackstone development in EDH? We visited in October and liked what we saw, I am just concerned that the community won't be finished for a while due to the current status of the housing market. If you have any information or are hearing about this new community I would be interested in hearing it.

As for my knowledge of Folsom, it is limited. When we were out in October we looked at American River Canyon which we really liked and then another area which I can't recall the location of. We loved the topography of Folsom. We never saw the lake from the neighborhoods we were in, so maybe that helps. I am a little concerned about living in a city with a prison. It doesn't sound like there is an issue with resale in this community, but I'm not sure I'm sold. Again, I don't live there and therefore I am not the expert by any means.

Have a good one!

[Rob98LS1]

Originally Posted by Calidreemer

Hi Rob,
Thank you for your post. I will make a note of the locations you recommended and when we are in Sac next month we will take a look. I was also wondering if you knew anything about the Blackstone development in EDH? We visited in October and liked what we saw, I am just concerned that the community won't be finished for a while due to the current status of the housing market. If you have any information or are hearing about this new community I would be interested in hearing it.

As for my knowledge of Folsom, it is limited. When we were out in October we looked at American River Canyon which we really liked and then another area which I can't recall the location of. We loved the topography of Folsom. We never saw the lake from the neighborhoods we were in, so maybe that helps. I am a little concerned about living in a city with a prison. It doesn't sound like there is an issue with resale in this community, but I'm not sure I'm sold. Again, I don't live there and therefore I am not the expert by any means.

Have a good one!

sorry I wasn't more clear I meant about the homes that overlook folsom lake, the francisco drive area, which is located in edh. Doesn't seem there any models to look at over there.

Actually, I haven't ventured out to the out the other side Highway 50 yet, which is where Blackstone is located if I'm not mistaken. The only thing I am aware of are the prices that are relatively affordable compared to other subdivisions, in the 400k's if I'm not mistaken.

If there are any other questions you have about visiting rocklin when you come up here, feel free to ask!

[Calidreemer]

Hi Rob,
No worries - we didn't get a chance to go to that area in Folsom so I don't have anything to tell you about it. Sounds like we should see it when we visit next month.

The prices in Blackstone have fallen to the high 400k's and upward of mid 600k's with Lennar. I believe there are 5 builders at Blackstone and so far only Lennar and Centex are selling. The others seem to keep extending their start date.

We like solar so we are looking at new homes and the only builders I am aware of that have solar homes are Lennar, Centex, Christopherson, Standard Pacific and Tim Lewis. If you know of others please let me know. If you know of other communities in the foothills that are similar to Folsom, 12 Bridges, EDH let me know because we would love to see them too.

Also, we spent some time walking around and eating lunch in the shopping area off of Latrobe in EDH to get a feel for the community. It helped. I also read meeting minutes on line from some of the EDH city meetings to find out what else was going on in the community. It helped some too. Good luck! Enjoy the weather out there - we are due to go back down to single didgets tonight. Brrrrr!

[Rob98LS1]

Originally Posted by Calidreemer

Hi Rob,
No worries - we didn't get a chance to go to that area in Folsom so I don't have anything to tell you about it. Sounds like we should see it when we visit next month.

The prices in Blackstone have fallen to the high 400k's and upward of mid 600k's with Lennar. I believe there are 5 builders at Blackstone and so far only Lennar and Centex are selling. The others seem to keep extending their start date.

We like solar so we are looking at new homes and the only builders I am aware of that have solar homes are Lennar, Centex, Christopherson, Standard Pacific and Tim Lewis. If you know of others please let me know. If you know of other communities in the foothills that are similar to Folsom, 12 Bridges, EDH let me know because we would love to see them too.

Also, we spent some time walking around and eating lunch in the shopping area off of Latrobe in EDH to get a feel for the community. It helped. I also read meeting minutes on line from some of the EDH city meetings to find out what else was going on in the community. It helped some too. Good luck! Enjoy the weather out there - we are due to go back down to single didgets tonight. Brrrrr!

Where are you located? I am going to do some more searching and contacting some local builders to see which ones are using solar, ect. I was expecting the building in blackstone to be slow because of the economy at the moment, but I really hope they bring down the prices a bit more, especially for those like you looking to get into a home soon up there. As far as other foothill communities besides the one's you stated, are you looking to stay close to Interstate 80 and the HWY 50 corridors? This is where the main building has been and I'm assuming you are only looking at homes in this area correct?

How did you like the shopping at the town center off of latrobe? There is another small town center if you keep driving down latrobe it turns into el dorado hills blvd and at the end of that rd you turn left onto green valley rd and you will come up to it just about a half mile down the road. This is Francisco drive. You will find a nice strip mall as you turn onto francisco drive. If you keep driving, you will come up to the homes that sit on th edge of Folsom Lake (just a fyi). If you have children (not sure), take a quick drive to Kalithea Park. Google map it, it is right off of El dorado hills blvd. This is just to help give you a better feel for the community.

I will get back to you about the solar asap, thank you for you help so far!

[Calidreemer]

Hi Rob,
I probably should have explained we are currently in the midwest. I did live in the Sacramento area in 1990 and haven't gotten the California lifestyle out of my system. We were out a couple of times last year to look around and have really been digging into these communities and employment opportunities. We don't have children so we have a lot more flexibility.

Thanks for the suggestion about going further along Latrobe. We will have to take a drive in that direction.

How's your search going? Have you found out anything more about the communities you are interested in?

[summer99]

Hi,
I used to live in Serrano and currently live in Promontory (not Kalithea...over by Richmond American/Toll Brothers area). I loved living in Serrano. We had fabulous neighbors, lots of kids for my kids to play, always felt safe...just an all-around, nice, family-oriented community. The HOA was $450 a quarter. The CCRs were abit restrictive but, then again, we're pretty conservative/anal so they didn't bother us much (CC&Rs limit what kind of plants you can plant, can't put your garbage can out too early or leave it out too long, your satellite dish has to get painted same color as your house, You can't park your car on the street....must be either in your garage or in your driveway, etc. etc.). The schools that serve the Serrano area are great too.

We now live in Promontory. Promontory doesn't have as many houses as Serrano and, I believe, there are only 4 "villages" + Kalithea, which I believe is exclusively custom-built homes. The other Promontory villages are a mix of custom/semi-custom/developer.

If you're looking for brand new housing in EDH, there are only a handful of developments left (Serrano: Pulte, Toll Brothers, Greenbriar, Shea; Laurel Oaks/Pulte off of Bass Lake Road; Promontory: Richmond American, Toll Brothers and custom in Kalithea; and then Blackstone). Personally, I would avoid Blackstone. The HOAs are high. Plus it's on "that" side of 50 and there's lots of retail going up that way. Traffic is gonna get worse. Also, while they have plans to build an elementary school, the high school that serves that area is, I believe, Union Mine, which is a hike up towards Placerville/Shingle Springs. Even if you don't have kids, as a resale down the road, that can't help.