Moving to Sacramento Suburbs (Concord, Roseville: rent, HOA fees, insurance)

[Kelly895]

Hi- Is having a pool a big advantage or disadvantage in Sac area as I heard the summers can be pretty hot! Also have heard of Folsom with the leaking of copper pipes problem anybody have that issue? And I have heard that fire insurance is hard to get in some places like Auburn and Cameron Park???

[Chimérique]

Sacramento has an excellent climate for an outdoor pool!

Endless Sun for 8-9 months out of the year. During much of that time, Dry heat with nightly breezes and very Cool mornings.

Sacramento summers are near identical to the 680 corridor in the Bay Area - From Martinez/Concord/Walnut Creek down to Danville/Pleasanton, and/or, the Napa Valley - From Napa up to Calistoga.

[shelato]

Did you grow up with a pool? Do you have kids?

My own thought is that the prime age for pools for kids seems to be from about 6 - 12. In general kids want to play with their friends in the pool. If you live in a neighborhood with few pools, your kid can easily invite his friends over, but if you live in a neighborhood with lots of pools, there can be a tension between kids just wanting to go swimming with their friends and the parents thinking I spent 30-40K on you want to go swimming over at your friend's house and use their pool?

If it were me, I would look at the satellite maps on google to get a sense of how many pools are in the neighborhood and if a lot of neighbors have a pool, I would take a pass on getting my own unless you know you really want your own pool. I might also just a family health club with a pool. Something like this.

https://www.sparetimesportsclubs.com/

The advantage of the club route is they offer swimming instruction for kids, and programs like swim teams with pretty good instruction/coaching for those programs as well as often tennis, a gym and often daycare. But during the period when kids are interested in having a pool, you have access to the pool, but if they lose interest, you can just quit the club.

I personally might prefer to just get a hot tub, they are smaller and cheaper to heat year-round, so they seem to get used more, but I would probably take a pass on owning an actual pool.

[sacreole]

Originally Posted by shelato

Did you grow up with a pool? Do you have kids?

My own thought is that the prime age for pools for kids seems to be from about 6 - 12. In general kids want to play with their friends in the pool. If you live in a neighborhood with few pools, your kid can easily invite his friends over, but if you live in a neighborhood with lots of pools, there can be a tension between kids just wanting to go swimming with their friends and the parents thinking I spent 30-40K on you want to go swimming over at your friend's house and use their pool?

If it were me, I would look at the satellite maps on google to get a sense of how many pools are in the neighborhood and if a lot of neighbors have a pool, I would take a pass on getting my own unless you know you really want your own pool. I might also just a family health club with a pool. Something like this.

https://www.sparetimesportsclubs.com/

The advantage of the club route is they offer swimming instruction for kids, and programs like swim teams with pretty good instruction/coaching for those programs as well as often tennis, a gym and often daycare. But during the period when kids are interested in having a pool, you have access to the pool, but if they lose interest, you can just quit the club.

I personally might prefer to just get a hot tub, they are smaller and cheaper to heat year-round, so they seem to get used more, but I would probably take a pass on owning an actual pool.

This is good advice. There is a new platform/app where pool owners rent out their pools by the hour to people who don't have access to one. It's called Swimply. You can rent out your own pool or find one to use nearby. Another option would be to get a swim spa or hot tub.

https://swimply.com

[movinon]

If you live in a HOA community with its own pool, there's your problem solved. No maintenance costs and hassle for you, the kids can swim with their friends, you can enjoy it however you choose for nothing more than paying your HOA fee.

I can't speak to the Folsom/copper pipe problem as I live in Roseville now, but I can speak to the foothills insurance question. I lived in Nevada County for a number of years prior to the rates going through the roof. Now I couldn't and wouldn't move back there just based on that. The rates on my former house have gone from $900/year to over $4K. It's never been burned nor any of the houses within a couple of miles but it is in a heavily wooded area. But outside of that couple of miles, yes, major fires. I also wouldn't want to be in close proximity of a heavily fire-prone area. I've had to evacuate too many times to want to live with that risk. A lot of people have found that they can't get fire coverage, or have had their policies cancelled. They've had to go through the California FAIR plan which of course is more expensive. Here's a link which gives a good overview of the California FAIR plan.

https://www.policygenius.com/homeown...lan-insurance/

Good luck in finding your perfect place!

[zhangster]

Yes the fire insurance is expensive, but should be attainable through the FAIR Plan.



Yes the summer is hot, compared to the Bay Area. But it's dry-hot so it's quite bearable. The warm summer nights are more fun than the cold summer nights in the Bay Area. We frequently have dinners outside now, something we could rarely do in the South Bay Area.



Never heard of any copper issue in Folsom. If that concerns you, then avoid Folsom.

[Moddedintegra56]

Folsom copper issue
roseville/rocklin/lincoln political issues (conservative red county) not diverse
elk grove more blue more diverse still has the good school and suburb life, closer to the bay area, more delta breeze helps with the hot summers

[hd4me]

Originally Posted by Kelly895

Hi- Is having a pool a big advantage or disadvantage in Sac area as I heard the summers can be pretty hot! Also have heard of Folsom with the leaking of copper pipes problem anybody have that issue? And I have heard that fire insurance is hard to get in some places like Auburn and Cameron Park???

Consider an HOA with a clubhouse/pools unless the family are avid swimmers. HOA fees in the area aren't that much ( I pay 103 a month including pools, clubhouse, security and high speed internet).
Pools cost money to maintain and don't add much to resale value. New homes have small lots and the pool would be the backyard.

Fire insurance isnt a problem in Sac County

Some Folsom homeowners have had expensive copper pipe issues and the cause may be high PH levels/chlorine in the City's water supply.

[mixxalot]

Owning a pool here is great since it gets quite hot starting in May and lasts thru October. I used mine quite a bit last summer and it saved me from using the A/C quite a bit. It does cost a few bucks to maintain for chemicals and repairs.

[caligirlz]

Originally Posted by Kelly895

Hi- Is having a pool a big advantage or disadvantage in Sac area as I heard the summers can be pretty hot! Also have heard of Folsom with the leaking of copper pipes problem anybody have that issue? And I have heard that fire insurance is hard to get in some places like Auburn and Cameron Park???

I live in Folsom and do not have a pool, we survive just fine.
We have not had a issue with the pipes yet, but there is a facebook group available with all the info, resources and class action lawsuit on that situation. I don't think I can post the group here, but msg me and I will give you the name.

Fire insurance is expensive in the foothills, and in some places in folsom due to the higher fire risk.