I liked West Sac...it has potential (I think) (Sacramento: foreclosures, rentals)

[Momandboys]

Hello,

I have gotten wonderful advice from all of you. I did go up to Sacramento this weekend and it was a bit of a culture shock from Marin, but the housing prices were sooooo much better ($160 is my cap, and I think prices are going to drop more)

I looked at West Sacramento and I have to say it was cute! (South of West Capitol, but not South Park) I was told that they are redevoloping it, and will have a street car running through, they are aware of a gang but there is going to be a permanent injuction on them and they leave the "average' person alone, (they live on the north side).

There is a wonderful park with Little Leaguers every Sat. The neighbors had good things to say. It definitely has more crime than Marin, but it appears dueable and the future looks good. Supposedly they are redoing West Cap Avenue and they are expanding the baseball field. I did see some VERY tough characters at the far end of West Cap in the evening. Also, schools are not so good, but I homeschool and I may be able to get them into a good charter school out of the area in the future. But, this is a consideration as it is always best to be in the vicinity of a good school.

Any thoughts? Thanks!

I did see some weird tanks and apparantly they are oil refineries. This seems the most threatening and I would love more information on them. Apparantly they are going to be moved but I didn't quite get the whole story. They looked toxic. Hopefully they wouldn't pollute any home grown vegetables from some past leakage!

Next, I will look at Orangevale and review West Sacramento more closely due to my 2 little boys. Houses were small.

[wburg]

The tanks are a fuel storage facility, not a refinery. There is a pipeline leading from refineries in the Bay Area directly to the tanks--it is distributed via truck and rail to regional fuel facilities. The tanks on the Sacramento side of the river are due to be relocated eventually to the West Sacramento side. They are not going away anytime soon, but they don't emit any smoke or anything so they're not a particularly big risk. The Port of Sacramento means a lot of industry and shipping, which has been West Sacramento's economic engine since the port was completed.

Some of the industrial areas near the river in West Sacramento are going to be relocated, but remember that every industrial facility in West Sacramento also represents jobs. Removing industry means more unemployment, or at best replacement with much lower-paying service jobs.

If things go as planned, in five years or so there will be a streetcar running from West Capitol across the Tower Bridge into downtown Sacramento.

[Beth26]

Yes, the tanks are moving both from the Sac side and West Sac side of the river to the West Sac port area. So both sides of the river will eventually lose the tanks.

Proposed tank-farm move would open land, help port - Sacramento Business Journal:

[david55838]

We love it here. So close to downtown, and great neighbors!

[zen_klown]

If you like West Sac, I hope it works out for you. Once you find a region that you really like, then you can start working on finding a home in that neighborhood you really like. That makes house hunting much easier especially when you are looking from out of the area.

So congrats on finishing the first major step!

[insyder]

Originally Posted by Momandboys

...($160 is my cap, and I think prices are going to drop more)...

At that price you wont be shopping in the newer, non-gang injunction part of town. I'd consider renting a place in the Southport area until prices finally settle.

Originally Posted by Momandboys

...Also, schools are not so good, but I homeschool and I may be able to get them into a good charter school out of the area in the future. But, this is a consideration as it is always best to be in the vicinity of a good school.

I don't know the age of your kids, but the elementary schools are good and the middle and high schools are acceptable and are in line with other schools in the region. A new high school is scheduled to open ahead of schedule in January in the Southport area. There are definately worse places to school your children in the greater Sacramento area. If your kids are small and still love playgrounds, our city parks are top notch!

Originally Posted by Momandboys

...Next, I will look at Orangevale and review West Sacramento more closely due to my 2 little boys. Houses were small.

I do some consulting in Orangevale so I've taken a little look around. Nice area, foothills living, and a world away from downtown Sac. If you plan on working downtown, plan on a nice long commute from Orangevale.


IMHO, West Sac is a nice combination of Sacramento urban living and small town charm. We know and meet a lot of people that were born and raised here in West Sac. They own or work at local businesses and culminate together to form a strong community sense.

A short 2 mile drive brings you across the river and into downtown Sacramento for whatever you might need from the many offices and agencies or for work.

Incentives are bringing some corporate America to West Sac as well. In the last couple of years we've gained: Home Depot, Lowes, Walmart, Target, Ikea and several new restaurants.

In closing, as a West Sac resident I don't really mind the "bad rep" that the city has. It keeps the ignorant away and continuing to crowd Natomas and Elk Grove. This same reputation invites those that wish to look further into things to find they are pleasantly surprised by what the city has to offer.

[The Gadfly]

Insyder is wrong... you can buy a nice home in the State Streets... a very nice neighborhood...5 mins from downtown sac for under 160K I know I did... and it's gang free...nice middle class neighborhoods... west sac will eclipse sac within ten years... good investment choice long term

[zen_klown]

I hope you are right, but I am not sure about that.

During booms a sketchy neighborhood can gentrify as urban pioneers move into a neighborhood as they are priced out of other neighborhoods. You will find more owner occupants, etc. During the most recent housing boom, you had urban pioneers moving into Oak Park, fixing up some of the older homes in that neighborhood.

But during housing downturns, the opposite can occur. Gritty neighborhoods can deteriorate. Foreclosures can cause blight and potential owner occupants suddenly have the buying power to buy into better neighborhoods, so the number of owner occupants in the neighborhood falls. After the late 80's/ early 90's boom, South Natomas went into decline, the number of owner occupants fell. After the late 70's/early 80's boom, Mack Road/Florin lost a lot of its owner occupants. Right now, you can find a lot of those homes that were fixed up during the most recent boom in Oak Park, once again reverting to rentals.

If the bottom of the housing market in the Sacramento area is this year, then the State Streets neighborhood you are talking about will probably hold to start improving again during the next boom. But if this down market continues, the problems from West Capitol Blvd could spill into that neighborhood. I would feel a lot more comfortable buying into that neighborhood once I knew prices had finally stopped falling. Hopefully the neighborhood will hold, but a lot depends on how long this bust lasts.

[insyder]

Originally Posted by The Gadfly

Insyder is wrong... you can buy a nice home in the State Streets... a very nice neighborhood...5 mins from downtown sac for under 160K I know I did... and it's gang free...nice middle class neighborhoods... west sac will eclipse sac within ten years... good investment choice long term

You're right. I forgot about the State Streets. That price point is opening up every month for more and more options anyway.

[Momandboys]

Hello and Thanks for the Great Information Everyone!!

I have not bought anything yet. The State Streets look nice, but after some more analysis I came up with 2 bad things:
1. I talked to a lot of the West Sac neigbhors and they stated there is a fair amount of property crime from Sacramento City people coming over. My concern is as the economy gets worse, the property crime can rise a whole lot.
2. I have become increasingly uneasy about the possibility of flooding...many economists are predicting quite bad economy (see Peter Schiff on You Tube) and I am beginning to doubt that redoing the levees will be done with a bad economy.
3. The gangs don't seem to be as much of a problem as the bad reputation, according to the neighbors, so that is not as much of a worry.


Old downtown Roseville and Rocklin are now on my scope; and Turlock seems promising with a university over there....I just keep researching and looking at median prices to see if they keep falling.

Any insights on Turlock? I have never been there but it is even more affordable. We will be coming up again next week.

Thanks!