I am moving to Savannah and encourage everyone to join me! (Richmond Hill: hardwood floors, sale)

[Padgett2]

Take a look at this site. Just plug in the address and click on photo for a look at what it looked like a few months ago. You will also be able to see how it is carried on the county tax digest.

Chatham County

If you want to look at some of the other houses in the neighborhood, use other numbers. Numbers starting in the 2500 block would be south of that address. 2300 block would be north. Odd numbers on one side of the street and the even ones on the opposite.

This is a neighborhood where there is a lot of renovation going on. Whether or not it continues with the present state of home loans, etc. is unknown. I hope that it does continue as the area has a lot of great potential.

[gamecock43]

awww...you guys are too nice!
I will look at the site, I might end up spending all day on the site!
And thanks Ellie for looking at the house. The high wire fence doesnt scare me to much if the house is sitting empty and filled with construction materials, but that gives me a clue to be more aware than ever to check out the neighborhood closely. I want to be sure I can go to New England for the holidays and feel secure knowing my house is ok!
What you said about the city just experiencing a price correction makes sense to me. In FL we have been in a price correction for just over a year now, with about 50% of the houses that were put on the market in the beginning of the housing fall now in forclosure. Realtors are using the 'forclosure' status as an incentive to buy and post a 'forclosure' sign right on top of the for sale sign.
So I have been surrounded by a failing market and assumed the rest of the country in general has been the same way. But FL was hit the hardest with the market boom, and would be the first to fall, and fall the hardest. I need to be patient. But I am still all set up to look when I come to Savannah in July, so I will look and get educated.
And I'm lucky to be in shopping in a price range that is my 'forever home' rather than 'starter home', but I guess a starter home would have taught me alot for this process.
I really appreciate you guys going out of your way like that, and I value your opinion being a local and having a first hand perspective.

[Padgett2]

We drove by the house this morning. It definately is in a transitional neighborhood. I think for the money that you could do better.

But the lines of the house are good. It is BIG. And it's going to cost a bundle to keep up and heat.

Be sure to check the following on any of these older homes:

Has the original wiring been replaced? This is a MUST!!

Does it have central heat and air conditioning? Most of them don't and window A/C units spoil the look of the house. It gets terribly muggy in Savannah in the summer.

Does it have off street parking? Another Must Have item in my book.

If it has new plumbing fixtures, were the pipes also replaced? That age house may have a problem with leaking pipes.

Have you thought about what it will take to repaint all that wood in a few years?

While you are here, take a look at the Baldwin Park neighborhood. That's another area that is being reclaimed house by house. When you compare one block with the next, it is just amazing what is being done to these older houses.

[ellie]

That's really funny Padgett that you went and looked at the house too. I guess it's typical for Savannah folk. We're pretty curious, huh?

I'm going to stop short of telling you where and what to buy Gamecock, since you'll be following your muse. But if you ever want a second opinion about a neighborhood, I'll ride through and let you know what I think.

And - I think as Padgett stated in another thread, no place anywhere is perfectly safe. You know that already, of course.

[gamecock43]

Man you guys are awsome! I am excited that you guys think there are better houses for the money and there are better neighborhoods around. Living outside Savannah, Victorian homes are so rare, especially in FL. So I see a house like that and my impulse tells me to jump because I feel there might not be another. LOL. Of course it's not that way in Savannah and once I am there in July I will likely be overwhelmed at the possibilities.
I have been on the county assessors page and its my new favorite website. LOL.
And I agree that I cant handle a house that does not have the big things already taken care of, like electricity, plumbing, roofing and foundation. And I have not thought about painting the whole outside of it. I know that will come up eventually, but I was hoping it had been done by the previous owner when they fixed it up to sell.
The house is to big for me and my fiance (and our dogs). On the listing it seemed like a good deal so I have to check it out. But when I get up there I will be looking at realistic sized houses.

[SavannahGA]

Please see my site: savannahpix.com

[Padgett2]

Yeah, take your time. The old "Victorian" style houses are about a dime a dozen here. Mainly there are two types......those that have been restored and cost a bundle, and those that have NOT been restored and will cost a bundle to fix.

Think long and hard about those older homes and painting. They have coats and coats of paint. At least one of which was put over a dirty, unscraped surface. They soon peel and need scrapping because of this. You'll see the peeling paint on these old beauties as you look around.

Oh, and I looked at that realtor.com site. Interesting. I got to tell you that some of those people live in a dream world. There is no way in this world that they will get that kind of money for that house in that neighborhood. It means for sure that there is room to haggle on some of them.

A brief history of housing in Savannah. There was the Victorian style big house, with lots of rooms...many of these were turned into two family homes later.....then came the smaller cottage type. A good example of these would be in the Baldwin Park area. Then came WWII and building came to a stop. After the war was over, little cracker box housing sprung up quickly to fill a desperate need for single family homes.

The came the ranch style houses in the 1950. They all look a lot alike. Many have been remodeled and added onto....some with strange results. The older neighborhoods have begun to go downhill. Dinky crackerboxes are still being built. The Victorian section is beginning to look very bad. These house are just hard to keep up. They are well built of good lumber, but plaster walls crack, and foundations sag. The younger couples are choosing to live further out into the suburbs.

Now, we are in a period where there is money available to fix these older ones up. There's a lot to be said for living in a neighborhood with sidewalks and small yards. Whether or not a neighborhood is "good" is hard to tell without seeing the surrounding houses. Renewal is slowly creeping southward, but the way the city is laid out, there is a limit to how well it works in some areas.

Good luck in finding what you want. Don't let your realtor give you a snow job. Be sure that you find the nearest supermarket and shopping center.

[gamecock43]

Thanks Padgett.
I looked at the county assesors page and have spent the day deciphering how to read the documents, and have concluded that many of these sellers are living in a dreamworld for these listing prices. The Barnard house was purchased in 2006 for $163k and pulled no permits to do any renovations. Now they are trying to sell it for $80,000 over what they bought it for 2 yrs ago.
So you and Ellie were right on telling me that it's overpriced. The good news is that it was at the tippety top of my price range before seeing the assessors page, and now its actually right in the mid-to low price range! So that assessors page will save me tens of thousands of dollars and sadly, none of my home-owner friends have ever told me about this document. Ouch when I think about their home buying experience.
I feel much more informed when I go to Savannah in July, and wont have to rely on the realtor to look out for me.

[Lotus Gal]

Gamecock,

My husband and I were talking about our long-term moving plans yesterday morning and we sort of came to the same conclusion: if you're going to make a permanent move, why not be someplace that really knocks your socks off, right?

I admire your determination to go and experience the city for yourself. And surely any person's experience with any locale is at least partly governed by their attitude toward it. I don't want to be scared off of Savannah by the negative reports on these forums, so we'll probably be right behind you in moving next spring. But until then, please keep this forum posted on your Savannah experience. I fell in love with the city on a spring break in college and have been back there 9 times in 7 seven years. But visiting surely isn't the same as living there.

So this is a fervent request, PLEASE keep us posted with your honest experiences.

I wish you the best of luck!

[gamecock43]

I will give you guys a rundown of my experience when I go look around in early July.
I dont want to scare anyone away but I just talked to a family member who works in the financial industry and he painted a not so great outlook for the next few years of our economy.
The price of gas is not done going up, and will continue to go up until people all but dont leave their house. He said compnies are scrambling to bring in hybrids and better gas efficient cars but it is a few years off before that goes mainstream. In the meantime, companies will start offering more work-from-home jobs.
Basically what that means to me is; Tourism will be the first to be affected. People will stop driving out of town to visit places, and of course, the cost of flying will skyrocket, effectively also contributing to a decline in tourism. And of course, big ticket items such as arts, shopping and high end resteraunts will also decline alot.
I am a little concerned because Savannah is such a tourist-y, and artsy city. I am concerned about getting a job. I know the job market is not strong to begin with, but I have a masters degree and figured since I have savings, I can afford to accept a lower paying job than other cities would offer, but I DO need a job.
So I am going in early July to look around, and I am very excited about it. I am just strongly considering renting for a year to be sure I get a job before I buy. I am not normally cautious, I tend to jump in and learn to swim, but in my older years I feel I have alot to lose if I jump in at the wrong time in the economy.
The good news is that housing prices will continue to go down.