[ETex2]

Once again we are considering HSV for our vacation home. We will spend maybe one or two weeks a year there plus several long weekends. We're also considering putting the home in the rental program to offset expenses like dues, taxes, insurance, etc.. The thing is, our total investment will be limited to around $90K. We've seen several decent looking homes on the net for around $75-80K, with a little fix-up and modernization it seems we could have a nice 2BR-2BA around 1200 SF or so.

We are wondering what the attitudes are within the village itself. Is there much snobbery and folks that look down on the lower priced older neighborhoods? We were surprised at the attitudes of some old friends - the wife said she'd "never want to live in those areas". Hmmm - not that worried about this person, but is that predominant there? Didn't think there was such a thing as a "bad neighborhood" in HSV. Crime shouldn't be much of a problem hopefully. We won't be living there full time of course.

[btoverdrive]

Originally Posted by ETex2

Once again we are considering HSV for our vacation home. We will spend maybe one or two weeks a year there plus several long weekends. We're also considering putting the home in the rental program to offset expenses like dues, taxes, insurance, etc.. The thing is, our total investment will be limited to around $90K. We've seen several decent looking homes on the net for around $75-80K, with a little fix-up and modernization it seems we could have a nice 2BR-2BA around 1200 SF or so.

We are wondering what the attitudes are within the village itself. Is there much snobbery and folks that look down on the lower priced older neighborhoods? We were surprised at the attitudes of some old friends - the wife said she'd "never want to live in those areas". Hmmm - not that worried about this person, but is that predominant there? Didn't think there was such a thing as a "bad neighborhood" in HSV. Crime shouldn't be much of a problem hopefully. We won't be living there full time of course.

There are no "bad" neighborhood in HSV. The only difference is older, smaller homes on the west side vs newer, larger homes towards the east end. I have lived here almost 3 years and have not noticed any snobbery. I live on the east end but some our good friends live on the west end. I guess it just depends on who you are and how you look at things.

[JeffAtkins]

I've lived on both ends of the Village, each end has its advantages. Currently on the west end and haven't had any desire to move back to the east. There *are* some newer homes on the west end, just not as many. Also, many of the oldest homes have carports instead of garages. Crime is not an issue except when a group of kids get out of control and get into unlocked cars. There are several rental management companies that will handle the rental program for you, if you don't want to do it yourself. I bought and remodeled a 1700 sqft home on a golf course for under $100k.

[jimnelson1]

We bought a house in the Village last summer. While there are houses throughout the Village, the west side has mainly older, less expensive homes. The east side has the newer more expensive and larger homes.

If there is any snob factor here, I've missed it. But I don't pay any attention to such things anyway.

We are on the west side, about three miles in from the west gate. Personally I wouldn't want to live on the east side, unless I was driving in to Little Rock every day. Outside the west gate are several restaurants, a couple of fast food places, a Wal Mart, auto parts, car repair, a hardware store, Sears home store, etc. outside the east gate is a grocery store, dollar store, gas station, and a few small shops. But if you go into Little Rock frequently, it's almost as far from the west gate to the east gate (14 miles) as it is from the east gate to Benton.

You need to be prepared to be a little bit isolated. My wife works 100% from home and is going a bit stir crazy. I travel within the state for my job, and find this to be a good central location for me.

The biggest thing I've found is a complete misperception of what the Village is like. You'll even see it on here in opinions expressed by people who have never been here. I will just say that I doubt it's what you expect and almost everyone seems to like it.

[Luvvarkansas]

The west side sounds like the side for me.

So, here is a question I never got an answer to....in the condominium neighborhoods, is there an extra POA fee, in addition to the $36 POA fee for Hot Springs in general? I'm wondering if maybe that's why some of those condos are so inexpensive (besides being dated, but even that wouldn't completely explain the low prices, in my mind).

Jim Nelson, you mentioned having to drive 14 miles to the east gate in order to go to Little Rock....it wouldn't take less time, if you live near the west gate, to just go out to 7 and then back to 5? I would think that the speed limit in HSV would be pretty slow (what are the speed limits like, anyway?), and it would take a long time to drive those 14 miles.

Guess I had 2 questions.

Going stir crazy wouldn't be a problem for me, not when I had 26 miles of walking trails to explore.

[Luvvarkansas]

Originally Posted by JeffAtkins

I bought and remodeled a 1700 sqft home on a golf course for under $100k.

Would that 100K be before or after the remodel?

[ETex2]

It's been almost 10 years since we've been to HSV. Most of our experience there was during the '90s; I fell in love with the place then and always thought I'd like to have a vacation home there. But I've been visiting Hot Springs most of my life. We plan a trip in March to look around, see a few homes, stay in a rental, and maybe play some golf. Our friends who did move there from the Dallas area did so mostly due to his love of golf and the natural beauty of the village. He flies out of Little Rock a lot, and built a home on the east side. But we've stayed a few times in townhouses on the west side. The isolation is perfect for a vacation home IMO. At least it will be for us. I've had a lake home or place in the country to unwind and retreat to all of my adult life, and we sold the last one three years ago. I miss it so much it's just time to do it again before I get too old to enjoy it and make the 5 hour drive from the DFW metromess.

[JeffAtkins]

Originally Posted by Luvvarkansas

Would that 100K be before or after the remodel?

After... paid under $80k for the house, most of the money was spend on flooring, paint, new appliances.

[JeffAtkins]

Originally Posted by Luvvarkansas

The west side sounds like the side for me.

So, here is a question I never got an answer to....in the condominium neighborhoods, is there an extra POA fee, in addition to the $36 POA fee for Hot Springs in general? I'm wondering if maybe that's why some of those condos are so inexpensive (besides being dated, but even that wouldn't completely explain the low prices, in my mind).

Jim Nelson, you mentioned having to drive 14 miles to the east gate in order to go to Little Rock....it wouldn't take less time, if you live near the west gate, to just go out to 7 and then back to 5? I would think that the speed limit in HSV would be pretty slow (what are the speed limits like, anyway?), and it would take a long time to drive those 14 miles.

Guess I had 2 questions.

Going stir crazy wouldn't be a problem for me, not when I had 26 miles of walking trails to explore.

There are condo fees in addition to the $36.68 (as of 01/01/2014) monthly POA assessment. I think they are in the $90/month range, but not sure. The only other area with additional assessments is Diamante subdivision, which is a private club within HSV.


I'm about 3 miles from the West gate. If I'm going to the East gate (or on to Benton) I go through the Village. If I'm going to I-30 West (towards Texarkana) it is a toss up between 7S to 5E to 128 <vs> DeSoto to 5E to Owensville Cut-Off to 128.

If I was *at* the West gate, I'd take 7S to 5E to 128 to get to I-30, regardless if I was going East or West on I-30.

Just depends on exactly where you are, and your personal preferences.

[jimnelson1]

Jeff and I must live fairly near each other.

As far as the best way to get from point A to point B ... It all depends where you are starting from. But you can make decent time crossing the village on DeSoto, the main road. It's 14 miles across the Village, but there is only one stop sign and the speed limit is 45 mph.

Jeff, thanks again for your assistance last year when we bought a house in the Village.