Intown Atlanta Single Family + Privacy + Medium Lot (Decatur, North Decatur: foreclosures, townhomes)

[pria114]

Hey guys,

First off, thanks so much in advance for your help.

I've been searching for the past few months and starting to think my request is a bit delusional, although I am still hopeful and very eager to get what I want. My wants seem to be very conflicting when it comes to my home search (especially with price ).

Situation:
-No kids and DON'T plan on having any in the near future
-Age 25-30
-Currently resides in Garden Hills (too much drive-through traffic, other than that AWESOME!)
-Too much room in 600 sq.ft w/2 people!

Bare minimum/Must have:
-Under 300k
-Safety
-1/5 acre lot - 1 acre PRIVATE lot (raising chickens, small backyard pond, and lots of fruit & nut trees AND veggie planting)
-Under 2,000 sq.ft
-SAFE and clean looking Intown Atlanta or Decatur (so a big NO to EAV - I tried)

Perfect home:
-Fixer upper (my BF is picky and wants things perfect, plus he is already "settling" (no comment) for this type of home)
-Buckhead location
-2 bd/2 bth
-1200-1500sq.ft
-1/4 private not too wooded, leveled lot (private = very few neighbors, space between homes, can't see their home from my backyard)
-Home style preference: The cute character, home size, and charm of homes in: Brookwood Hills, Peachtree Park, Garden Hills, and Morningside
-Neighborhood preference: The privacy, lot size, and safety of homes in: Arden, Habersham, Mount Paran, Northside, Chastain Park, East Chastain Park, Haynes Manor, Kingswood, & lots of North Buckhead

Can I find some sort of hybrid or medium to my perfect home list and in what areas?

It seems like what conflicts is the small square footage + decent sized lot. The character/charm also goes away with a large lot size, I can UNFORTUNATELY sacrifice this for lot size and smaller sq.ft.

Please no criticism, just advice! Thanks so much.

[researchnerd]

Your lot size requirement seems to conflict with your desire for privacy/few neighbors, unless you want a super-tall privacy fence. If the neighborhood is all 1/4-acre lots, that puts everyone in pretty close proximity. Larger lots are easier to find outside the city.

You might take a look at Candler Park or Lake Claire. They may be a bit out of your price range, but the SF, lot size and garden-friendliness seem to match what you're looking for, and you might be able to find a fixer-upper. As I'm sure you already know, you'll have a lot of trouble finding anything affordable in Morningside or Buckhead.

Also -- if you are serious about chickens, be aware that many subdivisions and communities prohibit them. Decatur is known to be fine with chickens, but they've had huge battles in other areas over this. Check neighborhood, county and local ordinances before buying.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by pria114

Hey guys,

First off, thanks so much in advance for your help.

I've been searching for the past few months and starting to think my request is a bit delusional, although I am still hopeful and very eager to get what I want. My wants seem to be very conflicting when it comes to my home search (especially with price ).

Situation:
-No kids and DON'T plan on having any in the near future
-Age 25-30
-Currently resides in Garden Hills (too much drive-through traffic, other than that AWESOME!)
-Too much room in 600 sq.ft w/2 people!

Bare minimum/Must have:
-Under 300k
-Safety
-1/5 acre lot - 1 acre PRIVATE lot (raising chickens, small backyard pond, and lots of fruit & nut trees AND veggie planting)
-Under 2,000 sq.ft
-SAFE and clean looking Intown Atlanta or Decatur (so a big NO to EAV - I tried)

Perfect home:
-Fixer upper (my BF is picky and wants things perfect, plus he is already "settling" (no comment) for this type of home)
-Buckhead location
-2 bd/2 bth
-1200-1500sq.ft
-1/4 private not too wooded, leveled lot (private = very few neighbors, space between homes, can't see their home from my backyard)
-Home style preference: The cute character, home size, and charm of homes in: Brookwood Hills, Peachtree Park, Garden Hills, and Morningside
-Neighborhood preference: The privacy, lot size, and safety of homes in: Arden, Habersham, Mount Paran, Northside, Chastain Park, East Chastain Park, Haynes Manor, Kingswood, & lots of North Buckhead

Can I find some sort of hybrid or medium to my perfect home list and in what areas?

It seems like what conflicts is the small square footage + decent sized lot. The character/charm also goes away with a large lot size, I can UNFORTUNATELY sacrifice this for lot size and smaller sq.ft.

Please no criticism, just advice! Thanks so much.

Maybe try the Medlock Park neighborhood in the Emory/North Decatur Area:

Medlock Area Neighborhood Association (MANA)





Also try the Underwood Hills and Berkeley Park neighborhoods in the "inner-northern" part of the Westside.

Underwood Hills Neighborhood Association

Welcome to Berkeley Park (http://www.berkeleypark.org/ - broken link)





Loring Heights in the northwest part of Greater Midtown is another possibility:

The Loring Heights Neighborhood Association, Atlanta, GA





I hope this helps. Good Luck!

[IntownHomes247]

Originally Posted by aries4118

Maybe try the Medlock Park neighborhood in the Emory/North Decatur Area:

Medlock Area Neighborhood Association (MANA)

Legally, you'll have problems raising chickens in unincorporated DeKalb, especially on a smallish lot because there are zoning restrictions on how close the chickens can be to neighboring lots. Medlock Park has smallish lots plus the added problem of Peachtree Creek, so it's not ideal for urban homesteading.

I think your best bet to find something intown that suits the majority of your criteria would be inside the City of Decatur (which is particularly chicken friendly and has lots of garden people radiating out from the Oakhurst Community Garden). Of course, your budget will be just as limiting a factor in Decatur as it would be in Buckhead (where I can't imagine you'll be able to find what you're looking for without something miraculous happening).

Is an eastside location a dealbreaker for you?

Another area where you'd be able to find a house on a lot large enough for chickens and gardening under $300k would be the Northlake area (also unincorporated DeKalb).

Of course on the Westside there's that area of Riverside that has lots of foreclosures. You could certainly find something cheap over there if that area suits your needs better. But as far as being in the heart of Buckhead, I can't see much likelihood of finding anything that meets your criteria within your budget.

[IntownHomes247]

FYI, just did a quick search in 30030 for 2 BR/2 BA homes under $300k and found more than 30 possibilities, including a number of really cute places in Oakhurst.

[pria114]

Originally Posted by researchnerd

Your lot size requirement seems to conflict with your desire for privacy/few neighbors, unless you want a super-tall privacy fence. If the neighborhood is all 1/4-acre lots, that puts everyone in pretty close proximity. Larger lots are easier to find outside the city.

You might take a look at Candler Park or Lake Claire. They may be a bit out of your price range, but the SF, lot size and garden-friendliness seem to match what you're looking for, and you might be able to find a fixer-upper. As I'm sure you already know, you'll have a lot of trouble finding anything affordable in Morningside or Buckhead.

Also -- if you are serious about chickens, be aware that many subdivisions and communities prohibit them. Decatur is known to be fine with chickens, but they've had huge battles in other areas over this. Check neighborhood, county and local ordinances before buying.

Like I said...I am defintely fine w/more land! Thanks for reminding me on how small 1/4 acre is!

Candler and Lake Claire are adorable but not private enough and they have a few foreclosures in the high 100s-to high 200s. I agree that the garden friendliness match, including ton of fixer-uppers.

I live in Buckhead now for my budget, there has to be something else (crossing fingers, doesn't seem to convinced, lol).

Didn't know about Decatur and chickens, I know Atlanta is fine. I thought Decatur was OK b/c of the Oakhurst Community Garden chickens.

Thanks for your help!

[pria114]

Originally Posted by aries4118

Maybe try the Medlock Park neighborhood in the Emory/North Decatur Area:

Medlock Area Neighborhood Association (MANA)





Also try the Underwood Hills and Berkeley Park neighborhoods in the "inner-northern" part of the Westside.

Underwood Hills Neighborhood Association

Welcome to Berkeley Park (http://www.berkeleypark.org/ - broken link)





Loring Heights in the northwest part of Greater Midtown is another possibility:

The Loring Heights Neighborhood Association, Atlanta, GA





I hope this helps. Good Luck!

Berkeley Park is a BIG NO! Walmart too close, not private at all, don't like the area, too trashy for me!

Underwood Hills is OK at best.

Loring Heights, the homes look at bit trailerish and still the privacy is non-existent. I do like where Loring is located.

I guess like I originally said...my request is just ridiculous without an increase in budget

[pria114]

Originally Posted by IntownHomes247

Legally, you'll have problems raising chickens in unincorporated DeKalb, especially on a smallish lot because there are zoning restrictions on how close the chickens can be to neighboring lots. Medlock Park has smallish lots plus the added problem of Peachtree Creek, so it's not ideal for urban homesteading.

I think your best bet to find something intown that suits the majority of your criteria would be inside the City of Decatur (which is particularly chicken friendly and has lots of garden people radiating out from the Oakhurst Community Garden). Of course, your budget will be just as limiting a factor in Decatur as it would be in Buckhead (where I can't imagine you'll be able to find what you're looking for without something miraculous happening).

Is an eastside location a dealbreaker for you?

Another area where you'd be able to find a house on a lot large enough for chickens and gardening under $300k would be the Northlake area (also unincorporated DeKalb).

Of course on the Westside there's that area of Riverside that has lots of foreclosures. You could certainly find something cheap over there if that area suits your needs better. But as far as being in the heart of Buckhead, I can't see much likelihood of finding anything that meets your criteria within your budget.

From the Eastside...the only thing at one point I considered was East Lake, really not as bad as I thought it was going to be, especially the areas closer to Oakhurst, but it's not as private as I would like (although close), the lot sizes for the price match, but the surrounding area (excluding Oakhurst) are just terrible IMO. The one side w/all the liquor stores and lower fast food chains.

Glad you mentioned urban homesteading...b/c that's my exact goal + cistern, solar, and green rood (which is why I WISH I could stay within budget b/c this stuff will add up). Atlanta is still "working" on making water harvesting "legal" for potable use, which I could care less about

Thanks so much for your help. I'm not familiar with Medlock and I will check it out. I like some parts of Historic Druid Hills, but again, not private enough like the Wesley, Paces, etc. areas.

I WILL FIND IT (that was my determined voice)!

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by researchnerd

Also -- if you are serious about chickens, be aware that many subdivisions and communities prohibit them. Decatur is known to be fine with chickens, but they've had huge battles in other areas over this. Check neighborhood, county and local ordinances before buying.

I can't speak for other neighborhoods but chickens are specifically authorized in the City of Atlanta under § 18-7 of the code. However, you can't have over 25 of them.

If you're planning on getting a rooster you might want to talk to your neighbor about it since they can make quite a ruckus in the morning.

[pria114]

I wanted to add I am open to a lot purchase, but then I would like the budget to go down to more like 150K..which is a REAL impossibility in Buckhead, b/c what happens is the lots are made for those huge monstrosities they call homes and are priced for people to build homes that are going to be valued at about 700K+ when complete.

My 2bd/2ba, 1100sq.ft home I would build on the 1 acre or a little less would not work mathematically for lots 450K+.

I guess I'm being either too picky or too cheap (most likely both).