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Old 09-07-2012, 08:47 AM
 
6 posts, read 10,768 times
Reputation: 15

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Hello. I currently live in Milton, GA (northern Alpharetta) which my family and I absolutely love! It's very sad, but due to a job loss, we can no longer afford to keep our home. So I've been looking to rent a house here to keep my 2 children (5 & 9) in the school they/we LOVE (Birmingham Falls Elem) but it doesn't look good. The rent in this area is outrageous (btw there are no apts/townhome/condos in this area). For under $2000 what you get is an old ranch w/ lots of TLC needed. If we couldn't stay at Birmingham Falls (which feeds into the new Cambridge H.S.), we were considering other elementary schools immediately surrounding, Cogburn Woods, Summit Hill, Crabapple Crossing...all great schools that feed into Milton H.S. or Cambridge H.S., but still, rent is high.

I hate the thought of leaving this area, but it looks like we may have to. Here's where I need your help. Can you recommend areas that are comparable to what we have here in Milton? I love the rural feel of his place, and the horse farms, yet everything you need in the way of shopping, dining is within 5-7 miles. Since we just moved to GA from Ohio 2 yrs ago, I don't know much outside this area. It seems like I can get a much larger, better quality home in Cherokee County (w/ some elbow room), but I know nothing about the school district there. My children are in advance/accelerated classes, so I'd need a school that can challenge them. Any help would be much appreciated!

With the kids, I'd like to be in a swim/tennis w/ at least 1/3 to 1 acre lot. for now, I'm working from home but may need to commute in the future. Looking to spend under $1,800/month for rent.
thanks!
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Old 09-07-2012, 08:57 AM
 
Location: ๏̯͡๏﴿ Gwinnett-That's a Civil Matter-County
2,118 posts, read 6,343,003 times
Reputation: 3547
The way it generally works here is the farther out you go, the cheaper the real estate.
But that also means the farther away you will be from potential job opportunities and other things that the city provides and some would say that impacts quality of life.

Your biggest problem is going to be finding the lot sizes you are looking for. Most newer subdivisions found in sprawlburbia are on postage stamp lots. The second biggest problem you could run into is finding rentals in swim/tennis communities as many of them restrict the number of properties in the neighborhood can be rented not to mention the rent will be higher because your landlord is paying a fortune in maintenance for that stuff. My advice would be find a rental that's cheaper in a non- swimm/tennis subd then save your money and buy a membership for your family in a park system, YMCA, or similiar which offers the same amenities.
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Old 09-07-2012, 09:47 AM
 
13,975 posts, read 25,815,937 times
Reputation: 39851
Cittic makes some good points. Most of the properties on large lots are going to contain older homes. But, don't discount them as liveable. I have a good friend in the same school district you are in who rented one of those older ranches for $1800. When I first saw it I was not impressed, but now that they've moved in, I wouldn't mind trading my newer, bigger home for what they have. One of the perks is that the owners are older. They aren't able to do the maintenance required, so they provided a great home warranty with the lease which has worked out well.

This friend actually moved from Cherokee for the Milton schools. They weren't unhappy with the education, but felt the schools were very crowded. They were in Woodstock. I'm not sure if that has been solved by opening new schools or not but it's something to be aware of.
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Old 09-07-2012, 10:44 AM
 
Location: Odessa, FL
2,218 posts, read 4,347,859 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cittic10 View Post
...not to mention the rent will be higher because your landlord is paying a fortune in maintenance for that stuff.
$700/year is hardly a fortune. The rent will be higher because those houses are more desirable and can command higher prices.
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Old 09-07-2012, 10:59 AM
 
Location: ๏̯͡๏﴿ Gwinnett-That's a Civil Matter-County
2,118 posts, read 6,343,003 times
Reputation: 3547
Quote:
Originally Posted by billl View Post
$700/year is hardly a fortune. The rent will be higher because those houses are more desirable and can command higher prices.
Maybe not for you it isn't, but for for someone who just lost their job and has to move because they can no longer afford alpharetta, it might be. That's not to say it won't be higher because there's fewer rentals in swim tennis communities also. Having a pool and tennis court by no means automatically makes the neighborhood desirable. The actual amount paid for maintenance depends on the number of homes that are actually paying their dues. That can vary widely. The less homes paying dues as you might expect with larger lots, the more the dues will be because less people paying into the pot.

And even if it was $700, that is a lot more than the $3-$4 admission fee at the local -award winning- county park aquatic center like we have here in gwinnett that's indoors and open year round unlike some pathetic little pool in a subdivision that's open for half the year tops.
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Old 09-07-2012, 12:05 PM
 
16,626 posts, read 29,278,105 times
Reputation: 7550
Quote:
Originally Posted by dinabehlke View Post
Hello. I currently live in Milton, GA (northern Alpharetta) which my family and I absolutely love! It's very sad, but due to a job loss, we can no longer afford to keep our home. So I've been looking to rent a house here to keep my 2 children (5 & 9) in the school they/we LOVE (Birmingham Falls Elem) but it doesn't look good. The rent in this area is outrageous (btw there are no apts/townhome/condos in this area). For under $2000 what you get is an old ranch w/ lots of TLC needed. If we couldn't stay at Birmingham Falls (which feeds into the new Cambridge H.S.), we were considering other elementary schools immediately surrounding, Cogburn Woods, Summit Hill, Crabapple Crossing...all great schools that feed into Milton H.S. or Cambridge H.S., but still, rent is high.

I hate the thought of leaving this area, but it looks like we may have to. Here's where I need your help. Can you recommend areas that are comparable to what we have here in Milton? I love the rural feel of his place, and the horse farms, yet everything you need in the way of shopping, dining is within 5-7 miles. Since we just moved to GA from Ohio 2 yrs ago, I don't know much outside this area. It seems like I can get a much larger, better quality home in Cherokee County (w/ some elbow room), but I know nothing about the school district there. My children are in advance/accelerated classes, so I'd need a school that can challenge them. Any help would be much appreciated!

With the kids, I'd like to be in a swim/tennis w/ at least 1/3 to 1 acre lot. for now, I'm working from home but may need to commute in the future. Looking to spend under $1,800/month for rent.
thanks!

A job loss and a possible move (especially for children) is always a tough+sad situation. With that said, I think you are smart in considering a move to Cherokee County or Forsyth County in order to make things better for your family.


Both Cherokee County and Forysth County have excellent schools.


Based on your criteria...

For Cherokee County, I recommend looking into the Sequoyah High Cluster and the Creekview High Cluster. The Arnold Mill Elementary School District in the River Ridge High Cluster could also be a good choice (see maps below).

http://portal.cherokee.k12.ga.us/dep...Boundaries.pdf

http://portal.cherokee.k12.ga.us/dep...uoyah%20HS.pdf

http://portal.cherokee.k12.ga.us/dep...kview%20HS.pdf

http://portal.cherokee.k12.ga.us/dep...0Mill%20ES.pdf


For Forsyth County, I recommend looking into the West Forsyth High Cluster (see map and link below).

OnPoint Map Viewer {Choose "High School" in the top right-hand corner}

http://www.forsyth.k12.ga.us/site/De...x?PageID=22982


Here is some other useful information:

Welcome

Forsyth County Schools / Overview



I hope this helps some. Good Luck!

Last edited by aries4118; 09-07-2012 at 01:14 PM..
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Old 09-07-2012, 12:20 PM
 
16,626 posts, read 29,278,105 times
Reputation: 7550
Here is a great article for the OP and others participating in this thread:

What matters more to my kids’ future: Their school or quality time with their parents? - The Washington Post
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Old 09-07-2012, 01:15 PM
 
Location: Atlanta
738 posts, read 1,371,493 times
Reputation: 332
I'm sorry to hear about the loss of your home. The same thing happened to us a few years ago, for the same reason, and it was really difficult.

You should be able to find what you need in Cherokee. Until last year we rented a 2400 SF 3/2 home there on 2 acres for $1250/month. No swim/tennis, but it was in a nice, newer subdivision with mountain views, near horse farms. My son went to school in the Macedonia/Creekland/Creekview school system and he did fine.
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Old 09-07-2012, 01:19 PM
 
16,626 posts, read 29,278,105 times
Reputation: 7550
Quote:
Originally Posted by researchnerd View Post
I'm sorry to hear about the loss of your home. The same thing happened to us a few years ago, for the same reason, and it was really difficult.

You should be able to find what you need in Cherokee. Until last year we rented a 2400 SF 3/2 home there on 2 acres for $1250/month. No swim/tennis, but it was in a nice, newer subdivision with mountain views, near horse farms. My son went to school in the Macedonia/Creekland/Creekview school system and he did fine.

A good school district--and one of the areas I recommended above.
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Old 09-07-2012, 01:20 PM
 
9,124 posts, read 36,262,305 times
Reputation: 3629
If you're looking for swim/tennis in Cherokee, you're likely not going to find a 1 acre lot. We're in Harmony on the Lakes in Holly Springs, on one of the larger lots, and it's only 1/3 of an acre. You can rent a 2,200sf 4br/2.5ba house in here for about $1,500/month, and the schools are excellent. We're in the Indian Knoll Elementary/Dean Rusk Middle/Sequoyah HS district, and we've been extremely impressed with the schools. Indian Knoll was a brand new school opened last year, and Dean Rusk's replacement is starting construction next year.
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