Help!!! Considering Resale at Plaza Midtown, need ADVICE!!! (Atlanta, Decatur: apartments, renter)

[vbarber]

If you don't feel like reading the first part, the most important part of my question is at the end!

I work in Midtown Atlanta and live in Decatur. My lease will be up soon at the end of February. I love my apartment and never had any problems. I have been living there since I moved to Atlanta to attend law school at Emory. But now I make more money and I am not fund of traffic, I want to either move into an apartment or get a condo in Midtown. I was considering Plaza Midtown. They have a couple of resales that I was considering. However, lately I made a mistake by watching the news and now I am scared out of my wits of living anywhere in Atlanta. At first I was considering moving in an apartment at Bryson Square or Camden Brook wood off Peachtree and 26th Street. However I saw a news store about breaks ins that they have been having at Camden and even check out there ratings online and saw that a lot of people had some bad things to say about them and Bryson Square. I only pay $650 a month at my current apartment and I have never experience any problems. They are not the best apartments, but they were perfect for a near broke Law Student. I really don't want to pay $1000 a month for a 1 bedroom apartment that might be high end, but risk getting my car broke into, apartment robbed, or vandals pulling the fire alarm. So I was considering the condo at Plaza Midtown. Although I will be paying a total of $2,500 a month for a 2 bedroom, my primary concern is safety. I might come from humble beginnings from the South Side of Memphis, but I don't want to live around crime.

So considering all that I have stated here, would anyone recommend the Plaza Midtown. Does anyone know much about the building, like the residents, the Homeowners Association, any noise levels, the pro's and con's of Plaza Midtown. Please Help! I need to make a decision soon. THANKS!!!

[atlantagreg30127]

Originally Posted by vbarber

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I work in Midtown Atlanta and live in Decatur. My lease will be up soon at the end of February. I love my apartment and never had any problems.

I only pay $650 a month at my current apartment and I have never experience any problems.

Well first, I'll ask this...

You only pay $650 a month, and you've said not once but twice that you've never had any problems at your current place, and that you love your current place as well. I can find very few people in Atlanta who can say they LOVE their place and have had NO problems at all. So... why are you moving?

I know you say traffic bugs you, but you do live in Decatur and work in Midtown - there are MARTA rail stations in both locations. Are you off the beaten path at either end where you can't walk to or get to a rail station easily? That would certainly help the commute problem.

Either way, I've never seen anyone mention the Plaza at all in here. They do have a web site ( Plaza Midtown - Home Page ) which may give basic info, and they do have units up for lease. Maybe if you have enough money you could see if they have a corporate (furnished) unit that can be leased for one month? Keep your current place and just rent the corporate unit for one month. Give the complex a tryout. If you like it, you can lease long term or buy there. If not, you can keep looking or settle for staying happy at your current place.

[vbarber]

You only pay $650 a month, and you've said not once but twice that you've never had any problems at your current place, and that you love your current place as well. I can find very few people in Atlanta who can say they LOVE their place and have had NO problems at all. So... why are you moving?

Well I will not remain in my current apartment. It is time for me to upgrade. I want to own my own place. I can afford a condo in Midtown, that is why I was considering it. I did not want a house because I just don't see myself cutting grass and keeping it up, considering that I travel alot now with my job. So I will be a condo chick. I know that they are no perfect places in Atlanta, I see that now. I have heard so many horror stories from different people. I honest think it is what you make of it, so I might just get the condo in Midtown, there is a grocery at the bottom and walking distance to my job and of course my favorite, Barnes and Noble.

[IntownHomes247]

From an investment point of view, I can't recommend condos at the moment. I also know several people who have bought in Plaza Midtown and decided they didn't like the lifestyle and had to sell at a loss. I suggest that you try to find a condo in the building that you can rent (they have a cap, so it's not always easy to find even though there are probably plenty of people who'd like to find a renter right now because they can't sell without taking a loss) or a lease with option to purchase. It will be hard to make any kind of return on your investment if you purchase a condo now and end up selling it any time in the near (less than 5 years -- possibly more), so you need to be sure that this is the lifestyle you want before you make a decision you can't easily remedy.

Also, I suggest you think long and hard about exactly the type of lifestyle you want. There are LOTS of condos in Midtown. Plaza Midtown is one of the most expensive developments. True, there's a Publix in the building, but is that worth the extra money? Only you can decide, but if you think you want to live in Midtown, you'll do well to look at the breadth of possibilities in Midtown before deciding.

[CityFan]

With high rises, you need a nice view. Just make sure you buy into something where the view won't be blocked in a foreseeable future. Of course the noise level is very important, for you want a quiet place to live. Plaza Midtown is kinda convenient if it's not super convenient. The north view is blocked by Aqua.

[sweettea1]

If you're interested in the Aramore on Peachtree, a friend just mentioned to me that she's selling her 1 BR (getting married and moving out) that she's lived in for a year and absolutely loves the building. It's in a great part of Buckhead, closer to midtown. Feel free to PM me and I'll pass along the info.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by vbarber

Well I will not remain in my current apartment. It is time for me to upgrade. I want to own my own place. I can afford a condo in Midtown, that is why I was considering it. I did not want a house because I just don't see myself cutting grass and keeping it up, considering that I travel alot now with my job. So I will be a condo chick.

Just pay someone else to do it.

I hurt my back this past spring and ended up hiring a lawn service "just for a few months", or that was the original plan, but it's been almost a year now and I think I'm going to keep it going. For $70/month, I get my lawn mowed twice a month, all of the sticks and leaves blown off my sidewalks and deck, and I don't have to rake in the fall!

[George Chong]

Will you be in the tower on West Peachtree or on the side street (sorry - I forget the name - Peachtee Place)

Anyway - when I was previewing at Plaza Midtown some months ago and the fire alarm was blaring. A contractor had set off the sprinkler system in the West Peachtree Tower. So the sprinklers went off from the 10th floor down. Hope you are not looking at a unit on the 10th floor :-)

The other tower faces the back of Aqua. Make sure that your views are not obstructed. No one wants to look at the back of another highrise - especially when you go to resell it.

Have you looked at Spire? I like the units there too.

Can you walk from Plaza Midtown to work?

[atlantagreg30127]

Originally Posted by George Chong

Anyway - when I was previewing at Plaza Midtown some months ago and the fire alarm was blaring. A contractor had set off the sprinkler system in the West Peachtree Tower. So the sprinklers went off from the 10th floor down. Hope you are not looking at a unit on the 10th floor :-)

I hope the OP won't mind if I step in with a question about the above. I thought newer sprinkler systems were made so that only the sprinkler heads that are near the source of heat burst and go off - how the heck did a contractor set all of them off? Or are they using an older system? That would stink to have one person goof and ruin a ton of units with water damage.

[greg_atlanta]

That building is awfully close to the interstate, so steady traffic noise 24x7 (and pollution). I'd look for something on (or close to) P'tree St -- but only if you plan to stay for a LONG time. Condo glut has arrived, and it'll only get worse in the next 2-3 years.