Sandy Springs more expensive than the city???!!!

[New Yawka1234]

Originally Posted by CMMom

I would recommend taking a look at the Sandy Springs Police Blotter. Check the addresses. A lot of the apartments in the area are notorious for drug activity and the like. Avoid those. They're probably the cheap ones you're seeing online.

Sandy Springs Public Safety Archives - Reporter Newspapers

Thank you so much for this. You guys have been such great help here on City Data. I appreciate it.

[oldschoolChevy]

Whole lot of dope in those Sandy Springs apartment complexes. It's not the trap house kind, so you won't have J's all over the place, but more of the stash spot kind which means a lot of of different cars pulling up and robbing crews laying on the spot trying to knock it off . Lots of dudes inside the city get their "weight" from up there. Its not the hood, no where near it, but it does have its criminal element.

[AtlantaIsHot]

Sandy Springs probably is more expensive overall. It is a very wealthy suburb. It's a major employment center. Atlanta still contains areas that aren't gentrified and some that are ghetto's which are dirt cheap. Sandy Springs has been prosperous for ages so it doesn't surprise me at all.

[cwkimbro]

Originally Posted by New Yawka1234

Those were the complaints "paper thin walls", "Bugs and cockroaches." Most of the complaints were really about not being able to get in contact with the management office to resolve these issues or when management was contacted and notified of water damaged, or mice infestation nothing was done about in a timely manner... so these are things that really concerned me the most. I know, especially since I am a New Yorker that lives in a building, that I might hear my neighbors, that I might hear loud music playing, these aren't issues for me. But my apartment getting broken into because the gate to my apartment complex is being left open or the security locks on the gate hasn't been fixed is a problem for me and for many tenants this was an issue in the reviews I read. The listing that were sent to me had some of the most beautiful apartments I have seen with so much space that you won't find here in New York, but then when I looked online bad reviews after horrifying reviews left me so confused as to what i should do.

I don't really care to live in a newly built apartment building. I live in an apartment building that was built in the 1930's here in Brooklyn and i'm fine, except it's small and I am paying $1900 a month. I just want to live in the safest area when I move to Georgia. I am aware that crime is everywhere no matter the neighborhood, but you have to admit there are certain areas where crime is out of control and I don't want to move to an area where I have to worry about being raped or shot or come home to an intruder using my toilet lol.

One thing to consider.... Atlanta really boomed post-WWII. It is why it is to car-centric. Most apartments aren't the really older buildings built with brick in ideal locations, but made from regular lumber and drywall.

What frequently happens with these newer apartments is when they are first built rents are high, they are clean, modern floor plans, and the social character of the complex maintains a better stature.

Then as new ones are built and the high payers gravitate towards those, demand falls, prices get cheaper, etc... Repeats through several cycles and you have an older 60s-70s apartment where the unit is mostly more than fine, but the prices are very low and the social character of the neighborhood is completely different and the building owners will have a harder time employing people who really care. Well, reality is it is hit or miss, some people will really care, but they all won't. A newer, more-expensive property has more lee-way to let someone go and pay a tad more. When it gets low enough they don't have the money for capital improvement costs, so you will see more broken gates, occasionally skipping pest control, waiting until a hot water heater leaks to replace it, etc...

Eventually rents will fall so low, they will just knock the buildings down, but only after selling it to a small company that will temporarily take the risk of being called a slum-lord and they will wait until the legal liability is high enough. In more valuable areas, they are often redeveloped.

There will be some caveats to this closer to town and near areas where rent is very high, mainly Buckhead, Virginia-Highland, and Perimeter Center (closer to the core, though) come to mind.

The pest control thing is big here. We have lots of pine trees and wooded areas, which is a natural places for many roaches. No matter what you will see a few Good pest control will lead to a few getting inside, but dying after passing through pesticide. The key thing is you don't want them to survive getting in and re-populating inside your ceiling/walls.


Like ATLTJL said, there is always a relationship between rent price and desirability. The cheaper it is, the less desirable it will be for some reason or another. If you go with the cheapest rent, you will live with the cheapest people, including some who might not see much risk in criminal activities or they can only afford the cheapest due to some psychological/behavioral problems that keep them from getting ahead.

Peachtree Industrial will not be as nice as Perimeter for sure. It will have some complexes nicer than others, but I do know some people who stayed in the area and were fine with it. The big thing in that area is it is the Mexican hotspot in Atlanta, especially the closer you get to Buford Highway and Jimmy Carter Boulevard and the older the complex is, so that demographic shift is present..

[bhammaster]

Originally Posted by cwkimbro

Like ATLTJL said, there is always a relationship between rent price and desirability. The cheaper it is, the less desirable it will be for some reason or another. If you go with the cheapest rent, you will live with the cheapest people, including some who might not see much risk in criminal activities or they can only afford the cheapest due to some psychological/behavioral problems that keep them from getting ahead.

More likely it is people who are in the middle class making less than 6 figures who can't afford to live in a new apartment because most of them are luxury. That doesn't mean they could not get ahead as many professions like teachers ect don't make enough to stay in a $1200 apartment unless they are making at least 80k ( which is rare).

[bhammaster]

Stay in NYC if you have an apartment there for 1900.

The best places here are where you wont get robbed are 2k-3k a month and only the well off can afford these new places.

[Forhall]

Originally Posted by bhammaster

More likely it is people who are in the middle class making less than 6 figures who can't afford to live in a new apartment because most of them are luxury. That doesn't mean they could not get ahead as many professions like teachers ect don't make enough to stay in a $1200 apartment unless they are making at least 80k ( which is rare).

Depends on how cheap of an apartment we are talking about...

[cwkimbro]

Originally Posted by bhammaster

More likely it is people who are in the middle class making less than 6 figures who can't afford to live in a new apartment because most of them are luxury. That doesn't mean they could not get ahead as many professions like teachers ect don't make enough to stay in a $1200 apartment unless they are making at least 80k ( which is rare).

I disagree with this.

First, apartments for $900-$1000 are not uncommon,'nor are they they cheapest.

At a $1000 you can find a decent apartment, very middle of the road, but perhaps not in a trendy location or right next to work.

Most rental companies and mortgage lenders look for people to spend 25%-33% of their pre-tax income on housing and it is a person's single biggest expense.

So if we stay on the conservative side, one would need to make $48k/year to afford a middle of the road apartment. That would leave them with $36k/year to pay for other expenses. That is well within reason.

Conservatively, someone could stay in a $1200 apartment on a $57k salaray.

Liberally, someone could make less and stay in a $1200 apartment over a short stretch if the forgo other parts of their lifestyle, possibly as low as $36k. I'm a bit nervous about some millennials though. I think this has stopped some from saving up for retirement, especially in self-employment situations, and saving up for home purchases faster.

That is hardly $80k or 6 figures and that is before considering roommate options as many of these buildings have roommate floorplans.

This can get rent down to $600-$800/month/person in middle of the road areas and start to get closer to some nicer areas. This is how so many people who are 20-something and single with starting salaries can afford intown areas.

For people who are married, their joint incomes make housing more affordable, but ultimately many will have to share the costs of children. That is why so many people use to talk about DINK's on the forums (Double Income, No Kids). They often live above their means for a few years and can have some long-term unrealistic expectations.


Now if someone is more prudent in shopping with locations to where they work, they can spend an extra $200 and save that on gas and potentially parking costs depending on where someone works. That will vary from job type and person, however. And that is not even a more extreme situation where it is someone going out of their way in Atlanta to live car-less, although a few do that by choice.

Now many teachers do make this much. Some of the starting salaries are a bit lower in some districts. Some are working in districts with too few apartments too.


Even then you can find some Studio's in the $600-$700 range before you start getting into more questionable areas. Trendy? No. Problem-free? No. Mostly safe and ok to live in, yes.


Now I do agree too much of the apartment growth are in markets and price points that need to remain luxury apartments for longer to recoup investment costs. We need cheaper suburban style buildings too or perhaps in-town foot buildings that can be built cheaper with fewer amenities in less trendy locations. We need some that can age a little and get cheap and be sustainable. I think some intown apartments are invested on the premise they will hold their price longer.

This is partly why lenders are pulling back on apartments, despite current demand.

And if you don't make that much, you don't make that much. No one ever said all people or all entry level teachers are entitled to affording a new apartment on a starting salary.


For those who are on the lower-income spectrum. There are older properties in South Fulton and Clayton that you can get a studio in the $500 range, sometimes less. It won't be my first choice, but it won't stop people from living.

The people I feel most sorry for are lower income single parents. They are the ones closest to being priced out.

You can find a 3 bedroom for $900 for a 2 bedroom for $800 in older areas around Stone Mountain and northern Clayton, but on a single income with kids that is tough and roommates aren't an option.

And all of this is only looking at managed complexes. You can find cheaper in older independently rented properties.