Home Search: St. Marlo in Duluth vs. St. Ives in Johns Creek

[AnsleyPark]

Originally Posted by fzx

Call me extreme risk adverse, one thing I do not like about St. Ives is that it has a high percentage of stucco homes (60%). Although people spend that kind of money would theoretically take care of the houses, it could bring down the value of the whole community in the future. Lots of homes were built in the early 90s.

And you should be risk adverse. EIFS, or synthetic stucco is very problematic. However, real stucco is just fine if, like every other building material, it is properly applied. Can't speak for St Ives, but the very vast majority of St Marlo homes are true stucco and not EIFS.

[fzx]

I randomly pulled a listing from St. Ives and it is EIFS.


1801 Ballybunion Dr, Johns Creek, GA 30097 | MLS #5756324 | Zillow


Plus the houses in Ives are older than Marlo's. Need remodeling when sell.

[New2NorthGeorgia]

Great feedback everyone-thank you! we work between them so that's not an issue. We've been to both and are torn... and of course its all about finding the right house as well. So many need a remodel and for that price point it's hard to wrap your head around that. Any feedback on the Falls at Autry Mill?

[AnsleyPark]

Originally Posted by New2NorthGeorgia

Great feedback everyone-thank you! we work between them so that's not an issue. We've been to both and are torn... and of course its all about finding the right house as well. So many need a remodel and for that price point it's hard to wrap your head around that. Any feedback on the Falls at Autry Mill?

New2 - St Marlo has spent the last couple of years dramatically updating and repairing infrastructure (roads, storm drains, sewer, new tennis courts, etc.). It has been a big effort for the community, but once completed in a year or so, we should be good to go for the foreseeable future. It is my understanding that St Ives, an older neighborhood, has not done this and could be looking at some very expensive repair in the coming years. You might want to ask about their capital improvement projects plans, if they will require a special HOA assessment, etc.

[flamadiddle]

Originally Posted by New2NorthGeorgia

Any feedback on the Falls at Autry Mill?

The homes in the Falls of Autry Mill will be about the same age. The Falls will have higher taxes than St. Marlo due to being in Fulton county. Although the homes in The Falls are very nice, the community is not on the same level as St. Marlo. St. Marlo has many homes in excess of $1M and some over $3M, Most homes in Falls are sub $1M. Also, St. Marlo is a gated golf community with 24x7 security, The Falls is not gated and has no golf course. St. Marlo is also a larger community with 900+ homes vs. ~400 homes in The Falls.

Hope this helps and here's a cool drone flyover of St. Marlo.

7755 St Marlo Country Club Pkwy, Duluth GA 30097, USA - Virtual Tour

And a high level summary of each neighborhood >

Falls of Autry Mill
http://www.metroatlantahome.com/the-...eal-estate.php

St. Ives
http://www.metroatlantahome.com/st-ives-real-estate.php

St. Marlo
http://www.metroatlantahome.com/st-m...eal-estate.php

[New2NorthGeorgia]

Awesome thanks! Now if only some more homes would come on the market in St. Marlo and St. Ives

[Shin Dynamo X]

Originally Posted by Born 2 Roll

Being located in areas of very highly rated public schools and near many higher-end retail amenities, both are really good options, though St. Ives seems to receive significally higher reviews than St. Marlo.

Before committing to purchase a home in either community, to help you decide which community might be the best fit for you and your family, what you should most likely do is make some in-depth visits (multiple in-depth visits, if and as needed) to both communities and investigate them in person and see which one feels right for you.

But how can you visit either one of these neighborhoods if they are both gated up? Do you need a realtor in order to be permitted to enter these private neighborhoods?

[Shin Dynamo X]

Originally Posted by fzx

I randomly pulled a listing from St. Ives and it is EIFS.


1801 Ballybunion Dr, Johns Creek, GA 30097 | MLS #5756324 | Zillow


Plus the houses in Ives are older than Marlo's. Need remodeling when sell.

What's crazy is that this house just had a $100k mark down this week. That is massive! I have never seen that happen before. It reeks of desperation.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by Shin Dynamo X

But how can you visit either one of these neighborhoods if they are both gated up? Do you need a realtor in order to be permitted to enter these private neighborhoods?

Yes....One can arrange a visit of any gated community by contacting a realtor who is familiar with the area.

In addition to contacting a realtor who is familiar with the area, one can also arrange a visit of golf communities like Saint Marlo and Saint Ives by directly contacting the country club's managing personnel (usually the director of sales) and arranging a visit of the golf-tennis-swim facilities on the premises.

One can usually log onto the website for the country club and relatively easily find information on whom to contact to arrange a visit of the club facilities in a gated golf-tennis-swim community.

One might also be able to arrange home showings with realtors who are familiar with the communities in question through the managing/sales personnel of the country club.

In any case, one absolutely needs to do their research into a community of interest before making such a major financial and emotional investment with the purchase of a new home.

[fzx]

We live in falls. It is an ungated middle class community. Most homes r price at sqft*180-220 range. Because easy to price and , close to 400/141, schools and parks, homes r selling at rapid pace.

If you have 1.5-3m, you can go south to county club of south or north. There r some very nIce homes on bruice rd sitting on 5 acre indivisible lots.