Relocating from FL - looking for best area, for family of 4 with young kids (Atlanta: transplants, houses)

[OneDawg]

Originally Posted by thtguyuknw

Hello All,

Not sure how the housing market and mortgage rates are going to pan out in the year. we would like to keep rent less than $2k/mo, which feels impossible, and are looking to buy or build 2500+ sqft 4-5 bd less than $500k.

Suggestions?

Yeah, forget Larryville.
Concentrate on Roswell, Alpharetta, Milton
Find a rental - just don't buy right away.
Deals will be coming down the pike in a few years

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by OneDawg

Yeah, forget Larryville.
Concentrate on Roswell, Alpharetta, Milton
Find a rental - just don't buy right away.
Deals will be coming down the pike in a few years

Affluent North Fulton County communities like Roswell, Alpharetta and Milton are excellent areas to target for their exceptional public school quality and direct access to numerous high-quality/upscale amenities.

But the unfortunate reality seems to be that the OP’s purchase budget of no more than $500,000 or rental budget of no more than $2000/month does generally does not appear to be enough to get the OP the type of dwelling that they desire (a 2500 square-foot, 4+ bedroom dwelling) in the current hyper-competitive housing market in what currently is an extremely high-demand area in North Fulton County.

If the OP wants to either purchase a dwelling for no more than $500k or rent a dwelling for no more than $2k per month, the OP likely is going to have to either:

A) Expand their housing search to areas further out from Atlanta than they might prefer...

B) Be willing to accept living in a smaller dwelling (likely in either an apartment, condo or townhome) than they might prefer if they want to live in an area of the highest-rated public schools on the Northside (including in the Walton HS, Pope HS and Lassiter HS clusters in East Cobb; in the Chattahoochee HS, Alpharetta HS, Milton HS, Johns Creek HS, Northview HS, Roswell HS clusters of North Fulton County; in the Lambert HS, South Forsyth HS and Denmark HS clusters of Forsyth County; or in the North Gwinnett HS and Peachtree Ridge HS clusters of Gwinnett County)...

C) Expand their housing search to areas of the Northside where the schools are not the absolute highest-rated but are decidedly above-average in quality...

D) Or, if possible, increase their budget for renting or buying a dwelling.

With that said, Northside outer-suburban areas like Acworth and Lawrenceville, and a Southside outer suburban area like Newnan appears to give the OP a much greater chance of finding the size dwelling they desire (2500+ SF, 4+ bedrooms) within their housing budget ($2k per month rental or $500k for purchase) than a hyper-competitive Northside outer-suburban area like North Fulton County (Alpharetta, Roswell, Milton, Johns Creek) does at the moment.

It probably also should be mentioned that the rush-hour/peak-hour commutes between North Fulton County/South Forsyth County and Midtown Atlanta often experiences its own challenges during normal times by way of a major Northside commuter routes like Georgia 400 and I-85.

Though, Georgia 400 peak-hour commutes should improve in the future with the I-285/GA-400 interchange reconstruction project hopefully moving towards completion in the not-too-distant future, and with the State of Georgia planning to add 2 tolled express lanes (along with bus transit upgrades) to both directions of the Georgia 400 right-of-way north of the aforementioned reconstructed I-285 interchange.

[Floridaman777]

$750k in Alpharetta for a starter townhouse at least.

My parents live in Milton and their house is $1.3Mill at least (probably conservative)

[Atlanta-Native]

Originally Posted by Floridaman777

$750k in Alpharetta for a starter townhouse at least.

My parents live in Milton and their house is $1.3Mill at least (probably conservative)

Nah, you can get townhomes for under 500K in Milton/Alpharetta.

[ATLBraves]

Originally Posted by AtlJan

There are plenty of good non-religious private schools for you guys, such as High Meadows School & Cliff Valley School and others that are in the suburbs but still close enough for midtown commute. Yes, there are a lot of great schools, public, private, and charter. Look at Northwest Classical Academy which is a new charter school in Kennesaw--it is lottery based and open to all residents of GA, not sure if lottery is still open for next year..

If you're looking for a high performing preschool/early education program then definitely stay away from Cliff Valley. It's a glorified daycare at best.

[thtguyuknw]

So we ended up getting a very good deal on a 1 yr rental in Chapel Hill area of Douglasville... Commute for the wife is not bad at all. but the area leaves a lot to be desired/limited on amenities. It has been a good home base to be able to look at both northern and southern counties.

We also learned that anything along the 400/85 corridor is horrible for traffic. Wife's office is west-midtown.

But the 75 corridor with the express lanes seems decent. and from the NorthWest areas there are plenty of "backways" into the city.

We are currently focusing our searches for purchase, in Hillgrove, Harrison, Kennesaw Mountain, Lassiter school clusters, but also Mableton, Smyrna, Marietta, Woodstock, haven't learned the various schools for all of these areas though.

Hoping to see prices come down a little more especially with the interest rates in flux. Still looking in the 500K range, but have expanded to $650K, but would rather not.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by thtguyuknw

So we ended up getting a very good deal on a 1 yr rental in Chapel Hill area of Douglasville... Commute for the wife is not bad at all. but the area leaves a lot to be desired/limited on amenities. It has been a good home base to be able to look at both northern and southern counties.

Yeah... The areas with the most and highest-quality amenities (like North Fulton and South Forsyth counties) are going to be the highest-demand areas that are going to be the most costly in which to rent and/or purchase a home.

Though it probably should be noted that the Douglasville area is not completely devoid of quality amenities.

The schools in the Chapel Hill area (in the Chapel Hill school cluster of the Douglas County School System) are at least rated slightly above-average, there are at least a decent level (a basic level) of quality retail and dining amenities around the GA-5 Bill Arp Road and Chapel Hill Road interchanges along Interstate 20, and nearby Sweetwater Creek State Park is a great scenic treasured jewel of an outdoor recreational area in suburban West metro Atlanta.

Douglasville may not feature the highest-level amenities that an area like North metro Atlanta’s ‘Golden Crescent’ (Cobb/Cherokee, North Fulton/Forsyth and North Gwinnett counties) features. But Douglasville does offer at least a decent level of amenities for families with some budget constraints.

Originally Posted by thtguyuknw

We also learned that anything along the 400/85 corridor is horrible for traffic. Wife's office is west-midtown.

But the 75 corridor with the express lanes seems decent. and from the NorthWest areas there are plenty of "backways" into the city.

Yep. I-75 corridor Northwest metro Atlanta suburbs can provide access into the city by way of alternative surface routes like Atlanta Road/Marietta Boulevard/Chattahoochee Avenue and GA-280 South Cobb Drive/James Jackson Parkway.

Originally Posted by thtguyuknw

We are currently focusing our searches for purchase, in Hillgrove, Harrison, Kennesaw Mountain, Lassiter school clusters

... These are all excellent areas to target for the extremely high quality of their public schools and the good access to quality amenities that these areas provide.

Though, admittedly, there will be days when the commutes between these areas and your wife’s job in West Midtown Atlanta definitely will have their challenges.

Originally Posted by thtguyuknw

but also Mableton, Smyrna, Marietta, Woodstock, haven't learned the various schools for all of these areas though.

Mableton is served by the Pebblebrook and South Cobb school clusters of the Cobb County School District.

Smyrna is served primarily by the Campbell school cluster of the Cobb County School District.

The expansive area with a Marietta mailing address is served by the independent Marietta City Schools system and the Osborne, Kell, Sprayberry, Wheeler, Lassiter, Pope and Walton school clusters of the Cobb County School District.

The Osborne school cluster serves a highly transient working-class area with Marietta mailing addresses in unincorporated Southwest Cobb County.

The Kell, Sprayberry, Wheeler, Lassiter, Pope and Walton school clusters serve a mixed-income area (that ranges from working-class and middle-class households in the Kell, Sprayberry and Wheeler clusters to very affluent higher-income households in the Lassiter, Pope and Walton clusters) with Marietta mailing addresses that is most commonly known as East Cobb.

Woodstock is served by the Woodstock, Etowah and River Ridge school clusters of the Cherokee County School District.

Originally Posted by thtguyuknw

Hoping to see prices come down a little more especially with the interest rates in flux. Still looking in the 500K range, but have expanded to $650K, but would rather not.

Hopefully housing prices should come down some more in many areas.

Though, North Atlanta suburban areas like North Fulton and South Forsyth counties potentially may not decline as much as maybe they plateau somewhat because of the continued high level of competition and high demand for housing in a situation where many affluent buyers are paying all-cash to purchase homes at tens-of-thousands of dollars over asking price in areas with the highest rated schools and the most amenities.

[thtguyuknw]

Originally Posted by Born 2 Roll

.

Though it probably should be noted that the Douglasville area is not completely devoid of quality amenities.

The schools in the Chapel Hill area (in the Chapel Hill school cluster of the Douglas County School System) are at least rated slightly above-average, there are at least a decent level (a basic level) of quality retail and dining amenities around the GA-5 Bill Arp Road and Chapel Hill Road interchanges along Interstate 20, and nearby Sweetwater Creek State Park is a great scenic treasured jewel of an outdoor recreational area in suburban West metro Atlanta.

Douglasville may not feature the highest-level amenities that an area like North metro Atlanta’s ‘Golden Crescent’ (Cobb/Cherokee, North Fulton/Forsyth and North Gwinnett counties) features. But Douglasville does offer at least a decent level of amenities for families with some budget constraints.

Agree, Douglasville really isn't a bad place at all. And has some hidden gems! I shouldn't have phrased it the way I did. It has stuff to offer, just not as much as the larger suburban areas. And Sweetwater Creek State Park has been amazing. We got the annual state parks pass the first weekend we were here, and I have gone once or twice a week, up until our recent cold snap.

[aus10]

Originally Posted by thtguyuknw

Hoping to see prices come down a little more especially with the interest rates in flux. Still looking in the 500K range, but have expanded to $650K, but would rather not.

They are coming down and not moving quite as fast. 5 BR in East Cobb (Pope HS) listed at 599K been on the market now for a bit that I know of..... you'll find it.... good luck!

[thtguyuknw]

I asked in another thread but it is relevant here too... how do you search specific school districts, for houses? seems we can only filter on school grades in Zillow.