Please Advise: nice townhouse in Fremont, CA - don't know where to start (San Jose: condos)

[whoayo]

I am brainstorming areas in Fremont, CA to look for 3 bed/2bath townhome with a 2-car attached garage and in-house washer/dryer, not one of those laundry rooms in a complex. (We originally wanted to buy in the South Bay, but it looks like those neighborhood's prices are out of our reach.) Fremont is a large city with many neighborhoods, so I am a bit baffled as to where to start. School district does not matter to me, as all the kids have grown and are out of the house, but they do come home from time to time, and we frequently have visitors from out of town that fly into the area via SFO. A place that is clean, quiet and safe is important. I have heard that the farther south in Fremont, the better and to veer away from the northern borders.

We are originally from the Midwest - metropolitan Ann Arbor, MI (Detroit area suburbs) where the cost of living was much lower for a very large, comfortable home in a wonderful newer community; so the move to California has been quite a reach so far. Our maximum limit is $400k, is this reasonable? Any further input or insight would be greatly appreciated, thank you so much!

[robertpolyglot]

A year or two ago, I would have said no. Today, I would say yes/probably. Try to get a property that has an attached garage and definitely try to go 2 bath because it makes it easier to flip to someone in a shared housing or MIL situation. Since you need 3 br, it will have to be a LOW square footage unit having no more than, say, 1200 square feet.

As for Fremont, I am not an expert. Does it have to be Fremont? Can you go toward Dublin / Pleasanton / Livermore / San Ramon? Those are nicer neighborhoods. I have never been a fan of the southern end of the East Bay. It's kind of drab, but, nonetheless, you get that great Bay Area weather that is not hampered by topography. In the neighborhoods I mentioned, you're a little inland and therefore warmer in the summer.

Where to start? Well, pull up a search engine and type in "Fremont California free MLS search." You will be able to get a realtor's site that has access to the MLS. If you have to register, screw him or her. You don't want them hounding you since you are starting out. Some realtors don't ask this information about you. You remain anonymous. In the end, that's the realtor that will get my business since they helped me without being too invasive. But, try that, and start looking around in your pajamas and with a cup of tea in hand.

[MsNikkiBelieves]

We used to live in the Mission San Jose area, expensive, but very nice. I would generally stay away from the Irvington district, other than that, there are plenty of areas in all the districts that are very nice. Good luck.

[trxie]

I feel the need to defend my city!

Fremont is a large, diverse city - and in city this large, there will be problems with gangs and crime, but Fremont is one of the safest cities in the country, and has city services, community services and parks that cannot be beat! There is a lot to be said about living in a diverse, vibrant community, where many kinds of people live in a oddly-typical California suburban lifestyle. Most of the schools in Fremont are considered exceptionally and perform like schools in much more wealthy areas of California. (the exceptions are the schools in the lowest socio-economic areas of Fremont, but this is true of all California schools).

Fremont is a city made up of smaller 'townships' that were incorporated together less than 50 years ago. These townships have all blended together to form a suburban sprawl of a city, connected by some major streets and parks.

There are some basic areas of Fremont, but the easiest way in my mind to organize them is by High School attendance area, which just gives some artificial boundaries. Home values are very much impacted by the high school district they are in.

From south to north - the south end of Fremont borders Milpitas, and the Santa Clara county (San Jose). This part of the city includes the areas of Warm Springs and Irvington, as well as some higher end Mission area homes. Warm Springs consists of light industrial (and heavy industrial - NUMI, the Toyota factory is here), and tract homes built from the 1960s to 1990s. There are some older areas, but these are generally not as desirable areas as other neighborhoods. This area has some very high and lower performing schools - so it is 'mixed' - property values ranging from the highest to lowest in Fremont.

Mission San Jose (where the Mission is) is the most desirable area, and therefore the most expensive area of Fremont. It has a quaint area near the Mission, although not a lot of shopping is in this area. Home prices are sky high, as Mission San Jose High School is one of the highest rated schools in the country. There are few parks, but this area backs onto Mission Peak, a large open space/grazing land that borders this end of the bay area. It has some beautiful views, but is mostly single family home residential.

Kennedy High School is the next area north. This area is the one high school area that doesn't have an area of relative wealth nearby. I don't think too many houses sell for more than $600,000 - (which sounds way better than it really is!) It is flat, borders the freeway, and mostly tract homes from the 1950s and 1960s, and has LOTS of strip malls. This area, though, has Central Park - Fremont's large park that includes a lake. It is beautiful to walk and is a place that many residents take advantage of.

Washington High School area is generally referred to "central" Fremont. This is where the 'down town' is (which isn't really a down town, but more of a business district', as well as two hospitals and the BART station, that connects Fremont to the rest of the bay area through the subway system. This is also where "Little Kabul" is, which is the highest concentration of Afghani people in the US, but this does not stand out, as ALL of Fremont is highly diverse and a concentration of Afghani's here does not stand out in the large groups of Indians, Pakistanis, Iraqi's, Chinese, Vietnamese, Latinos, Filipinos... Niles is in this area as well, which is one of the small townships that has maintained a quaint downtown feel. There is also a beautiful canyon drive here and lots of green parks - many of the neighborhoods have pathways between the homes for walking and there are several 'community centers' here, as well as the main shopping areas (and a Petes, Trader Joes and several starbucks).

American High School is just north - at the Northern end of Fremont, bordering Union City. It also goes to the Bay and includes the Ardenwood neighborhood, built in the the 1980's and has lots of higher density single family homes and condos. This area of Fremont is the 'newest', meaning the bulk of it was built between 1960 to 1985 - and is mostly flat and has lots of strip malls. It is more of a series of developments than a true 'neighborhood area'. It does boast two amazing new park run by the East Bay Regional Park District - Coyote Hills, which borders the Bay, and Quarry Lakes, which is three lakes for recreation (fishing, swimming, all sorts).

I hope this is helpful! (I live in the Washington High School/Central Fremont - and have done so for nearly 20 years!)

Trixie