River life Vs. Lake life??? (Huntsville, Madison: for sale, houses, to buy)

[mags_]

I am considering moving to Huntsville AL in the near future and I want to live on water. The homes on the river are considerably cheaper than those on Guntersville Lake. Can you swim in the river? Or are the currents to strong? Does flooding happen? How is the lake? Do many people swim there? Or is it mostly fishing? Just trying to decide where to base my search for homes. I have asked a few people and nobody will come out and say one way or another. Do the lake homes all have HOAs? Or is it possible to live there with out paying an HOA?

Any advice on the area at all would be fantastic!

Thank you!

[needtosellmyhome]

Originally Posted by mags_

I am considering moving to Huntsville AL in the near future and I want to live on water. The homes on the river are considerably cheaper than those on Guntersville Lake. Can you swim in the river? Or are the currents to strong? Does flooding happen? How is the lake? Do many people swim there? Or is it mostly fishing? Just trying to decide where to base my search for homes. I have asked a few people and nobody will come out and say one way or another. Do the lake homes all have HOAs? Or is it possible to live there with out paying an HOA?

Any advice on the area at all would be fantastic!

Thank you!

What's your price range?

Several years ago Woodland Homes (a builder that builds a lot of homes in the Huntsville area) built homes in Lake Pointe of Goose Pond in Scottsboro. If I was looking to buy a lake house (and could actually afford to buy in there) that's where I would go. Woodland Homes builds quality homes and I owned one for 6 years in Madison.

There is one home currently for sale in there that was built by Woodland Homes that is a re-sale, it's priced at $789,500 (again not sure what your price range is) but here is the link to that listing: 159 Lake Pointe Circle, Scottsboro, AL | MLS 1014788 | Listing Information | Valley MLS

[futuremadisonresident]

Originally Posted by needtosellmyhome

What's your price range?

Several years ago Woodland Homes (a builder that builds a lot of homes in the Huntsville area) built homes in Lake Pointe of Goose Pond in Scottsboro. If I was looking to buy a lake house (and could actually afford to buy in there) that's where I would go. Woodland Homes builds quality homes and I owned one for 6 years in Madison.

There is one home currently for sale in there that was built by Woodland Homes that is a re-sale, it's priced at $789,500 (again not sure what your price range is) but here is the link to that listing: 159 Lake Pointe Circle, Scottsboro, AL | MLS 1014788 | Listing Information | Valley MLS

We love our home built by Woodland Homes in Foxfield. I agree that Woodland Homes builds a quality home based on everything we have experienced so far.

[LCTMadison]

Guntersville is one of (if not the) most popular recreational lake in AL and it also boasts the highest prices. There are other lakes you might look at that are just as nice and prices are not quite as high. Everything in Guntersville is not in HOA, in fact the majority I have seen is not.

You could look on the Elk River (Rogersville area just west of Athens) around Anderson Creek....that is some of the best water on the Elk, very calm and great for boating and swimming. Or if you did want to live on a "lake", check out Wheeler (same area) or Smith Lake (Cullman/Jasper area). I honestly would rather live on Smith than Guntersville, to be honest. Where ever you live on a "lake" you will have a commute into Huntsville. If you are really set on Guntersville, look outside Guntersville into the areas of Jackson County and Scottsboro that are on the lake, they tend to be a little cheaper than Guntersville proper, but you occasionally can snag a good deal in Guntersville. You also could look at homes not directly ON the lake, but with deeded access. Weiss Lake (around Ft Payne) has some very affordable property and its a gorgeous lake, but you will have a longer commute into HSV. There are, however, several of my dad's neighbors that commute to HSV from Weiss...his house was built by an engineer that worked at NASA and retired to their farm in TN. I also know people who live up on Tim's Ford in TN that commute about an hour into HSV.

I grew up on the Coosa and the Tennessee and I used to jump off our docks and swim in both as well as water skiing, so I don't think that swimming in the river is a problem....my dad now lives on Weiss and to me it doesn't feel different from living on the "river" and that might just be due to where we were located on the water. Of course, currents can be different in varying areas so you might want to check that out before you buy.

[BMW Dave]

Does anybody know if the rivers edge in Lacys Spring is still being talked of for annexation into HSV?

[Keeper]

Are you going to be working in Hville? Since you didn't list a price range you might want to check out Pine Lake in Arab. Not a big lake and I don't believe they allow motor boats but it is a pretty area plus there is a swimming pool and rec area for less than $100 a year. Houses in Pine Lake vary in price but I have seen prices as low as 200K to 400K.

Not too far from Huntsville if you are going to be working or like to go to Malls etc

[Southlander]

I've never had a problem swimming in the Tennessee River but I know plenty of people who refuse to. First, there are FISH in the RIVER. Imagine that!
Second, there are pollutants. Every municipality along it draws its drinking water from the river and also treats and dispenses its sewage into it. This is a huge agricultural area, and there is chemical runoff of fertilizers, fungicides and insecticides. There is major industry along the river, including several big chemical girls.
And Huntsville was the spot of a big DDT plant back in the 1940s and '50s, and that is still in the river - so much so that people are advised to eat only 1 fish a month from the river.
Guntersville Lake is part of the Tennessee River system...as is Wheeler Lake and all the other areas that back up behind the many TVA dams along the river.

[Becky2517]

Originally Posted by Southlander

I've never had a problem swimming in the Tennessee River but I know plenty of people who refuse to. First, there are FISH in the RIVER. Imagine that!
Second, there are pollutants. Every municipality along it draws its drinking water from the river and also treats and dispenses its sewage into it. This is a huge agricultural area, and there is chemical runoff of fertilizers, fungicides and insecticides. There is major industry along the river, including several big chemical girls.
And Huntsville was the spot of a big DDT plant back in the 1940s and '50s, and that is still in the river - so much so that people are advised to eat only 1 fish a month from the river.
Guntersville Lake is part of the Tennessee River system...as is Wheeler Lake and all the other areas that back up behind the many TVA dams along the river.

That really makes me want to go fishing/swimming in the river and lakes... (and it ain't the fish stopping me either)

[RocketDawg]

Not sure where you're from and what type of commute you're used to, but Guntersville and Scottsboro are both pretty long commutes into the city (about 50 miles). I wouldn't want to do that on a daily basis, but a few do.

[mags_]

Thank you to all of you! I appreciate the information. Our price range is around $350 ish.. We aren't set in living in any one area, so I love all of the different options and opinions. I have to say though the pollution and continued state of it still being there is enough to make me want to check out some other options. Yikes! Thank you so much for that info!
Time is on my side, so I will continue to check things out. Thank you again for all of your help!!!!