Be very careful about buying in rural areas

[deesonic]

We lived in Toney for 6 years, had 5 acres, and could do whatever we wanted to with our property. It was great on paper. The problem was that our neighbors could do whatever they wanted with their property too. And they did... Call me crazy, but I kinda dig living in the city limits where there are good public services and there are ordnances that enforce at least a minimum standard of property maintenance.

[johnsonkk]

Originally Posted by deesonic

We lived in Toney for 6 years, had 5 acres, and could do whatever we wanted to with our property. It was great on paper. The problem was that our neighbors could do whatever they wanted with their property too. And they did... Call me crazy, but I kinda dig living in the city limits where there are good public services and there are ordnances that enforce at least a minimum standard of property maintenance.

Hope that it’s the ordinances that are enforcing the minimum standards of property maintenances vs ordnance. Both work just different approach to governance.

[deesonic]

Originally Posted by johnsonkk

Hope that it’s the ordinances that are enforcing the minimum standards of property maintenances vs ordnance. Both work just different approach to governance.

Haha! Good ol autocorrect. As a prior service Army guy I can see where "ordnance" might come in handy as well though. I think that's how things work in the county actually.

[chucksnee]

Originally Posted by HSVAeroEngineer

Some realtor suggested to buy in "up and coming" areas like Harvest, Meridianville and New Market but I am not so convinced that his suggestion is a good idea.

I drove a section of Monroe Rd this afternoon near Meridianville and the amount of litter and trash people keep in front of their homes is absurd- you could be very well intentioned but if your neighbors dont have any standards- I would be very hesitant to invest in those areas.

I went to see a home in Madison in an area I would call subpar-still not bad but one of the home owners had all types of junk laid out in his front yard- hubcaps and other miscellaneous trash.

In this area, if you see a home that is listed cheaper than average, look at the neighbors and the quality of the homes around it- often times, there is a reason why a place is listed cheaper and it may not be so obvious from the pictures on the website.

Be very careful about buying in rural areas (Birmingham, Huntsville: violent crime, mattresses)


^^^^ This is the thread title all.

Who is afraid of a mattresses?

[GreggT]

One has to consider the source of the original post before even considering this a serious thread.

[johnsonkk]

Originally Posted by GreggT

One has to consider the source of the original post before even considering this a serious thread.

We need a new thread and thread “title” if we’re talking about commercial expansion into Harvest and northern Huntsville. Can’t hijack a horrible thread title by a guy that has been banned.

[JoeJunior]

All of the cities mentioned (Toney, Meridianville, Harvest, etc.) are located in heavily agricultural areas. Residents are often competing with cotton pickers, combines and tractors on local roads.

If a farmer has a down year, he'll just sell off 30 acres and a subdivision is built there. Madison County has homes built all over the place--but not necessarily in block tracts.

The big problem is that Madison County has not invested in the infrastructure including 4 lane roads, red lights and turning lanes on very busy roads. It would help greatly if Hwy 53 was finally 4 laned over to Ardmore area. Subdivisions only have one cable tv/internet choice and there is no natural gas available.

And many really nice homes are built on acreage that's not subdivisions. Unfortunately homes of much less quality can be built next door or down the road. There are also many, many houses and mobile homes that should be condemned by the health department--simply put.

Limestone County to the west is a much nicer area for rural housing. And they're building subdivisions all over the place too.

[huntsville4u]

We moved to Harvest from Tampa and love it! It's 10 minutes from University Drive where all the shopping and restaurants are. 15 minutes to Downtown and Bridge St, 20 minutes to the airport. (Hunstville airport is really good reminds me of Tampa before the boom actually the whole area reminds of Tampa before the boom) Schools in the area are great. Sparkman High School looks like a college campus!

They do have a weird way to pick up bulk trash here. On the 1st of every month you leave all your bulk trash at your curb and they come pick it up. Sometimes people leave it out way to early and that's what you are seeing sometimes when you drive around. They do come and pick it up.

[JoeJunior]

We bought off Hwy 53 northwest of Huntsville. The area has hundreds of houses and mobile homes that really are not livable and should be condemned. Beautiful homes here often have sub standard housing next door or down the road.

We're disappointed that the ultra busy Hwy 53 hasn't been 4 laned farther toward Ardmore. The state has plans to add some 4 lanes--about 2 miles farther. Hwy 53 has many extremely dangerous intersections and there are no turning lanes--and major collisions are often seen.

Shopping in northwest Madison County is limited to one Publix grocery store--and that's it. We don't like having to drive 12 miles to a Walmart in Hazel Green or west of Madison. We'd be dead without Dollar Generals.

The entire northwest quadrant of Madison County has 2 lane country lanes with no plans to 4 lane any county roads. Jeff Rd. is being 4 laned 2 miles to Douglas Rd--where Congressman Dale Strong lives. That's it for road construction.

Home building is rampant however subdivisions are scattered all over the northwest-and not close to each other. Many neighborhoods have one internet source that's the tv cable system. Most subdivisions have no natural gas.

After 3 years here, our home has appreciated well. But had we had it to do over, we would have bought in Limestone County. It's essentially West Huntsville for all practical purposes.