Honest opinions (Idaho Falls/Ammon) (Pocatello, Blackfoot: HOA fees, how much, house)

[carlymac]

Can someone tell me honestly what city services are like in the Idaho Falls/Ammon area? I just found an article about water pressure problems in Ammon and the city passing the buck back to the residents. Makes me a bit nervous.

Can you tell me about snow removal from city streets, water, garbage, utility maintenance, etc? How about snow removal from the roads from the city center out into the less populated farm areas? (We're looking at a house right on the border of Idaho Falls and Shelley)

[norcalmom101]

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[carlymac]

Norcalmom! That wasn't much of an opinion. ;0)

I guess no one knows or doesn't want to rat on the city. Well, OK. I have other resources.

[cleosmom]

I live east of IF, not really Ammon, but not the city of IF either and have only noticed water pressure being low twice in nearly the eight years we've been in our home.

If you're in town your streets will be cleaner in winter, outskirts it's the main roads (Yellowstone Highway, etc. etc.

In the city of IF your water, sewer, power and garbage is all done by the city of IF, out in the county areas that are not incorporated to a city you are generally on Falls Water, IBSD for sewer and you seek out your own garbage company, burn it or haul it in yourself. Some places on the outskirts are still on wells so you will want to check that out before you buy.

Just a note, just because a house has a Shelley or IF address, does not mean that it's actually in the city limits and therefore you might still be considered rural as am I.

[carlymac]

Is it not a good thing to be on a well? I've never lived in a rural area before. You really have to haul your own garbage? I've never considered that before.

Thanks for the info! We'll look into all that. We'll be out there in two weeks to check it all out. Just got our tickets tonight.

[abbie132]

Hey carylmac, I know I have been answering alot of your questions lately! After moving here from Virginia this was the first time we had been on well water also. We live in a newer small subdivision on the river in Blackfoot. There is about 4 house per well here and the HOA takes care of all the water. We have been here 2 years and never a problem with our water. The only difference for us is that our homes have the large water purifier in the basement. The water is alot softer feeling than the city water we were use to but I dont mind it at all. It is also nice that it is included in the HOA fees so not water bill. We actually paid more for city water in Virginia than we do for our HOA!
Also if the house you are looking at is off of highway 91 (that is the road that runs from Shelley to IF) then dont worry too much. I am a merchandiser that works in Shelley, IF and Pocatello and I use Highway 91 to go from Blackfoot to Shelley to Idaho Falls all the time and I have a small sports car. In fact I find that Highway 91 is much easier to drive than I-15 sometimes.
If you have any other question please feel free to email me privately.

[carlymac]

Thanks you for this info. The house is out in the country. We'll see how it all looks when we get there. Lots of questions for realtors!! I hope they will be honest with us.

[banjomike]

Hi, Carlymac...
Snow removal, water pressure, and general services generally are a lot better in Idaho Falls than Ammon. So is law enforcement and fire department.

Ammon is having real problems with it's sudden growth right now. While housing prices in Ammon are often lower, I expect taxes will rise steadily for quite a while until Ammon catches up.

When you are out of the city limits, it really all depends as to services. Snow removal can be very slow in the country except for main roads. Subdivisions that lie outside city limits vary as to services, but most are on Idaho water and Utah power, which is higher generally than in town. Snow removal really depends on the subdivison as to how good it is. it can be excellent to terrible, depending on how much the homeowner's association is willing to divvy up for removal.

There are problems with owning a private well. The ground water level is going down, so some older wells may be nearly dry. Dry well= very low water pressure.

Old pumps are old pumps- when one gives out, you're dry until you get a replacement. Private wells, especially the older ones, can be prone to bacterial contamination problems from septic tanks, feedlots, etc., so it pays to have the water checked frequently. Newer wells are usually deeper, but can still have problems. If you have well problems, the costs come straight out of your pocket.

There are a couple of county garbage collection companies. They provide the house-sized plastic dumpsters and come around weekly.

The dump in Idaho Falls has a transfer center- I don't know if you would have to go there to dump garbage, but I think so. The county dump does not allow direct dumping. Everything is sorted at the transfer center then taken to the dump.

Living in the country usually requires more work than in town, especially in the winters. Pay attention to how far the home is from the main road- a long driveway often means hiring a pickup with a snow plow blade to clear it.