Moving to Serrano??? (Roseville, Folsom, Woodland: fit in, short sales, coupon) - Sacramento - California (CA) - City-Data Forum

kidsgalore · 09-28-2010, 07:46 PM

So I think my family and I have decided on moving to the Serrano area in El Dorado Hills. We are moving from a planned community so I think this community is the closet fit. Can anyone tell me about the area in Serrano? Specifically Moms groups etc? I saw they have a movie night anything else?
I know this doesn’t “fit” the Serrano stereotype but I’m also a big coupon on cuttin’ money saving Mom. Where are inexpensive places to go grocery shopping or shopping in general? What about a close Children’s Hospital? I need a good okay, GREAT Pulmonologist for my son. A Pediatrician too, ugghhh I guess I need a good Mom’s club.

NinaN · 09-28-2010, 10:10 PM

Serrano has a lot of families with kids. 5 years ago, it was THE place to be, now it is full of foreclosures and short sales. So coupon clipping is the new in thing to do! Nearby shopping is Raley's just outside Serrano, the Nugget in Town Center, and Safeway at the north end. You have to go to Folsom for most shopping other than groceries, and Roseville for a proper mall.

I'm not sure about mom's clubs in Serrano, but I belong to Sierra Moms, which is made up of about 250 moms, mostly in EDH and Folsom. It's a great way to meet a lot of people, but there are more moms from Folsom in the group. You can google the club. Not sure about Pulminologists, and pediatricians will depend on your insurance. Sierra Mom's has a forum where this discussion comes up frequently, so you can ask on the forum if you join.

Nothing here compares to The Woodlands including Serrano. Serrano is a gated community with a Country Club and golf course, and of course neighborhood parks. You will miss the "forest" feel of The Woodlands as Serrano is not in a heavily treed area. All the other amenities are offed by the city - the pool, larger parks, town center with movie theater, etc. There are a lot of family activities offered in EDH and Folsom that you can attend.

When are you moving?

kidsgalore · 09-29-2010, 07:17 PM

I hope it isn't a bad idea to go there since there are so many foreclosures and short sales. I don't think we could have ever afforded it 5 years ago. I guess I kind of felt like it was an opportunity to sneak in. I hope we aren't making a bad choice. I am thinking we will all be together in November. I had one weekend to go out there and explore and I guess I felt a kind of safe feeling in this neighborhood. It's so confusing when you know nothing about the area. Thank you so much for your advice.

NinaN · 09-29-2010, 10:52 PM

I think you will feel safe in any area in EDH. Serrano isn't the only place with short sales and foreclosures, but certainly many of them are there. This will hold the prices down for a while until the distressed sales are out of the system. A big benefit in Serrano right now is that the HOA takes care of watering and landscaping all front yards. So if the house is vacant, the yard won't die or grow out of control like some other areas. We bought a foreclosure and had to cut down 2 trees that died due to lack of watering during a long hot summer or two. Our neighbors were so happy to have someone buy the house and start taking care of it again. That wouldn't happen in Serrano.

I would keep your options open. You might absolutely love Serrano. You might also find a great house somewhere else that you absolutely love. It will depend on what's available when you are at the point of making an offer.

Good luck. I hope your move out here is as painless as possible!
Nina

Archan · 09-30-2010, 03:57 PM

What else justifies the high HOA dues in Serrano? Seems very high to me at around $500 per month.

NinaN · 09-30-2010, 04:35 PM

Actually, most of the areas of Serrano are approximately $500 per Quarter, not per month. It pays for the gate, the front landscaping, neighborhood parks, and the group of people strictly enforcing all the rules. One area near the golf course pays more because they have a guarded gate rather than electronic gate.

Many homes in Serrano also have Mella Roos which can run about $100 per month but it is dependent on the house so you have to ask before making an offer so you can figure out how much your payment will be.

kidsgalore · 09-30-2010, 07:28 PM

I'm not going to be able to fly out again to look at houses so I am dependent on my husband to pick our house. This scares the PANTS off me! That's why I'm confining him to Serrano. I guess I like that the houses are newer and the lawn will be kept up. When we were looking at other areas I saw some of the foreclosures and the lawn was overgrown and there were papers stapled to the door. Broke my heart.
I don't know it's such a huge decision I hope we're making the right one. I did like the parks too and I liked all the kids and the schools seemed great. Of course we can't get into the one closest to Serrano.

NinaN · 10-01-2010, 09:36 AM

Is Silva Valley full? If so, just keep working with them to get on the list. I know they currently have kids that are from other school districts there so maybe next year.

FYI - I think I might have mentioned this, but there is an area on the East side of Serrano, closest to Bass lake that belongs to the Rescue School District. This means the normal school (no guarantees) would be Lakeview Elementary, Marina Middle School, and Ponderosa High School. These are all excellent schools, but would be further away from you and different from most the kids in Serrano. Right now, the housing prices in that area are much lower than the rest of Serrano and that might be a reflection of the school boundary issues.

If you drove through and looked at Serrano and liked what you saw, I'm sure you will be happy living there. Good luck with the search. When my husband moved here before me a few years ago, he also was searching without me for a month. He made 2 offers on houses (short sales that we never got an answer on) before I got out here. Now that's trust!

Msboston78 · 06-09-2018, 05:41 PM

@kidsgalore - Hello - just saw your post from 2010

and we are considering homes in Serrano. Did you ever move there and if so, how do you like it ? Thanks so much.

NinaN · 06-10-2018, 11:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Msboston78

@kidsgalore - Hello - just saw your post from 2010

and we are considering homes in Serrano. Did you ever move there and if so, how do you like it ? Thanks so much.

Not sure if she's still on this forum but she did move to Serrano. If I remember correctly, he transferred jobs and they had to move, then transferred back and they bought again in Serrano and are still there. So I'm guessing they did like it there!