Hollywood Park? Other areas like Elmhurst? (Sacramento, Orange: apartments, houses, neighborhood)

[ryuns]

Good luck on the search. Take your time looking and spending time in the neighborhoods. In addition to Elmhurst, you can look a little farther south to the areas around UCD Med Center. That puts you close to some spotty neighborhoods but the prices are better. Not sure anyone mentioned Tahoe Park, which is similar in style and age to Hollywood Park. Most of the houses are fairly small, but the neighborhoods are decent--I know people in the area who bought a long time ago and could afford to move to East Sac or Curtis Park/Land Park, but have stuck it out because it works for them.

Across Freeport from Hollywood Park is South Land Park Terrace, which is a little more expensive, but much cheaper than Land Park. They are planning to reduce the traffic lanes on Freeport and add bike lanes, which will increase traffic a little during rush hour, but make getting around as a biker much nicer. The section of Freeport that runs next to Hollywood Park is all strip malls, but there are some great spots, like Hollywood Hardware.

I'd recommend Redfin.com for searching RE listings. You can also consider finding a realtor through that site, and they'll give you a cut of the commission. We had a good experience. The agents don't make as much, so they don't give you quite as much time. That was fine with us, because we used the website to browse listings and used open houses and walking/driving around to try to figure out what we wanted. We only asked the agent to actually show us the individual houses we were really interested in.

[faiths13]

Originally Posted by ryuns

Good luck on the search. Take your time looking and spending time in the neighborhoods. In addition to Elmhurst, you can look a little farther south to the areas around UCD Med Center. That puts you close to some spotty neighborhoods but the prices are better. Not sure anyone mentioned Tahoe Park, which is similar in style and age to Hollywood Park. Most of the houses are fairly small, but the neighborhoods are decent--I know people in the area who bought a long time ago and could afford to move to East Sac or Curtis Park/Land Park, but have stuck it out because it works for them.

Across Freeport from Hollywood Park is South Land Park Terrace, which is a little more expensive, but much cheaper than Land Park. They are planning to reduce the traffic lanes on Freeport and add bike lanes, which will increase traffic a little during rush hour, but make getting around as a biker much nicer. The section of Freeport that runs next to Hollywood Park is all strip malls, but there are some great spots, like Hollywood Hardware.

I'd recommend Redfin.com for searching RE listings. You can also consider finding a realtor through that site, and they'll give you a cut of the commission. We had a good experience. The agents don't make as much, so they don't give you quite as much time. That was fine with us, because we used the website to browse listings and used open houses and walking/driving around to try to figure out what we wanted. We only asked the agent to actually show us the individual houses we were really interested in.

Thanks : ) I know Tahoe Park - I grew up in Elmhurst and Colonial Heights so I have spent alot of time there. It just seems like it has gone downhill alot since I was younger. I drove around through there looking at some houses and wasn't very happy with it. Not as nice as Elmhurst, lol.

[ryuns]

Originally Posted by faiths13

What about the area near Belle Cooledge Library? How is that neighborhood? What is it called?

Not that it's super important, but in case you're curious, here's a map of all the neighborhoods. http://www.cityofsacramento.org/gis/...borhoods_E.pdf

That's part of South Land Park. I don't know it very well, but there are some nice areas in that directions. Pocket, Little Pocket, and Greenhaven. Very generally, once you get south of Fruitridge, the nicer neighborhoods are to the west, towards to the Sacramento.

[faiths13]

Originally Posted by ryuns

Not that it's super important, but in case you're curious, here's a map of all the neighborhoods. http://www.cityofsacramento.org/gis/...borhoods_E.pdf

That's part of South Land Park. I don't know it very well, but there are some nice areas in that directions. Pocket, Little Pocket, and Greenhaven. Very generally, once you get south of Fruitridge, the nicer neighborhoods are to the west, towards to the Sacramento.

thats helpful, thanks!

[ryuns]

Originally Posted by faiths13

Thanks : ) I know Tahoe Park - I grew up in Elmhurst and Colonial Heights so I have spent alot of time there. It just seems like it has gone downhill alot since I was younger. I drove around through there looking at some houses and wasn't very happy with it. Not as nice as Elmhurst, lol.

Yeah, the same friends I mentioned do occasionally complain about the neighbors scattered around who don't keep the place up--dead grass, topped trees, chain link fence around the yard, etc. But it is a big area. You'll find a little of that everywhere I guess, but it sounds like you're working hard to find a happy medium (nice neighborhood, reasonable price). On some level, it's not just a product of the houses around you, it's a product of the type of people who can afford the nice area taking, on average, a little more pride in where they live. We love Curtis Park (our house, location, neighbors, neighborhood, accessibility, everything), but it's expensive and our house is small (a realtor would choose the word "charming"). Prices are better than Land Park and East Sac, but still among the pricier areas.

[faiths13]

Originally Posted by ryuns

Yeah, the same friends I mentioned do occasionally complain about the neighbors scattered around who don't keep the place up--dead grass, topped trees, chain link fence around the yard, etc. But it is a big area. You'll find a little of that everywhere I guess, but it sounds like you're working hard to find a happy medium (nice neighborhood, reasonable price). On some level, it's not just a product of the houses around you, it's a product of the type of people who can afford the nice area taking, on average, a little more pride in where they live. We love Curtis Park (our house, location, neighbors, neighborhood, accessibility, everything), but it's expensive and our house is small (a realtor would choose the word "charming"). Prices are better than Land Park and East Sac, but still among the pricier areas.

yes, that is what i am looking for im thinking its going to be pretty hard finding a house the size i want in the areas i like, let alone the price i want. it seems like all the areas i like are mostly 3 bdrm and we would really love 4. that is one reason i was looking at natomas - nice big houses for a good price and at least close to downtown and not super far from where we are now. but i worry about how the quality of the neighborhood will be with the housing market. i think its safe to say older neighborhoods are going to hold up better - if they were already a decent neighborhood.

[shelato]

It sounds like you really would prefer to live in Elmhurst, so what is the rush? Your kids are being home schooled so its not like moving during the school year will cause massive disruptions of there school work. Your the teacher and you control when assigments need to get completed. So why not just wait and watch to find a home in the neighborhood you like and jump on it when it becomes available possibly later this year or next spring?

At the same time while you are waiting for something in appear in Elmhurst that might fit your needs you can look at other neighborhoods. You live locally. You aren't in the same category as people who are moving to Sacramento and don't have any familiarity with the neighborhoods. I would look at some open houses in historic downtown Roseville. Generally the further from downtown Sacramento you get, the less expensive a neighborhood is for a given level of neighborhood quality. I suspect the commute down 80 or Roseville Rd to where your husband works is probably pretty similar in duration to the commute from Elmhurst. But the average cost per square foot of house is probably a little less expensive. You might also look at some of the open houses in the newer neighborhoods in Roseville to see your options.

I would also go hit some open houses in Natomas (and West Sac). The big issue I see with these neighborhood is that the schools aren't doing that great especially for a neighborhood that is as recently built as Natomas . But if you are home schooling your children school quality is pretty irrelevant to you. If you are planning on staying in the region long time, there is something to be said for buying something and even if the neighborhood isn't perfect as you build up some equity you can move later. If and when Natomas gets worse, then you can move.

[wburg]

I have friends in Tahoe Park who speak very highly of the neighborhood--there is a very active neighborhood association. Not as fancy as Elmhurst (no Julia Morgan designed landmark buildings, at least) but according to Zillow there is at least one 4-bedroom house for sale there for $240,000, and personally I think in the long run Tahoe Park will age better than Natomas.

[faiths13]

Originally Posted by shelato

It sounds like you really would prefer to live in Elmhurst, so what is the rush? Your kids are being home schooled so its not like moving during the school year will cause massive disruptions of there school work. Your the teacher and you control when assigments need to get completed. So why not just wait and watch to find a home in the neighborhood you like and jump on it when it becomes available possibly later this year or next spring?

At the same time while you are waiting for something in appear in Elmhurst that might fit your needs you can look at other neighborhoods. You live locally. You aren't in the same category as people who are moving to Sacramento and don't have any familiarity with the neighborhoods. I would look at some open houses in historic downtown Roseville. Generally the further from downtown Sacramento you get, the less expensive a neighborhood is for a given level of neighborhood quality. I suspect the commute down 80 or Roseville Rd to where your husband works is probably pretty similar in duration to the commute from Elmhurst. But the average cost per square foot of house is probably a little less expensive. You might also look at some of the open houses in the newer neighborhoods in Roseville to see your options.

I would also go hit some open houses in Natomas (and West Sac). The big issue I see with these neighborhood is that the schools aren't doing that great especially for a neighborhood that is as recently built as Natomas . But if you are home schooling your children school quality is pretty irrelevant to you. If you are planning on staying in the region long time, there is something to be said for buying something and even if the neighborhood isn't perfect as you build up some equity you can move later. If and when Natomas gets worse, then you can move.

We have thought about sticking it out here until something comes up for sale, but there have been very few houses that have come up for sale all year, and most have been too small for our needs. the house we are in is uncomfortable - very small, 1 bathroom, no room for the kids to play in the house, hard to homeschool when two little ones are trying to play in the same space as the older ones doing school, no central ac or heat (the summer is awful). i just want to find a space where we can be comfy.

Originally Posted by wburg

I have friends in Tahoe Park who speak very highly of the neighborhood--there is a very active neighborhood association. Not as fancy as Elmhurst (no Julia Morgan designed landmark buildings, at least) but according to Zillow there is at least one 4-bedroom house for sale there for $240,000, and personally I think in the long run Tahoe Park will age better than Natomas.

that is a good point - Tahoe Park will prob do better in the long run than Natomas. I am certainly willing to look in any case.

[faiths13]

Ok, so what do you all think about Antelope? I pretty much scratched it off my list, but I am curious to hear what others think of the area/buying a home there. Im just starting to think I might be better off looking in CH, FO or OV to get a bigger home on a nice size lot and have to give up some of the things I love about where I am now.