Where is a good community for house up to $850K in Sacramento area? (Roseville: custom home, transfer)

[HappySmile]

I am looking for minim 3,000 sq. ft. NEWER home up to $850,000.
House age prefers less than fifteen years old.
Need very good school district.
Traffic is not concern because I work from home.
Prefer custom home or bigger lot but it is not a must.
Gate or golf community is not a must, either.
I also would like to avoid potential flooding, fire, and asbestos areas.

Which specific community do you recommend?
Roseville, Lincoln, Rocklin or Elk Grove? And pros and cons?

[westsaeed]

Folsom/EDH seems to check the boxes pretty easily. Huge/custom homes, arguably the best schools in the area and luxurious shopping and amenities with plenty of gated communities and country club/golfing options.

[NewToCA]

Probably Folsom or Roseville.

[Elliott_CA]

If a "very good" school district is important to you, then consider Davis.

[NinaN]

"Potential" flooding is a big one as most of the Sacramento area is in what's considered a Dam Inundation Zone. But that's only if Folsom Dam were to fail.

Lots of places will meet your criteria. Your budget will go furthest in the eastern suburbs with the highest rated schools (Folsom, EDH, Roseville, Rocklin, and Granite Bay). Davis has a great school system, but the home prices are substantially higher there.

See this link for school ratings School Rankings for the Sacramento metropolitan area, California

High fire risks tend to come with more rural properties though obviously a fire can happen anywhere. I would say any of the suburbs are at similar risk for fire.

I spend a lot of time in the EDH/Folsom/Roseville/Rocklin/Granite Bay areas, not so much in Davis. Let me know if you have any specific questions.

[2sleepy]

From what I hear Eldorado Hills & Folsom have excellent schools. Davis has always had great schools, but do to declining enrollment they are taking kids from Sacramento, Solano and Yolo County into their schools through open enrollment to avoid having to close them. I'm not sure what effect that will have on the schools. It might be that after a year or so the parents will get tired of driving their kids 20-40 minutes twice a day and transfer back to their own district schools. If that happens, will a number of the schools close or what?

[borninsac]

There's "good product" available in El Dorado Hills in your budget, particularly on the south side of Highway 50.

[49erfan916]

damn, 850 racks! You could buy anywhere in Sacramento with that price.

[NinaN]

Originally Posted by borninsac

There's "good product" available in El Dorado Hills in your budget, particularly on the south side of Highway 50.

There are some hinky school district boundaries in El Dorado Hills south of 50. If you do look in this area, be sure to check that closely if you look there. I can send you details - just send me a direct message if you want it.

[CAHntr]

Each of the 4 towns listed (Roseville, Lincoln, Rocklin or Elk Grove) will meet the first 6 criteria listed as will Folsom and El Dorado Hills as mentioned. Each of them has their own special vibe and you would have to visit those towns to assess that for yourself.

The last group criteria of flooding, fire and asbestos could technically winnow out some of the 6 listed towns above but not as much as you would think.

Potential flooding would mainly be a risk from Folsom Lake but that risk has been substantially reduced due to several million $ upgrades made to the overflow spillway (think Lake Oroville's problems fixed) and one of the main levees on the Folsom side of the lake. Technically, Folsom and Elk Grove are down stream and in a flood plane but the risk is pretty minimal. Rocklin and Lincoln cannot see floodwaters from Folsom Lake. Roseville, El Dorado Hills and even Granite Bay (another really neat community) are around the lake but not really in the flood plain due to elevation and any potential floodwaters going downhill throughout the valley.

All of the towns listed would have same/similar potential fire issues but all of them have fire departments with numerous stations throughout the communities. If you live further out of any town, there are less fire stations and more trees, etc. but the fire response times are still very good.

Any town in the foothills has naturally occurring asbestos but many studies have shown that there is no significant increase in cancer or other health issues from the asbestos. Some of the realtors on here would be more knowledgeable about this and could give you more information on it.

Since you work from home, I imagine internet speed is important but all of the communities have areas with good internet speed. All of the towns listed above are within an hour and a half of each other so any attraction in one community is easily accessible to the others. All are below the snowline, have good neighborhoods and are worth looking at.

A few pros/cons of the areas are:
Elk Grove and South Sacramento are very close on their boundaries so you will get some spillover from South Sac. El Dorado Hills people drive down to the next freeway exit in Folsom to do much of their bigger shopping (Home Depot, etc.). Lincoln and Rocklin are farther out in suburbia and drive to Roseville for their big shopping. Suburbs means less traffic with a bit of a drive to a bigger town for big shopping but that may be all pro and no con for you and your family, especially since the shopping commute is minimal. If you can, visit the areas with your family and see which individual community vibes would be best for your family. Hopefully this helps some.