Can’t have’em all. ? (Sacramento, Roseville: real estate, apartment, insurance)

[Gguy]

Can’t have’em all. ?

I am a first time home buyer. We have 2 yrs old. I and my wife work in downtown, Sacramento. Budget: 450K (MAX).
I have been reading these forums for a while and narrowed my location options to three. 1. Folsom 2. Anatolia (Rancho Cordova) 3. Natomas.

Please let me know if I am missing any thing here.



My Priorities:

1. Safe Neighborhood
2. Less commute
3. Home value preservation/Appreciation.
4. Good schools

Folsom:

Positives:
Safe Neighborhood
Desirable location. So the home value continue to appraise
Good schools
Negatives:
Need to spend 2+ hours in traffic/light rail to commute to work, in downtown. This means more money spent on Gas, and less time for family.

One can only get small, pre-owned, house compare to other options.

Anatolia (Rancho Cordova):
Positives:
One can buy a bigger and brand new home for lesser price when compared to Folsom.

Negatives:
Commute is shorter, compare to Folsom, only by 7 miles. Which may equate to 20 minutes overall.
Questions:
The school district is Elk Grove. New community and new schools. Which may turn into good schools?

Not too far from the undesirable neighborhoods of Rancho Cordova. Crime tends to propionate to new communities eventually?

There is a lot of development planned in this area. This will make it hard to sell a house due to competitive price from builders.

North Natomas:
Positives:
Commute is the shortest when compare to the other two options.

One can buy a bigger and brand new home for lesser price when compared to Folsom.
Negatives:
Flood zone. Need to buy flood insurance and it only covers up to $250,000
Questions:
New community and new schools. Which may turn into good schools?

Not too far from the undesirable neighborhoods of South Natomas. Crime tends to propionate to new communities eventually?

Due to flood zoning and too close for south Natomas comfort, the home value appreciate rate may not be on par with other options and a possibility of going downhill.

[Slow]

If. . . . . you want the typical dream home in the berbs then you are looking in the right place. But have a good look at what you want and then look at what they now call North Hollywood. Great schools, easy commute, walking distance to stores, NO Home Owner Associations and safe. As the price of homes in other areas has dropped mine has stayed the same, proving it is a very desirable area.

[mchoe]

There is no perfect neighborhood. Yep, there is always pros and cons to each neighborhood. I've also checked out Folsom, Anatolia, and Natomas. I commute to downtown too. For the areas you mentioned, I agree with your assessment.

Folsom:

Very nice neighborhood. Good area and great schools. Lots of shopping avail. The only problem is, too overpriced. If I am paying Folsom prices, I rather live in El Dorado Hills. It should be coming down more as with other areas. Oh and Folsom has some asbestos issues.

Anatolia

Very affordable. Can get some great homes for reasonable prices. Ok commute to downtown. Ok schools but not great like folsom. No shopping but it will come eventually. Since new development so not sure how the neighborhood will turn out (hoping it doesn't turn out to be another bad parts of Elk Grove). Mello roos and association fees high.

North Natomas

Used to live there. Very good commute. Good shopping. Bad schools. Flooding problem. And I think the neighborhood has gone downhill since I lived there (2000-2002). I would not go back there again.

[Gguy]

Mchoe,

Thanks for the reply. Nice to have a second opinion. I am wondering where you settled in.

I am thinking buying a big house in Anatolia/North Natomas. If the community turns out to be bad, in 5 years, I could sell it and buy a smaller one in Folosm. How is that for a idea. THanks for the input.

[NewToCA]

Between Anatolia and North Natomas, I would buy in Anatolia. I think the Rancho Cordova master plan is pretty good and comprehensive, but they are off to a bit of a slow start. I think they eventually will execute, considering the significant progress they are making in turning around the delapated areas of Folsom Blvd.

However, I would probably take a look at Roseville and Rocklin as better alternatives.

[Gguy]

NewToCA,

Thanks for the reply. I did look into Roseville and Rocklin. Working in downtown does not make them better alternatives due to 80 traffic horrors.

What do you think about Mather area / the zinfandal village communities ?

[mchoe]

I agree with NewToCA that Roseville & Rocklin would be better alternative to Natomas or Anatolia, unless you need to stay near Rancho/Folsom area for some reason.

The commute will be little bit longer but if you take lightrail to downtown it should not be too bad. I consider Roseville & Rocklin to be equivalent to Folsom in terms of neighborhood but without the ridiculous Folsom pricing.

I would not go to Mather or Zinfandel. The schools in Rancho are pretty bad. If you don't mind older homes you should check out Gold River. Top schools and homes with relatively large lots. Very nice neighborhood too.

Gguy, by the way, I haven't settled yet. I am in the process of looking for a home as well. And I am in simiar situation as you. Work downtown and looking for good priced home with good schools for young kids and reasonable commute (less than 1 hour one way).

[GLS]

Originally Posted by Gguy

Mchoe,

Thanks for the reply. Nice to have a second opinion. I am wondering where you settled in.

I am thinking buying a big house in Anatolia/North Natomas. If the community turns out to be bad, in 5 years, I could sell it and buy a smaller one in Folsom. How is that for a idea. THanks for the input.

I have rented an apartment on Garden Highway for seven years. I sometimes work at Sutter Roseville Hospital and other times in Yuba City. In peak commuting hours the traffic is just as bad coming in from Natomas as it is coming in from Roseville. If you choose Natomas, don't go much further out than Arena Blvd. If you go further than the split to the airport, i.e. near Elverta road or Riego you will be stuck in the hordes coming in from Yuba City.

Also, in response to Gguy, who wrote: "I am thinking buying a big house in Anatolia/North Natomas. If the community turns out to be bad, in 5 years, I could sell it and buy a smaller one in Folsom".

Just my opinion, but if the Natomas community turns out to be bad, EVERYONE else will know it, and after real estate commissions, closing costs, etc, you may not net enough to get into anything in Folsom. I would try to get the cheapest thing you could find in Folsom, then move up in 5 years. Of course, this only pertains to the financial aspect, which shouldn't overshadow the quality of life and which community you really want to live in. Good luck!.

[hethrly]

"I would not go to Mather or Zinfandel. The schools in Rancho are pretty bad. If you don't mind older homes you should check out Gold River. Top schools and homes with relatively large lots. Very nice neighborhood too." Mchoe


I would just like to point out that Mather and Zinfandel are in the Folsom Cordova School District -- which pulls from the same pool of teachers as Folsom. They both have their own neighborhood schools as well. I would check out the SARC reports for any school in the neighborhood you are looking in... the specific neighborhood, because even in the same district, schools vary from area to area.

Also, if you have young children, you might want to take into account that the Folsom Cordove School District is slated to build both a middle school and a high school on the northeast corner of Sunrise and Douglas in the next five years.

Gold River is a very nice area, in the San Juan school district. The prices are still pretty steep, I think. I don't really know too much other than that and it's near Chevy's which is always a plus. Though, if you have to commute from Sacramento, it could be a bear getting off the freeway during rush hour.

[folsommom]

There is no way we could afford to buy in Folsom again and if we were looking now we would consider the Mather/Zinfandel areas. We would want to stay within the Folsom Cordova school district and keep my husband's commute to a minimum. The family time lost for a long commute would be too much of a deterrent for us.