Can someone give me the run down on the neighborhoods?

[cb73]

I live in the older part of Carmichael--as stated in other threads, suburbs and boring. Meaning not very much crime, no gangs.

On the street next to mine are two sad foreclosures, one for $99,000 and the other a little over $100,000. They need paint, probably carpeting and a lot of love. A house at the end of the street has already been "done" by a contractor--same size and floorplan of house, and sold for over $250K.

If you're willing to do some work, there's plenty of good basic houses out there.

And Majin--isn't "north of the American River" pretty much the entire north area?

[wburg]

The problem with Natomas is that it could very easily resemble New Orleans...during the summer of 2005. The levees built there were recently decertified, nothing can be built there unless it is on a 33 foot high berm until the levees are reinforced to the 100 year flood level. They were upgraded to 100 year status a decade or so ago, after a long dry spell during which the Natomas farmlands failed to flood, followed by an orgy of suburb and strip mall construction. Ten years and 100,000 residents later, the Army Corps of Engineers downgraded the levees, forcing a building moratorium. Of course, that didn't stop everyone: currently there is a scandal at City Hall, as a senior building official (who also happens to be the son of a city council member) hacked into the computer system to allow building permits to be started in the moratorium zone. Now the city may face the loss of federal assistance for levee construction, and dramatic increases in the cost of flood insurance, especially for people in parts of the city that are no longer considered safe from flooding--meaning Natomas.

[NorCal Dude]

I don't know how out of touch some of you guys are with real estate listings but we got modest homes here in Granite bay that have been under 300k for quite some time. Plenty of 120k-150k homes in the older parts of roseville and rocklin and such. Antelope is a bargain right now.

Now the problem is financing. In this economy you are gonna need 50% down and squeaky clean credit to even compete with the specu-flippers who are ever so prevelant in the sub 400K housing stock.

[Phil Minor]

At the price point, Kcummins is looking at in Sacramento, there are going to be some tradeoffs involved. Either she is going to buy a fixer upper, be living in a neighborhood with some crime issues or possibly buying a condo in a place mandating flood insurance. Activists complain about mandatory flood insurance because they want the feds to strengthen the levies. But its not that expensive (even in Natomas). In general in this area, I also think its just a good idea to have flood insurance given that we live next to two rivers, the region suffers from El Nino's on a regular basis (which also flood the regions creeks) and large parts of the region are built on former floodplains (downtown, the Pocket, Natomas, etc).

I don't live in Natomas but I bought flood insurance even though its not technically required for me to do so.

[edwardius]

There are some really good deals right now on fixer uppers in this town. If you are willing to put in some sweat equity, you can do really well right now. Look for the 120k home in the best neighborhood you can find.

[RE-Broker]

I suspect that you won't have much trouble finding an area that you will like. Sacramento covers a large area and has lots of choices. When you are ready to buy, which in my opinion should not be until you have lived here for awhile and looked around quite abit, you will be able to make an informed decision. One sugjestion would be to look for areas where the schools are good. Just rent month to month when you get here and that way you can move if necessary. Best of luck

[mattinsac]

I suspect for 120k you are going to have problems finding a place you will like.

The most recent Sacramento MLS puts the median price of single family home in this region at 185k. Its tough to buy a home for 2/3 of the median price in and find a home that is either not a major fixer upper or in a neighborhood with a lot of problems. In places outside of Sacramento like Texas or Kansas, 120k probably will get you something in a decent neighborhood. Here you are looking at problems.

http://www.sacrealtor.org/documents/...ctober2009.pdf

[Jimbo15]

Originally Posted by Phil Minor

At the price point, Kcummins is looking at in Sacramento, there are going to be some tradeoffs involved. Either she is going to buy a fixer upper, be living in a neighborhood with some crime issues or possibly buying a condo in a place mandating flood insurance. Activists complain about mandatory flood insurance because they want the feds to strengthen the levies. But its not that expensive (even in Natomas). In general in this area, I also think its just a good idea to have flood insurance given that we live next to two rivers, the region suffers from El Nino's on a regular basis (which also flood the regions creeks) and large parts of the region are built on former floodplains (downtown, the Pocket, Natomas, etc).

I don't live in Natomas but I bought flood insurance even though its not technically required for me to do so.

Article in the paper today put the cost of flood insurance in Natomas at 300 a year if you have the preferred risk policy and 1200 to 1300 a year for standard flood insurance.

Natomas homeowners may buy low-cost flood insurance until Jan. 6 - Sacramento Business, Housing Market News | Sacramento Bee (http://www.sacbee.com/business/story/2368519.html - broken link)

People spend more per year on lattes or cable tv.