Looking to move to Centerville area in Fremont (San Jose, San Francisco: real estate market, crime)

[anchuz]

Our family of 5 (three children ages 5, 9, 12) is looking at the Centerville area in Fremont -- specifically, the homes between 84 and Hansen ave. I was wondering if anyone can shed light on the safety and general atmosphere of that neighborhood? It doesn't look like an upscale neighborhood, but it looked okay and safe to us, in the first couple of glances we've taken. However, we had a couple of friends drive around there and asked for their opinions, and they didn't like the neighborhood -- they said it gave them a run-down and potentially unsavory vibe. We are planning to spend some time walking around and hopefully talking to some neighbors over the weekend, but I would really appreciate any opinions based on experience in this area. I know it is an older area with smaller houses for the most part, but we are wondering if it is considered safe and family-friendly. If it matters, our kids will not be going to the elementary and middle school, since they're in private school for now.

We will be commuting to Mountain View, and while we know it can be a brutal commute, we are hopeful that our timing will save us some strife (we aim to start around 6:45-7 a.m. and start back from MV around 3:30 p.m. most days.)

Thank you for any help!

[Ruth4Truth]

Walking around and talking to neighbors is a great idea. If, for some reason, there's a pocket of run-down properties n the area, you'd only have to shift your search a few blocks west or northwest, and you'll be fine. Widen your search radius a little. That general part of town is fine.

Generally, it's good to be aware of what's going on in your neighborhood; this means keeping an eye out for street activity. A common m.o. for thieves in the Newark/Fremont area is to send a bicyclist through the neighborhoods periodically (may even be a "senior citizen" type), to case houses, looking for garage doors frequently left open, and that sort of thing. That type of "crime of opportunity" are not uncommon. Outright break-ins are less common. Take basic precautions, and you shouldn't have a problem.

Timing is everything, for that commute. If you can leave by 3:30 or a little sooner, you'll avoid the worst.

[anchuz]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

Walking around and talking to neighbors is a great idea. If, for some reason, there's a pocket of run-down properties n the area, you'd only have to shift your search a couple of blocks west or northwest, and you'll be fine. Widen your search radius a little. That general part of town is fine.

Thank you very much for your reply! The trouble with changing our search radius is that there are very limited properties attainable in our budget (around 900k) that are 3 br/2 ba. We've been looking for close to 6 months, and even when they're listed low, they have easily gone up to a million, and the prices just keep climbing! We have our eye on a particular house on one of the streets between 84 and Hansen, close to Blacow, which is why I wanted to know the specifics of this small area.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by anchuz

Thank you very much for your reply! The trouble with changing our search radius is that there are very limited properties attainable in our budget (around 900k) that are 3 br/2 ba. We've been looking for close to 6 months, and even when they're listed low, they have easily gone up to a million, and the prices just keep climbing! We have our eye on a particular house on one of the streets between 84 and Hansen, close to Blacow, which is why I wanted to know the specifics of this small area.

This is frightening news! There are plenty of 3 bed/2ba places in that general area, but the fact that they're being bid up to 1 mil and over is.... You have a good budget, I would have thought. . I'm sorry, OP.

I can't speak specifically to that little area, but I spend part of each year living a couple of neighborhoods away, off of Paseo Padre, and I can tell you in general, it's safe. I think you should go for what you can afford, and assume that as the East Bay, including (perhaps--especially) Fremont continues being in demand, your little pocket neighborhood will improve. New people like yourselves will come in, and will improve the properties. It seems inevitable. Just make sure you get a good building inspector. Oh, and btw, you'll need A/C. Heat waves are becoming more frequent and prolonged. Some houses have it, some don't.

[Ruth4Truth]

I see what you mean, now, OP. I found a listing in the area where you're looking, and have seen the pricing elsewhere, for 3/2. Seems discouraging. And I guess you don't want a townhome. Well, good luck! I hope things work out for you.

[mstnghu2]

Fremont is overall a very safe city. I wouldn't consider that particular area to be one of the more desirable areas of Fremont though. It's not a "bad" area, but it definitely is somewhat rundown and sketchy in places. Nearby Glenmoor is vastly nicer...unfortunately, it's also vastly more expensive. The real estate market in Glenmoor is brutal right now. My brother recently overbid by $250,000 on an updated house there and still didn't get it.

As far as commuting goes, anywhere from Fremont to Mountain View is going to be pretty terrible. Plan on at least an hour each way.

[anchuz]

Thank you for weighing in. We realize that about the desirability of that area, hence all the questions arising... Like you said, the desirable areas, even within Centerville, have been shooting out of our budget, and it seems to be getting worse in terms of rising prices even in the last couple months. We feel like if this is a safe area, we would still like to buy here, even if doesn't look as nice. We've been spending some time in the neighborhood, and it seems like a mix of older/less maintained and newer/well maintained homes -- some streets more than others. We didn't spot anything obviously unsafe or unsavory -- we saw families and people hanging out gardening etc. Crime reports and Megan's law also support that. But we've only spent a couple hours there, over a couple of days, which feels like is all we can do.

[mstnghu2]

Originally Posted by anchuz

Thank you for weighing in. We realize that about the desirability of that area, hence all the questions arising... Like you said, the desirable areas, even within Centerville, have been shooting out of our budget, and it seems to be getting worse in terms of rising prices even in the last couple months. We feel like if this is a safe area, we would still like to buy here, even if doesn't look as nice. We've been spending some time in the neighborhood, and it seems like a mix of older/less maintained and newer/well maintained homes -- some streets more than others. We didn't spot anything obviously unsafe or unsavory -- we saw families and people hanging out gardening etc. Crime reports and Megan's law also support that. But we've only spent a couple hours there, over a couple of days, which feels like is all we can do.

Based on this ^^^, I think you will be content with your decision if you end up buying there. It's not an area that I'd consider to be unsafe, just a little rundown with a sprinkling of shady people here and there. I have a co-worker who has lived in the neighborhood for a long time. We've talked real estate many times and he's never mentioned any sort of crime issues that he's dealt with while living there. In fact he just remodeled his house and says he plans to live there for a long time still.

I live off of Thornton on the other side of 880 in Newark so I'm very familiar with the area. One close-by neighborhood that I would avoid if I were you is the Cabrillo neighborhood in Fremont...basically the neighborhood directly north of Thornton and bordered by 880, Decoto Rd. and Fremont Blvd. There seems to be a disproportionate amount of crime in this part of the city compared to most other areas. I subscribe to a service called Nixle (which I highly recommend- Resident - Nixle) that both Fremont and Newark use to notify residents of crime-related issues. The Cabrillo area has quite a few issues with criminal activity. Interestingly, directly across 880 from that neighborhood is one of Newark's nicest and safest neighborhoods, the Lake Area/Rosemont.

[PixelatedTherapy]

Go look in Hayward. It's a bit more working class than Fremont, but you'll get something nice for your money, you might even be able to get something in the Hayward Hills, which are stunning!

Hayward is also very well-located: It's 30 miles from San Francisco, 30 miles to San Jose, 20 miles to Oakland/Berkeley and 20 miles from Palo Alto.

[PixelatedTherapy]

Like this is within your budget, and it's on the BART like, as well as being only 1 mile away from the Cal State East Bay campus!