Greetings,
I’ve been a lurker for a while here and really enjoy the knowledge sharing. Now I’m hoping to tap into that knowledge.
Just this past week I was told my job was moving to Atlanta and if I’d like to keep it, I need to move there too…. Fortunately, the moving package appears to be fairly good. Unfortunately, as my wife has Multiple Sclerosis, finding appropriate housing to meet her needs may not be so easy.
My company’s office is just south of I-285 off of GA 400, so from my research, if I want no more than a 20-45 minutes drive, we should be looking at Dunwoody, Sandy Springs, Roswell and Alpharetta? It seems that 95% of the newer homes are 2 stories, and very few have elevators (those that do are mainly in the $800 – $1M range which is too much for us).
So that leaves a few options that I can see:
1. Buy a new 2 story home that yets to be built and modify the plan to add an elevator. Not sure how feasible or expensive that is – guess it depends on the plan.
2. Find a lot and build a handicap accesible ranch from the start. Not sure how feasible this is either, since reasonable lots in areas convenient to grocery stores, Doctors, malls, etc. don’t seem to be growing on trees there…
3. Find an older ranch in a good location on a nice level lot (this may not be so easy?) and renovate it?
Anyone here from the Atlanta area that can offer any advice? Anyone here a builder that I could talk to about these options? We’d be looking for a property with the following attributes: mostly level lot, 2500 – 3000 sf with little wasted space, 3-4 BRs, 2-3 baths, 3 car garage (that’s my dream anyway), walk-out basement if the slope from front to rear of the house is manageable (I know, a big if…), in the $400K – $575K range…
Thanks in advance for any input / advice.
Terry
Replies
I know of a couple places for sale that would likely meet your criteris but they are the other side of town. Probably within the 45 min commute though.
That area should have plenty of older ranch homes that would work. The dunwoody, Alpharetta area is going to be pretty pricey compared to some other parts of Atlanta. For example my neighbors brick ranch house is currently for sale at 500k and it has 10 wooded acres, 3 car garage, a large detached garage, and a pool. This is on the south side of Douglasville though. A meghbor on the other side commutes to the area you are going to be working and I beleive it takes them around 50 mins.
Thanks for the response. I plan to visit there in the next 2 weeks and get a feel for the area, but it appears our search won't be an easy one. I have a friend who lives in Dunwoody that's going to keep her eyes open, so we'll keep our fingers crossed and maybe get lucky...
Terry
Tom
Did you see the traffic this morning? Top end of 285 and all of 400 was effed. DW works at 400 & 285 and I ended up being her navigator getting her around the West side 285. Took her almost 2 hours although the normal drive from this side for her is 90 minutes, maybe less, maybe more.
We'll be done with Atlanta as soon as DW can find a new gig in a different city.
You're looking at some of the most expensive parts of Atlanta with the accompanying terrible traffic to go with it. You really should be looking for something within a few miles of your office. Wife's coworker takes 1 hour to go 1 exit on GA 400. 20-45 minutes could be as short as 5 miles. Finding a lot on your own would be pretty slim to non-existent unless you find something in a yet to be built neighborhood.
You can find older homes ranch style in those areas you listed but you get the issues of an older home, neighboorhood could be iffy. A friend lives off Hammond Dr in an old/small ranch. If it's an example of the rest, making it ADA compliant for your wife might be equal to a tear down.
Where in FL are you living now? From the limited exposure I have of FL realestate (cities properties of Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville) you can get more for your $ here in most places.
It wasn't like this when I moved here 20 years ago and it's getting worse.
We live in Delray Beach (mid-way between West Palm Beach and Miami) currently. Yes, you definitely get more house for the money up there. It's a buyers market here, but appears to be an even better buyers market up there. Guess we'll find out....
When you visit be sure to get a feel for the rush hour traffic in the areas you're interested. Friday afternons are the worst but that's creeping into Thursday afternoons now. Good luck.
Thanks - I plan to do just that. Luckily, I have flexibility on when I come in / go home, so it's possible to avoid the worst traffic by coming in / leaving early or later.
If you have that kind of flexibility work hours-wise then you should expand your search into other areas along the top end of 285. Don't limit your search to the 400 corridor (in fact, avoid a commute on 400 if at all possible).
I'd suggest East Cobb or Sandy Springs.
Hope this might help you
http://www.homeatlanta.com/atlanta_mls.htm
Try a search with 30338 as your zip...after a quick glance there seemed to be quite a few that met your basic criteria
Thanks to all the responses. I'm making a trip up there next week to try to get the feel for the areas and traffic.
It's worth looking at some of the areas intown. There are several areas that have undergone quite a revitalization and may have decent access to mass transit. Atlanta traffic can be horrid. East Atlanta and the Virginia Highland areas are really turning around.
Stay away from alp, roswell, milton and dunwoody. If your job is between I 285 and the buckhead area of atlanta i would look at other options. i am const super in the buckhead area for 2 years now. i work with people that live in the areas that you mentioned and i t always takes them longer to get home than me and i live almost to athens. Atlanta is starting to get like some of the other larger cities( nyc, la etc.) where ther is always traffic no matter what time of the day.
I'm an Atlanta native and have watched our nice little city of 500,000 grow to a fiasco of almost 4 million. It's taken 59 years of lifespan. To be blunt, there's no way you can find land/lot within a 45 minute drive anytime of day and build within your budget. Or do a teardown. And do stay as close as possible to your job. When realtors tell you a travel time it means at 6 am on Sunday morning. Seriously. If you can work between 9 pm and 5 am, okay.
Fortunately, close to your job are a slew of 1960s and 1970s one-level ranches, either on grade or over a basement. LOOK INSIDE them before you judge; some are well kept; they're good old neighborhoods. They'll be stepless, but if you want wheelchair access you'll need to widen doorways. Budget will be an issue, as always, but shop carefully and it's doable. Give up on the 3 car garage.
Look in the areas around Northside Hospital, inside the perimeter: try the Nancy Creek/Murphy Park area(just south of 285 between Ashford Dunwoody and Chamblee Dunwoody)--it's being revitalized and is very close to "hospital hill"--most of our best hospitals and docs(professional bldgs)are there; your wife will usually end up referred there for experienced specialists. You might work within the high end of your budget there with some minor remodeling.
In fact, try the entire area there over east to Shallowford and down to Peachtree Industrial on the south. Or, try just north of 285 from Ashford Dunwoody over to Peachtree Industrial and up to Dunwoody Club Drive. Lots of ranches there with bigger lots, build during the heyday of the ranch. Entire area is/will be revitalized; it's now considered "close-in".
East Cobb is too far out to routinely make your drive time at any time of day.
One other piece of advice: as soon as you settle in, learn all the backroads, side-streets, alternate routes to wherever you need to go. Stay on them and off main roads and highways and life will be much more serene. Unfortunately, no one will give you directions that way.
Best of luck!
Edited 5/17/2007 6:02 am ET by bjAtlanta
bjAtlanta,
Thanks for the very specific advice. I'll be traveling up there next week to look around and your advice will help me focus my efforts. I'll let you know what I found....
All I have to do now is convince my wife to come with me... so far she says "I'm gonna miss you..." Geez! as if the pressure of the job and impending move wasn't enough... Oh well, will probably take her a little time to wrap her head around it... I just keep telling myself to "be patient"!
Terry
bjAtlanta,
I made it up to Atlanta to look around and had settled on a place call Vickery in Cumming because it met the needs of my wife very well. Unfortunately, my wife took her own life about 5 weeks ago to escape the pain and agony of living with Multiple Sclerosis.
Devastating - that's the only word that comes to mind. She was the toughtest, most independent woman I've ever known, but after 8 years of M.S., her quality of life had gone to he!!. She'd always said that she was surprised she'd lived this long (50) and that when life ceased to be fun, she'd be "out of here". She will be missed by all those who knew and loved her. Now I'll have to try to go on without her. Every morning when I wake up, I hope I find that the nightmare is over, but it just hasn't happened. I so glad on that final day I did what I always did, got up and made her breakfast, and kissed her and told her I loved her before I went off to work.
The days since then have been both a blur and in slow motion...
Since then, I've had to move on with my move plans as no company slows down for you. I decided the best think I could do was try to stay busy and to move as soon as I could. Even though I don't want to leave the memories behind, it seems a new start in a new town might help me to start to get over this.
I bought a house in a development called Tullamore, which is just off Campground Road, Norith of highway 9 in Cumming. It's a small, 25 home neighborhood on about 30-40 acreas. Most of the houses have a craftsman style and are situated on 3/4 - 1 acre lots. Definitely not what my wife would have wanted, but I think it will meet mine and my dog Riley's needs well. Now all I have to do is sell my existing house. After looking at 35-40 houses in 15-20 neighborhoods, I thought I'd better commit to one of only two houses that I liked. A little scary buying a new house before selling my current one, but oh well - certainly not as scary as dealing with your wife's death. Kind of puts everything into perspective.
Terry
So very sorry for your loss. Can't imagine it. I do understand her situation, having worked in hospitals for a long time. Glad you found something suitable for you and the dear beast. Don't know your area very well; it's further out than our new one will be--we'll be building in Roswell. Hear it's nice up there, though. Do find alternatives to 400 for when it's a parking lot. Side roads up that way can be a relaxing and scenic drive.People make friends fast here; they move here from all over, so move in and get settled quickly is their norm. The minority of us, like me, are natives, and we're just naturally friendly. A way of life we were born into; it's not all gone yet, especially in the northern suburbs. Welcome to Georgia.
Sorry to hear of your loss, Terry.
Ditto what bj says about alternatives to 400.
Once you get settled in be sure to explore the N GA hills and the adjacent areas in TN & NC. Lot's of beautiful scenery missed by too many folks.