midtown condos now (Atlanta, White: real estate, foreclosures, leasing)

[satanicmonkey]

Howdy,

I've been an ATL resident for the past 10 years. I went to school at GT and will be going back to finish graduate schooling there. Given that I'll be living down-town for the next few years, I'm considering purchasing a condo/townhouse.

I've been following the advice on these forums over the past year and have watched as real estate prices have continued dropping.

I'm looking at several buildings in the sub 200k range around the GT area. Any advice on these or other options would be appreciated. Also, I'd be interested to hear opinions on whether prices will continue to drop for the next few months. Is this a good time to buy?

All are relatively the same square footage except the townhouse -

1280 West - HOA fees are outrageous (480/month) but nice views and condos here are much cheaper. Mortgage + HOA seems to compare favorably to other buildings. Trump Towers or whatever happens to get built next door will likely vitalize the area and drive property prices up in the future. Earlier this year and last, people were advising against 1280 West but the prices have dropped an additional 50k from then.

Atlantic Station Townhouses on 16th street - Spacious, next to Atlantic Station. Area seems to be undergoing gentrification. Only 1 parking spot.

Twelve Atlantic Station - Newer building. Only 1 assigned parking spot.

Art Foundry

Plaza Midtown - Like the location, Tech Trolley stops here. When I took a tour of it the other day, I saw lock-boxes on nearly half the condos on some floors. I'm worried that there are a lot of condos here just waiting to pop back onto the market.

Park Central

Right now, I'm mostly interested in Plaza Midtown, 1280 West and Park Central. Thoughts? TIA.

[ATLHRLGUY]

I love the location of Park Central, half-way between peachtree and piedmont park, (if your thinking about activities outside of school) also there's quite a few units on the market under 200K.

Not a fan of 1280, kinda in no man's land and don't expect anything trump related in the area for quite some time. But if you're gonna have a car then it doesn't really matter and you can definitely score a 2bd/2bth there with decent views.

Plaza Midtown, good amenities and local as it relates to Tech, plus the trolley and next to Marta so convenient if you're carless. Downside, hit hard by the real estate crash, some foreclosures and renters don't make it a best buy but there are definitely pluses, like having a publix and shops downstairs, which are a great perk. FYI, if you buy here try to get a place that doesn't face the pool or high enough, b/c during warmer months unless you're out there having a good time with the neighbors you'll definitely hear the pool scene outdoors.


Twelve Atlantic Station, you can score some deals, unfortunately b/c of foreclosures, great views of buckhead skyline and really you have everything you'll need on a daily basis right there.

Art Foundry and Atlantic Station Townhomes, have no experience with either one, more of a highrise guy myself, but if you can score a great deal, it would obviously be worth checking out.

[IntownHomes247]

Don't like 1280 and I hate the location of Plaza Midtown and the lack of differentiation among finishes and floorplans from the other glass towers built at the same time.

Park Central has a great location and really great amenities. It's got ugly hallways, but many of the units have been very nicely upgraded and it's got a really good HOA with strong reserves that stays on top of maintenance issues.

[CravingMountains]

I live in the Luxe. I throughly enjoy living here. We are at a good occupancy too, so you wouldn't have to worry about association costs not getting paid. My friend and I bought our unit a few months ago and the prices have continued to go down slightly.

All of the condos in midtown are so undervalued. You can't go wrong purchasing anywhere because a few years down the road you are bound to make a return on your investment.

[K-SawDude]

Take a look at White Provision too: White Provision

Last I heard there were a few places under 200K still (all 1BR). I purchased at WP and have been pretty thrilled with the area so far. We've got a couple of Georgia Tech grad students and profs who live here, too, so it's a close commute (depending on what side of campus you need to be on).

I liked Plaza Midtown when I visited, though the 1BRs felt a little too small to me.

With the Atlantic Station condos, make sure to ask around about the HOA situation there. I'd heard there are a lot of delinquencies in the building, and you want to make absolutely sure you're not going to get stuck with a bunch of assessments if their finances are in really bad shape. (You can ask to see records of budget, reserves, etc. Do your homework!) That being said, there are a ton of conveniences there in terms of shopping and eating. And probably rock-bottom prices on condos with great views. But they're probably very cookie-cutter.

ETA: You might also want to look at 1010 Midtown, which may have a couple of things right under 200K. If Jessifer sees this, maybe he can weigh in some with his recent findings on the condo search.

[midtown mile girl]

Originally Posted by InsaneTraveler

I live in the Luxe. I throughly enjoy living here. We are at a good occupancy too, so you wouldn't have to worry about association costs not getting paid. My friend and I bought our unit a few months ago and the prices have continued to go down slightly.

All of the condos in midtown are so undervalued. You can't go wrong purchasing anywhere because a few years down the road you are bound to make a return on your investment.

I looked at that building when I was condo shopping. It was a bit out of my price range, but I remember it has "wow" factor!

[Jessifer]

I really liked 1010 Midtown, and I felt very good about the long term prospects for that location. However, it's been on the market a long time, and hasn't sold enough units for me to feel comfortable about it as an investment. If I were looking only for a place to live and the quality of the investment wasn't a major factor, I wouldn't hesitate to buy there. They have very unique floorplans, which is a major plus for a high-rise building.

The 1BR floorplans at Luxe weren't nearly as compelling, however the building is wonderful and in just about the best possible location in Midtown. If I were dead-set on a high-rise in Midtown, I think I'd probably buy at Luxe, even if I had to stretch my price range a little.

I would also recommend White Provision. It's another great building in a very cool location, probably a better investment neighborhood than Luxe or 1010 Midtown, because West Midtown is still up and coming (whereas Midtown proper is mostly up and came). I almost bought at White Provision but didn't because the $/sq. ft. was high for the units I was interested in and the developer wasn't really negotiating.

I ended up signing a contract on a unit at The Stacks in Cabbagetown, a loft conversion. The neighborhood and build quality are different from the high-rises (since the units are lofts built in an 1800s cotton mill), but it is a large complex so has a lot of the amenities of a high-rise. You also get a lot more sq. ft. for your money there, so you'd be able to find a 2BR 2BA in your price range. Obviously, lofts are a different ballgame than what we're talking about here.

Viewpoint seemed pretty nice to me, but I felt like the units were not very sensible in their use of space.

As far as Atlantic Station goes, I wouldn't consider any of those. There are way too many foreclosures in those buildings. If you want a well-priced foreclosure, I'd say Plaza Midtown is a better bet. There are a few foreclosures there but not nearly as many, and the building is more established than the ones in Atlantic Station. Plus, Atlantic Station has a weird vibe, in my opinion. Even though it's basically brand new, it feels like a setting sun place, like it was still-born as a community. Sorry in advance to all the Atlantic Station lovers on here. I think this might just be a matter of personal preference.

[noah]

I would be very careful about buying in a building still under developer control -- many unknown factors/risks come into play. These buildings are struggling the most, leasing out entire floors etc and you never know what the dues will be once the HOA takes over, how the board will be run, what the community will be like etc.

[satanicmonkey]

I went to check out 1280 West, Park Central, and Twelve today. My realtor wanted to show me two places at 1280 but we didn't make it past the lobby. Park Central was O.K. but I don't feel I'm getting too much bang for my buck there.

I liked the units at Twelve, but I was appalled by the people I saw there. The tenants I saw were pretty low class. I don't care that everyone I saw there was black.. Ok, it's Atlanta.. one of my best friends is black.. But what's going on there? I saw people just lounging in the conference room as if they had nothing better to do with their entire day other than laze there texting on their phones, leeching the free wi-fi. On the way out, I was talking to my mom, and this chick was walking out with me (not exactly dressed conservatively). I asked her if it was safe to live in Atlantic Station and she put her hand down her shirt and grabbed her left boob while answering me.

??????

Is this the norm? Just the economy? A sign of what's to come?

[midtown mile girl]

Don't give up-there are a lot of other places to look. In regard to hoa fees, some are high because they include utilites, cable, etc. I would ask your realtor to show you some units in more established buildings.