Riverdale named Ga.’s most-affordable housing market

[Newsboy]

Originally Posted by Listennow32

Out of the people who just posted. I'm curious to see who has actually been there recently. If you haven't then please refrain from posting nonsense. Riverdale is lower income. We get it. However, not everyone is going to live in the highest income places. Furthermore, Riverdale is got a couple of things going for it. It's home to Southern Regional Hospital which is soon to join the Emory healthcare system, it is home to Clayton County's first business incubator, and one of the first on the southside. Futhermore, its home to Charles Drew Math and Science Magnet school which is one of the more competitive schools in the area. So please. For those who do not live in the area, what are you getting at in bashing it?

Sorry .... and I mean no disrespect. But Riverdale has ALWAYS been low-class. ALWAYS! I grew up in Fayette County, and as far back as the 1970s we made fun of Riverdale. It was a dump then, and it's a dump now. There is NOTHING redeeming about the community. It's ugly, junkie, rundown and low-class.

The only people who defend Riverdale are minorities who don't know any better. It is a HORRIBLE place ... and has been for my entire lifetime (40+ years).

[darkskinman740]

Originally Posted by Newsboy

Sorry .... and I mean no disrespect. But Riverdale has ALWAYS been low-class. ALWAYS! I grew up in Fayette County, and as far back as the 1970s we made fun of Riverdale. It was a dump then, and it's a dump now. There is NOTHING redeeming about the community. It's ugly, junkie, rundown and low-class.

The only people who defend Riverdale are minorities who don't know any better. It is a HORRIBLE place ... and has been for my entire lifetime (40+ years).

I currently own a rental home in Riverdale(my former personal residence) that I bought in 2002. Also Gardenwalk used to be extremely nice back in the 1990's. I don't think Riverdale is as bad as the media and people make it out to be, but I can say that it has really deteriorated from for a number of reasons. And the low housing values were a result of a combination of the media, the economy crashing, the school system and lending practices. Let me break it down:

1) The media: there is a ton of crime in the metro area. But for some strange reason, Clayton County is on center stage. It almost seems like Clayton County is the safest place for reporters to report crime. Because it really isn't that bad. But I know for a fact that there is more crime inside the Perimeter in areas like Simpson Rd, Anderson Ave, Dill ave, University Ave, Lakewood Ave, Bankhead, Hollywood Rd, etc.....but again what reporter wants to hang in that area to report crime?....not many. So unless its a serious serious crime deep in the bad parts of Atlanta its not getting reported in the news.

2) The Economy:
Yes Clayton County is now majority African American and there were tons of homeowners that worked really hard to maintain their homes. I know this because they were my neighbors. However when the economy crashed, so many of my neighbors were laid off that it was just sad. Hardworking good people were let go and couldn't find work for long stretches of time....and early on there weren't many real estate assistance programs like there is now. Also the Airport expansion took away a large amount of Office Space that used to be on Riverdale Rd just outside the airport.

3) The School System: Well when you lose your accreditation nobody is going to want to move there if they want their kids in decent schools. That's a no-brainer.

4) Lending Practices: Ok so this is the real kicker. A mortgage company approves your loan with 0-3% down, so your loan is now FHA. FHA requires you to purchase Private Mortgage Insurance(PMI), and PMI basically means that if you foreclose the mortgage lender will still get paid by the insurance. So if a house is $130,000 when you buy it and you owe $120,000 after a few years and then foreclose, well guess what the bank gets covered, the $120,000 you owe. So they really don't lose anything. Now they can sell the house for whatever they want, because they already got paid for it. There is no real push to get what it's worth. They just want it off the books and can get extra cash. If this was a conventional loan with 20% down, then there is no PMI and the bank will want every penny to keep from losing money. So if the majority of homes were FHA with PMI well $50,000 for a home is just icing on the already paid cake for the banks. And with the low prices now your value plummets and the competitive market analysis will indicate low values.

And lastly Clayton County and College Park has also been on the reverse end of gentrification. As housing projects are torn down one area improves(East Lake, Kirkwood for example) another was has to suffer because the residents have to go somewhere. They will go where Section 8 vouchers is accepted and where the rent is cheap. Clayton County rent has been cheap for a very long time.

[Born 2 Roll]

Riverdale (known in some circles as "Reefer-dale") and much (if not most) of Clayton County may not necessarily be everyone's first choice to move to and live in, but everybody's got to live somewhere....When taken in that context, there are places that are definitely much worse places to live than Riverdale and Clayton County.

...Though admittedly things could be better in Clayton County.

[afonega1]

Originally Posted by Newsboy

Sorry .... and I mean no disrespect. But Riverdale has ALWAYS been low-class. ALWAYS! I grew up in Fayette County, and as far back as the 1970s we made fun of Riverdale. It was a dump then, and it's a dump now. There is NOTHING redeeming about the community. It's ugly, junkie, rundown and low-class.

The only people who defend Riverdale are minorities who don't know any better. It is a HORRIBLE place ... and has been for my entire lifetime (40+ years).

You are being overly dramatic.

Riverdale is no where as bad as you claim.Its nowhere on my top list of places either but its not that bad

There are some nice neighborhoods I have seen personally just yesterday.

The only difference in Fayetteville and Riverdale is affluence and the obvious trappings that comes with it.

Some of those older neighborhoods in Riverdale look very similar to those in Fayetteville.
Bethesda RD areas comes to mind.

No sidewalks(hardly),sprawl development with strip malls everywhere.

Yes it is more blue collar but you really sound like an elitest.

[afonega1]

Originally Posted by Born 2 Roll

Riverdale (known in some circles as "Reefer-dale") and much (if not most) of Clayton County may not necessarily be everyone's first choice to move to and live in, but everybody's got to live somewhere....When taken in that context, there are places that are definitely much worse places to live than Riverdale and Clayton County.

...Though admittedly things could be better in Clayton County.

A more reasonable response I agree with.